The Oilers stomped the Kraken 9-4 on Thursday night for their first runaway offensive outing of the season, and I think we were all hopeful it was a sign the team was finally turning a corner. As annoying as October and November were to re-live for the third straight year, Edmonton is starting to look more like the winning hockey club we expected them to be this whole time. And with the boys showing signs of getting their swagger back, the struggling Winnipeg Jets looked like the perfect next victim on the path to rebuilding some momentum. And much to our delight, the Oilers worked the Jets from start to finish and came through with a convincing 6-2 win.

Can we talk about the Oilers’ third jerseys? Not only is the team perfect so far when they wear these things, but their last two games have ended in complete dismantlings of their opponent. It’s like these uniforms hold a gift from the Hockey Gords that grants the Oilers magical powers that eliminate their urge to cough up the puck while throwing in a few depth goals as the cherry on top. Over the last six periods, Edmonton has put 15 goals on the board while giving up only six, and if we’re being honest, it’s hard not to look for answers since these last two wins against Seattle and Winnipeg have been so abnormal in the broader context of the season. It’s the jerseys, my friends. The jerseys have some kind of Oilers magic in them.

I don’t know why the Gords chose to give us this sneaky gift, but I certainly appreciate having them come through in a time of need. Of course, some of you will think I’m crazy. Losing my mind. But let me ask you this… if the boys suddenly remember how to play clean, connected hockey every time they pop these babies on, are we really going to pretend it’s just some coincidence? Are we really going to ignore what our eyeballs watched over these last two days? Two games in a row? Both blowouts? Because I’m not saying the jerseys are blessed, but I’m also not saying they aren’t. All I know is that the moment those thirds hit the ice, the turnovers dry up, the depth scoring appears, and everyone skates around like they’ve just unlocked a hidden stat boost. You tell me what that means.

Watching Matt Savoie start to produce offensively has been one of the best parts of this recent Oilers turnaround. With his goal against Winnipeg on Saturday and the two he scored against Seattle on Thursday, he’s picked up four goals and five points in his last six games. For a rookie who spent the early part of the season finding his footing at the NHL level, that’s meaningful progress. He’s always been getting to good spots, but now he’s shooting with confidence, manufacturing scoring chances, and he looks far more in his top-six role than he did even a couple of weeks ago. The 17-goal pace as of this morning is a strong landing zone for a 21-year-old rookie, but more than the number, it’s the growth in his game that stands out. He’s starting to play like someone who knows he belongs.

And the more I watch him, the more I think he has room to push this run even further. The reads off Draisaitl are getting sharper. He’s attacking the middle of the ice almost every shift he gets. He’s winning battles in the tough areas where he wasn’t necessarily winning them earlier in the year. If he keeps stacking games like this, I don’t see why twenty goals is out of the question as he continues to get more comfortable. The tools and the instincts have always been there. What we’re seeing now is the confidence catching up with each additional at-bat. These aren’t one-off flashes either. They’re repeatable habits starting to form, and those are the small details that matter most for a young player. If this is the beginning of Savoie finding his scoring touch, then we’re watching the early steps of a very promising back half of his season.

In these last two jersey-blessed wins, the Oilers have gotten from Curtis Lazar, David Tomasek, and Mattias Janmark, and I cannot even begin to express how exciting it is to have consecutive games with bottom-six goals on the board. The Oilers are going to be top-heavy with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the roster, but those guys can’t play all 60 minutes, and Edmonton needs contributions throughout the lineup if they’re going to climb out of the hole they dug for themselves. Easing the pressure on the big dogs is not only a luxury, but it’s also crucial to the team’s goals and success. And to this point in the season, the team has been getting demolished when these guys are out there, so seeing some success down there has been a wonderful surprise.

And if we’re being honest with ourselves, the timing couldn’t be better. The Oilers desperately needed something to spark the bottom six, and apparently, all it took was throwing on the magical alternate jerseys and letting the Hockey Gords do their thing. I’m not saying the thirds are directly responsible for this recent surge in depth production, but I’m also not ruling it out. As I stated above, no one has been able to prove that these jerseys aren’t carrying some kind of pro-Oilers voodoo. What matters is that the weight isn’t falling entirely on Connor and Leon right now. The supporting cast is finally giving them a breather, and if these depth goals keep showing up even half as often as they have in these jersey-powered wins, the Oilers are going to be in a much better spot than they were over the first two months of the year.

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