Edmonton Oilers: Offence Busts Out in 5-4 Win Over Stars

Despite ongoing struggles to ignite their offence over the last few games, the Edmonton Oilers seemed to be back on their game Thursday.

Leon Draisaitl led the charge with three assists, and Milan Lucic and Darnell Nurse also had multi-point performances. Overall, nine Edmonton skaters, including six forwards, had at least a point against Dallas en route to the team’s 5-4 win.

Connor McDavid opened the scoring after he sniped the puck past Ben Bishop on a nice pass from Ryan Strome, who got the puck as he was leaving the penalty box from Draisaitl. Though Jamie Benn would respond a minute later to even the score, Patrick Maroon scored his third of the season less than a minute remaining in the first.

Alexander Radulov tied the game at two early in the second, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a bit later in the period to give the Oilers the lead yet again. However, Benn would score his second of the night soon after to make it 3-3 entering the final frame.

Edmonton Oilers

In the third period, Esa Lindell would strike on a power-play chance for Dallas, giving them their first lead of the night with less than 10 minutes to go in regulation time. And with the Oilers needing offence, they certainly stepped up. Nugent-Hopkins scored his second of the night, and Matthew Benning picked up his first of the year to give the Oilers a 5-4 victory.

Standout Players

The first line of Maroon-McDavid-Draisaitl was buzzing, and that former combination appears to be working well for Edmonton and has regained its step and rhythm, especially with Draisaitl drawing back in. Draisaitl’s three helpers give him a goal and six points through just five games. Maroon’s tally marked his third goal in four games, and he is now riding a four-game point streak. Additionally, McDavid now has goals in back-to-back games and 10 points through nine games.

Beyond the top trio, Jujhar Khaira also had a strong showing with four shots on goal, and he led Edmonton with a 57 percent success rate in the faceoff circle. Ryan Strome picked up an assist and also looked faster on his feet; Lucic racked up two helpers and also had two hits and two takeaways.

On the blue line, Adam Larsson led the charge with seven hits and four blocks. Kris Russell, in addition to his helper, blocked five shots and made himself a force to be reckoned with, and Darnell Nurse also picked up two assists. Benning also had a strong game and proved that he belongs in the Oilers’ lineup.

Cam Talbot stopped 28 of 32 shots, and while he did appear to struggle at times, he did face a bigger workload and a dangerous offence and also had to face a standout Dallas power play, to which he fell victim to.

Next: Edmonton Oilers Need More Speed

The Road Ahead

Edmonton will face Washington on Saturday, and hopefully, they will have enough momentum and positives to take away from their matchup against Dallas to carry over.