Oilers' Connor Brown, Vasily Podkolzin drop one-word reaction to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' thrilling hat trick securing 5-4 win over Kraken

Edmonton Oilers players Connor Brown and Vasily Podkolzin celebrated their teammate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ hat trick in the 5-4 win against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. They shared one-word reactions to a photo of Nugent-Hopkins with bags of the hats thrown on the ice.

“Nuuuuuuge,” Podolkzin wrote.

“Beast,” Brown captioned.

(Credit: IG@dtbrown28, @podkol_)

They reacted to an Instagram post shared by Edmonton's official account about the hat trick.

“Nuge scored a hat trick in his third @NHL game back in 2011. Tonight, in career game 950, he added another. #LetsGoOilers,” the Oilers captioned.

Nugent-Hopkins scored the second, fourth and fifth goals to record his fourth NHL hat trick. The hard-fought victory came with Edmonton missing captain Connor McDavid and star center Leon Draisaitl.

“We obviously believe in ourselves and our group no matter who’s in or out of the lineup,” Nugent-Hopkins said after the game, via NHL.com. “We understand that when you lose two of the best players in the world that you’re going to feel it. But I think the way that you play as a team shouldn’t matter too much who’s in and who’s out.”

Jeff Skinner and Adam Henrique were the other scorers for the Oilers while Kaapo Kakko scored twice and Andre Burakovsky and Jaden Schwartz once for the Kraken.

Edmonton's victory on Saturday highlighted the depth of its bench, with its backup players stepping up to fill the gaps in the lineup left by McDavid and Draisaitl.

Veteran Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who had two assists in the game, emphasized the importance of the reserve players doing well.

“It's nice to see guys that don't really usually get those minutes, maybe (play in) those certain situations, and they got them tonight, and they did a good job,” Ekholm said on Saturday, via NHL.com.

Oiler coach Kris Knoblauch speaks about second-line players like Connor Brown, Vasily Podkolzin stepping up

During the pregame media session on Saturday, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said that the injuries to Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid would allow others like Connor Brown and Vasily Podkolzin to showcase their abilities.

“But, I think for our team just to dig in and know that we can win hockey games without these guys," Knoblauch said. "If we can do that missing two of the best hockey players, I think it's good for our team morale.”

Edmonton is second in the Pacific Division with 87 points from 70 games.