There’s nothing better than a Canada/Russia match-up at any hockey competition and for BLH’s Hockey Game of the Night, we’ve got for you a proper classic. The 2005 World Juniors Gold Medal Final between Sidney Crosby’s Team Canada and Alexander Ovechkin’s Team Russia.
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To set up this game I found this blurb from Sports Illustrated by Ken Campbell,
The night is always darkest just before the dawn, and Canada’s greatest anguish on the World Junior Championship stage came one year before its greatest triumph.
Flash back to Helsinki, Finland, 2004. Canada desperately wanted to be crowned hockey’s best under-20 nation after six long years in the cold. Since a five-year run of golds that ended in 1997, the Canadians had finished eighth, second, third, third, second and second, with each heartbreak worse than the last. They blew a 2-1 lead to Russia on Canadian ice to lose the 2003 final. Then, in Helsinki, the nightmare continued. Canada led upstart U.S. 3-1 entering the third period of the gold medal game. The U.S. stormed back to tie it and, with less than five minutes remaining in a 3-3 contest, Canada goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s clearing attempt bounced off teammate Braydon Coburn and into his own net. The Americans won their first world juniors ever. Canada’s drought reached seven years.
What I found really interesting is that Sidney Crosby and Corey Perry were lighting up their respective Junior leagues and Patrice Bergeron had already spent a year in the NHL, yet coach Brent Sutter chose to put the trio together and deploy them as Canada’s shutdown line. Very much like Wayne Gretzky back in 1978, Perry only made the club due to the injury of another player. What luck!
As this is mostly an Oilers blog, I feel compelled to mention that this game featured five players who would go on to play for the Edmonton Oilers later in their careers. Those individuals being Shawn Belle (CAN), Colin Fraser (CAN), Cam Barker (CAN), Danny Syvret (CAN), and the great Anton Belov (RUS).
If you’re enjoying the series, check out this week’s previous games below!
I’ll start off by saying this, I think this effort was 10x the one from yesterday. The Washington Capitals are an offensive juggernaut in my opinion and the Oilers held them to only 1 goal. The defense was on point but the offense is still struggling and I don’t really know what one can do about that.
I was very happy that Ovechkin and Kuznetsov didn’t take the game over though. A fine showing by the Oilers not to let that happen!
Five Things We Learned
Pat Maroon wasn’t taking any shit tonight!
I loved the passion from Big Rig tonight. He was battling everywhere and he’s showing us that he’s really making an effort to snap out of this slump by trying everything. That scrap with Tom Wilson was nearly a minute long and Wilson is no slouch when it comes to chucking knuckles. Add to that another 7 shots on net tonight.
Khaira, Brossoit, and Auvitu came to play!
I loved Brossoit’s game tonight. He was the rock Edmonton needed back there and each performance like this that he has increases the amount of confidence Todd McLellan has in him and the more likely he is to get the call in the future.
JJ Khaira was having the kind of game that would’ve had him one of the 3 stars at the end of the night until he failed to stay on Orlov but thus is life for a young NHLer. The rest of the game he was solid and looked very confident.
Auvitu… You want to get pissed at the guy for jumping into the play so much but luckily nothing too terrible happened as a result. Now, I don’t mind a dman that is so offensively minded as long as he’s putting up points but the Frenchman isn’t. At least he didn’t cost the Oilers a goal
Todd McLellan HAS to do better.
I was flabbergasted when I didn’t see Jesse Puljujarvi in the OT but I did see Ryan Strome (who didn’t show badly) and Pat Maroon (who at one point was the only defender back). All of that open ice is tailor-made for Jesse Puljujarvi with the way he skates and all of his power… Personally, I think it’s bullshit that McLellan didn’t put him out there.
NHL reffing is still garbage.
This isn’t something we learned tonight but it’s something that continues to plague the NHL. I know that the job is a very difficult one to do and you can’t call everything on Connor McDavid but you can call something. Like one thing. At least!
Oscar Klefbom bounced back.
I loved his game tonight. The difference between tonight’s game and yesterday’s game was like night and day. He kept it very simple and really took to heart what the coaching staff laid out for him after the Rangers game. I hope that he can continue this trend up and we get to see a goal from him soon.
Next game up is versus Vegas and this is important for a few reasons.
Vegas is a Pacific division rival. The time to start climbing up the standings is now.
The Golden Knights are fast and tenacious, two things that kill the Oilers unless they’re playing New Jersey, so Edmonton is going to have to be well prepared for that. I hope they go with the same lineup but with Talbot in net.
I’m not 100% for sure but I’m assuming that Vegas will have Maxime Legace in net and what better opportunity for the Oilers to score more than 2 goals than against an AHL netminder.
Now, it’s going to be all unicorns and lollipops vs Vegas. At the moment, they are playing very well but it’s time for the Oilers to get their special teams on the right track and summon the spirits of 2016/17 to help them put some goals in the bloody net!
Don't get too down but Calgary was 3rd last in the NHL with a 5-9-0-1 record at this time last season.
Other teams that were out of a PO spot were Columbus, Nashville, and Toronto.
NJ was 7-3-0-3 (11th) and they ended the year in 28th place.
— B.L.H. (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast) (@BeerLeagueHeroe) November 12, 2017
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I was not living in Edmonton during the Stanley Cup glory years and like many who weren’t I was very jealous of Oiler fans. I mean, those Oilers were really too good! Unfair almost. Even after moving here and listening to people at work and other locals comment on how fun it was back in the day, it didn’t make it easier to swallow. The wild 2006 playoffs is also used as a point of excitement. While I appreciate the enthusiasm and listen intently, it’s with a little resentment if I’m being honest and you will understand why moving forward.
Growing up in Southern Ontario, I like most was forced to hear all things Leafs and yet, I didn’t grow up to be too crazy. Well, maybe so, but I’ll get to that later. As a kid, I was into the OHL and my hometown Kingston Canadiens (now Frontenacs) and watched a lot of Jr hockey. It was here in 81-82, I first became a fan of a ferocious, hard-hitting Dman playing out of the Memorial Cup Champ Kitchener Rangers. When the Washington Capitals selected Scott Stevens in the 1982 draft I instantly became a Caps fan. Now imagine being a fan of a club that has only ever gotten past the second Rd twice in its history and you’ll appreciate why I have some resentment towards the very successful history of playoff success of your local Oilers.
Stevens made the team as an 18-year-old and scoring in his first game, on his first shot, and going on to help the Caps make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history that season. Though I still remember the day the Caps let him sign with St. Louis as a RFA as my personal Gretzky leaving moment, I had made my loyal allegiance and stayed with my Caps to this date. Hence, why I just may be crazy after all. And while the Caps never went as long as the Oilers did in franchise history for consecutive seasons out of the playoffs, I would take Edmonton’s history including the playoff drought all day long!
Moving Edmonton in fall of ’08 allowed me to escape Leaf nation and while forever will I cheer for the Capitals, I have learned to appreciate living here in Oiler nation. At least now that they finally have actual proper management in place that is. Even as a non-invested fan living in the city it was painful watching this organization for awhile. For those in Oiler nation, I do have a side of me who certainly wants good times for the Oilers again. It’s way more fun in this city now than it has been last 10 years! And I enjoy the new rink just the same. While as a Caps fan I certainly wasn’t feeling sorry for the playoff drought (aren’t there enough Cups to go around in this city), I appreciated the frustration of where the team was and I relish the opportunity to see this team closeup as they stand today new arena and all. They are fun to watch. Much like my Caps.
Connor McDavid is entertaining. Period. I feel lucky to be able to watch 97 and his career up close. And as a non-biased Caps fan going to Rogers Place to watch live hockey is all about 97 for me. I feel blessed to be able to have closely watched Alex Ovechkin his whole career and know not to take for granted what legit superstars do during the regular season or otherwise. Yes, I know, I know the Great 8 hasn’t gotten it done in the playoffs. I urge you to first look at his career stats for playoffs and then we can at least debate the merits of that. But for any to suggest at all, in the context of entertainment, that Ovie isn’t worth the price of a ticket they can’t appreciate the value of being entertained. I would argue Nicklas Backstrom is just as entertaining but I digress. He’s McDavid without the speed.
Now watching Connor McDavid is an entertaining event. Like grab some popcorn and keep things away from you in case you jump out of your seat entertaining. Watching him play hockey is like nothing I’ve seen before when you factor in his seemingly nonstoppable speed game. As a Caps fan, I remember Mike Gartner being fast but this is different.
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Because the Caps had drafted Andre Burakovsky in ’13, I watched a lot of Erie Otters games during 13-14 which gave me the now great opportunity to follow along McDavid’s jr career as well. Like anyone who watched him in Erie, it was easy to see whoever drafted him was getting a generational superstar. At times it wasn’t even competitive for him it seemed.
Whether he is making Drew Doughty laugh mid-game trying to defend him or having opposing forecheckers need to adjust positionally a style to how they play against the Oilers because of him, it’s easy to succeed he is the best player to watch in the game right now for my liking.
