McDavid, Oilers roll into town on three-game winning streak

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This article was published 29/11/2023 (655 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Is it possible to go from league laughingstock to unstoppable juggernaut in the blink of an eye?

The Edmonton Oilers are certainly making a strong case as they roll into town to face the Winnipeg Jets. Three consecutive wins by a combined score of 18-6 would officially qualify as a “heater” for a club that’s only a couple weeks removed from firing its head coach after a horrific start to the year.

Don’t look now but Connor McDavid is back to doing Connor McDavid things, with a ridiculous 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in the past three contests.

“Yeah, he’s rolling. I’ve already talked to Adam,” Jets coach Rick Bowness said with a laugh Wednesday, referring to shutdown centre Adam Lowry.

“Listen, they’re playing great hockey. We know how great those guys are, they’re feeling good about themselves, so yeah, it’s another big challenge.”

Winnipeg will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak, just as it did on Oct. 21 in Edmonton with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Oilers.

“Sometimes, your schedule works for you that you’re playing a team that isn’t playing very well, right? Sometimes, you’re playing teams that they’re right on top of their game and right now that’s what our schedule is telling us,” Bowness said.

“Florida was a hell of a game by us but they had been playing well. Nashville had been playing well, Dallas obviously, now these guys, so it all depends on when you play a team. So, if you played Edmonton a couple weeks ago, you’re seeing a different animal (Thursday) night than what you (saw) two weeks ago.”

The Oilers have been on quite a roller-coaster, losing eight of nine before dismissing Jay Woodcroft, rattling off three straight wins under new bench boss Kris Knoblauch, losing the next three games and then going on this current three-game win streak.

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In addition to waking up a sleepy power play, Bowness would like his club to get back to a four- or five-man attack.

“I do know when our offence goes down, our (defence) aren’t involved enough and that’s something we preach every day and we worked on it again (Wednesday),” he said.

“Getting that weak-side D coming up and getting a lot more involved. But again, it’s one thing for him to be up there, it’s another thing for the forwards looking for him again. We’re coming down to tunnel vision, usually the most dangerous guy is coming up behind you. So, we’ve got to get our D a lot more involved.”

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Connor Hellebuyck is tired of getting hit in the head by the Stars.

It happened last season, you’ll recall, when Dallas forward Jamie Benn knocked his mask off during a net-front collision seconds before the tying goal was scored against him. Incredibly, and inexplicably, the referee allowed play to continue despite the fact Hellebuyck was down and out.

It happened again Tuesday night, albeit in less-blatant fashion, when Joe Pavelski’s stick swatted the Winnipeg goalie in the face seconds before the Dallas veteran scored the first goal of the night.

Winnipeg challenged for goaltender interference, but the call on the ice (good goal) stood.

“They don’t have to explain it to you. They’re not going to explain it to you,” Bowness said.

Hellebuyck was still talking about the play in the dressing room following Wednesday’s practice, telling media within earshot that his head was twisted by Pavelski’s stick which impacted his ability to make a save.

“It’s getting harder and harder to understand the goalie interference. It is, and it’s a big gamble now,” Bowness said.

“It’s got to be so blatant, like a guy running your goalie, knocking him over. Like, (Tuesday) night, Pav’s stick got in there, he turned his head, and if you talk to Helly, he’s just about ready to stop the pass. He knows it’s coming. Then all of a sudden, he gets his head turned. The league says that’s a legitimate goal and we live with it.”

Winnipeg was given a mandatory delay-of-game penalty for the unsuccessful challenge, which they killed off.

“Is it the right challenge? Yeah. Are we going to challenge it the next time? I don’t know because it’s just so hard to understand what it is and regardless you’ve got to live with what their final call is,” said Bowness.

“At the same point as a coach, you’ve got to stick up your goalie. He thinks it’s interference and you’ve got to support him. But now we’re walking that fine line and we’re going to talk to the goalies about it. Like we’re just going to have to be very, very careful what we’re doing. It doesn’t mean we’re not supporting you. It means it’s got to be really, really blatant.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg