Welcome to the McDavid show. Final Score: 5-2 Oilers 
Being 30 years old puts me at a weird age for the Battle of Alberta. I’m old enough to have heard tales of war from the 80s but that’s about as close as I got. For me, the Battle of Alberta meant watching not so good Oilers teams get shelled on the regular. That being said, there aren’t many teams that haven’t been able to run the show against the Oilers lately. That being said, having an 0-4 Oilers take on the 1-3 Flames wasn’t exactly pitting two juggernauts to battle. Unexpectedly, one team played like one.
Jeanshorts was down in Calgary for tonight’s game and he was texting me about how many Oilers jerseys were in the Saddledome. That’s a beautiful thing, man. Luckily for the Oilers fans behind enemy lines, the road team put on a show for them to cheer about. The Oilers had a solid start tonight and were able to maintain. They were prepared, and they looked like they were ready to play from the opening faceoff. The Oilers will need to find a way to generate that kind of start consistently. 
This was easily the best offensive game the Oilers have played all season. They were dangerous all night long, and the Flames really had no answer. Connor McDavid has his best game of his young career by registering two goals and an assist. You could see McDavid’s confidence grow as the night went on and he seemed to have the puck following him the entire game. I was thrilled to see him shine in a way that we all know he can. It was only a matter of time before he broke out, and it couldn’t have come on a better night.
Where the McDavid haters at?
We wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

  • For the second game in a row Nuge broke up an offensive rush by strapping on the rocket skates for the back check. That whole line (Hall-Nuge-Hendricks) had a solid night. They produced chances offensively, and kept things tight defensively. Nuge, in particular, was all over the ice and was rewarded with his second goal of the season in the first period.
  • Connor McDavid had a great night and that goes without saying. He looked so much more comfortable in the offensive zone. He scored his second goal with a beauty snipe off a nifty little pass from Nail Yakupov in the neutral zone. Nice recognition by Yak to just get the puck to Connor when he had speed. McDavid also had an assist on Yak’s goal, and scored a second goal in third period for his first multiple point of his career. I wonder how many McDavid haters will be in the comments section tonight? Four points in five games doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?
  • Taylor Hall was not to be outdone by his line mate and scored his second goal of the season on a nice second effort near the net. Taylor Hall is looking pretty good for someone that sucks at hockey. Where the Hall haters at? *DX crotch chop*
  • The first overall parade continued with Nail Yakupov scoring his first goal of the season on a beautiful tick tack toe play from McDavid and Pouliot. 
  • Cam Talbot had another great night. The fact that the Oilers have a starting goaltender they can trust back there is a luxury that is long overdue. Talbot finished the night with 22 saves and a .914 save%. 
  • All four first overall picks scored a goal tonight for the Oilers. That is an NHL record. 
  • The Oilers power play was much better. The puck movement was better, the shot counts were up, and they looked like they were actually on the same page for the first time this season. They finished the night 1/4 on the PP.
  • Big scrap in the first period as Luke Gazdic fed Deryk Engelland his lunch. Fight courtesy of HockeyFights.com.

THE FACE PALMERS

  • Paul Romaniuk said one of the funniest things I’ve heard in a while. During the first period he wondered if “the Oilers rebuild has even started?” With four first overall picks on the team I’d say yeah, Paul, it has. 
  • I thought it was funny that a small segment of Flames fans were booing Connor whenever he touched the puck. It made it that much sweeter when he sniped one in the second period. 
  • Jonas Hiller ruined what could have been an all world goal by Connor McDavid. Very very selfish. *spits*
  • Andrej Sekera got absolutely pyloned on the blue line on the second Flames goal. Talbot probably would have liked to stop that shot (it was deflected), but Sekera needs to be in better position than that. This has happened more than once with him and that’s certainly not what he got a $33 million contract to do. 
  • I know that despite Hall’s three point night there are going to be haters in the comments section.
  • I don’t know if it was just me but I was getting annoyed by the pro-Flames bias by Paul Romaniuk and Mike Johnson. It seems like they were banging the pro-Calgary drum all night long despite the fact that the Oilers were running the show. 

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
12:59
EDM
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2) Snap shot – ASST: Eric Gryba (1), Taylor Hall (1)
1 – 0 EDM
2ND PERIOD
05:07
CGY
David Jones (2) Tip-in – ASST: Dennis Wideman (4), Micheal Ferland (1)
1 – 1 Tie
16:31
EDM
Connor McDavid (2) Wrist shot – ASST: Nail Yakupov (2)
2 – 1 EDM
3RD PERIOD
00:25
EDM
Taylor Hall (2) Tip-in – ASST: Oscar Klefbom (1), Matt Hendricks (1)
3 – 1 EDM
02:59
EDM
Nail Yakupov (1) Wrist shot – ASST: Benoit Pouliot (2), Connor McDavid (1)
4 – 1 EDM
10:14
CGY
PPG – David Jones (3) Wrist shot – ASST: Dennis Wideman (5)
4 – 2 EDM
16:20
EDM
Connor McDavid (3) Wrist shot – ASST: Taylor Hall (2), Andrej Sekera (2)
5 – 2 EDM

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.

SEASON OPENER SHIRTS ARE RUNNING OUT

Who’s coming down for the Season Opener Party at @pintedmonton tonight? -bm #1AD
A photo posted by OilersNation (@officialoilersnation) on

Want a season opener party shirt but weren’t at the party? You’re in luck. We’ve counted, sorted, and organized everything we have left and thrown them up for sale on the NationGear store. Be warned, once these are gone they are never coming back so don’t wait to buy one if you want one. As always, a portion of the proceeds will go straight to Earth Group in an effort to help provide life essentials for needy folks around the world.