A great start and a better finish was more than enough to offset a poor middle on Thursday (Dec. 21) for the Edmonton Oilers, who defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-3 at Prudential Center in Newark.
The Oilers led early but trailed going into the third period before rallying with four unanswered goals to snap their three-game losing streak.
Ryan McLeod had the first and last goals of the game, while his Edmonton teammates Leon Draisaitl, Adam Erne, Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each scored once for the Oilers. Oilers netminder Calvin Pickard made 23 saves, allowing goals to New Jersey’s Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer and Jonas Siegenthaler.
With the victory, Edmonton now has a record of 14-15-1 for 29 points in 30 games. Here are four takeaways from Thursday’s tilt:
Oilers Stage Another Third-Period Comeback
Edmonton stormed out of the gate, with McLeod scoring just 24 seconds into the game, and Nugent-Hopkins tallying five minutes later. The Oilers’ hot start chased Devils starting netminder Akira Schmid, who was relieved by Vitek Vanacek. Once they changed goalies, the Devils settled in and scored the next three goals to take a 3-2 lead into the second intermission.
There may have been a sense of “here we go again” with the Oilers. Edmonton has already lost three times this season when taking a 2-0 lead in the first period, including in back-to-back games (to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers) on its last U.S. road trip in November.
But something the Oilers have also done with semi-regularity since Kris Knoblauch took over as head coach on Nov. 12 is a win when trailing after two periods. They did it at home against the Seattle Kraken on Nov. 14, they did it on the road against the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 30, and on Thursday, they did it again.
McDavid tied the game with a goal at 1:40 of the third period, Draisaitl scored at 2:22 to put the Oilers ahead, and Erne put the puck past Vanacek at 2:49. Suddenly, the Oilers held a 5-3 lead after scoring three times in 69 seconds, tying for the sixth fastest three goals in franchise history. McLeod put the game away with his second goal of the night at 9:04.
McLeod Makes a Difference for Oilers
McLeod scored as many times Thursday as he had in Edmonton’s prior 29 games. After going without a goal in his first 21 games, the 24-year-old centre now has four in the last nine games.
Edmonton has won its last 10 games when McLeod has at least one goal. Since he made his NHL debut in 2021, the Oilers are 17-5-0 when he scores. That’s not to suggest that McLeod is Edmonton’s magical X-factor, but it does demonstrate how crucial depth scoring is for the Oilers.
Erne Effective as Replacement for Brown
Speaking of depth scoring, Erne’s goal was his first since March, when he was still a member of the Detroit Red Wings. He had dressed for just 12 of Edmonton’s first 29 games. On Thursday, the veteran winger drew into the Oilers’ lineup for Connor Brown, who was a healthy scratch for the first time this season (he missed six games last month after suffering a lower-body injury).
Brown has become a great source of frustration in Oil Country. In 23 games he has yet to score and registered just one assist, and his minus-10 rating is tied for the worst plus/minus on the team. To make matters worse, he’s getting paid $4 million from the one-year contract he signed with the Oilers on July 1.
While his offensive production has completely dried up, the Oilers have found use for Brown on the penalty kill, where he’s logged the third most short-handed minutes among Oilers forwards this season. But his absence wasn’t even felt on the PK on Thursday, because for only the ninth time in franchise history, the Oilers weren’t assessed a single penalty.
Pickard Loves Playing the Devils
Also cast in the role of unlikely hero on Thursday was Pickard, who was making only his fourth start as an Oiler. The veteran netminder now has two wins this season, with both coming against New Jersey – he stopped 25 of 26 shots in Edmonton’s 4-1 victory over the Devils at Rogers Place on Dec. 10.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Oilers’ 4-1 Win Against Devils
In five career appearances against the Devils, the 31-year-old journeyman is now 4-0-0 with a 1.47 goals-against average (GAA) and .944 save percentage (SV%). Against all other opponents, he’s 33-56-10 with a 3.10 GAA and .902 SV%.
Look for Stuart Skinner to be back between the pipes for Edmonton tonight (Dec. 22) when the Oilers take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Following the game, the Oilers will be off for Christmas before returning to action on Dec. 28 against the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center.