GAME RECAP: Oilers 4, Islanders 2

EDMONTON, AB - The Oilers were finally able to solve Ilya Sorokin on Thursday night.
The Oilers got a slight bit of revenge against a goaltender that robbed them of a result a little over a month ago with a 4-2 victory over the Islanders at Rogers Place. The New York goaltender stopped all 49 Oilers shots back on Nov. 23 for the shutout victory, but Edmonton found a way to get four behind him on this occasion with Leon Draisaitl, Kailer Yamamoto, Dylan Holloway and Zach Hyman doing the damage.
"I thought it was a good team win for us," Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "Controlled the game right from the drop of the puck and we were able to finish it off, so it was a good team win."
Draisaitl picked up an assist with his goal that happened to be the 400th of his National Hockey League career, while the other member of the Dynamic Duo Connor McDavid picked up the 500th assist of his already-illustrious career.
"It's a credit to them, their longevity, and their talent," Woodcroft said about his superstars. "What they don't get credit enough for is the work that goes into achieving those numbers, but what I know about them is they're great teammates and they want to win."
The Islanders found goals off the stick of Matt Barzal, who scored in his fifth-straight game with a bar-down snipe, and a tip-in tally by Cal Clutterbuck as the only two shots to make their way behind Oilers starter Jack Campbell, who made 20 saves in the victory.
The Oilers will wrap up their four-game homestand with a Saturday night contest against last year's Western Conference Final foes in the Colorado Avalanche, who eliminated Edmonton on their way to becoming Stanley Cup Champions.

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FIRST BLOOD

It took until shot number 62 of the season on Sorokin, but the Oilers finally solved the Islanders' goaltender on the power play.
Who else from where else? It was Leon Draisaitl from the circle with one of his patented one-timers for his 22nd goal of the season and his 14th with the man advantage.
Edmonton came out flying to start the game against the Islanders, with their opening marker coming on their 13th shot in the first 10 minutes of the contest. Draisaitl's goal came on the Oilers second power play of the evening, a far cry from their 0-for-5 effort on Long Island back on Nov. 23.
The opening period was one of the Oilers most dominant of the season with the home Blue & Orange racking up a pair of goals on 18 shots on Sorokin.

SHORTHANDED SCRIPT FLIP

It was a long time coming, but Kailer Yamamoto pulled out the perfect move at the perfect time to pick up his fourth goal of the season.
With the Oilers shorthanded due to a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tripping call, Connor McDavid was able to muscle Brock Nelson off a puck at the blue line to spring the counter-attack towards the Islanders' goal.
Yamamoto looked off the captain before pulling out the slick toe drag away from the flailing stick of a sliding Noah Dobson before sliding the puck between Sorokin's five hole. The marker was the Oilers fifth shorthanded tally of the season by their fifth different scorer -- with the others being McDavid, Darnell Nurse, Ryan McLeod, and Warren Foegele.

The goal came in opposition to the Oilers last contest against the Islanders when Jean-Gabriel Pageau tapped home a Zach Parise feed on a shorthanded counter-attack to open the scoring in New York's 3-0 victory last November.

PLAY OF THE GAME

The man who leads the NHL in high-danger scoring opportunities found another one and he made it count.
Zach Hyman scored his 18th goal of the campaign with 4:43 remaining in the second period, courtesy of a breakaway feed by Draisaitl. The Oilers winger made no mistake, shielding off Alexander Romanov before lifting the backhander by Sorokin to give Edmonton the 4-1 advantage.
The marker was also a big one for the man voted the NHL's best passer last season, with the assist being the 400th of Draisaitl's career. The dish came in the German forward's 596th game, making him the fifth-fastest Oiler to reach that milestone, trailing only Wayne Gretzky (290 games), Connor McDavid (426 games), Paul Coffey (464 games), and Jari Kurri (523 games).

