Erik Cole did everything but score in the Edmonton Oilers' 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.
However, unlike his offensive drought earlier this season, it appears as though it's only a matter of time - or perhaps a matter of inches - before the Oilers winger breaks out.
"Erik has put a lot of work into his game, and it's paying off, he's playing a lot better," said Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish. "He's going to capitalize on those chances. (Friday) night he made three really good plays.
"He got through on the penalty kill, and hit the post. He's hit the post in two of his last three games and both of them have been the inside of the post."
Cole came within inches of scoring a pair of goals for the Oilers in their win over the Canucks.
He wired a shot off the inside of the post in the second period while on the penalty kill and was then stopped by goaltender Curtis Sanford on a breakaway in the third period.
"He's going to get on track offensively," MacTavish said. "He scored a goal here the other night, then he broke up the middle on another play and drew a penalty.
"He's making things happen and that's a real positive sign."
As one of the Oilers marquee acquisitions this season, expectations were high for Cole at the start of the year.
However the Oswego, New York, native struggled to find his game.
But with a goal in an shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks last week where he rung the potential game-winner off the post in overtime, and a number of high-quality chances since then, Cole has seemingly recaptured the form that made him such a force in Carolina.
Once the puck starts bouncing his way, the seven-year veteran is bound to start earning his points.
"It takes time to get indoctrinated into a new locker room and a new system and for the coaches to understand and learn more about the individual's game as well, and the player to get comfortable in the new system that he's playing," said MacTavish. "We ran that gamut with Michael Peca to a certain degree, so it's just a case of perseverance.
"He's got the game, he's a good person and he really puts the work in and he's going to be fine."
Three seasons ago, Peca was another big acquisition who came to Edmonton under enormous expectations.
It took him half a season to get into a groove, but turned out to be a key contributor to the Oilers' success through the playoffs on their way to the Stanley Cup final.
Cole seems to be heading in that same direction, although he has traditionally been a better goal-score than Peca.
Last year with the Carolina Hurricanes, Cole, 30, scored 22 goals and added 29 assists in 73 games.
He had 29 goals and 32 assists the previous season. This year Cole has four goals and five assists in 33 games.
"There are still 49 games left, there's lot of time for him to pick up points," MacTavish said. "If you look at Horc (Shawn Horcoff) and how quickly he put the numbers together, we were saying the same thing about him 10 games in. Could he salvage the season? Then five games after that, he's back on his regular-season pace.
"Time is a great equalizer in this game and you just have to have some patience."
