The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in an NHL Western Conference clash at Ball Arena in Denver on Thursday (Jan. 16) night.
Viktor Arvidsson, Evan Bouchard, Brett Kulak and Connor McDavid scored for the Oilers. Colorado got two goals from Nathan MacKinnon and one from Logan O’Connor.
Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner stopped 22 shots in a winning effort, while Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 saves between the pipes for the Avs.
Edmonton improves to 29-13-3 and is now tied for the Pacific Division lead with the Vegas Golden Knights. Both teams have 61 points, but Vegas has a game in hand.
Oilers Rally Yet Again
Edmonton fell behind 3-0 before the game was 12 minutes old on Thursday, as Colorado scored three times on its first five shots.
Despite the nightmare start, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch elected to keep Skinner in the game. Edmonton’s goalie proceeded to shut the door, stopping all 20 shots he faced the rest of the way.
At the same time, Edmonton’s skaters roared to life. Arvidsson got his team on the board by scoring with just 42 seconds remaining in the first period. Then Kulak and McDavid tallied in the middle frame to tie the game and Bouchard scored the game-winning goal at 13:05 of the third period.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Oilers’ 5-3 Win Over Wild
This marked the third time in the last four games that the opposition has scored the first two goals, and the Oilers have stormed back to win on all three occasions. Edmonton rallied to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 last Saturday (Jan. 11) and came back to beat the Minnesota Wild 5-3 on Wednesday (Jan. 15).
Since U.S. Thanksgiving, the Oilers have an incredible record of 5-1-0 in games that they fall behind 2-0. They now have eight wins when trailing after 20 minutes, tied for second most in the NHL.
“They just don’t get rattled,” Knoblauch said following the game, attributing that to the experience of last year’s postseason run and many members of the team having played together for a long time.
The Good, the Bad, and the Bouchard
Bouchard was named the game’s first star after recording two points, five shots on a goal and finishing with a plus/minus of plus-2, but the night couldn’t have started much worse for the blueliner.
With Edmonton already trailing 2-0, Bouchard found himself defending in a one-on-one situation against MacKinnon. The Avalanche superstar proceeded to put the puck between Bouchard’s legs while skating around him before burying it behind a defenceless Skinner to make the score 3-0. It was the hockey equivalent of getting posterized.
“Bouchard’s Achilles’ heel is he will misplay pucks defensively,” analyst Ray Ferraro said on the ESPN broadcast. “You don’t say,” muttered Oilers fans, who have seen this far too many times before.
Flash forward to just over seven minutes to play in the third period with the score deadlocked. McDavid got the puck behind the Avalanche net and fed it to Bouchard who walked into a blast from the top of the circle, blowing the puck past Blackwood. It was a signature ‘Bouch Bomb’ that gave the Oilers their first lead.
“Few shoot it harder than Evan Bouchard,” ESPN’s John Buccigross said. “All is forgiven,” said Oilers fans, who were reminded once again why Edmonton puts up with Bouchard’s defensive misadventures.
Fourth Line Makes Impact
Edmonton’s fourth line of wingers Jeff Skinner and Corey Perry centered by Noah Philp didn’t play a lot on Thursday, but made its minutes count.
Early in the second period, with Edmonton trailing 3-1, the trio did a tremendous job maintaining the offensive zone, eventually leading to defenceman Kulak’s goal that cut Colorado’s lead to one.
This was Philp’s second game since being recalled from the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Tuesday (Jan. 14), and the 26-year-old hasn’t looked out of place, perhaps earning himself more nights in the lineup.
Before Wednesday, Philp had played just three NHL regular season games, all coming during a brief stint with the Oilers spanning late October and early November.
Oilers Continue to Surge
The streaking Oilers have now won four games in a row and seven of their last eight contests. Since Nov. 8, they have a record of 23-6-2 for 48 points, which is the most in the NHL over that span.
This incredible surge has seen Edmonton climb from tied for 20th to tied for 3rd in the NHL’s overall standings. The Oilers will look to stay hot when they conclude their three-game road trip with a stop at Rogers Arena to battle the host Vancouver Canucks on Saturday (Jan. 18).
