Make it five wins in their last six games for head coach Kris Knoblauch and the Edmonton Oilers, who continued their recent surge with a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues at Rogers Place on Saturday (Dec. 7).
The home team never trailed, getting goals from Zach Hyman, Connor McDavid, Corey Perry and Troy Stetcher, while Dylan Holloway and Jake Neighbours scored for St. Louis. Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner made 29 saves, outduelling Blues netminder Jordan Binnington, who stopped 17 of 21 shots faced.
For more reasons than one, the game may have been just a bit personal for the Oilers. Here are five takeaways from perhaps Edmonton’s sweetest win of the season:
Skinner Gets Better of Binnington
On Wednesday (Dec. 4), Team Canada announced its roster for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, snubbing a few Oilers who were hoping to make the cut.
Skinner was one of them. Edmonton’s No. 1 netminder got passed over in favour of Las Vegas Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill, Montreal Canadiens starter Sam Montembault, and the Blues’ Binnington.
If Team Canada general manager Don Sweeney, associate general manager Jim Nill and head coach Jon Cooper had a chance to catch any of the action from Edmonton on Saturday night, they might be re-thinking their decision.
Skinner was the far superior goaltender on the Rogers Place ice, and Oilers fans let as much be known, chanting “Skinner’s better” towards the end of the game.
While he struggled to start 2024-25, Skinner has played significantly better of late, going 3-1-0 with a save percentage (SV%) of .945 and goals against average (GAA) of 1.52 over his last four starts.
After outduelling Binnington, Skinner now has a slight edge this season over his Blues counterpart in goals against average (2.92 to 2.93) and wins (nine to eight). Binnington still has a better save percentage than Skinner (.897 to .892).
Hyman Is Heating Up
Hyman is another one of the Oilers who got snubbed by Team Canada. The Oilers winger has extra fuel to his fire, considering the news that he was left off the 4 Nations Face-Off roster coincided with his return to Edmonton’s lineup after missing two weeks with an undisclosed injury.
Related: Oilers’ Players Failed to Prove They Deserve Spot on Team Canada
In Edmonton’s two games since, Hyman has scored three goals, including a pair of game-winners. On Saturday, he…
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