The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-3 at Rogers Place on Thursday (Dec. 5), winning for a fourth time in five games.
Edmonton’s top line delivered, with Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman each scoring two goals apiece, and Connor McDavid dishing out four assists. Mattias Ekholm and Jeff Skinner also scored for the Oilers, while goalie Calvin Pickard made 19 saves in a winning effort.
Winger Kevin Labanc, defenceman Damon Severson and centre Cole Sillinger had one goal each for the visiting Blue Jackets. Columbus netminder Daniil Tarasov stopped 31 of 37 shots faced.
Special Teams Spell Success
Edmonton went 2/5 on the power play, with Draisaitl and Ekholm tallying, and killed off both of Columbus’ opportunities with the man advantage.
The two power-play goals equal Edmonton’s season-high, achieved less than a week prior, against the Utah Hockey Club on Nov. 29. Meanwhile, the Oilers have now killed off 23 of their opponents’ last 24 power-play opportunities, allowing just one goal while short-handed in the last 11 games.
This is a complete reversal from the first month of the season, when the Oilers couldn’t kill off a penalty to save their lives, while managing to score just a few power-play goals of their own.
The Oilers saw last season during their spectacular Stanley Cup playoff run that special teams can make all the difference, and that’s proving to be true so far this season as well: When they score at least one power-play goal, the Oilers are 7-2-2 (.727 point percentage), compared to 7-8-0 (.467) when they don’t score on the power play; when they allowed at least one power-play goal, the Oilers are 6-6-1 (.500), compared to 8-4-1 (.654) when the opponent doesn’t score on the power-play.
McDavid Gets His Due
During a pre-game ceremony, McDavid was honoured for notching 1,000 points. Edmonton’s captain recorded the milestone point in a victory over the Nashville Predators on Nov. 14, reaching 1,000 career regular-season points in the fourth-fewest games in NHL history.
The @EdmontonOilers honoured Connor McDavid for reaching his 1000th point milestone during the pregame ceremony. 👏 pic.twitter.com/lNDh2WQInA
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 6, 2024
In commemoration of the achievement, McDavid was presented with a golden stick by Oilers CEO and President of Hockey Operations Jeff Jackson. He also received an award from the NHL, presented by Edmonton general manager Stan Bowman.
Then the star forward went out and did McDavid things: Thursday marked the 40th time in his career that he has recorded at least four points in a game. It was his 10th four-assist game, tying Jari Kurri for second most in Oilers franchise history.
Start Slow, Finish Strong
Columbus jumped in front 1-0 when Labanc scored just 2:31 into the first period, before Edmonton responded with the next four goals. By the midpoint of the second period, the Oilers held an insurmountable 4-1 lead.
This was the fourth consecutive game that Edmonton has conceded the opening goal, but the Oilers have rallied to win three of them. Edmonton now has seven wins when trailing first this season, tied for seventh most in the NHL.
Motivation For Hyman
It’s been a rough season thus far for Zach Hyman. He managed just three goals in the first 20 games, then he was sidelined for a couple weeks after suffering an undisclosed injury during Edmonton’s game against the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 19. Finally, he was left off Canada’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, which was announced on Wednesday (Dec. 4).
Getting snubbed by Team Canada probably hurt a lot more than any injury could, considering that Hyman was at one point seen as a safe bet to make the roster.
Related: Oilers’ Players Failed to Prove They Deserve Spot on Team Canada
So the veteran winger had plenty of motivation when he returned to Edmonton’s lineup on Thursday, and he channeled it into his best performance of 2024-25. Hyman’s first goal of the night, at 9:46 of the first period, tied the game up, and his second goal, 6:53 into the middle frame, proved to be the game-winner. The 32-year-old from Toronto was named the game’s First Star.
Another Oiler who was passed over by Team Canada, defenceman Evan Bouchard, also made his presence felt, picking up two assists.
Draisaitl Catches Up to Reinhart
Going into Thursday’s slate of NHL games, Draisaitl trailed Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart by one goal for the league lead, 17 to 18.
Late in the third period of Florida’s 7-5 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, Reinhart scored his 19th goal of the season, extending his lead to two goals over Draisaitl.
So Draisaitl answered with two goals against Columbus, scoring at 2:22 of the second period and with 6:23 remaining in the third. Now there’s a tie for the NHL lead, with Draisaitl and Reinhart deadlocked at 19 goals apiece. The Edmonton forward has played 26 games, one fewer than his Panthers counterpart.
Draisaitl is on pace to score 59 goals, which would be a career-high. While he has led the NHL in points for a season, 2019-20, the 29-year-old has yet to win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy.
With Thursday’s result, Edmonton has a record of 14-10-2 for 30 points, tied with the Vancouver Canucks for fourth most in the Pacific Division, and just one back of the third-place Calgary Flames. Edmonton’s next game will see the Oilers play host to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday (Dec. 7).
