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EDMONTON — The focus around the Edmonton Oilers has been centred on all the goals that arenâ€t going in. But have we been looking at the wrong end of the rink?

While a high-powered offence managed just one even-strength goal in a 3-2, life and death, overtime struggle against the Brady Tkachuk-less Ottawa Senators, at the other end of the ice stood Stuart Skinner, who is quietly authoring perhaps the best start of any of the Oilers’ core players.

“I feel like this is a really good floor for me. The new floor for me,†Skinner said. “Just continuing my game, staying in the same mind frame here, and just give the guys a chance to win.â€

On a night of milestones Tuesday, Skinner notched his 100th career win, stopping 18 Ottawa shots. He has quietly started the season in solid fashion, building up a 2.17 goals against average and a .909 save percentage behind a team that has trouble scoring more than twice a night in regulation.

It was a long and windy road to 100 wins for a local kid who has been a whipping boy for Oilers fans at times. Heâ€s in a contract year, and it feels like this is the season where Skinner either establishes himself as the goalie of record in Edmonton, or the Oilers go out and find one.

So far this season, heâ€s staking claim to the gig, becoming the sixth Oilers goalie ever to win 100 games, and third fastest (179 games), behind Grant Fuhr (174) and Andy Moog (163).

“It’s actually funny — my first game was against Ottawa,†Skinner chuckled after beating the Sens for the sixth time in seven starts. “I’m pretty sure Davo and Leo (Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl) had nine points, and I still managed to let in five. So it was a pretty tough first game. From there to here — it’s my fourth year now in the NHL — it’s been quite the journey.

“I’m definitely miles ahead of that guy when I was 20, 21, years old.â€

On a night where Adam Henrique played career game No. 1,000, Ike Howard scored his first-ever NHL goal, and Jake Walman won the game with an OT blast in his first game of the season, Skinner just quietly went about his business. He was beaten on a close-in snipe by Dylan Cozens and a long, screened blast by Thomas Chabot — both coming in the opening 1:49 of the third period to tie the game.

The win was perhaps Edmontonâ€s best overall performance on a 2-3 road trip, a journey that saw the Oilers offence go flat. They scored just two regulation goals in every game but one, and that night Curtis Lazar scored with three seconds left in a 5-2 game.

The struggle is real in Edmonton, where this win was more important than any win on Oct. 21 should be, considering the circumstances.

“We wanted to get this one before we went back home for one (against Montreal Thursday), and try to finish off the road trip on a positive note,†said Walman, who stepped back into the lineup after losing the first six games to injury, bombing home the winner at the tail end of an overtime power play.

“It could have been an ugly road trip,†said Skinner.

Itâ€s crazy to think that Adam Henrique would play his 1,000th NHL game on the same night that Ike Howard would score his first NHL goal.

Even crazier? Henrique is the first player ever to play game No. 1,000 in an Oilers uniform. Ever!

“Thatâ€s kind of shocking,†said Henrique. “Youâ€d think with the history here, you would think someone would have played their 1,000th game here at one time or another.â€

Well, before you know it, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will become the second player. His 1,000th game — assuming he doesnâ€t miss any starts between now and then — is slated for Dec. 31 at home against Boston.

Henrique, a highly respected veteran who has always played an honest game, was feted nicely in Ottawa on Tuesday

What does he want people to think of him as when heâ€s gone?

“A good person and a good teammate,†the 35-year-old said. “Thatâ€s all Iâ€ve ever tried to (be). Lead by example — Iâ€m not a rah rah type of guy.â€

“A true pro — to be in the league that long is amazing,†said Walman. “A lot of guys around the league have taken something from Ricoâ€s game at some point, and off the ice for sure.â€

Meanwhile, Howard snapped home a clean one-timer on a pass from Draisaitl, the first of many for a 21-year-old who is just beginning to find his legs in the NHL. Edmonton gained possession of the puck when McDavid doggedly checked/hauled down Ottawaâ€s Chabot, who turned it over to Draisaitl.

