VANCOUVER — The feeling around the Edmonton Oilers heading into Saturday’s game was that they were done messing about after a middling start to the season.
“There’s no more waiting around,” veteran defenceman Darnell Nurse said. “There’s no more time.”
They put that mindset into practice by crushing one of their most hated rivals, the Vancouver Canucks 7-3.
The Oilers looked nothing like the group that won just six of their first 14 games and not many of them in convincing fashion. They looked much more like the Stanley Cup contenders they’re intended to be.
To come into Vancouver and perform this kind of performance could be just what the doctor ordered for the Oilers. To demolish a team that swept the four-game season series in 2023-24 by outscoring them 21-7 and giving them everything they could handle in the second round could be a turning point in their so-so campaign.
“It should because this is a good team. This was a big test for us,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said.
“Any time you play a team where there’s a little bit of a rivalry with and you find a way to get a win, especially in their building, it’s always big for momentum,” captain Connor McDavid said. “The guys should feel good about themselves.”
The Oilers were hoping the Canucks would be the ideal opponent to pull them out of their doldrums. That’s exactly the way it looked.
Other than a brief stretch in the second period when the Canucks scored twice in 1 minute and 59 seconds — just 2 minutes and 17 seconds after the Oilers made it 3-0 — this one was fully controlled by the visitors.
The @EdmontonOilers are buzzing! 🐝
They just scored four goals in 4:55!
📺: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/4NgDaEfZDM
— NHL (@NHL) November 10, 2024
They scored four straight goals in the third period, chasing goalie Kevin Lankinen at 11:55, to cement the outcome.
“We went out there and confidently got the job done,” winger Connor Brown said.
Better yet, it was how they did it.
They got two goals from Brown, which, coupled with a first-period marker from Corey Perry, finally provided some offensive production from the bottom six. Mattias Janmark assisted on all three tallies.
They got a much-needed power-play goal courtesy of McDavid, who, after a fairly quiet night, wound up with three points — leaving him only five shy of 1,000 for his illustrious career. That marker made it 5-2 and sealed the victory.
The power play scored on just one of its two chances but also capitalized just four seconds after the Canucks returned to full strength on the first try as Leon Draisaitl netted his 10th goal.
“That’s what we want to do,” McDavid said. “We want to contribute to games, contribute to wins. We’ve done that for years and years. I would expect that it’ll get going.”
Overall, the Oilers scored seven goals, the first time they surpassed five on the scoreboard this season. It was only the sixth time they’ve netted four or more.
“I feel like we’ve been doing a good job keeping the puck out of our net. It’s the run support that hasn’t been there,” McDavid said. “It’s tough when you only score one or two a night.”
It’s not like this was a perfect showing for the Oilers, but this was damn near close.
“The main thing is that third period, the way we showed composure and poise and made plays with the lead and piled on,” Brown said. “There’s a lot of momentum to be built off that game, especially that third period.”
Goalie Stuart Skinner felt the Oilers were merely “two percent” off their top form through the first month of the season before Saturday’s game. That just a tweak or two here or there was the difference between a meh squad and a great one.
The Oilers felt things like their league-worst shooting percentage and their woeful special teams would get better if they just stuck with it. After all, that’s what happened at around this point last season — albeit after a coaching change.
“I don’t think we’ve been too far off, but we’ve been slacking in some areas – the most important ones,” Janmark said. “Today was a step in the right direction.”
An important step because the Oilers were starting to feel the pressure. The situation failing to improve has the potential to leave them in a hole like they were a year ago — one they have no interest in being in again.
“We keep talking about last year and this year,” Janmark said. “At some points, we had a 16-game winning streak and an eight-game winning streak. That’s going to catch up to us if we look at those records too much.
“We’re right around .500. We don’t think we’re a .500 team. We’ve got to show it to everyone — and show it to ourselves — that we’re not. That goes by winning games. The urgency’s got to be there.”
It’s hard to replicate the way the Oilers played for the better part of two-plus months last spring now in October and November. This is a team destined to return to the playoffs for the sixth straight campaign.
But in trying to rebound from losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, the first month of the season was a slog for the Oilers.
“When you come into camp and you’re coming from disappointment and the letdown of what we went through, there’s some expectation that there’s going to be a bit of a lull in the energy,” Nurse said. “But we’re at the point now where, if you let it pile on, teams are going to continue to take it us each night.
“The attitude and the calm in the room is great. Everyone knows we have another level to get to.”
That’s exactly what happened on Saturday as the cool and calm Oilers found another gear.
Their previous six wins came against Philadelphia, Detroit and Calgary as well as teams like Nashville (twice) and Pittsburgh whom they normally beat. High-calibre matchups like Winnipeg, Dallas, Carolina, New Jersey and Vegas all ended in defeat.
The Oilers finally got a win against the top opposition. The Canucks were 7-1-1 in their last nine before Saturday.
“It’s good because it’s Vancouver,” Brown said. “They’re a great team.
“You want to bring those types of hockey games against the best.”
The Oilers wanted this win. They felt like they needed it, too.
Getting it just might have woken them up from their slumber.
“It’s not an easy building to win in. A team that we’ve had lots of history with,” McDavid said. “It was a great win. Hopefully, it’s something we can build on.”
(Top photo of Leon Draisaitl: Derek Cain / Getty Images)
