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Four point nights from Oilers’ McDavid and Draisaitl spoil Skinner’s debut with Penguins: Recap, Reaction and Highlights
Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Dec 16, 2025, 22:30 ESTUpdated: Dec 16, 2025, 22:40 EST
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It’s always a blast when the Edmonton Oilers play the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On Tuesday evening, the Oilers played the third of five games on this road trip, defeating the Penguins 6-4 to move to 16-12-6 and into the third spot in the Pacific Division. Let’s take a look at what went on in this one!
Leon Draisaitl’s 1,000th point came with just over eight minutes left in the first period, as the Oilers were on an extended five-on-three. The German found Connor McDavid with a cross-ice pass, with the Oilers’ captain passing it to the front of the net. Zach Hyman did the rest.
Just 14 seconds later, the Oilers made it 2-0, as McDavid did Connor McDavid things, burning the Penguins’ defence and freezing Stuart Skinner and depositing it into the gaping net. Late in the first period, the Penguins got on the board thanks to a goal off the faceoff.
The Oilers restored their two-goal lead about five minutes into the second period, as they had extended zone time, so much so that they were able to make an in-zone change. First on the ice was Matthew Savoie, who was found on the weak side and squeaked it through Skinner’s five hole. The Penguins got it to within one thanks to a power play goal less than two minutes later.
On their own power play midway through the second period, the Oilers restored their two-goal lead again. At the point, Evan Bouchard faked a pass, got the Penguins’ forward to bite, and sniped it over Skinner’s blocker to make it 4-2.
The game-winning goal was scored about seven minutes into the third period. On a three-on-one, Leon Draisaitl’s cross-ice pass to Savoie was blocked, but Vasily Podkolzin was right there to tap in the loose puck, his ninth of the season.
With their net pulled, the Penguins cut the lead to two goals, but McDavid picked up his fourth point of the night by scoring into the empty net. With about 13 seconds left in the game, the Penguins scored to give us the final score of 6-4.

Takeaways…

This was Connor McDavid’s best game since Game 1 of the first round last year. On top of scoring two goals and four points, the Oilers captain deked out about five different Penguins throughout the game.
Thanks to the four points, McDavid now sits at the top of the league in points. Over his last seven games, McDavid has nine goals and 20 points. This stretch of hockey is the best McDavid has looked in a long time, dating back to the last time he won the Art Ross in 2022-23. It’s a positive development for the Oilers.
Another positive development is the fact that Leon Draisaitl picked up his 1,000th career points on the Oilers’ first goal. Like McDavid, Draisaitl also had a four-point night, picking up four assists and a roughing penalty in his 18 minutes of action.
Draisaitl has found his linemates. Matthew Savoie picked up his seventh goal of the season and has played well alongside the German. On his other wing, Vasily Podkolzin scored his ninth goal of the season and is now on pace for 21 goals and 38 points. That’s a top six forward if I’ve ever seen one.
It looked as if the Oilers were trying to force things on the power play on Sunday in Montréal, but they had a much better game on Tuesday, going 3/4. Moreover, they killed off five of six penalties.
Like his start on Saturday, Tristan Jarry was robbed of a .900 save percentage in the final minute of the game, as the Oilers stopped defending. He stopped 26 of 30 shots for an .867 save percentage, with the second goal being rather weak. Still, he outdueled Stuart Skinner, who allowed five goals on 22 shots.
Curtis Lazar briefly left Tuesday’s game after a tough collision into the boards. Thankfully, he returned later in the period, but played just over three minutes over 10 shifts, the least amount of time for any Oiler.
Quinn Hutson made his season debut, playing just seven minutes over 12 shifts. One of those shifts came in the third period with Trent Frederic and McDavid, and the trio had sustained zone time for the shift.
Next up for the Oilers is a game against the Boston Bruins on Thursday at 5:00 PM MT. It’s the penultimate game of the road trip and the final out East, as they head to Minnesota to play Quinn Hughes and the Wild on Saturday.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

ARTICLE PRESENTED BY bet365

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