Tuesday night wasn’t easy for anyone.

Tristan Jarry, Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak had the band-aid ripped off, facing off against their former teams just days after a massive trade shook both the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

There was no shortage of storylines heading into the game: the trade, Leon Draisaitl chasing point 1,000, McDavid vs. Crosby, et al.

Skinner found himself on the short end of the stick. Not only did Draisaitl get point 1,000, he got up to 1,003 with a four-assist night as Connor McDavid added a pair of goals and assists for a four-point night of his own in Edmonton’s 6-4 win.

And after Zach Hyman banged in a loose puck on the power play that notched Draisaitl’s 1,000th, the Oilers bench cleared and celebrated with him — a mere five feet away from where Skinner stood awkwardly in his crease.

“Bittersweet,” said Skinner after the game from the Penguins’ locker room. “Obviously, I was his teammate for a long time, and whenever anyone gets 1,000 points, you’re going to congratulate them. But I would’ve rather it not be on me.

“I think the face (my first game) was the Oilers makes it a little bit more of a hype, more of something that everybody is going to be talking about. It was a little nerve-wracking.”

It wasn’t easy on the otherside, either.

“I always advocate for the human side of it,” said McDavid. “You know, the storylines were endless for the media and the fans tonight. You know, whatever you guys wanted to write about, you could write about, so. But as people, you know, that’s what we are at the end of the day, you know, it’s emotional.

“You know, Stu’s got a young family, Kuly’s got a young family moving across the continent. You know, Jarry is the same thing, you know, and then they build relationships, obviously, with those guys — Jars with those guys, Kuly and Stu here. So I’m sure it was emotional night for all three of them, and I’m sure they’re glad it’s over.”

Not only can all the players involved move on, but the Oilers get to move on from trying to get Draisaitl’s 1,000th point. And much like the Oilers had a shirt made for Connor McDavid when he scored his 1,000th, they did for Draisaitl, too.

This one, however, took it up a notch, as a photo of Draisaitl with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, captured during his wedding last summer, donning the front, with a German flag in the background.

“Smoking his way to 1000 NHL points!’ read the shirt.

“There’s a lot of details here that I love,” said Draisaitl with a laugh. “Hairball is about as good as it gets with this stuff in the league, so pretty savvy.”

Hairball, of course, referring to equipment manager Brad Harrison — a team favourite.

“A lot of hard work, a lot of people that help along the way,” said Draisaitl when asked what goes through his mind looking back at getting to the mark. “These accomplishments, they’re always directed at the single player, but there’s so many people that play such a big part in that.

“And I’m highly aware of the fact that I got a lot of people in my life over the last couple years that have just kept everything off my plate and kind of let me do what I do and what I want to do and just super grateful, super thankful, and, of course, a little bit proud.”

The Oilers’ five-game road trip has started well, going 2-1 with a pair of games left: Thursday against the Boston Bruins, and Saturday against the Minnesota Wild, where the Oilers will work to find ways to come out on top.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.