Mark Spector

Edmonton

Senior Columnist at Sportsnet Canada

Sr. columnist, https://t.co/Zjp5zYrRVl. Past President, Professional Hockey Writers' Association. Author of Battle of Alberta and Road to Gold. Skier of bumps.

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Articles

Oilers Notebook: Leon Draisaitl 'gladly' doing whatever it takes to win

1 day ago | sportsnet.ca | Mark Spector

LAS VEGAS — Is Leon Draisaitl the first ever 50-goal, 100-point checking centre? It may deviate somewhat in Game 5 tonight, with the Edmonton Oilers not having last change here in Vegas, but a big part of Edmonton’s win in Game 4 was the deployment of Leon Draisaitl’s line — with wingers Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen — against Vegas’s top line of Jack Eichel between Ivan Barbashev and Mark Stone.
Oilers' Kane leading charge as playoff difference-maker

2 days ago | sportsnet.ca | Mark Spector

EDMONTON — National Hockey League players have never had the flair of their football or basketball brethren. Maybe it’s all us Canadians, but hockey culture has always encouraged the boring. Fitting in is in. Standing out is out. But inside this “we” sport, Evander Kane has always eschewed the team bus. Instead, “he” arrives at arenas in Ferraris and Rolls Royces, the camera crew on alert to record and post his entrance — a type of entrance Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid would never make.
Impeccable structure, poised Skinner carry Oilers to dominant 3-1 lead

2 days ago | sportsnet.ca | Mark Spector

EDMONTON — Somehow, today’s fan base has come to need a whipping boy. A fallback guy who can be blamed for whatever goes wrong — and when you’re the last guy to see the puck whiz past as it enters the net, well, step right up, Stuart Skinner. “We all face pressure,” observed veteran centre Adam Henrique, “but to be a No. 1 goalie in a market like this, there's probably extra pressure — coming from all angles.
Notebook: Oilers seek boost with lineup shuffle for Game 4 vs. Golden Knights

3 days ago | sportsnet.ca | Mark Spector

EDMONTON — The Vegas Golden Knights have been the better team over the last six periods of this series, and an Edmonton Oilers lineup that may have grown a bit stale looks like it will get freshened up tonight. By the looks of the morning skate, it appears Troy Stecher will get into his first playoff game in place of Ty Emberson as Edmonton’s sixth defenceman.
Draisaitl's rare off night underscores Oilers' deserved Game 3 loss

4 days ago | sportsnet.ca | Mark Spector

EDMONTON — Sometimes great players have bad games. And sometimes, a team just gets what it deserves. Leon Draisaitl was a culprit on three goals against in a 4-3 loss, cancelling out his two-assist night when he tipped the winning goal into his own net with 0.4 seconds to play. It was just that kind of night for Draisaitl, the NHL’s only 50-goal, 100-point player this season, who had buried the overtime winner in Game 2 just two nights previous.
Oilers Notebook: Stuart Skinner returns for Game 3 in unique situation

5 days ago | sportsnet.ca | Mark Spector

EDMONTON — Stuart Skinner steps back in between the pipes for Edmonton tonight in Game 3, with Calvin Pickard listed as “day to day” after an injury sustained in Game 2. It will be Skinner’s first start since Game 2 of the opening round against Los Angeles, before Pickard took over and the Oilers began their current six-game win streak. “Not the situation that we probably want to be in,” said Skinner, referring to the Pickard injury, “but that's playoffs. You need two goalies to go all the way.
Notebook: Oilers taking advantage of breaks going their way

6 days ago | sportsnet.ca | Mark Spector

EDMONTON — The breaks are part of the business at this time of year, and the Edmonton Oilers got a giant one when referee Gord Dwyer opted not to call a tripping penalty on Viktor Arvidsson late in OT of Game 2. Arvidsson sent Vegas defenceman Brayden McNabb hurtling into the end boards after a race for the puck, possibly injuring a key Golden Knights D-man. No penalty was called, and a couple of shifts later Connor McDavid was feeding Leon Draisaitl for the game-winner.
Oilers rely on old and new heroes to steal Game 2 against Golden Knights

6 days ago | sportsnet.ca | Mark Spector

LAS VEGAS — Honey, start the car!In a city known to leave you broke, the Edmonton Oilers grabbed the gold and ran Thursday, winning a wild overtime game to grab a 2-0 stranglehold on the Vegas Golden Knights in their Western Conference Round 2 series. Edmonton blew a 4-2 third-period lead, failed to score when gifted with a five-minute power play in overtime, then proceeded to hit two posts before referee Gord Dwyer missed what should have been a tripping penalty on Viktor Arvidsson.
Game 2 Notebook: Oilers' Evan Bouchard finding the peak of his game at right time

1 week ago | sportsnet.ca | Mark Spector

LAS VEGAS — It’s still early days, just five wins into a 16-win run needed to win a Stanley Cup. But we are seeing some things we knew we’d need to see from these Edmonton Oilers to even be whispering about the possibility of another visit to the Final. Things that weren’t so evident even 15 days ago, when the Oilers limped home from Los Angeles down 0-2 in their Rd.1 series with the Kings. “I guess we realized it's playoff time.
New hips, same old Klingberg: Oilers veteran rediscovering form at perfect time

1 week ago | sportsnet.ca | Mark Spector

LAS VEGAS — Injuries shape a playoff run, like it or not. The ones you get, the ones you avoid. The guys plucked off your roster by the Hockey Gods — through a blocked shot or a cheap shot — and the ones who manage to stay on the ice through pro sport’s most punishing trophy chase. The Edmonton Oilers appeared doomed when news leaked that top defender Mattias Ekholm wasn’t going to play, perhaps for the entirety of the playoffs.