GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Blackhawks 2

EDMONTON, AB - Chicago Blackhawks down.
Connor McDavid expanded his point streak to 17 games with a goal and assist, Leon Draisaitl tallied his National Hockey League-leading 18th of the year and Philip Broberg notched his first career NHL point with an assist in the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 win over the Blackhawks on Hockey Fights Cancer Night at Rogers Place.
Edmonton notched a pair of shorthanded markers, went 1-for-4 on the power play and netminder Stuart Skinner registered 29 saves for his second consecutive winning result as the Orange & Blue increased their record to 8-1-0 at home and 13-4-0 overall.

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FIRST BLOOD

Finally.
After conceding the first goal of the game in seven straight matches, McDavid struck first blood at 10:16 of the opening frame. Evan Bouchard floated a point shot on the net and the puck pinballed its way to Zach Hyman before it went over to McDavid for a simple chip-in past Blackhawks goalkeeper Kevin Lankinen.
When they do the damage, the Oilers dominate. The club improved to 7-0-0 when scoring first in the 2021-22 season and per Sportsnet Stats, are a League-best 30-3-1 since '20-21.

TURNING POINT

Play big and get rewarded with a shorty.
Kailer Yamamoto did just that to keep all the momentum in Edmonton's favour when the home side was on the penalty kill in the first period.
Thanks to the backpressure of Colton Sceviour, Chicago defenceman Seth Jones' drop-pass redirected onto the stick of Yamamoto in the slot and the diminutive winger wasted no time rifling a bullet upstairs for his fourth of the campaign while registering the club's second shorthanded marker of the year.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT

Show those grills, Ryan McLeod.
The owner of the best smile in hockey scored a beauty of a backhander to prompt all of Oil Country to beam with him, as a great setup by Warren Foegele caused an even greater finish by McLeod to put the Oilers up by four. After spinning around Chicago's net, Foegele dished the biscuit over to his centreman for an in-tight 1-on-1 with Lankinen, leaving the netminder out to dry with a forehand-backhand shimmy for his second goal of the season.

PHIL OF THE FUTURE

With Darnell Nurse out, somebody was going to have to Phil the void.
Enter Broberg, the Oilers eighth-overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft. The highly-touted defenceman showed well in his debut, lining up next to steady defence partner Cody Ceci and picking up his first career point on Ryan McLeod's backhand strike at 18:32 of the 1st. The Swede capped the evening with a plus-one rating, one shot and one hit in 14:24 of ice time.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Quality over quantity.
Skinner's first save of the match on the Blackhawks' first shot of the game stands as the Oilers stop of the night. Not only did the keeper dismiss Patrick Kane from the slot with a blistering wrist shot - the same wrist shot that's produced plenty of his 410 career goals - but the denial also allowed the Oilers to turn the tide the other way and notch the opener for the first time in seven matches.
At the other end, Lankinen's sprawling pad save prevented McDavid from picking up career assist No. 400, as the Oilers Captain sauced a pass over to Jesse Puljujärvi for a heavy one-timer on a dangerous 2-on-1 attempt.

PARTING WORDS

Head Coach Dave Tippett's evaluation of Broberg in his first game:
"He played with poise, played within his game and just was very much in control. The little things he should have got done, he got done. He was just solid in all those areas. Ended up getting an assist for his first assist. Just a really good start. He played the game smart. He didn't put himself in trouble and drew a penalty. He was a solid player for us tonight."
Tippett on starting Skinner for the second game in a row:
"Very solid. And this was a game where we put him right back in because it's lots of emotion last game, lots of accolades, a really tight game against a good team (Winnipeg Jets) but for a young player to jump up, especially in that position, you got to get back there and do it the next night. That's what goaltenders that play for a long time do. He had to make a couple of big saves early and I think that got him in the game but he was solid all night."

Tippett On the Oilers penalty killing ability:
"When you're a team that's trying to improve your goals-against, that's a critical element of it. We've given up more than we'd like at 5-on-5 but if you were leaking at 5-on-5 and on your penalty kill, then you'd have problems. Our penalty kill has been solid all year. There are some shots being taken but not very many in the good areas. There is lots of outside stuff that our goaltenders know where they are going to come from. The two shorthanded goals tonight were solid. Especially when we haven't had some of our regular people in (Josh) Archibald and (Devin) Shore, people we were thinking were going to be our penalty killers haven't been there. So, the guys have jumped in and done a nice job."
Tippett on the significance of Hockey Fights Cancer Night:
"Very significant because, I don't know if it's because you start to get older, but you know a lot more people affected. Playing Chicago tonight, it's with a heavy heart that I know Troy Murray is battling away. An ex-teammate of mine. You wear these things with pride because you understand the level of concern and what people are going through. Anything you can do to bring attention. To that and bring, whether it be fundraising or just awareness to it, it's a good thing because you're helping people."

Yamamoto on scoring a shorthanded goal:
"It's nice. It's my first year getting a chunk of the penalty kill. I'm getting more comfortable with it and was lucky to capitalize on it tonight. It was a really good play by Scevs, I think he kicked it right to the middle and it gave me a good scoring chance. I give credit to him. To get that one tonight, I just got to keep shooting, I guess."
Duncan Keith on playing his former club:
"It was a huge win for our team and a good team effort. Obviously, it's a little weird playing the old team and throwing that jersey on for a long time. I had a lot of fond times with that team and organization, especially with Toews and Kane but I think it was good to get that one out of the way. I've been here for a few games now and settled in. I'm feeling good to be part of this team and organization. That's where it is. It was a good team win and good to keep it going. We've got good fans, passionate fans as you can see and it's fun to be part of."
Keith on Broberg's first NHL game:
"It was impressive. He's got a lot of poise, is a big, strong guy and was able to break up plays on the blueline. He made some really nice plays out of the zone. For a first game, I thought it was great. He's just going to keep building, getting better and better, and you can tell he's going to be a great player in this League."
Broberg on getting his first taste of NHL action and what he will remember most:
"Of course, you're nervous for the first game and the first couple of shifts. I felt good out there in my first shift and got into the game pretty good. I felt good. I wanted to play my game. That's, I guess, why they wanted to play me: to play my game and help the team. Just play simple.
"Probably the first lap in the warmup and the first shift. You remember that for a long time. It was a great win for us and even better that we got the win in my first game."