GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Lightning 3

EDMONTON, AB - In the battle of the streaks, the Edmonton Oilers were the only ones who left Rogers Place with theirs intact.
Something had to give, and the Oilers had more of a jolt than the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and assist, while Zach Hyman recorded a pair of goals on Thursday night in an electrifying Oilers victory over the Lightning that extended Edmonton's win streak to five games.
Tampa Bay had won five consecutive games of their own coming into tonight, but couldn't muster enough over the full 60 minutes to defeat the Oilers in the second of back-to-back games after defeating the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.
"This stretch has been huge for us confidence-wise and just kind of getting back to our game, our identity and the way we know how we have to play to win games," Derek Ryan said after adding an assist in the victory.
Jack Campbell made 28 saves for his fifth straight victory to improve to 14-8-1 on the season and continue his second-half renaissance between the pipes for Edmonton.
"I think the confidence is growing in the group," McDavid said. "You can feel it on the ice, you can feel it around the room. Confidence is a big thing and you've got to earn it, and it goes back to taking it one day at a time. I think we've done a good job of doing that since the second half started here."
The Oilers head to Vancouver for a Hockey Night in Canada clash with the Canucks on Saturday before returning home for two games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks before the All-Star break.

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ELECTRIC OPENING FRAME

They say lightning never strikes twice, but that mentions nothing about the Oilers.
The Blue & Orange did just that to stake themselves to a 2-0 advantage at the end a well-controlled opening frame from the hosts against the Eastern Conference powerhouses.
Derek Ryan stripped the puck from former Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman below the red line with 6:10 gone in the first period before his ensuing pass to the point was quickly released by rookie defenceman Vincent Desharnais.
Ryan McLeod redirected the effort past Andrei Vasilevskiy for his seventh goal of the campaign for the 1-0 lead, but with the primary assist, Desharnais has now quietly recorded three assists and a +4 plus/minus rating in his first four NHL games.

Exactly 10-and-a-half minutes on from McLeod's go-ahead goal after Pat Maroon headed to the box for hooking and slew-footing McDavid, the Oilers top power play made quick work of a puck battle below the goal line with a lightning-fast exchange between McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl. The German made it a two-goal lead for Edmonton with a one-timer from just inside the left circle as the energy levels in Rogers Place reached the highest they have all season.
Maroon's minor penalty that led to Draisaitl's 27th goal of the campaign set up a physical finish to the frame. A non-call on Nikita Kucherov boarding Evander Kane in front of the Lightning bench caused a scrum and led to a video review at the scorekeeper's booth for a major penalty, but the referees' attention was on a trip that followed the hit from Kane and ended with Edmonton being short two minutes.
"We thought Kane got hit from behind. He got hit right on the numbers in front of their bench, and that kind of started something there," Woodcroft added. "The fight at the start of the second period was a spontaneous thing, and what I'm proud of is that our team stuck together. Our team answered the bell in numerous ways. We knew it was coming, were ready for it and went out and executed.
Before the thunder settled on the first period, Darnell Nurse and Corey Perry dropped the gloves at centre ice at the buzzer before Klim Kostin and Maroon reignited the rough stuff off the opening draw of the middle frame with a spirited scrap.
"I think some teams come and think that they're going to run us right out of the building with physicality, and we got the guys to stand in there," McDavid said.

SECOND SPARK

You can never count out the Stanley Cup champions of two of the past three NHL seasons.
"I think that's the quality of a team that's been in the Stanley Cup Final for the last three years," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "If they come out and they play a period where they feel it's devoid of emotion, they look to create it."
After local product Brandon Hagel and Hyman traded goals 1:30 apart in the middle frame's opening five minutes, the Lightning looked electric for the remainder of the period to have the game levelled at 3-3 as the third period rolled around.
Steven Stamkos scored career goals number 500, 501 and 502 in Tampa Bay's win over the Vancouver Canucks in the first game of their back-to-back on Wednesday, and the future Hall of Famer wasted no time finding the back of the net for goal 503 with a one-timer that beat Campbell off the inside post 7:51 into the middle frame.
Then, just as the eight-minute mark passed, an opportunity for the Lightning came quickly off a break-in as Hedman feathered a pass towards the Oilers net from up high that was perfectly redirected in by Brayden Point off the crossbar to tie the game.
The shots were 24-23 in favour of the Oilers and the score was all square with everything to play for between the two sides who were both looking to protect their respective win streaks with a decisive final period.

