It wasn’t pretty, and they nearly blew it, but the Edmonton Oilers picked up the win.
On Wednesday evening, the Oilers played the second of a road back-to-back, this time against the Chicago Blackhawks. Despite blowing a 3-1 lead in the third frame, they were able to pick up the crucial two points. Let’s take a look at what happened in this game.
Like Tuesday, it took a while to get the first goal. Viktor Arvidsson opened the scoring just under nine minutes into the second period with a snipe past Arvid Soderblom. Big props to Mattias Janmark for the work on the play and the nice pass.
Unfortunately, the Blackhawks tied the score at 1-1 in the final seconds of the second period. Kasperi Kapanen wired a shot that missed the net and the Hawks came up ice and scored with just over five seconds left on the clock.
The Oilers bumped Jeff Skinner onto the second line with Leon Draisaitl and they were immediately rewarded as the veteran winger scored his tenth goal of the season early in the third period. Draisaitl got the puck down low and fed Skinner out in front. Maybe this is where Skinner should be playing.
With just over 10 minutes left to go in the game, Draisaitl sniped a shot five-hole on Soderblom to put Edmonton put 3-1. Once again, Skinner factored in this one as he picked up the primary assist.
The Oilers appeared to be cruising to victory but the Hawks made things interesting. Four minutes after Draisaitl’s goal, the Hawks got a power play and capitalized. Another four minutes after that, with just four minutes left in the game, Alec Martinez was left all alone in the faceoff dot and one-timed the game-tying goal past Calvin Pickard.
For the second consecutive game, the Oilers managed to get the win in overtime. While on the power play, Connor McDavid found Zach Hyman in front of the net and the winger made no mistake, burying his 19th goal of the season.
Takeaways…
Leon Draisaitl picked up two points in this game, overtaking Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead in points. Of course, his 38 goals also lead the league. He has a realistic shot to win the Hart, Rocket Richard, and Art Ross trophies this season. Hell, maybe he will even get Selke votes.
Jeff Skinner earned himself another look in the top six, scoring his 10th goal of the season and picking up an assist. This was after a strong defensive performance on the fourth line in Tuesday’s game. The Oilers signed him to be a top-six forward, maybe let him play in the top-six?
Calvin Pickard had a solid game, saving 29 of 32 shots for a .906 save percentage. That doesn’t tell the whole story though, as he made a massive save seven minutes into the third period, robbing a Blackhawk on a cross-crease play.
With the win, the Oilers have a four-point lead over the Vegas Golden Knights with the same number of games played. One thing that could come into play after the end of the season is their regulation wins (the first tiebreaker), as the Oilers have 25 to the Golden Knights’ 28. Just something worth monitoring.
Either way, the Oilers will go into the 4 Nations Face-Off break top of the Pacific Division. Their last game before the break is Friday, as they host the Colorado Avalanche.
If you enjoy my content, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
