The Edmonton Oilers didn’t play a good game of hockey. They did, however, play a good period: the third. That was what they needed to battle past the Arizona Coyotes to secure Kris Knoblauch his 30th win as an NHL head coach, a mark he only needed 39 games to reach.
Charts and observations from the victory are below!
Game events
- The Oilers were held to just 26 shots. The team has averaged 33.3 on the season so clocking in under 30 shots is always a bit of a surprise.
- Edmonton was better at faceoffs, had more blocks, and fewer misses. However, they were out hit 27–17.
Goals
| Goal | Assists | Time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leon Draisaitl (PPG) | Connor McDavid, Evan Bouchard | 2:12 | 1st | EDM 1 – 0 ARI |
| Nick Bjugstad | Lawson Crouse, Matt Dumba | 4:15 | 1st | EDM 1 – 1 ARI |
| Mattias Janmark | Brett Kulak, Vincent Desharnais | 6:07 | 1st | EDM 2 – 1 ARI |
| Clayton Keller (PPG) | Nick Schmaltz, Sean Durzi | 2:53 | 2nd | EDM 2 – 2 ARI |
| Nick Bjugstad | Clayton Keller | 10:52 | 2nd | EDM 2 – 3 ARI |
| Evander Kane | Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm | 4:28 | 3rd | EDM 3 – 3 ARI |
| Zach Hyman | Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard | 4:54 | 3rd | EDM 4 – 3 ARI |
| Evander Kane | Ryan McLeod, Leon Draisaitl | 6:31 | 3rd | EDM 5 – 3 ARI |
| Warren Foegele | Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl | 18:51 | 3rd | EDM 6 – 3 ARI |
- The Oilers and Coyotes traded goals with the Coyotes leading after two. The four-goal third period was clearly the difference-maker for Edmonton.
- Five different Oilers scored goals in the game with Zach Hyman picking up the game-winner with his third period marker.
All situations Corsi
- The Oilers did score two goals early, but they weren’t particularly good on offence. Instead, the more or less took their foot off the gas pedal after their second goal for much of the game.
- The Coyotes weren’t necessarily better either, but this is also a team that’s now lost 10 in a row.
- Edmonton was flat for most of the second period, but their third period outburst came at the right time.
- As mentioned, Edmonton’s offence wasn’t phenomenal, but it was good enough to get the job done. They didn’t dominate the high-danger shots as they usually do, but they still got goals from those areas. A good offence will see consistency pay off and that’s what happened to the Oilers.
- Interestingly, all three of the Coyotes’ goals came from virtually the same spot.
5v5 Corsi
- Not much happened at 5v5 all things considered, but the Coyotes did have several stretches in the second period of pretty sustained pressure with one goal to show for it.
- Edmonton’s 5v5 game was not quite up to their standards. Especially against a spiralling team like Arizona, the Oilers were simply not as tenacious as one might have expected.
- However, all three of their 5v5 goals came from in close and as mentioned above, their season-long consistency paid off.
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