That was emotional. Final Score: 7-5 Oilers
Was anyone else nervous about how the Oilers were going to play on ceremony night? Before the game, Jason Gregor tweeted that the Oilers were 3-3-2 on nights with banner raising ceremonies and tonight’s ceremony happened to be a long one. As I was watching it, and listening to Glen Sather talk about being lucky, all I could think about was how I must have missed out on a hell of a ride. Being 30 years old I barely remember the fifth Stanley Cup win, and Gretzky was already gone by that point, so it’s hard to imagine the glory days. I remember getting ladder match bunged up in 2006 so I can only imagine what the 80s were like. To have all of those players on the same team was some kind of miracle.
With how this game started it seemed like the Oilers were getting plenty of that luck that Glen Sather was talking about in his speech. Putting three goals past Henrik Lundqvist is a wish at the best of times let alone putting three past him in one period. As far as head starts go this was about as good as you could get, for the Oilers. Unfortunately, the tricky part always seems to be hanging on to that lead. In the second period, the Rangers bounced back (like all good teams seem to do) and erased a two goal deficit to tie things up, all the while pushing for more. I might even suggest that the Oilers were lucky to take a tie game into the third period.
Speaking of the third period, I thought I was going to have a heart attack and die (pantsless) on my living room floor. That had to be the most exciting period of Oilers hockey that I’ve watching a long, long time. The Oilers rebounded from a mediocre second period, reclaiming their two goal lead only to give it up again. I’m not going to lie, when the Rangers tied things up for the second time I was half expecting the Oilers to find a way to lose this one. Giving up two two-goal leads in the same game and still winning? I’m not used to it. I guess the rebuild has us all feeling a little bit antsy.
Lastly, could there ever have been a better homage to Glen Sather than a game with twelve goals scored? Talk about a throwback to the time when the Oilers were putting up goals in droves. Great game. Great win.
We wrap.
THE BRIGHT SIDE
- Props to the Oilers for the Glen Sather tribute ceremony. I thought it was beautifully done, and his speech was heartfelt and well written. My only complaint is that creepy painting they gave him. I’m not sure who thought that thing was a good idea but it weirded me out.
- Lauri Korpikoski must read the weekly Report Card. He got hammered in this morning’s rankings and he responded with his first career hat trick. I admit that I down-voted him in the Report Card and, therefore, take some of the credit for his offensive outburst. Either way, this was a great night for the boy named Lauri.
- Teddy Purcell’s goal (his sixth) was a thing of beauty. Draisaitl’s cross ice pass to Taylor Hall shows the kind of vision that kid has, and it was perfect. From there, Hall threw a quick pass towards the middle and Purcell finished off the tick tack toe.
- Is it good when you register four points in a game? Taylor Hall keeps producing offense at a wizard like pace and is in the midst of a four game point streak… again. In that time, he has five goals and four assists.
- Another four point night (four assists) for Neon Leon. Draisaitl is quickly becoming Big Sexy 2.0 and I’m not even sorry about it. My apologies go out to Sheldon Souray as I imagine it would be painful to be replaced in sexiness.
- Darnell Nurse scored his second goal of the season on a quick wrister, coming in from the point. With the way Darryl is progressing I’m wondering if the Oilers haven’t already found their #1 D-man. It may not happen this year, or even next year, but Darnell Nurse is going to be a rock on that blue line for years to come.
- The Oilers went 1/3 on the power play.
- CONNOR MCDAVID WAS ON MY TEEVEE!
- My friends, we’re looking at a five game winning streak.
THE FACE PALMERS
- Despite putting One Direction as the lead image for the face palmers I do actually like a couple of their songs. I felt compelled to tell you guys. I have embarrassed my family, and I have embarrassed the Shaolin temple.
- I saw a lot of Ranger players running their mouth against Darnell Nurse but no one seemed willing to do anything about it. Darryl is a warlord. Our warlord.
- Why couldn’t the second period be as nice as the first period? In fact, the second period was the opposite of nice. The Rangers are rude houseguests.
- I like the way the Oilers completely forgot that Mats Zuccarello existed on his goal. How did the guy get so wide open? Shocking.
