With that in mind, in this edition of Oilers Thoughts, we dive into McDavid\u2019s masterclass of performances over the last couple of games, the impact and bounce-backs of three first-year Oilers, along with some fun stats and facts from the recent stretch of games.<\/p>\n
McDavid putting on masterful performances over the last two gamesOn April 6, the NHL account on X<\/a> posted the question, \u201cWho will take home the Hart Trophy this season?\u201d and gave three choices: Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, and Macklin Celebrini. I cannot confirm nor deny that Connor McDavid saw that post, but on the slightest chance he did, he likely would\u2019ve channelled his inner Michael Jordan meme and said, \u201c\u2026and I took that personally.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the last two games, McDavid has been a man on a mission, locked in and dialled. Insert whichever phrase you like best, he\u2019s playing out of this world right now.<\/p>\n McDavid\u2019s motor was on max speed against the Utah Mammoth on April 7<\/a>, finishing the night with two points. It was highlighted by the highlight-reel goal he scored on the power play, winding up in his zone, gaining speed, passing the puck off the wall to himself, and tucking it around netminder Karel Vejmelka.<\/p>\n SENSATIONAL!!<\/p>\n CONNOR MCDAVID GOES END-TO-END AND BURIES THE PUCK!<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf9: Sportsnet <\/p>\n The Oilers\u2019 captain decided the next night that the settings the San Jose Sharks would be playing at might as well have been set to \u2018Rookie mode,\u2019 as it seemed like he was repeatedly mashing his own speed burst button, skating around them with ease, and looking like a man among children.<\/p>\n That said, McDavid registered his 14th career five-point night, finishing with three goals and two assists<\/a>, and none played prettier than when he wound up with some crossovers, gained speed, zipped by two Sharks defenders, slipped past a sprawling Alex Nedeljkovic, and tucked the puck into the net.<\/p>\n The inside the net camera can be so cruel but also sooo funny<\/p>\n And perhaps the best part of that whole sequence was Nedeljkovic sitting in his crease after the goal, fishing the puck out of the net and tossing it with his glove in a \u201cwhat can ya do?\u201d kind of manner \u2014 on a night when the Oilers\u2019 superstar played one of the best regular-season games of his career<\/a> in a 5-2 Edmonton win.<\/p>\n Sportsnet\u2019s Jack Michaels said on the broadcast last game, \u201cMcDavid looks like he can do absolutely anything he wants.\u201d He\u2019s recorded seven points over the last two games, sitting atop the points race with 133, putting himself back into the Hart Trophy conversation, and he\u2019s so close to reaching the 50-goal plateau.<\/p>\n But above all, the captain is turning it up at the perfect time, and as Tyler Yaremchuk<\/a> noted, McDavid\u2019s play should have the Western Conference feeling a little scared.Josh Samanski keeps getting better each game<\/p>\n Josh Samanski has only played 21 NHL games, but with each one, his solid plays stand out more and more.<\/p>\n Last game against the Sharks, he put on a defensive clinic on one particular shift. He had a good chance to score in the second period off a Trent Frederic pass. Moments later, as the Sharks tried to break out, he tipped the puck away to prevent a breakaway, lost his stick in a battle, and did everything he possibly could to stop the Sharks from gaining possession, swiping the puck away with his hand.<\/p>\n What a great defensive shift by Josh Samanski. <\/p>\n He tips the puck away to prevent a Sharks breakaway, battles for possession, loses his stick, and does everything humanly possible to keep the Sharks from getting control.<\/p>\n Samanski\u2019s game continues to grow, and I\u2019m all for it.<\/p>\n That type of dedicated shift is what will earn him more trust from his coaches, and for him, it\u2019s also a confidence-building shift.<\/p>\n On that note, I\u2019ve read and interacted with folks who say, \u2018well, he doesn\u2019t have much offence,\u2019 and I think that because Oilers fans are blessed with watching McDavid make incredible, superman highlight-reel plays<\/a>, the subtleties in Samanski\u2019s offensive game can sometimes get overlooked.I\u2019ve mentioned this before, Samanski doesn\u2019t have flashy offence, but he makes very good, subtle plays<\/a> with smart anticipation to set up his linemates for quality scoring chances, and it\u2019s something you need to watch for. An example came last game against the Sharks in the first period \u2014 he intercepted a puck and slid it over to Jake Walman, who ripped it off the post.<\/p>\n Also, Samanski is incorporating more curl-and-drag shots into his game, which, to me, is a sign that he\u2019s feeling more comfortable offensively. Once his linemates start burying more of the chances he sets up, his confidence will grow, and we should start to see him bury more pucks as well.<\/p>\n Roslovic had a solid bounce-back game against the SharksJack Roslovic had a very tough night against the Utah Mammoth on April 7<\/a>. He turned the puck over twice, both leading to goals against, and failed to get in front of a shot on goal that tied it 5-5 for Utah, finishing the night at minus-3 in one of his worst performances of the season.<\/p>\n Nearly 24 hours later, he redeemed himself with a strong game against San Jose.