“Super cool. Going to be a moment I’ll remember forever,†said Howard. “And to have those two guys in on the goal, it’s pretty special. A couple great plays by them.â€

OIL SPILLS: Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch said that Kasperi Kapanen will be gone long-term with an undisclosed injury suffered Sunday in Detroit. “Unfortunately heâ€ll be out several weeks — up to six. Heâ€ll be unavailable for a while.†He also said that Mattias Janmark is “not coming back anytime soon.†… Walman returned Tuesday, leaving Kapanen, Janmark, Alec Regula and Zach Hyman on the injured list. Lazar and Troy Stecher were healthy scratches Tuesday.

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Oct 21, 2025, 10:27 PM ET

OTTAWA — Defenseman Jake Walman, activated from injured reserve on Monday after missing the season’s first six games with an injury, scored in overtime on Tuesday night, lifting the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Walman, a late-season acquisition last year who helped Edmonton back to the Stanley Cup Finals, was injured in a preseason game on Sept. 21, but the 28-year-old veteran picked up where he left off on Tuesday. He finished with 25 shot in 18:51 of ice time, and registered four blocks.

The Oilers wrapped up their five-game road trip and handed the Senators their second consecutive loss on home ice.

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The Senators scored twice in a span of 1:25 to tie the game 2-2 early in the third. Ottawa got on the board after winning a puck battle along the boards. Drake Batherson dished a pass to Dylan Cozens who scored on the power play past Stuart Skinner, who made 19 saves. Just over a minute later Thomas Chabot beat a screened Skinner to tie the game.

The Oilers opened the scoring late in the first with a power-play goal when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fed Connor McDavid, who snapped a shot from the top of the faceoff circle for his first of the season.

Edmonton extended its lead to 2-0 just 49 seconds into the second period after a turnover by the Senators. Leon Draisaitl skated in before sliding a pass back to rookie Isaac Howard, who beat Linus Ullmark, who finished with 22 saves, for his first career NHL goal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Detroit has won five straight since opening with a 5-1 loss to Montreal.

Edmonton has a losing record after dropping a third straight game as superstar Connor McDavid extended his career-long, season-opening, goal drought to six games.

Detroit’s John Gibson stopped 16 shots, including one that denied McDavid midway through the third period. On the same shift, Larkin poked the puck away from the three-time MVP to take away another potential scoring opportunity.

Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner had 21 saves.

Leon Draisaitl was all alone with a chance to pull the Oilers into a tie late in the game, but lost control of the puck.

Shortly thereafter, Finne scored an empty-net goal to seal it.

Finne, a 2023 seventh-round pick, had the first goal of midway through the second period to put Detroit ahead 2-0 after Larkin broke a scoreless tie a few minutes earlier in the period.

Larkin, who has a point in all six games this season, resored the Red Wings’ two-goal lead late in the third period after Edmonton’s Noah Philp scored.

Detroit’s captain is the third Red Wing to have multiple season-opening point streaks of six or more games, joining Hall of Famers Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman.

The Red Wings are off to a desperately needed strong start after extending their franchise-record post-season drought to nine years last spring.

The Oilers, coming off back-to-back losses in the Stanley Cup Final, didn’t earn a point for the first time against Detroit in eight games to end their longest active streak against an opponent.

Oilers: At Ottawa on Tuesday night.

Devils: At Buffalo on Wednesday night.

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NEWARK, N.J. — Pe-rim-e-ter:The outermost parts or boundary of an area or object.

In hockey, an area away from the net, beyond the reach of the defensive team.

The Edmonton Oilers sit near the bottom of the NHL in even-strength goals, and itâ€s no mystery why. In the offensive zone, theyâ€re playing the game right now out on the edges, near the boards. Not in the hard areas where goals come from.

“I agree with that,†said forward Andrew Mangiapane, who went minus-2 without a shot on net in a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon. “A lot of goals are scored around this league by just being in front of the net and causing havoc. Getting that puck back and doing it again and again and again.

