GDB 27.0 Wrap Up: Oilers dominant from start to finish in 8-2 win over the Coyotes

Photo credit:Tom Kostiuk

1 year ago

That’s how you flex on a horrible team. Final Score: 8-2 Oilers

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When you woke up this morning and realized it was an Oilers game day with the Arizona Coyotes in town, how many of you were confident that the boys would be able to handle their business against one of the league’s worst teams? How many of you looked at this game like it was a trap? You know what I mean. A team that’s been on the road forever, probably wants to get home, and will likely be in contention for Connor Bedard when the season is over, meaning no outcome other than a win would be acceptable to any of us. So when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins opened the scoring with an early power play goal to give the Oilers the lead, I started feeling better about the way our night would go. The best part was that the boys didn’t quit after that first goal and gave us the kind of period we would expect from them against an opponent like this. And when Derek Ryan extended the lead with a goal that will undoubtedly put him on Sportscentre tonight, the Oilers made their way into the intermission with a well-deserved lead that was a product of hard work and skill.

Up by a pair with plenty of hockey left to play, the Oilers needed to keep their foot on the gas and not give the Coyotes even an ounce of hope that they could get themselves back into this game. We’ve talked about the boys flexing their killer instinct a lot over the years, and if ever there was a time to get a little bit of practice it was against a Coyotes team that started the game like it was already over. Why not kick ’em while they’re down? So when the boys started the second period in the same way as they wrapped up the first, it seemed like they had no interest in the Coyotes making this thing interesting and it was only a matter of time until they put the game out of reach. As it turns out, that moment came at the eight minute mark when Leon Draisaitl put the Oilers up by three, a total that seemed insurmountable for a Coyotes team that looked totally lost. Even when they managed to get a goal back, never once did it seem like Arizona was about to mount some kind of comeback and you have to give Edmonton credit for responding almost immediately. In total control, the Oilers wrapped up the second period with a late goal by Kulak to give his team a four-goal cushion and every reason in the world to believe that a win was in the cards.

With a period left to play and two points well within reach, the Oilers didn’t have to change much of anything to cash in this win, but they had to be careful not to start looking ahead at Friday’s game against Minnesota. Even though a four-goal lead is about as good of a spot as anyone could hope to be in, I didn’t want the Coyotes to have even a sniff of hope that this game was still within reach. As ashamed as I am to admit it, I wanted the Oilers to pile in on so bad that the fans at Rogers Place started chanting ‘We Want 10’ because it just seemed like the kind of night when getting a point or two could do a world of good for a large portion of the roster. All gas, no brakes. So as much as the old timey rules of hockey would suggest that the Oilers shouldn’t run up the score, I respectfully disagreed as there are too many of our guys that desperately need the jolt of confidence that comes with having their name appear on the scoresheet. That’s why you have to love seeing 12 different players grab at least a point on a night when the goals were coming from everywhere. While we obviously don’t know if any of this goal scoring will carry over into Friday’s rematch with the Wild, having his many guys contribute offensively can’t hurt at all. Either way, I loved see the Oilers pick up their first blowout victory of the year.

