Top-3: sixth straight win for the Oilers

There were three games on the program last night in the National Hockey League.

Here are the highlights.

1. Oilers win sixth straight game

The Edmonton Oilers have had a horrible start to the season.

Nothing was going right for Connor McDavid’s team, as they headed straight for a season to forget.

This horrible start to the season led to the dismissal of head coach Jay Woodcroft, and the Oilers have been on the mend ever since.

In fact, they’re currently on a six-game winning streak, the longest in the entire NHL.

Last night, the Oilers won their sixth straight game with a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

The patience of Connor McDavid(@cmcdavid97) is a sight to behold. pic.twitter.com/k0KLlulCNs

– NHL (@NHL) December 9, 2023

With a goal and an assist in the game, McDavid now has 21 points in his last eight games.

He’s really back, and it’s as if he’s given the other players a chance this year in the race for top scorer by giving them a lead.

He’s now tied for seventh in the scoring race with 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists), ten points behind the NHL’s top scorer, Nikita Kucherov.

Also of note in the win, defenseman Evan Bouchard scored two goals and an assist, bringing his point total to 27, good for third best among NHL defensemen, behind only Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes.

Bouchard is on a streak of ten consecutive games with at least one point.

In short, things are going very well for the Oilers, who are quietly climbing the standings and closing in on a playoff spot.

By winning their two games in hand, they would be just one point behind the Nashville Predators and the final playoff spot.

2. First NHL win for goalie Jet Greaves

Yesterday, 22-year-old undrafted goaltender Jet Greaves played his second career NHL game with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

And for the occasion, he was very good, turning aside 41 of 43 shots to earn his first career NHL victory.

Greaves helped the Blue Jackets upset the St. Louis Blues 5-2.

Adam Fantilli scored his eighth goal of the season in the victory.

3. A seventh goal already this season for Oliver Ekman-Larsson with the Panthers

This summer, the Vancouver Canucks bought out the contract of defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

OEL was not performing, and his contract was far too onerous for the Canucks.

Ekman-Larsson became a free agent, and the Florida Panthers took a chance by signing him for one year.

Well, so far this season, Ekman-Larsson is proving the Panthers right to sign him, as he already has seven goals and seven assists this season for a total of 14 points in 26 games.

He scored his seventh goal last night in the Panthers’ 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Seven goals is, by one, the number of goals Cole Caufield has this season, but it’s also exactly the number of goals OEL had scored in two seasons (133 games) with the Vancouver Canucks.

Seven goals in 26 games is very impressive for Ekman-Larsson.

Extension

– Only 14 years old, Jaxon Jacobson scored two goals last night in his first WHL game.

– Here are yesterday’s results.

– Here are yesterday’s top scorers.

– Today’s NHL schedule: 12 games.