Kris Knoblauch spoke with honesty during his postgame statement for Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, following a hard-earned 3-2 win in overtime over the Ottawa Senators in the 2025-26 NHL season.
As things haven’t been going McDavid and the Oilers’ way as of late, Knoblauch acknowledged just how valuable the victory on the road was. Edmonton held a 2-0 lead in the third period, only to squander it less than two minutes into the final frame. It seemed the Oilers were headed for yet another heartbreaking loss in the NHL. Still, they found a way.
“We don’t get too rattled about how things are going,” Knoblauch admitted, via NHL.com. “When times were tough, we could’ve really unraveled; we could’ve really fell apart. But we stuck with it and our composure was good.”
Can breathe again
In more ways than one, McDavid and the Oilers finally wiped the slate clean. Now, they can get back to work with a big burden off their backs. McDavid scored his first goal of the 2025-26 NHL season. Edmonton’s captain has now recorded points in six of the first seven games of the campaign. However, getting his first tally of his own was a much needed sigh of relief for both McDavid and the rest of the team.
In addition to the captain taking the monkey off his shoulder, the Oilers finally snapped the losing hex. Edmonton had lost three games in a row. Now, Knoblauch’s squad is back in the win column as the Oilers return to Alberta for a quick stop against the Montreal Canadiens before heading west for a back-to-back against Seattle and Vancouver.
Pleasant surprise
Edmonton stayed in the fight, holding off Ottawa’s push. The game headed to sudden-death overtime, where a man advantage put the Oilers in prime position to score the game-winning goal. Everybody at Canadian Tire Centre knew what was coming, but they still couldn’t prevent it. However, the three names involved in the game-deciding tally weren’t the usual suspects for the Oilers.
Instead, Matt Savoie won the draw, Mattias Ekholm left the puck for Jake Walman, and the blueliner—who was making his season debut after battling injuries—obliterated Linus Ullmark’s net with a slap shot from the point. It was exactly what the Oilers needed: a hero. Thanks to the returning defenseman, McDavid and company walked out of the nation’s capital with two points.