Top 3 Oilers studs from 5-4 shootout win versus Golden Knights
On a night when the Oilers secured a fine team win, we look at three stars who shone brightest in the 5-4 victory against the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
While they might be loathe to admit it, revenge was on the minds of the Oilers players on Tuesday night. And while the 5-4 shootout win doesn’t make up for being knocked out of the playoffs by the Golden Knights last season, it still counts for something.
The Oilers are on a roll now, with their second three-game win streak of the 2023-24 campaign and their sixth victory in their last nine games. There’s still plenty to do, but at least the team is trending in the right direction.
In truth the Oilers shouldn’t have needed a shootout, after being the better team on the night. However, their lingering defensive issues came back to bite them in the ass, as the Golden Knights came back from a 4-2 deficit in the third period to force overtime.
Ultimately though, what matters most is that the Oilers did eventually secure the win. Here are our three studs from an entertaining game at Rogers Place:
1) Connor McDavid
It’s safe to say Connor McDavid is over whatever was causing his slump (by his lofty standards) to begin this season. He’s on a run which has seen him shoot up to tied ninth alongside teammate Leon Draisaitl (and Colorado’s Nathan McKinnon), with 28th points.
McDavid entered the night having been awarded the NHL’s first star, for the week ending Nov. 26. Helping him earn this, was nine points — including eight assists — in his previous two games.
The five-time Art Ross Trophy winner continued his rich vein of form, with another three points versus the Golden Knights. This included two helpers, to assist Mattias Janmark and Evander Kane on their respective goals.
McDavid’s most exciting highlight came at the 7:54 mark of the second period, when he collected a rebound on the breakaway. Number 97 flying down the ice is one of the most thrilling sights in hockey, and he provided the coup de grâce by confidently firing the puck home for a 3-2 lead.
However, the six-time All-Star’s most important moment came in the shootout following overtime. He scored the Oilers’ first and they clinched the win following Ryan Nugent-Hopkins effort.
When McDavid’s on form, he’s tough to handle. By extension the Oilers as a whole become more difficult to deal with, and they now have 17 goals in their previous three games.
The 2015 first overall draft pick is well aware of how things are beginning to turn around for the better in Edmonton. Speaking to the media postgame, he said:
“Definitely (there’s) momentum in our room. I think we can feel it. I think we’ve liked what we’ve seen over the last three (games) and it’s something to build off of.”
2) Evander Kane
After Kane arrived in Edmonton early in 2022, it marked a poignant moment in what had been a turbulent and polarising NHL career up to that point. Perhaps realising this was his last and best change to reach his potential, he buckled down, put in the effort and behaved himself.
The result was the best form of the 32-year-old’s career, playing a significant role in the Oilers’ run to the Western Conference finals. He was subsequently rewarded with a four-year, $20.5 million extension which showed the team’s belief in him and, for maybe the first time since he started playing professionally, he finally felt truly settled.
Kane started the following season on a similar run of excellent form, but he was almost fated to have some more adversity come his way. He suffered a wrist injury which required surgery, resulting in him missing a significant portion of the 2022-23 season.
When the 2009 fourth overall draft pick returned, he just wasn’t the same, and it spilled over into this season, with just one point in his first five games. Since then however, he’s got back on track and is now playing as well as when he first joined the team.
Want your voice heard? Join the Oil On Whyte team!
At times it was Kane who kept dragging the team along, while McDavid and Draisaitl dealt with goal-scoring slumps. Once again he has become an integral part of the team, with his recent natural hat-trick highlighting his importance.
The Vancouver native continued his fine form versus the Golden Knights, once again imposing his physical will on the game with a team — and game — high seven hits. He also scored the Oilers’ fourth goal, giving him eight in eight games and 11 overall on the season.
However, such is Kane’s appreciation of the organisation, he’d prefer to talk about the team as a whole rather than any individual accomplishments. Speaking postgame to the media about the recent improvement in results, he said:
“You’re not seeing big mistakes. We’ve limited the ‘boos boos’, and we’re obviously creating a lot more offence and putting the puck in the net. So that helps win hockey games when you limit the other team and play a tighter game, and you end up in the win column more.”
3) Darnell Nurse
There were a few contenders from the blue line to be our third stud of the game, including Evan Bouchard and Codi Ceci. In the end however, we went for Darnell Nurse.
Nurse had been under a lot of pressure following a poor start to this season, with him in many ways representing the porous and mistake-ridden play of the defenceman. More is expected of you when you’re a previous seventh overall draft pick, who’s making $74 million guaranteed over eight seasons.
Fortunately for everyone concerned, the 28-year-old has been playing better of late. This includes arguably his best performance of the 2023-24 season to date, in his previous game versus the Ducks.
There was more of the same against the Golden Knights, albeit minus the offensive production from the Anaheim game. However, Nurse was solid as a rock in defence, as he allowed no goals at even strength and finished the night with a +1 plus/minus rating.
The Hamilton, Ontario native looked as composed and confident as he has done at any time this season. He also played a pivotal role on a penalty kill unit, which held the visitors to a 0-for-5 on the night with the man advantage.
There’s still clearly work to be done after the team allowed four goals, including two inside the final nine minutes of the third period. However, the overall defensive game does seem to be improving, with Nurse as the fulcrum point of this gradual progression.
After the game, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch was asked about the team’s penalty kill specifically and the defensive play in general. Speaking to the media, he said:
“I just find the best teams typically have good penalty kills. They can kill and they defend really well five-on-five. Right now, the last three games, I (think) we’ve done a pretty good job of that and we have to continue doing that.”
Next. 3 Key insights into Oilers' recent turnaround. dark
Overall, with the win the Oilers improved to 8-12-1 on the season and climbed to within five points of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Next up they will travel to Winnipeg, to play the Jets on Thursday night.