What a win! That was the kind of performance the team desperately needed to capitalize on. The first period was a tire fire as the Anaheim Ducks played the game they’re known for. I’m not sure the Oilers maintained possession for more than 10 seconds in that period and it was starting to feel like another loss was coming. The dinky fluke of a goal Corey Perry scored off of Darnell Nurse’s foot didn’t help either.
The start of the second was still a tad wanting from the fans perspective but as soon as they got on the board with that Draisaitl goal you could feel the momentum coming. The Oilers didn’t dominate that second frame like they did in Chicago but it was still a much improved effort on their part. As the end of the period was winding down Darnell Nurse and Ryan Getzlaf came together…
Getzlaf did the right thing there not only because there was literally no point in starting fisticuffs but also because Nurse would’ve torn him to shreds. You don’t think so? I refer you back to the fight with Hunter Smith who’s a good 4 inches taller than Getzlaf.
The third period was a throwback to better days given the amount of back and forth that was going on. First it was former Oiler captain Shawn Horcoff being left all alone in the slot. Then it was Oscar Klefbom unleashing a bomb from the point. After that it was Corey Perry’s turn to be left all alone in front of the net so he could dangle Anders Nilsson silly. But just when you thought the boys were out of it… They’re brought you back in! Taylor Hall took a hit to keep the puck in the Ducks zone which found its way behind the net to a hulking Leon Draisaitl who, whilst holding off the Ducks defender with one arm, deposited the puck out front for Baby Nuge to cash in on! Tie game!
All four of those goals came within six minutes and I was on pins and needles for the rest of the period. Is it weird to have that kind of anxiety this early in the year?
Well the boys in blue and orange held on to take it to 3v3 OT. I have to admit I was a bit tentative knowing that Perry and Getzlaf weren’t starting the OT. I more or less knew that the Ducks could hold the Oilers off the board until they could get their powerhouses on the ice. Well, they didn’t amount to much because thanks to a heroic backcheck by Leon Draisaitl on Cam Fowler and a clever decision by Anders Nilsson not to freeze the puck, the Ducks were caught on a line change and Andrej Sekera was able to spring Teddy Purcell on a breakaway leading to the game winning goal! Check it out below!
So all-in-all it was a very entertaining game to watch (apart from the 1st). I loved the pushback from the boys and it gives me hope that there’s a team here. They’ve shown up vs the Habs, the Blackhawks, and now the Ducks. They took on the Kings and the Predators fairly well to boot. What this team is going to look like when it’s completely devoid of injuries could be something special.
My player of the game would be Leon Draisaitl. The German Tank was indomitable and unavoidable for the Ducks tonight. They didn’t have an answer for his physicality or his intelligence. Darnell Nurse was out there but it was Draisaitl that was taking the Ducks to the clinic. Good on him!
Oh and one other thing. We finally got to see the team get physical. Iiro the Hero took a nasty hit from behind from Patrick Maroon and boy he picked the wrong time to do that as Luke Gazdic was on the ice as well. I don’t think Maroon will be doing that again because Gazzer basically destroyed him with repeated smashes to the face.
It’s so nice to see when the team finally decides they’re tired of taking all the little cheap shots and pushes back. I’d love to see it on a game-by-game basis to be honest. The team’s PK is pretty darn good, so I’m not worried about that. Check out the fight at the end of the post below.
Next game is up against the upstart Arizona Coyotes. I feel like we should be wary of them because their goalie is back to his shenanigans and Max Domi is really lighting it up so far but there’s another part of me that says, “Come on… It’s the Coyotes. What harm can they do?”… So I’ll be looking forward to the Oilers maintaining the momentum but it is the latter half of a back-to-back, so cautious optimism it is!