The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins opened the scoring (1-0) with a power play goal from the left circle after he zipped a quick snapshot that beat Ingram cleanly on the blocker side. RNH picked up a second goal (4-1) with a low snipe from the slot after a Yamamoto steal put him in alone on a breakaway that he executed perfectly. Hell of a shot by Nuge as his heater of a season continues. RNH finished the night with three points and remains over a point-per-game through 27 games.
Derek Ryan gave the Oilers some insurance (2-0) in the back half of the first period on a beautiful dangle that saw him pick the puck up in the high slot and finish the play with a nifty deke around the goaltender.
Midway through the second period, Leon Draisaitl picked up the third goal of the night (3-0) with the Oilers’ second power play marker after McDavid found him open near the goal line with all kinds of net to shoot at. Needless to say, he’s not going to miss from there very often.
Brett Kulak picked up his second goal in as many games (5-1) after Kailer Yamamoto found him with a pass in the high slot that the hometown kid buried upstairs with a laser beam of a wrist shot that Ingram had no chance on.
Klim Kostin picked up his second goal of the season (6-1) early in the third period after picking up a pass from Derek Ryan in the slot that he quickly snapped past the goaltender. Can I just say that the Kostin for Samorukov trade is an underrated win that we should be talking about more? Kostin ended up with a scrap against Zack Kassian toward the end of the game, completing the Gordie Howe hat trick and taking another step further into the hearts of Oilers fans everywhere.
Only moments after Kostin’s goal, Connor McDavid converted the touchdown (7-1) on a wrap-around after a ridiculous pass by Leon Draisaitl set him up with an opportunity that he was never going to miss with those wheels of his. I know we don’t want those two playing together long term but this was the kind of magic that only those two can create together. McDavid added a second goal (8-1) with seven minutes left in the game on a one-timer from the circle that trickled just over the line after Hyman set him up on a tee with a pass he could blast off on.
I was a little bit surprised that Stuart Skinner got the start against the Coyotes because I thought it might be an easy landing spot for Jack Campbell to work on his game. I mean, there’s little doubt Stu deserved to play based on the brilliance he put down against the Capitals on Monday, but my thinking was that the kid might also deserve a night off. Either way, Skinner wasn’t overly busy against the Coyotes but he made the saves he needed to make to give his club the win. Skinner finished the night with 16 saves and a .889 save%.
Shout out to Kailer Yamamoto for picking up a pair of primary assists on the RNH and Kulak goals respectively. Yamo is a guy we need to produce now that he’s back in the lineup and it’s nice to see him contribute almost immediately.
How about a quiet two-point night for Tyson Barrie?
The Oilers picked up a special teams sweep as they picked up two goals on four chances with the man advantage while also shutting the Coyotes out on both shorthanded situations they faced. You love to see it.
There are games that you have to win in an NHL schedule and this was one of the nights. Not only did the Oilers get the result they should have gotten, but they picked up the win in style and you have to appreciate that. Yeah, the Coyotes are terrible but that’s exactly why I’m giving the Oilers props for executing in the way that we would expect against a team like this.
If you’re a fan of the Corskis then you’ll love to know that the Oilers outshot the Coyotes by a 35-18 margin.
Yes, I am going to tell you that the Oilers won 51% of the faceoffs and yes I am going to fist pump quietly in my own house.

PRESENTED BY BETWAY

THE FACE PALMERS

Jack McBain got the Coyotes on the board (3-1) with a really strong move to the crease he capped off with a deke to his forehand after the Coyotes caused a turnover in the Oilers zone. Edmonton got caught with a little bit of a sloppy breakout attempt and the Coyotes took advantage of the rare opportunity.
Shayne Ghostisbehere put a tiny dent in the Oilers’ lead (8-2) with deflection from the slot after he got his stick on Christian Fischer’s shot as he was charging toward the net. Not a whole lot Skinner can do about that one.
We didn’t get to 10 goals. ☹️

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD			ARI	EDM
4:37	Edmonton	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (12) (Power Play) Assists: Tyson Barrie (12), Connor McDavid (27)	0	1
16:41	Edmonton	Derek Ryan (3) Assists: Klim Kostin (1), Philip Broberg (1)	0	2

2ND PERIOD			ARI	EDM
8:14	Edmonton	Leon Draisaitl (18) (Power Play) Assists: Connor McDavid (28), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (17)	0	3
13:43	Arizona	Jack McBain (3) Assists: Christian Fischer (4)	1	3
14:06	Edmonton	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (13) Assists: Kailer Yamamoto (4)	1	4
18:39	Edmonton	Brett Kulak (2) Assists: Kailer Yamamoto (5), Dylan Holloway (3)	1	5

3RD PERIOD			ARI	EDM
3:19	Edmonton	Klim Kostin (2) Assists: Derek Ryan (3)	1	6
5:08	Edmonton	Connor McDavid (23) Assists: Leon Draisaitl (26), Darnell Nurse (11)	1	7
12:43	Edmonton	Connor McDavid (24) Assists: Zach Hyman (18), Tyson Barrie (13)	1	8
14:13	Arizona	Shayne Gostisbehere (6) Assists: Christian Fischer (5), Jakob Chychrun (4)	2	8

#GOODCONTENT

Talk to me, Twitter. Hit me up at @jsbmbaggedmilk and Wanye at @Oilersnation and you could find yourself landing in this very spot.

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