Oh boy, did the Edmonton Oilers ever need that win.
On Tuesday night, the Oilers hosted the Utah Hockey Club, smashing them 7-1 to bring their season record to 40-24-4. Let’s take a look at what happened in this game.
The Oilers had their own power play with just under five minutes left. Shortly after it ended, Nugent-Hopkins saw Zach Hyman all alone in his office, giving him a pass for the easy tap-in and the 2-0 lead.
With three seconds left in the first period, Evan Bouchard made a nice drop pass to a streaking Connor McDavid, who tucked it past the Hockey Club netminder on a breakaway for the 3-0 lead.
Nearly eight minutes into the second period, Mattias Ekholm carried the puck down low looking for a cross-ice pass. He found Hyman as the puck deflected off his body and in.
Midway through the second period, Nugent-Hopkins dropped the puck off to Vasily Podkolzin, who ripped it by the Hockey Club’s netminder for his first goal since the middle of January.
Utah scored before the end of the period but who cares? In the first minute of the third period, Ekholm’s shot from the slot beat the Hockey Club’s netminder for the goal. It’s nice to have him back in the lineup and more on him in the takeaways.
Two minutes later, Viktor Arvidsson scored in his second consecutive game, forcing a turnover in front of the Hockey Club’s net and burying it. That’s all the scoring the Oilers had in the game.

Takeaways…

  • Although the Oilers scored seven goals on the Hockey Club, Leon Draisaitl’s 18-game point streak came to an end in this game. More concerningly, he took a tumble in the second period and didn’t look like himself for the rest of the game. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious.
  • Draisaitl was unable to extend his point streak, but Connor McDavid’s point streak reached 12 games as he scored a goal and had two assists. Zach Hyman returned to the lineup, scoring twice and also picking up an assist.
  • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins should be the Oilers’ third-line centre moving forward. After the first two goals, he had been involved in the Oilers past five goals, picking up four primary assists and a goal of his own. He’s seemingly found chemistry alongside Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson. Podkolzin’s goal was his first since Jan. 15, while Arvidsson scored goals in back-to-back games for the second time as an Oiler.
  • When Trent Frederic returns, he should be played alongside Draisaitl and Corey Perry. Yes, the 39-year-old Corey Perry deserves to be in the top six, he’s had an incredible season
  • On the fourth line, Kasperi Kapanen had a terrific game, generating by my count four odd-man rushes in this game with his speed. It was also partially due to the Hockey Club having terrible defence in the game but Kapanen was buzzing. Mattias Janmark played alongside him, generating a breakaway on the penalty kill and actually hitting the net this time.
  • On the backend, Mattias Ekholm is back. He scored a goal and picked up two assists, finishing with a +3 in this game. Evan Bouchard had an assist and was a +4 while Darnell Nurse was physical and even dropped the mitts with a tough customer in Jack McBain. 
  • Jake Walman blocked six shots for a second consecutive game. Since joining the team, he has led or tied the Oilers defence in blocks in all but one game. He also played on the right side along with Nurse and looked good.
  • Calvin Pickard had a sneaky good game between the pipes, saving 30 of 31 shots for a .968 save percentage. It’s the third consecutive game the Oilers netminder finished with a save percentage of .955 or higher. This is a great development.
  • The Oilers return to action on Thursday in a rematch of their season opener where they lost 6-0. With the win tonight, the Oilers have moved to just two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the division lead, albeit with an additional game played.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.