Expectations are an interesting thing in life. Half the time, expectations don’t result in anything close to what you imagined would happen. The Edmonton Oilers went into the Christmas break on the funkiest kind of hot streak ever. Despite not winning more than two games in a row, they wound up 8-2-1 over 11 games entering the holidays. Everyone expected the holidays to propel the Oilers into the first winning streak of the season.
Instead, the Oilers have had four straight games of mediocre starts, over-reliance on star players, and hit-or-miss goaltending. Given how tight things have been standings-wise all season, they’re fortunate to still be tied for 1st place in the Pacific Division. But wins are of major significance now, and the Nashville Predators came to town looking for some of their own. After a dismal start to 2025-26, the Preds have climbed back to the outer edges of the playoff picture. They, too, need wins badly.
Head Coach Kris Knoblauch defied expectations from the fanbase by scratching two underperforming forwards for this game. Both Andrew Mangiapane and Trent Frederic sat this one out, while Kasperi Kapanen returned from injury. And though we all sneered at the expectation that Kapanen could possibly score 15 goals this season, he’s already got one thanks to this game.
Unlike the past four contests, the Oilers began this one relatively on time. Ingram, getting the start, didn’t have much work to do in the early going. Aiding him was not just another stellar night from Connor McDavid, but some crucial depth scoring, a reunited Selke-calibre second line, and a milestone to top it all off.
It’s one game of a sample size, but what a game that was for the new-look lineup. This feels like the closest the team has been all season to solidifying their four forward lines. Here’s the game story.
It’s Connor McDavid’s world, and we’re all just living in it
McDavid is having a “Gretzkian” run right now, and perhaps we owe Jesper Wallstedt an apology. Since the Wall of St. Paul’s shutout of Edmonton on December 2, the Oilers captain has been an unstoppable force matched by nobody else in the NHL. Nathan MacKinnon comes close, but that’s just it.
This opening salvo fired in the first period probably isn’t even his third-best goal over the last month. Any other guy scores that, it’s on their personal highlight reels forever. For McDavid, it’s just an average Tuesday night goal.
McDavid then drew a penalty shot in the second period, which is a moment as rare as a snow-free week in winter. All Juuse Saros can do is hope and pray. All McDavid does is beat him upstairs anyway.
McDavid finished off the hat-trick with less than a minute to go in the third period. It was Nashville’s fault for even having the audacity to make the game competitive to start the frame.
The stats for McDavid since December 2 are outrageous. 17 goals, 22 assists, for a total of 39 points. In just 16 games. Wizardry. There’s no other way to describe it, at this point.
The depth scoring finally arrives after being missing in action
One major reason why Edmonton was stuck scoring two goals per game since the Christmas break was a shortage of depth scoring. As has been preached for 11 seasons now, McDavid and Draisaitl can only carry the Oilers so far by themselves. With a timely goal here or there, maybe Edmonton goes 2-2 or even 3-1 instead of 1-3 coming out of the break.
After The Connor McDavid Show made it 2-0, the third line got their work boots on and made things happen. Off a turnover forced by Mattias Janmark, Curtis Lazar put the puck right on goal. Matt Savoie then caused a commotion long enough for Lazar to come in and finish the goal off himself. Just his third goal of the season, but very timely- this took a lot of hope away from Nashville, coming so soon after McDavid’s second strike.
The freshly-returned Kapanen also made a major impact on this game. Taking the place of Mangiapane, Kapanen potted the fourth goal in a way he probably didn’t mean to, but appreciated anyway. Just like when you take a wrong turn heading out to Tim Hortons to grab coffee, but it leads to the hidden gems of Edmonton’s local coffee scene, it all works out in the end.
Kapanen also assisted on Draisaitl’s goal that made it 5-2, after the Preds tried to claw back. For Kapanen, and the third line, this was a massive success of a game played.
After a blip against Boston, Ingram was back to being solid
Connor Ingram had three really solid starts two weeks ago, against the Vegas Golden Knights and the Calgary Flames twice. Last week, however, his New Year’s Eve performance against the Boston Bruins was very subpar. Many were wondering if it was Ingram coming back down to earth after a motivational week of games.
It was very much not. Like the cyclists who brave minus-20 weather, Ingram shook off that adversity with relative ease. He once again looked steady and composed in this game, even adding some flash to some of his saves. To be fair, the team in front of him limited the Predators’ chances for much of the first period. Ingram got to ease into the game, but when called upon, he was dynamite.
He finished this game with 24 saves on 26 shots against, for a .923 save percentage. He’s earned at least the backup role with his solid play since being recalled.
Nuge crosses off a long-awaited milestone as he nears another
Bonus takeaway, and stick-taps, from this game go to the elder statesman of this team, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He notched his 499th career assist against the New York Islanders on Saturday, and turns out, apple number 500 was hanging from the very next tree. Granted, he had to wait until the game’s final minute to set up McDavid’s hat-trick, but it still counts.
This came in game number 993 for The Nuge, meaning 1000 games played is within view at long last. Only Kevin Lowe has played more games in Oilers colours than Nugent-Hopkins has. So it certainly seems like January 2026 is gonna be Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Month in the City of Edmonton. Congrats on the 500-assist milestone, Ryan!
The Jets are failing to take flight. Make sure they stay grounded
After winning the Presidents’ Trophy last year and knocking the St. Louis Blues out of the playoffs in thrilling fashion, the Winnipeg Jets are struggling mightily right now. They’ve fallen to the bottom of the Central Division, which has basically turned into a three-team arms race. And while Colorado, Dallas, and Minnesota continue to load up, the Jets continue to slide. This is who the Oilers play next.
The Oilers have some momentum from tonight, which is good. They’re not waiting three days for their next game, which is even better. They must continue to show Winnipeg the same amount of mercy they’ve shown in the previous two matchups with them: None.
Don’t become the fodder for another team’s “get-right” game. Continue to pour it on against the Jets, and in the process, build towards a sustainable winning streak of your own. It’s the 2026 portion of the season now. We’ve waited too long for three consecutive victories.
