Oilers Bury Kings Early, Then Close the Door in L.A.
Tue, Oct 13Final · 4–1Crypto.com Arena
The part Edmonton fans will retell is the minute that cracked the game open. Leon Draisaitl snapped the Oilers ahead at 7:16 of the first, and just 60 seconds later Vasily Podkolzin cashed on the power play after Drew Doughty’s tripping minor. Before the period was done, Connor McDavid had slipped in a backhand at 15:48, and a road game in Los Angeles had turned into a 3-0 Edmonton statement.
The Kings made their push late in the second, with Brandt Clarke cutting it to 3-1 at 17:29 on a wrist shot. Edmonton had to work through its own penalties, including three minors across the second and third, but the lead never really got away from them.
Read the full recap →Oilers Keep Rolling With Third-Period Push in San Jose
Sat, Oct 10Final · 3–1SAP Center at San Jose
The Oilers had to wait this one out, then cracked it open fast. Mattias Ekholm gave Edmonton the first-period lead at 12:37 with a slap shot set up by Isaac Howard and Josh Samanski, and after a scoreless second, the game was still sitting there at 1-0, tense enough for San Jose to believe.
Then came the swing Edmonton fans will remember: Vasily Podkolzin made it 2-0 just 3:13 into the third, finishing a slap shot off assists from Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard. At 5:40, Alex Formenton added the dagger on a backhand from Mathieu Joseph and Connor Murphy, pushing the Oilers ahead 3-0 before the period had even found its shape.
Read the full recap →Oilers Flip the Night With a Five-Goal Second in Anaheim
Wed, Oct 7Final · 5–2Honda Center
For a while, this looked like the kind of road game Edmonton would spend the night chasing. Beckett Sennecke scored twice on the power play in the first period, once at 4:11 and again at 15:28, and the Oilers went to the room down 2-0 with too much penalty trouble and not enough pushback on the board.
Then came the swing Edmonton fans will be retelling: 11 seconds into the second, Evan Bouchard hammered in a slap shot from Leon Draisaitl, and the whole game tilted. Kasperi Kapanen tied it on the power play at 6:30, with Connor McDavid and Bouchard assisting, before Bouchard struck again at 14:12 to give the Oilers their first lead.
Read the full recap →Draisaitl Breaks It Late, McDavid Seals Oilers’ 3-1 Win Over Seattle
Sat, Oct 3Final · 3–1Rogers Place
This is the one Oilers fans will remember for the late snap. Tied 1-1 deep into the third, Leon Draisaitl struck at 17:33 off assists from Connor McDavid and Ryan Shea, turning a tight Saturday night at Rogers Place into Edmonton’s game to finish. Just 1:22 later, McDavid hit the empty net on a wrist shot from Vasily Podkolzin, and the Oilers had their dagger.
Edmonton had the early jump, too. Owen Michaels opened it at 2:51 of the first with an even-strength wrist shot from Alex Formenton, giving the Oilers a 1-0 lead before the game had really settled. Seattle pushed back in the second, tying it at 9:06 on Bobby McMann’s power-play wrist shot, with Jordan Eberle and Chandler Stephenson assisting.
Read the full recap →Oilers Outrun the Chaos in 9-7 Win at Rogers Arena
Thu, Oct 1Final · 9–7Rogers Arena
This is the one Edmonton fans will retell as a box score with smoke coming off it: four Oilers goals in the first, four more in the second, and still somehow a white-knuckle finish. Vasily Podkolzin opened it on the power play at 9:26, Owen Michaels made it 2-0, an own-goal credited to Evan Bouchard followed 16 seconds later, and Ryan Shea’s late wrist shot sent Edmonton to the room up 4-0.
Leon Draisaitl struck 27 seconds into the second, and after Vancouver finally answered, Trent Frederic restored the five-goal cushion. Then came the weirdest flex of the night: while shorthanded, Connor McDavid scored on a backhand at 7:49 and Kasperi Kapanen added another 34 seconds later. Edmonton led 8-2, McDavid was piling up a five-point night, and it looked finished.
Read the full recap →Oilers Storm Back Late, Then Fall 6-5 in Overtime
Tue, Sep 29Final · 5–6Rogers Place
The one Edmonton fans will still be talking about is the comeback that almost stole the night. Down 5-2 early in the third after Vancouver scored three times in just over four minutes, the Oilers dragged the game back from the edge: Vasily Podkolzin snapped one in at 8:56, Evan Bouchard followed 24 seconds later to complete his hat trick, and Podkolzin struck again on the power play with 43 seconds left to force overtime.
That made the finish sting. Paul Cotter, who had opened the scoring shorthanded in the first period, delivered the dagger on a backhand at 1:59 of OT, giving the Canucks a 6-5 win at Rogers Place. Edmonton still came away with a point, moving to 0-0-1 with an OT1 streak, but this one had the shape of a rescued game before it slipped away.
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