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1st period…Quick Hits
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
By Jason Gregor
Mar 30, 2017, 21:57 EDTUpdated: May 18, 2018, 17:27 EDT
The Edmonton Oilers lead the Sharks 2-1 after 20 minutes.
San Jose outshot the Oilers 13-11, but it was a tale of two period.
The Sharks dominated the first ten minutes, but then the Oilers woke up and controlled the final ten.
Here are some quick thoughts on the first period.
- San Jose owned the first ten minutes. They were quicker to pucks and the Oilers were a step behind. The Sharks had the early lead and if wasn’t for Cam Talbot making two big saves in succession three minutes into the period it would have been 2-0.
- The Oilers woke up and Talbot started the play that led to Maroon’s 26th goal of the season. Talbot continues to shine for the Oilers.
- Solid shift by the 4th line, which started with Caggiula finishing his check and led to extended some offensive zone time and the Sharks Brenden Dillon getting a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass. Later in the period Caggiula ripped one of the post shorthanded and later in the shift he assisted on McDavid’s SH goal. Caggiula has been much better since he was a healthy scratch for three game. He looks refreshed and he’s playing like a player who doesn’t want to sit out again. He’s using his speed and being physical, and he’s starting to use his great shot more frequently.
- Eberle had a brutal sequence on the PP. First he faked the dump in and kept the puck which put his teammates offside. Later he made two bad passes and lost a battle. Need to be more focused on the PP.
- McDavid’s line had some great shifts against the Vlasic-Braun pairing. I know many people keep saying McDavid drives the team, and he does, but Draisaitl it much more than a passenger on that line. He’s making numerous excellent plays every game.
- The Oilers were out shot 12-3 in the first 1o minutes, but rebounded by outshooting the Sharks 8-1 and scoring twice in the final 10 minutes.
- The crowd was quieter than I expected early on. I thought the place would be rocking.
What did you see in the first 20 minutes?
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