There’s something poetic about the Edmonton Oilers finally finding their rhythm in Sunrise, Florida, of all places. The same building where they watched the Panthers hoist the Stanley Cup not once, but twice in consecutive Junes. Saturday night’s 6-3 victory over Florida wasn’t just another win—it was the kind of statement game that suggests this team has finally figured something out.
Remember where this season started? A 2-4-1 record through the first seven games. Goaltending that looked shaky at best. A power play that couldn’t buy a goal. The defense that made opposing forwards look like they were playing on easy mode. And hovering over all of it, the ghost of back-to-back Cup Final losses to the very team they faced Saturday night.
The Oilers came into this game at 9-9-5, winners of exactly four regulation road games all season. They’d been winless in three straight. They were the kind of mediocre that makes you wonder if the magic from last year’s playoff run was just that—magic. Unsustainable. A fluke.
But Saturday night, in front of a building full of Panthers fans ready to celebrate another victory over their favourite victims, the Oilers showed they’re figuring it out.
Jack Roslovic, who’s been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise inconsistent start, took a shot from a terrible angle that somehow found its way through Sergei Bobrovsky’s pads, and suddenly the Oilers had life. When Anton Lundell tied it six minutes later, the old doubts could have crept in. The Oilers could have tightened up, reverted to the cautious, overthinking hockey they’d been playing.
Instead, Roslovic scored again 36 seconds later. Then Mattias Ekholm made it 3-1. Then Vasily Podkolzin scored from an absurd angle to chase Bobrovsky from the net entirely, giving the Oilers a 4-1 lead and delivering a rare moment of revenge against the goaltender who’s tormented them for two straight Junes.
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"First of all, he's a heck of a teammate," said Skinner of Roslovic. "Right when he came in, it just felt like he was part of the family right away. He's just a really kind-hearted man, a very hard worker and very talented. What I see from him is just a lot of poise. He's got a lot of poise when he's got the puck. When he doesn't have the puck, he makes smart plays, and he's just got really good vision out there. So what else can I say?"
The Panthers are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions for a reason, and they pushed back. Mackie Samoskevich and Sam Reinhart cut the lead to one in the second period. Now this was the moment where the Oilers of October and early November would have collapsed. Where the goaltending would leak. Where the leads would evaporate.
But Stuart Skinner, who’s faced his share of criticism this season, stood tall with 35 saves. The defence held. And when it mattered most, the Oilers bent but didn’t break before McDavid and Matthew Savoie sealed it with empty-netters.
"It was a little bit of a roller coaster at times, and we were able to handle it," Skinner added. "That's my job. That's everyone's job."
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Now this one was heartbreaking.
Look at the contributions up and down the lineup. Evan Bouchard with three assists and a plus-five rating in what might be his best game of the season. Ekholm matching that plus-five with a goal and two assists. Roslovic with two goals. Podkolzin with his fourth of the year. Even Savoie, who’s still finding his way in the NHL, was everywhere—forcing turnovers, creating chances, playing with the kind of energy that lifts a team.
This wasn’t McDavid dragging a team kicking and screaming to a W. This was depth scoring. This was defence, actually defending. This was goaltending making the saves it needed to make. This is what winning teams look like.
"We had some really good discussions as a group," concluded Skinner. "We were able to come together, especially after a couple of tough losses, and just kind of find our rhythm and start finding our play. I think that's starting to happen, and it's going to continue.
"It's our job as a group to keep that going home here, but we've got two days before our next game, so get a little rest here, get some recovery and get right back at it."
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Connor Clattenburg spent 26 minutes in the penalty box Saturday night. Two fights, a 10-minute misconduct, and enough chippy play to make Coachella Valley want to send him a bill for emotional damages. The Bakersfield Condors won 6-3. Clattenburg didn’t score. He didn’t set up a goal. He did exactly what he’s supposed to do, and that’s the story.
The Oilers are 10-9-5 now, which still isn’t pretty. They’re still chasing a playoff spot. But they just went on a brutal seven-game road trip and salvaged a 3-3-1 record. They just beat the team that’s owned them for two straight years. They just got a regulation road win, something that felt mythical for most of this season.
More importantly, they did it the right way. Not through desperation or luck or McDavid willing the puck into the net. They did it with complete team hockey. They did it with the kind of performance that looks like the team that nearly won the Cup last June.
The Pacific Division is wide open. The Oilers are only a few wins away from being right back in the thick of the playoff race. And if Saturday night is any indication—if the goaltending holds, if the depth keeps contributing, if the defense keeps playing like this—then this team isn’t just turning things around. They’re becoming dangerous again.
You don’t forget how to be good overnight. The Oilers proved that in Sunrise, in the building where their dreams died twice. Sometimes you need to go back to the scene of the crime to remember who you are. The Edmonton Oilers just did exactly that.
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