I always love watching the Edmonton Oilers play in the late slot on Hockey Night in Canada, but as any long-term Nation Citizen will tell you, these national games haven’t always been kind in return. And since this latest chapter was set in Vancouver against the Canucks, the stakes seemed a little bit higher. That added pressure made the Oilers’ 7-3 win feel even sweeter.
Sometimes, when the Oilers struggle, the best medicine comes in the form of a big game against a rival club that consistently gets the blood pumping. And after how the Western semi-final ended a few months back, maybe a trip to Vancouver was precisely what the boys needed. If they couldn’t get fired up to play a Pacific Division rival they’re chasing in the standings, what would it take to get the Oilers’ pulse elevated? And in the early going, it seemed to be a challenge accepted by the Oilers.
Any good Oilers fan can tell you a story or two about the Oilers having a rough start. It’s a problem that’s been quiet lately, but we always have to be wary of it. So, when Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game, I hoped it was the early dose of momentum the boys needed to build upon. If you remember, the last two games the Oilers won against Nashville and Calgary started with a quick goal in their first few shifts.
Adding to the theory was that the Oilers were able to build off Draisaitl’s opener with two quick ones by Corey Perry and Viktor Arvidsson to kick off the second period. Instead of being satisfied with a one-goal lead, the Oilers outworked and outskilled the Canucks until they were eventually up by three. That’s a nice change of pace from what we’ve gotten this past week. The bad news is that they took their foot off the gas from there. Costly mistakes in the Oilers’ defensive zone led to consecutive goals by Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek in a span of 1:59, clawing the Canucks back into the fight.
The good news was that being down by one was as close as the Canucks would get. And unlike what happened against Vegas on Wednesday, the Oilers flexed their killer instinct this time. Instead of sitting back to defend their lead, the boys kept the pedal to the floor and tacked on four third-period goals to blow this game out of the water. In under five minutes of play, this game went from being tight to being a total beatdown in Edmonton’s favour, and it could not have been more satisfying to watch the building empty out with plenty of time left to play.
For the first time this season, the Oilers ran away with the win when they had the chance to put the game away for good. Their attack was relentless down the stretch, and it was remarkable to watch the Canucks in full-on scramble mode as they tried and failed to keep up. It was the exact kind of performance we all needed to see from our beloved Oilers, and one can only hope that a dominating win like that will be exactly what they need to get this ship turned around for good.
I mean, the boys have been playing some pretty good hockey lately, but they just couldn’t get the goals needed to convert the wins. They got those goals last night in Vancouver, and if they can keep it up, this team could end up back to being unstoppable. Dare to dream, my friends. Dare to dream.

OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING…

  • Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring (1-0) 2:48 into the first period on a scrambled play near the crease that resulted in #29 chipping the puck up and over a fallen Lankinen. The goal came only seconds after an Oilers power play ended, and even though it won’t count as a PP goal, I almost want to claim it for the good vibes.
  • Corey Perry extended the Oilers’ lead (2-0) early in the second period on a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play by the fourth line that carved up Vancouver’s defensive coverage. By the time the puck got to Perry, all he had left to do was just tap, tap, tap it in. Perry’s old man strength is unparalleled.
  • Only 73 seconds after Perry put the Oilers up by two, Viktor Arvidsson kept the party going (3-0) with a spicy snapshot from the slot that beat Lankinen between the arm and body. Arvidsson put some mustard on that one, and it was nice to see him get rewarded for all of the chances he’s been getting lately.
  • Throwing water on the Oilers parade only 18 seconds later was Elias Pettersson who got the Canucks on the board (3-1) with a perfectly timed deflection from the slot that beat Skinner through the legs. Not much Skinner could do about that one, but there was a bunch of things Edmonton could have done better defensively.
  • Two minutes after Pettersson got Vancouver in the game, Filip Hronek narrowed the game to one (3-2) after a blown clearing attempt by Mattias Janmark gifted the Canucks another crack at their attack that they capitalized on immediately. Janmark had so much time to make a play before blindly throwing it up the boards, and if it were up to me, he should have been given an assist on the play.
  • Connor Brown restored the Oilers’ two-goal lead (4-2) on the back of a hard-working shift that saw he and his linemates crashing the crease and hacking away until they were finally rewarded with a garbage goal. All three of Brown, Henrique, and Janmark touched the puck in the seconds leading up to the goal, and the reason they got it to go was because they outworked the Canucks defenders down low. More of that, please. Brown added a second third-period goal (6-2) just past the midway mark of the third period after taking the puck in flight down his off-wing and burying his shot through the goaltender’s arm and body.
  • Just over a minute later, Connor McDavid extended the lead to three (5-2) with a power play goal — for real, it happened — that came from a pretty passing play down low that saw the puck move from Nugent-Hopkins to Hyman for the shot from in tight that left a wide-open rebound and an open cage for the captain.
  • Only 52 seconds after that, Brett Kulak threw sand in Vancouver’s collective eyes with another goal (6-2) after he took a pass from McDavid with a clear lane to pick his spot through Lankinen’s legs. Personally, I think this was a stoppable shot, but I wasn’t about to complain about the Oilers’ third goal in under two minutes. Either way, Kulak for Norris!
  • By the time Pius Suter scored the Canucks’ power play goal to make it a 7-3 game, the building was mostly empty and thus does not count. *bangs gavel*
  • How about a three-point night by Mattias Janmark? I hated his turnover on the Filip Hronek goal, but you’ve gotta give the guy credit for the way he rebounded after the mistake.
  • Despite the .852 save% on 20 shots, I thought Stuart Skinner played better than his numbers gave him credit for. I don’t know how much he could have done on all three of the shots that beat him, but I can guarantee you that folks will look at the number and ignore the big saves he made when the game was close to keep his team in the lead.
  • Does anybody else think Ty Emberson is starting to settle in on the third pairing with Brett Kulak?
  • A hearty hello to Vinny Desharnais and thank you for not scoring the only goal you’ll get this season against the Oilers. Miss ya!
  • Digging into the special teams, the Oilers’ power play came through with its best night of the season despite only scoring a single goal on three chances with the man advantage. The penalty kill, however, remains a disaster after killing off only one of two shorthanded situations they faced. Somehow that 59.5% PK percentage goes down even further.
  • How am I supposed to enjoy the rest of my weekend if I don’t let you know that the Oilers won 46.7% of the faceoffs. It’s a sad number, but I must share the news regardless.
  • Go Vikings! Skol.

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