“There was a lot to like in that game, and I’ve got to give a huge shoutout to Freddy,” Walman added. “That’s a tough opponent and a big boy, and there are very few guys that would do that sort of thing. He stepped up for this team and I’m proud of him for that.”
Leon Draisaitl was trying to lead by example by chasing down Kirill Marchenko to make a vital stick lift after committing the giveaway that led to a Columbus odd-man rush, and Vasily Podkolzin delivered a heavy hit on Denton Mateychuk on the forecheck soon after as one of 10 first-period hits from the Oilers.
With five hits tonight, Podkolzin now has the sixth most hits in the NHL among active forwards with 57 – sitting behind only Yakov Trenin (76), Kiefer Sherwood (71), Colton Dach (66), Ryan Lomberg (62), Emil Heinemen (60) and Garnet Hathaway (58).
Forward Curtis Lazar getting involved in front of the net with Jake Christiansen after a whistle past the eight-minute mark led to a four-on-four scenario, which became a Columbus four-on-three when Evan Bouchard slashed Adam Fantilli on the hands to send the Oilers to the penalty kill for the first time.
Marchenko struck the post on the man advantage, but after it looked like the Oilers escaped danger when Bouchard exited the box, defenceman Ivan Provorov was able to put a shot on goal through traffic that found its way through to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 11:42 of the frame.
Bouchard would feel the consequences of his costly penalty by sitting for the rest of the period, but the defenceman would still have a big part to play setting up one of McDavid’s comeback goals during the final frame.
“Highs and lows, he said. “And you get back out there and just try to make plays.”
