The Edmonton Oilers will look to make history when they take on the host Montreal Canadiens tonight (Jan. 13) at the Bell Centre.
Edmonton is going for its 10th consecutive victory, which would be its longest winning streak since joining the NHL in 1979. On Thursday (Jan. 11), the Oilers beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in overtime to equal the franchise record of nine straight wins.
Related: Oilers Tie Franchise Record With Overtime Win Against Red Wings
Edmonton has previously won nine in a row on two occasions, from Feb. 20 to March 13 in 2001 and from March 27 to April 13 in 2023. The former streak was halted by a 2-2 tie against the Florida Panthers, while the latter was brought to an end by the conclusion of the 2022-23 schedule.
Suffice it to say that this could go down as one of the more monumental games in Oilers’ history. But it wouldn’t be their first unforgettable outing involving the Habs. Here’s a look at three momentous games for Edmonton against Montreal.
Feb. 5, 2017: Oilers 1, Canadiens 0 (SO)
For just the fourth time in their history and the second time during the shootout era, the Oilers played in a game that saw zero goals scored in regulation and overtime.
Sixty-five minutes of hockey between Edmonton and the Canadiens produced nary a goal, and it would take a shootout to decide this matinee affair on Super Bowl Sunday 2017 at the Bell Centre, after Oilers goalie Cam Talbot made 22 saves and his Montreal counterpart Al Montoya turned aside 32 shots in regulation and overtime. Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl was the only player from either team to score in the shootout, lifting his team to victory.
Of note, this was the 100th game of Connor McDavid’s career. The Oilers have since played one more game that was scoreless through overtime, on Oct. 20, 2019, when they lost in a shootout to the Winnipeg Jets.
Nov. 22, 2003: Canadiens 4, Oilers 3
Before the Winter Classic, before the Stadium Series, there was the event that started it all: the Heritage Classic at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium in 2003.
In front of a crowd of 57,167 spectators that braved bitterly cold temperatures with the wind chill reaching 15 below Fahrenheit, the Oilers hosted the Canadiens in the first-ever NHL regular-season game to be held outdoors.
Unfortunately for the frozen Oilers fans, the Habs spoiled their party by winning 4-3. Montreal never trailed in the game and held a two-goal lead on three separate occasions. Yanic Perreault and Richard Zednik each scored twice for the Habs, while Eric Brewer, Steve Staios, and Jarret Stoll had Edmonton’s goals.
April 11, 1981: Oilers 6, Canadiens 2
Wayne Gretzky outscored Montreal all by himself as Edmonton completed its shocking 3-0 sweep of the Habs in a best-of-five preliminary-round series of the 1981 postseason.
The Oilers superstar, then just 20, had a hat trick in Edmonton’s 6-2 victory amid an electric atmosphere at Northlands Coliseum, which was packed to the rafters with Oilers fans who came to witness their team win an NHL playoff series for the first time.
Edmonton hadn’t even won a single postseason game in its brief NHL history before defeating Montreal in Games 1 and 2 at the historic Montreal Forum. Few observers gave the Oilers a chance against the Habs, who were not far removed from their run of four straight Stanley Cups from 1976 to 1979.
“I guess you could say the pesky Oilers have come of age,” Edmonton defenceman Paul Coffey said after registering a goal and two assists in Game 3. (From ‘Verdict: ‘Gretzky broke their backs’’, The Edmonton Journal, 4/13/81)
Nowadays, Coffey is an assistant coach with the Oilers, who have been nearly unstoppable since he and head coach Kris Knoblauch were brought on board on Nov. 12, replacing fired bench boss Jay Woodcroft and his assistant Dave Manson. The Oilers are 19-6-0 under the new coaching staff, with win streaks of eight and now nine games. They hope to extend the latter into double-digits tonight.
