The first 10 minutes were fun. Final Score: 7-3 Blue Jackets
I don’t think that I’m breaking any news here when I say that one of the biggest (only?) reasons to watch the Oilers right now is Connor McDavid’s pursuit of a second straight Art Ross Trophy. With six games left on the season (counting tonight’s game), the captain was up by three points, but even so, #97 had to keep making moves to close out this win. We needed Connor to do Connor things again, and I wasn’t about to bet against him being able to do it. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long for the captain to get his 100th point of the year as the picked up an assist only minutes into the opening frame and added another two within minutes. McDavid had three points before the first was even half finished and it seemed like we should have all been in line for clear sailing. Unfortunately, that’s when the wheels fell off.
For as quickly as the Oilers were able to score three goals, they were equally as fast in allowing three against. As if coughing up a three-goal lead wasn’t bad enough, the Oilers weren’t able to figure out how to stop the bleeding and the Blue Jackets were able to capitalize on that ineffectiveness over and over again. I know that the boys weren’t getting much help in net but it’s not like they were helping out by playing anything that was even close to resembling responsible defence. The Oilers were a disaster in their own end and when you add in the unfortunate fact that they couldn’t get the saves needed to cover up their plentiful mistakes, then the result was the predictable long walk down the short path to a bad time. At the end of the day, the Oilers got the result they deserved, as they were outplayed, outworked, outscored, and forced to pay for their shoddy defending. Had it not been for the pursuit of McPoints, then this night would have probably been worthy of changing the channel.
At least we’ll always have those first 10 minutes.
Like chicken, we wrap.
THE BRIGHT SIDE
- I don’t care what anyone says or how bad the Oilers are doing at any given time, Connor McDavid is worth every single second that I’ve spent watching this hockey team. He picked up his 100th point on Nuge’s first period goal after making a perfect pass right onto his stick for a tap-in. Moments later, RNH returned the favour with a beautiful saucer pass that put Connor in alone where he made no mistake of finishing. Despite the horrible loss, it was a good night for the Art Ross chase as McDavid finished with another three points on the pile.
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins opened the scoring with his 22nd goal of the season, which was one of the easier goals he’ll ever score. As I said above, Connor set Nuge up with a tap-in and he made no mistake. Not to be outdone, RNH fed Connor with a filthy saucer pass that gave him a wide-open look that ended up in a goal. These two are magic together and I really hope that this is the combo that’s planned for the start of next season.
- Drake Caggiula scored on the power play! And I really mean it! Leon Draisaitl set the Drake up with a patented backhand pass and the Toothless One made no mistake of burying it for his 13th of the season.
- Shout out to Laurent Brossoit for stepping into the game in what mustn’t have been easy circumstances. With Montoya out due to illness, Brossoit has been backing up Talbot but it didn’t seem like he was ever going to play. To his credit, LB did his best with a tough situation and was mostly able to patch up the holes in the dam long enough to get through this thing with single digits still up on the scoreboard.
- The special teams were actually effective tonight, as the Oilers killed off all three penalties they took and scored once on three chances with the man advantage. Coincidentally, both special teams units were two of the few things that didn’t go wrong for once.
- I MISS YOU, LETESTU! Thank you for not scoring.
THE FACE PALMERS
- Thomas Vanek got the Blue Jackets on the board… well, kinda. He ends up with his name on the scoresheet because he was the last Blue Jacket to touch the puck before getting a lucky bounce into the net of Nugent-Hopkins’ chest. On the bright side, if there is one, Nuge is so hot that he’s scoring on all nets. Vanek added another one only four minutes later which completed the comeback with a third straight Blue Jackets goal. By the time he finished off his hat trick and gave the Blue Jackets six goals on the night, I had completely checked out aside from hoping for more McPoints.
- Less than a minute after Vanek’s lucky bounce goal, 46-year-old former Rookie of the Year, Artemi Panarin, added a second goal for the Jackets. Larsson lost Panarin in the slot just for a second but that was all the time he needed to get the job done. In fairness to Larsson, the shimmy-shake used by Panarin to ditch the defender was pretty impressive.
- Boone Jenner scored the fourth straight Columbus goal early in the second period as the Oilers continued to look lost in their own zone. I don’t know what was going on tonight but the Oilers looked like they were running with the swarm again.
- Cam Atkinson scored the fifth straight goal just as a CBJ power play was expiring, and if you listened carefully you could hear the last wheel fall off. Atkinson’s goal was the final nail in Talbot’s night, a result that seemed more and more likely as the game progressed.
- Markus Nutivaara scored Columbus’ seventh straight goal and… *farts loudly*
- The NHL site has the giveaways listed as 23-9 against Edmonton and I believe it. The Oilers coughed up the puck almost every time they touched it and it gave the Jackets all kinds of extra possession time, scoring chances, and resulting goals. Horrible puck management by the Oilers tonight.
- I don’t think I’m talking out of school when I say that Cam Talbot will want to have this one back, or maybe he’ll want to move on from it — whatever works. Allowing five goals on any night isn’t a great look, but when those five come off of 18 shots then you know the goaltender wasn’t good enough. Actually, I was almost surprised that McLellan waited for a fifth goal to give him the hook because it looked like something that was coming sooner or later. Dadbot finished the night with 13 saves and a 722 save%.
- The Oilers had another mediocre night in the faceoff circle, winning only 47% of the draws, which is a real bummer considering how well they were doing earlier in the year.
- Doing another #BeetCast at this point of the season is like adding salt to an open wound that won’t ever seem to heal. Up until Sunday night, I was having a really nice break from the red death known as beets but now I’ve had two cans after the last two games. As always, you can follow along and join in over on my Twitter and you should because I would love the company.
- Thoughts go out to linesman, Steve Barton, as he took a nasty spill in the first period after getting caught up with McDavid along the boards and falling straight onto his head. Barton had to be stretchered off the ice and transported to the hospital as a result of the collision, but the good news is that he was moving all of his extremities as of the last report.
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03:37 | Edmonton | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (22) ASST: Connor McDavid (61) | 0-1 |
| 06:06 | Edmonton | SHG – Connor McDavid (40) ASST: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (23), Matt Benning (15) | 0-2 |
| 10:08 | Edmonton | PPG – Drake Caggiula (13) ASST: Leon Draisaitl (44), Connor McDavid (62) | 0-3 |
| 12:39 | Columbus | Thomas Vanek (22) ASST: Ryan Murray (9), Boone Jenner (18) | 1-3 |
| 13:31 | Columbus | Artemi Panarin (26) ASST: Zach Werenski (20), Pierre-Luc Dubois (25) | 2-3 |
| 16:40 | Columbus | Thomas Vanek (23) ASST: David Savard (12), Alexander Wennberg (26) | 3-3 |
2ND PERIOD
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01:38 | Columbus | Boone Jenner (12) ASST: Thomas Vanek (30), Alexander Wennberg (27) | 4-3 |
| 06:24 | Columbus | Cam Atkinson (20) ASST: Pierre-Luc Dubois (26) | 5-3 |
| 15:02 | Columbus | Thomas Vanek (24) ASST: Boone Jenner (19), Ian Cole (15) | 6-3 |
3RD PERIOD
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:57 | Columbus | Markus Nutivaara (6) ASST: Artemi Panarin (45) | 7-3 |
#GOODCONTENT
@OilersNation McDavid has 40 goals. Just like prolific goalscorer William Karlsson…
It's been a weird year…
— Sean Maloughney (@SMaloughney) March 28, 2018
You may have a beet cast tonight. If we lose, you probably deserve it. :/
— Jesse (@A94Jesse) March 28, 2018
@jsbmbaggedmilk Well I'm hyped for the beetcast later, I'll see it live this time for once.
— Gurmanjit Sagoo (@GurmanjitSagoo) March 28, 2018
@OilersNation Well at least we know the McMVP appreciates the fans…..
— James Rothwell (@rothwell_james) March 28, 2018
If Connor McDavid doesn’t win the Hart then he can have this Conn Smythe trophy I made when I was 13. Pretty sure it’s still at my mom’s house pic.twitter.com/oF5bmOSPy8
— Ryan (@IAmByks) March 28, 2018
Talk to me, Twitter. Tweet at @OilersNation and @jsbmbaggedmilk for your chance to land in the Best of the Tweets.
NATION 10TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY
WHAT YOU GET:
The bag: Exclusive 10th Anniversary Party tee, commemorative Nation poster, Pint GC, Oodle Noodle GC, stickers, and a ticket to enter all of the night’s draws
The giveaways: Signed jerseys, golf passes, our box for the Edmonton Prospects, a weekend in Jasper, FREE Oodle Noodle for a year, a weekend staycation at Crash Hotel, and more.
