GAME RECAP: Oilers 3, Islanders 1

EDMONTON, AB - Ushering in the Woodcroft era with a win.
Mike Smith was stellar with 37 saves, while Zach Hyman scored the 100th goal of his career as Jay Woodcroft earned his first victory as Oilers head coach on Friday night in a 3-1 Oilers win over the New York Islanders at Rogers Place.
Connor McDavid played provider all night, chipping in with two helpers to surpass 40 assists on the season, while Jesse Puljujarvi was able to break a streak of 15 games without a goal by burying a power-play insurance marker in the third period.
Cody Ceci played a team-high 26:24 on the night and broke the deadlock in the final minute of the first period, scoring his second goal of the campaign and first tally on home ice in an Oilers uniform.

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FIRST BLOOD

Ceci saw a lane in the final minute of the first period and let it fly.
With Puljujarvi screening Ilya Sorokin in the Islanders crease, Ceci let go of a hard slapshot from the blueline that avoided the bodies along the way and beat the Isles netminder low glove into the bottom-left corner to open the scoring with 56.6 seconds remaining in the first period.
The Oilers had just finished killing off a Markus Niemelainen cross-checking call and took a 1-0 lead into the intermission after scoring the first goal of the game for only the third time in their last 17 games.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Hyman notched the 100th goal of his career with a slick snipe to put the Oilers ahead 2-0 midway through the middle frame after McDavid aired a pass out of the defensive zone and onto the stick of Hyman, who held the puck on a 2-on-1 with Philip Broberg and placed his shot perfectly under the glove of Sorokin far side.
Congratulations on the milestone, Zach.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Smith said post-game on Wednesday that he's feeling sharper with every passing game since returning from a thumb injury, and he set the tone for the night with a terrific first period. Just past the midway mark of the frame, the veteran was called upon to make a massive double save when he kicked away Scott Mayfield's point shot before reacting well and sticking out the right pad to deny Matthew Barzal's quick rebound.
A top-notch opening stanza for the 39-year-old saw him parry away all 19 shots from the Islanders.

TOP PERFORMER

In between the pipes for the Oilers, Smith was the brick wall that steadied the foundation for Woodcroft to earn his first victory. The veteran keeper made 37 saves in his third-straight start that includes two back-to-back games where he was able to build on his game, earn extra reps, and get more and more comfortable in the crease.

PARTING WORDS

Hyman on the play of his goaltender and the importance of earning a victory tonight:
"He was phenomenal. It carried over from the Chicago game where he gave us a chance to stay in that game. He gave us a chance all the way through making, some huge saves and being steady the whole time while really helping our young D out there playing the puck as well is a big bonus. I don't know if a lot of people notice, but just solid. Getting a win tonight for Woody and Manson, it's not easy coming up on a game day is not easy. Good for them and good for our group.
Hyman on scoring his 100th NHL goal and only his third in the last 17 games:
"It's extremely meaningful. Obviously, it means that you've played long enough in the League. As a kid, you dream about just scoring one goal, but to score 100 is pretty special. It's a big milestone."
"It definitely helps when it's nicer. I score a lot of goals from in tight, so to get one from a bit further and beat the goalie was definitely nice."
Hyman on what a win means tonight for the group as a whole:
"In sports, winning solves everything. That's just the reality of things. Definitely, an emotional two days. I obviously haven't been here as long as some of the other guys, but still, you build relationships with people and the people side of things is never easy. On one front, you feel sad for Tipp and Jimmy, but on the other side, you're excited for Woody and Manson. Woody's been in the League for a long time, and to have the opportunity to be a head coach is something that's really special for him. I think he's deserved it."

Smith on the emotions of the last 24 hours and what a solid performance tonight means to him:
"Obviously mixed feelings. An emotional 24 hours I guess. Tipp and Jimmy have been a big part of my career. I owe a lot to Tipp and what he's done for me, going out on a limb when I left Tampa to go to Arizona and kind of establishing me as a number-one goalie believing in me there. Then, to bring me to Edmonton and give me another opportunity was obviously something that you can't really put words to, but I owe a lot to Tipp. He's a great man, both he and Jimmy, so from that personal standpoint it's difficult. But it's part of the business and we've all been through it a time or two, so for Woody and Manson to come in on short notice on a game day and get a message sent across, I thought our guys were humming right from the drop of the puck. It's nice to see, and obviously to win was the most important thing.
Smith on the process of building his game over the last three games after missing a month with injury:
"I think any player will tell you [it's difficult]. But like I said yesterday, as a player, you kind of can get what's about you and maybe go out there and shorten your shifts or maybe get a bump or a grind, get to the net, and do little things that get you into games. But as a goalie, there's no real feeling-out process. There are good teams coming at you, and as I said, the first game I came back and played, everything was moving super fast out there. The puck felt like a bubble-hockey puck, and that's not a good feeling as a goalie in the NHL. But I knew if I stuck with it kept it as simple as possible, in the third period of that first game I felt like it was coming around. The Chicago game, believe it or not, I felt pretty good and I wanted to carry that over into this game. I was able to do that and make some saves early in the game there, and we were able to find a goal at the end of the first that got our team kickstarted. We kind of built off that.

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft on the significance of his first NHL victory:
"It was a good team win. It's a good team win, and I enjoyed the way the game was played today. I thought our players really played hard for each other. Miek Smith turned in an A-plus performance and allowed us a chance to work our way into the game. I thought we got better as the game went on tonight, and what I really liked to see when the game was on the line in the third period was that we valued hard plays. It's a credit to the players in the dressing room. I liked the fact that it was an emotional game today, and it's been an emotional couple of days for this team. I'm pleased for our players."
Woodcroft on being given the game puck from the game tonight for his first NHL victory as head coach:
"The players gave me the game puck tonight, and Dave and I are going to cut it in half I think. But as I mentioned, it's not about us coming in. It's about the hard effort that our players put in. Is there stuff that we have to clean up? There are some things we have to clean up. But for me, we're going to take 15-to-20 minutes here to enjoy this win and we're going to come back tomorrow with a professional attitude and continue to work at our game.