“I feel like weâ€ve got to deliver more pucks to the net, and our forwards have to do a better job of getting to the net.â€

There are two things going on here, as the Oilers wobble through the New York area with a win and two losses, the second-best team on the ice in all three games.

One, their best two net-front forwards last season were Corey Perry and Zach Hyman. The former is an L.A. King now, and the latter is out with a dislocated wrist until some time in November.

Someone has to figure out where the blue paint is, and fast.

“Somebody’s got to park out front … but everybody can have a little bit of that in their game. Go to the front of that when it’s your turn,†explained Adam Henrique, still a fan favourite here after seven seasons as a Devil. “If Iâ€ve got the puck on the outside, I can’t be at the net — so somebody else to. If somebody else is out there, then maybe Iâ€ve got to be there that time.

“When it’s your turn, it’s your turn. And I think we can find a little more of that.â€

The second part is simply this teamâ€s DNA.

The default here, when scoring starts to get a little scarce, is to make more passes. To share the puck more, not less — especially in October — when the answer is likely to get a little more selfish. To shoot more often, or dip your shoulder and take a puck to the net rather than pull up and look to pass.

Weâ€ve seen what this team looks like when it counts. How down and dirty it can become when the Golden Knights, Stars or Panthers push them up against a wall in April, May or June.

It takes a minute for this team to find that game in October and November, no question. But speaking with Connor McDavid after Saturdayâ€s loss, we would expect a little more linear game Sunday afternoon in Detroit.

“Everybody can be simpler. Everybody can do things a little bit easier, more predictable for each other. Get more pucks to the net, get more bodies to the net,†the Oilers captain said. “All the cliches are cliches because they work.

“Weâ€ll get back to our game here.â€

Somehow, a team that blew its opener to Calgary despite outplaying the Flames, then dominated Vancouver in an impressive win, forgot to pack its game for this Eastern swing.

They were average in New York, a ticking timebomb of giveaways on Long Island, and simply blah here. It was only a matter of time before the quicker, more concerted Devils found twine behind Calvin Pickard, and the Oilers were in chase mode the rest of the day.

“We talked about getting off to a good start — and we want to get out to a good start,†said McDavid, whose Oilers are now 2-2-1 after five games. “These games matter, and we didn’t find a way to win or get better today.

“Maybe the second part is more important than the first. Results matter, but I didn’t like that we didn’t seem to get any better today.â€

It was the second straight game in which the power-play unit surrendered a shorthanded goal, this one to ex-Oiler Connor Brown, who steamed in on a breakaway and beat Pickard.

“Those are kind of the special moments in your career,†Brown said of the goal, his third of the season. “You’ve been through so much with that team over there. Obviously, it’s just one of 82, but it kind of felt a little bigger for me, playing the old club. And to be able to pot one in a timely manner like that, it was a fun afternoon.â€

He bore down on Pickard, two former teammates whoâ€ll chuckle over that goal for years to come.

“I was actually just trying not to laugh against Pickard. We’ve got a pretty good bond,†Brown said. “I was telling the guys, (Leon) Draisaitl used to always tell me to go backhand-forehand on breakaways, so I thought I’d try it there and it worked.â€

Said teammate Brett Pesce: “I’m so happy for him. He lit up, too, like a Christmas tree.â€

Well, at least someone had some fun on a Saturday afternoon in Newark.

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It’s the Devils’ first four-game winning streak since a stretch of five victories in a row from Jan. 7-16, 2023. That was two coaching changes ago when Lindy Ruff was behind the bench.

Hughes knifed his way through three Edmonton skaters before beating Calvin Pickard far side for his first goal eight minutes into the second period. He made another nasty move to deke and shoot the puck past Pickard for his second with seven and a half minutes left.

