The Edmonton Oilers went 9-3-1 in December, capping off 2024 with a 4-1 win over the Utah Hockey Club. Many players are heading into 2025 on a high note, especially Connor McDavid. With a pair of assists against Utah, the captain reached 1,036 career points, climbing to third on the Oilers’ all-time points leaderboard, surpassing Mark Messier.
That said, building off a strong December, the Oilers aim to carry their momentum into the new year. With that in mind, here are the top 10 plays from last month.

McDavid Dangles and Sets up Hyman Against the Blue Jackets

The Oilers were shut out 1-0 by the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 3, but two nights later,  McDavid opened their December scoring with yet another goal for his highlight reel.
Before the game, McDavid was honoured by the Oilers for reaching 1,000 points and with his family and best furry friend, Lenard, in attendance, the captain put on a show. Just over 10 minutes into the game, he picked up a loose puck, juked and toe-dragged around a Blue Jackets defender, and slid the puck to his triggerman, Zach Hyman, who buried it past Daniil Tarasov as a couple of Blue Jackets stumbled around on the play. The Oilers secured a 6-3 win, and the centerman put up a four-point night.

McDavid Scores a Breakaway Beauty vs. Tampa Bay

The Tampa Bay Lightning visited Rogers Place on Dec. 10, where McDavid once again opened the scoring late in the first period. Moments earlier, he had been sent on a breakaway, but his backhand attempt was stopped by Andrei Vasilevskiy. Shortly after, Leon Draisaitl sent him in on another breakaway, sending the captain in all alone.
The Lightning players were caught flat-footed as McDavid charged in with speed and a “not this time, Andrei” mindset and fired the puck over Vasilevskiy’s blocker en route to a 2-1 Oilers win.

Draisaitl Protects Puck and Feeds a Tap-In to Kapanen

The Oilers visited the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 12, looking for their first win there since 2019, and they got it with Draisaitl delivering one of his best performances of the season, posting a four-point night.
With the Oilers leading 1-0 in the first period, the big centerman had a dominating shift with just over four minutes left in the opening frame. He got his legs moving, protected the puck while skating around the Wild zone and completely toyed with Marcus Johansson, who was trying to defend him, before dropping a pass to Kasperi Kapanen, who buried it on a night when the Oilers won 7-1.

Draisaitl Finishes Off a Pretty Passing Play Against Vegas

The Oilers faced the Golden Knights for the second time in 12 days when they visited Rogers Place on Dec. 14th. Edmonton jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the matinee game, and in the second period, they treated the Oilers faithful to a beautiful passing play on their fourth goal.
Mattias Janmark gained the zone, juked across the ice, and fed a pass to Darnell Nurse, who made a nifty move to get past a Golden Knight. Nurse then slid a backhand pass to a wide-open Draisaitl, who finished the play and recorded a three-point night as the Oilers held on for a 6-3 win.

Hyman’s Breakaway Tally Mirrors His Game 6 Goal vs. Florida

The Florida Panthers visited Rogers Place on Dec. 16 for a rematch of last season’s Stanley Cup Final. Hyman scored late in the first period to tie the game, but Matthew Tkachuk netted the go-ahead goal with 27 seconds left in the frame.
Hyman tied the game in the second period, thanks to a great play from the captain at center ice. McDavid made a move to get around a Panther and poked the puck to Hyman while falling. Last season’s 54-goal scorer then skated in alone, faked forehand to backhand, and beat Sergei Bobrovsky, recreating a goal nearly identical to the one he scored on Bobrovsky in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The goal Hyman scored at the time was his seventh in the last six games, and shortly after, he took Evan Bouchard’s point shot to the face, forcing him to leave momentarily before returning with the full face shield, which he has worn since. Unfortunately, the Oilers lost the game 6-5.

McDavid Ties the Game Against the Boston Bruins

The Oilers fell behind by two goals to the Boston Bruins on Dec. 19, but Hyman fired a shot on net in the second period that snuck past Jeremy Swayman to pull within one. Edmonton continued to press for the equalizer, and McDavid came up huge.
The three-time Hart Trophy winner had a relatively quiet night until he woke up with just over two minutes left. Hyman carried the puck in, drew in two Bruins defenders, and made a backhand pass to his centerman. McDavid drove to the outside, past Nikita Zadorov—something he’s done once or twice before during Zadorov’s time with the Calgary Flames—and jammed the puck past Swayman to tie the game 2-2.

Ekholm Scores the OT Winner Against the Bruins

In overtime against the Bruins, the usual trio of McDavid, Draisaitl, and Bouchard had the first shift and could not score. Typically, Nurse would be sent out after Bouchard, but this time, Mattias Ekholm joined the forwards, along with a fresh Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and a tired Draisaitl.
Ekholm head manned the puck up ice, Draisaitl got a shot on net, and Nugent-Hopkins picked up the rebound. He then fed a wide-open Ekholm, who buried his shot past Swayman for the OT winner.

Ekholm Ties the Game Against the San Jose Sharks

On Dec. 21, the San Jose Sharks came to town and led 2-1 since midway through the first period. The Oilers had a 27-17 scoring chances edge on the night, and the score should have been heavily in their favour throughout the game, but Sharks’ netminder Yaroslav Askarov stood tall, making a career-high 39 saves.
Yet, the Oilers kept pressing, and with Stuart Skinner pulled, Corey Perry made a marvellous pass to Ekholm, who was creeping up into the play. Ekholm buried a one-timer from the left face-off circle to tie the game with 17 seconds left, marking his second clutch goal in as many games, and sent it to OT.

Draisaitl Seals the Win for the Oilers vs. the Sharks

The Oilers were heading into OT against the Sharks with all the momentum, and you could just feel they were going to make quick work of their Pacific Division foes.
Edmonton gained first possession, and McDavid received the puck from Bouchard, who danced around Macklin Celebrini like a master teaching a student the ropes. The captain quickly found Draisaitl in the open space, and he made no mistake, burying his 24th goal of the season for the OT winner.

Nugent-Hopkins Finishes off a Nice Passing Play on New Year’s Eve

The Utah Hockey Club made their first-ever visit to Rogers Place on New Year’s Eve, quickly tying the game less than two minutes after the Oilers opened the scoring in the first period.
Just over a minute after Utah tied the game, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins intercepted a pass that landed on Connor Brown’s stick, who’s been red-hot lately. Brown held onto the puck long enough for McDavid to get into position to receive a pass. He then passed it back to Nugent-Hopkins, who finished off a beautiful passing play. Nugent-Hopkins’ goal stood as the game-winner, as the Oilers went on to win the final game of 2024 with a 4-1 score.
With so many spectacular plays last month, which one was your favourite, Oilersnation?