The Pittsburgh Penguins (14-9-9) hosted the Edmonton Oilers (16-12-6) on Tuesday night (Dec. 16). This was a highly anticipated game as both goaltenders, Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner, faced off against their former teams, just four days after they were traded for one another. Neither netminder was great, but the Oilers cruised to a 6-4 victory. Here’s your game recap.
Game Recap
The Penguins thought they struck first, but the Oilers successfully challenged for offside, keeping the game scoreless. A few minutes later, the Oilers opened the scoring on a 5-on-3 power play 11:38 into the first period. Leon Draisaitl passed to Connor McDavid in the high slot, and he found Zach Hyman in tight, who made no mistake for Draisaitl’s 1,000th NHL point. Then, the Oilers added another power-play marker just 14 seconds later. McDavid entered the zone with speed and dangled around the Penguins’ defenders before tucking the backhand past Skinner.
But with 44 seconds remaining in the opening frame, the Penguins got on the board. Anthony Mantha took advantage of a turnover and drove to the net. His initial shot was stopped, but Thomas Novak pounced on the rebound and buried it. Edmonton took a 2-1 lead into the intermission, holding a slim 10-9 shot advantage.
Related: Projected Lineups for Oilers vs Penguins – 12/16/25
Matt Savoie gave the visitors a 3-1 lead 4:35 into the second period. Alec Regula found Savoie along the left wing, and his shot sneaked through Skinner in one the goaltender would like back.
Then, the Penguins responded on the power play 6:24 into the middle frame. Sidney Crosby found Erik Karlsson at the point, and his one-timer went right through Jarry.
The Oilers got that one back with their third power-play goal of the contest three minutes later. Evan Bouchard walked in and sniped a wrister upstairs, over Skinner’s right shoulder. The road team took a 4-2 lead into the intermission, with Pittsburgh holding a 9-7 shot advantage in the period, and 18-17 overall.
The visitors added another 6:47 into the final frame. Off an odd-man rush, Draisaitl’s pass was blocked, but Vasily Podkolzin pounced on the loose puck for his ninth goal of the season.
Pittsburgh made it a two-goal game with the extra attacker. Karlsson funnelled the puck on the net, and Bryan Rust jammed in the rebound for his 12th of the season.
However, McDavid added an empty-netter to seal the deal. But the Penguins added a late goal with 14 seconds left to make the final score 6-4 courtesy of Danton Heinen. Jarry stopped 26 of 30 shots for an .867 save percentage (SV%) in the win, while Skinner stopped 17 of 22 shots for a .773 SV% in the loss.
The Oilers continue their five-game road trip on Thursday (Dec. 18) against the Boston Bruins. Meanwhile, the Penguins begin a mini two-game road trip against the Ottawa Senators the same day. Keep following The Hockey Writers for all your NHL content throughout the season.