Anything else: We’ll buy a Nation Beer for first 100 people to show up, have special guests stopping by, and a silent auction from our friends at Pro-Am to raise even more money for charity.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Where: The Pint Downtown
When: April 7th, starting at 6 pm with the hockey game starting at 8 pm
Why: To celebrate 10 years together and raise money for Hockey Helps the Homeless
How much: Tickets are $30 each with net proceeds going to Hockey Helps the Homeless
How: Tickets are available here.
Source: NHL, Official Game Page, 03/27/2018 – 10:00 pm MST
I’m alreadu over it. No point being mad
Good, maybe Bob Nicholson can hire a real GM who can hire a real coach.
You forgot a real bonifide #1 Goaltender!
Yeah that ain’t happening with Carl in charge.
what a shyt show !! “professional” hockey at it’s finest here!
The city and fans deserve McDavid but the management and Katz do not. Chia started out with a handful of aces and still flubbed it up.
Little fan poll: Trash if you want TM and assistants replaced before the start of next season. Cheers if you think they should be retained.
Do you want break the record for the most number of dislikes on a comment?
Nope, just curious. Maybe shouldn’t have done it after an ugly loss however that epitomizes the season. If I want the record I would poll who wants Woodcroft canned.
Why lump the assistants with the coach? I would fire the assistants and give McLellan another year. Even strength play is fine, it is the special teams that sucks and that is the responsibility of the assistant coaches.
Why have a head coach then? He’s still in charge and should have had new assistants brought in since his assistants are seemingly inept at their jobs, right? Why did it take him so long to play Nuge with Connor??? Why is Caggiula continually shown the love and put on the top 6 most nights instead of say JP? I could go on and on. Imagine if Connor had Nuge instead of the boat anchor for over half the season on the left wing. Lots of variables of course. If Quennville becomes available… then it’s a no brainer in my book. But what if this season repeats itself…
“Even strength play is fine”
Seven unanswered goals says that is a lie
Same for the GM: Trash if PC should be canned minutes after the season is officially over or cheers if he should be kept on.
Who cheers this??really what has he done to justify his existence with this hockey club?
Almost won the division last year and was one win away from the western conference finals. His first year Connor misses half the year. Can’t blame chia for that. 2nd year get taken out in 2nd round because refs don’t understand what goalie interference is and the ducks shut down Connor. 3rd year…. well I can’t really explain this year. And please please please don’t blame Lucic. Horrendous special teams killed them. Injuries to 2 key dmen and drai at the start of the year. How can you blame chia for all those factors. He’s not a magician.
Your right he’s not a magician…and I’ll add he’s not the guy for the job while I’m at it…he has lost the majority of trades since he’s been here…handcuffed the team with bad contracts…and gambled to start the season by banking on a bunch of unproven wingers to score goals and he didn’t shore up the blue line with a significant injury to sekera…trolls they be trolling
We’ll see next year. Fairweather oilersnation will have a lot of backtracking to do when this team is injury free, the pp is back to where it was last year and talbot is back in vezina form. I can’t wait to watch all you fairweather fans scrambling back on the bandwagon. ??
Aco the troll be trolling…. ??
One good thing Chia has done (as I have to be positive) is begin to shore up the farm. We have many more prospects than we did 4 years ago. Getting Maroon was also a positive. All GM’s screw up something. Just some more than others. I don’t believe Chia to be the worst of the Oilers problems.
Anyone see the stat that shows the oilers point percentage when connor doesn’t register a point? Without connor, the Oilers register a point 18% of the time which is 22 percentage points fewer than the Devils w/o Taylor Hall or Tampa without Nikita. That blame sits directly on Chiarelli
Nice to see our Captain in the triple digits again.
Based on their performance Drai and Lucic are grossly overpaid.
Drai is currently overpaid but I think he will make up for it in the next few seasons. He will be a heck of a player.
He just seems to take nights off and he looks disinterested…he is human I guess…unlike the captain
He looks tired, and this has been an issue with him I think in the past. He is young and will improve his cardio and work out routine’s as he gains experience. Or just do whatever the heck McDavid does.
