Hot Links: Monday, February 2

Morning, folks!

Pretty nice little weekend for our heroes, as the Oilers went out and took points from the defending champion St. Louis Blues on Friday night before beating the brakes off of their provincial rivals to the tune of 8-3 on Saturday.

Four regulation points in critical Western Conference matchups is exactly the kind of shit I’d like to cook down in a saucepan I don’t care about and inject between my toes. The last two games the Oilers have been genuinely good and appear to be in the kind of form that could hang with any team in the league right now. Both goalies are coming off of wins. Leon Draisaitl was the league’s second star of the month after going absolutely bananas in January and taking over sole possession of the scoring race. Kailer Yamamoto has turned a once-problematic second line into an absolute buzzsaw, chewing up opponents on the forecheck and generating a ton of good looks. The Oilers scored four goals against the champions and did so without Connor McDavid registering a single point. The worm may be turning right before our eyes.

Tyler Benson and William Lagesson have yet to draw in, but with James Neal also listed as day to day, Benson might see some action this week. Caleb Jones and Matt Benning were absolutely unstoppable in Kris Russell’s absence, however, so it might still be a few games before Lagesson gets into a game.

A bunch more to get through on this Monday morning, so we’ll let the links speak for themselves from here on out. The Oilers are back at it again tomorrow night for a date with the struggling Arizona Coyotes who, despite those struggles, still occupy the second wild card in the Western Conference. See you then.

From Us

Kailer Yamamoto Looks Right At Home On The Second Line (Copper and Blue)

Oilers Blowout Flames In Spirited Affair (Copper and Blue)

GAME THREAD: BATTLE OF ALBERTA (Copper and Blue)

Check your depth (Copper and Blue)

From Elsewhere

Pistol Whipping Calgary Adds To Edmonton Oilers’ Momentum (Sun)

Good verbiage on that one. I said similar:

The Oilers In Seven — Part Seven: Even-Strength Play Leads The Way (Oilersnation)

JONES: Oilers Need To Keep The Fire Burning After Battle Of Alberta Blaze Dies Down (Sun)

Leon Draisaitl Named 2nd Star Of The Month For January (Oilersnation)

Oilers Prospect Update: Trust In Rodrigue (Oilersnation)

Goalies Gone Wild: Looking Back At The Most Memorable NHL Goalie Fights (Score)

Rejuvenated Battle Of Alberta Fuelled By Relevance Of Flames And Oilers (Sportsnet)

Satisfaction (Lowetide)

‘The Hatred Is Real’: Oilers Dominate Flames In Latest Chapter Of Battle Of Alberta (CBC)

JONES: Edmonton Oilers One Piece Away From Emerging Out Of Decade Of Darkness (Sun)

Oilers Bond In Old-School, Fight-Filled Victory Over Flames (Sportsnet)

For Money

DGB weekend power rankings: Escaping the mushy middle, the Battle of Alberta erupts and Buffalo loses hope (Athletic)

Lowetide: Oilers’ 2016 Draft And The Value Of Waiting Five Years (Athletic)

The Athletic’s NHL Power Rankings: Scouting the playoff races (Athletic)