Walman, Jones and Oilers New Attitude in 5-4 Win Over Stars

“We’re a team that’s been through a ton of adversity,” said Zach Hyman after scoring two goals for the Oilers in their Saturday night 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars. It wasn’t the three straight goals in the third period Hyman was necessarily talking about, but the ups and downs of the Oilers season and the recent string of losses that have led people to question if this team is as good as last season’s.

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The Oilers Have Upped Their Intensity

One of the questions was the Oilers’ willingness to be physical and play with energy. That was something they answered while they held off a Stars’ comeback effort to get the win. For the first 40 minutes, the Oilers were manhandling the Stars on the scoreboard and on the ice physically. They went up 5-1 going into the third period and fans were raving about two new Oilers who were making all the difference.

Captain Connor McDavid was right when he said it wasn’t a master class in closing out a game — the Stars scored three in the third to make it 5-4 — but Edmonton held on to win against a Stars team that had just added Mikko Rantanen and became one of the new favorites to win the Cup among NHL insiders. McDavid was flying, likely a combination of feeling more like himself after a stretch of hockey that likely tired the superstar and having the space to move around because of Edmonton’s willingness to forecheck and mix things up.

Max Jones and Jake Walman Shined in the Win

For a team that didn’t lay in many hits, fans have to be loving the physicality from Max Jones and Jake Walman. Others picked up the intensity as a result, with guys like Connor Brown laying in a hit, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins playing the body.

Jake Walman was excellent in his debut. He fed Zach Hyman with a beauty pass and was asked to play big, important minutes without John Klingberg and Mattias Ekholm in the lineup. he stepped up and was physical, too, laying in a huge open-ice hit on Rantanen. He said he loved the more uptempo, meaningful action and looks forward to playing it. In his debut Walman picked up a highlight-reel assist, delivered two hits and blocked three shots, earning him player of the game consideration.

Jones was physical again in his second game as an Oiler. He’s got an assist and several hits in just two games and he said on After Hours he’s willing to do what it takes, including going through players and getting to the net.

When this lineup adds Trent Frederic and eventually gets Evander Kane back, it will look like a different team when it comes to hitting and physicality. It’s an area that has been sorely lacking for the Oilers. As the games mean more over the final 20 and as the team gears up for postseason action, the Oilers need to know they can hang and dominate other teams in more ways than just goal-scoring.

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