GAME RECAP: Oilers 4, Blackhawks 1

EDMONTON, AB – A great collective effort against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks makes it eight straight victories for the Blue & Orange.

In a battle at Rogers Place billed as the first-ever staging of 'Connor vs. Connor', captain Connor McDavid put in a First-Star performance with two assists to extend his point streak to 10 games, while Sam Gagner produced the game-winning goal and a helper in Tuesday night's 4-1 victory at Rogers Place that pushes Edmonton's win streak to eight games.

2023 first-overall pick Connor Bedard put the Oilers on notice early with the opening goal on a strong individual effort inside the first four minutes of regulation, but goals from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Sam Gagner before the break pushed the Blue & Orange into a lead that they wouldn't relinquish after Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman padded their advantage over the final 40 minutes to secure Edmonton their League-leading eighth win in a row.

Evan Bouchard followed suit with McDavid and contributed two helpers to extend his own point streak to 12 games, and Stuart Skinner made 22 saves to become the first goalie this season to win seven consecutive starts.

"It's our job to just keep it going and keep on getting two points," Skinner said. "Another big two points for us to get above .500 here, so we've got to keep moving forward."

The Oilers improved to 13-12-1 with the victory and look to continue building on their win streak Thursday night when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to Rogers Place.

FIRST PERIOD

The first-ever 'Connor vs. Connor' battle at Rogers Place saw both of the main characters get on the scoresheet in a fun and exciting first 20 minutes.

McDavid picked out Bedard's wicked release and his hockey smarts in his morning media availability as two of his fellow generational talent's best attributes, and both were flexed by the 18-year-old when he opened the scoring just 3:21 into the opening frame with an impressive first career goal in Oil Country.

The 2023 first-overall pick accepted a long stretch pass from Alex Vlasic just outside the Oilers zone before breaking across the blueline, shifting the puck onto his forehand and firing across Stuart Skinner with a lethal release into the top-left corner despite the defensive pressure being provided by Evan Bouchard.

"I just saw him score one of those just the other night," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "We saw it in the pre-scout how he brings it backhand-to-forehand so quick, and it's a good hard shot right into the corner. Very difficult for a goalie to save, but that's an elite shot."

"He made a really nice move," admitted Skinner. "Very quick release, very quick handle of the puck and placed it really well. It's pretty hard to move it that fast and still pick a corner, so a goal where I can tip my hat, but I also know that I can do something to improve on that."

The rookie sensation already has 12 goals to his name this season and is pacing the NHL's rookie scoring race with 24 points through 28 games.

"They came out and they played a very good hockey game, and I think our guys woke up and decided, 'Hey, we've got to really pick it up and play much better," Knoblauch said. "In the second and third. I thought we played a really solid game."

But the Oilers captain, not wanting to be upstaged, set up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for the equalizing goal right before the midway mark of the first period.

With a delicate saucer pass into the path of Nugent-Hopkins, McDavid found his winger loose between the hashmarks for an open look on Petr Mrazek that he roofed high blocker for his sixth goal and 25th point of the campaign. Evan Bouchard picked up the secondary helper with his unlocking breakout feed from the defensive zone that extended the defenceman's impressive point streak to 12 games.

Despite the attention being paid to the top offensive stars of both sides on Tuesday, the bottom-six forwards of the Oilers have been playing well over the last month and got their moment to shine before the first intermission arrived.

The fourth line barreled into the Chicago zone on a forecheck with Brett Kulak, who did a lot of the hard work tying up defenceman Louis Crevier and allowing Derek Ryan to steal the puck behind the net. The 36-year-old found another veteran in Sam Gagner out front to finish off the 2-1 goal into the far side of Mrazek's net with 1:41 remaining in the opening period.

"We're very happy with those guys," Knoblauch said. "I think a couple of things that they do really well is one, they protect the puck and they don't give it away. They're very smart, they can make plays and get the puck to the next guy, and they've been able to cycle that puck. And obviously, they've got two key goals in the last two games.

"You look at it and you're thinking, 'They're not fast enough, they're not big enough, they're not strong enough. That's not going to work'. But they've made it work. They're just smart hockey players. They're reliable and they're working really hard, so I've been very happy with those three."