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Well that’s how she goes! You can’t spot a team like the Chicago Blackhawks 2 goals in the first period and expect them to let you back in. I mean that 2nd period… WHOA! 20 minutes of sustained pressure versus the reigning Stanley Cup Champions? Who does that? The New Era Edmonton Oilers do! Unfortunately for them Corey Crawford saved the BlackHawks’ asses and the Oilers couldn’t carry the momentum into the 3rd period which ultimately lead to Patrick Kane driving the final nail into the coffin for a Chicago win. I don’t count that last second goal by Anisimov… The Oilers were set at 2000% offense there and had zero interest in stopping a goal that late.
As you can see in the chart above, the numbers support the eye test tonight. And even though the Oilers lost I think you can be rest assured it wasn’t a bad lost and that had Crawford not been playing lights out, the Oilers might’ve been able to win this one.
I’d say that the Oilers top line whether it’s Hall/Draisaitl/Eberle or Hall/Nugent-Hopkins/Draisaitl or Hall/Nugent-Hopkins/Eberle were a dominating force in the game as they’ve been in every game since Draisaitl was called up.
Hey, how about that Eberle guy anyhow? Got himself a goal and had a CF% of 70.97 on the night! Photo Courtesy of Bill Smith
As for the defence, it didn’t get exposed too much but all everyone’s CF% was sub 50 apart from Sekera and Fayne. Klefbom being the worst at 39.39. Then those couple of shifts in the 3rd when they were hemmed in their own zone for well over 2 minutes was both disconcerting AND amazing. The Oilers who were on the ice must’ve been past their breaking point but they held on and the Hawks, who had their best players on the ice, could put one past Talbot.
Speaking of Talbot… I’m not goalie nor a goalie coach but could he not have been a bit better positioned on those two goals by Artemi Panarin? Tough couple starts for Cam Talbot and the Oilers fans are already getting on his case, even going so far as to predict Ben Scrivens will make his return at some point… I don’t know about that. But we might see more of Anders Nilsson than we expected.
WALTER FODDIS’ POST GAME SHOOTING METRICS
There’s not much more to say about tonight’s game apart from they lost it in the 1st period. Looking ahead the Oilers have the Ducks and Coyotes on back-to-backs this Thursday and Friday. They’re 4-6-0 in they’re last ten games and they’re 1-2 in November so far.
As for the Ducks, they’re starting to heat up as they’ve won 4 games in a row and have picked up 11 pts out of a possible 20 in their last ten games. I expect this one to be a tight affair but another tough loss for Edmonton.
The Max Domi lead Coyotes are sitting at .500 (6-6-1) but are having a tough time lately coming off of losses from Vancouver, Boston, and the Rangers. They did beat the Avs in the last week though. I think the Oilers can pull it off versus Arizona. I mean they have to right? Another season can’t be lost in November again.
Our Oilers are back in the basement of the Pacific after Calgary and Anaheim picked up wins this weekend…. I for one can’t wait for McDavid’s return but am soooo bloody glad we’ve got Leon Draisaitl. This team would be F’ed without the German.
I read very disturbing story on Twitter this evening about Connor McDavid. The story goes as such, apparently Connor and his family were at a local establishment having dinner and some fans noticed him and requested a photo to which he politely declined. I guess this didn’t sit well with said fans and they were overheard by the teller of the story saying he was an asshole.
Now this kind of attitude grinds me gears a bit. Why do professional athletes have to do everything a fan asks them to? If they don’t they’re assholes. I mean come on, give your head a shake. They play the game for themselves because they love it and if you/we weren’t even there to see them; it wouldn’t matter. When I read or hear of this sort of low class BS it disturbs me greatly. What makes someone so entitled to think just because they ask, they should get?
I mean what’s the motivation for getting a pic anyhow, so you can show your friends or family who you met? Then what? What comes after that? You’ve got a pic you can stare at… Honestly… Or maybe it’s a money thing. Either way it comes down to ego.