- I was hoping that Henrik Lundqvist had forgotten to play goal after letting in three goals on 15 shots in the first period. He almost had me fooled, in the second period. Seriously though, who would have expected the Oilers to chase Lundqvist tonight? I like to think it’s karma for when he laughed at the Oilers last season after shutting them out. Who’s laughing this time, Hank?
- Tonight wasn’t a great night for Anders Nilsson but he stopped enough pucks to get the win, and that’s all that matters. For all the times that Nilsson bailed the team out, in the past week, it was nice to see the skaters return the favour. Nilsson finished the night with 29 saves and an .853 save%.
- Oscar Klefbom got hurt tonight and had left the game to get X-rays. There wasn’t much of an update at the time of posting the Wrap Up.
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD | |||
---|---|---|---|
06:35 | EDM | PPG – Lauri Korpikoski (4) Wrist shot – ASST: Iiro Pakarinen (2), Mark Letestu (5) | 1 – 0 EDM |
12:16 | NYR | Mats Zuccarello (12) Wrist shot – ASST: Chris Kreider (9), Dylan McIlrath (1) | 1 – 1 Tie |
15:47 | EDM | Lauri Korpikoski (5) Wrist shot – ASST: Matt Hendricks (3), Justin Schultz (3) | 2 – 1 EDM |
16:57 | EDM | Teddy Purcell (6) Wrist shot – ASST: Taylor Hall (19), Leon Draisaitl (14) | 3 – 1 EDM |
2ND PERIOD | |||
00:53 | NYR | Chris Kreider (5) Backhand shot – ASST: Mats Zuccarello (12), Henrik Lundqvist (1) | 3 – 2 EDM |
08:44 | NYR | Derick Brassard (10) Wrist shot – ASST: Rick Nash (11), Marc Staal (9) | 3 – 3 Tie |
3RD PERIOD | |||
00:18 | EDM | Taylor Hall (13) Backhand shot – ASST: Teddy Purcell (12), Leon Draisaitl (15) | 4 – 3 EDM |
02:40 | EDM | Darnell Nurse (2) Snap shot – ASST: Taylor Hall (20), Leon Draisaitl (16) | 5 – 3 EDM |
06:28 | NYR | Derick Brassard (11) Wrist shot – ASST: Rick Nash (12), Keith Yandle (14) | 5 – 4 EDM |
18:14 | NYR | PPG – Rick Nash (9) Wrist shot – ASST: Dan Boyle (6), Ryan McDonagh (10) | 5 – 5 Tie |
18:26 | EDM | Taylor Hall (14) Snap shot – ASST: Leon Draisaitl (17), Teddy Purcell (13) | 6 – 5 EDM |
19:22 | EDM | EN – Lauri Korpikoski (6) Wrist shot – ASST: NONE | 7 – 5 EDM |
BEST OF THE TWEETS
Meanwhile….in the home of the @VanCanucks pic.twitter.com/zYSLcg3JnZ
— Scott Hood (@Hoodlum0404) December 12, 2015
@OilersNation “if you want to wear a skirt get an earring” – slats.
— Charlie Zulu (@Tuker79) December 12, 2015
Is this Oilers….
*checks temperature*
@OilersNation
— Greg (@greggers04) December 12, 2015
@OilersNation laugh now Henrik, LAUGH NOW!!!
— Ryan Lauder (@lauder16) December 12, 2015
I can’t be the only one secretly pretending the Sather patch is a playoff patch.. @OilersNation
— Adrian (@wolfe_adrian) December 12, 2015
@OilersNation these meaningful games in December are stressful.
— Nathan McLean (@nathanmclean0) December 12, 2015
@OilersNation i knew i should have put korpokoski in my hockey pool this week
— Scott (@sld87) December 12, 2015
Talk to me Twitter. Hit me up on Twitter at @jsbmbaggedmilk for your chance at ending up in the GDB Wrap Up.
THE NORTH X NORTHGRETZ PODCAST
Get caught up on anything you’ve missed as we roll into Episode 7, on Monday. As always you can follow North x NorthGretz on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and subscribe to the podcast on ITunes!
PREVIOUS EPISODES
- Episode 1 – Is This Thing On?
- Episode 2 – Where Are The Guests Bro?
