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Brett Kulak, offensive juggernaut, powers the Oilers to 4-2 road win over the Predators

Originally posted on Oilersnation | Last updated Oct 18, 2024 11:19 AM ET

After picking up their first win of the season on Tuesday night against the Flyers, the Oilers touched down in Nashville for their first road game of the season against a Predators team that cannot seem to get anything right in their first few games. The good news is that Edmonton added to their woes on Thursday night with as convincing of a 4-2 win as you can possibly get.

Was anyone else feeling overconfident when they saw the Predators’ logo as the next game on the schedule? The Oilers have absolutely owned the Preds over the last couple of seasons, and even though the 2024-25 edition of their team looks significantly different than the last time these clubs met, I was still feeling bullish on the Oilers’ ability to live rent-free at Bridgestone Arena. For whatever reason, our boys kick ass in Nashville.

So, with a win on our minds, a lot of us rolled into Greta for the season launch party under the assumption that these two points were a lock. The real question was not whether the Oilers would win but how many points the big dogs would get. Everyone knows Leon Draisaitl has owned the Predators over the last few years, and there was no reason to think he couldn’t do it again, right? Two points. Three points. The sky was the limit for #29 against his favourite opponent of all time. At least, that’s what we thought.

What actually happened is what makes hockey such a great sport to watch. Yeah, Connor McDavid scored a goal, and Leon Draisaitl picked up an assist on the road to the Oilers’ second win of the year, but the bigger story of this game was how the depth scoring came through again. Instead, it was Brett Kulak and Jeff Skinner who gave the Oilers their lead. Instead of needing Connor and Leon to score all of the goals, three of the four they got came from players who aren’t expected to put up Dynamic Duo-like numbers.

For the second straight game, the Oilers’ depth scoring put them in a position to win, with McDraisaitl coming in to lock in the kill later on in the night. That’s a nice change of pace, don’t you think? Typically, so much of the Oilers’ success is tied to what our two best players can produce — Gord knows there will be plenty of those nights to come — and it’s been wonderful to see different guys come up with goals at key moments. I know it’s early in the year, but how great would it be if consistent depth scoring was a real thing around here?

When all was said and done, the better team won the game. Outside of a few moments here and there, Edmonton controlled the play from the opening draw to the final buzzer. Not only did my eyeballs figure that out but the 57.89 CF% and 68.42 xGF% confirmed it. If you’re not a fan of the fancy stats, just trust me that those numbers are good. Frankly, had it not been for a brilliant night by Juuse Saros, the Oilers would have run away with the score and probably put up a touchdown.

Either way, this was a big road win for an Oilers team that is still one game back from climbing out of a hole they dug for themselves. And what I liked most was that the boys found a way to kick a struggling team when they were down rather than being slump busters at a time when they too need wins. Even better was that they got the job done as a team. Here’s hoping the trend continues on Saturday afternoon in Dallas.

OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING…

Brett Kulak has more goals than McDavid and Matthews. Makes you think. pic.twitter.com/NWmi0BiLnD

— Baggedmilk… LTIR someone, I wanna cheat (@jsbmbaggedmilk) October 18, 2024

Filip Forsberg opened the scoring for Nashville (1-0) 11:46 into the first period on a deflected shot in the slot after he got his stick on Roman Josi’s point shot. The Oilers had been the better team at that point, but Juuse Saros was standing on his head.
Brett Kulak responded with the tying goal (1-1) just over six minutes later on a clapper from the point that made possibly by a wonderful second effort by Mattias Janmark to feed him the puck. Edmonton was sustaining pressure in the offensive zone, and the goal was basically the result of firing the puck and finding a way to clean up the garbage. The third line simply outworked the Predators on that shift. Kulak ended up wrapping the game up with an empty-netter (4-2) late in the third period to secure the win and also his first ever multi-goal game. The guy is so underrated, and I loved seeing him have a big night.
Jeff Skinner continued his strong run of games with what was temporarily the go-ahead goal (2-1) after he crashed the crease and managed to shovel the look puck over the goal line. Skinner certainly isn’t the most physical guy, but he certainly has a knack for finding the puck in the offensive zone.
Jonathan Marchessault continued his run of being an Oilers killer with the tying goal (2-2) that came on the back of some very effective puck movement by the Preds that started with a long pass by Juuse Saros. The were on the PK and got caught on the long change, opening the lane for the deep pass by Saros to put Nashville in on what was pretty much a 2-on-1 chance in from the blue line.
Connor McDavid picked up his first of the season on what turned out to be the game-winning goal (3-2) after a dominant shift by the first line left Nashville’s defensive coverage in tatters. After shots, rebounds, blocks, and recoveries, the seas eventually parted and left Connor McDavid behind the defence in the perfect position to snap home a loose puck. That shift was a masterclass by Edmonton, and it really did seem inevitable that they would eventually score.
Count me in as one of the people who were surprised that Calvin Pickard was getting the start against Nashville, but the Oilers’ backup stepped in and played very well. Though he wasn’t as busy as his counterpart, Pickard still made some huge saves to lock in the win, including a point-blank look by O’Reilly in the final moments. In total, Pickard stopped 25 shots and finished his second start with a .926 save%.
Fighting might not be the answer to all of the Oilers’ problems, but it might also be the answer to all of their problems. For the second straight game — Darnell Nurse vs. Michael McCarron was a heavyweight tilt — a scrap seemed to give the boys some life on the bench. I mean, Kulak scored only 22 seconds later.
I’m going to take a moment to appreciate Mattias Janmark to the work he put in on Brett Kulak’s first goal of the game. The guy was relentless on the puck, and it’s nice to see him get off to a decent start to the year.
I love Ryan Nugent-Hopkins more than anyone, but it’s beyond clear to all of us who are watching that he’s a winger now. Let’s play him there.
Edmonton’s special teams continue to be a battle, as the boys went 0/4 on the power play while allowing one goal on three shorthanded situations. The PK tends to be a work in progress more often than not around these parts, but I’ll admit that I’m truly stumped with how ineffective the power play has been so far. It’s going to turn around, but right now the PP just hasn’t played to the level we’re used to seeing.
According to the NHL’s recap, the Predators blocked 15 shots, which is interesting because the Oilers still managed to get 36 through on the goaltender.
I regret to inform the class that the Edmonton Oilers won only 45.5% of the faceoffs. Sadness. Pain. A challenge to overcome for next time.