THE BRIGHT SIDE
- Zach Hyman opened the scoring (1-0) with a breakaway deke to his backhand after Evan Bouchard sent him in alone with a beautiful stretch pass.
- Tyson Barrie pulled the Oilers back to within one (3-2) with a lucky goal after his point shot took a few friendly bounces before finally sneaking past Jarry.
- Evander Kane tied the game (3-3) late in the second period after Leon Draisaitl fed him with a nifty pass in the slot that he wasted no time ripping through the goaltender. Kane took a few games to get going, but with two goals in his last three games, I’m thinking the big man is starting to feel it again.
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins restored Edmonton’s lead (4-3) with a quick, one-touch shot from the slot after Hyman found him at the goal mouth with a pass to tee off on. With the goal and the assist on Barrie’s power play marker, Nugent-Hopkins finds himself with seven points (3G, 4A) in his last four games. My boy is looking good right now.
- Leon Draisaitl added a fourth straight goal for the Oilers (5-3) with a beautiful individual effort that saw him dangle the defenceman before ripping a backhander past Jarry down low. How about another casual three-point night for Leon? Dude is ridiculous and we’re so lucky to have him.
- Ryan McLeod iced the game with a quick snap from in tight (6-3) after Derek Ryan set him up with a lane to the net and all the time in the world to pick his spot. As always, McLeod is the greatest cloud since the cumulus. Thank you.
- I don’t care what anybody says, Jack Campbell has been part of the solution for this hockey team, and there was no greater example of that than the way he held the Oilers in the game in the first period. Yeah, he’d probably like to have that goal by Rust back, but had it not been for Campbell then the Oilers would have never won this hockey game. From start to finish, Soup gave his team a chance to win and he also did a wonderful job of locking things down when it matters most. Campbell finished the night with 32 saves and a .914 save%.
- I really liked Darnell Nurse’s game and actually think he’s been solid all season. I know that people are always going to point to his contract, but from my side of the TV screen, I’ve been happy with his play so far.
- You have to love seeing the power play get back on track (1/3) after getting shut out on Saturday afternoon against St. Louis. I know they only got one PP in that game, but you know what I mean.
- The Oilers set a new franchise record in the second period when they fired 26 shots on Tristan Jarry.
- After getting heavily outshot in the first period, the Oilers started firing pucks from everywhere and it carried them to a 47-34 win on the shot clock.
- How can you not love to see the boys win 54% of the faceoffs?
PRESENTED BY BETWAY
THE FACE PALMERS
- Rickard Rakell tied the game (1-1) with a power play snipe from the high slot that beat Campbell up and over the glove. Initially, I thought that there might have been some interference in Campbell’s crease, but the replay quickly squashed my hopes and dreams of a Woody challenge.
- Less than two minutes after Rakell knotted the score, Sidney Crosby gave the Penguins the lead (2-1) after a ridiculous passing play that started with Tristan Jarry bombing the puck out of Pittsburgh’s zone and ultimately into an odd-man rush. It was a weird goal and a beautiful one all at the same time.
- Bryan Rust increased Pittsburgh’s lead to a pair (3-1) on a second-chance play after he picked up his own rebound near the circle and banked his second shot in off Campbell as he was trying to slide back into position.
- Connor McDavid left the game early in the second period after crashing into the post and it was clear that he was in some discomfort because this is not a guy that stays down unless there’s a problem. The good news is that he only missed a single shift, but that moment without him was still too scary for my liking.
- Six games played, six games with at least a goal given up on the penalty kill. Not good, my friends. That said, it wasn’t all bad as the Oilers killed off four straight penalties after allowing a goal on the first shorthanded situation of the night.
- The NHL site had the Oilers listed with 15 giveaways but I feel like they got more than that in the first period alone.
SCORING SUMMARY
#GOODCONTENT
— Hank (@take_it2theHank) October 25, 2022
@jsbmbaggedmilk look a greasy goal form the oil
— Jason S.🇺🇦🇨🇦 (@jay_saby) October 25, 2022
Connor McDavid is back on the bench
— Tyler Yaremchuk (@tyleryaremchuk) October 25, 2022
Pretty sure this is @jsbmbaggedmilk right now pic.twitter.com/DrjbzGOgPk
— The Bearded Brad (@The_BeardedBrad) October 25, 2022
Challenge accepted apparently
— Kraken Up North (@KrakenUpNorth) October 25, 2022
I am in complete agreeance with you baggedmilk!
— SPARTAN2693 (@spartan2693) October 25, 2022
Resurgence #YearOfNuge
— (Formerly known as) Matt the Framer (@fivestargc) October 25, 2022
You can't be cirrus right now bro
— Schmiddy The GOAT (@SchmiddyG) October 25, 2022