<\/p>\n He showed signs of that turnaround early last game. In the first period, he picked the pocket of a Shark at the blue line and went in all alone, but couldn\u2019t bury his breakaway chance.<\/p>\n What a pass from McDavid to spring Roslovic on the breakaway to extend the lead to 3-1! <\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5 – @Sportsnet<\/a> <\/p>\n To top it off, on McDavid\u2019s hat-trick goal, Roslovic showed his willingness to battle away from the puck \u2014 laying a heavy hit that caused a turnover, dropping the puck to the captain, and then going in 2-on-1 with McDavid to pick up an assist.<\/p>\n To me, Roslovic\u2019s quick rebound was huge. He\u2019s a streaky player who can go cold, but it\u2019s encouraging that he turned things around so quickly. With key players out, the team needs every bit of the best Jack Roslovic they can get.<\/p>\n A look at Colton Dach\u2019s impact in his two games back from injuryAgainst Utah, he was impactful in his 14:01 of ice time. He led the team with five hits, tried to get a Mammoth player to drop his gloves, registered three shots on net, and scored his first goal<\/a> as an Oiler.<\/p>\n WHAT’S UP DACH!<\/p>\n Colton Dach with his first goal as an Oiler!<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf9: Sportsnet <\/p>\n Also, the underlying metrics show just how much he tilted the ice for the Oilers against the Mammoth. According to Natural Stat Trick, at five-on-five, he led the team in Corsi with a 66.67 CF%, shots-for percentage at 64.29 SF% (9-5), expected goals for percentage at 77.10 xGF%, scoring chances-for percentage at 73.33 SCF%, and high-danger chances-for percentage at 71.43 HDCF.<\/p>\n Against the Sharks, he played 12:27 minutes, threw seven hits, and posted a 66 SF%, 60.63 xGF%, and 60 SCF% at five-on-five.<\/p>\n Overall, in two games, Dach has thrown 12 hits, scored a nice goal, and created tons of momentum. With the way he\u2019s played so far, he\u2019s forcing the coaching staff to make some tough bottom-six lineup decisions come playoff time.<\/p>\n Oilers quick facts and stats-Vasily Podkolzin scored his 19th goal last game against the Sharks, putting him at 37 points this season, which is the point total I predicted for him<\/a> before the season started. Still, I\u2019d love for him to prove me wrong in the remaining three games and hit the prediction his skills coach, Ned Lukacevic<\/a>, made last summer when he told Podkolzin, \u201cYou\u2019re going to get 20 goals and 20 assists next season.\u201d\u2013 Matt Savoie took a penalty against Utah in overtime on April 7<\/a>, and received another one last game when he hooked Vincent Desharnais. Interestingly, Savoie hadn\u2019t taken a penalty in 21 games before that, but now has them in back-to-back games.\u2013 Connor McDavid certainly likes to play with Macklin Celebrini, and\u00a0by the numbers, it looks like he likes playing against him, too. Among other first overall picks, McDavid\u2019s points-per-game (PPG) is the highest against Celebrini at 2.71<\/a>, with Sidney Crosby second highest at 2.00.\u2013 Since returning from injury on April 2, Trent Frederic<\/a> has led the team in hits with 15 over four games. Additionally, he\u2019s tallied an assist, and at five-on-five, his metrics are solid, posting a 51.22 SCF%, 55 HDCF%, and 56.67 xGF% in that span.\u2013 Evan Bouchard\u2019s two-point effort last game put him at 91 points, reaching the 90-point plateau for the first time<\/a> in his career. It\u2019s an incredible feat and a reminder for Oilers fans to pump the brakes when thinking the sky is falling after a slow first month of the season. Nevertheless, since 1995<\/a>, the only other defencemen to reach 90 points in a season are Cale Makar, Roman Josi, Quinn Hughes, and Erik Karlsson. That\u2019s a club with some truly elite company.The Nation Playoff Draft Party \u2014 Team Sign-Up Now Open![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775806045_66_image.png\"\/)
<\/a>Edmonton hockey fans \u2014 think you and your crew know playoff hockey? Prove it at the\u00a0Nation Playoff Draft Party\u00a0on\u00a0Friday, April 17th at the River Cree Resort & Casino.\u00a0Build your playoff roster, compete against other teams throughout the postseason, and battle for\u00a0$2,500 cash and Nation bragging rights.\u00a0Team entry is\u00a0$1,000 for groups of 8, which includes dinner and your first bevy. The night will be hosted by\u00a0Ryder & Lisa from The Sauce\u00a0and\u00a0Tyler & Liam from ON Everyday, so expect plenty of energy, competition, and chirps.\u00a0Spots are limited \u2014 sign your team up now at\u00a0nationgear.ca<\/a>.\u00a0All proceeds from the event support\u00a0KidSport Edmonton, helping ensure local kids can stay in the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oilers Thoughts: McDavid\u2019s masterful stretch, Samanski improving each game, Dach\u2019s impact, key stats, facts, and more For golf…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5125],"tags":[198,146,5300,5,4,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-549367","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton-oilers","8":"tag-edmonton","9":"tag-edmonton-oilers","10":"tag-edmontonoilers","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-oilers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116379232343266829","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}