The last time the Edmonton Oilers got blanked 1–0 by a stud goalie, they went out the next night and gave the Seattle Kraken one of their worst beatdowns ever. Well, here we are again; the Oilers having been stuffed by one Ilya Sorokin two nights prior. And on this night, they headed out to Vancouver to take on the Canucks. Not the Canucks of two seasons ago, remember; rather, a Canucks team riding not just any struggle bus, but a rapid-transit articulated struggle bus rolling down Marine Drive.
This game had some emotional context for both clubs. On the Vancouver side, this is the occasion of game number 600 for star forward Brock Boeser. For Edmonton’s part, not only are they on the verge of an historic night for veteran Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. But for one, they would be without Leon Draisaitl, who is attending to a family matter. And for two, they dressed Calvin Pickard as the backup to Tristan Jarry for this game. The significance: Pickard is from Moncton, where Sportsnet was hosting their annual Hockey Day in Canada programming from this year.
The first period didn’t see a whole lot of shots on goal for either team. In fact, 880 CHED’s Bob Stauffer was already lamenting missed chances for Edmonton during said opening frame. Turns out, that first period was simply a tune-up for the real action the Oilers brought in for the second period. In honour of the NFL Playoffs taking place, the Oilers scored an unconverted touchdown in a span so quick, it felt like time momentarily had sped up. And this is all with Draisaitl out, and Connor McDavid settling for a measly assist as he tries to start a new 20-game points streak.
Oilers win 6–0.
Too many times the Oilers let themselves fall victim to a good performance by a mediocre team. Not so tonight, as they didn’t even need 15 minutes, let alone 20 or 60, to brush off the Canucks. Here’s the game story.
Roslovic and Kapanen continue to get back into their grooves
Both Jack Roslovic and Kasperi Kapanen have missed time this season due to injury. And perhaps, as a result, both have something extra to prove. With how some of the forward options aren’t working out, they can cement their roles on this team. It can be suggested one of them had already been doing that since his return.
Both of them ended up scoring in the second period. And then, both of them ended up doubling down. It’s perhaps only surprising because the team usually goes as McDavid and Draisaitl go. But here, the second-period icebreaker from Roslovic came with assists to Curtis Lazar (who has been sneaky-good lately) and Jake Walman.
Roslovic’s second goal featured assists for Matt Savoie and Isaac “Ike” Howard. Hey, maybe putting a proven scorer with the kids is actually a good idea. Certainly better than sticking them next to someone like Trent Frederic.
Kapanen, meanwhile, continued to find great success on the second line, even with Nugent-Hopkins filling in for Draisaitl. On the eve of his 1,000th game, “The Nuge” got assists on both Kapanen tallies. Yes, folks, Kapanen is back, and here to stay in the top-six for good.
The Oilers needed a robust performance from the depth players on this night, given the circumstances. Safe to say, they got what they wished for and then some. Roslovic’s and Kapanen’s respective lines earned their keep in full with a showing like this.
Podkolzin gets top-line minutes, gets revenge on his former team
Without Draisaitl, and with Nugent-Hopkins moved to the 2C spot, Vasily Podkolzin got to play with McDavid in this one. He’s done it a couple times before, but never as a default option. But he hasn’t needed to, until this game.
He showed very well overall in this contest, appearing motivated to face his former club. Interestingly enough, McDavid’s only assist came on a Zach Hyman power play goal. It did not come on the goal Podkolzin would score, which effectively served as an exclamation point on the whole evening.
Great to see Podkolzin flourishing as an Oiler. Last season, when he wasn’t with Draisaitl, he appeared tentative, and didn’t always make plays happen. This game may be the strongest sign yet that the Oilers have unlocked some of his top-10-draft-pick talent.
Tristan Jarry’s first shutout as an Edmonton Oiler
Jarry’s first start back from injury didn’t go exactly as he planned it, it’s safe to say. At least, with Connor Ingram starting the next game, that means Jarry’s second chance comes in this one, after a nice one-game reset. Here’s an opportunity to brush off the sting of that loss to the Nashville Predators.
Bounce back, he did. There weren’t too many high-danger chances that Jarry had to worry about, but even when he did, he was dialed in from the outset. Rebounds, he corralled before a Canuck could swat them in. High shots turned into glove snares, and immediate whistles for stoppages in play.
All told, Jarry made 31 saves for his first shutout as an Edmonton Oiler. Maybe it’s the new mask? It surely has to be the new mask, which is fire, by the way. Jarry and Ingram, as this Oilers tandem. Holy smokes, it’s sounding better and better by the day.
Extending well wishes to Leon and his family
Early on in the day, it was announced that Draisaitl would be away from the Oilers. The personal leave was taken due to an illness in the Draisaitl family. As usual with this sort of situation, no details were given.
We send our thoughts and well-wishes to the Draisaitl family. There is no need for us to know what it is; it needing a leave of absence says how serious it is. The Oilers played motivated with him absent, and hopefully they keep doing that for their star teammate.
Player perspective
“We’ve been trying… it’s not just tonight; it’s been the last handful of games, that we’ve been working at trying to get one to go in.” -Jack Roslovic on his line’s determination to score tonight
Nuge’s 1,000th game is finally upon us
Enjoy today, folks. Savour it. This fanbase has literally never seen a day like this, in the franchise’s 47-year history. We’ve seen Adam Henrique play his own 1,000th game as an Oiler, but that came after lengthy stints as a New Jersey Devil and an Anaheim Duck.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will become the first player ever to play all of his first 1,000 NHL games as an Oiler. None of the franchise’s legends ever did that; only Kevin Lowe played 1,000 games as an Oiler, but that took a 1996–97 return to achieve. What “The Nuge” will officially do tonight, nobody else has ever done before.
Let’s all take this opportunity to celebrate number 93. Through thick and thin, and all different eras of Oilers hockey since the 2000’s, he has been there. Nugent-Hopkins should be an Oiler for life. And on this special date of January 18, 2026, he should be cheered for blazing this special trail.
3 Comments