Top 3 Oilers studs from 3-1 win in Winnipeg
We look at the three best Oilers players, on a night in Winnipeg when the team was not at their best, but still did enough to deservedly beat the Jets.
Thursday night’s game in Winnipeg was in some ways a perfect illustration of how things have turned around of late for the Oilers. While it wasn’t the strongest performance you’re likely to see from them this season, they still deserved the 3-1 victory over the Jets.
Certainly it looked like it wasn’t going to be the Oilers’ night, despite outplaying their hosts. In the end however, they scored three times in the final seven minutes of the game to secure the win.
The victory means the Oilers have now won a season-high four games in a row, although there is still plenty to do. Regardless, let’s count down the team’s top three players on the night:
3) Darnell Nurse
Now that’s more like it – this is the Darnell Nurse fans were expecting to see. This is the version who can help the Oilers’ blue line play at a more acceptable level.
As the Oilers struggled through a disastrous start to the 2023-24 campaign, Nurse stood out as the poster child for the overall porous defensive play of the team. That’s what happens when you’re a former seventh overall draft pick, who’s making $74 million guaranteed.
However, the 28-year-old has really stepped up his game of late, particularly his performances versus the Ducks and Golden Knights. There was more of the same on Thursday night in Winnipeg.
Nurse had a team — and indeed game — high 24:02 minutes of ice time, as he superbly marshalled the game from the blue line. He’s in a zone right now with his defensive play, and it showed versus the Jets.
On top of this, the Hamilton, Ontario native scored the crucial tying goal at the 13:11 mark of the final period. There might have been some good fortune on how it got past Connor Hellebuyck, but they all count and it provided the impetus for the Oilers to go on and win.
In fairness to Nurse, even when things haven’t gone his way this season, he’s still put the effort in. This is best exemplified by leading the Oilers with 47 blocks on the season through 22 games, while being second on the team with the same number of hits.
Postgame, Nurse was asked about the perseverance and patience the team showed, after falling behind 1-0. Speaking to the media, he said:
“The composure of the team was on full display there. I think for us to be down one there in the first and not open our game up and push for too much offence, at the same time knowing the chances were there that we did try and convert, it was a good sign of where the group’s going and I think we can build a lot of confidence off this game.”
2) Stuart Skinner
In many ways Stuart Skinner saved the Oilers last season, as Jack Campbell failed to live up to his salary. Skinner became the regular starter and performed well enough to finish runner up for the the Calder Trophy.
However, this season started terribly for the 25-year-old, albeit not helped by the defensive calamity in front of him on the ice. He went 1-5-1 in his first seven starts and at one point had the third-worst save percentage among all NHL goalies.
Since then however, Skinner has turned around his form and looked more like what he showed between the pipes last season. Coincidental or not, his improved play coincided with the Oilers’ decision to assign Campbell to the AHL with the Condors.
The Edmonton native has now gone 7-2-0 in his past nine games, including Thursday night’s 3-1 in Winnipeg. He kept the Jets at bay early on and when they did finally score, it was the combination of a power play and a deflection he could do nothing about.
Want your voice heard? Join the Oil On Whyte team!
However, this would prove to be the only time the home side would score past Skinner. He kept the Oilers in the game with some key stops on subsequent power play opportunities for the Jets.
When it was all said and done, the 2017 third round draft pick stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced. While his overall stats on the season may still not look great, he’s at least trending in the right direction.
After the game, Skinner was asked about the team’s improved ability of late, to lock it down. Speaking to the media, he said:
“I think especially in this game, we did a really good job. Obviously there’s some tweaks that have to be made, as always. Every win or loss there’s things to improve on, so it’s just a matter of sticking with it, which I know the guys will.”
1) Ryan McLeod
The 2022-23 campaign was the best yet for Ryan McLeod, as he proved himself as an important component of the bottom six for the Oilers. He set career bests for assists, overall points, shooting percentage, hits, average ice time and plus/minus rating, despite playing 14 fewer games than a season earlier.
This season however, saw McLeod take a step back in his development. Despite averaging more ice time than his previous three seasons, he had no points and a -3 plus/minus rating through eight games in October.
Things started to improve gradually during November, with the 24-year-old beginning to look more like the player from last season. And the month ended with a bang on Thursday night, with his best game of the season to date.
McLeod particularly proved his worth during the final period, when the Oilers were trying to come back from a 1-0 deficit with less than seven minutes remaining. He controlled the puck well and executed a nice spin move, before setting up Nurse for his tying goal with an excellent pass.
It represented the 2018 second round draft pick’s fifth assist of the month, and indeed the season. However, his best moment was still to come.
With Jets down 2-1 and chasing the game with an extra skater, McLeod scored an empty-netter from long range to seal the win with 20 seconds remaining. Following on from his career-high of 11 goals last season, it represented his first of the 2023-24 campaign.
McLeod understandably didn’t care how he scored, just that he did. Speaking to the media postgame, he said:
“Yes, obviously it was a little bit of a frustrating start (to the season), but it was good to get that one out of the way. Hopefully there’s more to come.”
Next. Latest Oilers injury news heading into December. dark
With the win, the Oilers improved to 9-12-1 and remain within five points of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. They will now have five days off — arguably too long when you’re on a good run of form — before returning to action at home on Wednesday night, against the Hurricanes.