Yahoo Sports Oilers Forward Surging With Surprising Heater
EDMONTON -- Patience is a virtue.
It appears that the Edmonton Oilers are finally getting what they signed up for. It only took 108 regular-season games (and 19 playoff games).
When the Oilers signed free agent Connor Brown in the summer of 2023, they didn't think they would need to wait almost a calendar year to get the player you see before you. But that's what happened.
Brown fits in well with the locker room, to the point where his stall is right next to Connor McDavid's. It's not enough to be liked in the locker room -- you need to perform on the ice.
It took him a long time to find his game last season. That was mostly due to him spending his summer recovering from a knee injury. Those injuries can take a while to recover from, and that's exactly what happened with Brown.
Now, things are different.
Goodnight, Oil Country 💪👷♂️ #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/uJO9fvqEk0
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 1, 2025
Last night, Brown put up a two-assist performance as part of the recipe that contributed to the Oilers' last win of 2024. The 30-year-old now has five points in his last four games and 10 in his last 10 games.
In the second period of last night's game, Kris Knoblauch shuffled three of the four lines. What resulted was bringing together the line of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, McDavid, and Brown.
That new first line would connect for two goals in the second period. The first one was Nugent-Hopkins's game-winner, followed by the insurance goal from Troy Stecher.
Brown wrapped up the game with over 10 minutes of even strength ice time alongside McDavid, showcasing their strong teamwork. He ended the night with 14:05 of time on the ice.
In 37 games this season, Brown has six goals and 12 assists, totaling 18 points. He is on a 0.49 points-per-game pace. That would have him finish the season with 40 points. If that holds, it would be the second-highest point total he has experienced in a season over his entire NHL career.
His career average point-per-game pace is 0.44.
Despite not getting as much ice time as in previous years (13:30), he plays more than he did last season (12:48).
Perhaps this new hot streak will have Knoblauch dolling out more minutes for the veteran forward. This would be a great way to reward the patience shown by both sides.
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