Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re looking like the Edmonton Oilers.
But while they appeared to be headed straight into splat territory, after bugging out of what was supposed to be assured victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins one game earlier, the Oilers ended up avoiding another loss to the last-place Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
After trailing 2-0 in the first period and 3-1 midway through the second, the Oilers came back to win 4-3 at United Center. It was Edmonton’s fifth game in nine days across four different time zones, as they wrapped up their road tip 3-1.
The Blackhawks, who won 5-2 at Rogers Place in their first meeting of the season Oct. 12, fell to 14-27-2 on the season to sit at the bottom of the standings.
Arvid Soderblom, despite having a record of 13-45-5 that ranks second worst among goalies in league history, gave the Oilers a scare early.
And for the second game in a row — after scoring first in each of their previous seven games — things didn’t start well for the Oilers, beginning with the Blackhawks scoring on just their second shot of the game, thanks to a turnover in their zone by Brett Kulak.
Vasily Podkolzin needed just 21 seconds of the second period to put Edmonton on the board before Chicago restored its two-goal lead by the midway mark of the game.
But cue the secondary scoring, as goals by Adam Henrique and Corey Perry in a span of 91 seconds tied it 3-3 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the middle frame — one that has seen the Oilers lead the league with a plus-26 goal differential this season.
Chicago, meanwhile, had a minus-20 goal differential in third periods.
And Zach Hyman made it minus-21 on the game’s first power play, 46:18 in, as the Oilers took their first lead of the night, giving them their fifth win in six games.
DIFFERENT WEIGHT CLASS
As the buzzer echoed to end the second period, Viktor Arvidsson took one final chop at the puck under Soderblom’s pads, before getting planted by six-foot-eight Blackhawks defenceman Louis Crevier, who has 10 inches and more than 40 pounds of advantage in that tale of the tape.
CONNOR VS. CONNOR
Saturday’s clash of the Connors was the third matchup between fellow first-overall draft picks McDavid and Bedard, as their families shared a suite at United Center to watch both superstars get kept off the stats sheet.
Edmonton won the duo’s initial meeting 4-1 on Dec. 12, 2023, while the Blackhawks took the rematch 5-2 on Oct. 12.
In the head-to-head, Bedard leads the way in goals and points (two goals, two assists), while McDavid (no goals, three assists) has earned the most assists.
28 CANDLES
McDavid played his final game before he turns 28 on Monday, when they take on the visiting Los Angeles Kings (7:30 p.m., Sportsnet West).
He ended up tied with Steve Yzerman at 1,040 points to sit third most in league history among players ahead of their 28th birthday.
• Wayne Gretzky, 1,773 points (616 goals, 1,157 assists) in 744 games played
• Mario Lemieux, 1,174 points (477 goals, 697 assists) in 577 games played
• Connor McDavid, 1,040 points (351 goals, 689 assists) in 683 games played
• Steve Yzerman, 1,040 points (445 goals, 595 assists) in 757 games played
FAREWELL FIRST HALF
The Oilers opened the second half of their regular-season schedule on Saturday, after putting together a record of 25-13-3 over the first 41 games.
It was the best first-half record the Oilers have managed since 1987, which was the last year the team won its division on the way to the third of their five Stanley Cups.
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge