The Connor McDavid-less Edmonton Oilers dominated the Vegas Golden Knights in a 5-1 victory on a beautiful Wednesday night at Rogers Place.
While fans might have been disappointed not to see the Oilers captain in action, the rest of the team certainly put on a show. The Oilers got goals from the blueline from Cody Ceci and Mattias Ekholm, as well as some of the usual suspects with Leon Draisaitl scoring on the power play and Zach Hyman picking up the trash for his 53rd of the season.
Dylan Holloway also got in on the fun with a goal in his first game since getting called back up yesterday.
“That was a solid and complete game for us,” Corey Perry told reporters after the game. “I thought tonight, playing a really good hockey team, we put all 60 minutes together and you can see what kind of team we are.”
Zach Hyman finds No. 53! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/I0BfERBrHJ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 11, 2024
The only sore spot on an otherwise perfect night was a shorthanded breakaway goal by Mike Amadio in the third period.
No McDavid, no problem
The big storyline heading into tonight’s battle was that the Oilers would be without McDavid for just the third game all season.
Losing a player of McDavid’s calibre would be a huge blow to even the best of the best, but the Oilers did not look uncomfortable without their captain tonight. Multiple players stepped up for Edmonton and made life difficult for the Golden Knights, specifically in the neutral zone.
“From a coach’s standpoint, everyone was playing pretty well that we could have those lines rolling over,” head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game. “When you’re missing a star player or one of your better players, everyone needs to step up.
“They know they have to step up and every just seems a little more focused on their game because you’re missing somebody that’s going to be helping you.”
It certainly helped that the Oilers got bounces like they did on Ceci’s fourth of the year to open the scoring.
Edmonton strikes first. 🚨
Catch the Oilers vs. Golden Knights action on Sportsnet One and stream on Sportsnet+. pic.twitter.com/DOIaQBousY
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 11, 2024
Stuart Skinner was also excellent, stopping 17 of the 18 shots he faced tonight.
Third line magic
With McDavid out with an injury, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch brought out the line blender once again. Though there were changes in the top six, it was his new-look third line with Holloway, Ryan McLeod, and Perry that was most noticeable in this one.
McLeod led the way with two assists on the night, while Perry notched one. Holloway got rewarded for his efforts in the third period, scoring his fourth of the year with a nifty wraparound.
“I don’t think the goalie saw me,” laughed Holloway after the game. “I was thinking to myself like there’s no way he’s leaving that [puck behind the net] and it got left perfectly there for me.
“It’s definitely a good bounce for me and I was pretty excited about that one.”
Adin Hill would want to take that one back. 👀 pic.twitter.com/gJlwcsLZaD
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 11, 2024
If the Oilers are looking for lines that look good together ahead of the playoffs, this might be one they should give more runway down the stretch.
R’Ek’ord breaker
It seems like just about everything Ekholm touches turns to gold these days.
The veteran Swede slammed home his career-best 11th goal of the season in the second period with a beautiful slapshot snipe that caught the top right corner over the glove of Adin Hill. That tally beat his previous career-high of 10 that he set back in the 2017-18 season.
“I think like the past month, [Ekholm has been] one of the best [defencemen] in the league,” Hyman said. “He’s been unbelievable for a while here now… You can’t ask for a better two-way defender.”
EDM VGK G77. April 10, 2024. Mattias Ekholm goal. 2-0. 🎥: Sportsnet | NHL pic.twitter.com/smc78cuvnX
— Nation Network Media (@NationNMedia) April 11, 2024
That isn’t the only personal best the 33-year-old is chasing as he now sits with 44 points on the season, which is tied for his career high set in 2018-19.
Tonight’s victory pulls the Oilers to 48-24-5 on the season and 101 points. Depending on how the Vancouver Canucks finish their game tonight, Edmonton could be as close as three points behind them for first place in the Pacific Division. An all-important head-to-head between those two teams is set for Saturday night.
Edmonton will now wait for the Arizona Coyotes to visit town for potentially the last time in that franchise’s existence on Friday night.
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