Top 3 Oilers studs from dominating 5-0 win versus Capitals
On a day when everyone impressed, we look at three players in particular who stood out for the Oilers as they shutout the Capitals in Washington, D.C.
After three consecutive demoralising losses on the road, the Edmonton Oilers didn’t inspire much faith heading into Friday afternoon’s game in Washington, D.C. It didn’t help that they were facing a Capitals team with a 10-4-2 record and on a four-game winning streak.
So of course, in what has been the most unpredictable of seasons so far for the Oilers, they decided to have their best all around performance to date. Certainly, no one would have expected them to dominate the Capitals 5-0, as they finally looked more like last season’s team.
Of course there’s still a long way to go, to convince critics they can get back into the playoff picture, but you have to start somewhere. Let’s look at our three top studs from a game, when there were plenty of contenders for the Oilers:
1) Connor McDavid
It’s been so bad at times this season, that we’ve felt compelled to include Connor McDavid as one of our top three duds. The game against the Capitals deserved the positive kind of recognition though, as he returned to the heights he regularly displayed last season.
There has been plenty of speculation McDavid came back too soon from his injury and subsequently didn’t appear quite right. This was not the case on Friday afternoon, as he moved around with no limits or hesitation, looking truly like his old self.
If it’s possible, the five-time Art Ross Trophy winner’s tremendous performance was understated. As in he did dominate, but it was very subtle.
McDavid did not have a highlight reel moment, instead just regularly setting up his teammates as he went about his business. He was involved in all but one of the Oilers’ goals versus the Capitals.
The Oilers’ captain did have a couple of excellent scoring chances himself, but Friday’s game was about being a facilitator for others to shine. For all he’s done in his career, he’s always been highly regarded for his ability to get teammates involved.
In this respect, McDavid finished the game with four assists for his first four-point game of the season. Heck, it was his three-point game of 2023-24, something which he used to do with regularity last season.
Arguably most encouraging on the night, was how the six-time All-Star linked up with Leon Draisaitl. When those two are connecting and producing, it’s a scary proposition for the rest of the NHL.
Coach Kris Knoblauch was asked postgame about the impact of McDavid and the other stars against the Capitals. Speaking to the media, he said:
“You need your top players performing if you’re going to win on a regular basis. Obviously you want your third and fourth lines chipping in and helping with the offence … but in the long run you need your top guys going and they certainly played really well tonight.”
2) Leon Draisaitl
Draisaitl has received a lot of criticism for his perceived attitude this season, including his moodiness and snappy comments when dealing with the media. In fairness to him though, it’s tough to be happy when your team is playing well below expectations.
In any event, the four-time All-Star was still doing his part by leading the Oilers in assists and overall points. The only area where he was lacking — at least relatively speaking — was goals scored.
However, Draisaitl rectified this on Friday afternoon in Washington, D.C. He scored two goals for the first time since the third game of the season, to finish off the five-goal blitz by the Oilers.
Of importance, the 28-year-old’s two goals came on the power play, with the unit finally looking like the version which set an NHL record last season for efficiency. For the game, the Oilers went 3-for-4 with the man advantage.
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Despite the two goals, Draisaitl’s biggest — and most important — moment came as a playmaker early on. With the game tied at 0-0, he had a nice spin move and then held off his marker to set up Evander Kane, who fired home after a save.
It was an inspired moment, which helped open the floodgates for a team in desperate need of something positive. Moody or not, Draisaitl is key to the Oilers’ ability to produce on offence, with Friday afternoon’s game offered as exhibit A.
Afterwards, the 2020 Hart Trophy winner was asked about how much he and the rest of the leadership core put on themselves to get out of their slump. Speaking to the media, he said:
“We’ve got a lot of guys in here who care a lot, and I think sometimes that’s a little bit misunderstood to the outside, which is obviously unfortunate. But we care a lot, we want to win in here. Have there been times in games when it hasn’t gone our way as a leadership group, yes of course. Have we been at our best all year, absolutely not, but we have a lot of pride in this room and (today) was a good start.”
3) Stuart Skinner
Some would argue Stuart Skinner had an easy day, with the way the team was playing in front of him. However, if anyone deserved a win like this, it was him.
Yes Skinner has had his struggles this season, but so has pretty much everyone on the team. However, his play of late has been — for the most part — better, ironically timed in with Jack Campbell being assigned to the AHL.
At the same time, the Edmonton native also needed a game like the one on Friday afternoon. In his previous start two days earlier in Carolina, he was removed after less than 15 minutes due to allowing four goals, although he was only at fault for the last one.
Regardless, Friday’s game was a welcome one for Skinner, as he stopped all 25 shot attempts he faced. As a result, he recorded his first shutout of the season and the third overall of his NHL career.
The 25-year-old admittedly didn’t have to do much in the opening period, as the Oilers outshot the hosts 21-6. However, he still made a key save early on when the score was 0-0, when a goal could have changed the whole trajectory of the game.
Skinner also made another important stop in the second period, when the Capitals still had a chance to come back against what’s been a horrendous defensive team this season. Overall, he played with the confidence and smartness which Oilers fans became so used to last season.
Postgame, Skinner was asked about his mental toughness to bounce back after being pulled early in his previous game. Speaking to the media, he said:
“Sometimes it’s harder than maybe it looks, sometimes you know exactly how you’re going to show up the next day. For this one, it was just being able to rest and throw that one away. Just knowing who I am, knowing my game and sticking to it, and that was big for me. It’s nice after getting pulled in the first few minutes to get a shutout, it really feels good.”
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As we mentioned earlier, there were plenty of other contenders for our top three studs, including Kane, Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Regardless, it’s now a case of the Oilers carrying over the momentum into their next game, on Sunday night at home to the Anaheim Ducks.