4 Takeaways From Oilers’ 6-5 Win Over Canadiens

In the immediate aftermath of Draisaitl’s goal, Anderson shot the puck down the ice and was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his troubles. It was a very questionable call against the Habs forward, but the Oilers were more than happy to go right back on the power play. Less than a minute later, at 12:17, Edmonton cashed in when McDavid fed Nugent-Hopkins for the game-tying tally.

This was the Oilers’ second consecutive game with two power-play goals, after scoring just once with the man advantage over the prior five games combined. While Edmonton’s power play isn’t quite as dangerous as it once was, it can still be the difference maker for a team with as much skill as the Oilers. That was the case on Thursday, with the Oilers’ most offensively gifted players factoring in both of their power-play goals.

Draisaitl Dominates on the Draw

On Thursday, Edmonton had one of its strongest performances of recent memory in the faceoff dot. The Oilers won 36 of 57 draws, for a success rate of 63.2%, which is their highest faceoff percentage since Nov. 30, 2024.

Crucially, Edmonton was 17 for 24 (70.8%) on neutral zone faceoffs and 8 for 11 (72.7%) on draws in the defensive zone. The Oilers are the first team in the NHL this season to have a success rate of at least 70% on both neutral zone and defensive zone faceoffs in the same game.

Draisaitl was a beast on the draw, going 15-3 (83.3%), including 3-0 over the final 69 seconds of the game while Edmonton was protecting the lead after Podkolzin scored.

Special Goal for Podkolzin

Podkolzin was full value for his game-winning goal. The Russian winger went to the front of Montreal’s net and established possession against Matheson, before receiving a pass from Darnell Nurse and backhanding the puck upstairs past Montembeault.

It was the first goal of the season for Podkolzin, who missed a large portion of the preseason after his father unexpectedly passed away.

Speaking to media following Thursday’s victory, Podkolzin was asked about his emotions after scoring his first goal since his father’s passing.

“First of all, thank you guys for all the support I got on social media and everywhere,” he said. “Thank you, Oilers, for letting me be with my family through this tough time. I’d been in touch with the guys from the team everyday, and … I felt the support from them, and just thank you, you guys, thank you to the fans.

“It’s pretty sad and it’s a huge loss for me and for my family, but right now just playing is a good memory of him, and just to make him proud everyday, and he always wanted me to win the Cup, and unfortunately he’ll not see it, but he’ll see it another way, on the other side,” Podkolzin continued. “That was a tough month to be honest, I wasn’t feeling pretty good, but you guys and my teammates for sure make it easier. They were around me every day, they were just awesome support and I can’t be more thankful.”

The Oilers are back in action on Saturday (Oct. 25), when they take on the host Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena.