3 Encouraging Takeaways From Oilers’ 4-2 Win Over Islanders

The Edmonton Oilers got a complete performance on Thursday (Jan. 5) in a 4-2 victory over the New York Islanders to snap their five-game home losing streak at Rogers Place. There were no passengers on the Oilers, who were the better team from start to finish, jumping ahead 2-0 in the first period and maintaining a lead of at least two goals for the remainder of the game. 

Edmonton got goals from Leon Draisaitl, Dylan Holloway, Zach Hyman and Kailer Yamamoto, while Oilers netminder Jack Campbell picked up his ninth win of the campaign. With the two points, they (44 points) move past the Calgary Flames (43 points) for the first wild card playoff position in the Western Conference, though Edmonton’s provincial rivals have one game in hand.

After starting Edmonton’s current four-game homestand by sitting through dispiriting losses, 2-1 to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday (Dec. 31) and 5-2 to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday (Jan. 3), Oilers fans left the arena Thursday night with a few encouraging takeaways.

Oilers’ Supporting Cast Steps Up 

Draisaitl scored for the 22nd time this season, and Hyman potted his 18^th goal of 2022-23, giving the Oilers four players with at least 18 goals (Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are the others) through the first 40 games of the season for the first time since 1984-85, when Glenn Anderson, Mike Krushelnyski, Jari Kurri, and Wayne Gretzky accomplished that feat. 

While the output from Edmonton’s four scoring leaders has been spectacular, no other Oilers forward has scored more than five times this season. Holloway and Yamamoto’s goals against the Isles were just their second and third, respectively, of 2022-23. 

The last time the Oilers won without getting a goal from someone other than Draisaitl, Hyman, McDavid or Nugent-Hopkins was Dec. 13 (6-3 over the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena). On Thursday, it was the output from Holloway and Yamamoto that proved the margin of victory, once again underscoring the importance of depth scoring for Edmonton to have success. Yamamoto, who had 20 goals last season, is one of the players that will be most looked to for greater contribution in the second half.

Milestones for Draisaitl and McDavid 

Given how they’ve become so linked, operating at a level of brilliance that is peerless to almost all except each other, it was fitting that both Draisaitl and McDavid recorded historic helpers on…