On a night where a significant baseball game was going on over in Eastern Canada, the Edmonton Oilers had work to do against the Chicago Blackhawks to get back in the win column after blowing a 3-1 lead two nights ago to lose in Overtime. On Stuart Skinner’s birthday, the Oilers were looking to play a more complete game in front of him. In Halloween terms, Edmonton was looking to replace the trick from two nights ago with a treat.
Mission accomplished. The path to securing the win wasn’t easy, as these aren’t the ‘Hawks of the last five seasons. But in the end, the Oilers controlled play well enough in overtime to snag the victory. Instead of those chalky, unsatisfactory Rockets candies, the Oilers got a full bag of chips trick-or-treating tonight.
A 3-2 Overtime win, as Edmonton improves to 6-4-2 on the season. Here’s the game story.
The power-play giveth, the penalty kill taketh away
Their respective teams’ power plays notched the first three combined goals of this game. Going into the third period, the Oilers were two-for-two and the ‘Hawks one-for-one on PP chances. If you ever wonder why discipline is often preached as an absolute and not an ask, that is precisely why.
Leon Draisaitl actually scored twice on the same power play. Only one of those counted, however, because his would-be first-period tally was a couple of tenths of a second late in crossing the goal line. Surely his only thought during the intermission was putting it in the net again anyway.
Jack Roslovic got the other second-period PP goal for Edmonton, to restore their lead later on. Roslovic went through some bad luck in his first few games as an Oiler, as he adjusted to his new team. The past few games, however, he’s looked every bit like 20-goal scorer Roslovic.
At the other end, Tyler Bertuzzi got the Chicago PP strike to even the game at 1-1. Giving Connor Bedard a whole lot of space to work with is apparently a bad idea. He made a deft pass to Bertuzzi, waiting at the other side of the net, and Bertuzzi cashed in.
Birthday boy Skinner earned this birthday present victory
Come heck or high water, there will be criticism of Oilers goaltenders who do not play like prime Martin Brodeur. This is to say, all of them. Stuart Skinner is once again a lightning rod in social media circles, and once again Schrödinger’s Goalie. How much of the team’s middling start falls on him is debatable, but he needed to have a good game tonight.
This, he very much did, and on his 27th birthday no less (happy birthday, Stu!). In the latter half of the 2nd period and throughout the 3rd, Skinner made several solid stops, including a couple of dynamite saves on Grade A chances against. It certainly wasn’t a transcendent game worthy of the “goalie stole this” label. But it didn’t need to be.
Skinner finished the night with 27 saves, fittingly enough, and a .931 save percentage. This is exactly the kind of goaltending the Oilers are looking for. Nothing more than just “be solid, keep your team in it, allow the offence to win the game”.
On the season, Skinner is now back up to .900 in the save percentage category. Compared to where he was at this time last year, this is a much better start for the Edmonton starting netminder. It also makes achieving his personal goals even more realistic.
Defence’s offence has come alive in the past few games
Jake Walman’s OT winner against the Ottawa Senators ten days ago has sparked something of a dam burst. Ever since, the Oilers’ defence corps has been scoring, and scoring a lot. They helped steal points against Vancouver and New York, and made a significant contribution to the win over the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night.
Though no defenceman scored in regulation, Evan Bouchard came through in bonus hockey. His second goal of the year ended this game after the Oilers had the lion’s share of possession in OT. Both Oilers overtime winners so far this season have come from the back end.
This is so far the 8th goal by an Oilers defenceman this season, but all 8 have come very recently. In underrated fashion, the Edmonton defence has put together a mostly solid past few games. Without their timely plays, this season likely doesn’t currently feature a 6-4-2 record.
Postgame congrats, and what’s next for the Oilers
Besides the birthday win for Skinner, this game is also head coach Kris Knoblauch’s 100th win as an NHL bench boss. He is the eighth-fastest coach in the history of the NHL to reach the milestone. Congrats, Coach Knoblauch!
The Oilers now head out for a quick two-game road trip to St. Louis and Dallas, for showdowns against the Blues and Stars. This will serve as something of an appetizer for later in the month. A seven-game roadie awaits Edmonton after two more home contests next weekend.
