Connor McDavid had two goals and a pair of assists to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 6-4 victory over the host Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday (Dec. 16) night.
Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman, Vasily Podkolzin and Matt Savoie also scored for the Oilers. Pittsburgh got goals from Danton Heinen, Erik Karlsson, Tommy Novak and Bryan Rust.
Between the pipes, Edmonton netminder Tristan Jarry made 26 saves to outduel Pittsburgh’s Stuart Skinner, who stopped 17 of the 22 shots he faced from the Oilers.
Edmonton also won the special teams battle, going 3-for-4 with the man advantage, while the Penguins converted one of their six power-play opportunities.
With the victory, Edmonton moves into third place in the Pacific Division standings. The Oilers have 38 points from a record of 16-12-6.
McDavid Dominates
This was one of those games that McDavid has every now and again, where he delivers an utterly sublime performance that reminds us who the best player on the planet is.
The Oilers captain’s first goal of the game, which came on the power play at 11:52 of the first period to put Edmonton ahead 2-0, was particularly dazzling, as he soared through a trio of Penguins defenders before tucking the puck past Skinner. Then, in the third period, McDavid put the game away by scoring into an empty-net goal with 79 seconds remaining.
McDavid has now racked up an incredible 20 points in the last seven games, giving him a total of 56 points this season. He currently sits two points back of Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon for first place in the Art Ross Trophy race.
Historic Game for Goalies
While it certainly didn’t lack for entertainment value, Tuesday’s tilt in Pittsburgh wasn’t exactly a classic. Nevertheless, this is a game that will be long remembered, simply because of its unique circumstances.
Last Friday (Dec. 12), the Oilers dealt Skinner, defenceman Brett Kulak and their 2029 second-round draft pick to Pittsburgh in exchange for Jarry and forward Sam Poulin. Four days later, Skinner and Jarry found themselves at opposite ends of the ice, marking the first time in NHL history that goaltenders went head-to-head as starters within a week of being traded for one another.
Jarry had already made his Oilers debut, stopping 25 shots in a 6-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday (Dec. 13), but Tuesday was Skinner’s first time suiting up for his new team.
Draisaitl Joins Century Club
Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl collected four apples on Tuesday. His assist on the game’s opening goal, scored by Hyman at 11:38 of the first period, was the historic 1,000th point of Draisaitl’s career.
Related: Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl Records 1,000th NHL Point
Draisaitl is the fifth player to record 1,000 points as a member of the Oilers, joining McDavid, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri and Mark Messier. Edmonton is the only franchise in the NHL with five 1,000-point players.
Sympathy for Skinner
Immediately after Hyman scored, Edmonton’s bench emptied and the Oilers’ players mobbed Draisaitl at the side of the Pittsburgh net.
Meanwhile, Skinner just skated back and forth, tidying the ice in his crease, while the men that only a few days ago were his brothers-in-arms celebrated at his expense.
It was impossible not to feel bad for Skinner, who was a tremendous teammate during his few years as an Oiler. McDavid even gave an affectionate tap to Skinner after Edmonton’s captain scored into the empty net.
Oilers Allow Another Garbage Goal
If there was one thing that could be nit-picked about the Oilers’ effort on Tuesday, it would be how they only played 59 minutes of the 60-minute game.
After McDavid’s empty-net goal gave Edmonton a 6-3 lead, the Oilers pretty much checked out, and the result was Heinen scoring with 14 seconds remaining. Jarry didn’t have a chance on the goal; he was pretty much abandoned by his defence, who left Heinen wide open in the slot to fire the puck home.
Edmonton has now been scored on within the final minute while leading by three or more goals on three separate occasions in less than two weeks, including both of Jarry’s starts. While these garbage goals don’t make a difference in the final result, the Oilers goalies’ stats would look a little better if their teammates played to the final horn.
That aside, the Oilers are playing their best hockey of the season right now, with a record of 5-1-1 in the last seven games. They’ll look to stay hot when they visit the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Thursday (Dec. 18).