Oilers starting to look and play like a contender

Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) and Zach Hyman (18) celebrate a goal against the St. Louis Blues during second period NHL action in Edmonton on Saturday, December 7, 2024. (Jason Franson / The Canadian Press)

After another typically slow start to the season, the Edmonton Oilers finally seem to be living up to some of the promise that had many believing they could get back to a Stanley Cup final, not long removed from losing in Game 7 of the final to the Florida Panthers last season.

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Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist and Leon Draisaitl had two helpers as the Edmonton Oilers won their second game in a row, defeating the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Saturday.

Corey Perry, Zach Hyman and Troy Stecher also scored for the Oilers (15-10-2) who have won five of their last six outings.

“We have some new faces in our group and now we are starting to jell,” said Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse. “There are some really good signs and now it is on us to keep pushing and not be satisfied with the little bit of success that we have had.”

Stecher’s goal was his first since joining the Oilers — and first in 64 games — and was key for both himself and the team. He took a penalty to give the Blues a five-on-three opportunity that allowed them to claw back to one goal behind at 3-2. But shortly afterwards he was back out there and jumped in from the point and sent a hopeful shot that surprised Blues goalie Jordan Binnington and snuck into the net from a bad angle.

“I am just happy it went in,” Stecher said. “It ended up being a big goal. They had all of the momentum and had made it a 3-2 game, so it kind of gave us some cushion. I am just happy to help this group win a game.”

Stuart Skinner made 29 stops in net for the Oilers.

“Overall, the way that we just grinded, the way that we pushed, I thought that we pushed the pace,” Skinner said. “A lot of sacrificed blocks out there, which really helped my game. And for myself, personally, I thought I was pretty solid.

"I could have helped out a little bit in some areas, but I thought for the most part it was a pretty solid team effort.”

Dylan Holloway and Jake Neighbours responded for the Blues (13-13-2) who had a two-game winning streak halted and suffered their first regulation loss under new head coach Jim Montgomery, dropping to 4-1-1 in his brief tenure.

“I thought it was a good push at the end,” Holloway said. “I think we played a little bit too passive in the first two periods and in the third period we kind of had a push and the push was good, but just not enough, a little too late.”

All eyes in Edmonton were on Blues defenceman Philip Broberg and forward Holloway who were both poached away from the Oilers as restricted free-agent signings during the off-season.

The cap-strapped Oilers were unable to match the offer sheets to the pair of young first-round draft picks. Both have already had career-high campaigns in goals, assists and points for the Blues this season with Broberg coming into the contest with 12 points in just 15 games and Holloway now sitting at 17 points. Both were also tied for the team lead at plus-seven.

“I thought (Holloway) was one of our better players tonight and I thought Broberg handled himself really well, too,” Montgomery said.

“He’s poised, he’s making plays, he’s killing plays, he’s playing over 25 minutes a night right now. Both of those young men coming into a passionate fan base like the Oilers are, and getting booed, they expected it and I thought they handled it well.”

Binnington recorded 17 saves between the pipes for the Blues.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2024.