The Edmonton Oilers won their third straight game on Saturday (Nov. 30), defeating the host Colorado Avalanche 4-1 at Ball Arena in Denver.
Kasperi Kapanen, Brett Kulak, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Vasily Podkolzin all scored for the Oilers, who got a terrific 27-save performance from netminder Stuart Skinner. Nikolai Kovalenko, the son of former Oilers forward Andrei Kovalenko, had the lone goal for Colorado.
After a lacklustre start to the 2024-25 NHL season, Edmonton appears to be rounding into form, with a record of 7-2-1 in its last 10 games. The Oilers now have 28 points this season, tied with the Calgary Flames for third place in the Pacific Division standings.
There are now reasons for Oilers fans to feel objectively enthusiastic about this team, a lot of which were on display on Saturday night. Here are five takeaways from Edmonton’s win in the Mile High City:
No. 97 Is Now No. 95
Since he became the 99th player in NHL history with 1,000 career points, on Nov. 14, Oilers captain Connor McDavid has rapidly ascended the all-time points list.
He first passed Brian Propp (1,004 points) for the 98th spot, then overtook Lanny McDonald (1,006 points) for No. 97. During Edmonton’s 4-3 win over Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center on Friday (Nov. 29), McDavid had two points to equal Steve Larmer (1,012 points) for 96th all-time.
Against the Avalanche, McDavid assisted on Kapanen’s goal to record career point No. 1,013, moving in front of Larmer and into a tie with Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine for the 95th spot. McDavid reached the same number of points as LaFontaine in nearly 200 fewer games, 666 to 865.
McDavid’s next target on the NHL’s career leaderboard is Ryan Getzlaf, who currently holds the 94th spot with 1,019 points. With just 20 more points, McDavid can climb all the way into a tie for 84th all-time.
Make it Three for Vasily
Podkolzin, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Vancouver Canucks, didn’t score in his first 21 regular season games with the Oilers and was on a goalless streak of 41 regular season games dating back to March 2023 when he finally got off the schneid with a goal in Edmonton’s 6-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Nov. 23.
Related: Can the Oilers Expect Vasily Podkolzin to Heat up After 1st Goal?
He’s since tallied in each of Edmonton’s two subsequent games, potting the game-winning goal against the Avalanche on Saturday, at 13:48 of the middle frame when he deflected a wrist shot by Troy Stetcher past Colorado netminder Alexandar Georgiev. With goals now in three straight contests, the Russian forward has equalled the longest streak of his NHL career.
Many questioned Podkolzin’s place on Edmonton’s second line, especially as he failed to produce over the first six weeks of the season. But head coach Kris Knoblauch and centre Leon Draisaitl expressed great belief in the Russian, and he’s now rewarding their faith with five points and a plus-4 rating over the last five games.
Oilers’ Supporting Cast Steps up
This was Edmonton’s 13th win of the season, but its first victory of 2024-25 when Draisaitl and McDavid have both been held without a goal. In fact, the last time the Oilers won a regular season game without either of the dynamic duo tallying was Feb. 17, when Evan Bouchard scored twice and Corey Perry and Derek Ryan each added a goal in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Dallas Stars.
Coming into the game, Draisaitl (17 goals), McDavid (12 goals) and Bouchard (six goals) had accounted for more than half of all Oilers goals this season. None of Edmonton’s four goal-scorers against the Avs had more than four goals this season before Saturday’s game. Kapanen’s goal, which tied the game midway through the first period, was his first as an Oiler since being claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 19.
Kasperi Kapanen lights the lamp for his first as an Oiler! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/MzLZqymTFy
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 1, 2024
This was also the first regular season game since March 20, 2023, that the Oilers emerged victorious without at least one Bouchard, Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, or McDavid scoring. Hyman missed his fourth consecutive game with an undisclosed injury on Saturday.
Oilers’ Penalty-Kill Streak Ends
Kovalenko gave his team an early 1-0 lead, scoring while Colorado was on the man advantage at 7:02 of the opening period. It was the first power-play goal scored on the Oilers since Nov. 9, ending their stretch of not allowing a power-play goal at nine games, tied for the third-longest such streak in franchise history.
Edmonton’s penalty-kill unit quickly regrouped and killed off the next four opportunities with the man advantage for Colorado, including two crucial kills late in the second period while the Oilers were holding on to a 2-1 lead.
Over the last 10 games, the Oilers have killed off 21 of the last 22 power plays for their opponents, and it can’t be overstated how significant a role this has played in the team’s recent surge. Over Edmonton’s first 14 games of the season, the Oilers had the league’s worst penalty-kill, with a success rate of just 59% (16 for 39).
Road Warriors
The Oilers haven’t given their home fans a lot to cheer about so far this season. With a home record of 5-6-1 at Rogers Place, Edmonton is one of only eight teams in the entire NHL to have a points percentage below .500 at home.
But the Oilers have traveled exceptionally well. With a record 8-3-1 away from Rogers Place, Edmonton is one of only five teams in the league to have a points percentage above .700 on the road.
Saturday was Edmonton’s third consecutive road win. The Oilers are now 7-2-1 in their last 10 games away from Rogers Place and will look to keep it up when they wrap up their current three-game road trip with a stop in Sin City to battle the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday (Dec. 2).
