You needed that one, gentlemen. Final Score: 3-2 Coyotes
Looking at the schedule leading up to the All-Star break, the Oilers have some winnable games ahead of them that they can hopefully build upon as they continue their quest to get back into the playoffs. The first step was to beat the Coyotes. When these teams last met, Mikko Koskinen gave his team some stellar goaltending and the big boys on the first line put up three goals, finally snapping the six-game losing streak that was a miserable end to an up-and-down month of December. It may not have been the perfect win that hockey scholars will study for years to come, but the boys did what needed to be done to walk away with two points. They needed another one like that. Even though the Oilers squeaked out the victory against the Panthers on Thursday, it wasn’t exactly the prettiest close you’ll ever see and I was hoping for something a little bit more comfortable tonight against the Coyotes. I was hoping for a little more breathing room. Maybe something like a casual three-goal victory kind of night, ya know?
So when the Oilers opened the scoring midway through the first period on a nice little play from Ty Rattie and Connor McDavid, I felt like my dreams of a Saturday night spent enjoying an Oilers win were about to come true. I thought that we were off to the races. But the Coyotes wouldn’t go away. Instead of folding as a result of the early McGoal, the Coyotes kept pushing forward. Despite the injuries, their dogged determination and effort were noticeable all night long and it was that resilience that ended up being what they needed to overcome the losses in personnel. In other words, they made their own luck. And yeah, the optimist could say that two of the goals that beat Talbot came from lucky bounces, but the bigger point is that the Coyotes were willing to get greasy and do what was needed to earn their opportunities. Rather than handling a depleted opponent, this thing turned into a disaster for the Oilers as they get shutout in the standings and lose a game that they desperately needed.
At the end of the day, the Coyotes simply outworked the home side, got some lucky bounced as a result, and ended up with a win that they deserved. Frankly, I’m not sure that there’s enough Axe Body Spray on earth to cover up the stink from this one.
The wrap.
THE BRIGHT SIDE
- Connor McDavid was his usual ‘destroyer of worlds’ self tonight and it was fun to watch him put on a clinic against the Coyotes defenders with his ability to generate speed with the puck. The captain opened the scoring for the Oilers after Ty Rattie flipped saucered a pass towards where he was going and Connor was able to catch up to it in the Coyotes zone before burying it past Kuemper.
- After a tough giveaway that led to the Jordan Oesterle’s game-tying goal, Kris Russell redeemed himself with a huge goal late in the second period that evened things up at two after he picked up a centring feed from RNH and draining it with Kuemper out of position.
- Thursday night’s game against the Panthers wasn’t the prettiest start Cam Talbot will ever have, but he found a way to outduel James Reimer at the other end and close out a win for his team. It was an up and down game and, to his credit, Talbot managed to make enough saves to get the two points. Talbot didn’t get that same luck tonight. While I wouldn’t hang this loss on him, the entire team looked disengaged for most of the night, I’m not going to pretend like 26 saves on 29 shots and a .897 save% is a good thing either. Tough luck leads to a tough start. I’m guessing Koskinen will be back in against Buffalo.
- It was another big minute night for Darnell Nurse as the defender put up a whopping 27:58 on the ice to go along with four shots on net, three hits, one block, and an even +/- rating. Very nice night for Darryl. It will be nice when Klefbom is back and came spread out of the responsibilities, but Nurse had another fine outing of filling in tonight.
- Shout out to Ty Rattie for making the most of his opportunity to play alongside Connor McDavid after being a healthy scratch on Thursday night against Florida. I thought Rattie looked good back up in the spot that was once his during the Todd McLellan era, and he was rewarded with a nice assist on Connor McDavid’s first period marker.
- Ilya Lyubuskin is a fun name to say.
THE FACE PALMERS
- Getting outshot and outworked by a team that’s missing seven of their regulars is absolutely embarrassing. Shocking effort at home. This marks the 14th time in their last 15 games that the Oilers have been outshot.
- Are you surprised that former Oiler Jordan Oesterle was the one to open the scoring for the Arizona Coyotes? You’re not, are you? The whole play started after a brutal giveaway by Kris Russell behind the net that led to the Coyotes maintaining zone control and the eventual goal by Oesterle from the point.
