“If you look at the first (period), I didn’t love it. We got in, had a nice chat about it, came out and showed what kind of team we are,” said Mattias Ekholm after the Edmonton Oilers routed the Buffalo Sabres 8-3 on Thursday night (March 21). After going down 2-1 in the first period, the Oilers rallied to outscore the Sabres 7-1 the rest of the game. Ekholm recorded two goals and an assist for his first three-point outing of the season and second as a member of the Oilers. Edmonton got contributions from all over the lineup and managed to end their four-game homestand on a positive note.
Connor McDavid Is One Step Closer to 100 Assists
Connor McDavid stayed hot offensively with a four-assist game. The first one came in the second period on a slick breakout pass that sent Ekholm on an odd-man rush. Ekholm went top-shelf for a beautiful goal to tie the game at 2-2. After recording a secondary assist late in the second, McDavid notched back-to-back highlight reel assists in the third period to help put the Sabres away. Despite his dominant game, he finished without a single shot attempt, underscoring how heavily he has utilized his playmaking this season.
With his big performance, McDavid passed Nathan MacKinnon for the second most points per game in the NHL with 1.72. He now has 86 assists on the season, just a few shy of his career high of 89 and 14 shy of the century mark. Only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Bobby Orr have notched 100 assists in a single season. McDavid has an opportunity to join some truly elite company, and the accomplishment would no doubt give him a strong case in the competitive Hart Trophy race.
Adam Henrique Is Slowly Looking More Comfortable
This game saw Edmonton’s big trade deadline addition, Adam Henrique, start to click with his new line. He had an underwhelming few games on the third line next to Evander Kane, but Corey Perry and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins looked like a much better fit in this game. The trio out-chanced the Sabres 9-3 and had a 70 percent share of the shot attempts.
Related: Oilers’ Sam Carrick Building Trust with New Team Since Deadline
While he didn’t register a point, Henrique helped win a puck battle in front of the Sabres net and stayed in the shooting lane on what eventually became Darnell Nurse’s goal. After scoring his first as an Oiler by going hard to the crease last game, Henrique provided Edmonton with a good net-front presence again last night. He’s starting to show a little more of what Edmonton expected when they acquired him a few weeks ago.
Evander Kane’s Rough Stretch Continues
During the first two months of this season, Kane provided consistent offence and physicality; he was playing his best hockey since the 2022 Playoffs. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen that version of him on a regular basis in quite some time. In his last 15 games, he has zero goals and three assists. It’s been, by far, his worst stretch offensively as an Oiler.
Kane started on the first line in this game with McDavid and Zach Hyman. They were outscored 2-1 and outshot 8-3 at five-on-five, finishing with an abysmal 34.06 expected goal share (xGF%). About halfway through the game, head coach Kris Knoblauch moved Draisaitl up to McDavid’s line, which made an immediate impact. Edmonton outshot the Sabres 10-1 and outscored them 3-0 with their loaded-up first line. Kane had a few good shifts, playing with Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele. It’s difficult to predict what the Oilers will do with their forward lines next, but they must find a way to get Kane going. They will need him to be at his best come playoff time.
Oilers Are Still Alive in Pacific Division Race
After a successful homestand in which the Oilers went 3-0-1, they are still within shouting distance of the Vancouver Canucks. Edmonton has points in 11 of their last 12 games. They trail the Canucks by eight points in the standings but have three games in hand. The Oilers take on the Canucks one more time this season on April 13. If Edmonton won their games in hand and defeated Vancouver head-to-head, all they would need to do is equal the Canucks in points for the rest of their games.
The odds are slim, but Edmonton winning the Pacific Division and even the Western Conference is within the realm of possibility. Guaranteed home ice for the first two rounds of the playoffs would be huge for a team with one of the most impressive home records in the NHL at 23-8-3.
Up Next For the Oilers
After completing their four-game homestand, the Oilers are heading on the road for a three-game Canadian trip where they will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets. It all starts Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena against the Maple Leafs.