After a streak of games where the Edmonton Oilers looked like nothing could go right for them regardless of the situation, they finally got a much-needed and much-earned victory on Friday afternoon against the Washington Capitals.
Add in the fact that netminder Stuart Skinner earned his first shutout of the season, and things just could not have gone better for the Oilers a game after they had to pull him in the first period.
Not only did they earn two key points, as the team looks to get back into the playoff hunt, but also just an overall good vibes situation for a team that recently looked like they were breaking Connor McDavid’s spirit.
Smiles all around
It’s hard to pick just one key outcome of the game this afternoon, as there were simply too many to call out.
First, and more importantly, the Oilers were the better team all game long, deserved the victory, and nothing stopped them from achieving that goal. In the last few games the team has squandered so many leads that after such a hot start, it would have been expected to feel some hesitancy around what was to come.
The team continued to bring the same effort across all 60 minutes and that showed in their underlying numbers. The team held a 78.1% CF% in the first period alone, in addition to a 77.8% SCF% and an 80% HDCF% as well. The team led in almost every statistical category and got it done on the offensive end for once.
As well, the team’s best players were their best players this afternoon. Leon Draisaitl registered two goals and an assist, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also registered three points with a goal and two assists, but none were better than McDavid who had a four-point outing which was double his previous best game this season. If they can keep up this type of torrid pace, this is the team we would have expected to see earlier this season.
Plus how can you not see the exuberant emotions on some of these players’ faces and think “Good vibes are back.”
All that being said, the best thing to come out of the game has to be Skinner’s performance. He only faced 25 shots, five of which were considered to be high-danger, but he made those key saves when the team needed him to. When the Oilers’ defensive structure failed, their goaltending hasn’t bailed them out. This afternoon, it finally helped bail them out which is what you need to win in this league.
It’s one game, but it’s a heck of a step in the right direction.