TURNING POINT

Leave it to the captain to surge up the ice and deliver the spark the Oilers needed.
A chip of the puck by Darnell Nurse into empty space near the penalty box allowed McDavid to circle through the middle of the neutral zone and attack the Lightning zone with speed -- one of the most untenable positions for a defenceman in the NHL to find themselves in.
Ian Cole experienced that first hand when McDavid protected the puck and drove him wide before he shovelled one under the right arm of Vasilevskiy that took its time crossing the line, but eventually did nonetheless to lift the Oilers back into a one-goal lead with 17:50 still to play in the final frame.

The Oilers did what they needed to do the rest of the way, locking down the Lightning and burying an empty-net goal through Hyman in the third period that's become a real stong point in recent games for the club.
"I agree with that. I think we've talked about that a little bit in the locker room," Derek Ryan said post-game. "Going into third periods, we feel like we have a chance to be mature, be professional, and that's kind of been a little bit of a stigma in the last season. Maybe earlier in parts of the season we weren't having the best thirds, so I think our mentality has changed a little bit and it's been nice."

SAVE OF THE GAME

Don't take the soup off the stove.
Jack Campbell has been sizzling as of late in the Oilers crease with four straight wins as a vital part of Edmonton's win streak, and he was determined to keep it intact the the expense of Tampa Bay's with the Oilers ahead thanks to McDavid's early third-period marker.
Campbell dove out to flat-out deny Nikita Kucherov, who knuckled a one-timer that the Oilers goaltender swiped with the glove as he slid across the blue paint three-and-a-half minutes into the final frame.
Coming into Thursday's game, Campbell had allowed two or fewer goals in seven of his last eight games, but despite giving up three at Rogers Place, he was still a vital part of both the Oilers and himself claiming their fifth wins in a row.

PARTING WORDS

Woodcroft on the Oilers answering Tampa Bay's physicality with their own:
"I know the last game we played in Tampa, we had some physicality to our game and our team was ready for that tonight. Our team answered the bell. Our power play answered the bell. I was quite happy with our response, and for me, that's the sign of a good team. When there is no emotion, they look to create it. They have certain people that go out and do that. We were aware of it and we were prepared for it."
Woodcroft on Edmonton's netminders playing well and Skinner being named an NHL All-Star as a rookie:
"Isn't it nice? I think we talked about using our eyes. I think there was a stretch of games there where Stuart was commanding the net. He was commanding it and forcing the coaching staff's hand at who was going to take the net with his play. He's made the All-Star team.
"Question for you guys (the media), I don't know this. I didn't look it up today, but when's the last time an Edmonton goaltender played in the All-Star Game? He's a rookie goaltender. Isn't that great? Isn't that a win for our scouts? Isn't that a win for our development team? Isn't that a win for his goalie coaches in Sylvain Rodrigue and Dustin Schwartz that have helped him get to that point? I think it's a great thing for our organization."

Ryan on preparing and executing a game plan against a tough opponent in the Lightning:
"We talked about that before the game. It's a big game, a big test for us. We've also talked a lot about in the last couple of games how it's not about who we're playing. Obviously it changed a little bit of the strategy, but we know how we have to play to be successful no matter who we're playing. It's no different with Tampa coming in here tonight, and I think we got to that game early. We knew they were going to have a push back. They did, and were able to come out in the end."
Hyman on a physical, electric contest between two teams protecting win streaks:
"Just two really good teams. Two competitive teams that both were coming in on streaks and wanted to keep them going, and I think they came out flat. Then they got guys who wanted to create a spark, and they did. RThey came back in that game, made it 3-3 and tied it up, and I think we pushed back too, so it was good."