Trade him for Doughty? Everyone talks about trading Nuge (no way) when I think Draisaitl would bring back far better value.
Team has been motivated to see Connor get 100 points. Moment he got it the team decided to step off the gas.
Well that could’ve gone better
I though we were playing well as of late. This game just shows how mentally weak this team is. Would it absolutely kill Todd M to call a timeout and regroup before things get totally out of hand. I wouldn’t have called a timeout the moment we went down 4-3. This is a young team with no experience. The “veterans” we do have aren’t doing much l, so the coach needs to do what he can to stop a game from getting this bad. I’ve seen the Oilers give up seven goals before. But seven straight? This one was real bad.
Todd made an interesting comment, he said D typically become NHL caliber after around 300 games. Nurse and Klefbom still learning and of course so is Bear.
McDavid deserves better than this. I am not even going to talk about what a disappointing season it has been, but at least go out with a little more dignity and fight. FFS!
I have a friend who nicknamed Lucic, Lurch, from the old TV series “the Munsters.” Google it if you have to. It kinda fits. Enough already. I get that he is delicate and needs to get his confidence next season. But he’s not doing anything! At all! I don’t care how many points he gets. Try hitting something. Get involved! You can’t do any of that then sit his ass down already in the press box, let’s try that!
Quasi, the hunchback of Rogers place
Quasi, the hunchback of Rogers place
Quasi wasn’t rolling in a Gucci suit though BRO
Fairweather oiler fans of Edmonton. You guys are the worst fans in the league. Guys have 1 down year and you guys tear them to shreds and give them degrading nicknames. And I get accused of being a troll… what a bunch of whiny, entitled spoiled brats you guys are. Have some class
jultz it’s seems all you do is whine, tell Milan to get a longer stick and stand up straight or his hunchback will only get worse with age
Lol. Add another fairweather fan to the list. Classic oilersnation. Nice original name by the way. Did you come up with that handle all by yourself? Or are you a teenage groupie? Probably president of the bagged milk fan club. Ahh to be a teenager again…. ??
He’s got a degenerative back condition you loser. He was able to overcome that and make the NHL. What have you done in your pathetic life?
ONE Down year………….How about 11 out of 12 years tool!
@corbs … if he does have a back condition sounds like he needs to go see Lupuls doctor and book a one way ticket to LTIR…consider it a house warming gift from Ol pistol pete to Mr katz..he can hand a copy of the contract in a bathroom in his Malibu mansion
One down year? Have you lived under a rock the past 12 years? We’ve had one GOOD year in the past 12 seasons lol.
Can you post a picture of yourself to confirm the type of tin foil hay wearing pimple bummed troll you appear to be? ON would appreciate this confirmation.
I think I’m going to start playing a drinking game… every time that loser Jultz post “classic Oilersnation “ or “fair weather fan” take a drink. Bet I’d be in the gutter after a couple articles!! Jultz = unoriginal Rainman of Oilersnation!!!
@ OldOilerFan, not defending Lucic. Just a couple points Lurch is from the Adam’s Family. And Lucic is “hitting something”. He is 4th in the league in hits.
@jultz. Lol Just an account to mock these hack bloggers, doesn’t change the fact Milan’s stick to small (haha) and his back looks to be hunched between this shoulders
@crabman, sorry you are right – Adam’s family. And noted about his 4th in the league in hits. Like some others I get a little frustrated sometimes he just disappears in a game. Not trying to make him a whipping boy like some idiot posters on ON whine continually about ….
Lurch was from “the Adams Family”
Well doesn’t that sum up the season. McDavid and a handful of players committed while the rest of them fail. We blame the coach and GM but how about the players? The “other” players need to give their heads a shake. Brutal just brutal.
You’re 100% correct. Responsibility definitely lies on the player to play 110% each night, learn from mistake and get better.
BUT this roster is loaded with 4th line players and tweeners. At some point, you realize they are doing about as much as they can do. Having Cags and A on the 2nd line is laughable. 3/4 is where they need to be. Part of that is on Lucic but beyond him, who else should be deemed a second liner? Nobody else on this team. Heck even Ty should theoretically not be on the first line. PC just hasn’t gotten better players in and the team that he created is showing they are what they are. A below average team.
