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Oilers settling back into dominant form after slow start

From the day they hired Kris Knoblauch a season ago, the Oilers were the best team in the NHL for the remainder of last season. This is beginning to look a lot like that.

EDMONTON — From the day they hired Kris Knoblauch a season ago — after Game 13 — the Edmonton Oilers were the best team in the National Hockey League for the rest of that 2023-24 regular season.

This is beginning to look a lot like that.

The Oilers built up a 5-0 lead on Division-leading Vegas on Saturday, then after some mid-game shenanigans, settled for a comfortable 6-3 win

They’ve now won five straight, including three in a row over Tampa, Minnesota and Vegas. Their goaltending is back to where it was last season — Stuart Skinner was fantastic Saturday — their team game structured and solid, and the superstars are better than merely super, as always.

It is reminiscent of a year ago, Mattias Ekholm?

“Well, I’m not much or a reminiscer,” he began. “Whether we win 16 in a row or if we just keep building our game, the way we’re playing right now we’re going to give ourselves a chance at least every night. That’s all you can ask for.”

It is eerily similar after a slow start that, this time around, was a little more understandable than last season’s 2-9-1 start that got Jay Woodcroft fired.

“You look at the first three games we had,” Ekholm said, “I don’t think anyone mentally was even ready to play. That’s not to find an excuse, but you go from a Game 7 to start the year again, it’s hard.”

They’re long past that slumberous October, having now won eight of the past nine games.

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The Vegas game was kind of weird — down 5-0, the Golden Knights weren’t playing that bad, nor did Edmonton seem that dominant. But hanging six goals on a Division rival, then weathering the Vegas push to the end, it’s the sign of an Oilers team that’s winning whichever way they have to once again.

It’s a familiar feeling for Darnell Nurse, who had another two assists Saturday.

“Yeah, the way our team is starting to gel,” said Nurse. “When teams are having success there is a lot of instinct that goes into it and you’re kind of just playing. That’s where our team is getting to.

“It’s also a group that always wants more. If you look back to last year we were never satisfied with our game; we were always pushing for more. That’s the mindset within our group: no matter how well we’re playing or how many points we’re putting together there is always another level to get to.”

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It was only 11 days ago in Vegas where the Oilers were likely the better team but lost 1-0 when Adin Hill stopped all 28 shots. Facing a Vegas team that had won both meetings in regulation this season, the Oilers knew that any chance of winning the Pacific was going to involve beating the Golden Knights eventually.

Both teams came in with four-game winning streaks, while Vegas had the best team saves percentage in December (.954), while Edmonton was fifth at .934. Two good teams who will likely see each other in late April or early May, we suspect.

On this afternoon, Skinner was the better goaltender with 38 saves, many spectacular. “He was our best player,” said Knoblauch.

Leon Draisaitl had another three points (1-2-3), his fifth multi-point game in a row. He’s got five goals and 13 points over that span, but this one was a team effort, with bottom-six goals by Connor Brown, Corey Perry and Jeff Skinner.

“I like our game right now,” Draisaitl nodded. “I think we’re playing well and starting to find our roles a little bit and our rhythm a little bit better.”

In a weird game, referee Francis Charron made a weird call, opting against even a minor penalty on Jack Eichel when his subtle cross-check sent Ekholm face first into the boards.

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It’s a two-minute minor every day of every week, that play. Or sometimes, for Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes earlier this season, five and a game.

“The explanation I got was, (Charron) said that he didn’t think the cross check was that forceful. I kind of look at the whole picture. Obviously, I think it’s a penalty,” Ekholm said. “I just know that if I were to do that to somebody and get two minutes, I wouldn’t say a word about it. It’s a dangerous play.

“Going head first into the boards, it’s not very comfortable,” he reasoned. “I’ve had Francis for a long time. I respect him. But I think that he missed a call. That’s going to happen.”

Ekholm was fine, in the end.

And his hockey team? They look like they did 12 months ago.

And we all know what happened from there.

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