Jesper Bratt scored on the power play off a faceoff and did so with Sweden Olympic coach Sam Hallam in attendance scouting ahead of the New Year’s Eve roster deadline for Milan. Bratt is a good bet to make it as a four-time 20-goal scorer who set a career high with 88 points last season.

Connor Brown, who left in free agency after spending the past two years with the Oilers and helping them go on back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final, took advantage of a mistake by former teammate Evan Bouchard to score one shorthanded. Brown has three goals in his first five games with New Jersey.

All that came after the Devils did not have a shot for the first 11 1/2 minutes. Allen kept them in the game early and did not have to make a ton of quality chances, though he turned aside Leon Draisaitl and Boucher on a power play for two of his better saves.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice for Edmonton, and former Devils forward Curtis Lazar added another with 1.7 seconds left after Dawson Mercer had sealed it with an empty-netter.

Oilers: Visit Detroit on Sunday.

Devils: Visit Toronto on Tuesday night.

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Oct 16, 2025, 11:16 PM ET

NEW YORK — Evan Bouchard had arguably one of the worst games of his NHL career in the Edmonton Oilers’ loss at the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

Mistakes he made led directly to two goals against, and he had several more giveaways and blunders that led to quality scoring chances.

“I’m going to have to improve on that,” Bouchard said. “You learn from it – obviously a lot of learning. Yeah, part of the game is forget good and bad, so move on, be ready next game.”

Bouchard is the fourth-highest paid defenseman in the NHL and tied for 14th among all players at a salary cap hit of $10.5 million, and he’s well worth that price when he’s creating more offense for his team than opponents. His 72 points over past three playoffs are 40 more than the next-closest player at the position.

“I know people can be hard on him for the mistakes, but you’ve also got to look at the upside of what he brings,” defense partner Mattias Ekholm said. “I’m sure he knows that he could’ve made some other decisions tonight, but I know that there’s other games and you saw the other night when he’s just pulling through their forward and just makes everybody look silly and things that I wouldn’t even think of. I’d be careful criticizing him because that’s who he is.”

Bouchard had the puck on his stick in the neutral zone late in the first period under little pressure and inexplicably had it stolen away by Mat Barzal, who broke in on Stuart Skinner to score his first goal since January.

“Just a bad play on my end,” Bouchard said.

Late in the second with Edmonton on the power play, Bouchard was in no-man’s land when Bo Horvat got behind him and scored short-handed.

“I thought I’d be able to keep it in if (Islanders penalty-killer Jean-Gabriel Pageau) chipped it up the wall,” Bouchard said. “Obviously, he didn’t do that.”

On the ESPN+ broadcast of the game, color analyst Ray Ferraro, a longtime forward in the league with over 1,300 games of experience, from between the benches called it “about as bad a two periods I’ve seen an NHL player play.”

After the game, a 4-2 loss that was New York’s first victory of the season, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch deadpanned, “I’ve seen Evan play better.”

“We cannot just accept that,” Knoblauch said. “Mistakes happen, but you have to address what types of mistakes are happening. Evan’s a fantastic player, one of the best in the league, certainly one of the best defensemen in the NHL. Tonight was not his night, but I’ve always seen him respond and play much better after games like this.”

It also did not come at a great time, with Tampa Bay general manager Julien BriseBois – a member of Hockey Canada’s management staff – watching in person. Bouchard figures to be an extreme long shot to make the Olympic team, especially because of his tendency to turn the puck over.

Ekholm, who is usually the safety valve to make up for errors Bouchard commits, said one of the soon-to-be 26-year-old’s super powers is his ability to forget quickly. His coach has noticed that over consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final and plenty of other times.

“I usually see him bounce back immediately after a bad shift, maybe a turnover, and it doesn’t faze him, and he makes the next play the next time,” Knoblauch said. “But we’re going to move on from it. We can’t dwell on it too much. We’ve got to learn from things that happened. Evan’s one of our best players, and we’ve got to have him playing as one of our best.”