Baggedmilk – Kucherov has only 1 game in hand in terms of team gp not player gp. So even better chance for McDavid to win the race. Like you said, that’s the only exciting reason left to watch Oilers
The good and the bad …..#97 on the ice for 7 of the 10 goals scored tonite.Glad he got his 3 points though. For a min., I taught he might be pulling a Gagner tonite. I guess that idea ended when the tire fire started in our end and Talbot pulled on the smoke mask.
BM,, are you smoking pot again? before tonights game, Kucherov and McDavid had the same amount of games left to play. Hint: you have to go by games played by the team, not the player.
Lol yep I guess! Fixed.
To the people that trashed me after Connors 5 point night when I said the scoring race is all that’s left to cheer for. GFY. It’s does mean something to him and us as fans.
G..ood
F..or
Y..ou
????
I believe GFY = Go %@*# Yourself
Thanks, we didn’t know that…..
It was Great to have Kassian back in the lineup, the Compete level, he plays a Big Heavy game.
Lucic on the other line, just a Great role model for the younger players, he is just Ooozing with Leadership too.
I thought those 2 players really set the pace for their 2 lines. We need Big Heavy players to compete with western conference teams like Columbus.
p.s.. Pete…(Columbus is in the east)
What a surprise. Kneedroptalbot doesn’t like oiler players and is whining again…..
and of course milkbag lets the troll run wild….
#kneedropJultz!
What the hell were you watching? He hasn’t hit anyone in 40 games.
Duhhh… He was being sarcastic!
This team can blow a 2 goal lead, a 3 goal lead, even a 4 goal lead, almost did a 5 goal lead against Calgary, and they can do it in short order. Tell me that’s not coaching? Tell me the worst PK in the History of the league is not coaching? Tell me a crappy PP is not coaching. What about playing Talbot for 5 goals when everyone can see he was sucking after 3. TMac has nothing worth keeping him around for.
agreed… All the same things were said in San Jose. And bloody hell, the fans don’t even know or care about hockey?
I read in January that Chia discussed making assistant coach changes with TMac and TMac said no. That probably sealed TMac’s fate given the terrible performance of the coaches and the team. TMac deserves to be fired with extreme prejudice.
Look, bad game. Every team has a bad game. The Oil have whipped good teams this year just as they where whooped tonight. This month has actually been very good. Bad game, move on to the next one.
Too many of those this year. Cost us the season, didn’t it? For whatever reason.
Bad game alright. I can’t wait until we’re past games like this. I mean, we completely checked out. Even when it was tied 3-3 you could tell the game was over. I cannot, absolutely cannot, wait until the entire coaching staff is fired!
Wait, Panarin is 46-years old?
Whats up with Nurse? Looked good for the first half but now since January he looks like a dumpster fire out there. Hopefully one day he learns how to throw a correct body check with his shoulders not push guys in the numbers with his lanky arms.
Wonder if the fans at Rogers appreciated that effort?
THAT was the truly sad part. Half the players on the team, including some good ones, looked like they just didn’t give a dam’!! Really appreciate you mailing it in, guys!
. 722 save% is laughable from a starting goalie. It is not like it is a one off. Talbot has left many a steamer in the crease this season.
Even the “Oiler Braintrust” should be able to see you can not let next season rest on Talbot’s knees.
I agree that Lucic has been bad this year but to make fun of a guy with degrading nicknames over a degenerative back issue is classless. Talk about his play all you want, talk about his effort all you want too, but he’s got a condition in his back that causes it to curve. That should be off limits. Or do you also go around making fun of handicapped people in the special Olympics? Sometimes it’s embarrassing to be an Oilers fan. That should be due to their play on the ice, not the classless losers posting on here.
Agree, well said. A percentage of commentators on here need to find their soother and maybe actually play sports to get it.
I think most people that were making fun didn’t know about his back issue. I think you’re just looking for a reason to be offended and feel like you’re better than everyone. No one is making fun of the athletes in the Special Olympics, they’re making fun of a guy with 1 goal since Christmas who makes 6 million dollars a year.
Making fun of his play is fine but making fun of him for having a health issue is bush league and shouldn’t be done. I never said I was better than everyone…but better than people making fun of a health issue, sure I am better than them.
Corbs… Lucy got a sweet deal from the Oilers, and is now on a “major coast” in his game play.Cant score, cant make or take a pass etc. Hasn’t laid a serious hit in 40 games. The guy is a fraud on skates. If he has a back problem ,then he he should retire from the game.