Welcome home, Connor. I’m sorry it wasn’t a better homecoming. Final Score: 4-2 St. Louis
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked into Rexall Place tonight. The Oilers were already down 0-3 on the season and some citizens here at the Nation are losing their minds about it. That’s not to say that I’m happy about the losses, but I’m also not expecting falling pieces of sky to decapitate me either. Regardless, the vibe at Rexall Place was electric before puck drop. It would even go so far as to say that this may have been the loudest I’ve personally heard that arena in some time. 
Despite the noise, there was an obvious uneasiness in the crowd. Everyone seemed restless, almost as though they were waiting for something bad to happen. I guess that’s what happens when you start the season 0-3 and have spent the last decade as perennial lottery candidates. I can’t say I blame my fellow citizens for being so tense when it comes to the Oilers, especially with performances like we saw tonight. 
Despite grabbing an early 1-0 lead on a nice play from Lauri Korpikoski the Oilers weren’t ever really in this game regardless of what the shot clock said. There were a lot of outside shots and weak chances from the Oilers side, whereas the Blues had grade “A” looks from right from the slot. Apart from picking the Oilers apart in their defensive zone, St. Louis was also able to score on the power play – something the Oilers have not done all season.
At the end of the day, the Blues were the much better team and the results were as expected from the game I watched. They were too big, play cohesively as a unit, know where they’re supposed to be, and they cash in on their chances. Tonight, the better team won. 
We wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

  • I have to give props to the Oilers for stepping up the in game experience tonight for the home opener. I had never been to a home opener before tonight, but it was nice to see the Oilers giving back to the fans that trudge through miles of shit to support them.
  • I will never EVER get tired of watching Connor McDavid play hockey. He will always be a bright side for me, and I am excited for the day when he finally feels comfortable. Tonight was a quiet night for McDavid, and it’s not overly surprising considering the team he just played against. He will get better. If you think otherwise you should probably stop watching hockey. 
  • Taylor Hall had a much better night tonight than he did against Nashville. I’m still dumbfounded how some citizens think that HE’S the problem out there. Absolutely lunacy. Need me to prove why you haters are wrong? Just read Jonathan Willis’ write up from this morning. Taylor Hall scored his first goal of the season tonight, but I know I’m still going to read about how he sucks from a bunch of morons (respectfully of course) that don’t know what they’re talking about. 
  • Nuge’s backcheck to break up that Blues 2-on-0 breakaway was a thing of beauty. That’s the kind of heart and hustle that more of his teammates should be providing. 
  • To me Cam Talbot is what we hoped he would be when the Oilers traded for him. He didn’t have a great night by any means, but when you look at the chances the Blues were getting right in his kitchen, there’s no way you can pin this loss on him. He’ll tell you he needs to play better than he did tonight and I agree, but it’s not like he was getting a lot of help out there. Talbot finished the night with 25 saves and an .862 save%. 
  • Ryan Smyth was in the building. The Oilers probably could have used him. 

THE FACE PALMERS

  • As cool as it was seeing so many people wearing orange tonight I really hope they don’t start calling it the sea of orange or something tacky like that. We need to come up with a cooler name that can catch on if we’re going to get everyone wearing the same colour. 
  • It annoyed me that it took this long for Todd McLellan to get Griffin Reinhart back in the lineup. I know he wanted to get everyone some minutes, and I trust Todd McLellan as a coach, but let’s ice the best possible lineup, no? Reinhart > Ference, Davidson
  • That being said, the defense looked miserable when directly compared to the St. Louis Blues. That is a veteran team with veteran defenseman and they play a game that’s night and day in comparison to the Oilers. They were a train wreck tonight and until the defense improves it doesn’t matter how many hot shot forwards we get. 
  • Tough night for Nail Yakupov tonight. He was lost out there and couldn’t get much going. McLellan pulled him from McDavid’s line in the second period and I can’t say I blame him. 
  • The power play is an absolute garbage fire. The Oilers went 0/5 and produced as close to nothing as you possibly could without giving up a shorthanded goal. McLellan needs to fix this stat. 
  • Teddy Purcell makes so many soft plays that it’s almost amazing. Butter feels hard when this dude is around.
  • When does Eberle come back again?
  • How good is Tarasenko? This dude has an absolute rocket of a shot and he was left alone far too often tonight. He always seems to find the weak spots in coverage but the problem is that there are open spaces everywhere when it comes to the Oilers. 

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
01:36
EDM
Lauri Korpikoski (1) ASST: Teddy Purcell (1)
1 – 0 EDM
03:14
STL
Jori Lehtera (1) ASST: Troy Brouwer (2), Jaden Schwartz (3)
1 – 1 Tie
2ND PERIOD
16:01
STL
Vladimir Tarasenko (3) ASST: Jay Bouwmeester (2), Jori Lehtera (3)
2 – 1 STL
3RD PERIOD
04:20
STL
PPG – Paul Stastny (1) ASST: Alexander Steen (3), Alex Pietrangelo (3)
3 – 1 STL
06:37
EDM
Taylor Hall (1) ASST: NONE
3 – 2 STL
17:51
STL
Alexander Steen (2) ASST: Troy Brouwer (3), Paul Stastny (3)
4 – 2 STL

BEST OF THE TWEETS

Tweet your nonsense at @jsbmbaggedmilk and @OilersNation for your chance at landing in the best of the tweets. Talk to me Twitter.

HOPE WILL NEVER DIE


To celebrate the fact that hope is once again the burning candle it once was, we are proud to launch three new Hope Will Never Die designs to beautify your torso. Look at the the picture of Chris the Intern above and tell me that you wouldn’t look fantastic while wearing this sweater. You can’t do it, can you? You know just as well as I do that wearing this would make you look sexy af. *imagines*
As always, these new designs are now available on the NationGear store with a portion of all sales going to help support our friends at Earth Group. So not only will you be sexifying your life, you’ll be supporting a great cause at the same time. Makes sense, right? Quantities are limited so any lack of initiative in procuring these fine garments will surely result in heartache and disappointment for a life time.