Bouchard said teammates consistently tell him during games like this to “keep making plays.” Ekholm is confident those plays will come Saturday at the New Jersey Devils.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll see a different Bouchard,” Ekholm said. “I’m sure he’ll be back with force and vengeance.”

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NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Horvat tied it short-handed in the second period, scored the go-ahead goal on the power play and finished off the hat trick with an empty-netter with 8.1 seconds left to help the New York Islanders pick up their first win of the season by rallying to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Thursday night.

Seven seconds after Trent Frederic high-sticked Matthew Schaefer,Horvat beat Stuart Skinnerwith 4:46 left to bring fans — some of whom were booing the home team earlier — to their feet. Mat Barzalhad the Islanders’ first goal and the primary assist on Horvat’s game-winner, while David Rittich stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced at the other end of the ice in his Islanders debut.

Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard gave the puck away on an inexplicable turnover in the neutral zone to set up Barzal’s goal and was the last player back on the power play who let Horvat past him for a breakaway on Skinner. Bouchard, who is the fourth-highest-paid player at his position in the NHL and tied for 14th among all players at a salary cap hit of $10.5 million, also coughed the puck up to cause several quality scoring chances against.

Leon Draisaitl scored on the power play, his third goal this season, off a feed from Connor McDavid, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had Edmonton’s other goal. Skinner was hardly to blame in allowing three goals on 24 shots as teammates hung him out to dry on multiple occasions with mistakes all over in a back-and-forth, fast-paced game, including Frederic’s ill-timed penalty.

The Islanders will take the two points however they can get them after opening with losses at Pittsburgh and at home to Washington and Winnipeg. Schaefer, playing against McDavid for the first time as No. 1 draft picks a decade apart, skated 17:38 in his fourth game in the league.

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Oilers: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

Islanders: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

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NEW YORK — Bo Horvat tied it short-handed in the second period, scored the go-ahead goal on the power play and finished off the hat trick with an empty-netter with 8.1 seconds left to help the New York Islanders pick up their first win of the season by rallying to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Thursday night.

Seven seconds after Trent Frederic high-sticked Matthew Schaefer, Horvat beat Stuart Skinner with 4:46 left to bring fans — some of whom were booing the home team earlier — to their feet. Mat Barzal had the Islanders’ first goal and the primary assist on Horvat’s game-winner, while David Rittich stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced at the other end of the ice in his Islanders debut.

Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard gave the puck away on an inexplicable turnover in the neutral zone to set up Barzal’s goal and was the last player back on the power play who let Horvat past him for a breakaway on Skinner. Bouchard, who is the fourth-highest-paid player at his position in the NHL and tied for 14th among all players at a salary cap hit of $10.5 million, also coughed the puck up to cause several quality scoring chances against.

Leon Draisaitl scored on the power play, his third goal this season, off a feed from Connor McDavid, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had Edmonton’s other goal. Skinner was hardly to blame in allowing three goals on 24 shots as teammates hung him out to dry on multiple occasions with mistakes all over in a back-and-forth, fast-paced game, including Frederic’s ill-timed penalty.

The Islanders will take the two points however they can get them after opening with losses at Pittsburgh and at home to Washington and Winnipeg. Schaefer, playing against McDavid for the first time as No. 1 draft picks a decade apart, skated 17:38 in his fourth game in the league.

Oilers: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

Islanders: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

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NEW YORK — After his first start of the season, a 4-3 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames on opening night, Stuart Skinner chose to remember about 73 minutes of his evening. Meanwhile, Oilers Nation lost their minds over roughly three seconds of it.

Through 65 minutes of hockey and the ensuing 16-shooter shootout, Skinner had been exceptional. Well, except for that miscommunication on the first shift of the third period, where a moment of indecisiveness cost the Oilers a game-tying goal.

So, which part was truly indicative of the kind of season Skinner was going to have?

Well, if Tuesdayâ€s 2-0 shutout of the New York Rangers gives us a clue, maybe we can all let the three seconds go.

