The Edmonton Oilers stepped up for a big game this time. With a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Kraken, the Oilers stole the show regardless of the absence of two of their star players! Having delivered impeccable offense for the team this whole season, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were both benched because of injuries. Though a bit of a fallback while they’re out of the lineup, the team still delivered their best. And it was the Oilers’ head coach, Kris Knoblauch, who emphasized that the absence of the two players called for the rest of the team to step up and bring home the win!

In a post-match interview with the media, Knoblauch said, “I thought our guys did a lot of good things. Had a lot of opportunities in the third period to kind of put that game away and we didn’t capitalize, but it was nice to see the guys creating those chances.” He highlighted how the players were excited about the opportunity to beat the Kraken!

Despite the thrilling win and absence of Connor McDavid, Knoblauch was quick to point out a thing up-straight—Oilers’ defensive play, it needed a boost! “I think there’s some things that could have been better. Some turnovers and we did give up two on the penalty kill. I thought earlier it was sharp, I thought we didn’t give up much early,” he said.

The Oilers did give the Kraken scoring opportunities that led them to score two goals during the penalty kill. This is what concerns the head coach, and he highlighted the team’s lapses in defensive strategies. But then he stated, “You’re happy with the offence, you are disappointed with the defense and very rarely it’s 100% both ways!” And well, that’s very much true! While the Oilers projected their offense in a prolific manner—scoring five goals—the defense weren’t defending as they should, having let the Kraken slip close to four.

But since the blue and orange claimed victory already, how did they step up when the biggest stars were missing?

Oilers move up and on without Connor McDavid!

We must admit, the Oilers win was indeed a team effort! And it began on Saturday night, which was a star show on ice. With Ryan Nugent-Hopkins notching his fourth career hat-trick and hitting an empty net shot, there were other stars who stole the spotlight too. Hopkins’ performance was a significant one alongside Adam Henrique and Jeff Skinner, who got their team up by two critical points in their standings.

But wait, there’s more—the defenders who contributed to the assists. It was Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse who contributed two assists each. “I thought whether it was Skins or Nuge scoring goals, or if it was guys on the fourth line stepping up and giving us some quality shifts, I think up and down the lineup we did a good job, and it’s nice to see guys do that,” Ekholm highlighted.

And for the goaltender who made key stops? Well, Stuart Skinner has been doing well for himself, with the most recent feat of saving 27 shots out of 31! “Every time the puck was on Skinner’s stick, I thought he was making some good plays,” reflected Knoblauch. After all, the Oilers’ resilience seems reinforced in the absence of their usual show stoppers. Well, they were missing on the ice, but not from the Oilers’ faithful cheer squad!

Now, with the Vegas Golden Knights just ahead by three points, the question arises—Will the Oilers manage to step up their chase to the top spot in the Pacific Division?