The Edmonton Oilers have snapped their second four-game losing streak of the season, and they did it in decisive fashion. After four straight games of being completely goalied, they finally ran into a goalie who couldn’t make a save.
In the Oilers’ Saturday night tilt against the Seattle Kraken, they faced Philipp Grubauer in net. He sported a 3.01 GAA and .900 SV% before the game, but the Oilers were able to break him early on. Rather, one specific Oiler was able to break him early on.
Hyman’s hat trick comes naturally
The game’s first three goals were scored in the first period, and they were all scored by Edmonton, and they were all scored by Zach Hyman.
A partial two-on-one midway through the first frame led to Hyman scoring his first. Then a rebound right in the front of the net was picked up by Hyman for a power play marker. Finally, another scramble in front of the net saw Hyman once again in the right place at the right time.
Three straight goals from Hyman set the tone for Edmonton as he was on a mission to snap their skid.
The last time an Oiler scored a natural hat trick was back on February 20, 2021, when Connor McDavid did it against the Calgary Flames.
A statement for the right direction
Edmonton wasn’t done with the offence after Hyman’s hat trick. Dylan Holloway added another before the period was over to give the Oilers a commanding 4–0 lead.
The Oilers finish their road trip on a high note but still sit 31st overall. Whether this win is enough to keep the coaching staff or not remains to be known, but the case to keep Woodcroft needs to be considered.
A 3–9–1 record is precarious for playoff chances, but the team finally got pucks going in when they needed it most. One win doesn’t mean the Oilers have fixed everything, but it’s a step in the right direction.
On top of Hyman’s hat trick, another positive came out of Stuart Skinner‘s play. He didn’t face too many shots, but he still kept the Kraken scoreless after two periods of play. A four-goal deficit is exceedingly difficult to overcome in one period, so Skinner did his job to give his team their best chance to win.
However, it’s not all happy for Edmonton. A win is a win, but the win also saw both McDavid and Leon Draisaitl held pointless. That’s three games in a row that McDavid has been held to zero points, and the fourth game overall this season already where McDavid had a stat line of 0–0—0. For Draisaitl, it’s his fifth time this year as well.
Lots still need to be fixed for the Oilers, but for one night, it was Hyman and Skinner who put in all the work and got the results the team needed.
