Way to ruin our relaunch, Oilers. Pfft. Final Score: 4-1

Before we get started, can I take a minute to welcome you all to our new home here? Yeah, I get that there are still some bugs and tweaks that need to be worked out, but you have to admit that we’ve built a pretty sexy little home for ourselves, yeah? Picture shag carpet and velvet EVERYWHERE! After months of work behind the scenes, we were all pumped when it was finally time to enter the launch codes and release our newly chiseled abs upon the world. I know that big changes like this can be tough to navigate at times, so I want to thank you guys for your patience and understanding while we work through any issues that may arise.

As for the game itself, this was another one of those nights where the Oilers had to come away with two points. That said, it wasn’t going to be easy. The Islanders got roasted in Calgary on Sunday afternoon and you just knew that they were going to come out of the gates with a better effort than what they put forth against the heathens from down south. To start the game, the Islanders were clearly on a mission with the intent of preventing further Alberta embarrassment. After taking a lead into the first intermission, the Islanders got the start they wanted and the Oilers were going to have to lock it up and get it together if they were going to turn things around.

After trading goals in the second period, one in which the Oilers were knocked back on their heels in the latter half, the home side had plenty of work to do if they were going to dig themselves out of a hole and win the hockey game. Easier said than done. The Islanders have been near bulletproof this season when carrying a lead into the final frame and that meant Edmonton needed to keep their defence tight while also finding a way to beat Thomas Greiss. Unfortunately, neither of those things happened as the Oilers allowed another goal after a failed power play attempt and nothing they threw at the Islanders goaltender was good enough to get the job done. That’s not a great combination for success.

It’s not that they played a horrible hockey game, but tonight was a night of shooting blanks and missed opportunities for the Oilers.

For the first time in our new home – we wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

• Zack Kassian scored a big goal tonight after he tipped home a Matt Benning point show. Kassian parked his big carcass in front of the net, made no mistake on the hand-eye, and was rewarded with his 6th goal of the season.
• I was hoping that the relaunch would give me new ways to talk about how much I love Connor McDavid but it doesn’t seem to be working. Connor was the Oilers’ best forward tonight and you could tell how badly he wanted to win this hockey game.
• The EberNucic line produced chances all night tonight but they couldn’t cash anything in. Their line had all kinds of opportunities to score but was just one of those nights where nothing was beating Greiss.
• The Oilers had a great start to the 2nd period and if they had been able to maintain that pace then I might have been able to write a different article just now.
• Matt Hendricks has been throwing some big hits in the last couple games. The ol’ boy clearly doesn’t care about the effects of osteoporosis. Champion.
• The Oilers were 56% in the faceoff circle. Sweet victory! But they lost? Dammit!
• We won the Corsi!

THE FACE PALMERS

• Josh Ho-Sang scored his first NHL goal against the Edmonton Oilers. Suprised? No me neither. The more surprising part about the goal is why the Oilers’ penalty kill can’t stop anyone anymore.
• The Oilers got caught watching on Anders Lee’s second period goal. To make matters worse, it was one of those goals were Edmonton got robbed at one end and the Islanders walked it down and scored the other way. Lame. Lee scored another goal in the empty net to close things out.
• Edmonton got some pressure on a third period power play but failed to capitalize on the chance. Basically as soon as that PP chance ended, Andrew Ladd extended the lead to 3-1 and gave another prime example of how this night went for the Oilers.
• The NHL had the Oilers saddled with 17 giveaways (eight for the Islanders) and I swear that even that was low. Terrible puck management tonight.
• Special teams disaster tonight as they lost on both to New York. The Oilers finished the night alowing a goal on the only PK attempt and striking out on both PP chances. To be fair, the second power play opportunity produced plenty of chances.
• The Islanders blocked so many shots that you’d think Kris Russell had switched teams or something. *rimshot*
• I’m not a big +/- guy but there were a lot of minuses on the Oilers’ ledger for tonight.
• Talbot got beat cleanly a few times tonight, but I wouldn’t say that he had much of a chance to make a save on any of them. If anything, Greiss played so well that it amplified a meh night for Talbot. Dadbot finished the night with 23 saves and a .885 save%.
• The ice at Rogers Place was brutal tonight. The puck was bouncing all over the place, guys were missing passes, and I mean that for both sides. OEG has to figure that one out.
• At least losing to the Islanders means that the Leafs fell out of a playoff spot?

SCORING SUMMARY

BEST OF THE TWEETS

@jsbmbaggedmilk "You know, I'd always dismissed Schitt's Creek when they plug it in HNIC, but it's actually pretty funny!"

— Rhys Albrecht (@rhysalbrecht) March 8, 2017

@OilersNation well there is face palm number 1 tonight #Oilers being generous again gave Ho-Sang his first career goal ever

— Nicky Mitch (@NickyMitch93) March 8, 2017

Oilers don't seem to be passing to anyone in particular. This could be a problem as the game goes on.

— Rob Tychkowski (@Sun_Tychkowski) March 8, 2017

@OilersNation The thing that's going to make this worse is when they take away Kassian's goal on a really delayed coach's offside challenge

— David Smitten (@DavidSmitten) March 8, 2017

@JasonGregor got everything wrong tonight. Time to find a new gypsy to go with that fancy new website @OilersNation
Cc: @WanyeGretz

— Camper Dave 🏕 (@TheCamperDave) March 8, 2017

Talk to me, Twitter. Tweet at @OilersNation and @jsbmbaggedmilk for your chance to land in the Best of the Tweets.

THE NATION/APOLLO COLLAB 2.0

You’ve waited long enough, Nation. We are happy to introduce the 2017 @officialoilersnation X @apollo_originals collaboration. We’ve got a new hat, a fresh tee, and a slick new hoodie coming at you to beautify your torso. All of the designs are up at www.NationGear.ca so keep finding pennies and raiding the couch for change because these babies are going to sell out again and once they’re gone they’re gone.