A 2-3-1 Oilers team finished off their road trip against the Ottawa Senators. Could they pick up a much-needed win?
The Edmonton Oilers were looking to pick up an important win on the final game of their five-game road trip. 2-3-1 on the season, leaving Ottawa with a win would put Edmonton back to .500 on the season, allowing them to escape with the opportunity to say the start of their 2025-26 season wasn't another mess.
Adam Henrique was playing in his 1000th game, Connor McDavid picked up his first goal of the year, and Evan Bouchard his first point of the season. Ike Howard got his first NHL goal, Stuart Skinner his 100th win, and Jake Walman scored in his return to the lineup.
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First Period:
Adam Henrique, playing in his 1,000th NHL game, got an early shot on Linus Ullmark as the Oilers looked to test the goaltender, whose save percentage has been a concern. Early whistles saw some after-play chatter from both teams, and Oilers fans hoped the combination of early shooting and physical activity would set the tone for the full 60 minutes.
Noah Philp delivered a nice feed to Trent Frederic, Connor McDavid fired two shots, and the Oilers looked more in sync during the opening five minutes.
Unfortunately, the Oilers went another 13 minutes without a shot on goal.
The game’s first penalty went against Darnell Nurse for cross-checking. On the ensuing kill, Andrew Mangiapane was sent in alone shorthanded but couldn’t get a clean shot off under pressure. McDavid also generated a chance, and the Oilers successfully killed the penalty. Despite the strong kill, the Senators used the power play to tilt the ice, forcing Stuart Skinner into a couple of key saves.
Later, Philp drew a penalty, giving Edmonton its first power play of the evening. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins slid a perfect pass to McDavid, who snapped the puck past Ullmark to score his first goal of the season and give the Oilers a 1–0 lead. The play highlighted a precise setup and an even sharper finish, with McDavid picking the top corner over the glove hand.
The Senators earned another power play to close out the period but failed to convert.
Second Period:
The Oilers struck quickly in the second period as Ike Howard came out of the penalty box and found a prime scoring spot, one-timing home his first NHL goal. Leon Draisaitl earned the assist, giving him two points on the night. Later, Stuart Skinner made a spectacular stop on a 2-on-0 by David Perron, keeping the score 2–0 for Edmonton.
While the Oilers were allowing a few more chances than they’d like, Skinner continued to come up big. Another turnover gave Howard a look at his second goal, but he missed the net.
Edmonton drew another penalty, but Draisaitl’s less-than-ideal passing choices allowed the Senators to successfully kill the minor. Darnell Nurse then took a penalty with just 19.4 seconds left in the period. The Senators managed a couple of dangerous looks on the ensuing power play but were unable to convert.
The Oilers will start the third period shorthanded, trying to kill off the remaining time on the penalty and not let Ottawa get the momentum in the final frame.
Third Period:
Dylan Cozens walked in off the half wall and fired a shot past Stuart Skinner, cutting the Oilers’ lead in half. Drake Batherson retrieved the puck and set up Cozens perfectly for the finish.
Less than two minutes later, Thomas Chabot blasted a shot from the point that found its way through traffic and beat Skinner cleanly. With Ty Emberson and Brett Kulak allowing two Senators to park in front, the goaltender had no chance to see the puck. Broadcaster Louie DeBrusk noted that the defenders needed to fully block the shot — and that Skinner had to do a better job of clearing out the traffic in his crease.
The Oilers called a 30-second timeout to try to stop the early surge from Ottawa.
Later in the period, Matt Savoie had two golden opportunities later in the period but couldn’t convert. Still, around the midway mark of the third, the Oilers began to push back and generate more pressure. The two teams went back and forth for most of the third, with Edmonton getting more shots.
The Oilers iced the puck with 13 seconds remaining. The Senators called a 30-second timeout to create a play off the offensive-zone faceoff.
The Oilers outshot the Senators 9-3 in the third, but two goals went in for the Senators, which tied the game.
Overtime:
The only other overtime the Oilers had competed in produced no goals. Edmonton ultimately lost that game in a shootout to the Calgary Flames.
The Oilers started with McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard. The Oilers won the faceoff and got possession. The Oilers gained the zone and a good pass to Bouchard led to Ottawa being forced to take a penalty. Nugent-Hopkins came out to join them. The Oilers gave up a 2-on-1 that the Senators weren't able to convert on. Edmonton came the other way with a pass that was too long. Ottawa turned it over and the Oilers got a couple of point shots.
Ullmark's mask came off that led to a whistle. The Oilers won the faceoff and Jake Walman blasted hom the winner from the overtime winner. Welcome back to the lineup for Walman who scored the game-winner in his season debut.
Takeaways for the Oilers
Edmonton outplayed the Senators for much of the game, but allowed a few pushes by the Sens to make this a closer game than it needed to be.
The Oilers missed Walman. He came in and settled things down, then scored the overtime winner. Walman said after the game that it was good to get the power play and the momentum back. When asked about his shot, he responded that the puck was on its side a little and he was just trying to hit the net. He was "happy to see that one hit the net." He was asked about the slow start and he said the team isn't worried and noted this is a veteran group that can handle a little advertsity.
Matt Savoie looked solid for Edmonton and is due to score his first goal.
Ike Howard played his best game as an Oilers.
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