Once again, Edmonton Oilers show Vancouver Canucks who's boss

The Vancouver Canucks haven’t forgotten what Edmonton did to them last spring — being punted out of the playoffs will haunt them for a very long time — but the Oilers gave them a stinging reminder anyway.

The visiting Oilers destroyed the Canucks in their own building Saturday, building a 3-0 lead in the first 25 minutes and then coasting to a 7-3 slap in the face.

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“It was a step in the right direction, for sure,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who had a goal and two assists in the whitewash. “It’s not an easy building to win in and it’s a team that we have lots of history with. This is a great win. Hopefully it’s something we can build on.”

The fact that the Oilers exploded for seven goals when their offence had been stalling all season is big, and the fact it exploded all over a hated rival makes it even better.

“It certainly does,” said McDavid. “Any time you play a team where there is a little bit of a rivalry and you find a way to get a win, especially in their building, it’s always big for momentum. The guys should feel good about themselves heading into a big week next week.”

If the Canucks saw this as an opportunity to kick the Oilers while they were down, they were sadly mistaken. The Oilers were slumping (two-game losing streak) and the Canucks were streaking (7-1-1 in their previous nine) heading into the Hockey Night In Canada showdown, but it didn’t seem to matter. Edmonton has Vancouver’s number until further notice.

The Oilers got goals from everywhere in this one, with Leon Draisaitl, Corey Perry, Viktor Arvidsson, McDavid, Brett Kulak, and Connor Brown (twice) scoring on a night when all four lines found the back of the net.

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Mattias Janmark added three assists and Zach Hyman had two in the onslaught, which evened Edmonton’s record at 7-7-1.

“I feel like we’ve been doing a good enough job keeping the puck out of our net, it’s the run support that hasn’t been there,” said McDavid. “It’s tough when you only score one or two a night. It was nice to give (Stuart Skinner) a little bit of run support.”

The only drama in this one lasted just a few minutes when Vancouver showed brief signs of life in the second period, scoring twice in 2:17 to turn a 3-0 deficit into 3-2.

But, just like last year in the playoffs, Edmonton pulled away when it mattered, scoring third period goals at 6:10, 7:16, 8:08 and 11:05.

“We bent a little in the second but I’m really proud of the way this group handled that third period,” said Brown. “We went out there confidently and got the job done. We showed poise and composure, made plays with the lead and piled on. It was a solid effort by our group.

“There’s a lot of momentum to be built off that game, especially that third period.” 
 This was a much-needed boost for the Oilers on a lot of fronts, It stops the bleeding after a 3-0 loss to New Jersey and blown third-period lead against Vegas.

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Edmonton also needed a win over a good team given that five of their previous six wins this season have come against teams that currently sit 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 16th in their respective conferences.

“This is a good team, this was a big test for us,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “Overall I thought we played a pretty good game.”

Edmonton’s power play, one of many elements that had been spinning its wheels in the early going this year, played a key role in this win. It essentially went two-for-three, scoring four seconds after a Vancouver penalty had expired to make it 1-0 and then scoring again to make it 5-2 in the third period.

“It doesn’t get credit for a power play goal on the first one but it’s pretty much a power play goal,” said McDavid. “And another one in the third to seal it. That’s what we want to do, we want to contribute to games, contribute to wins. We’ve done that for years and years and I would expect that it will get going.”

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