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Four positives from Oilers’ four-game road trip: Frederic is finding a new gear, the Nurse-Murphy pairing has potential, and more
Edmonton Oilers Connor Murphy hits Vegas Golden Knight
Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Sean Panganiban
Mar 14, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 14, 2026, 15:03 EDT
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The Edmonton Oilers went 2-1-1 on their recent four-game road trip, which isn’t bad, but giving up a two-goal lead last game against the St. Louis Blues and losing in overtime certainly stung, letting a valuable point slip away.
Nevertheless, there were several positives to take from the trip, including beating a dangerous Colorado Avalanche team, seeing Connor McDavid stand up for his teammates, and having depth players like Kasperi Kapanen step up and score a couple of goals. That said, a few positives stood out above the rest, and we dive into them below.

Trent Frederic fought, chirped and scored on the road trip. Has he found a new gear?

Oilers forward Trent Frederic would probably like to put the first 55 games of the season behind him. He was struggling, and at times it was tough to watch, but since the Olympic break, he seems like he’s found that extra gear.
Earlier in the season, there were games where you just didn’t notice him on the ice, but on the latest road trip, he was very noticeable in every single game.
He started the road trip on a high note, opening the scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights by parking his big body in front of the net and whacking away at the puck until it went in.
Against the Colorado Avalanche, with the Oilers down 2–1 in the first period, Frederic channelled his inner Corey Perry by finding someone willing to drop the gloves to inject some energy into his team.
He found that dance partner in Nicolas Roy, who, if you recall, had crosschecked Frederic in the face last playoffs. So perhaps there was a little retribution in mind from the Oilers forward, as Frederic landed several punches before Roy hit the ground. That tilt may have energized the team, because Jack Roslovic scored just a minute and a half later.
Against the Dallas Stars, Frederic exchanged words with Jamie Benn, and when a scrum broke out after Josh Samanski tripped Colin Blackwell into the boards, he picked Justin Hryckowian out of the pile. He didn’t drop his gloves but landed several heavy punches. But because Frederic kept his gloves on, he only received a roughing penalty, and Hryckowian, who had been rattling the Oilers all night and mostly just took a beating in the pile, also received a roughing call.
Against the St. Louis Blues, Frederic only played 9:16 on the fourth line, yet showed a textbook example of a fourth-line performance with Adam Henrique and Max Jones, cycling well throughout the night and being physical.
That said, Frederic threw four hits versus the Blues, and when he was on the ice, the shots were 9–0 in Edmonton’s favour, and he posted a 100% expected goals-for percentage according to Natural Stat Trick. And as a whole, he drew the second-most penalties on the road trip, with four.
seanpangs
seanpangs
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Trent Frederic didn’t get to throw punches again tonight, but he was very effective in just 9:16 minutes: •4 hits •2 shots •Drew a penalty •9–0 edge in shots •100 xGF% He's chirping, fighting and scored a big goal on the road trip, Frederic has found another gear

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Overall, Frederic has scored two goals in his last seven games, and he’s chirping, fighting, and playing physically. Dare I say this is the version of Trent Frederic Oilers management envisioned when they re-signed him to his lengthy contract?

Connor Ingram picks up five of six points in road trip starts

The Oilers were waiting for one of their goaltenders, Connor Ingram or Tristan Jarry, to step up and take the reins between the pipes. With Ingram picking up five of a possible six points in his road trip starts, it signals that he’s likely claimed the crease moving forward. He wasn’t flawless, but for the most part, he was steady and composed throughout the trip.
Ingram got the start against the Golden Knights in the first game of the road trip, stopping 24 of 26 shots he faced and posting a .923 save percentage (SV%) in a big win over the Oilers’ Pacific Division rival.
The netminder was playing very solid against the juggernaut Avalanche, stopping 15 of 17 shots, until Nathan MacKinnon collided with him, leaving him bleeding, shaken up, and forced out of the game. MacKinnon was ejected, Tristan Jarry came in to relieve, but the Oilers still pulled off a 4–3 win, with Ingram earning the victory.
That said, if you had asked me immediately after MacKinnon collided with Ingram whether he would start the rest of the road trip, given how heavy the collision was and the blood on his forehead, I would have said, “he’ll be missing some games.” But that wasn’t the case. From what we’ve seen, Ingram is as resilient as they come and was ready to start against the Blues.
Against St. Louis, despite the Oilers outshooting them 29–19, Ingram made some big saves, including a breakaway stop on the Oilers’ power play, and even earned an assist on McDavid’s goal. He allowed three goals — perhaps two he would like back — but still gave his team a chance to win.
If I were to grade Ingram’s performance on the road trip, I’d give him a B. However, he’ll likely need to raise that to a B+ or even an A down the stretch, especially given how poorly his crease partner, Jarry, has been playing.

Matt Savoie steps in seamlessly on the first line against the St. Louis Blues

If you looked at just the stats, you’d see that Oilers forward Matt Savoie had a quiet road trip points-wise, recording only one assist. But, just like Frederic has looked like a different player since the Olympic break, Savoie also seems to be playing with much more confidence — so much so that he looks like a scoring threat on nearly every shift, something he showed even more on the recent road trip.
That said, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins returning to Edmonton for personal reasons before the game against the Blues, Savoie was elevated to the top line to play alongside Connor McDavid —something Liam Horrobin had suggested should happen before the road trip —, and he fit in seamlessly. Throughout the night, he played fetch with the Oilers’ captain, delivered a few nice one-touch passes in stride, and on one breakout, earned an assist when McDavid scored his 37th goal of the season in the third period.
Against the Blues, Savoie led the team with five shots, and the top line of Savoie, McDavid, and Zach Hyman outshot and outchanced the Blues 8–7. Savoie set up Hyman for a dangerous chance, Hyman returned the favour, and with a bit more puck luck, the line could’ve added a couple more goals.
It remains to be seen how much longer Nugent-Hopkins will be out of the lineup, but moving forward, the Oilers should keep Savoie on the top line for a few games to see if he can develop even more chemistry. At the very least, the team now knows that Savoie is a top-line option who can create chances if they need to mix things up in the future.

The Nurse-Murphy pairing showed signs of potential

When the Oilers first acquired Connor Murphy, and before he played his first game with the team, I wrote that he should get a look alongside Darnell Nurse first. We’ve seen Nurse thrive with defensive-minded partners before, and I wanted to see if Murphy could be the next “Nurse Whisperer.”
However, he started his first three games in Oilers’ silks playing with Jake Walman, and that pairing seemed to struggle a bit at five-on-five.
In that span, according to Natural Stat Trick, the Murphy-Walman pairing posted a 27.7% Corsi, were outshot 8–22, and were outchanced 10–30 by the opposition. That said, the weaker link of the pairing was the struggling Walman, and out of necessity, when Ty Emberson left the game against the Avalanche on the road trip, Murphy was moved to play alongside Nurse.
After watching the duo in a small sample on the road trip, I feel there’s real potential with the Nurse-Murphy pairing. They were on for only one power-play goal against, versus the Dallas Stars, but overall, they were steady at five-on-five throughout the tail end of the road trip, including the game against the Stars, where the Oilers suffered a 7–2 shellacking.
Over the last four games, at five-on-five, the Nurse-Murphy pairing played 41:24 minutes together, posted a 51.43% Corsi, and had an 18–15 shot advantage. The only goal they were on for at five-on-five came off a faceoff against the Blues — the puck dropped, was shot, and went in, and there wasn’t much the duo could do on that play.
Nurse had a rough end to February and took some heat for being the main culprit on several goals against. However, he owned up to it and seems to be finding his rhythm — possibly thanks to being paired with Murphy. Though many Oilers fans would probably say, “Stop redirecting shots into your own net, would ya, Darnell?” Nevertheless, he led the team in five-on-five minutes last game, playing 18:40 minutes.
As for Murphy, I’m impressed with what we’ve seen from the blueliner so far. He was brought in to be a defensive specialist, and that’s exactly how he’s played, and it’s refreshing to see an Oiler so focused on the defensive details.
On the road trip, Murphy shut down the opposition off the rush, made big clears in front of the net, and delivered some heavy hits. At the same time, for a big man at 6-foot-4, he’s surprisingly mobile, his edge work looks solid, and he makes a strong first pass. Also, even with very limited playoff experience, he already plays a big-game style of hockey, as we saw against the Avalanche.
Hopefully, the Nurse-Murphy pairing can continue to build on the chemistry they formed on the road trip, because a shutdown pairing of two big behemoths on the back end — both 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds — who can skate, hit, and transition the puck is exactly what the Oilers need.

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