The Edmonton Oilers have regained control of their destiny to finish atop the Pacific Division standings, thanks to a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday (April 6).
Evan Bouchard, Connor Brown, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had one goal for the Oilers, who got a 33-save performance from netminder Calvin Pickard. Calgary’s goals were scored by forwards Nazem Kadri and Yegor Sharangovich, while Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 23 shots.
Edmonton (47-24-5, 99 points) now trails the Vancouver Canucks (47-22-8, 102 points) by just three points for first place in the Pacific and has six games left on its schedule, while the Canucks will play just five more times before the regular season concludes. Edmonton and Vancouver will face off against each other at Rogers Place on April 13.
Should Edmonton win its final six games, with a regulation victory over the Canucks when the teams meet next week, the Oilers will finish first in the division regardless of Vancouver’s results in its other four remaining games.
Saturday’s victory for the Oilers came just 24 hours after officially clinched a spot in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs by defeating the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 at Rogers Place on Friday (April 5). This season is the fifth straight year that Edmonton has advanced to the NHL postseason.
Including playoffs and regular-season games, the Oilers have won nine of their last ten meetings with their provincial rivals, including six straight games in Calgary.
Bouchard Sets Franchise Record
Bouchard scored on the power play at 10:36 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie. That goal would be Bouchard’s seventh game-winning goal (GWG) of 2023-24, a new franchise record for a defenceman. Prior, Bouchard shared the record with current Edmonton assistant coach Paul Coffey, who notched six GWG in 1984-85.
Bouchard is now tied for the second most GWG by a defenceman in a single season in NHL history. Oliver Ekman-Larsson holds the record with eight GWG for the Arizona Coyotes in 2015-16.
The goal was also Bouchard’s 80th point of 2023-24. He joins Coffey as the only blueliner to record at least 80 points in a season with the Oilers.
McDavid Loses Ground in Points Race
Edmonton captain Connor McDavid recorded two assists on Bouchard’s and Draisaitl’s goals, bringing his season total to 99. With his next apple, the Oilers center will become only the fourth player in NHL history with at least 100 points in a season.
Related: Oilers’ McDavid Projects to Win Historic Race For Art Ross Trophy
Unfortunately for McDavid, his quest to win a fourth consecutive Art Ross Trophy got even harder. On Saturday, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov had three points in a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kucherov now has 136 points, the most in the NHL, followed by Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon with 131 and McDavid with 130.
With the Lighting and Avalanche each having five games remaining, Kucherov and MacKinnon project to reach 146 and 139 points, respectively, based on their points per game averages this season. In that case, McDavid would need at least 17 points over Edmonton’s last six games to win the Art Ross race.
Schedule Comparison for Oilers and Canucks
While the odds now seem long that McDavid will catch Kucherov, Edmonton’s chances of chasing down the Canucks don’t seem so unlikely. The teams’ remaining schedules are fairly comparable:
Edmonton
- 3 games against teams currently in a playoff position, 3 games against teams eliminated from playoff contention
- 4 games at home, 2 games on the road
- 2 games with 0 days rest, 3 games with 1-day rest, 1 game with 3 days rest
Vancouver
- 3 games against teams currently in a playoff position, 2 games against teams eliminated from playoff contention
- 3 games at home, 2 games on the road
- 3 games with 1-day rest, 2 games with 2 days rest
But as they look to catch Vancouver, the Oilers can’t forget about the Los Angeles Kings (41-25-11, 93 points) and Vegas Golden Knights (42-26-8, 92 points), who sit third and fourth in the Pacific Division, respectively. As it happens, Edmonton’s next game will be against those very Golden Knights on Wednesday (April 10) at Rogers Place.
