That was easily the best game the Edmonton Oilers have played since the 4 Nations Face-Off break. On Thursday evening, the Oilers defeated the Montréal Canadiens 3-2 in overtime to bring their season record to 36-22-4 with 76 points. Let’s take a look at what happened in the game! The Oilers opened the scoring midway through the opening frame, as Max Jones made a terrific pass to Corey Perry, who streaked in on a breakaway and roofed in over the Canadiens netminder for his 14th of the season. After the Oilers failed to convert on a 5 on 3, they turned it over in the neutral zone with about five minutes left in the first period for a breakaway. Stuart Skinner made the initial save on Cole Caufield, but the rebound went right to his stick and he made no mistake.
On their next power play attempt early in the second period, Leon Draisaitl scored his league-leading 46th of the season. Was it from his office? Actually no, as he shot from the other side of the ice and beat the Canadiens netminder through a screen.
Midway through the second period, the Canadiens tied the game again. Rookie defenceman Lane Hutson skated into the zone and with four Oilers watching him, Joel Armia crept into the middle of the slot and beat Skinner with a one-timer.
After nearly costing the Oilers with a turnover (please stop), Evan Bouchard picked up the game-winner as he tapped in a cross-ice pass from Connor McDavid with 6.9 left in overtime. Overall, it was a solid game for the right-shot defenceman. Takeaways…
Max Jones likely earned another look in the lineup. He picked up an assist on Corey Perry’s opening goal but he did far more than that. Late in the second period, he prevented a breakaway with a nice stick check, taking it the other way and creating a chance. He also brought energy to the bottom six, it’s just nice to see. Corey Perry hasn’t just been the best player in the bottom six, but he’s been arguably the best forward aside from Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid this season. The 40-year-old scored his 14th of the season and is now on pace for 19 goals and 29 points, his best season since 2021-22. Edmonton is lucky to have him.
Cam Dineen had a solid game, playing 14:56 of ice time, including some action in overtime. Acquired in the Nick Bjugstad trade before the 2023 trade deadline, he’s a solid depth defenceman for the Oilers, especially after both Mattias Ekholm and John Klingberg were ruled out of the game. Vasily Podklozin was reunited with Leon Draisaitl and it should remain that way for the rest of the season. He’s just a dog on the puck and terrific on the forecheck, turning over numerous pucks. Viktor Arvidsson also had a solid game, getting involved in the forechecking and nearly scoring a goal.
Speaking of Draisaitl, this was the first time the Oilers have won a game that he scored in since Feb. 5 against the Chicago Blackhawks. After being held pointless for four games in mid-January, Draisaitl has 15 goals and 27 points in 17 games since Jan. 18. Give him the Hart Memorial Trophy and Rocket Richard, the race is over. Stuart Skinner had a great game. Neither goal against was his fault and he saved 26 shots on 28 opportunities for a .929 save percentage. Best game in a while for the Oilers’ netminder.
That was the Oilers’ best game since before the break, outshooting the Canadiens 32 to 28. They sit four points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the Pacific Division lead, albeit with an extra game played and far fewer regulation wins (the first tiebreaker). Next up is the trade deadline tomorrow. After that though, they’ll host the Dallas Stars on Saturday at 8 PM MT.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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