THE BRIGHT SIDE
- @Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring (1-0) with a power play goal from his favourite spot on the left-hand side after Nugent-Hopkins found him with a beautiful one-touch pass to his wheelhouse. Saros had no chance on the play and Leon picked up his 52nd goal of the year. Draisaitl added another goal (2-0) in the second period after he snapped a wrister from the slot that made its way through traffic, beating Saros before he even knew what happened. Draisaitl completed the hat trick in the third period with a second power play goal (4-0) to not only ice the game but also to pull himself to within four goals of Auston Matthews. Dare to dream?
- @Darnell Nurse gave the Oilers some insurance (3-0) with a shorthanded goal after he jumped up in the rush, took a centering pass from Kane in the slot, and snapped a quick wrister past Saros for his ninth goal of the year.
- @Mike Smith was back in the crease for his 24th appearance of the year and looking to build upon what has been a very strong stretch of hockey for the 40-year-old veteran, and I don’t think you can do any better than a shutout. From start to finish, Smith was rock solid for the Oilers whenever he was called upon, and thanks to a little help from Jeremy Coupal, he was able to lock down his first bagel of the season and a huge win for his team. Smith finished the night with 30 saves to complete his 43rd career shutout.
- You’ve gotta love that the power play came through again, scoring two goals on four chances with the man advantage. Needless to say, having the PP going again as we draw nearer to the post-season would be ideal, even though we know nothing gets called in the playoffs anyway.
- Not to be outdone, the PK was perfect again on two shorthanded situations and even chipped in with a shorthanded goal. That’s a special teams sweep, friends.
- How about a casual two-point night for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as he continues to prove that he is The Answer on special teams.
- The Oilers won the Corskis big tyme, outshooting the Predators by a 32-30 margin.
- Word from the spreadsheets was basically a chef’s kiss as the Oilers finished with a 50.62 CF% and a 48.28 xGF%
- You’ve finally arrived at the special place in the Wrap Up where I bless you with the knowledge that the Oilers won 51% of the faceoffs.
- How about another classic Jeremy Coupal offside review?
- Matt Benning didn’t score. Great success!
- The magic number is now 10.
THE FACE PALMERS
- I’m at home and not in Nashville celebrating with the rest of the #NationVacation crew.
SCORING SUMMARY
#GOODCONTENT
*points gun* Always has been.
— Andy Martin (@andy_martin523) April 15, 2022
The team The owner pic.twitter.com/4kojKmlsYg
— Koskidaddy (@fakenewsshater) April 15, 2022
“I’ll never kiss @jsbmbaggedmilk even tho I said I would” pic.twitter.com/zEYrZOUUFv
— Surveyor Brett – Game Manager (@BLuchanski) April 15, 2022
— Austin (@AHockey1993) April 15, 2022
— McDavid's Scruff ❼ (@McdavidsScruff) April 15, 2022
Live look cowboy @itsWozzz hoping it doesnt happen pic.twitter.com/nzkTwVD4dV
— dangersuede esq. (@dangersuede) April 15, 2022
I WAS GOING TO THROW IT BUT EVERYONE TOLD ME NOT TO DO IT
IM SO CONFLICTED pic.twitter.com/BmsjASGLKh
— Woz🇺🇦🇵🇱 (@itsWozzz) April 15, 2022
The Preds can blame Matt Duchene for that offside review.
— Travis Dakin (@TravisDakin) April 15, 2022