Oilers outlast Avalanche, extend win streak to eight with West’s top seed in sight

With one game to play in the regular season and an eight-game winning streak intact — the Edmonton Oilers longest such streak in 22 years — we are starting to wonder. 

Does it really matter who the Oilers play in Round 1? Or where they finish in the Western Conference standings? 

If they play like this, is anyone going to upset them in Rd. 1? 

“It’s a good time for us to get rolling here,” began goalie Stuart Skinner, after a 2-1 overtime win at Colorado that kept the Oilers alive for top spot out West heading into Game 82 on Thursday night. “A good time for us to feel good about our game. Feel confident. 

“You know … It’s kind of an unspoken feeling. But it’s important to have that going into the first round.” 

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They might not be talking about it, but everyone else is. 

The Oilers have won eight straight, they’re 18-2-1 since GM Ken Holland’s trade for Mattias Ekholm, and they’ve allowed four goals total in their past six games — never more than one in a single game. 

“We’re just buying in right now, and it’s great to see that everyone sees what the results end up being,” said Ekholm, who at this time is the most impactful player acquired at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline. “We’ve tried to do the right thing defensively before we go on the offence and it’s paying dividends.” 

This was a game of attrition, with the teams trading first period goals and then settling into the kind of hockey we’re going to see a lot of in the next couple of months — quite possibly with the Oilers participating right ‘til the end. 

“This is the type of game that we’re gonna have to play more nights than not here coming next week. So great to see you the guys respond,” said Ekholm. “I thought we played really well, kept it low scoring and found a way to dig it out in OT.” 

When Holland dealt Tyson Barrie in the Ekholm deal, the Oilers put a ton of faith in Evan Bouchard’s ability to take the wheel of their power play, the Ferrari among NHL special teams. Well, a unit that operated at 31.9 per cent when Barrie was shipped out has gone 33.9 per cent with Bouchard up top. 

On Tuesday he picked the top corner on Alex Georgiev in overtime, on a power play drawn by Connor McDavid. “A Bouch Bomb,” chuckled Skinner, who is 12-1-1 in his last 14 starts.

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“Connor actually called it,” Bouchard said of the play. “(He said to) fake, and then see what opens up. Luckily for me the lane opened up and it went in.” 

It’s the micro version of a macro development here in Edmonton, as an organization discovers that having the best offensive players doesn’t just mean throwing them over the boards and asking them to score five every night. 

Working a four-on-three power play in overtime, the moment Bouchard looked over to McDavid, J.T. Compher at the top of the triangle committed to No. 97. That bought Bouchard a full stride of open ice, and stepped in and whistled a wrist shot up into the top corner. 

That’s a new way to use McDavid: let the opposition over-commit to him. 

Another is to play the way the Oilers have played in the past month, where they’ve posted a goals-against average of 2.53. 

When you have the arsenal that the Oilers have you’re happy to play low event hockey, knowing that however few scoring chances there are, you are most likely to capitalize more than the opponent. 

“We’re just not forcing anything. We realize who we have in our dressing room,” said head coach Jay Woodcroft. “We have quite a number of guys who can break games open when chances arise. So there’s no need to be impatient. 

“(This) was the type of game that we have to get comfortable in because that’s the way it’s played in the playoffs.” 

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This was not only Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ 800^th career NHL game, it was also was the first game in over 37 years to feature five 100-point scorers — only the just the fifth time in NHL history that so much firepower has convened in one game. 

So of course the score was 1-1 after 60 minutes. 

With an assist on the winner McDavid becomes the first player in NHL history to record three 15-game points streaks in the same season. He’s not hotter than his club, which is on an incredible 16-3-1 run in the past 20 games, with one game against San Jose between them and Rd. 1. 

When Colorado opened the scoring it marked the first time Edmonton had trailed in 360:03.  

Now, in a game that starts at 7 p.m Mountain on Thursday, Edmonton needs two points against San Jose. Then they’ll wait, requiring a regulation win by Seattle over Vegas in a game that starts at 8:30 Edmonton time. 

The Oilers could finish first in the Pacific Division and Western Conference and face a wildcard team in Round 1, or they could finish behind Vegas and face the third place team, likely Los Angeles. 

Whomever it is that gets Edmonton, the way the Oilers are playing these days they won’t like their Rd. 1 opponent. 

More from Sportsnet

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