“No matter what,†the Oilers goalie began after this 30-save evening at the fabled Madison Square Garden, “if I’m playing the way that I want to play, then I’m going to feel good. You just want to carry that on, despite wins or losses. Despite external ideas, thoughts or whatever’s going on out there.â€

Oh, thereâ€s always a lot going on “out there†for Skinner, a local boy who plays goal in a Canadian market. The noise, well, it can be deafening.

“That position, it can be a very mental thing,†said veteran centre Adam Henrique, whose empty-net goal sealed the Rangers’ goalless fate. “There’s one gaffe — I might make a mistake up the ice or something, but the goalie is that last man standing for that last mistake that you see.â€

On Tuesday, Skinnerâ€s clean sheet was well earned. In a game where the Oilers did not get a power play, they surrendered three and survived each one.

“Stu was our best (penalty) killer,†said Darnell Nurse. “He was huge for us all night. Obviously, there’s going to be breakdowns. There’s going to be moments where heâ€s got to make big saves. He did that a handful times for us tonight.â€

This is being billed as the biggest year of Skinnerâ€s young career: an expiring contract matched by expiring confidence from an organization that has lost consecutive Stanley Cup Finals in which the other goalie was deemed superior. Edmonton GM Stan Bowman is looking to get better wherever he has to, and most folks are looking at his crease as a place to begin.

Well, two starts into his season, Skinner has earned three points, has a .942 save percentage and a 1.44 goals-against average.

The Oilers have allowed one goal in the past two games, and just four over their first nine periods (plus one overtime) of the season. Theyâ€re not lighting up the scoreboard, but defence and goaltending like this will take a team a long way.

“The way that we defended, the way that we just battled, block shots…,†marvelled Skinner, who collected career win No. 99 to open up this five-game Eastern swing. “Rico (Henrique) had a massive one. I mean, you can name every single guy pretty well, just how hard they worked in our end.â€

Trent Frederic scored his first regular-season goal as an Oiler, converting a breakaway that was furnished by Kasperi Kapanen, whose game was excellent Tuesday. Edmonton made that goal stand up, while helping the Rangers to an embarrassing NHL record as the first club in modern league history to open their season by being shut out in three consecutive home games.

The now-defunct Pittsburgh Pirates are the only team with a longer goal-less skein to open a season at home: 187:19, set way back in 1928.

No one in the Oilers room was fretting over the Rangers†problems, of course, or looking up the Pirates roster in search of a long-lost great uncle.

This was a welcome win for an Edmonton team that has played a ton of these games in May and June. Making a 1-0 lead stand up in Game 3 of the season can be a nice reminder that, when required, you can win that way as well.

“It’s really good for our morale in general, being able to fight one off. Being able to battle, grind, and win a game in a hard way,†Skinner said. “That was a man’s game out there, and thatâ€s the way the guys played. They deserved the two points tonight.â€

“You get those games when February, March and April come around, gearing up for the playoffs,†added Nurse. “But to have one early on, it’s good because those are the tests that you want to pass over the course of the season — for when those bigger moments happen in the spring.â€

Jack Roslovic made his Oilers debut, a quiet night with no shots or points in 13:10 of ice time … Henrique won eight of 12 faceoffs, sealed the game with an ENG, and blocked a key shot among the 23 blocked by Edmonton … The Oilers had a crowded press box, with Mattias Janmark, Jake Walman, Alec Regula, Noah Philp and Curtis Lazar all watching from above. If Walman, Regula and Janmark are all going to join the team on this trip, as head coach Kris Knoblauch hopes, some roster manipulation will be required.

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EDMONTON — A year ago, the Edmonton Oilers were still mired in a Stanley Cup lost.

As weâ€ve heard this fall, from everyone from Zach Hyman to Connor McDavid, recovering from a series in which you clawed back to Game 7, then lost by a single goal, is somehow different than getting back to a second Cup Final and losing to a better team.

