The Edmonton Oilers returned the favour. After suffering their worst loss of the season in Columbus a few weeks ago, the Oilers hosted the Blue Jackets and cruised to an easy 6-3 win.
The Blue Jackets opened the scoring just over two minutes into the game. Defenceman Mikael Pyyhtia took a shot from the point and the puck took multiple bounces off a few players in front of the net to beat Calvin Pickard and put Columbus in front 1-0.
In the middle of the first frame, Zach Hyman knotted the game at 1-1 after Connor McDavid dangled past a Blue Jacket defender. The goal was Hyman’s fourth of the season and it came in his first game back after missing a few with an undisclosed injury.
After a tight first period, the Oilers completely took control of the game in the second. Leon Draisaitl put Edmonton up 2-1 after taking a pass from Connor McDavid completely alone in Columbus’ zone.
The Blue Jackets challenged the play for goaltender interference and lost it, sending the Oilers to the power play. The second unit was sent out and Mattias Ekholm converted, taking a shot and picking up his own rebound to put Edmonton in front by a score of 3-1.
The Oilers extended their lead to 4-1 a few minutes later. They broke the puck up ice quickly and Zach Hyman converted on a three-on-two opportunity with his second goal of the game.
The Jackets cut the lead in half later in the second frame, but the Oilers restored their three-goal lead late before the period came to an end. Jeff Skinner picked off a pass deep in the Blue Jackets’ zone and buried his fifth goal of the season.
Once again, the Jackets cut the Oilers lead down to two thanks to a seeing-eye shot by Cole Sillinger a few minutes into the third, but a laser from Draisaitl made it a 6-3 game. The goal was Draisaitl’s 19th of the season, which is tied for the league lead.
Takeaways…
The Oilers killed off the two penalties they took and have now killed off all penalties in 10 of their last 11 games. Moreover, their power play scored twice in five opportunities. The special teams are clicking on full cylinders now.
Connor McDavid had a terrific game, as you can imagine. He picked up four assists, while Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl each had two goals. Adam Henrique, Evan Bouchard, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins picked up two assists, while Jeff Skinner had an assist and a goal.
Calvin Pickard didn’t have a great game statistically, as he only saved 19 shots on 22 opportunities for an .864 save percentage. However, the first two goals were incredibly flukey, and he couldn’t see the third one. It was a solid night for Edmonton’s backup goaltender.
The Oilers return to action on Saturday night, as they host Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, and the St. Louis Blues for the nightcap of Hockey Night in Canada.
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