THE BRIGHT SIDE
- WE’RE 4-0 IN THE BEN STELTER ERA!
- Oilers just won their ninth straight home game.
- @Zach Hyman got the Oilers on the board (1-0) after the Blues turned the puck over near their blue line and the Oilers’ forward group turned it around in a hurry with a beautiful passing play. All of a sudden, the puck went from Draisaitl to Yamamoto to Hyman and in the back of the net for his 23rd goal of the season. Just over three minutes later, Hyman added a second goal (2-1) to restore the lead after he stole the puck behind the Blues’ net, walked it out front, and ripped a shot over Binnington.
- Midway through the first period, @Evander Kane extended the lead (3-1) with a shorthanded goal after the Blues absolutely fumbled the puck in their own zone, allowing him to steal it and fire a backhander through Binnington’s legs. The Evander Kane heater continues as he finished the night with three points.
- Somehow still in the first period, @Connor McDavid chased the goaltender with a fourth goal in the period (4-1) after he picked up a Kane rebound near the crease and slipped it through the goalie’s legs with a quick bang-bang reaction play. McDavid wasn’t done there, though, as he wrapped the game up in OT (6-5) with a perfect deflection on Draisaitl’s centering pass that he was just barely able to get past Husso. It was the little dose of luck that we desperately needed to get this thing done.
- Right when things looked like they were slipping away, @Darnell Nurse restored the Oilers’ two-goal lead (5-3) after he charged towards the net, picked up the rebound on Kane’s shot, and flipped it up and over Husso.
- With two assists on the night, @Kailer Yamamoto has now registered 15 points in his last 12 games.
- How about a quiet two-point night for @Cody Ceci?
- Gotta give some love to the PK for killing off all three of St. Louis’ chances with the man advantage.
- If you’re a fan of the Corskis, you will be tickled to learn that the Oilers outshot the Blues by a 40-36 margin.
- I also come to you with stories from the spreadsheets to advise that the Oilers finished the night with a 53.47 CF% and a 55.09 xGF% at even strength.
THE FACE PALMERS
- @Pavel Buchnevich tied the game (1-1) with a wrap around goal after his initial shot was stopped but the rebound kicked back out to the shooter, giving him a lane to walk the puck around the net and put it home. To make matters worse, Mike Smith got spun around in the crease somehow and it took him ages to get across the crease, which was obviously less than ideal in the situation. Buchnevich picked up another goal early (5-4) in the third period after he picked up a loose puck in the middle of the Oilers’ coverage and tucked it into an open net.
- @Robert Thomas got the Blues back in the game (4-2) with a goal that came on the back of a turnover near the blue line after Nugent-Hopkins got caught trying to make a play instead of simply clearing the zone, and all of a sudden, the Oilers’ lead wasn’t quite so comfortable.
- Brayden Schenn cut the lead to one (4-3) on a goal that Mike Smith absolutely had to have. Schenn beat him through the legs on a clean shot from the top of the circle that had absolutely no business going in the net.
- @Ivan Barbashev tied the game (5-5) with a deflection/shot from right in close that beat Smith up high after Ryan O’Reilly found him with a perfect pass to the slot.
- Did we think the game was over after the fourth goal or what?
- @Mike Smith was back between the pipes for the 20th time this season and looking to rebound from the tough situation he was thrown into in Calgary on Saturday, and while I’d say he got the job done, there were too many moments that were pretty scary to watch with there being no better example than the Schenn goal that was 1000% stoppable. That’s not to say that Smith is to blame for every goal — Gord knows the team in front of him was porous, to say the least — but by my count, he allowed two goals that have to get stopped and that’s a big problem. Smith finished the night with 31 saves and a .861 save%.
- The penalty that @Warren Foegele took at the beginning of the third period was one of the dumbest penalties I’ve seen in quite some time, and I don’t mean that because the refs messed up.
- The NHL site had the Oilers giveaways listed at 15 but I don’t think I buy that.
- While I don’t understand how the Oilers got only a single power play chance, they were unable to get anything done with the opportunity.
- I am devastated to report that the Oilers won only 39% of the faceoffs.
SCORING SUMMARY
#GOODCONTENT
Ben finished his last day of radiation today and rang the bell. It wouldn’t be Ben if he didn’t throw in a “Go Oilers”. He’s celebrating tonight by going to the @EdmontonOilers game. Let’s make it 4-0 with Ben!!! #LetsGoOilers We’re proud of you Buddy! pic.twitter.com/jYaksjSCcv
— Mike Stelter (@m_dan25) April 1, 2022
Once, I dined at Taco Bell Cantina in Vegas 3 times in 36hrs and you were with me every time
— McPulSaitl (@RPW_1832) April 2, 2022
connor mcgoal pic.twitter.com/7WItz6eCDs
— a🍄 (@allgarbitch) April 2, 2022
Kulak – Barrie is +2 with a 100 xGF% tonight, so far. Overall, they have a 75 GF%, 63 xGF%.
Did Brett Kulak fix Tyson Barrie??
— Sid (@NHL_Sid) April 2, 2022
Or it was a typo that was supposed to read "Baggedmilk stopped making me horny"
— dohfOs (Martin Lundén) (@dohfOs) April 2, 2022
If we are playing Smith then St Louis has to put Binnington back in goal!
It’s only fair!
— Liam Horrobin (@LiamHorrobin) April 2, 2022