You know what you do when you see an athlete or celebrity in public? You greet them with a nod or simple hello and if they greet you back and feel like having a chat you shake their hand, tell them they’re doing a wonderful job and leave it at that. Now if they’re eating, leave them the f*ck alone… They’re eating for Christ’s sake. How’d you like it if you were eating and someone asked you for a pic or autograph each time. If they offer to take a pic with you, then you accept. Don’t be going around expecting they’ll cater to your every desire. Be classy because they’ll remember it, you’ll remember it, and most importantly it’s the right thing to do.
Uh oh… The Oilers rookie injury curse rears it’s ugly head again.
Well have you ever felt disappointed after winning a game? Connor McDavid goes down with what looks like a clavicle injury at the end of the 2nd period doesn’t feel good at all. The Oilers out shot the Flyers 49-22 which is a plus and they dominated the game at times with ease. Let’s go through the game a little bit here:
First Period:
Anders the Giant gets the nod in place of Cam Talbot and proceeds to bounce back from a poor performance. The first period was dominated by the Oilers top 6 and by the 10 minute mark they were up 12-1 in shots on goal. Griffin Reinhart had three of those shots which was a bit of a surprise to me. I didn’t expect the Flyers to be this bad to be honest.
The one scare for the Oilers in that period was when former Oiler Nick Schultz creeped in to the slot and nearly scored on a tip in. I missed the center that should’ve had him covered but I did see Sekera covering that post… Lucky it was only Nick Schultz.
Other notable hightlights in that period include Hendricks missing right in close after some great work behind the net by Teddy Purcell to get him the puck. Gryba’s hit on Matt Read along the boards got the crowd going and Nuge scoring on the PP to end the period really got the team fired up!
I’ll be honest, I missed the first ten minutes of the second so that means I missed the Laughton goal but I got back to the game at the Vandevelde goal… Another former Oiler bites the team in the ass. Not only that but the 2nd periods are killing the Oilers so far this season.
Then it happened…
That happened at the end of the period. If this isn’t the worst second period of the year so far, I’m not sure what game’s was worse. What will happen to Yakupov? Will Leon Draisaitl get moved to the 2nd line? Will Jordan Eberle be inserted into the lineup versus Pittsburgh?
How many of the players are stoked to be leaving Rexall? I mean Hall and Nugent-Hopkins have both missed games due to shoulder injuries… How long will Connor McDavid be out?
So those two tweets kind of sum up the whole ordeal but here’s the bright spot. The team finally has some depth to which they can draw from. Eberle will come back and hopefully pick up where McDavid left off.
Third Period:
The first shift of the period felt depressing but the Oilers went on the power play and absolutely bossed it. My problem with it was they were being kept to the outside a bit too much and I hoped they would make the Flyers penalty killers move around a bit more.
By the 15 minute mark the Oilers were kicking the Flyers asses on the shot clock 37-16 and momentum was slowly bring regained by Edmonton. I was worried about the effect of McDavid’s absence might have on Yakupov but he showed the same vigor and confidence as before, I think the difference being he didn’t have anybody to get him the puck which is what McDavid was doing till now.
Photo courtesy of Andy Devlin
Around the 14 minute mark Matt Hendricks potted one in his return to the lineup! He was absolutely delighted too. A point shot took a bounce off the glass behind Flyers goalie Michael Neuvirth and fortuitously bounced right to Hendy for an easy tap in.
One minute and twenty seven seconds later Taylor Hall took the puck from Leon Draisaitl at the Flyers blue line and broke into the middle of the ice and made a shot on net that took a deflection off a Philly stick and dribbled past the Flyers goalie with Draisaitl tying up the dman. That turned out to be the game winner for the Oilers.
The Flyers tried to change the game by getting more physical but it was to no avail as the Oilers fended them off and Nuge potting the empty netter sealed the deal! Oilers win!!
General Thoughts:
I think the Oilers dominated the Flyers for the most part. They played a very sound and simple game. I’m hoping this is something they’ll continue versus Pittsburgh. The third line also showed up a bit more and I couldn’t imagine how this game would’ve turned out if Todd McLellan couldn’t’ve shortened the bench in the third to preserve that lead.
