I love watching the Edmonton Oilers win on Hockey Night in Canada, and last night’s 6-2 drubbing of the New York Rangers made it all the more special. Not only was it a much-needed result, but the Oilers will also head into their six-day break on a high note.

When Connor McDavid is at his best, no team or defence can stop him. He’s a special player who can do things most of his peers cannot, and last night’s three-point masterpiece led his team to a dominant 6-2 win over the Rangers. It was yet another chapter in the library of unbelievable performances he’s given us over the last 10 years. I cracked up laughing to myself on my couch for the millionth time as I watched him do his thing, wondering how he could be that much better than basically every individual he faces in his workspace.

With the two goals and assist he picked up on Saturday, McDavid now has eight goals and 10 assists in his last eight games. Not only is he heating up production-wise, but the captain is starting to go supernova at a time when the Oilers need their best player forging the path. As unfair as it is to lump all of the team’s expectations on McDavid’s shoulders, it’s amazing to see how he handles the pressure with 20:04 minutes of brilliance. It was another three-point night — another one — that looked as casual for him to do as it was impressive for me to watch.

I said it up top, and I want to say it once more: When Connor McDavid is at his best, no team or defence can stop him.

Vasily Podkolzin may have had the worst luck in the first quarter of the year. The kid had all kinds of chances to score but was always a half-turn away from finishing those plays, and it felt like only a matter of time before the stats started to catch up to his effort. So, I couldn’t have been happier when he got the Oilers on the board late in the first period with a snipe from the high slot. Leon Draisaitl found him with a shooting lane, and the 23-year-old from Moscow finally hit the scoresheet. You could see the monkey falling off his back.

Podkolzin probably won’t be a big scorer for the Oilers, but you can never doubt his effort, and I think that’s why you could see how happy his teammates were to see him get rewarded for the work. When that puck went in, all I could think about was how I hoped it was what he needed to open the floodgates going forward. Given how many ridiculous chances the kid gets just because he works his bag off, a little bit of confidence might go a long way. An unexpected heater on a team desperate for goals would be pretty fun, wouldn’t it? Could you imagine how much we would love him if he could do it?

Either way, I was thrilled to see Podkolzin score his first goal as an Oiler not only because it helped lock down a win, but also because he plays a flavour of hockey that we love around these parts. It’s a hard-hat style of play that may not be the prettiest, but we Nation Citizens love to cheer for the guys who do it. Podkolzin is one of those guys, and I can think of nothing more welcome in this city than if he could get on some kind of a roll.

I will never understand the folks who think the Oilers are better off without Darnell Nurse in the lineup. I’m not talking about thinking his contract stinks — I think he’s overpaid by three or four million too, but he has no-trade protection so what’s the point of wasting time on it — but rather those who think the Oilers are legitimately better without him, even knowing who else is available to replace him.

I mean, no offence, but I’ll take Nurse locking down a space on the left side over any of the other guys who rotated in that spot while he was out, and it’s not particularly close. Not to mention, Nurse has been playing some fantastic hockey over his last six or seven games, and I was pumped to see him keep the good times going with a big goal to punctuate his return. In addition to the goal, Nurse played 23:30 in TOI to go along with four shots on goal and three blocks.

I’ve been tough on Stuart Skinner here on the site over the last few days because I find it annoying that he’s not playing up to his potential consistently. No matter what others say, I’m firmly in Skinner’s corner and believe he’s good enough to lead his hometown Oilers to a Stanley Cup win. The problem, obviously, is that his start to the 2024-25 campaign has left many fans wondering if he’s the guy who can get the job done when you don’t know what you’re going to get from game to game.

With the .941 save percentage on 34 shots he faced against New York, Skinner has two games in his last five with save percentages above .930. Those are fantastic numbers and give you the chance to win hockey games more often than not, which is precisely what he did. The problem, of course, is that the other three starts in the five-game set landed at a .864 save percentage or lower, and the Oilers lost those games.

I’m choosing to look on the bright side. I’m choosing to see that Skinner has a .931 and .941 save percentage in two of his last three starts, and that he’ll build upon that success for a brighter tomorrow. As much as people are upset at Stu so far this season, he’s actually further ahead this season than he was a year ago, and I only say that to offer perspective that there’s still time for brighter days ahead. It can’t just be me who thinks this, right?

If Skinner can give us more of these .910+ performances in three-game sets than the other way around — he has already done this multiple times — then the Oilers are going to be fine. And, as I always do, I hope last night’s win was the first step to getting there.

1. Vasily Podkolzin opened the scoring (1-0) late in the first period after Leon Draisaitl found him with a pass in the high slot he leaned into, beating Quick high over the shoulder. You could see how much the goal meant to Podzilla as he stared skyward in relief that he could finally get something through.

2. Darnell Nurse didn’t take long to make an impact in his return to the lineup, extending Edmonton’s lead (2-0) in the final moments of the first period with a shorthanded goal that came on the back of a nice play by Mattias Janmark. Janmark circled the net, put the puck on Nurse’s stick in the slot, and the streaking d-man picked his spot perfectly.

3. Leon Draisaitl further extended the lead (3-0) with his 16th goal of the season on what was a perfectly executed two-on-one with Connor McDavid that had Jonathan Quick flailing in the crease. I can’t think of anything scarier for a goalie than seeing those two breaking into the net with speed and space because there’s a very good chance the puck is winding up in the net. I want him to win the Rocket Richard so damned bad.

4. Evan Bouchard kept the beatdown coming with a snipe from the slot (4-0) after Mattias Janmark found him with a pass in a primed shooting area. Dad picked up Edmonton’s fourth consecutive goal, and gives Bouchard his second goal and fourth point in his last third games. I know he’s not the most popular player around here right now, but I’m hoping this little run is the start of him finally heating up to the level we expect from him.

5. Artemi Panarin got the Rangers on the board (4-1) with a shot from the left circle that beat Stuart Skinner low on the blocker side. The replay made it look like the puck was going slightly wide, but it would be Skinner’s luck to have a shot that was going to miss winding up in the net.

6. Connor McDavid restored the Oilers’ four-goal lead (5-1) on the back of a beautiful passing play with Evan Bouchard and Kasperi Kapanen that saw the puck carve through New York’s defensive zone effortlessly before ending up as a backdoor tap-in for the captain. This goal was puck movement at its finest.

7. Connor McDavid added a second goal (6-1) less than four minutes later on a two-on-one with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins that ended with No. 97 dekeing out everyone in the building before depositing the puck into what was essentially an empty net. McDavid had the puck on a string on this play and it was almost comical to see him carve the Rangers up like that.

8. Artemi Panarin picked up his second goal of the game (6-2) in garbage time after picking off a backhand pass attempt by Darnell Nurse and burying the chance quickly. If it wasn’t annoying to see New York score a meaningless goal, I almost would have been impressed with how quickly that mistake turned into offence.

9. How about 16 straight kills over the last seven games for the Oilers’ penalty kill? This is the kind of run we needed after being so bad through the first dozen games. I love it.

10. Viktor Arvidsson being listed as day-to-day is going to wind up on Unsolved Mysteries sooner or later.

11. What percentage of the faceoffs did the Oilers win? I’m glad you asked. They handled 56% of them like the champions they are. Wonderful work on the dot.

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