Game four of the Oilers’ five-game road trip took them to Boston for their first of two meetings with the Bruins. In a game where the details mattered, Edmonton kept things simple, stayed patient, and didn’t panic when adversity showed up. Even after losing Tristan Jarry midway through the night, the Oilers held their ground and finally slammed the door shut when Connor McDavid buried a shorthanded dagger to lock up a 3–1 win.

After Leon Draisaitl picked up his 1,000th point against the Penguins on Tuesday, one of the things that popped into my mind was whether Ryan Nugent-Hopkins could reach the milestone at some point in his career. Coming into Thursday’s game, RNH was sitting at 773 points in 984 NHL games, needing 227 more to reach 1,000. Given that he has the rest of the 2025-26 season left to play and three more years on his deal after this one, is it that crazy to think he could average 64 points per 82 games over the next three and a half years? I don’t think so. Especially not if he can keep chipping in for the rest of this season at a point-per-game pace, as he has been so far. With the first-period power-play goal to open the scoring and the assist on McDavid’s shortie, Nuge is up to eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points in 26 games.

For my money, Nugent-Hopkins is playing as well as we’ve seen since his 104-point season, and it’s been fun to watch him have success in his 15th year as an Edmonton Oiler. We’re only 15 games away from Nuge’s 1,000th of his career, and it would be pretty damned cool if he could also reach a point milestone that’s only been done 103 times before. Either way, we’re still years out from finding out whether he can get to 1,000 points or not — it’s never too early to dream about Nuge milestones to me — but what we do know for sure is that he’s two points closer after last night’s win over the Bruins. The other thing we know for sure is that the Nugent-Hopkins–McDavid–Hyman line is ripping right now, and my man has been a big part of its success. After all of the line blending early in the season, it sure has been nice to have an old staple still working just as well as it always has.

One of the biggest knocks against Tristan Jarry when the Oilers acquired him was that he was injury-prone. There have been a few instances in Jarry’s career when he’s missed healthy chunks of time, but Bowman assured us that the team did its due diligence on his health and was confident enough to make the trade. But here we are, literally a week later, and Tristan Jarry is already on the shelf after two games and 36:08 in his third. Needless to say, this is not ideal. Not great. Arguably the worst-case scenario. Jarry was playing well, and to have him go down this fast with the exact problem everyone was worried about, especially with a lack of goaltending depth/insurance available if he went down. Say what you will about Stuart Skinner, but the guy was in the lineup every single night.

Of course, we don’t yet know how serious Jarry’s lower-body injury is or how long he’ll be out, if even at all, but it’s impossible not to feel frustrated that our new starter couldn’t even make it back to Edmonton before winding up on the injured list. Having Jarry be healthy and available is the only way this trade works, and seeing him go down like this won’t do much to quiet the noise around the team’s goaltending. The noise that was supposed to go away. Instead, we’ll be glued to our phones and waiting for some kind of news to hit Twitter/X about what the team’s next moves are and what the deal is with our new starter. Here’s hoping for the best because the guy was playing really well through his first 2.5 games, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that there are a bunch of people more than happy to say ‘I told you so.’

Quinn Hutson picked one hell of a time and place to score his first NHL goal. After being called up ahead of Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh, the undrafted forward from North Barrington, IL, backhanded home what ended up being the game-winner at 14:38 of the second period to give the Oilers a 2–1 lead over the Bruins. Not only was it cool that he scored his first, but to do it in Boston, the same city where he spent three seasons at Boston University, had to feel extra special. Hutson played just 6:26 in his second game of the year, but he squeezed every ounce out of them, finishing with the goal, a blocked shot, and the impression that he played more than he did. First NHL goal, in a building he knows well, and it puts his team ahead for good? That’s good sports, right there, friends.

And honestly, stories like this are why hockey rules. Hutson’s path to his first NHL goal wasn’t paved with draft buzz, just steady production in the USHL, three solid years at Boston University, and being so unavoidable in Bakersfield that he forced the Oilers to give him a look. How long he sticks around is still up in the air with Roslovic, Kapanen, and Noah Philp nearing returns, David Tomasek sitting as a healthy scratch, and roster math looming, but that can wait. On Thursday night, Quinn Hutson lived out a childhood dream, scored his first NHL goal, made it the game-winner, and that’s the kind of moment that makes this whole thing easy to love. Not too bad for a kid that didn’t have many expectations for his first year as a pro. Here’s to many more.

We’re heading back to Las Vegas for the next Nation Vacation, March 24–27, and you’re invited to join the ultimate hockey fan getaway. Trip packages start at $2,400, with the option to secure your spot for just 20% down. Enjoy roundtrip flights, a premium three-night stay at Circa Resort & Casino, access to Stadium Swim, exclusive watch parties, a Nation Citizens pool party, a party bus to T-Mobile Arena, and food and drinks included at the Edmonton vs. Vegas game. Multiple travel options mean you can book the trip your way—so lock in your spot now at nationgear.ca and come be part of the chaos in Vegas!