The Oilers got back in the win column on Monday night with a 4-1 victory over the Blackhawks, shaking off Saturday’s frustrating loss to the Kings. That’s not to say that getting the win in Chicago was smooth sailing for 60 minutes, but it was the kind of response you want to see after letting a game slip away the way they did two nights ago. In the end, Edmonton took care of business against a team they should beat, controlled long stretches of play, got great goaltending, and didn’t allow the Blackhawks to get any closer than scoring a single goal. And with the first half of the back-to-back handled, the Oilers can now turn their attention to Nashville, as they hope to sweep the two-game set.

I don’t know what it is about the Oilers and these cream jerseys, but their reign of perfection in their third unis continued on Monday in Chicago. With the 4-1 win locked in, the Oilers moved to 5-0 in their alternates, and it’s one of the weirder trends of the season so far. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think these thirds look spectacular, but there seems to be some kind of magic in them that only the Hockey Gords can explain. The problem is that the Oilers planned to wear these cream jerseys only seven times this season, and with last night being game five and Tuesday’s matchup against Nashville also scheduled for the alternates, I’m worried we’ve only got one more dose of magic left before the playoffs start.

I don’t know if I should write a letter to Gary Bettman, the Hockey Gords, or to my MLA, but we need to figure out how to get the boys wearing these things more than two more times. The Oilers have scored four or more goals in every one of the five games they’ve worn these cream jerseys, and at some point that stops being a coincidence and starts being a responsibility. I’m not saying they need to become the full-time look, but limiting this kind of production to just two more nights feels reckless. If there’s even a chance these jerseys are helping the offence cook like this, the only logical move is to squeeze every possible wear out of them before the playoffs arrive.

One of the byproducts of Connor McDavid’s incredibly 19-game point streak is that there are other guys on the roster who have been red hot that no one else is talking about. One of those guys is Zach Hyman. The guy is filling the net at an all-world rate, and I think it’s about time we give our man a little love. And while it was absolutely cool to see how hard he was on his stick for the opening goal at 14:41 of the first period, what was even more amazing was finding out that this was his 12th goal in his last 16 games. That would be a 62-goal pace if you could carry it out over a full season. Not too bad for a guy coming back from wrist surgery and six months without playing, right?

I know we talk about this a lot around here, but it’s hard to think of any other free agent in NHL history that has worked out as well as Hyman has here in Edmonton. I’m sure someone can throw a name in the comments if there is one, but it’s hard to argue the value he’s brought to the table in each of the five seasons he’s been here. Beyond the numbers, it’s the trust factor that makes Hyman so easy to love. You know exactly what you’re getting every single night: honest minutes, relentless effort, and a guy who drags plays to the net whether it’s pretty or not. Coming back from a major wrist surgery and still scoring like this is unbelievable, but it also feels completely on brand for him. Zach Hyman doesn’t chase attention or credit, he just keeps doing the right things until good stuff happens, and the Oilers are better for it.

I was looking forward to seeing how Andrew Mangiapane would fare after getting the chance to get back in the lineup after four straight healthy scratches. Needless to say, things haven’t gone so well for our dear Bread Man since joining the Oilers on a two-year contract, but I never would have expected in a million years that things would have gone this badly. I was looking back on some of my tweets from July when he signed, and I was so excited to have him come to town. He was so annoying to play against when he was with the Flames that I was excited to have that lil pest energy in the Oilers’ lineup, even if no one expected him to score at that same 35-goal rate.

Now that it looks like the team and player are headed for a split, it bums me out to see how things have played out, especially when you see that his most common linemates have been McDavid and Draisaitl. I don’t know whether it wasn’t the right fit from the jump, or if he’s lost confidence in his game to the point of being unsalvageable, but it seems like each day is another step closer to the eventual Mangiapane-for-another-problem-contract swap. Then again, I think it took longer for me to write out these two paragraphs than the 11:26 he played. And while it sucks to see the Oilers strike out on yet another free agent, you can also understand why they need more than one block, three hits, and no shots too. Either way, I was hoping to see a rejuvenated player after sitting out four in a row, but what we got was another night where Mangiapane floated through without much of a mention. I know I saw him on the ice, but I couldn’t tell you much about what he did out there.

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