It may sound weird, but itâ€s true.

And the evidence was on display Saturday, as the Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks for 50 of the 60 minutes played, winning 3-1 in a game where they allowed just 15 Canucks shots on goalie Calvin Pickard.

“It could have been six or seven to one,†Pickard said. “Their goalie was great.â€

This was a calibre of game, particularly on the defensive side, that we did not see from Edmonton until Game 15 a year ago. After owning the opening 30 minutes against Calgary on opening night, then letting down in the final 30, this was a pedigree of hockey that a team like the Oilers should be able to produce on demand.

Itâ€s amazing what you can accomplish, when your headâ€s in the present — and not back in Sunrise, trying to win a long-lost game from a spring youâ€ll never get back.

“Weâ€ve moved on from the previous season and playoffs, whatever happened,†said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “Obviously there’s still disappointment, but guys had done it once before. (There is) no more feeling sorry for ourselves. Let’s get to work. The attitude right from Day 1 has been upbeat, energetic.â€

The game the Oilers rolled out on a Saturday night against a division rival would beat most teams in most rinks on most nights.

Edmonton gave the Canucks just two power plays and earned five of its own. Without Thatcher Demkoâ€s heroics this would have been a runaway, but instead of pining over a power play that did everything but score, the depth guys went and scored a couple at even strength — before McDavid and Leon Draisaitl collected their only points on the night from Draisaitlâ€s empty-netter that made it 3-1.

“We were the better team,†declared Draisaitl, who has started his season with a goal in both games. “We played really well. We had our legs. All four lines were going and there were different guys chipping in.

“Weâ€re going to be a hard team to beat when we consistently find a way to play like that.â€

Itâ€s a long season, to be sure, and the Oilers head out on a five-game Eastern swing on Monday, playing just one of their next eight games on home ice. But as immature as they looked when they put their collective feet up against Calgary, squandering a 3-0 lead to lose in a shootout, weâ€ve seen this team enough to know how it usually turns out.

And if theyâ€ve reached that level in Game 2, winning the Pacific Division becomes more than just a possibility.

“Weâ€ve got to help ourselves out a little bit more compared to the last two years,†said Draisaitl, whose Oilers have chased the Pacific leader all season long in each of their Stanley Cup finalist seasons. “You can build a lot of momentum, a lot of confidence within your group if you get off to a good start. You see it with a lot of teams, they get off to a really good start, then they just kind of carry it the rest of the way. Theyâ€re a playoff team.â€

In hindsight, winning a game like that — contested to the end when Vancouver pulled its goalie while on a power play — is more valuable than if the power play would have scored two, and there was nothing to sweat over.

This one ended with McDavid and Draisaitl as the two penalty-killing forwards. McDavid deftly got his stick on a Brock Boeser chance that would have tied the game, then he grabbed a loose puck with six Canucks in the zone and still 80 seconds on the clock.

Instead of chopping the puck out of the zone and allowing Vancouver — and the magnificent Quinn Hughes — to reload, McDavid spun, moved the puck over to Darnell Nurse, who found Draisaitl.

It was a snapshot on why Knoblauch has decided this season to ice his two superstars on the PK, and example of how high-level hockey IQ can make the difference between a regulation win and possible overtime.

“Good penalty killers are the ones who can make plays under pressure,†Knoblauch said. “You saw it with Connor, being able to slow things down rather than just shoveling a puck out. He’s able to settle things down and make a heck of a play.â€

In the end, 3-1 feels a lot better than 6-1 would have, when you earn a game on Noah Philpâ€s first NHL goal and an Andrew Mangiapane tuck in the 500th game of his NHL career.

“Pucks werenâ€t going in for us. Demko was great, he made a lot of big saves,†Pickard said. “But we didnâ€t stray from the game plan, we didnâ€t cheat for offence. We earned that win.

“If we play that game over and over again, weâ€re going to win pretty much every time.â€

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