No six-time All-Star, five-time Art Ross Trophy winner, four-time Ted Lindsay Award recipient, three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner? No problem.
With captain Connor McDavid sidelined by injury, the Edmonton Oilers defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights 5-1 at Rogers Place on Wednesday (April 10).
Cody Ceci, Leon Draisaitl, Mattias Ekholm, Dylan Holloway and Zach Hyman each scored for the Oilers, who showed they have the horses to win without McDavid. Netminder Stuart Skinner made 17 saves to help Edmonton improve to 48-24-5 for 101 points.
McDavid, who has 131 points this season, is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The superstar centre appeared to have been hurt during Edmonton’s previous game, a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday (April 6).
With five games remaining on their 2023-24 schedule, Wednesday’s result bolstered the Oilers’ playoff positioning. Edmonton is currently second in the Pacific Division, four points back of the Vancouver Canucks, and eight points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings.
Oilers Step Up in Captain’s Absence
Nine different Oilers players picked up at least one point on Wednesday, including forwards Ryan McLeod and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who each had two assists. Edmonton got a pair of goals from the backend, and another from its bottom six.
Related: McDavid Could Miss Time Due to Lower-Body Injury
The four-goal differential was Edmonton’s biggest margin of victory without McDavid in its lineup since his rookie season in 2015-16. The last time Edmonton won a game by at least four goals without McDavid was a 5-1 home victory over the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 20, 2015.
In Edmonton’s previous two games with McDavid out of the lineup this season, the Oilers lost 7-4 to the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 24 and 3-0 to the New York Rangers on Oct. 26.
Holloway Makes Statement in Return
Playing his first game with the Oilers in more than five weeks, Holloway had one of the best games of his young NHL career. Not only did the 22-year-old score his first NHL goal since Feb. 13, beating Vegas goalie Adin Hill on a wraparound in the third period, he was credited with three hits and blocked a shot. To top it off, he registered a plus/minus of plus-3, his best rating in 84 career NHL games.
On Tuesday (April 9) Holloway was recalled from the American Hockey League (AHL), where he has been playing since being assigned to the Bakersfield Condors on March 7. He notched three goals and added an assist in Bakersfield’s 5-2 victory over the Calgary Wranglers on Saturday, his last AHL game before rejoining the Oilers.
Holloway’s terrific effort on Wednesday was a glimpse of the potential that the Oilers saw when they selected the winger 14th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. His current spot in the lineup may only last until McDavid returns, but perhaps Edmonton hasn’t seen the last of him this spring.
Oilers Can Clinch Home Ice in Round 1
Wednesday’s result assures the Oilers of finishing no worse than third in the Pacific, as they now lead the fourth-place Golden Knights by nine points and Vegas has only four games left to play.
Edmonton’s magic number to clinch at least second place (and home-ice advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs) is one point gained by the Oilers or lost by the Kings. That could happen as soon as Thursday night, when Los Angeles hosts the Flames at Crypto.com Arena.
The Oilers’ chances of finishing first in the Pacific were given an added boost on Wednesday, thanks to the Arizona Coyotes beating Vancouver 4-3 in overtime at Rogers Arena. Because Vancouver plays just three more times, the Oilers control their own fate: They will end the season atop the division standings if they win their final five games, regardless of Vancouver’s results.
The Oilers and Canucks will face off at Rogers Place on Saturday (April 13) in a game that could go a long way to determining the Pacific’s No. 1 seed. But before that monumental matchup, the Oilers first must take care of business when they host the Coyotes on Friday (April 12).