A MATTER OF TIME

You could see it recently in Dylan Holloway's game that things were starting to click for the Oilers 2020 first-round pick.
Holloway had strung together a few solid performances in a row, showing off some of the offensive ability that found him selected 14th overall, but he still had nothing to show for it on the stat sheet. That changed on Thursday night.
"I think he's figuring his way out in the best league in the world," Head Coah Jay Woodcroft said prior to the game. "I think the more that he plays, the more he learns what he can and can't do at this level."
The goal was the result of a strong shift in the Oilers offensive zone by a trio of their young contributors in Philip Broberg, McLeod, and Holloway. The play was capped off by a blast from the slot by the Calgary, AB product that rocketed past Sorokin's blocker for his second goal of the season.

JACK'S BACK

After a game where recent incumbent starter Stuart Skinner was pulled, mostly as a momemtum breaker by Coach Woodcroft, it was Jack Campbell who found himself battling in the blue paint for the Oilers on Thursday.
The Oilers free-agent acquisition was solid in his first start since Dec. 13 in Nashville, turning aside 20-of-22 shots on the evening for his ninth win in Oilers silks. The 30-year-old was cool and collected between the pipes with only a crossbar-and-in shot by Barzal and slick tip by Clutterbuck beating him on the evening.
Campbell has been working to get back to the game that saw him named an NHL all-star last season while with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"There's always pressure, especially when you get to this level of on yourself, myself included," Campbell said. "I want to be great every night, and that's the best part about having this job, is we get the opportunity to go out and try to do that."

PARTING WORDS

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft on Klim Kostin's play on the top line:
"I think he was waiting for it. I think he's a pedigree player. He's a first-round draft pick and was a national team player for his country. He's somebody that played in a high level over in the KHL and received good coaching over there. It didn't work out for him in St. Louis, but he has a pedigree of maybe one day achieving a top-six role on a team. I think what I really like about him is the story of his season, the story for him, and I think it's a good example for other people in our organization because I think what you want to make sure is that you're ready when you get tapped on the shoulder. I think that's the biggest thing. It's hard sometimes to wait in the bullpen, so to speak, and wait for that chance."
Woodcroft on the play of Broberg as of late:
"I think Philip is a very subtle player. I think when you're not talking about him, sometimes that's a good thing for a young D-man finding his way. I feel good when he's on the ice. I think his best assets are his legs. I think he has the ability to spin off checks and create separation because he's such a good skater. I think he does some things at blue lines and red lines where we want to contest those areas. He's a young man that is able to execute, and I think the more experience he gets in the National Hockey League, the better a player he's going to be. I think he's going to be a really good player for us for a long time."
Woodcroft on Saturday's Western Conference Finals rematch with the Avalanche:
"It's a hard league, isn't it? It's the best league in the world. I think if you look at the teams that played in the Final Four that play deep, sometimes it takes them a while to get up to full steam. I think each team has different stories to their year. I know for us, we've lost some key pieces. We lost key pieces for long periods of time. It not been a smooth sale. I think there's positives to it. I think that's where teams come together and play hard for each other."

Zach Hyman on getting the win over the Islanders:
"Nice to get a win at home. It's been a little while, too long for us. I think we started off really well, and I think that we made an emphasis on playing a full 60. And I think even though they got that goal at the end of the second period, we didn't fall off our game. We didn't deter. We just kept playing our game, weren't on our heels. We were pushing the pace. And I think that's what you need to do."
Hyman on the Oilers communicating and moving the puck:
"I think one of the things was just being positive. I think that just exudes energy from the entire group and I definitely think that we're definitely talking more. I think our breakouts were way better today the (defence) were moving it quick, and Soup was playing the puck great -- moving it to the defence and getting out. I think that talk on the ice and then talk on the bench in the locker room just helps create a positive environment where you go out there and you play."
Yamamoto on the players meeting yesterday:
"After practice yesterday, we had a little team meeting and just said we need to keep our foot on the gas. I feel like we came out strongly in games and then kind of let off the gas and let teams creep back in and win games. So I think our big goal today was just keep pushing forward and never be satisfied."