The Edmonton Oilers kicked off a short four-game homestand Tuesday night (March 18) when they took on the Utah Hockey Club at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. This was the third and final meeting of the season between these two teams, with Edmonton coming out on top in the first two by scores of 4-1 and 4-3 in overtime.
The Oilers came into this one in second place in the Pacific Division with 82 points, going 5-5-0 in their last 10 games. They held a one-point advantage over the Los Angeles Kings and were four points back of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Hockey Club came into this game sitting in sixth place in the Central Division with 71 points, going 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. They sat just two points back of the Vancouver Canucks for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
The Oilers came away with a big victory in this one by a score of 7-1. Here’s your game recap.
Game Recap
The Oilers put the pressure on early, recording the first four shots on goal and Kasperi Kapanen just missing on an early breakaway. It was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins that opened the scoring 12:28 into the first with a shorthanded beauty going shortside on HC goaltender Karel Vejmelka. Edmonton would quickly follow that up less than three minutes later, with Zach Hyman tapping home a Nugent-Hopkins pass to extend the lead. Connor McDavid picked up a secondary assist on the Hyman goal, extending his point streak to 12 games. A spirited fight broke out between Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse and Utah forward Jack McBain with about 27 seconds left, sending both guys to the locker room early. Then with four seconds left in the period, McDavid was sprung on a breakaway where he potted his 26th of the season, extending the team’s lead to 3-0. The Oilers outshot the Hockey Club 14-9 through one period.
The second period saw the Utah HC make a change in net, pulling Vejmelka in favour of Jaxson Stauber. He was the Utah goaltender the last time these two teams met on New Year’s Eve, a 4-1 Oilers win. Edmonton would continue their dominance when Hyman picked up his second of the game 7:41 into the second period on a wicked deflection off his chest. Vasily Podkolzin would then wire home a Nugent-Hopkins drop pass just over two minutes later to end a personal 24-game goal drought. It took until 3:34 left in the second period for the Utah HC to beat Calvin Pickard, when Sean Durzi sent a laser from the point for his second of the season. The Oilers led on the scoreboard after two 5-1, as well as on the shot clock 31-18.
Mattias Ekholm shut down any chance of a Utah comeback just 33 seconds into the third with a hard wrister from the top of the slot. That would be followed up just 2:03 later when Viktor Arvidsson stole the puck and swatted home his 10th of the season. The rest of the period would be spent with the Oilers attempting to feed Leon Draisaitl his 50th of the season, which they were unsuccessful at. Draisaitl’s 18-game point streak also came to an end. The final shots on goal were 42-30 in favour of Edmonton.
Edmonton had a few standout players in this one. Nugent-Hopkins, McDavid, Ekholm, and Hyman all registered three-point games and Pickard was solid in net, stopping 29 of 30 shots. Stauber stopped 24 of 28, while Vejmelka stopped 11 of 14 for Utah.
The Oilers’ next game is on Thursday, March 20, when they take on the Central Division-leading Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place at 7 p.m. MDT.
The Hockey Club’s next game is also on Thursday, March 20, when they play host to the Buffalo Sabres at 7 p.m. MDT at the Delta Center.
