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If the underachieving Edmonton Oilers could have hand picked Thursday night’s opponent from any team in the league it would have been the Nashville Predators.
They’ve been part-owner of the Nashville franchise for years, going 11-1-2 in their last 14 meetings, a run in which Connor McDavid (33) and Leon Draisaitl (37) combined for an astounding 70 points.
And, for a cherry on top, the Predators were in a slump, winless through their first three games of the season.
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So it was pretty much Guaranteed Win Night with the 1-3 Oilers looking to win their second in a row after an 0-3 start of their own.
Turns out there was nothing automatic about it as the Oilers had to survive the final frantic seconds of a hard-fought 4-2 victory that wasn’t sealed until Brett Kulak’s second goal of the night hit the back of an empty net.
“It’s always fun scoring goals, but it’s more fun when the team builds the kind of game we did,” said Kulak, who had just three goals all of last season, and three the year before that. “It feels like we’re getting our game back on track. We started the season slow, and it sucks, but to play the way we did to start the road trip is awesome. That’s what I’m most excited about.”
The secondary guys led the way again, with Kulak scoring Edmonton’s first and fourth goals and Jeff Skinner banging in their second. It was the same thing early in the Philadelphia game, with Adam Henrique and Connor Brown keeping the Oilers alive long enough to pull out a win.
“It’s nice to see him get those goals,” head coach Kris Knoblauch said of his third pairing defenceman. “The first one was an outstanding shot and the second was just an empty netter but the bench was cheering for him.
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“Any time you see those role guys (get on the score sheet) everyone gets excited to see them have that success.”
• Connor McDavid scored his first goal of the season with 91 seconds left in the second to make it 3-2 Edmonton. But the top of the roster is still looking for answers, and goals. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has one assist on the year while Zach Hyman and Viktor Arvidsson are still looking for their first point.
• Goalie Stuart Skinner played well in the win over Philadelphia, stopping 27 of 30 shots in a 4-3 win, so it was a bit of surprise that Calvin Pickard got the start on Thursday, especially with the two road games spaced out nicely and a two-day break at the end of the trip. But they want to lighten Skinner’s workload and have faith in their backup, and with good cause. Pickard was up for the task, stopping 25 of 27 shots in the win.
“Obviously, his first game wasn’t his best (five goals on 20 shots against Chicago),” said Knoblauch. “But we know that he’s always responded and had an outstanding season last year. We have a lot of confidence in him.”
• With the shots 24-10 Edmonton and everything going their way late in the second period, the penalty kill units had to step in and kill a Vasily Podkolzin double-minor for high-sticking. And 3:25 later, the Predators tied the game 2-2. It was a valiant effort, but it’s also the eighth power-play goal against in the first five games. The power play, meanwhile, went 0-for-4 on the night and is 0-for-8 in the last two games.
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“I think our PP is going to start to click,” said Jeff Skinner. “When you start seeing signs of hemming them in and getting opportunities it’s a matter of time before pucks start going in for us.”
• Despite making the biggest splash in the NHL’s off-season, landing forwards Steve Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and defenceman Brady Skjei, the Predators are in a bad early-season funk, sitting 0-4 and outscored 18-8 through the first two weeks of the season.
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