Edmonton Oilers blank Pittsburgh Penguins for third win of the season

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A visit from the Pittsburgh Penguins is precisely what the doctor orders whenever the Edmonton Oilers are struggling.

And, boy, have these Edmonton Oilers ever been struggling.

So, what better time to cue an opponent they’ve won their six previous meetings against, including sweeping last year’s two-game season series by a combined score of 10-1?

A 4-0 win Friday at Rogers Place gave the Oilers three wins in October — something they weren’t able to do until their last head coach was fired in mid-November of last year. That makes them 3-4-1 on the year, while the Penguins fell to 3-5-1.

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And while Stuart Skinner earned a shutout on 27 saves, Joel Blomqvist came in with other ideas of his own down at the other end.

The 22-year-old Penguins netminder made 46 saves, holding the fort on the way to being outshot 19-5 in the opening period, before the Oilers cranked up the pressure in the second, only to get stymied on odd-man rushes, set plays and even a three-on-one. Other times, it looked like the Oilers were on an extended power play against five Penguins defenders.

It wasn’t until the Oilers took their 33rd shot of the game, compared to Pittsburgh’s 13, that they got on the board when Leon Draisaitl sniped a wrist shot from the left circle inside the far post.

All four of Edmonton’s goals beat Blomqvist stick side, with three of them assisted by Viktor Arvidsson for his first points as a member of the Oilers.

SAME OLD NEW LOOK?

Pittsburgh was unsuccessful with a coach’s challenge for the play being offside, which sent Edmonton on the power play.

After earning just two goals on 19 opportunities on the man advantage, the Oilers spent the past couple practices working on a new-look power play.

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This one featured Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner and Mattias Ekholm in place of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman and Bouchard.

But in the game Saturday, it was the original group, along with Connor McDavid and Draisaitl, that took to the ice on the power play. Not surprising, really, since it’s the group that pushed the Oilers to an NHL-best 28.5 per cent success rate over the past five years.

The Oilers power play went 1-for-2 Saturday, but the goal went to Ekholm on the second unit.

BEST ON BEST?

There is nothing like a good dustup between generational superstars to get things going for a stalled organization.

And there was nothing of the sort Friday at Rogers Place.

Despite having two once-in-a-lifetime talents on the ice at the same time, neither McDavid or Sidney Crosby did much of anything at all out there — kind of like their underperforming teams have all season.

The Penguins have been struggling every bit as much as the Oilers out of the gates this season. The difference, of course, is their face of the franchise is 10 years past his prime compared to Edmonton’s.

As far as the head-to-head goes, McDavid has 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) and one game-winner in 13 games, including eight multi-point outings. Crosby, meanwhile, has seven points (three goals, four assists) and one game-winner.

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Drafted first overall 10 years apart, both players rank within the top 10 all-time for points per-game with McDavid third (1.52) and Crosby eighth (1.25).

The pair has combined for seven Art Ross trophies, five Hart Memorial trophies, three Maurice Richard trophies and three Conn Smythe trophies, as well as 15 all-star game selections.

But zero points Saturday.

E-mail: [email protected]

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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