The Edmonton Oilers are on the road for a three-game road trip this week, and the festivities began on Tuesday night with a rematch against the Boston Bruins. The Oilers got the best of the Bruins in the first round of the season series back on December 19th, and they did even better in round two, shutting the home side out by a 4-0 final score.

He may not have gotten credit for the shutout after getting pulled by the concussion spotters in the first period, but Stuart Skinner was perfect on Tuesday night in Boston. He may not have been as busy as his counterpart at the other end of the rink, but some of the 26 saves he made were enormous. There were breakaways, second chances from in tight, and chaos in his crease, but no matter what happened, Skinner stood tall between the pipes and handled his business.

Skinner got hit into the post by a charging Nikita Zadorov late in the first period, and our man stayed down on the ice for a while. As a result, Skinner left the game to get checked out, Zadorov got a two-minute minor for interference, and Calvin Pickard jumped in to wrap up the last 5:25 of the frame. Despite things looking dicey there for a minute, Skinner was able to get back in his crease, refocus, and lead his team to a shutout victory. Even without the credit, Skinner gave the Oilers the kind of goaltending that breeds confidence throughout the lineup and makes it nearly impossible to lose. That’s a tall order against a Bruins lineup with plenty of firepower. And that’s why I’m giving all the love in the world to Stu for a fantastic and gutsy performance between the pipes.

Adam Henrique has been solid for the Oilers defensively this season, but his lack of offence has left many of us wanting. He remedied the issues on Tuesday in Boston with an opening goal that was basically unstoppable. Corey Perry fed Rico with a pass in the slot with enough time to pick his spot, and our handsome hero did not waste the opportunity. He buried that puck like it was his 14th goal of the season and not his 4th. Henrique liked that goal so much that he added another when Jeff Skinner found him in the slot for a wide-open shot. It was beautiful.

We know there’s more offence in there, and as always, I’m hopeful that picking up a big goal against the Bruins can be the start of something good for him. I know I keep repeating myself, but a bunch of guys are starting to heat up a little bit, and it would be a blessing if we could include Adam Henrique in that group. As you can plainly see from the goals he scored, Henrique has more than enough touch to chip in with some offense, and maybe a two-goal game is enough to poke the bear a little bit. I mean, the guy did basically double his goal output on the season, amirite?

You can make it a three-game point streak for Jeff Skinner with the assist he picked up on Adam Henrique’s second goal that came late in the second period. We’ve all been talking about how Skinner fits in with the group if he’s not producing points, but just as that storyline was reaching its peak, the 15-year NHLer put himself on a quiet mini-heater. With a goal and two primary assists in that span, Skinner has found a way to contribute despite limited minutes, and that’s all any of us could hope for.

Skinner played 12:25 after being bumped up to the third line with Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman, and it was the most ice he’s seen since playing 12:58 on December 14th against the Vegas Golden Knights. And with an assist and three shots on goal to go along with a featured role on the most productive line of the night, performances like these will raise his stock with the coaching staff. Who knows how long this little run of his will last, but praising Jeff Skinner for playing well is certainly a nice change of pace after a couple weeks of negativity surrounding him.

1. How good did everyone feel for Connor McDavid after he finally snapped his seven-game goalless drought? I was fist pumping so hard in my living room that I nearly pulled off the Tiger Uppercut from Street Fighter 2. If you’re old enough to know what that means, you’ll know exactly how fired up I was to see the captain bury one.

2. Sticking with McDavid’s goal, the assist by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to put him in alone was a chef’s kiss.

3. The Viktor Arvidsson empty-netter made me happy for a couple of reasons: 1) the Oilers have scored a few empty-netters lately, and that is a win in itself, and 2) he keeps finding ways to be productive. Since coming back from injury, Arvidsson is producing at a point-per-game clip, and that’s a huge win for the Oilers’ top six after the way he struggled earlier in the campaign. This guy can be incredibly effective when he’s at his best, and I could think of no better time for that to happen than down the stretch.

4. Leon Draisaitl’s point streak ended. Sad panda.

5. Here’s Corey Perry getting beat up by Trent Frederic over at HockeyFights if you want to watch the old man get beat up again. Perry kinda hit Frederic in the numbers a little bit, but the Bruin

6. Do faceoff wins still matter in the Eastern time zone? Yes, yes, they do. That’s why I’m here to tell you that the Oilers won 57.4% of the draws they took.

7. How about Bruins fans chanting “Fire Sweeney” to close the game? Things are getting spicy in Boston.

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