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Oilers, Vasily Podkolzin, And Bald Heads

EDMONTON -- It was a big night for 92 and 25.

Vasily Podkolzin and Darnell Nurse scored big goals for the Edmonton Oilers in a 6-2 pummeling of the New York Rangers.

Both players represented big, feel-good stories on a night that ended up being chalked full of them.

Podkolzin Rips The Monkey Off Of His Back

Perhaps the biggest story last night was Podkolzin scoring his first goal of the season on a laser of a shot. However, the goal was more meaningful for the young Russian for a different reason.

Kris Knoblauch revealed in his scrum that Podkolzin's parents had been in Edmonton for the past three weeks. Last night's game was the last night they would be in the city.

Better late than never.

As usual, tonight's game fully displayed the forward's hard work and dedication. He and Corey Perry were the last two skaters on the ice for the Oilers' warm-ups.

In the locker room, Paul Coffey came over to congratulate Podkolzin as he waited for the media to finish speaking to Leon Draisaitl. It's not unusual, but seeing something like that happen in real-time is very cool.

Locker Room Drip-Drop

When asked about his celebration after the game, Nurse revealed that he hadn't given much thought to the gesture.

Meanwhile, during the scrum, I stood close to the locker room stalls of Ty Emberson and Evan Bouchard. Three times during the scrum, I felt water drip on my bald head from their freshly hung skates.

Odds & Ends

-Saturday night was "Hockey Fights Cancer" night. After the post-game scrums, Corey Perry and Connor McDavid went outside the dressings room to greet many waiting fans.

-Oilers had 21 shots after the first period. They finally scored on their 19th shot.

-After the final buzzer, Adam Henrique shoved Rangers #39. That was his former teammate, Sam Carrick, who signed with the Rangers in the summer.

-Oilers don't play again until next Friday and are taking the day off tomorrow.

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