THREE THINGS: Oilers halt slump

DENVER, CO -One guy gets the monkey off his back, while another leads the way with a hat-trick as the Oilers put a halt to their six-game losing streak. Here are three things to take from their comeback win in Denver.

1. MUCH-NEEDED COMEBACK

The Oilers were reeling from six straight losses, needing to turn the tides somehow. Nearly two weeks had passed since their last trip to the win column. Sunday seemed as though a familiar script would play out again when Tyson Jost capitalized on Colorado's second shot of the game just 4:04 in.

However, this time the Oilers stuck with it, knowing that they were playing well enough to win but needed some breaks to go their way. At one point, Head Coach Todd McLellan said he and Assistant Coach Jay Woodcroft looked at each other on the bench and questioned, "how are we not winning this game?"

The first break came in the form of Connor McDavid receiving a fortuitous rebound and then potting it behind Semyon Varlamov. That tied the game the first time. They also got a bit of luck when Nathan MacKinnon hit the post late in the game, allowing McDavid to finish things off with an empty-netter at the other end a couple minutes later.
The Oilers came back on their last road trip, but couldn't close out any of those games in California. Fortunately for them, the script played out a little differently this time around and they got their first victory since February 5.

2. MONKEY OFF THE BACK

December 23 was the last time Ryan Strome had scored. The 21-game drought came to an end at 13:18 of the third period. Strome's game-winning goal could have been one of a few, according to McLellan.
"It's not for lack of chances, lack of effort, lack of caring, and that's the frustrating part," said Strome. "You come to the rink every day, try to get better, try to do the right things, and win things aren't going in it's kind of frustrating. It's nice to get that one, but more importantly get back in the win column, bring some morale up, and kind of get on a roll here. It's a lot more fun coming to the rink with wins, that's for sure."

Strome finished the game with three shots on goal, playing 14:30. His teammates were happy to see him shed the monkey off his back.
"You can definitely feel for him," said McDavid. "I don't know how many games it was, but for him to get a goal was nice. It's almost even sweeter that he was robbed so bad right beforehand and then finds a way to get one right after. Good for him."

3. MCDAVID LEADS THE WAY

It's becoming a regular occurrence to see McDavid at the top of the Oilers box score. When the Oilers needed their best player, and captain, the most, he came through with the equalizing tally - not once but twice. And then, just for good measure, he tacked on an empty-net goal to make sure his team wouldn't watch this one slip away.

"He's done a tremendous job of (leading the charge)," said McLellan. "There are always things that go on with illnesses and stuff like that and Connor isn't 100 percent right now. He's got things going on, and to put that type of performance on the ice is a real strong one. I thought when that line got together again in the third period they were bound an determined to swing it our way and they did a good job of it."
The hat-trick was the third of his season, fourth of his career and second in less than two weeks.