GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Penguins 1

PITTSBURGH, PA - Home ice: Secured.
The Edmonton Oilers will officially open the Stanley Cup Playoffs on home ice at Rogers Place after dumping the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 on Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena in their regular-season road finale.
Connor McDavid had another one of his incredible performances, scoring his 44th of the season with a sublime snipe in the third period and adding three assists to increase his career-high and league-leading points total to 122 points (44G, 78A) in 79 games.
Mike Smith made 33 saves to record his 10th straight victory, tying Grant Fuhr for the franchise record of consecutive wins, and even missed an empty net with a full-ice clearance in the final minutes of the game that scraped wide by mere inches.
Evander Kane tallied a goal and assist, while Evan Bouchard scored his 12th goal of the season to open the scoring in the first period of his 100th career NHL game.

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FIRST BLOOD

With McDavid along the half-boards ready to deliver a pass with just over seven minutes on the clock in the first frame, Bouchard pinched down from the blueline and received the feed from his captain on his backhand before bringing it onto his forehand and letting go a quick wrist shot that grazed the left post and beat Casey DeSmith short side to open the scoring with his 12th goal of the season.
Bouchard looked to have had his second of the night to double the Oilers lead in the second period when he put another wrist shot past the Penguins netminder, but the hosts challenged for offside and were successful in overturning a 2-0 Oilers lead.

AN INSTANT ANSWER

The Penguins equalized in the second period through Jeff Carter as a powerplay expired to tie the contest at 1-1, but the Oilers top line of Yamamoto, McDavid and Kane combined for a beautiful go-ahead goal just 25 seconds later.
McDavid kicked it right on a 3-on-2 to Yamamoto, who believed a perfect backhand pass to Kane to one-time home for his 22nd goal in 41 games and his 10th tally in the last six contests for the 30-year-old.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Mike Smith came up with a desperation pad save on Evgeni Malkin in the first period, throwing out the left pad with the Russian facing a wide-open net and getting the slightest of stops needed to send the puck over the net and leave the Penguins fans at PPG Paints Arena wondering how the puck could ever stay out of the net.
The 40-year-old continues to sizzle in net for the Oilers heading towards the playoffs, winning his 10th straight start to tie the franchise record for consecutive wins set by Grant Fuhr during the 1985-86 season. If that wasn't enough to show his confidence, he even took a shot at an empty net in the dying embers of the game and was almost rewarded for it after it missed the open cage by the slightest of margins. There's precedent there, remember, after he did it in his professional debut in the AHL with the Kentucky Thoroughblades back in 1995.

PLAY OF THE GAME

We're running out of things to say about Number 97 at this point.
McDavid skated around the Penguins zone on the powerplay and put the onus on himself to snipe his 44th goal of the season and register his fourth point of the night top shelf on the short side of DeSmith's net despite the Pittsburgh netminder hugging the near post.

FACT CHECK

Captain Connor matched a feat on Tuesday night only accomplished in the last 26 seasons by one Pittsburgh Penguin.
McDavid's four-point night was his 45th multi-point effort in 79 games this campaign as he became the only player to do so since Jaromir Jagr did it for the Penguins back during the 1995-96 NHL campaign. McDavid continued to build on his new career-high which was previously 117 points in '19-20, and he still has two more games at home this regular season to grow that total of 122 points (44G, 78A) further.

PARTING WORDS

Zach Hyman on rebounding from the defeat in Columbus:
"We've gone through adversity. There's a stretch there where we couldn't turn things on, and we realized it's not as easy as turning on a light switch. Once you get in one of those slumps it's hard to break out of it, so the best way is to get back on the right path and make it a quick one and flush it. Today, we were able to put the last game behind us and make it a blip in the radar like we have in the past."
Hyman when asked to describe McDavid's play tonight:
"Quiet four-point night? Loud four-point night? It's just normal. I mean, he makes so many plays on the ice that don't result in goals that when they do go in, you could add a couple more points on it. He's such a dynamic player, the best player in the world. That is what you expect and that is what you get, I'm glad he's with us and I'm glad I'm here."
Hyman on McDavid vs. Crosby and their generational talents:
"For everyone in that generation, Sid was the guy most kids looked up to. I don't know if Connor did, but it seems like he did. I'm sure that adds an extra layer for him. I'm sure he's focused on the team and winning and not making it a personal battle or anything. Obviously he played great tonight and has for quite some time."
Hyman on the feat of clinching home-ice advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs:
"Huge. We've been playing extremely well at home as of late, and the next few games are at home so we want to keep that going. You want to be playing well into the playoffs. You don't want to have a lull."

