It doesn’t matter if the Edmonton Oilers are 3-0 down, they’re the best darn team in the world. The Avalanche opened the scoring just over five minutes into the game, as Logan O’Connor made a strong move from the boards, beating Stuart Skinner across the goal to put it past the Oilers’ netminder.
Midway through the period, Nathan MacKinnon got to the middle of the ice and put a laser of a shot on Skinner, handcuffing the netminder to extend Colorado’s lead.
MacKinnon was at it less than two minutes later, as he embarrassed Evan Bouchard to earn a breakaway, beating Skinner five-hole for the third Avalanche goal of the game.
In the final minute of the first period, Viktor Arvidsson scored a Ryan Smyth-esque slapshot, deflecting off the Avalanche defender’s stick and past Mackenzie Blackwood to give the Oilers some life.
Just over six minutes into the second period, Brett Kulak’s seeing-eye shot from the point beat Blackwood, bringing the Oilers within one. Credit to Corey Perry for taking the Avalanche netminder’s eyes away with a terrific screen.
With five minutes left in the middle frame, McDavid received a juicy rebound, palming the puck to himself and beating Blackwood blocker side to tie the game up at three.
With just under seven minutes left in the game, McDavid fed Evan Bouchard with a nasty pass from behind the net, with the defenceman wiring home the puck to score his eighth of the season.
Takeaways…
The Oilers have had some tough starts lately. They went down 3-0 in this game, down 2-0 in the games against the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks, and were down 3-0 in the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Over the last five games, the only game where they didn’t go down by at least two was their 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
Coming into Jan. 7th’s game against the Boston Bruins, Connor McDavid had been held goalless in his past seven games (albeit with nine assists). However, he’s gotten going lately, scoring five goals in his past six games.
Stuart Skinner had a rough period, allowing three goals on his first five shots in the first period. The Oilers’ netminder buckled down after that, including a huge save on the Oilers’ power play to keep the game tied at three. Overall, he saved 22 shots on 25 opportunities for an .890 save percentage
If you’ve read my articles before, you know I’m a pretty big fan of the Avalanche netminder Mackenzie Blackwood. Unfortunately, they got him from the Sharks and he’s been terrific since. Well, this was the first time in 13 games since joining the Avalanche that he’s allowed more than two goals in a game.
After starting the season 0-3-0 in the second game of back-to-backs, the Oilers are now 5-4-0. Speaking of records, with the win, the Oilers moved their record to 28-13-3 with 61 points, moving into a tie with the Vegas Golden Knights. The 2023 Stanley Cup champions have one fewer game played.
The Oilers return to action on Saturday at 8:00 PM MT, as they head to Vancouver to face the dysfunctional Canucks. Big win, and let’s hope they can continue their winning ways.
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