BLOG: The Oilers are dealing with some injuries before the five-day break

The Oilers cruised to a 6-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday night, scoring five even-strength goals and one on the power play, while their penalty kill improved to 16-16 in their last six games The evening ended 3 against 3.

Five Oilers scored multiple points against the Rangers, including Connor McDavid, who recorded his sixth multi-point effort in his last eight games by scoring two goals and adding an assist. Vasily Podkolzin scored his first goal for the Oilers to open the scoring, and both Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark each added two helpers, assisting on Darnell Nurse’s shorthanded goal with nine seconds left in the first period.

“I thought we played well as a team,” McDavid said of the win. “Our group played well in all aspects of the game. I thought the penalty shootout was great and they scored. Five against five we seemed to have managed to generate a lot, which is good.”

With the continued absences of Hyman and Arvidsson, the Oilers will rely even more on their forward depth to fill larger roles – including Janmark, who reached double figures in points for the season on Saturday (1G, 9A in 22 GP) and continues to do so does be a force on the penalty kill alongside Connor Brown.

“He and Brownie are definitely two of our best. They’re doing their jobs,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “You can also see ways to skate with it, so Mattias was great. He thinks well about the game, he can assess situations well, and that goes for Brownie too. He’s got a great bat, so we’re definitely leaning on those guys. But it definitely takes a complete group.”

While there is some movement at the top for the Oilers, the return of Darnell Nurse on Saturday was a big positive for Edmonton’s blueline and the locker room after the Hamilton, Ont. Product marked his return after a three-game absence with a shorthanded goal over 23:30 of total ice time in the win.

“When he went down, it was a huge hole in the back of the head that needed to be filled,” Knoblauch said. “He’s a guy who eats up a lot of minutes on penalties against good players, defends really well and also contributes offensively.

“So when he’s out, obviously it’s hard to fill the void and it’s great to have him back and great to just see him back healthy and feeling good.”