Taylor Hall continued his all-star play and he’s up to 3rd in scoring for the entire league.
Leon Draisaitl picked up two more points to take his tally up to seven in three games.
Teddy Purcell had 7 shots to lead the team and has really picked up his play of late.
Matt Hendricks had 5 shots, 7 hits, and a goal to boot in his return from injury! Love my energy guys!
Nuge picked up a pair including an empty net and a power play goal.
Eric Gryba had 3 shots, 3 blocks, and an assist
Nail Yakupov didn’t score but he had 4 shots and 3 hits. Well done!
Pakarinen and Gazdic didn’t break the 6 minute mark in TOI this evening…
Three Cheers
Taylor Hall – Beast mode versus the Flyers! A goal and two assists and 5 shots… Beastly
Matt Hendricks – refer to the General thoughts above
Radko Gudas – An assist, a penalty, two shots, three blocks and five hits. Old School Hockey!
The Next game is versus the Pittsburgh Penguins who are coming in 7-4-0 and will be a whole new ball of yarn for the Oilers. This is a team that has Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, and Kris Letang to deal with. Not only that they have an elite goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury… The Oilers will have their work cut out for them to say the least and without McDavid no less.
Let’s hope the boys can continue to dig deep and pull one out!
HOLY JUMPING!!!!!! WHAT A COMEBACK!!!! WHAT…..A…….COMEBACK……!!!!! I’M STILL AT A LOSS OF WORDS!!
Okay back to reality. This team showed such resiliency and effort. They never gave up and the players that we needed to step, stepped up! Leon was up for his first game of the season, Darnell Nurse with his second, they both helped lead the charge with their never give up attitude and made strong cases to stay with the big club.
First Period: This should be game film for the rest of the year to emphasize what NOT to do in a game. The Oilers came out flat footed, disorganized and looked like a bunch of baboons on skates. They were outshot 11-5, out scored 3-0 and this game was looking like it was going to be a blow out. 2 of the 3 goals in the period were just flat out defensive brain farts, a Klefbom turnover (unlike him). He should have been much more aggressive on Torrey Mitchell and forced him to make a play instead of being a screen for Talbot. Klefbom could have tried to force him wide or at least force him to throw a muffin on net, something other than giving him the opportunity to fire a rocket top cheddar on Talbot. Then mere seconds later, Lander decided to guard the invisible man in front and Galchenyuk was left all alone for an easy tap in.
They looked like they had no clue what was going on out there, they couldn’t handle passes, break outs, heaven forbid a pass was made on the tape. Even though he let in 3 goals on 11 shots, Cam Talbot once again was standing tall and keeping the game from going out of control. Kudos to you good sir, Kudos to you!
Second Period: This was a test, a true test to see how this young group could respond after playing their worst hockey of the year. I most likely can’t repeat what Coach McLellan said in the room during the intermission but I imagine a lot of F bombs were dropped and shame was thrown around like no tomorrow. Whatever was said, worked and it worked like magic.
The Oilers came out with some energy, some actual structure and organization. The boys showed some passion and fight. They showed effort outshooting the Habs 11-5 this period as they hemmed the Canadiens in their zone with a lot more sustained pressure. Quality chances were coming through and you could get a sense they were gonna put one behind the best goalie in the league, Carey Price.
The Breakouts were much cleaner, passes much simpler and crisper, and the intensity and speed picked up rigorously as the Oilers started to determine and set the pace of the game. Then they finally caught a break as Montreal took a penalty late in the game. The Oilers had good puck movement and work off the half wall which lead ultimately to Leon Draisaitl who was behind the net. With a clever little bank shot off of Carey Prices behind ze German got the boys on the board! A bounce that finally went their way.