- Episode 3 – Chip Wars 2015
- Episode 4 – Neon Leon
- Episode 5 – Ya Jinked It!
WHAT A NIGHT
5 in a row for the first time since 1987, with the whole top line injured and $13M sitting in the AHL.
playoff spot for the first time in a decade.
draisaitl’s PPG is now better than anyone not named patrick kane.
7 goals against one of the top goalies in HISTORY on a banner-raising night honouring the best dynasty in modern hockey.
korp first career hatty.
revenge on lundqvist for mocking the oil a year ago.
for the fist time since ’06 I have chills thinking about the future
GO OIL
Please come up with more positives. Please?
Never enough.
So this is what it feels like when doves cry.
Dig if you will a picture. Hall and Drai engaged in a rush…
Keep this going nation, sing along time.
Drai and Hall are lethal 2 on 1 !!
Korpikoski channeled his inner Kurri tonight! Drai and Hall right now… words cannot describe them. Straight fire!
F***in Rights!!!
I cannot imagine once McDavid and Yak come back. This offence is finally clicking and clearly able to overcome average goaltending like tonight. Lets keep this going!
Something is changing in Edmonton. I think I can finally smell it in the air. Draisaitl is for real. He is a tank, and paired with Hall, they can use muscle, quickness and sharp hockey sense to really control the play deep in the offensive zone. Their neutral zone speed and new found (seemingly out of thin air) forchecking prowess is tilting the ice toward the opponents end. Nurse and Klefbom are a real difference maker this year, also. It seems that with the new coaching staff, a few minor unheralded trades in the off-season and the emergence of a handful of hard-nosed, big, talented kids, this team will be able to turn this thing around for good. Good on Hall to climb up the leader board, and congrats Slats!
Glen Sather pioneered 5 Stanley Cups in 7 years, so it seems fitting his New York Rangers went down in defeat to the Oilers 5 goals, to 7. I think the hockey gods chuckled a little bit when they came up with that one.
Hey Lundqvist, how do you like us now?
Hey Rangers do you like this? Do you like this? ….WE LIKE THIS!!
Bring back the 80s!
Wow… The first game in a while where Nilsson wasn’t feeling it, and the team rewards him with 7 goals… Great to see.
PP is still awful but even strength goals are just as nice.
Was happy for Sather until they showed him on the game tying goal. When hall got the go ahead I flipped the bird and everyone in the pub, swearing at him looool.
Great win love it.
Sad to see kelfbom be hurt hopefully he comes back fast we can’t have him out for too long.
Congratulations to Slats for the banner raising!!
You are welcome to everything Edmonton has to offer on this special day!!
Well…. besides a win…
We are never going to lose again.
IS THERE A F[^KING PROBLEM WITH ONE DIRECTION BAGGEDMILK?! WHY ARE MY BABIES THE FACE PALMERS IMAGE?!?!
Yes, there is a problem
Got loud at Boston pizza and lovin it!!!
This all happened with our whole second like out. Can’t wait for McDavid and Yak to come back.
Hall-Drai-Teddy
JJ-Nuge-Ebs
Pou-McDavid-Yak
Korpi-Letestu-Hendo
Pakarinen/Lander
It’s going to be tough to say goodbye to JJ or Paks when they get sent down. Just dont have the room for them.
Pants are never a option within the household. What a win! I don’t care what they didn’t do well tonight, this is a feeling that is almost new!
Anyone else loving the new attitude of the Oilers?
Seriously they don’t back down from no one. NO ONE.
I like this comment because I firmly believe that attitude has everything to do with the Oilers this year.
In Todd I Trust
Family caused me to miss the first few minutes of the third. Before tuning back in I thought, what if this was like the 80’s and they turn things on in the 3rd and surge ahead… presto 5-3. They slipped a bit but again just like the 80’s they put it away. Maybe Sathers night is the charm that keeps this going.
Games sure are more fun when lots of goals are scored.
Speaking of which, that is now 20 goals scored during this 5 game win streak.
G’oilers!
Connor must be vibrating out of his skin to get back. I’m so happy right now. I haven’t been this happy for the oil six 06
Face Palmer: Teddy taking a god awful offensive zone penalty with a one goal lead with under 2 minutes left. Had a great game but omg was that penalty brutal.
True, but everybody has a plan till they get punched in the face. And the boys pulled one out for him.
So what happened to Nuge and Eberle? No points, -3 on the night each. Totally dominated by the Rangers. He will get older, but he won’t get any bigger. Time to trade the Nuge. Drai and McDavid have surpassed him.
We can keep all of them easily. Darnell is progessing super nicely, Oscar too. Justin isn’t great, but he’s an asset. Sekera is solid. Davidson is looking great. Our defence hasn’t looked better in 5 years, minimum.
I give a lot of the credit to Todd McLellan, he’s one of the best coaches in the league.
MacLellan is engineering a turnaround no one would have guessed two weeks ago.
But they were totally dominated tonight, and that’s too common. You should expect more from the team’s top-paid centre and a $6m winger.
What game were you watching? They weren’t dominated at all, they scored 7 goals!
Some Wall-Flies were quite sure a philosophical adjustment was in progress 6 games ago,clearly…lol…..because…”I get by with a little help from my Friends”…”I cant deny there was some help from my Friends”…lol.
Nuges line set the tone early and kept the pressure on in just the right places,very good night for them.
Nuge – Dre’- McDavidsky = Stanley Cup in 3yrs or less.
I try to ignore you, and I, unlike many here, love Ebs and Nuge. But it is not possible that you watch the game tonight.
Nuge and Ebs were terrible tonight. New York was taking tons of ice unchallenged while they were on the ice. They were the Oilers worst line tonight. Even the 4th line out played them.
I am pissed with them actually. I defend them at every turn, but with a lack of effort like they displayed tonight, it gets hard to defend them.
Having said that, lets see how they bounce back next game. I expect a dominant effort out of that line against Boston.
You werent watching the same game as I was , even though you are an arse generally and I try to ignore your redundant shallow observations,what the heck a little charity never hurt anyone so I will help you out here.
!st off no offense intended but you dont know Jack because you arent watching Jack….you are like the mark for a pickpocket in Paris,you are to caught up in the ever changing cocophany of dynamics every game brings,you want to see the big picture,you reserve TV time to see the big picture,you sometimes pay to see the big picture ,and you LOOK FOR the Big Picture…..its what 99% of people are doing….which is good because Hockey is Entertainment just like the internet is,but just because we are being entertained it doesnt mean there arent thousands and thousands of tiny machinations all seamlessly working together like the innards of a Clock to bring the finished product to the table.
If you cannot identify and quantify all of the System focuses or presentations BOTH Teams use and the CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENTIAL pattern they are meshed together in,you are in no positon to judge or evaluate ANY Oilers or Rangers lines,In fact all you can do is give us the Entertinment Tonight breakdown of what you saw on the ice externally. You can descide one-dimensional results,which we all see but which are EXTERNAL TO THE PROCESS AND AFTER THE FACT OF IT.
To simplify it for you like I did for Mac-L last night…..the Rangers were using 2012 LA Kings NHS Tactics,they adjusted many more times than is usual for any NHL Team and have shown us they are now pursuing a Possesion/Transition style,likely based off of Stolly,smart move IMHO,but they need some work,they could have lit the OIl up really badly but they were exposed in key-stone areas at sevral critical junctures.Mac-L stuck with his KISS presentation AGAIN for the 6th straight game.This is WHY HE WON THE GAME.He had actioned via a KISS process a consistant stable set of dynamics programmed into the Rangers heads and he let the skillset of his Roster bleed through using the 2-Minute Drill and win the game for him.
When you can tell me which line is leading the Rangers and when you can describe to me EVERY different Tactical Adjustment Nuges opposition line was actioning,well then we can chat.Then we wont need to chat because you will see all of the 7’s and 11’s Nuges opposition was trying to roll all game long…..Nuge and Ebbs KNOW the NHS tactics Stolly was rocking with….lol.Mac-L KNOWS the Kings System inside out and he KNOWS the Rangers have replicated it.Stoll should call me and make up,if he gives Moma2 a SC ring we call it even,and we “blend”,I have a lot of people I want to crush like he does.The enemy of my enemy is my friend.Poor Slats,his boys were SPANKED in a most unusual way , lol, they were toyed with like they were the Oil-Cats mousey….lol…and when the game got boring…CRUNCH WENT THE RANGERS SYSTEM BONES.
