The Edmonton Oilers were back on the ice just over 24 hours after beating the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime and travelling to Chicago for a late arrival. But even though they were clearly battling fatigue, our boys found a way to grind out a 4-3 win in the bonus despite a less-than-stellar effort by their standards. They don’t ask how, they just ask how many.

After the game in St. Louis, I wrote about how the Oilers desperately needed Viktor Arvidsson to get going. The guy is playing exclusively in the top six, and it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to understand why he needs to produce more than he has. The opportunity has been there, but the finish isn’t close to what we need from him, not at $4 million against the cap. But just when a lot of us were getting frustrated, he went and scored a beauty against the Blackhawks with the kind of shot we’ve been waiting to see all season. Even in slow motion, that shot was a laser beam.

That shot was like a glimpse into my dreams for Viktor Arvidsson. That shot was why the Oilers signed him. The problem is that we haven’t seen him pick his spot like that nearly enough. It’s not even a $5 cab ride from close enough, to be honest. But I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, and I’m hopeful scoring a goal like that can give the guy some confidence. As much as it frustrates us fans that he’s not producing, I also imagine he’s putting a lot of pressure on himself to get the job done and live up to that contract. He just snapped an eight-game goalless stretch that saw him produce two measly assists, but last night’s goal could be a positive takeaway as we wind down leading into the 4 Nations break.

If Jeff Skinner wants to mess around and keep playing like he hates being a healthy scratch, then I’m going to keep writing about him after every game. Not only did Skinner get bumped up to the second line with Leon Draisaitl to face the Blackhawks, but it didn’t take him long to make good on Kris Knoblauch’s decision to give him more opportunity. From my side of the TV screen, Skinner’s effort to play a better two-way game has been noticeable over the last handful of games, and he’s putting Kris Knoblauch in a spot where scratching him isn’t an option.

In his first game beside Draisaitl in what feels like forever, Skinner found the back of the net for his 10th goal of the season, put three shots on net, and added a primary assist on Leon’s 38th goal of the season to go along with a +2 rating. Not only did he look good up there, but he’s doing the job he was signed to do. Skinner has quietly contributed three goals in his last five games and gone from playing under 12 minutes per night to 15:27 on the second line with the future MVP. That’s not a bad little stretch for a player who was a healthy scratch only a week ago. Keep it going, lil’ big man. We’re going to need you.

For a team that has been so magical on the power play over the last five years, they sure stunk the barn up on Wednesday night in Chicago. My working theory is that the boys are still battling the flu or whatever bug seems to be going around the room, and the drowsiness from that illness is clouding their judgement. How else can you explain the lack of shots, chances, and general execution? If anything, the Blackhawks probably had been opportunities to score than the Oilers did.

But just when we though the Oilers were going to get blanked for the second time in 48 hours, the PP came through with the game winner in overtime. It’s like just when I think I’m going to bang out 200 words about what needs to change when the Oilers are on the man advantage, they go and redeem themselves with a clutch PP goal by Zach Hyman to get me back on their side. It’s the scoot scene from Dumb and Dumber running on loop in my brain. Either way, I’d love to see the Oilers simplify their power play a little bit going forward because there aren’t any awards or points given out for most consecutive passes around the perimeter.

1. Let’s keep building this lead in the Pacific Division.

2. Make it six straight wins for Calvin Pickard after he turned in another quality performance despite sitting on the bench since January 27th in his last start against Seattle. Even though his .906 save percentage is nothing you’d write home about, it’s important to remember how many of his 29 saves came with pressure flooding the Oilers’ defensive zone and bodies flying around all around him. The boys were often chaos in their own zone, and that’s why I think Pickard deserves plenty of love for the way he provided the foundation they needed to weather those storms. I’m not saying he was perfect, but I’m absolutely saying he was steady. But at this stage of his tenure with us, I don’t know why anyone would be surprise. That’s our pal Cal.

3. Leon Draisaitl extended his goal lead to 38 with his third period marker that beat the goalie right through the five-hole, but what’s most impressive is that the was his 28th at even strength. So for anyone who thinks he’s just some power play mercheant really isn’t paying attention. Not only did Draisaitl extend his goal lead, but he also took over the NHL point lead with his 80th and 81st points of the campaign.

4. Zach Hyman has been all around the net over the last few games, and I loved seeing a classic ZMH tip-in with his toes in the crease to cap off the night with a win. The Oilers’ power play had struggled mightily to that point, and it’s not overly surprising that their OT chance converted by executing a play that put the puck on net. You love to see it.

5. In the span of only 4:04, the Blackhawks got goals from Ryan Donato and Alec Martinez that erased the Oilers’ two-goal lead and pushed the game to overtime even though they also had a few chances to end the game before it got there. It was the exact same thing that happened the night before in St. Louis, and I cannot express enough how annoying this habit will be down the line if they allow it to continue. I know there are ebbs and flows in-game, but we’ve gotta find a way to limit the downside of the curve.

6. I dislike thinking the game was starting at 7:30 PM only to have it start at 7:54 PM. Just tell me when the puck drops. Other sports do it, so why can’t the NHL?

7. The Oilers were carved in the faceoff circle on Tuesday in St. Louis, and I was looking for much better execution than the 36.2% shellacking the Blues gave them. Thankfully they came through with wins on 51% of the draws, redeeming themselves in the most important metric in hockey. No, I will not be taking any arguments.

8. If you’re into +/- as a stat — Hi, dad! — you’ll be happy to hear that John Klingberg was a +3 in 17:01 of TOI against Chicago. That was a team high.

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