I always love watching the Edmonton Oilers play in the late slot on Hockey Night in Canada, but as any long-term Nation Citizen will tell you, these national games haven’t always been kind in return. And since this latest chapter was set in Vancouver against the Canucks, the stakes seemed a little bit higher. That added pressure made the Oilers’ 7-3 win feel even sweeter.

Sometimes, when the Oilers struggle, the best medicine comes in the form of a big game against a rival club that consistently gets the blood pumping. And after how the Western semi-final ended a few months back, maybe a trip to Vancouver was precisely what the boys needed. If they couldn’t get fired up to play a Pacific Division rival they’re chasing in the standings, what would it take to get the Oilers’ pulse elevated? And in the early going, it seemed to be a challenge accepted by the Oilers.

Any good Oilers fan can tell you a story or two about the Oilers having a rough start. It’s a problem that’s been quiet lately, but we always have to be wary of it. So, when Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game, I hoped it was the early dose of momentum the boys needed to build upon. If you remember, the last two games the Oilers won against Nashville and Calgary started with a quick goal in their first few shifts.

Adding to the theory was that the Oilers were able to build off Draisaitl’s opener with two quick ones by Corey Perry and Viktor Arvidsson to kick off the second period. Instead of being satisfied with a one-goal lead, the Oilers outworked and outskilled the Canucks until they were eventually up by three. That’s a nice change of pace from what we’ve gotten this past week. The bad news is that they took their foot off the gas from there. Costly mistakes in the Oilers’ defensive zone led to consecutive goals by Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek in a span of 1:59, clawing the Canucks back into the fight.

The good news was that being down by one was as close as the Canucks would get. And unlike what happened against Vegas on Wednesday, the Oilers flexed their killer instinct this time. Instead of sitting back to defend their lead, the boys kept the pedal to the floor and tacked on four third-period goals to blow this game out of the water. In under five minutes of play, this game went from being tight to being a total beatdown in Edmonton’s favour, and it could not have been more satisfying to watch the building empty out with plenty of time left to play.

For the first time this season, the Oilers ran away with the win when they had the chance to put the game away for good. Their attack was relentless down the stretch, and it was remarkable to watch the Canucks in full-on scramble mode as they tried and failed to keep up. It was the exact kind of performance we all needed to see from our beloved Oilers, and one can only hope that a dominating win like that will be exactly what they need to get this ship turned around for good.

I mean, the boys have been playing some pretty good hockey lately, but they just couldn’t get the goals needed to convert the wins. They got those goals last night in Vancouver, and if they can keep it up, this team could end up back to being unstoppable. Dare to dream, my friends. Dare to dream.

OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING…