They couldn’t see puck cross the line… THEY COULDN’T SEE THE PUCK CROSS THE LINE! Final Score: 3-2 Kings.
After getting pumped for seven goals against the Capitals I was curious to see how the Oilers would rebound against another tough, albeit a struggling by their own standards, LA Kings team. The Oilers have been a much improved defensive team over last year’s version (admittedly that’s a low bar) but there are still too many mistakes being made, far too frequently. If the Oilers came out tonight like they did against the Capitals then it was going to be another long night for the home side. 
Though the Oilers weren’t giving up as many chances as they did against the Capitals they did struggle to generate offense. The Kings were often able to suffocate the Oilers in their own zone and kept the majority of the Oil’s shots to the outside. As a result, the Oilers struggled to produce high quality chances and Jonathan Quick had an easier night than I would have hoped. While the Oilers did get 28 shots on net, how many of them came from just inside the blue line? To compound the issue, the Oilers lost Justin Schultz in the second period and the defensive corps didn’t cope well with the loss. 
At the end of the day the Kings limited the Oilers chances, were able to capitalize on their own, and maintained their lead throughout the night. The Kings played a heavy brand of hockey, got some luck on the winning goal, and didn’t give the Oilers many chances to produce offense. It’s not as though the Oilers played poorly tonight, but they were outclassed by a very good hockey team. It was close though, as Connor McDavid put the puck in the net with a few seconds left only to have it called back because you couldn’t see the puck cross the line. 
We wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

  • Once again the Pouliot-McDavid-Yakupov line was dangerous all night. These three seem to know where each other will be on the ice and it’s paying off on the scoresheet. 
  • Nail Yakupov and Connor McDavid both extended their point streaks furthering their bromance and chances of world domination. 
  • The Oilers desperately needed a goal when Taylor Hall scored his third of the season on the power play on a redirect from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. 
  • The power play has significantly improved since McLellan split up Nuge and McDavid. The Oilers will need to have a deadly power play if they’re going to keep improving and climbing up the standings. 
  • Cam Talbot has the starters job to lose, and he earned his minutes again tonight. Aside from the Jeff Carter goal, Talbot was solid and kept the Oilers in it and gave them a chance to win. Talbot finished with 31 saves and a .912 save%. Personally, I see Talbot pulling away with the starting job over Anders Nilsson. Anyone disagree?
  • Another point for ConYak means another quiet, lonely, night for the haters.
  • Great tilt by Luke Gazdic and Kyle Clifford in the first period. Courtesy of HockeyFights.com 

THE FACE PALMERS

  • It was a sloppy first period for the Oilers as they couldn’t seem to get settled defensively. Fortunately for the home side the Kings weren’t able to capitalize apart from the flukey goal by Jeff Carter.
  • Brutal turnover by Eric Gryba at their own blueline which allowed Anze Kopitar to walk in and roof his third goal of the season. Those are the mistakes that have been sinking the Oilers this season, and will need to be eliminated going forward. Gryba has been better than he was on this play, and he would admit that. 
  • The Oilers were struggling to get anything going offensively throughout the first half of the game. The Kings were able to collapse around the net and keep the Oilers mostly to the outside for big chunks of the night. 
  • How bad is the Oilers defense when losing Justin Schultz to illness meant that no one else seemed to be able to pass the puck out of the zone? Peter Chiarelli had to be looking at this disaster and hoping Darnell Nurse’s development plan doesn’t take TOO long. 
  • Lauri Korpikoski took what turned out to be a very costly penalty with less than five minutes left and it ended up costing the Oilers points in the standings as they couldn’t kill it off.
  • Please don’t let Jultz be out long enough to think that recalling Nikita Nikitin would be a good idea. 
  • THE PUCK WAS IN! Stupid NHL video review. Put a chip in the puck or something. 

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
04:42
EDM
Benoit Pouliot (2) Wrist shot – ASST: Connor McDavid (4), Nail Yakupov (6)
1 – 0 EDM
06:04
LAK
Jeff Carter (3) Wrist shot – ASST: Milan Lucic (4), Drew Doughty (3)
1 – 1 Tie
2ND PERIOD
13:36
LAK
Anze Kopitar (3) Wrist shot – ASST: Kyle Clifford (1), Jordan Nolan (1)
2 – 1 LAK
3RD PERIOD
13:56
EDM
PPG – Taylor Hall (3) Tip-in – ASST: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2), Oscar Klefbom (2)
2 – 2 Tie
16:34
LAK
PPG – Tanner Pearson (1) Wrist shot – ASST: Jake Muzzin (1), Drew Doughty (4)
3 – 2 LAK

BEST OF THE TWEETS

Where you at Twitter? Hit me up at @jsbmbaggedmilk and @OilersNation for your chance at Internet glory in the GDB Wrap Up.

WE’RE NOT WORTHY

It was a night to remember last night. NEVER FORGET IT by buying one of our amazing new shirts! gear.thenationnetwork.com
A video posted by OilersNation (@officialoilersnation) on

As the season rolls on I’m still not sure I believe what my eyes are telling me when it comes to Connor McDavid. This kid (he’s 18 years old just in case you need a reminder) is doing things with the puck, at full speed, that most NHLers wouldn’t even try in the shootout. His skills are unparalleled and we, as a Nation, feel unworthy of seeing them on a nightly basis. We’re not saying we’re not worthy of having Connor McDavid be an Oiler. We’re saying that he is so good at hockey we’re almost unworthy of just being in his presence. 
As always, this fresh new design is available on the NationGear store with a portion of all proceeds going to our friends at Earth Group in an effort to help provide life essentials to needy folks around the world.