Following a shaky 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Edmonton Oilers restored confidence for their faithful fans with a very mature 4-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights, kicking off their four-game road trip on a high note.

With that in mind, in this edition of Oilers Thoughts, we chat about a couple of new acquisitions who made an impact against the Golden Knights, Jake Walman’s continued struggles, the possibility that Connor Ingram is taking a step forward, and Vasily Podkolzin setting a new career-high in goals, making some pretty plays of late.

Connor Murphy puts on a defensive clinic in second game as an Oiler

Connor Murphy, who was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks just before the trade deadline, came in billed as a big, strong defensive defenceman who plays tough in front of the net and helps keep pucks out of his own.

However, he had a tougher outing in his first game wearing the orange and blue against the Carolina Hurricanes. He played 20:31, and while there were some nice defensive plays, he was on the ice for three goals against.

Yet, if the kind of game Connor Murphy had against the Golden Knights is what the Oilers can expect from him down the stretch, the deal to acquire him for just a second-round pick could end up looking like a steal for GM Stan Bowman.

The Oilers’ D-man made several excellent defensive plays throughout the game against Vegas, including heavy hits on the boards that erased the opposition from plays. Yet, the shutdown play that stood out most to me was when Pavel Dorofeyev came down one-on-one with Murphy. The skilled Russian tried to make a move on the Oilers’ blueliner, but he wouldn’t be fooled; he stayed with him and dropped the Golden Knight to the ice with a check.

seanpangs

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Connor Murphy played the second-most minutes on the Oilers tonight (22:33) and was rock solid defensively. Here were some of his best defensive plays:

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4:41 AM · Mar 9, 2026

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Overall, Murphy played the second-most minutes (22:33) on the Oilers against the Golden Knights, recording two hits and two blocked shots. It’s early, but he put on a defensive master class against Vegas, and the team will certainly need that, and a whole lot more, against the juggernaut Colorado Avalanche, whom the Oilers face next.

Another tough night for Jake Walman

On a night in Vegas filled with many positives for the team, a couple of Jake Walman’s bad plays stood out just as brightly as the........

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