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Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl celebrates his second period goal against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Nov. 19, 2024 in Ottawa. Chris Tanouye /Getty Images

By Robert Tychkowski

The way the Edmonton Oilers rolled into Ottawa and imposed their will on the nation’s capital Tuesday night you half expected their bank accounts would be frozen by the time they got home.

Yup, the only things missing were honking horns and bouncy castles as the Oilers convoy, rediscovering the offence that had been missing for so long, stormed out to a 3-1 lead in the first period and coasted to a 5-2 decision over the host Senators.

The Oilers own this town, going 8-1-1 in their last 10 trips to Ottawa.

Speaking of castles, this was a huge bounce back game for the Oilers. Despite looking a mess at times during the first two games of the trip — blowing a third-period lead in an overtime loss in Toronto and being shut out 3-0 in Montreal — they emerge from the eastern swing with a .500 (1-1-1) record.

“I thought it was a resilient effort,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid. “It wasn’t easy, a lot of travel, playing back-to-back and they were rested. We were a little behind the 8-ball but we just found a way to get it done tonight. That’s all it was about and it was a great sign for our group.”


The club desperately needed a win to steady its ship, so head coach Kris Knoblauch reassembled the ‘We’re in Trouble’ line, putting McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together from the start. The dynamic duo led the way with three points each as the Oilers plugged the holes in their leaky ship and returned to Edmonton with a 10-8-2 record.

“It was massive, if we didn’t (win) it would have been a pretty ugly road trip, especially playing all the Canadian teams, you want to show up for those,” said goalie Stuart Skinner. “Being able to get off to a good start in the first period was a big help.”

Forwards

1. Leon Draisaitl: 20 GP, 14, 13 A, 27 PTS

2. Connor McDavid: 17 GP, 9G, 15 A, 24 PTS

3. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 20 GP, 2 G, 7 A, 9 PTS

4. Zach Hyman: 20 GP, 3 G, 5 A, 8 PTS

5. Mattias Janmark: 20 GP, 1G, 7 A, 8 PTS

Defenceman

1. Evan Bouchard: 20 GP, 5 G, 8 A, 13 PTS

2. Mattias Ekholm: 20 GP, 4G, 6A, 10 PTS

3. Darnell Nurse: 18 GP, 2 G, 7 A, 9 PTS

4. Brett Kulak: 20 GP, 4G, 4 A, 8 PTS

Goalie

1. Stuart Skinner: 13 GP, 6-5-2, .881 SV%, 3.18 GAA
2. Calvin Pickard: 8 GP, 4-3--0, 0.893 SV%, 2.44 GAA

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Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid celebrates his first period goal with teammate Leon Draisaitl against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Nov. 19, 2024 in Ottawa. Chris Tanouye /Getty Images

By Bruce McCurdy

In theory Ottawa Senators had a rest advantage over their guests on Tuesday, but in reality their opponents had a burr in their saddle after a sorry effort the night before. Edmonton Oilers needed a bounceback effort and they got one, pounding home 3 goals in the first period and cruising to a 5-2 win.

Edmonton’s big three of first star Connor McDavid, second star Leon Draisaitl and third star Evan Bouchard combined to score 4 goals and 9 points in the first 25 minutes as the Oilers built a 4-1 lead. 3 points apiece with each man sporting a +3 to also co-lead the team in that department.

Stu Skinner took care of the rest, putting out a few fires along the way to ensure the Sens never got within 3 goals the rest of the way. One downer was an apparent injury that resulted in Zach Hyman missing the third period.

It was a fairly even game by territorial play. Ottawa held a 59-51 advantage in shot attempts, but Edmonton led in shots on goal by 31-29. Siimilarly, the Cult of Hockey‘s video analysis had the Senators leading Grade A shots by 13-10, but the Oilers in 5-alarm chances by 6-4 (running count).

#2 Evan Bouchard, 7. Opened the scoring with a brilliant end-to-end rush, beating Ottawa defender Thomas Chabot one-on-one with a superb inside move before depositing a perfectly placed shot in the top corner behind Linus Ullmark. Expect to see that one on Plays of the Month/Year. Earned a couple of assists with more routine plays to finish the first period with 3 points. Nearly scored again late in the second when he started, then joined a rush with McDavid and made a sharp redirection from the doorstep that forced one of Ullmark’s best stops. Downgraded by a point due to some sloppy defensive work on several occasions, even as Skinner repeatedly had his back. Contributions to Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength +3

#10 Derek Ryan, 6. Made a splendid play on the 5-1, first winning a battle to retain possession, then sending a perfectly weighted shot-pass onto the tape of RNH for the redirection. Had a very tidy night on the faceoff dot with 10/13=77%. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST 0.

#13 Mattias Janmark, 6. Played sound defensive hockey, yielding nothing. Has really gotten his skating legs going these days. A bonus point for his excellent work on the penalty kill, which unit killed off 2 Ottawa chances yielding just 1 shot on net. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0.

#14 Mattias Ekholm, 6. Good bounceback from a rare off-night in Montreal. Very strong shot shares (Corsi of +26/-13 at 5v5) though his pairing with Bouchard did have a few iffy moments defensively. 9 shot attempts to lead the team. Good on the PK. GAS: ES +1/-4; ST 0.

#18 Zach Hyman, 5. Played his 600th career game, primarily on a second line with RNH and J.Skinner that had some issues defensively with Hyman himself among the culprits on the 1-1. Hammered a dangerous one-timer on net on the powerplay, but Ullmark had the answer. For the second game in a row took a wicked hit away from the puck, and this one left a mark. Did not return for the third period and his status is unknown. GAS: ES +1/-1; ST +1/-0.

#19 Adam Henrique, 6. Took a marginal penalty early in the second, but emerged from the penalty box to contribute perhaps his best shift of the season, twice sending Draisaitl and McDavid in on an odd-man rush. After the first of those chances failed, Henrique disrupted the subsequent Ottawa breakout, breaking up a pass in the neutral zone, winning the scrambled puck, absorbing some punishment, but ultimately bumping the disc ahead to McDavid for the quick strike and a well-deserved assist. Also landed the “hit of the game” when he drilled the pestiferous Ridley Greig with a solid dart. GAS: ES +1/-2; ST 0.