The Edmonton Oilers had a quick one-game stop in Seattle, defeating the Kraken 4-0 in a Saturday matinée from Climate Pledge Arena. The Oilers improved their record to 11-10-5. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins made his return to the lineup after a nine-game injury absence, while Jake Walman, Kasperi Kapanen, and Jack Roslovic remained sidelined with injuries.

The Oilers got goals from Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, and Connor McDavid, with all four players finishing the game with multipoint performances. Edmonton’s top players were their best players. Here are three takeaways from this latest victory.

Oilers’ Special Teams Was the Difference

Edmonton’s special teams were perfect, going 2-for-2 on the power play and 6-for-6 on the penalty kill. They were undisciplined in the first period, taking four minor penalties, including killing off an extended 5-on-3 opportunity. Then, in the middle frame, Draisaitl elbowed Mason Marchment in the head for another unnecessary and undisciplined penalty. However, that didn’t come back to bite them, and they were able to kill it off unscathed. A good penalty kill can lead to a momentum boost, and the Kraken were unable to grab the momentum off the man advantage, while Edmonton maintained it because of their successful penalty kill.

While they had limited power plays, they made the most of them. Their five-man unit from the past three seasons was finally reunited for the first time this season. The Oilers desperately missed Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman together on that unit, and they made an immediate impact. Nugent-Hopkins won a board battle and retrieved the puck to keep the play alive. The puck eventually landed on Evan Bouchard’s stick, who found Nugent-Hopkins for the goal.

Then, in Hyman fashion, he was in front of the blue paint, and the puck ricocheted off his skate and into the net for his first goal since returning from injury. Their power play clicked, and they need that to continue.

Stuart Skinner Was Perfect

Goaltender Stuart Skinner allowed four goals on eight shots before getting pulled during his last outing against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 25, leading to speculation about his future with Edmonton and if he would be traded. To make matters worse, the Oilers had three days off between games, so rumours and speculation were running wild. There were no games to report, so the goaltending situation was the topic of discussion. It reached the point where media member Jim Matheson told Skinner that the fans want a new goalie following Thursday’s practice (Nov. 27), and asked if that’s hurtful to hear.