PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Islanders
EDMONTON, AB – Bring on the Isles.
After putting up seven goals on the road against their Pacific Division rivals from Vancouver, the Oilers will try to replicate that success on home ice on Tuesday night when they host the New York Islanders in the first game of a two-game homestand at Rogers Place.
Scoring four third-period goals on Saturday – all within a 4:55 span of the frame – the Oilers came away with a 7-3 victory over the Canucks to bump their overall record this season to 7-7-1. The victory leaves the Blue & Orange fifth in the Pacific Division standings while being tied with Utah Hockey Club for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference on 15 points.
On Saturday night, the Oilers recovered from back-to-back goals from the Canucks that made it 3-2 in the second period by calling their timeout, which steeled their resolve for the remainder of the frame before they tacked on four goals on 16 shots in the final 20 minutes.
Edmonton received a pair of tallies from Connor Brown, a power-play marker from Connor McDavid and an extra goal from Brett Kulak during the final period, with the Stony Plain product’s goal being his fourth of the season to surpass his total from last campaign in only 15 games.
“I think we were shooting for rebounds, crashing the net and weren’t trying to wait for the perfect play or anything,” Brown said after Monday’s practice. “With a little bit of tenacity and hard work, we were putting it on net and banging home second and third opportunities.”
Six different Oilers recorded multi-point nights – including Mattias Janmark (3A), Leon Draisaitl (1G, 2A) and Zach Hyman (2A) – while 12 total skaters were able to find the scoresheet in the Blue & Orange's victory.
Edmonton has recorded at least 29 shots on goal in 14 of their 15 games this season and were averaging the second most (32.9) in the NHL before their seven-goal explosion against the Canucks, so Saturday’s performance marked some positive regression for an Oilers team that knows they can score goals.
It was only a matter of time, in their minds, that they would find the back of the net on a few more of those opportunities.
“Sometimes it's just a balance, too,” Brown added. “A little bounce like that can take the reins off and guys can just go out there and play, so I think maybe that might have been it. I think at the end of the day, it starts with hard work and checking for your chances, and we went out there, worked hard and got rewarded with some bounces.”