Edmonton Oilers 6-3 Pittsburgh Penguins: The Day After

The Oilers’ fan didn’t know what to expect after the game against the Blues on Saturday. The Edmonton Oilers have one of the most powerful forward strength in the league, and yet it didn’t score a single goal on Jordan Binnington.

It was the first time since February 8th, 2022 that Edmonton finished a regular season game without a goal (0-4 vs. Vegas Golden Knights), so we were all curious to see what version of the team would get on ice against the Penguins.

And facing Sidney Crosby and the excellent Pittsburgh Penguins, it wasn’t going to be an easy game. But as we all know now, the forwards did what they can do best, and the Oilers managed to finish this sequence of 6 home games to start the season with a record of 3-3-0. Let’s check the details of this last win period by period.

The First Period

And the start wasn’t anything exciting. Even with Zach Hyman opening the score, these 20 first minutes were all in favour of the Penguins, with they showing why they didn’t have a loss on regular time until yesterday.

They finished the period with a 2-1 lead that could be even bigger, if it wasn’t by another great game by Jack Campbell, especially on the Penalty Kill. The shots on goal were 19-9 to Pittsburgh, and Jay Woodcroft knew he would’ve a lot of work to do on the first intermission.

The Second Period

And in the second period, it was a whole different game. Those 20 minutes deserve a post by themselves, because it was simply one of the best periods on the history of the franchise. The Oilers simply showed how powerful they can be on the offensive zone and proving to be one of the most dangerous teams in the NHL when attacking.

But it didn’t start this way. As a matter of fact, it was the opposite. Three minutes into the 2nd period, Bryan Rust scored the third Pittsburgh goal, making it 3-1. And then after, every Oilers’ fan hold their breath.

Almost right after the third Penguins’ goal, Jeff Petry pushed Connor McDavid into the goal post, and the Captain felt on the ice, and stayed there for a while. We all know McDavid doesn’t get up for nothing, so something really serious could’ve happened. And when the Oilers’ staff and players had to help him going to the locker room, the Rogers Place was in full silence.

But everybody could breathe again just some minutes after, as the #97 returned to the bench. And when he returned, the comeback was already happening, with a Tyson Barrie goal on the Power Play that took McDavid off the game for some minutes.

And from now on, it was history being written. The Oilers simply managed to put a new record, with most shots on goal in a single period. It was 26-4 for Edmonton on the official NHL scoreboard. TWENTY SIX TO FOUR. AGAINST A TEAM WHO DIDN’T HAVE A SINGLE LOSS ON REGULAR TIME.

Not even the most optimistical Oilers’ fan could expect a second period like this. And with that, the Oilers finished the period with 4 unanswered goals, with McDavid back on ice and a 5-3 lead heading to the third period.

And the fifth Oilers’ goal represented perfectly this period. Leon Draisaitl was already making a great game, with two assists. But he just scored this marvellous goal to put Edmonton two goals ahead on the game and elevate even more the team and the crowd on Rogers Place.

The Third Period

Comparing to that incredible second period, every other one will sound boring. The Penguins came back to the SOG score, and Jack Campbell had some work again, after staying more than 15 straight minutes without seeing one on the last period.

And if the first was for the Penguins, and the second for the Oilers, the third one was perfectly balanced on SOG, with 12 for each team. But in the scoreboard that means the most, the Oilers still managed to score one more goal, with Ryan McLeod receiving a beautiful assist from Derek Ryan and giving final numbers to this amazing and eventful game.

Who Played Great and Who Still Has Room to Improve?

It was another great game by the Oilers offence, especially on the second period, and the first star of the game could not be Leon Draisaitl. With three points, he recovered from a difficult first 20 minutes, and called the responsibility when the Connor McDavid situation was uncertain.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had another great game as well. Showing that he deserves the spot on second line with Draisaitl and that he can produce more as a Left Winger in comparison of being a third line center.

Warren Foegele and Derek Ryan needed a good game, and they just had one. Just as Nugent-Hopkins, Warren Foegele is showing that he deserved more ice time and is putting away the trade talks about him game by game. Derek Ryan was excellent too, and it was summarized by his beautiful assist to Ryan McLeod, which just had another good game. Clouder will get paid for sure by the end of this season.

By the defence, another great game of Jack Campbell. He was responsible to hold the Penguins on the first period, and if it wasn’t by him, the Oilers wouldn’t be able to record another comeback. Darnell Nurse was the best of defenders, and playing as we all expect him to play. Just has to be more careful, because that double minor on the first period could’ve ended the game earlier.

Unfortunately, it was another tough game to Kailer Yamamoto. He is receiving a lot of chances starting on the first line, but couldn’t play as a first liner in any of them. Even with the goal, Evander Kane didn’t have a great game as well. He recorded 11 shots on Tristan Jarry only on the second period, which was good. But he has to start shooting with more quality into next games, because it can make a difference between a win and a loss.

The Next Oilers Game

Finally the Oilers will play outside the Rogers Place in Edmonton. On Wednesday, the team goes to his first away game with an opponent they already know this season. Playing the Blues in St. Lois, let’s hope to see even more of this excellent Edmonton Oilers on the next game and into the season.