Nuge played poorly tonight, as did Ebs. It is not a matter of McDavid, and Drai surpassing him. They are just struggling right now, it happens. Wait until Nuge is playing at the top of his game, and Dr. Drai is fighting it, and then say stuff like that.
Anyone that goes cold is on the trade block around here. I say hold the team we have right now together as best and for as long as we can.
Size is not the issue, Nuge and Ebs did play soft tonight. Lots of big players, play small and lots of small players, play big, I just did not see a lot of determination out of either of them tonight, and that is the problem, not their size.
Nuge and unsung heros have been the BACKBONE of this streak and tonight Ebbs worked with him perfectly getting their jobs done.
LOL…Nuge isnt going anywhere….he will likely have a “C” on his chest when this team raises the Stanley Cup….there is to much offense on this team for anyone BUT a 2-Way Centerman who can swing games to bring balance via leadership or a stud D-Man but he has to be game changer .
Centre depth is totally over-rated. How would we ever get another first overall draft pick?
Among of the last dozen first overall picks, Nuge’s best offensive season is only about 8th (only Yak and two d-men have scored less). He is not an elite scorer.
*but centre depth! – do it in the off-season, and Chiarelli can add a veteran centre. The team will still have centre depth
*but he is a two-way centre! – yes, but you can add a bigger, two way centre to be ready for the playoffs next season.
*but I want him! – if you move him, you may get someone to over-pay for his potential, and the team is better.
I’m just looking at this from a cost-benefit perspective – what other team pays $6m for a third-line centre?
Great Game, but Nuge and Ebs do need to get it going, another poor night for that duo. I thought they were coming out of it, but a big setback for them tonight.
Come on boys, get er going.
We had a 5 game win streak in 2008. We tanked that season. This team is a joke. It angers me that the NHl will award this awful team with yet another #1 pick. What a joke. All 5 games they won by luck. all advanced stats suggested they sucked. Corsi/possesion/shot differential etc… JOKE The team will collapse soon, just like they did in 2008 after they won 5 in a row.
shut your stupid filthy mouth.
BYE BYE
Are you Eakins?
Who lit the fuse on your tampon?
I think the last time we had a 5 game win streak at home was 87-88. That year we won the cup!
Please do not use the term WE. You are not part of the “WE” with that statement.
Hey man, there’s this thing called beer, you should try it… When you drink so much you can’t use the Internet, that’s the right amount for you. Cheers!
meh, shut up douche .. u type because YOU are the JOKE ..
This fart smell bad!!
Yeah, i would rather take a good corsi and possesion rating over 10 points in the last 5 games and a spot in the playoff picture
Hey clown boy go back to your mommies basement. I always wondered if NDP clowns posted on sports sites and now
I know. When you say “we”you mean you and your boyfriend Hank?
I usually say “you could do better” in regards to trolls, but it is painfully obvious this is your maximum wit. Peak redneck wit. Sad what happens when conservative majority morons have 30 years of power and don’t put money into education.
Oilers! Streaking! In the hunt, in December!
The BIG difference from a year ago is that this team is far better coached. They know their jobs – their jobs have delivered success at home at least and that has given them confidence. They seem to be playing on their toes – not back on their heels.
As we saw on the roadie they are still fragile and we don’t know if they can handle adversity. The upcoming roadie will be interesting.
Right now they are just one point out of the playoffs (!!!) meaningful games in December and likely all the way to the trade deadline. 86 points is the current Mendoza line.
..
Brief and to the point. Props. Are you paying attention NAS?
Trade the mall!
Boy they really had me going at one point, but these boys look like a whole different team from last year (which isn’t entirely inaccurate I suppose)
I can’t wait until McYakapou comes back.. HERE COME THE OILERS!!!
How in the hell are we going to work our no.1 line (Mcdavid, Yak, Pou) back into the line up?
Good question, haha. They were our best line for a good few games there.
Easy, make them number two and push the under performers into the third line spot. Pretty straight forward.
It was a joke
When everyone is healthy (And Ebs and RNH pull their heads out of their asses), we may have the best forward group in the league, by a long shot. 3 1st lines.