The Edmonton Oilers continued to roll as they beat the Minnesota Wild 5-3 in a recreation that confirmed the workforce can lean on their backup goalie, Calvin Pickard, and are available again from a two-goal deficit. The Oilers began slowly, and Pickard was a bit free early. As the sport acquired going, Pickard acquired sizzling, and the Oilers began to supply, profiting from a depleted Wild lineup.
Listed below are three key takeaways from the sport:
Calvin Pickard Proving to Be One of many NHL’s Greatest Backups
With 31 saves, Calvin Pickard was on his recreation, highlighted by a giant save on a 2-on-0 break. Any doubt he’s the most effective backups within the NHL had been silenced as he made 31 saves on 34 pictures.
Regardless of defensive lapses, Pickard made essential stops on Grade A probabilities in opposition to. He made save after save and shocked some along with his athleticism. He robbed Marco Rossi twice within the third interval and denied a number of of the Wild’s prime shooters. His save that allowed the Oilers to show round and return on offense so Connor McDavid might rating the go-ahead aim shall be underappreciated, but it surely was essential to the win.
Pickard improved to 11-4 this season.
McDavid Passes Kurri in Oilers All-Time Scoring
Connor McDavid’s two-goal, three-point efficiency not solely led the Oilers offensively but in addition allowed him to move the most effective offensive gamers in franchise historical past. With 1,044 profession factors, McDavid surpassed Jari Kurri to say second place on the Oilers’ all-time scoring checklist.

He now trails solely Wayne Gretzky, who holds the file with 1,669 factors. McDavid’s second aim was one which only some gamers within the league can do. He used Zach Hyman as a decoy and beat the goalie with a pinpoint shot.
Oilers May Have Stolen One
Past McDavid’s three factors, the road of Vasily Podkolzin, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Viktor Arvidsson was glorious. Credit score must be given to the workforce’s offensive depth. Nonetheless, it must be famous that the Wild had been lacking key items on the blue line and their prime offensive star Kirill Kaprizov. If it hadn’t been for Pickard, the Oilers probably wouldn’t have gained this recreation. It was a 20-10 drawback in Grade A scoring probabilities.
Edmonton additionally examined out a few gamers on this recreation, placing each Josh Brown and Noah Philp within the lineup. It’s clear the Oilers had been managing their roster within the first of a back-to-back. The Oilers additionally wish to know what choices they’ve in home earlier than they should make large choices because the NHL commerce deadline. .
With the win, Edmonton improved to 18-4-1 since November twenty third and sits 4 factors out of first general. The Oilers look to tie for the Pacific Division lead Thursday in Colorado,.
Subsequent: NHL Commerce Discuss Recap: Maple Leafs, Oilers, Avs, Flyers & Jets