Hyman on McDavid's exceptional play down the stretch:
"I think he's going every night. As of late he's been unbelievable at generating chances for himself and his linemates. Any time he gets the puck he beats the guy, draws another guy, and then there's space, I don't know what his numbers are in the past however many games, but it seems like he's playing at the top of his game."
"I think towards the end of the season things get harder and it's harder to score, but he's making it easier, stepping up, and being a huge difference-maker for us. We obviously had a stretch where things weren't going well, and we needed to turn them around quickly and he was a big reason why we were able to."
Bouchard on clinching home-ice advantage tonight:
"That was big for us. We really wanted home-ice advantage. I think it's huge for us going into playoffs, and to beat a team like that going into playoffs, it's awesome.
Bouchard on Edmonton's bounce-back ability:
"You can't really hang your head on those games when you get blown out a little bit. The biggest thing is how you bounce back, especially going into playoffs. If the game doesn't go your way, you have to make sure you step up the next game."
Bouchard on McDavid's incredible performance and season:
"It's incredible. I didn't think this time and age that someone could get that many points, but it kind of doesn't surprise me at all watching him all year. You really see the kind of player that he is and I could see him breaking that again."
"He's always going. Normally it kind of looks that way for him, but recently he's been unbelievable. Not just offensively, defensively he's really leading us out there... It's great. You see someone play that hard offensively and defensively, that's the biggest thing. You really want to follow someone like that, and I think that's where part of our success is coming from."

Coach Woodcroft on a great team performance led by Captain McDavid:
"I think he has a night most nights. He's such a good hockey player and he rose to the occasion tonight. I thought it was an important game for our team and it was a complete 60 minutes from everybody. But certainly. Connor led the way."
Coach Woodcroft on clinching home-ice advantage in Round 1:
"I think we have the most passionate and best fanbase in the National Hockey League. So starting on home ice, we're excited about it. It's a credit to our players' hard work because it wasn't easy to secure that.
Coach Woodcroft on Mike Smith's game and going for the empty net late in the third period:
"I thought it was close. I was on my toes on the bench to see if it was going in, but if there's anybody that can do it, it'd be him. I've never seen one live; I've seen them on video. That would've been pretty exciting, but Kass ended up sealing the game for us."
Coach Woodcroft on how he'd describe the team's bounce-back ability:
"I think we have a resiliency to our team. I think there's a level of resolve. It's something we're talking about too as we move forward here, that is something that's going to be important. We've got to understand that it's important for us to remain even-keeled. It's not getting too high after a win. It was a big win tonight. We're going to enjoy it here for the next 30 minutes or so, but also, if you don' win the game, you have to regroup and replenish so you're ready for the next contest. I think there's a real maturity to our team. We have some older players, players with some really good experience that are sharing their experiences. But in the end, we're led by our leadership group.

Coach Woodcroft on Brett Kulak's performance:
"I thought he was excellent. He played hard. We asked him to move up the D chart and he gave us really good minutes. That's a really good hockey team over there; fast and dangerous players, and they had some chances. We bent but didn't break when they were in our end."
Coach Woodcroft on speaking to the team after the game to acknowledge the last game of Team Doctor John Clarke:
"Not too often. Sometimes when the occasion arises, but tonight I did. You want to know why? Because it was one of our medical staff, one of our team doctors, it was his final regular-season road game. His name is Dr. Clarke and I just wanted to recognize that and our players gave him a big ovation and took a picture with him. We made sure it was a memorable night through their efforts."
Coach Woodcroft on McDavid consistently pushing ahead in the scoring race and rising to the occasion:
"I think that's what the best players in the world do -- they rise to the occasion. What he's doing here this season, I don't think it gets appreciated by everybody because there's almost a consensus that it's just 'McDavid being McDavid'. He's at a career-high and he's driving our team playing the right way. He's driven to win."
Coach Woodcroft on greatness bringing out the best in McDavid:
"I think it brings out greatness in our entire team. That performance you saw tonight against a really good hockey team was four lines contributing, all six D, and a goaltender that was on his game. Special teams were firing. That was a complete 60 for us in a tough building versus a tough team that had something to play for. I'm proud of our group tonight."