Third Period: This is the period where the young, quick, talented, hard working Oilers showed up, and boy did they show up! What we witnessed was complete domination by the Oilers in the third period versus the NHL’s best team. Once again led by Connor McDavid, who just seems to take games over when needed. Along with Taylor Hall, these two have driven their respective lines and have turned games around for the Oilers this year. It really feels like the pieces of the puzzle are finally coming together.
The third period began with a fruitless power play but they carried the momentum with them onward after it ended. They had their wheels going, out muscling defenders and beating them to the pucks. The Oilers had the leagues best team on their heels and they had no signs of slowing down.
Connor McDavid made a smart play to fight for the puck, keep it alive and get it to the point man Darnell Nurse but instead of firing it on net, he showed patience and passed it off to Brandon Davidson who walked in and unleashed a bomb that found the back of the net with a little screen from Nail Yakupov. At this point you knew that it was on like Donkey Kong! The Oilers kept this momentum going, the defence was doing an excellent job at making sure the Habs weren’t getting rebounds and that the shots were coming from the outside, making Talbot’s job much easier for the rest of the night.
Entry into the Oilers’ zone got increasingly more difficult from the beginning of the third period as the boys in blue and orange limited the Habs’ third period shots to a measly 5. It was only few shifts later that the line of Yakupov-McDavid-Pouliot struck again with a fantastic play that started in their own zone. A chip up the boards by Yak, then McDavid, with the presence of mind to see Pouliot breaking down the middle ice unmolested, made a nice little one touch pass whilst fending off one of the best defencemen in the NHL, PK Subban; to send Pouliot on a mini breakaway where he fired it home to tie it up!! The building went bananas!
The Oilers didn’t stop there, they continued to put pressure on Montreal’s broken defence, using their speed and support systems to force them into making mistakes. Then… Finally it happened in the last minute of play. Taylor Hall dumps it in, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins uses his speed and out muscles former Oiler Jeff Petry off the puck, circles the net and makes a beautiful pass to a trailing Leon Draisaitl who has a wide open cage to net the go ahead goal! One of the best comebacks I’ve seen in a long time and against the best in the league! OUTSTANDING!!!
Interesting tidbit about the game, a small quote from Coach Mclellan regarding something Taylor Hall did for Leon Draisaitl, if you ever questioned Hall’s leadership, i’d suggest you stop;
" He started slow. Hallsy pulled him aside and said, 'Let's go. Relax. You are a good player.' Then he was more involved" McLellan on Drai.
1.Leon Draisaitl – Been high on the kid since before he was drafted. He clearly took what little time he had down in the AHL and used it to his advantage. He looked stronger, smarter; more mature and far less hesitant with the puck. He was going to all the right areas on the ice, and even looked good defensively, oh and he netted the game winner to go along with another. Two goals on the evening!!
2. Connor McDavid – You know I’m getting real sick and tired of putting this kid up here…. Ahhh who am I kidding? I’ll never get tired of it. After an abysmal first he took over this game. His speed couldn’t be handled, his tenacity to get the puck wasn’t matched by any Montreal player, and he made two magnificent plays to set up the tying goal and the second goal. Seven game point streak for the kid including two assists.
3.Ryan Nugent Hopkins – He played the most minutes of anyone in the game, forward and defence. just over 25 minutes. A great performance was had at both ends of the ice, apart from having an off night in the faceoff circle, he had numerous takeaways. He also really had his legs underneath him, and made an incredible hard working play to set up Dr.Drai for the game winner. This guy is something else. One assist on the night.
You know what the Golden Plunger can sit beside the Toilet today… that was too epic of a comeback, but an honourable mention will just go to the horrible first period.
Here are some post game metrics AKA Fancy stats from our very own Walter Foddis!
Helluva of a ride! Especially with that first period where everyone was ready to step off the ledge, to the dominating second and third periods. Those were the catalysts to one of the best comebacks this team has ever seen, especially against the best team in the NHL at this point in time.What the Oilers did in the second and third periods are what they will have to replicate every game. The urgency, the commitment, the extra 10% every shift and not giving up no matter the score. Sticking to the game plan, trusting one another and feeding off each and every player on that bench. This isn’t the team of individual efforts anymore, it’s about creating momentum and possession.
Next game is against the Calgary Flames Saturday night for another installment of the BOA. Last time out it was a bit of a cake walk, but the Oilers can’t expect it to be the same. Calgary hasn’t been playing so hot and is going to be hungry and looking for some vengeance for their last loss against the Oilers. Edmonton will just have to do what they did last game, continue to find the scoring areas, use their speed down the wings and crash the net as either Flames goalie doesn’t have the highest of confidence. Lots of shots, quick movement and sticking to the game plan and the Oilers should walk away with a win, especially after having the momentum they have after this win, and playing Calgary at home. Should be a high energy packed game with the Oilers coming out on top.
Thanks for reading everyone, let me know what you think @madi39 or in the comments section below!
Tonight was a big test for the Edmonton Oilers, coming in on a three game winning streak and beating the Red Wings last game rather convincingly. But man oh man was it just a gong show from the puck drop, we knew it was going to be a shootout with the Capitals but I just didn’t expect it to be a slaughter. Washington was coming off a back to back and was starting their back up, Phillip Grubauer. Edmonton should have came out and forced the puck down their throats and wore them down as much as possible. Instead they tried to skate with them and continued to let Washington find themselves and keep themselves in the game. I felt maybe it was too much confidence coming into the game off a winning streak and at home, as well as not being fully prepared for tonight’s game.
Tonight the Washington Capitals used their speed, simple passes and broke out of their zone with ease and really exposed the Oilers defence. It was not a good night and it didn’t start off well as Washington CAPITAL-ized on a beautiful passing play finished off by Kuznetzov, who would go on to add two more and tack on two apples for a 5 point night. Credit to the Oilers though, they continued to battle back going shot for shot, goal for goal. The Oilers were matching the caps speed and utilizing it by continually putting pucks behind the defenders, winning the battles and getting a cycle or at the very least a strong possession shift. The first period was pretty well even though the Oil were down by 1 going into the second, they still managed to keep the shots even and there were no signs of capitulation.
Right off the bat in the 2nd they had a quick strike to tie it up! A power play goal coming from the RED HOT Connor McDavid. The crowd was jacked but it seemed all to all go down hill from there. The Oilers were caught flat footed and they were puck watching almost every chance they got. The legs just weren’t underneath them.
The Oilers had their moments in the second frame with a few power plays they should have capitalized on, but once again these were the demise of their own momentum. The Capitals potted 3 quick goals that went unanswered and that was that. I’m not sure Anders Nilsson could have done much on most of them, as he was getting little to no help all night. But that’s not to say he was standing on his head like the previous two games. Tonight no one was doing anyone any favors, even with an offence scoring 4 goals it appeared that everyone was falling complacent on the defensive side of the puck. A lot of the times tonight everyone o the ice seemed to be in La La Land as they were being hypnotized by the puck movement and skill of this veteran-laden Capitals team and it gave the Caps’ power house offence even more room to play with in the offensive zone.
It’s odd saying that the effort just wasn’t there, especially when you score four goals but the 3rd period was chalked full of uninspiring hockey. I mean anytime you score four you should be skating away with the victory. Not only that but not scoring on a two man advantage was the nail in the coffin. Bad habits crept into everyone’s game once they got down and the boys were gripping those sticks a bit too tightly. I can only imagine the sort of talk the coaching staff had with the group after the game and what’s going to be said and done at practice tomorrow.
Tonight was a learning lesson, growing pains, that no matter who you are facing and no matter how well your offence is playing that you can’t fall complacent and forget about the defensive side of the puck as teams like the Capitals will jump on every opportunity to create a scoring chance. One of the biggest factors tonight, was the unnecessary penalties they were taking, not just because they were down 3 goals, but because it was killing any and all momentum the team was building up.
