Edmonton Oilers players praise Podkolzin after heavyweight fight
Vasily Podkolzin has been showing up on the scoresheet of late, but it was his fists making headlines on Tuesday night.
The Edmonton Oilers once again failed to string together three consecutive wins, losing 2-1 to the New Jersey Devils. It was a dull first 40-minutes for the Oilers, who generated just 10 shots on net after two periods. That was followed up by a flurry of a final frame, where Edmonton fired 13 shots on net, but couldn’t find the equalizer past Devils goaltender Jake Allen.
With the lack of goalscoring, the highlight of the night for the Oilers may have been a first-period fight from Podkolzin. The young Russian forward dropped the gloves immediately after Connor McDavid received a high-hit from New Jersey’s Johnathan Kovacevic.
It was the type of thing you love to see from teammates coming to the defence of their captain.
McDavid got hit by Kovacevic and Podkolzin IMMEDIATELY fought him 😈🥊 pic.twitter.com/JzSKev99eX
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 21, 2026
While the Oilers weren’t able to win the game, Podkolzin’s teammates were praising the 24-year-old for his efforts. It sent a message that nobody on the opposing team could take a run at McDavid without having to answer the bell.
Podkolzin recieved an additional instigator penalty and a 10-minute misconduct on the play, but Curtis Lazar said the team couldn’t care less about that.
“That’s what we’re all about in here. We stand up for each other, and Podz didn’t bat an eye,” Lazar said. “He went in there and got the job done. We’ll kill those penalties all the time, that’s what we’re all about.”
“We weren’t at our best.”
Following his 600th @NHL game, Curtis Lazar talks to the media about the #Oilers 2-1 defeat. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/qcau1WY9RS
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 21, 2026
Podkolzin is not a frequent fighter in the NHL, with this being just his fifth fight in the league. Oilers fans may remember a memorable bout of his from last season, where he nearly KO’d Jeremy Lauzon of the Nashville Predators.
Veteran Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm says that this is why his teammates love Podkolzin so much.
“It’s amazing. That’s the kind of guy he is,” Ekholm said. “He’s a team-first guy. No hesitation, jumped in there and defended [McDavid] right away. It’s awesome to see.”
“I didn’t love our game in the first 40.”
Mattias Ekholm shares his thoughts on the #Oilers loss to New Jersey. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/dRvHjLE3P4
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 21, 2026
Podkolzin’s work ethic is nothing new around these parts, and it’s starting to pay off in the form of offensive production. He is well on his way to having a career-year with 23 points in 51 points, which is just three behind his previous-best of 26.
That trade with the Vancouver Canucks keeps on looking better and better for Edmonton.