- Conor Garland gave the Coyotes the lead in the worst possible way. Garland got knocked down in the crease by Adam Larsson and, as he was getting up, the incoming puck hit him the face before bouncing into the net. That’ll be one of the toughest goals he’ll ever score. Yikes. After getting 10 stitches as a result of the using his face as deflecting device, Conor Garland came back in the third period with another power play goal after he drove to the net and had the puck bounce off of his skate and into the net. How about a night when the kid gets two goals without actually shooting the puck?
- Arizona went 2/2 on the penalty kill tonight and it’s tough to win like that. I know that Garland scored both goals with lucky bounces but still…
- The NHL site had the giveaways listed at 18-8 for the Oilers and I believe it. They were turning the puck over like giving it away is literally the point of the game.
- Tobias Rieder may never score again. I never would have seen this coming.
- Did Brandon Manning play tonight? No, no he did not. Chia’s on it. Somehow this guy gets to keep his job and that is shocking.
- They needed to win that hockey game. Gross. As always, you can join in on the #BeetCast conversation over on my Twitter account.
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06:46 | Edmonton | Connor McDavid (27) ASST: Ty Rattie (6) | 0-1 |
2ND PERIOD
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01:16 | Arizona | Jordan Oesterle (3) ASST: Lawson Crouse (4), Mario Kempe (2) | 1-1 |
| 03:08 | Arizona | PPG – Conor Garland (7) ASST: Jordan Oesterle (7), Alex Galchenyuk (16) | 2-1 |
| 17:00 | Edmonton | Kris Russell (2) ASST: Zack Kassian (4), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (26) | 2-2 |
3RD PERIOD
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01:54 | Arizona | PPG – Conor Garland (8) ASST: Clayton Keller (22), Alex Galchenyuk (17) | 3-2 |
#GOOD CONTENT
What did we do to deserve Connor McDavid
— Adam (@OilersAdam) January 13, 2019
I wish we scored off our faces
— Wanye (@WanyeGretz) January 13, 2019
ERRYDAY WE RUSSELLIN
— Tim (@Timmah780) January 13, 2019
Nugent-Hopkins, playing on a line with Kassian and Lucic, sets up Kris Russell for the tying goal.
— Rob Tychkowski (@Rob_Tychkowski) January 13, 2019
At least the #Oilers are losing in the most creative ways.
— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) January 13, 2019
Beet-free for [ 0 ] game(s).@jsbmbaggedmilk
— Anthony Flynn (@anthonyjflynn) January 13, 2019
Talk to me, Twitter. Tweet at @OilersNation and @jsbmbaggedmilk for your chance to land in the Best of the Tweets.
OILERSNATION RADIO
This week, things get heated when we start going through Peter Chiarelli’s handiwork and the refs blatant disregard for player safety, but then cooler heads prevail when we break down Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ 500 games with the Oilers and Milan Lucic finally breaking his slump.
Source: NHL, Official Game Page, 1/12/2019 – 11:00 pm MST
Oil could be in a real pickle if we lose to yotes in OT tonight, i almost hope but highly unlikely it happens cause we got a deep, heart and soul team, and Van wins too.
I’m pretty sure Cagguila and Strome have more goals combined than our entire bottom 6. I used to do the math to confirm but as Chia would say “math is hard, go with the gut.”
Problem with the forward group is that after the top 3-4 is they have no identity. It’s not just that they don’t score. They aren’t tough, they aren’t fast, they aren’t skilled, they aren’t gritty, they aren’t defensive specialists, they aren’t positionally strong.
Worst part is I don’t see the group underperforming. Some of the younger guys will figure it out in a year or 2. Some won’t. Some of the veterans would be able to perform better in a different system, but for the most part there’s half a dozen that probably don’t play in the NHL for another team.
There just doesn’t seem to be a plan with the forward group. Lucic’s game gave caved over a year ago. Seems like the plan was to cross PC’s fingers and hope he got it back, just like with Sekera.
I hear you on the ‘no identity’ comment. It’s sort of a mixed bag of players, some of which are more suited for the AHL. Although I think the forwards are taking the blame for the lack of scoring depth when its not really their fault. I reckon defense is like the foundation of a team and this defense has a serious lack of skill. You can’t build a team game on top of such a weak defense. It also doesn’t help that there is no real 3rd line center. With a healthy defense and a legit 3rd line center I think the scoring depth would emerge.
Pete’s moves this season have really dug the screws into the coffin. The Spooner deal in hindsight has not worked out. Strome right now would be many times more useful. The Manning deal was awful from the start. I can’t get over Chia going after Manning of all players. The guy that injured McDavid and admitted to doing it on purpose. The angriest I have ever seen McDavid was after that Manning b.s. and Chia decides he wants to bring that guy to the team. I swear a random guy on the street would do a better job than Chia.
the fluff you fans were fed following their lucky year 2 years ago has to increase the sense of hopelessness, embarrassment and despair you feel over this “team”. Quit buying that orange koolaid and join JG and crew and start drinking purple gatorade.
No life hey stickhandler? Lol spent your Saturday night on here and Sunday morning still at it lol No life stickhandler.
Cheer up guys, we are not that far from having a contender. 6 forwards and a Dman and oh ya a GM.
And a goalie.
Should be able to git ‘er done in oh….. about 2027 or so. If not, the usual suspects will always have a fresh list of excuses to trot out.
You forgot goalie
Sorry I had just woke up.
Chant with me:
Free
Mac-daaa-vid
Clap clap. Clap clap clap
Imagine if he was in ANY other team. He’d have a cup already.
Well. Time for the next rebuild. Is it count on how many that is. What is clear is that this is a lottery team again.
Chia is the worst GM in the NHL.
*I lost count
He used to be neck and neck with Bergevin, but now he sits alone in last place
F’n LOSERS!
Couple of thoughts……
Luck? What is luck?
I’ll tell you. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. In this case, the preparation was hard work;… on the part of the Coyotes… the opportunity was the sloppy, lousy, disinterested play of the Oilers.
The Oil also lack roster talent. It is not just disinterest. The Oil are just not good enough.
Talent and effort are not the only Ingredients in success. You have to believe.
Also it’s the blender that is always on full tilt that would make chemistry difficult.
I get tired of people complaining that other teams get all the luck. How many Draft Lotteries did the Oil win? Talk about luck. The two ‘lucky’ goals last night consist of a forward going to the net, yes, the puck bounced off him twice and into the net, but both goals he was pretty much in the paint. Sometimes you create your own luck. And…for the record the off the face goal likely was going in without the facial deflection.
This team and organization is FAR away from making the playoffs. Connor will need to move in order to play in playoffs again.
Heavy sigh; I’m not renewing my season tickets.
Sure, you say that now…
Like you pawning your memorabilia?
… Drama queen.
I will never let you forget that BTW.
Pawn? No, I actually just donated it to the local thrift shop. I just kept my Blue #97 Jersey truth be told.
F’n LOSERS!
So you don’t want your Oilers swag anymore, but you still post here. I call BS. Drama queen.
Drama Queen -lol
As another poster aptly said, “The Oilers are built to play in the Pacific like the Titanic was built to sail the Atlantic.”
1/3 of an NHL team 2/3 of an AHL team is what the Oilers are.
id say more 025 to 075 ahl calibre
18% chance of a layoff appearance as of today.
I’d say 18% NHL roster and 82% AHL roster (at best).
The team isn’t losing because of coaching and it’s not losing because of goaltending, its the lack of talent in the bottom 2/3s of the team. Most of this team just simply can’t get it done due to talent issues. And its not there fault there not that good they are what they are. The problem is management, that’s who brought them in and that’s where the problem lies. Until that OMG changes, this team will never be a team that can win.
I’m still waiting for the results of the Forensic Audit.
Any day now…
I think Chia stole the Forensic audit and burned it.
Bottom line is that the only way the Oilers win is to work as hard as the Coyotes did last night. And that doesn’t happen enough.
Hitchcock is a great coach and we are lucky to have him. Their isn’t a coach in the league that could turn this bunch into a playoff team. And i’m pretty sure Hitch would say it too but Katz would fire him if he actually came out and said it. I believe he wont sign on next year anyway because this team is screwed up at the management level. PC did this with the blessing of the other idiots running the team, and we know who they are.
