"They don't ask how, they ask how many" should be the official motto of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2025-26 National Hockey League season.
If that does not sum up the game against the Carolina Hurricanes and the Oilers season thus far, I do not know what does. The team squeaked out a 4-3 victory in overtime over the Hurricanes, improving their record at the quarter mark of the season to 9-7-4 in 20 games.
Zach Hyman made his season debut and looked to be in good shape, throwing 11 hits and grabbing an assist. Winger Jack Roslovic stayed hot, scoring a goal and an assist while Leon Draisaitl scored a goal and two assists, including the overtime winner just 19 seconds in. Of course, captain Connor McDavid came away with a pair of goals and one assist in the outing.
It is a big win in the sense that the Oilers have struggled and need to find a way to stack up wins and points in any way they can. On top of that, there are positive to take away from this game but there are still some of the same old issues present in the Oilers play.
Positive takeaways
It is important to recognize the positives and there were a few in this game. The most obvious being that the Oilers faced one of the top teams in the entire NHL and came away with a victory.
Special teams
The special teams were literally perfect in this game. They went one-for-one on the powerplay and two-for-two on the penalty kill. It was a strong performance and shows the strength behind the bench, especially from their assistants. It also shows that the Oilers clearly have the personnel to play with structure both behind the bench and on the ice.
Goaltending
Starting netminder Stuart Skinner was a player to watch this game and if you did, you likely came away pleased. He stopped 33 of 36 shots with a .917 save percentage and more importantly held the fort, keeping the Oilers in a game that could have gotten out of hand as has happened many times this year. He gets full marks for his effort.
Even strength scoring
Another issue that has plagued the Oilers this season is their scoring at even strength. Having a powerplay that is performing well is important -- especially for a team with the potent firepower that the Oilers have -- but the vast majority of an NHL game is played at even strength. This was an issue early on and is something that is still evident but has started to correct itself as the year has gone on. In this game, 3/4 Oilers goals were scored at evens, a positive development for the year.
Looking ahead
The negatives in the Oilers game are still there, the team was heavily outshot -- but where able to out chance the Hurricanes as per moneypuck.com -- and the depth scoring is still not consistent.
The team will continue on their seven game roadtrip against the struggling Buffalo Sabres on Monday night. After that game they will have only three games left on their trip before going back to Edmonton for a brief stint.