“Go play tennis.”
The way the Edmonton Oilers showed against Dallas in an 8-3 loss Tuesday night in Edmonton — like a bunch of individuals — it was fair to wonder if perhaps a sport like tennis, or golf, might be a better idea.
But if team engagement was going to be an issue for the Oilers a few days later in Seattle, then Mason Marchment — whose father Bryan so famously authored the above quote as an unapologetic open-ice hitter on Edmonton’s blue-line — made sure the Oilers had the glue they required to look more like the team they’re trying to be.
Marchment drilled Darnell Nurse early on with a blindside check, ran into goalie Stuart Skinner a bit later on, and generally lent a purpose to the Oilers effort in an impressive 4-0 win over Seattle.
By game’s end, Marchment was turning down a Nurse invitation in garbage time. We’d guess he felt he’d helped the opponent enough on this night.
“Just a little bit of a team identity, sticking to it,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “It was nice to see that energy and that excitement. Them doing things together.”
Marchment was a target all night long, but not a fixation for an Oilers team that promised itself it would bounce back from an embarrassing night on Tuesday, when the entire hockey world — with Stars-Oilers the only game on the NHL menu — tuned in to see a tragic beatdown at Rogers Place.
“This is how you want to respond, for sure,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who returned from injury Saturday. “It shows a lot of good things for our group.”
They often say of Nugent-Hopkins that his value lies in all the ways he touches the game. A top-nine centre/winger at even strength, he’s a fixture on Edmonton’s power play and a regular on the penalty kill.
Upon his return, the special teams were perfect, killing all six Seattle power plays — including a 1:45 five-on-three — with Nugent-Hopkins notching a goal and an assist on an Edmonton power play that went two-for-two.
“Probably the biggest thing (in the game) was special teams,” Knoblauch said. “Being able to have those kills, and then when we had our opportunities to score, our guys came up and did that.”
Behind it all stood goaltender Stuart Skinner, much maligned after he’d given up four goals on just eight shots before being pulled from that Dallas debacle. He was perfect on this night, with subtle, economic form, excellent rebound control, while affording the Oilers a few mistakes with big saves that made folks forget about the odd breakaway or two-on-one.
“Tonight, he just let it all go,” Knoblauch said. “He didn’t worry about what had happened. He had a couple of good days of practice and he just looked really calm and composed in the net.
“It’s so important, your goalie making a big save at a key time. And I thought Stu made those.”
Skinner stopped a Berkly Catton breakaway with the score 2-0 late in second period. Soon after, the score was 3-0 and the game was in Edmonton’s pocket.
“The way that we were composed tonight really showed a lot of maturity, and the way that we were able to bounce back is big,” Skinner said. “Definitely needed those two points.”
Edmonton has been in win-one-lose-one mode for most of the season, playing the most road games in the NHL (17) while searching for the traction that they’ll need to make up the short distance between themselves and the Pacific leaders.
Does a 4-0 win on the road provide that traction? We’ll let you in a few days: Edmonton opens a five-game homestand on Tuesday, their longest of the season.
OIL SPILLS — Leon Draisaitl (1-1-2) moved his points streak to eight games (5-8-13) with a strong night against the Kraken … Connor Clattenburg made quick work of Freddie Gaudreau in his first NHL scrap. He played 6:38 and had a game-high six hits … Zach Hyman scored his first of the season, as a hard centring pass by Draisaitl banked into the net off his skate … Edmonton takes a day off on Sunday before settling into their homestand with a Monday practice. They’re home now for 12 days after a rough schedule of away games thus far.
