The Edmonton Oilers went 2-1-0 in three games last week, improving to 31-15-3 on the season. With their win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon, they claimed the top spot in the Pacific Division for the first time in five years.

A couple of highlights from last week included Zach Hyman ditching his full face shield and recording a three-point night against the Vancouver Canucks, as well as Stuart Skinner making 39 saves to secure the two points for the Oilers in their win over the Buffalo Sabres.

With Connor McDavid out of the lineup for three games last week due to suspension, several players stepped up in his absence. Let’s take a look at them in this week’s edition of Three Stars.

Without McDavid in the lineup, more pressure was put on Leon Draisaitl to rise to the occasion—and he did so almost immediately against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 21.

Draisaitl opened the scoring, beating Logan Thompson with a slick backhand using his big paddle. He also picked up a secondary assist on Corey Perry’s goal—though the primary helper went to none other than a tray of rogue nachos. Despite the centerman’s efforts, including a team-high 23:41 of ice time and going an impressive 62% in the faceoff circle, Thompson’s 30 saves proved to be the difference-maker.

In the second game sans McDavid against the Canucks, this season’s potential Hart Trophy winner delivered the goods with a three-point night, while leading all forwards in ice time (21:55 TOI). He hammered the puck past Thatcher Demko on the power play while falling and spent the night dishing pucks on a silver platter and his play on the opening goal is a prime example of how confident Draisaitl is right now.

In a game filled with high emotion, the Temu version of public enemy #1, Conor Garland, was pressuring the centerman in the Oilers’ zone. Instead of making the safe and conventional pass to his D-men, Draisaitl put on the brakes and tossed a 68-foot backhand pass to Zach Hyman, who barreled toward the net and scored. It was just an incredible play all around.

Unfortunately, Draisaitl’s eight-game point streak came to an end in the win over Buffalo, but that wasn’t for the lack of chances, especially a rare miss for him on the empty net with 40 seconds left. Nevertheless, the 29-year-old is oh-so-close to taking over the league lead in points from Nathan MacKinnon, and with Mikko Rantanen now traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, you’d have to think Draisaitl’s chances of claiming the top spot just got even better.

While Draisaitl recorded the most points last week, we’re awarding the Oilers’ Second Star of the Week to Corey Perry for his impact in the three games, which included getting under the skin of an entire NHL team.

Fresh off writing an article highlighting how Perry, despite averaging the fewest minutes among the team’s regulars, still makes a solid impact in his limited ice time, the grizzled vet responded with a ‘hold my beer, because you ain’t seen nothing yet’ performance throughout three games.

Perry scored a beautiful one-timer tally against the Capitals and as we all know, it was ‘nacho’ average goal. Against the Canucks, the gamesmanship grandmaster played a crucial role. He picked up an assist on the 3-0 goal off some hard work along the boards, and while Hyman scored the Oilers’ fourth goal, it all started with Perry’s hard forecheck, forcing Teddy Blueger to turn over the puck.

Moreover, Perry was a force away from the puck. He drew a penalty in the first period which the Oilers capitalized on and his actions in the second period is where he really rattled the Canucks.

Back in September, WWE’s ‘Smackdown’ visited Rogers Place, and Perry had a front-row seat. It seemed like he took a few notes from the show, with the way he picked Canucks captain Quinn Hughes out of the scrum, lifted him, and slammed him to the ground—setting off a chain reaction. For example, J.T. Miller had words with him, and Mark Friedman was handed a 10-minute misconduct for going after Perry.

Additionally, Blueger got into a scuffle with Perry and timidly punched the Oilers veteran a couple of times. But the savvy vet just stood there, taking punches, fully aware of his intentional actions—keep the gloves on, bait Blueger into the two-minute penalty, then have a good laugh at him from the bench. It was a masterclass of mind games from Perry.

Also, two days later against Buffalo, Perry didn’t register a point, but he played a key role by being a pest in front of the net. He drew a D-man to him and created a disturbance, which allowed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to bury the rebound for the tying goal.

Corey Perry, in my opinion, will one day be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He’s won at every level, is a former 50-goal scorer, a Hart Trophy winner, and a Rocket Trophy winner. But when he walks up to give his speech, you can be sure that at least one memory of his ‘gamesmanship ’-like tactics will run through everyone’s minds, as there have been many over the years. And for Oilers fans, who once jeered him but now cheer for him, they’re collecting unforgettable memories of him executing his professional pest moves, while doing so in an Oilers jersey.

McDavid’s three-game suspension left a void, and Nugent-Hopkins stepped up to fill it as best as he could, scoring three goals and adding an assist over the three games, earning the Oilers’ First Star of the Week.

The Burnaby, BC native was held pointless in the loss to the Capitals, and the Oilers’ power play as a whole looked lost without their captain. Before the game against the Canucks, I joined the ‘Pre Gaming with Bordzy’ show and we highlighted that more movement was key to the Oilers’ PP success. I mentioned that Nugent-Hopkins, who once QB’d the Oilers’ power play over a decade ago, needed to tap into more of that playmaking mindset in McDavid’s absence—and he did just that.

He was fluid with the puck, using his edges to create space. He picked up an assist with a sweet dish on Draisaitl’s PP goal and pulled off a smooth give-and-go with him before wiring a wrist shot high glove past Demko in the 6-2 win. Overall, Nugent-Hopkins played the second-most minutes among Oilers forwards (19:28 TOI) against the Canucks, while going 50% in the faceoff circle.

Additionally, the man the Oilers call ‘Nuggy’ was the hero of the matinee matchup against the Sabres, scoring both the tying goal and the eventual game-winner, the latter of which he simply roofed. Both goals came from him using his high hockey IQ, reading the play correctly and driving hard to the net.

Without McDavid for three games, Nugent-Hopkins answered the call.

Just last week, I mentioned that I thought Nuge’s best days of centering a line and producing offence were behind him, but the 31-year-old is proving he can still be defensively responsible down the middle while scoring clutch goals. He’s tallied 13 points in his last 15 games and hopefully, he can keep this up, as it would be a massive asset if he can play center in the playoffs if the Oilers need a fresh look.

Other Oilers registered more points than Kasperi Kapanen in the team’s three games last week, but he deserves the honourable mention for his significant contributions despite playing one of the least amount of minutes on the team. For example, he played just over 10 minutes against the Capitals but led the team with five hits.

Moreover, Kapanen’s speed was a factor against the Canucks where on one play, he raced to the net, fired, and scored off his rebound. Two days later, he earned an assist on Nugent-Hopkins’ game-tying goal, setting up the play with a spin-o-rama and wraparound move. All in all, Kapanen has been a great pickup, and his versatility to play anywhere in the lineup will be a valuable asset come postseason time.

With that in mind, with the captain set to return against the Seattle Kraken, which Oiler do you think stepped up the most during McDavid’s three-game absence?