Sure, there are injuries to key players from the recent Stanley Cup Finals, forcing them out of tonight’s game. But as long as the Edmonton Oilers are playing a team wearing Florida Panthers’ jerseys, the game means more.

The Oilers didn’t paint a Picasso against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night, but withstood mistakes to win 5-3 and notch two more points in the Pacific Division hunt.

Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers are in a makeshift Philadelphia 76ers tank-a-thon, playing out the business of the games, as winning is not top of mind. They’ve begun this western road trip with resounding losses to Seattle and Vancouver and sit second last in the Eastern Conference.

No Brad Marchand, no Sam Reinhart, and all season long, no Sasha Barkov. But it will be Matthew Tkachuk’s first time playing the Oilers, who are a Leon Draisaitl-less club until the end of the regular season.

The Oilers gutted out an important win back in November for their morale in the first rematch since Game 6 last June.

Revenge is nice, yes. Two points, continuing to climb the standings, that’s what’s crucial in the here and now.

Max-imum depth

It’s an NFL gambling adage to bet a team in the first week playing with a backup quarterback, because the team rides an emotional high and gets above-average performances from depth pieces.

The same could be applied to how the Oilers responded to the Draisaitl news on Tuesday, the latest in a steady stream to the infirmary.

Max Jones drew into the lineup with the vacancy and scored the game-winner. Adam Henrique had two assists, his first points since December 29. Connor Murphy scored on a seemingly harmless point shot.

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Those contributions had Oilers fans feeling good in the wake of the news.

“We talked about how no one guy is going to replace him. It’s something we’re going to have to do collectively from here to the end of the season and see where that takes us,” said Henrique post-game.

Max Jones had a goal, two shots, and four hits in just 6:56 of ice-time. His inclusion in the lineup can be another answer if the Panthers want to ask rambunctious questions.

Quietly effective

The line of Vasily Podkolzin, Josh Samanski, and Kasperi Kapanen played a very responsible game. Podkolzin scored in the middle of a change for the fourth line on a Henrique feed, but that trio was solid nonetheless. Together they outchanced opponents 4-2, and had an expected goal percentage of 66.29 per cent.

Samanski played double-digit minutes for the third time in his last four games. The rookie is playing a wise game, with few visible mistakes. It’s only a matter of time before Samanski scores his first NHL goal, but he won’t chase to get it.

And that’s just fine, because he’s earning more trust from coach Kris Knoblauch.

Meanwhile, no pronouncement has been made in goal for Edmonton. There’s an argument that they could turn to Tristan Jarry, since the remaining five games in March are all against playoff teams. But I wouldn’t be in a hurry to yank Ingram from the crease.

He’s now 4-0-1 in his last six starts, with a .898 save percentage and a 2.50 goals-against average. In the last five games, his five-on-five save percentage is 15th best in the NHL.

Should Stan Bowman be preparing a cost-effective extension?

Playing out the stretch

Florida was riding a three game win streak – then they flew west. Now, they’ve surrendered 11 goals against on the roadtrip in Seattle and Vancouver, with an uncharacteristically lax defensive effort.

“We left guys alone three times in front of our net,” said coach Paul Maurice of the Canucks chances. “I don’t remember ever seeing that.”

After three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances, a long off-season awaits. Sam Reinhart won’t play on this roadtrip. Brad Marchand might be done for the season after being put on LTIR. They are 1-2 in team scoring this year.

However, Seth Jones is back after a broken collarbone injury forced him to miss the Olympics, and 26 NHL games. He played 20:16 of ice-time upon his return in Vancouver.

“It’s nice to have Jonesy (Seth Jones) back. He’s a big piece of our team,” said pending free agent goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

He achieved a major milestone of 800 games played Tuesday, which is rarified air amongst netminders all-time. The two-time Vezina Winner has not been so sharp this season, however, with a career low .876 save percentage. In fact, Bobrovsky is 88th out of 93 NHL goaltenders this season in Goals Saved Above Expected at -12.1, according to Moneypuck.

However, the tank-a-thon is on because the Panthers, mysteriously, will keep their first-round pick due to top-10 protected conditions in the Seth Jones trade, which only became public in recent months. They sit 8th worst in the standings at the moment.

The Panthers haven’t picked in the first round since 2021.

Notes:

Sam Bennett missed the first game of the trip, but returned against the Canucks and lit the lamp, making it goals in back-to-back appearances. In his last eight games, he’s scored six tallies. It’s a career year for Bennett, fresh off the Conn Smythe Trophy.
He has an identical 25 goals and 51 points to 2024-25 and will set a new regular-season high for points with just one more. Three goals would tie his career-high.
Matthew Tkachuk has 22 points in 20 games since making his season debut on January 19.
Bobrovsky surpassed Nikolai Khabibulin for the most games played by a Russian goaltender. That’s the 18th most all-time.
St. Albert native Mike Benning just made his NHL debut, and has one assist in three career games. The former Sherwood Park Crusader blueliner is the best AJHL defenceman I’ve seen post-Cale Makar. I’m sure friends and family will be in full force at Rogers tonight.
Kris Knoblauch said the Oilers will “play with it” in terms of who fills Draisaitl’s absence on the top powerplay unit. Last game it was Matt Savoie. Will that remain?
Connor McDavid needs just two more goals to reach 400 in his career. Two more points, currently at 115 to lead the NHL, and he’ll achieve the fourth highest single-season point total of his career.
McDavid has nine goals and 28 points in 16 career regular-season games vs Florida.
Do we see AJ Greer run around again? Is Trent Frederic ready for round two?
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ 10th powerplay goal on Tuesday is just the second time in his career he’s scored double-digit goals on the man advantage.
With goals in back-to-back games, Zach Hyman is away one away from third 30-goal season of his career.
Florida hasn’t been in Edmonton since Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 14, a game I’d like permanently erased from my memory.

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and has been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, he also collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.