THE BRIGHT SIDE
- SEVEN STRAIGHT WINS IN THE BEN STELTER ERA!
- @Evander Kane opened the scoring (1-0) from right in the slot after McDavid found him with a beautiful backhand pass that set #91 up for a tap-in goal that Wedgewood had no chance on.
- @Derek Ryan gave his team some insurance (2-0) after a chaotic play in the Stars’ end that saw the Oilers hit the crossbar on a floater of a shot before eventually bouncing to Ryan who was charging towards the net. Quite frankly, I don’t think you could replicate this play if you tried but I sure as hell am not complaining about it.
- @Zach Hyman restored the Oilers’ lead (3-2) after a hard-working shift that saw his line get the cycle going in the offensive zone, move the puck around effectively, and eventually sink it into the net on the back of a juicy rebound.
- After looking like the Hockey Gords were preventing him from ever scoring again, @Jesse Puljujarvi got the monkey off his back with a lucky bounce goal (4-2) from the slot after Evan Bouchard’s point shot took a friendly bounce into the net off his shin pad.
- @Connor McDavid capped off a three-point night (5-2) with an empty-net goal to nail the coffin shut and reclaim the lead in the NHL scoring race.
- After picking up shutouts in his last two games, it was no surprise to see @Mike Smith back between the pipes for a third consecutive start. Unfortunately, Smith wasn’t able to tack on a third straight shutout, but the good news is that he played very well once again, and he rode that performance to a seventh straight victory. I mean, how good has this guy been lately? Smith finished the night with 34 saves and a .944 save%. His shutout streak, unfortunately, came to an end at 144:39 minutes which is good for the 7th longest in franchise history.
- How about that hit by @Darnell Nurse that put Jamie Benn into the bench? You don’t see those very often and that hit was about as good as it gets.
- If I’m the Oilers, I’m thinking about extending @Evan Bouchard long-term because the guy just hit 40 points after picking up another two-point night. It’s not going to get any cheaper, people.
- I also wanted to give @Duncan Keith some love after finishing his night with a +5 rating in 17:24 of TOI. I know that +/- isn’t a great stat by any means, but I do think it’s notable that he was on the ice for all five of his team’s goals.
- How about some more love for the Oilers’ PK after they killed off two of two shorthanded situations?
- The Oilers dominated the Corskis after outshooting the Stars by a 50-36 margin.
- The spreadsheet scuttlebutt was steamy and sassy after the Oilers finished with a 62.49 CF% and a 72.07 xGF%.
- The Oilers’ Magic Number is now at 2 but could fall to one depending on what happens with Vegas/Washington.
THE FACE PALMERS
- @Jason Robertson pulled the Stars back into the game (2-1) with a goal from the slot after his shot rode up Kulak’s stick and into the top corner. Robertson ended up being a bit of an Oilers killer this season as he ended up with goals in all three games of the season series.
- @Roope Hintz tied the game (2-2) early in the second period after he found a loose puck laying in the crease that Mike Smith thought he had covered and easily poked it over the line.
- Unfortunately, the Oilers weren’t able to get anything done on the lone chance they had with the man advantage. Personally, I don’t know how they only got one chance but that’s a conversation for another day.
- Only 48% in the faceoff circle tonight. Can’t win ’em all, I suppose.
SCORING SUMMARY
#GOODCONTENT
Ben’s coming back to cheer on his friends tonight. Let’s get Ben’s winning streak to 7! @EdmontonOilers #LetsGoOilers #BenOilersStrong pic.twitter.com/knQCSkBIWn
— Mike Stelter (@m_dan25) April 20, 2022
Brett Kulak has been on for 16 shots at the net for and 1 against.
12 shots that reached the net and 1 against.
0 goals for and 1 against.
Poor guy.
— Woodguy (@Woodguy55) April 21, 2022
Yueewwaahazsjxncncncncncmkdkkddk Jesse!!!!!
— The Yukon Scott (@YukonScott) April 21, 2022
BFE = before woodie event
— dangersuede esq. (@dangersuede) April 21, 2022
— Bumblebee tuna (@sstrumy) April 21, 2022
#RedWineLifestyle @NationRealLife @jsbmbaggedmilk pic.twitter.com/g1aaiIw3Wu
— Mike M (@thatguymikem) April 21, 2022