On Tuesday (March 19) at Rogers Place, forward Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime to lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens. Adam Henrique and Connor McDavid also scored for the Oilers, who got a 23-save effort from goaltender Calvin Pickard to sweep their season series with the Habs.
Montreal stormed back from a 2-0 deficit in the third period, with goals from Kaiden Guhle and Nick Suzuki. Canadiens netminder Sam Montembeault stopped 29 of 32 shots by the Oilers.
With the victory, the Oilers maintain a five-point lead over the Los Angeles Kings for second place in the Pacific Division and stay within eight points of the division-leading Vancouver Canucks. Both the Kings and Canucks were also victorious on Tuesday. The top two teams in the division will have home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Oilers are now 5-0-1 in their last six home games, and 3-0-1 in the last four games overall. Here’s how Edmonton won for the 41st time in 2023-24, and what the Oilers’ latest victory tells us about their possibilities for a deep postseason run.
Edmonton’s Superstars Make the Difference
The Oilers are Stanley Cup contenders. The Canadiens are headed for the Draft Lottery. The Oilers have just three regulation losses in their last 16 games. The Canadiens have won just three times in their last 15 games. The Oilers now have 86 points this season; the Canadiens have 62.
But it was the Canadiens who brought a greater effort over the course of Tuesday’s game. They didn’t play like a team that’s playing out the season. Trailing by two goals after 40 minutes on the road, Montreal showed a lot of resilience, and probably deserved a better fate.
The biggest reason Edmonton won on Tuesday is that the Oilers have superstars that Montreal does not. This was only the 12th time in 2023-24 that both Draisaitl and McDavid have scored in the same game, and the Oilers are now 11-1-0 in those instances, with the only loss coming in their second game of the season, way back in October.
The goal scoring output has declined this season for both Draisaitl and McDavid. Between them, they have 60 goals through Edmonton’s first 66 games of 2023-24. Just one season ago, they combined to score 116 times.
Edmonton had a 20-4-0 record in games when both Draisaitl and McDavid scored last season. Depth is crucial, but there are games when superior talent simply wins out. The Oilers are going to need their dynamic duo to score at a greater rate in the playoffs.
Pickard Showing He Belongs
Pickard made some nice stops on Tuesday, as he continues to solidify his role as backup to Stuart Skinner. He’s now 9-4-0 with a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.25 and a save percentage (SV%) of .919 for the Oilers this season.
The veteran goalie will never be mistaken for an All-Star, but is an example of how good goaltending requires nothing more than smarts and sound fundamentals. Pickard plays under control and is consistent: he’s on a streak of 11 straight starts without giving up more than three goals.
Pickard has now appeared in 15 games for the Oilers in 2023-24, which is equal to the total number of NHL games he played over the previous four seasons combined.
It’s almost certain now that the Oilers will roll with the Skinner/Pickard tandem in the playoffs, and they’re not exactly rich in experience: Skinner has a grand total of 12 NHL postseason appearances in his career, and Pickard has never taken the ice in an NHL playoff game.
For all the positives about Pickard’s play, perspective is important: He’s a career backup, who will be fine so long as he’s not asked to do more than he’s capable of. The question may be, is Pickard capable of winning a playoff game or two?
New Oilers Making an Impact
Tuesday marked the sixth and fifth games as an Oiler for Henrique and Sam Carrick, respectively. Edmonton acquired the pair of forwards in a three-way trade with the Anaheim Ducks and Tampa Bay Lightning on March 6.
Henrique scored his first goal with Edmonton in the second period on Tuesday, putting the puck past Montembeault from the doorstep after being set up with a nice feed from Mattias Ekholm. After going pointless in his first three games following the trade, he now has a goal and an assist in the last three games. He also has 10 hits and seven blocks, up from three of each over the prior three games.
Carrick, meanwhile, dropped the gloves with Montreal’s Michael Pezzetta just 2:29 into the game. The 32-year-old centre has already fought twice since joining the Oilers, which is just one off the team lead this season, shared by Evander Kane and Corey Perry.
The Oilers acquired Carrick and Henrique with the playoffs in mind, and both players are starting to show exactly what they were brought to Edmonton to do.
Related: Oilers’ Henrique: 4 Things to Know About New Edmonton Forward
Up next for the Oilers is a home game against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday (March 21), when Edmonton will look to avenge its recent 3-2 loss to the Sabres at KeyBank Center on March 9. That game saw the Oilers blow an early 2-0 lead and ultimately fall short in the shootout. After Thursday, the Oilers will have just 15 games remaining on their regular season schedule before the playoffs begin.