I’ll never complain about going to the rink with my kids … but man … I kinda wish I would have promised to take them to the water park today instead of the Skills competition.
Hey Randaman how much dough did you drop on this team last night…. is it still worth it?
Zero!
How many oiler player’s would you offer a job to in your place of work?
Some of the toilets could use some attention by a qualified cleaning staff. Almost like somebody has been eating beats for months on end…
I can’t believe I just read both he Sun and the Journal and nobody is whining about the Ref’s picking on McDavid. A refreshing change, when can we as Oiler fans just accept that other teams out work us and earn their pay cheques. Connor certainly earns his but after that the picking are slim.
Mcd got away with two high sticks last night. In balance he probably evened out.
Chia can’t take all the blame. Most of it but not all of it. How are our Pro-Scouts still employed? Swing and a miss on practically every trade in the past few years it’s obvious that they’re not providing adequate insight. (just found out 1 of them is Messier’s brother…. It’s all starting to make sense now)
I agree. I laugh when people complain about the Oilers missing out on drafting Barzal and people point out Oilers were not going to draft him there anyways…nice work scouting team!!!
how the hell does rattie get a glowing review? his assist on connors goal was a fluke and he ended the game on the bench.. i feel like the old guy on zoolander
before players … we need a major shake down at the senior management level …. not dissimilar to what the Leafs did a few years back … until then, same old, same old.
Chiarelli fired yet? No!?!? Okay I’ll check in again in a couple days…
Well, what do you expect from a roster that’s this top heavy?
Pc is crazy. Get Yzerman or red wings GM. Fix it. Still got 97 29 93.
We need a GM with the same vision as Hitch. I know little , but I trust this coach. Speaking of vision Chia ? I have a vision , of you leaving town never to be heard from again in the NHL World.
Hitch is a throwback. We are the only team left that would hire him. He’s got the fundamentals down better than tmc and tactically he is far better but he’s yesterday’s man.
A Big win for Arizona, now only 2 points behind the Oilers with a game in hand.
F$%k the Lames and their lucky BS season, don’t worry you will come back to reality. I’d be crying too if I had to rely on a kid named Jenny and a 50 year old Dman! Lolololo!!
Lol! Yea, except ‘Jenny’ has the same number of points as Captain ‘OverPaid’ McDavid and gets paid half as much! And that 50 year old defenceman, well he is only 3rd in scoring from defencemen, has nearly twice as many points as the best Oilers DMan, and he happens to lead the league in +/-, so he must be able to play the D thing pretty decently too. On top of all that he epitomizes what a Captain is. He has 1000% the leadership that Connor has shown this year. The Oilers have $21M tied up with Leon and Connor. For $21M the Flames have ‘Jenny’, Monahan, Lindholm, and Giordano. Don’t get me wrong, I hate the Flames as much as the next guy, but want to see how to right the ship here, look at the blueprint down south for starters!
The Flames are having a good year, no doubt about it. Talk to me when they win a round. Jenny will fold faster than superman on laundry day (again) in the playoffs.
I’m assuming ‘Jenny’ is meant to infer Johnny is only as good as a female athlete. God forbid you fellas have daughters. My daughter ‘Jenny’ is a pretty phenomenal athlete.
I hope she’s tougher than Jenny Hockey.
There has been much discussion of luck on this site of late. The flames are an excellent, balanced (and well-coached team) with significant depth. When opportunity comes their way they are able to capitalize.
The oil are pretty much the opposite.
The old dman is exactly what the oil need…
I really don’t want to add insult to injury , but didn’t we give up a 2nd round draft pick because the Oilers hired Chia ? yeah , I bet most of us forgot. This just ticks me off even more. Bruins are still laughing I am sure.
Can you believe that ? a second for this inept GM. Ok I need to go for a walk.
Oilers need a disciplinarian coach. Angry Hitch will do, Torts, or Iron Mike.
I don’t understand what appears to be a lack of heart and soul. Isn’t that what Looch, JJ Khaira, Kass, Brodz, and Russell (even Nurse) are supposed to bring?
Suddenly it’s the 1990s all over again…