Oilers vs. Islanders Recap: McDavid, Bouchard Assists Cash in 4-0 Win

The Edmonton Oilers beat the New York Islanders 4-0 on Saturday afternoon. The first period was scoreless, and then Edmonton broke it open in the 2nd with three goals. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored at even strength at 8:42, Vasily Podkolzin made it 2-0 at 9:50, and Nugent-Hopkins added a power-play goal at 18:26 for his second of the game. Jason Dickinson closed it with an empty-netter at 17:23 of the 3rd. Edmonton outshot New York 24-18. Tristan Jarry stopped all 18 shots he faced for the shutout, while Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves on 23 shots at the other end. Two DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game, both on Edmonton assists.

What cashed

Connor McDavid 1+ assists (-225 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: McDavid came in with an assist in all 13 games this season, 28 assists in all, or 2.2 per game. Edmonton was also rested, with its last game on Oct 28. - What happened: McDavid finished with 0 goals, 1 assist and 3 shots on goal in 23:20, including 7:42 on the power play. His assist came on Nugent-Hopkins' power-play goal at 18:26 of the 2nd, the goal that made it 3-0. That was his 29th assist of the season, and it cleared the 0.5 line by 0.5. - Worth watching: He logged more than seven minutes on the power play, and that is where this assist came from. At -225 the price is steep, so this angle works best when Edmonton draws plenty of power plays.

Evan Bouchard 1+ assists (-175 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Bouchard had an assist in 11 of 13 games and 9 of his last 10, and he has been logging about 26 minutes a night. - What happened: Bouchard had 0 goals, 1 assist and 3 shots on goal in 21:58, with 7:46 on the power play. His assist was the secondary helper on Podkolzin's even-strength goal at 9:50 of the 2nd, which made it 2-0. That was his 16th assist of the season, and it cleared the 0.5 line by 0.5. - Worth watching: His ice time came in lighter than the 26 minutes we expected, but his 7:46 of power-play time was the most of any Edmonton skater. As long as he holds that PP1 role, the assist market stays worth a look.

How the game played out

The 2nd period swung it. Edmonton scored twice in a little over a minute at even strength and then cashed in on the power play late in the frame. The Oilers had 6 power-play opportunities and scored on 1, while New York went scoreless on all 4 of its chances. The Islanders took 33 penalty minutes to Edmonton's 10, and that gave the Oilers' top unit plenty of time to work.

Trends to watch

• Edmonton's power-play unit got heavy minutes. McDavid (7:42), Bouchard (7:46), Kapanen (7:17), Draisaitl (7:16) and Nugent-Hopkins (7:14) all topped seven minutes of PP time. Leon Draisaitl had a hand in two of the four goals with 2 assists.
• Jarry had a quiet afternoon. He saw 18 shots, and New York got none past him on its 4 power plays.
• Sorokin faced 23 shots and allowed 3 goals for a .870 save percentage. Edmonton kept its shot volume modest at 24 on goal, so the damage came from finishing, not from piling up chances.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. For more, see the NHL board, all NHL recaps, and our explainer on the player prop.