SECOND PERIOD

It wasn't pretty, but they all look the same on the scoresheet at the end of the game.

The Oilers doubled their advantage to 3-1 over Bedard & the Blackhawks at 6:38 of the second period on a friendly deflection for Leon Draisaitl that struck the stick of defenceman Nikita Zaitsev and found its way past Mrazek in between the Chicago pipes after the German attempted to link a pass with Connor Brown at the far side.

The fortunate tally was the German's 12th of the season and extended his point streak against the Blackhawks to 13 games, totalling 11 goals and 15 assists. Another point for Gagner with an assist on the play secured the 34-year-old his second multi-point game of the campaign in his 14th appearance for the Blue & Orange this season.

"It's been a long road to get to this point. It was a really long summer, but I knew what I was committed to and I wanted to be here helping this team win," Gagner said. "It's a good feeling to contribute to wins, but we've got a long way left to go. Personally, I have to keep pushing and as a group as well. It's been a good little run here."

After penalties were a complete non-factor in the first 38 minutes of the match, the Oilers and Blackhawks committed three infractions over a 47-second span in the final two minutes of the second period that would lead to the night's first power-play goal on the other side of the intermission.

THIRD PERIOD

Some would subscribe to the hockey theory that two assists as better than one goal.

McDavid made it a multi-point game for himself in 'Connor vs. Connor' by setting up Zach Hyman for his team-leading 16th goal of the season off a tap-in from outside the crease as a 4-on-3 opportunity for the Oilers power play to begin the period dwindled down to the final seconds of a 5-on-4 advantage.

Hyman continues to dominate the NHL when it comes to earning high-danger chances after adding four more on Tuesday to increase his season total to 58 – five more than Toronto's Auston Matthews, as per Natural Stat Trick.

The Oilers locked down a 4-1 victory over the Blackhawks with two successful penalty kills in the final frame that makes it 30-for-31 for their short-handed unit over the past nine games.

"Before I got here and (Janmark) was hurt, I didn't really know him very well and the coaches were talking about how good he is at angling and how he might be the best on the team and maybe around the league," Knoblauch said. "But watching Brown as our F1 on the penalty kill, he's probably taken over that role, so the two of them have been very solid and they don't start just because of the face-offs. We've had Nugent-Hopkins kind of take on those responsibilities, but they really make it difficult to get set up in the o-zone for the opposition."

PARTING WORDS

Knoblauch on Stuart Skinner's exceptional goaltending during the win streak:

"I've seen him be able to absorb the spotlight and put any distractions behind him. From what I've seen here, he looks like an elite goalie. I can see the reason why. He had the season that he had last year and he's come up with some really big saves for us during this stretch, so I'm very comfortable with him in net every night. Obviously, we can't have him in the net every night, and we've got to balance his workload. But he's been very good."

Gagner on his observations of Connor Bedard as a former 18-year-old playing in the NHL:

"Certainly a lot different circumstances for him being as highly touted as he is, and the start he's had has been incredible. I think as much as people talked about what he was going to do as an 18 year old, I think he's even exceeded expectations. So it's been really impressive to watch, and it's always fun playing against guys like that. It's really impressive being able to get it off that (shot) off quickly, that hard and tight. It's really impressive.

Hyman on working their way back from a 5-12-1 start the proper way by building defensively:

"I think we knew long-term success-wise, you have to do things the right way to win. You can't flip a switch and turn it on at the end of the year. You have to do it throughout the whole year, and that's the way you win. Whether you're playing against the number one team in the League or the last-place team in the League, every team is so good these days that you can't pick and choose when you play the right way. You have to play the right way the entire game. "

Skinner on the committed team defending he's seeing in front of him:

"Yeah, we're very committed as a group in the way we're playing. I think you nailed it. The Guys are doing a really good job and working really hard. The PK has been really good. The power play has been good. Puck handles with the D have been good. Pretty efficient. I think our forecheck is incredible when we're able to get on it, so there's a lot of things that go into being able to win a game. Yeah, the guys are doing a heck of a job. I think in the second and third period I got eight shots or something like that. It wasn't many. So huge props to the guys playing in front of me."