It wasn’t pretty, but the Edmonton Oilers extended their win streak to eight games by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 at United Center on Tuesday (Jan. 9).
Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid scored to lead the Oilers past a Chicago team that has the second-fewest points in the NHL and was missing more than half a dozen regulars from its lineup.
The Oilers managed only 15 shots on Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek, and needed some big saves in the third period from Stuart Skinner to hold on for victory. Edmonton’s netminder stopped 25 shots, with Jason Dickinson being the only player to score for Chicago.
“We were just good enough to get the win,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said while speaking to media following the game. “It definitely wasn’t our best game, it wasn’t a Picasso by any means, but sometimes you have to gut those out. We’ve lost games that I felt we should have won, and tonight (Skinner) was outstanding. He really saved us and played really well and came up with some big saves, especially late in the game, but we know we need to get better than that, so we’ll take our two points and move on.”
Edmonton now has 43 points from a record of 21-15-1, and currently occupies the second wild card spot in the Western Conference standings.
Dynamic Duo Responsible for Both Oilers Goals
The Oilers fell behind early when Dickinson put the puck past Skinner just 5:58 into the first period, but Draisaitl quickly replied with a goal just over two minutes later. The winning goal came 1:32 in the second period, when Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm made a beautiful pass to spring a speeding McDavid on a breakaway and Edmonton’s captain beat Mrazek stick side.
Edmonton has now won the last eight games when both members of its dynamic duo score. McDavid and Draisaitl were named first and second star, respectively, at United Center on Tuesday. Dickinson was the third star.
Skinner Stands on His Head
While he wasn’t even among the game’s three stars, Skinner arguably should have been No. 1. After allowing a goal on Chicago’s second shot, the 25-year-goalie settled in and turned aside the remaining 24 shots he would face, including 12 in the third period alone.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say Skinner stole this game for the Oilers, who were under siege for much of the final period when they had only three shots. He has now won six straight starts, and hasn’t allowed more than two goals in any of his last five games. He has the most wins by any goalie in the NHL over the last two months, with a remarkable record of 16-4-0 since Nov. 10.
Unlucky Night for Hyman
Oilers leading goal scorer Zach Hyman was coming off his third hat trick of the season in Edmonton’s previous game, a 3-1 home victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday (Jan. 6). Everything was going his way that night, including being credited with a goal that had originally been awarded to Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard.
Related: Hyman’s Hat Trick Propels Oilers Past Sens for 7th Straight Win
On Tuesday, it was a much different story: Hyman had a goal waived off in the second period when it was ruled he interfered with Mrazek. He scored in the third period, only to watch it be disallowed after Chicago successfully challenged that Draisaitl was offside on the play. Then he missed a surefire opportunity to score in an empty net during the dying seconds.
As the old saying goes, if not for bad luck, he would have none. And on a night that Hyman’s goals could have totaled three, he ended the game with none.
Nothing Ordinary About Oilers’ Win
Tuesday was the first time the Oilers have won a game with 15 or fewer shots on goal since Feb. 10, 2013, when they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 at Nationwide Arena. Two current Oilers, Sam Gagner and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, played for Edmonton in that game, with the latter setting up the former for an empty-net goal. The game was also just Edmonton’s third in 37 outings this season when neither team led by more than a goal at any point.
It’s fitting that so many peculiarities would occur on this of all nights, when the Oilers achieved one of the rarest feats in franchise history: winning eight games in a row for the second time this season. Previously, the only seasons that they had multiple win streaks of at least eight games were 1983-84 and 1984-85, and both were proceeded by Stanley Cup championship victories in the playoffs.
Edmonton’s current winning streak started Dec. 21, while its prior run of eight consecutive victories spanned Nov. 24 to Dec. 12. The franchise record for most wins in a row is nine, first set in 2000-01 and then equaled last season.
The Oilers have a chance to match the benchmark of nine consecutive victories when they take on the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday (Jan. 11).