It was a sombre day for Canadian sports fans as the Toronto Blue Jays lost Game 7 of the World Series heartbreakingly during extra innings. They even played the game on the big screen throughout this contest. “That was really, really strange to have it on during the game. Obviously, we’re all on the Jays bandwagon, wanting them to win, and it was so disappointing. It was distracting for sure. It was bizarre, I found myself watching the Jays game sitting on the bench,” Connor McDavid stated during his postgame presser.
But, for Edmonton Oilers fans, at least they won, right? They put October behind them and opened the new month by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime, improving their record to 6-4-3 and earning 15 points on the young campaign.
Chicago got goals from Tyler Bertuzzi and Andre Burakovsky, while Leon Draisaitl, Jack Roslovic, and Evan Bouchard lit the lamp for Edmonton. Here are three takeaways from this much-needed victory.
Oilers Scored First
In a rare occurrence, the Oilers opened the scoring. This was only the fifth time in their first 13 games that they scored first. Two of those games were the first two of the season. The Oilers have been forced to chase the game far too often, as they’ve trailed frequently. It was nice to see them play with the lead, even though Chicago eventually tied it up.
Related: Oilers’ 3 Stars of October 2025
The biggest concern with this group is starting on time. While they didn’t score in the first period, they had a much better start, outshooting the Blackhawks 13-6 in the opening frame. They’ve only scored six first-period goals in five games. That’s not enough, and they need to do a better job of generating quality chances in the first period and capitalizing on them.
Oilers’ Power Play Continues to Click
The Oilers’ power play continues to be a bright spot early on, as it should. They were 2-for-3 on the man advantage this game, and 33.3 percent on the season, good for first in the league. The biggest gripe with their power play recently has been their predictability. They were too stagnant, looking for the perfect play, which was usually Draisaitl for the one-timer. Now, they are moving around more, which creates passing lanes.
David Tomasek has been on the top unit in Zach Hyman’s absence, but he was healthy-scratched in this one. So, Roslovic took that spot, and he made the most of his opportunity. McDavid found him in front, and he redirected the pass into the net, which gave Edmonton a 2-1 lead at the time. He’s not the prototypical net-front presence, but he has great hands in tight and knows how to score. It’s great to see him rewarded for his play because he has earned it.
Stuart Skinner Was Solid
On his 27th birthday, goaltender Stuart Skinner had a great game. He stopped 27 of 29 for a .931 save percentage (SV%), and bounced back nicely from his previous start. Out of his first eight starts, this was only his third with a SV% over .900. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Blackhawks had 27 scoring chances, 11 high-danger scoring chances, and 2.81 expected goals for in all situations. When the expected goals are higher than the actual goals, that means the goaltender did his job.
He doesn’t have to be perfect, but he needs to make timely saves to give them a chance to win, and he did just that. With a 2-1 lead at the start of the third period and Edmonton on the power play, Bouchard turned the puck over, leading to a breakaway. The Oilers’ netminder stopped Ilya Mikheyev on the breakaway to preserve their lead.
You need your goalie to bail you out after mistakes, and Skinner did that. Now, he must do that more often. The Oilers were outshot 11-4 in the third period, but their netminder made big saves to keep the game tied. Hopefully, that’s a confidence booster moving forward.
He has only allowed more than three goals once, and exactly three on seven occasions. If he can limit the opposition to two goals consistently, the Oilers will win a ton of games with their elite offence. The Oilers require him to be good if they hope to have more sustained success.
The Oilers finished their three-game home stand with a 2-0-1 record. Now, they hit the road for a mini two-game road trip against the St. Louis Blues on Monday (Nov. 3), and against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday (Nov. 4). Keep following The Hockey Writers for all your NHL content throughout the season.
