The Edmonton Oilers blew out the Minnesota Wild the last time these two teams met to the tune of a 7-1 finish, and it was the kind of result that was as fun as it was unexpected. And with the home side coming into Wednesday’s contest a little banged up, our boys had the opportunity to earn another big road win against a team that would be without some of its biggest names. And while the road to victory was smooth, the Oilers got the job done with a 5-3 win featuring two separate Edmonton comebacks.

Doesn’t life feel a little brighter when Connor McDavid has goals in consecutive games? I think so. If there is ever a critique on our man, it would be that he passes up chances to shoot the puck in favour of finding a better passing option. As good as he is at executing that plan, the problem happens when he’s passing to someone not nearly as good as him. Because he’s Connor McDavid, there are certainly times when we’d be better off if he shot twice as much as he passes. I’m not critiquing. I just wish he was more selfish sometimes.

Regardless of my wishes for more McGoals, No. 97 handled his end of the bargain with a pair of goals at key moments in the game when the outcome could have turned either way. His first goal of the night tied the game at two apiece at the end of the first period, effectively covering up the early hole the Oilers dug for themselves with undisciplined penalties. His second goal of the night gave the Oilers some insurance near the end of the game to close out the victory. When the Oilers needed a goal, Connor McDavid gave it to them.

How can you not appreciate the way the Oilers managed to come back not once but twice before finally securing the lead and carrying it home to the finish line? It took balls to claw their way back from two and one-goal deficits, but wresting the lead away and securing two points took a different level of resiliency. The boys could have easily thrown in their cards a few times when Minnesota held the lead. Instead, the Oilers kept challenging the Wild’s depleted defensive group until the opportunities started cashing for them.

The Minnesota Wild came into Thursday’s game missing some key pieces on their back end and left the door open for Edmonton to score some goals, provided that they could take advantage of their opponent’s misfortune. I think the boys did a great job of maintaining pressure low in the zone and working the cycle to manufacture the opportunities they needed to battle their way to a win. The Oilers didn’t come back in the game because they were lucky. They got the job done through hard work. That’s why I give the team a bunch of credit for keeping at it even when Minnesota grabbed two separate leads. It shows the character of the group.

I’m not going to sit here on my couch and tell the Oilers how to handle their business, but if I were to do that, I would say to them that taking three penalties in the first 15 minutes of the hockey game probably isn’t the smartest strategy. Not only did those penalties kill the early momentum they were building in the first few minutes, but they found themselves down by a pair of goals before they had even really had a chance to get going.

Obviously, we found out shortly after those two early power play goals were surrendered that the Oilers would erase the two-goal deficit in a span under two minutes, but my point remains the same. Even if Edmonton had managed to kill off all three first periods penalties instead of only the one, that’s still six minutes when your best offensive players are sitting on the bench. I would bet all of Gregor’s money that Knoblauch preached the need for discipline at the intermission because the boys won’t be able to pull off that same two-goal magic trick every time this happens.

1. Make it 12 goals for Zach Hyman since Team Canada announced their 4 Nations roster without him on it. I don’t know how much — if any — of this run is fuelled by revenge, but I’m petty enough to hope that’s the case. I really do. Give me a hate heater any day.

2. I love seeing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins play when he’s dialled in, which has been the case by my eye over the last six weeks or so. The guy went from being on pace for four goals for the year through the first 19 games, to having six goals in his last 10 games and 11 goals in his last 25. That’s a pretty solid run that is flying quietly under the radar because everyone only wants to talk about McDavid and Draisaitl. Sneaky streaking or not, RNH finished the game with a goal and an assist that gives him eight points in his last 10 games. Quiet, reliable, steady. Not to mention, the Oilers are 10-1-1 in games when he scores.

3. I love me a greasy Vasily Podkolzin goal, and that’s what he got in the third period when he tried to make a centering pass only to have the puck deflect into the net off of the Wild defender’s skate. Combine the lucky bounce with Darnell Nurse getting a seemingly free run at the goalie and you’ve got the makings for a greasy go-ahead goal if you’ve ever seen one. Either way, you love to see Podkolzin get a lucky bounce for his sixth goal of the season because of how hard he works on a shift-by-shift basis. If anyone deserves a lucky goal, it’s Podzilla.

4. Some of you may not want to hear it, but Calvin Pickard was fantastic again on Wednesday against the Wild. Our Pal Cal made some massive saves throughout the night — who saw a 2-on-0 breakway save coming — and his .912 save percentage on 34 shots against doesn’t nearly do justice to how well he played. He gave his teammates the kind of goaltending they needed to weather any storm that came their way, and I respect how he tends to do this often even though he doesn’t see much playing time. If that’s not the mark of a solid backup goaltender then I don’t know what is.

5. Looking at the special teams, the Oilers got tagged on two-of-three shorthanded situations they faced. Fortunately, those three first period penalties were the only ones Edmonton took all game, and we were all spared of watching them try and take a fourth crack at it. At the other end of the rink, I’m not sure how or why the Oilers were only given a single power play opportunity — the Wild were hardly angels out there — but the good news is that they were able to score on that lone PP chance anyway.

6. The Oilers were way too sloppy with the puck in the opening half of the second period, and the result was the Wild out-chancing them 6-1 from high danger areas on the ice. Even with the Ryan Hartman goal being more of a mess than a quality scoring chance, the Oilers were way too loose with the puck and were lucky, in my opinion, to have only given up one.

7. With the Oilers facing a back-to-back set on Wednesday and Thursday, Calvin Pickard got the nod for the start against the Minnesota Wild after recording a 29-save win against them back on December 12th.

8. Is it even a post-game article from me if I don’t tell you that the Oilers won 52.5% of the faceoffs? I didn’t think so either.

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