The Edmonton Oilers squared off against the Seattle Kraken Saturday without Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the lineup, and the question everyone had on their mind was how the rest of the team would step up in their absence. Kris Knoblauch may have been confident, but the rest of us were cautiously optimistic. Up for the challenge, the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-led Oilers came through with a hard-fought 5-4 victory for their ninth-straight win over Seattle.

With the big dogs out for a week or so due to injury, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was locked in as the Oilers’ first line centre for the first time in years. My guy hasn’t filled that slot in more than a minute, but since he’s the resident Swiss Army Knife around here, it was no surprise to see him slide up there in a time of need. What I didn’t necessarily suspect was that he’d go out and produce like a first line centre, popping his 4th career hat trick on five shots in 23:02 of TOI. Everyone around here knows how much I love RNH, but even I wouldn’t have seen this heater coming.

With two points against the Kraken, Nugent-Hopkins has nine points (4G, 5A) in his last four games and is unquestionably playing his best hockey of the season. There’s been a lot of talk throughout the season about needing Nuge to pick things up on the offensive side of his game, and it’s been fantastic to see that part of his game come to life over the last few nights. Even better is how he’s making it happen on the newly formed line with Viktor Arvidsson and Vasily Podkolzin.

Jeff Skinner was one of the primary beneficiaries of the open minutes left by McDavid and Draitil, and the veteran winger did not waste the opportunity. Skinner sniped his third goal in his last two games with a beautifully placed wrister from the slot at 12:31 of the second period when Connor Brown found him wide-open with all kinds of time to make a play. Even with all the time in the world, Skinner had that puck off his stick before Daccord could even figure out what was happening.

It hasn’t been the easiest season for Jeff Skinner. The guy has been in and out of the lineup probably for the first time in his entire career, but he seems to be taking it all in stride despite the challenges. While there’s obviously something in his game that rubs Kris Knoblauch the wrong way, there’s no denying that Skinner has been productive when he’s had the chance to play. The 18:38 he played was a season-high by a sizeable margin and over six minutes more than his 12:28 season average. After Thursday’s game against the Jets, I wondered if Skinner’s knack for scoring goals can make him an irreplaceable depth option in the lineup, and with goals in back-to-back games, you’d have to think he’s taking steps in that direction.

In Saturday’s GDB and every game-day preview you could find, there was a line or two about how the rest of the Oilers’ lineup needed to step up with their superstars on the shelf. The Pacific Division standings are getting tighter by the day, and the only way for the Oilers to stay in the mix for first place and avoid slipping into third was to find a way to win despite being shorthanded. One of the guys who stepped up was Adam Henrique. Like many of his teammates, Henrique is having a slower-than-expected season offensively, but you wouldn’t have known it with the laser beam of a shot he roofed up and over Joey Daccord.

Henrique got an opportunity on the first power play unit due to the absence of McDavid and Draisaitl, and he made good on the chance late in the first period with a shot that very few goaltenders can stop. Henrique got a good chunk of his goals in Anaheim playing on the man advantage, and I appreciate how he wasted no time before ripping his shot, as if he’s been scoring those kinds of goals all year. Despite having nine goals this season, there is more offence in Adam Henrique that we haven’t seen enough of yet. I hope having additional opportunities over the next few games will be the key to unlocking consistency. He’ll have a chance for more minutes, and I hope he keeps finding ways to be productive with these extra minutes.

1. How about Paul Bissonnette getting “assless chaps” and “lubed up deaf guy” on the Hockey Night in Canada panel? I’m sure there will be some folk in northern Saskatchewan who were watching who had never heard such words before.

2. On Thursday night against Winnipeg, I complained about Darnell Nurse’s giveaway at the blue line, which resulted in an odd-man rush and eventual goal. Evan Bouchard made the same mistake on Saturday on Kappo’s second goal. Instead of making a simpler play toward the boards, Bouchard tried to put the puck in the middle of the ice, where it was intercepted and turned into a breakaway.

3. Speaking of Darnell Nurse, his two-assist night gives him four helpers in his last two games.

4. If the Oilers are going to survive this stretch without their two biggest stars, we’re going to need better from Stuart Skinner than a .871 save percentage on 31 shots. To be fair, that save percentage was better than the .857 by Daccord at the other end. I know Stan Bowman defended the goaltending on After Hours, but I think it’s going to be a conversation until the two guys we have can consistently prove that it’s not.

5. Looking at the special teams, the Oilers got a pair of goals from their newly formed PP1 unit on five opportunities with the man advantage. At the other end of the rink, the penalty kill had a disappointing night after allowing two goals on three shorthanded situations.

6. The NHL box score has the Oilers’ giveaway number at three. That number seems light to me unless my eyeballs lied to me on more than a few occasions.

7. Kasperi Kapanen registered his first point since February 7th against the Colorado Avalanche.

8. Without two of our centres in the lineup, how would the Oilers fare in the faceoff dot? I feared the worst, and the Oilers squashed those fears with a monstrous 55.8% win rate on the dot. The boys were digging in on draws, and you know how much I love to see them start plays with possession.

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