The Rogers Place winners circle had a simple dress code Thursday: No Jackets required.
The Edmonton Oilers made sure of it, flexing their offensive muscle in a rousing 6-3 victory over their nemesis from Columbus.
The Blue Jackets have been bad news for the Oilers lately, beating Edmonton in five of the previous six meetings and pounding them 6-1 when they met in late October.
But the Oilers scored the visitors into submission in a timely slice of revenge, with the bog dogs taking the biggest bite.
Connor McDavid had four assists, Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl scored twice, Jeff Skinner had a goal and an assist while Mattias Ekholm added a single as Edmonton’s offence, after being shut out last game, returned to its normally scheduled programming.
The shooters have been picking up speed in the last couple of weeks, counting for four or more goals in five of the last seven games (28 in total).
HYMAN’S BACK
It’s too late to do anything about being left off Team Canada’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, but Hyman set to work on getting his numbers up. Hyman wasted no time in making his presence felt, scoring two goals in his first game back after missing five games with an injury.
McDavid welcomed his linemate back by screwing a Columbus defender into the ice and setting him up for a wide-open back door one-timer. Then Hyman ripped a bullet into the top far corner to make 4-1 in the second period. These are the kind of pucks that weren’t going in for him all season, with just three goals in his first 20 games for a 5.9 shooting percentage.
NET RESULTS
Calvin Pickard got the start in goal for Edmonton and was immediately on the wrong end of a tough break. The second shot of the game at 2:31 of the first period was a double-deflection that he didn’t have a prayer on. The second one was weird, a dribbler that got by him after changing speed and direction through traffic.
GRAND OPENING
The game opened with the Oilers honouring McDavid for reaching 1,000 career points. His teammates gifted him an engraved Rolex. He also received a commemorative crystal from the NHL and a gold stick from the Oilers. McDavid’s dog joined the captain’s family as part of the ceremony and was given a golden bone collar from Draisaitl.
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