Scary thing is he will only get better. Whether it be taking faceoffs or shooting more (I find myself thinking he should shoot more when watching – only to discover he leads the team in shots, go figure) he will know doubt improve his deficiencies while enhancing even further his existing strengths. Wait till his shooting percentage inevitably rises a bit! His ability to improve the play of those around him is not questioned (can I say Yakupov here or is that too sensitive still?) and what is less talked about is the way that defending NHL coaches and teams have to change the way they defend breakouts vs Edmonton now. 97 has created a situation where his matchups are opening space for teammates (ask Patrick Maroon) and it helps the Oilers D with more options while escaping trouble. Anyone debating the Oilers have not looked like a different team on the breakout this year? One could argue the Oilers system is just to get the puck to 97, but we don’t want to over simplify things do we. That’s no fun! It’s why I don’t agree with the notion that Cam Talbot, albeit playing outstanding, is the Oilers MVP this year. Would anyone want to take out McDavid for a 15 game stretch or Talbot? For me it’s easy.
Recalling that when I first became more closely tied to Oiler nation when moving here in fall of ’08, Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner were the young future centre pieces of the club. How things have evolved. A number 1 draft pick Taylor Hall has come and gone and the entire organization has morphed into a team with a new plan from top to bottom. As a Caps fan, I appreciate playing a Chiarelli led team and always respected playing the Bruins and their style.
The Oilers next best positional right-hand guy to 97 is the perfect compliment to the wonderkid. While decent players Gagner and Cogliano are, they aren’t McDavid and the now ever enticing Leon Draisaitl. It seems funny to even relate the two pairs. Leon, while struggling a few games, is a star in his own right. With his size and skill set, he has the tools to be a dominating forward. He’ll be the centre on his own line in the future Oiler attack creating an awesome 1-2 punch down the middle in Northern Alberta for years.
So yes it looks like the Oilers have finally turned the corner as a perennial playoff team. And with that being the expectation for this organization now for the next few seasons, it’s will shift to becoming more about building a case to being a Stanley Cup contender. With 97 anything is possible and so becoming a legit Stanley Cup favourite may not be far off. Could the Oilers win this year? Why not. Should they? Probably not. However, at this point in the today’s NHL playoffs it’s open season. Everyone in this city only need to refer to ’06 for that to be validated.
I for one will be subjecting myself to the craziness that is anther Capitals run at the Cup. Who knows, maybe the Oilers can make it easier for me to travel to see the Caps in the Stanley Cup final if they play here at Rogers Place!! So good luck to the Oilers and welcome back to the dance.
… Man, is it fun to watch 97 play. Oh, did I say that already….
I’ll freely admit that I thought the Oilers’ 5-1-0 record going into last night’s game was very much in jeopardy. Washington is an NHL powerhouse and has been for years. From the top of the roster right through to the coaching staff, the Capitals are an elite NHL team. But yesterday evening a different story was written.
Is there a new sheriff in town? Maybe…
I’d still like to see them dominate one or two more upper-echelon NHL teams before making that jump to the “Oilers are a Western Conference Power” train car. And We’ll have to wait a bit for that as the next three opponents for Edmonton are Vancouver (Do we really think they’re worthy of a 4-2-1 record?), Ottawa (These guys are 4-2-0 too?!), and Toronto (Nobody is going to care about the standings in this game, McDavid v. Matthews part 1!). So we wait until Nov. 4th against the New York Rangers.
Now getting back to the game versus the Capitals, I let out a huge sigh of relief when Nugent-Hopkins and Benoit Pouliot combined for the Oilers first goal. I had been giving it to Nuge on Twitter before the game had started and he showed me by getting 2 points when all was said and done, both assists on goals by Pouliot.
When the Oilers went into the 3rd period up 2-0 I was still feeling a bit cagey and then Ovechkin scored and I thought to myself, “Is this how it ends?” But then the Capitals started to open things up and send in the extra man on the forecheck, which, in any other season would result in the Oilers’ defense collapsing under the pressure and throwing the biscuit up the wall to a winger who wasn’t prepared because they were already on their horse out of their zone looking for that hail mary pass.
Something has changed.
This time when the opposition put the pressure on Edmonton, the boys didn’t collapse, they were collected and cool. The Capitals had possession in the Oilers zone but they were the ones that felt the pressure and it was their turn to give the puck away as Caps rookie (and former junior teammate of Connor McDavid), Andre Burakovsky, tried to force one through into the slot and the puck took a deflection that landed right on Jesse Puljujarvi’s stick to which he tapped up to McDavid and they were off to the races! A 3-on-2 with Alexander Ovechkin barrelling down from behind but it didn’t matter as the speed of McDavid and Puljujarvi couldn’t be matched. I actually thought that Pulju was going to get his first goal right there because it looked like it went in but it wasn’t to be as Holtby’s post saved the day, the only problem being it bounced out the other side where “Big Rig” Pat Maroon was to clean things up.
*My bad! I totally thought Puljujarvi hadn’t excited his first goal yet. Thanks to you guys for shaming me for my mistake :p*
3-1 Oilers and there was no looking back.
Milan Lucic scored on the PP later in the period with a masterful tip which must’ve lead everyone on the Capitals’ bench wondering why nobody was marking him…
As each game goes by this season I see these Oilers grow into the sort of team that we’ve been clambering for for years. A big team with speed, skill, and smarts; and goaltending that we can rely on. Don’t ask me how Talbot is doing this but I hope he doesn’t burn out anytime soon. It’d be a shame for him to pull the ol’ Khabibulin and rip the carpet out from beneath our feet.
Speaking of Talbot, how about TJ Oshie putting the “o” in assh*le as he was cross-checking Talbot in the thigh? Check it out below.
Then there is
Then there is THIS clickbait from Russian Machine Never Breaks entitled “Did Cam Talbot Deserve a Match Penalty for Punching TJ Oshie in the Face?”
Are you kidding me? TJ Oshie deserved to get kicked out of the game for intent to injure if anything. Honestly, tell me how cross-checking a goalie in the tight repeatedly is an attempt at playing the puck? The kicker is when the linesman saved Oshie from further beating by laying on top of him as if he were some sort of grenade…
Cam Talbot did the right thing in my opinion and it’s a shame that neither Gryba nor Nurse could get their hands on Oshie any more than they did at that time.
Just a quick note on Jesse Puljujarvi.
The big Finn is slowly coming along. Last night I noticed him gaining a bit more confidence with the puck and he’s firing that puck but he still doesn’t look fully engaged. He’s not going into the board battles 100% and he’s staying to the outside quite a bit. Anton Slepyshev has looked opposite to that so far and in my opinion, he should be the one on Nuge’s RW. I reckon they’ll keep Pulju and play him his 9 games at least but I hope they do send him down to Bakersfield. Then again, who knows? It might just click for him at game 15 but as of now, it’s not clicking.
So next up the Oilers will play the Vancouver Canucks and to me, this is another Buffalo Sabres-like match-up. The Oilers had better take them seriously even though the rest of the league isn’t. Bo Horvat has had his way with the Oilers since coming into the league, Jake Virtanen will be a thorn in the side of McDavid all night and there’s that shiny new 1st line of Sedin-Sedin-Eriksson that had better not be overlooked.
That being said, the Oilers can capitalize on the Canucks defense and/or its goaltending. I wonder if Ryan Miller will have the Lucic Flu come game time?
The points that Edmonton gain vs. their Pacific Division opponents are of the utmost importance as they’ll need them when the schedule starts to get more challenging and especially if they’re in a fight for a playoff position.
What did you think about the game? Are you becoming more and more convinced that the Oilers are for real or are you still a bit reserved about this new feeling and waiting for the other shoe to drop?
Let us know in the comments below!
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Today’s All-Star game has become something of a farce as of late. Within recent years having big name players dropping out, such as Sidney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk and now most recently from this year Alexander Ovechkin and Jonathan Toews who would excel at the new 3 on 3 format. It seems the game has lost its lustre, has lost the honour it once held when every single guy was thrilled to play to represent their conference or country. Wales vs Campbell, North America vs the world, those were the days. There was still a level of playfulness but guys still went hard, they backchecked a little, goalies gave a little extra effort. There was still a sense of pride within the players when they played and now it’s just become some sort of spectacle where no one really gives a flying $@!#. The NHL has to do something to make this game meaningful again, make guys want to play in it, not start campaigns like Jagr (who yes I know is older) did telling everyone to not vote for him, or we have the Rory Fitzpatrick incident in the 2006-2007 season, and now our most recent John Scott debacle.
This game should have some purpose, should have some heart still attached to it. It was refreshing to hear in an interview on Oilers TV with Tom Gazzola and Taylor Hall and see how excited he was and have this little tid bit of a quote “I think it’s going to be a good experience. It’s going to be fast. I don’t know about the other guys, but I’m going to try pretty hard. I’m excited about the whole thing.” Does he need to go out there and try hard, by all means no but he wants to cause there is still meaning to this game to him, there is still a little something to prove out there with best of the best.
Here are some proposing changes in my opinion that could make this game worth something, where guys wouldn’t get sick or “injuries” and miss the game and its festivities.
1.Put something meaningful on the line for the game, not just cash.
I am going to have to steal this idea from the MLB All-star game, which yes is an All-star game to the fans, but to the players, something much bigger is on the line. That being the winning conference AL or NL, gets home field advantage come world series time. I’m not sure if anyone has ever watched one before but these guys still joke around have a little fun, but it’s still down to business and they are doing everything they can to make sure their team wins, in hopes they get home field advantage in the world series. I believe the NHL should adopt this idea, and give the winning conference home ice advantage for the hardest trophy to win in all of the sports. Guys like Ovechkin, and Crosby and Datsyuk and many others wouldn’t be skipping this game and taking their slap on the wrist. Especially guys on cup contenders or guys in playoff positions, they wouldn’t want to miss the chance of ensuring that if their team makes the final, they get the home ice advantage.
Now by all means, I’m not saying for these players to go out and hit and give it 120% and risk an injury and hurt themselves or someone else and kill the rest of their season. Just simply would like to see some more backchecking, some actual defensive play, and guys not cherry picking every shift looking to hang out and overall a bit more effort. Would love to see the goalies not hung out to dry as often, and let them make some impactful saves, keep them in the game. By all means I’m not saying take away that sense of fun and being able to let loose during the game, some of the best moments are the players mic’d up for example in the 2011-2012 All-star game, Scott Hartnell mic’d up and chirping Dion Phaneuf every chance he got, was fantastic to see and showed how light-hearted some of the more aggressive bruisers of the game are.
2.Take away the fan voting, not entirely but establish a new system
Now obviously I might take a little heat on this one, because some tend to enjoy the fact that the fans can have control like they do in deciding who is an NHL All-star and who’s not. One small problem, fans tend to make some poor player a mockery of it or a joke causing incidents like the “Vote for Rory Fitzpatrick” campaign that happened during the 2006-2007 season, even the player going as far as making up T-shirts and pushing himself when he clearly doesn’t belong there. I propose that the NHL establish a committee of Head coaches, scouts and even some analysts and pick the respective players that deserve to be there. You could even just do Head coaches and scouts as they have the best seat in the house every night to know which players belong and which doesn’t. I believe you could get a fair group of the best of the best, but still maintain each team must be represented by minimum 1 player and continue with the captain system and let him pick.
Now as far as the fan voting goes, it shouldn’t be abolished but there should be some sort of restriction in a sense. Instead of having the ability to vote for anyone and writing in anyone one player, have a larger group handpicked by the selection committee, which could be a mix of fan favorites from each team and rookies, or however they would like to break it up that way.Keep say 1 spot open per team, a wildcard position if you must and let the fans vote on that player. It keeps the fans interactive still and ices the best product for the weekend, even in the skills competition.
3. Last not but not least, which is the most drastic idea, but create heavy fines and suspensions for missing out.
It always seems so convenient that a player comes down with an illness or a nagging injury that just so happens to flare up days before the All-star game. These guys may not know it, but they are dropping the value of this game, the game its self is losing the integrity and it’s sad to see. Yes I do understand some guys really can’t play and could use the few days rest, but the NHL needs to set up a neutral doctor in these situations to make sure these guys are in fact A-okay to play and aren’t just using a little sore wrist to get out what’s supposed to be an amazing display of skill and raw talent, especially this year with the new 3 on 3 format. Start making these players accountable in a big way for missing and I’m certain they will think twice before missing. But maybe if ideas 1 and 2 happen, they won’t need to even worry about this. I do understand they get a little slap on the wrist for missing the game, but I would rather see a heavier fine and heavier suspension if a player is, in fact, choosing not go without a legitimate reason.
In closing, we all just want to see the best of the best in the NHL face off against each other, the ones who deserve to be there at. Watch them enjoy themselves on the ice and still show the lighter side of what can be a brutal sport sometimes. Also, have them share a fantastic weekend with their families, cause for some this is their first or their last All-Star experience. The NHL needs to do something to make this game more meaningful, give it more purpose, they made it more exciting with the 3 on 3. Now it’s time to make this game worth something again, and restore the honour this weekend once had and bestowed upon its participating players and not just make it all for the show, but again make it so players are counting down the days to get there and putting something important on the line.
Here’s a look at the 2016 NHL All-Star Jerseys in case no one as seen them, let us know what you think in the comments below.
Thanks for reading everyone, let me know what you think @madi39 on twitter or in the comments section below!