It was just a horrendous up and down game, mistake followed by another mistake, followed by another. This is going to be a game they are really going to have to learn off of, pay attention to the moments they were caught standing still and/or out of position and figure out what to do to fix it. What happened tonight is something they need to make sure they don’t build bad habits off it. Find a solution, fix it, and move onto the next game and continue to improve. The Oilers were just outmatched tonight by what is arguably the best team in the east with all do respect to the Montreal Canadiens.
1. Evgeny Kuznetzov – This is what Capitals fans have been waiting for, tonight he showed his dynamic speed, skill and talent. 3 goals, and 2 assists accompanied with 7 shots. He was by far the best player on the ice.
2. Ryan Nugent Hopkins – He played an excellent game tonight, 1 goal, 1 assist and played a great north/south game; he was strong in his own zone, was 73% on the draws and was winning every puck battle. Nuge is starting to play more and more on the PK and is becoming a key contributor to the NHL’ s #1 PK.
3.Nicklas Backstrom – Since returning from his injury he’s been red hot, he quickly showing why he is one of the best centres in the NHL. He showed his touch and speed when he got sprung on a break away and put away the second capitals goal, finished with 1 goal and 1 assist, but he was also all over the ice tonight, creating something on every shift he was out there for.
Tonight’s Golden Plunger award goes to….!
Teddy Purcell looked like the last few games since being demoted to the third line, that he actually found himself and was playing some solid hockey. He was playing a simple game, wasn’t trying to be too fancy and had some real nice chemistry with Korpi and Lander, that was until tonight, and when he got moved up on the top line and it seemed he was killing every drive up the ice, anything positive he was seemingly destroying it. I truly had high hopes for him, but he just cant seem to find his way especially when he starts to play on the top line, maybe his confidence is shot right now, either way he’s not doing the team much good.
Andrew Ference is in the same boat, he played okay last game, not bad for being out 4 games. Tonight it was just brain fart after brain fart with this guy. He took two unnecessary penalties, and killed the momentum the Oilers had on both plays. Twice tonight he watched an icing get rimmed around his side of the boards and just watched it go down the ice for an icing call. There were moments he was on his D partners side of the ice, essentially leaving the middle and the other side of the ice open. If not for the smarts of RNH and McDavid at times, it could have gotten a lot uglier had those lanes been wide open.
Overall tonight was just a bit of a disaster, there isn’t much more to say on tonight other than to make sure something like this never happens again. They need to be more disciplined against teams like this, stay focused and stick to the game plan and make sure they stay defensively aware and stick to the defensive side of the puck. The shots were kept low tonight, but there were just too many high quality scoring chances, no matter who’s in net, its hard when thats all you’re stopping all night.
The next game is this Sunday against the surging LA Kings who have won 4 straight, after starting the season 0-3. In the past few years the Oilers have always had trouble facing the big bad Kings. But how the mighty don’t seem so mighty anymore. With a new system in place, bigger defence and a much better offensively structured system accompanied by solid goaltending should, in theory, make this game a lot different than years past.
Tyler Toffoli ,the Kings leading scorer, is on fire as of late and if the Edmonton Oilers’ defence can keep his line and him in check, they should be able to walk out of there with a win. The game plan against the Kings isn’t going to be to dump and chase, but to use their speed, work the puck down low and keep their feet moving and cause the slower Kings to put themselves out of position. This will keep Kings’ netminder Jonathan Quick from moving side to side. They will really need to work the points in this game, activating when they can to create that 4th forward situation and getting as many pucks through on net, while crashing the crease. Jonathan Quick has a temper and hates nothing more then traffic in front of him and the Oilers need to exploit that and put some pucks past him.
Thanks you for reading everyone! I know tonight was a rough game, but let me know what you think by getting in touch with me on Twitter @madi39 or in the comments section below!
