GDB 34.0 Wrap Up: Oilers shoot the lights out in Dallas, lock in a 6-3 win
By baggedmilk
1 year agoThat’s how you rebound, baby! Final Score: 6-3 Oilers
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After losing their last three games to teams below them in the standings, the Edmonton Oilers had to pull themselves together in a big way if they were going to beat the Dallas Stars. If they were going to avoid a fourth straight loss, every single player in a white jersey needed to be better in every aspect of their execution. The Stars are just way too good to be screwing around with defensive giveaways and mishaps en masse, and the boys needed to ramp up their awareness in all three zones and ensure they weren’t cheating for offence. I don’t know what it is about this team and refusing to take care of their own house, but it’s been a problem since October and it needs to change like yesterday. So when you go up against a team like Dallas who was 6-2-2 in their last 10 games leading up to this one, the margin for error was next to zero and anything less than a perfectly executed game wasn’t going to be good enough. As for coming up with the effort and execution needed to win when it mattered, the Oilers came up with a huge effort on the road to beat the Dallas Stars in style. That’s not to say it was a perfect night, but you have to appreciate the way they were able to put up plenty of offence and lock in an important win
As a programming note, I wanted to mention that I’m writing this Wrap Up on my phone at SOHO because we’re having our staff Christmas party and I was not going to miss out on hanging out with the crew. So if something looks weird with the formatting, my spelling is even worse than normal, or you don’t get why I’ve changed things for this Wrap Up, I apologize in advance but hope that you understand. I love Christmas parties and we haven’t been able to do one the last few years with everything that’s going on so I’m excited to be here. You’ve been there, you get it.
PRESENTED BY BETWAY
Things Worth Mentioning…
- Roope Hintz opened the scoring (1-0) with a one-timer near the boards after he teed off on the cross-ice pass from Jason Robertson that Skinner just couldn’t get to as he was sliding across.
- Mattias Janmark tied the game (1-1) after Klim Kostin found him with a pass at the goalmouth that he basically had to just tap into the open net. I don’t know if he’ll get an easier goal than this one but I’m certainly grateful for it.
- Wyatt Johnston restored the Stars’ lead (2-1) after he had all day to walk into the zone and pick his spot on the shot. I don’t know what the Oilers we’re doing defensively but it was certainly not preventing the zone entry.
- Zach Hyman tied the game for a second time (2-2) after he battled for the loose puck in the crease and slid it past the goaltender. Barrie had the shot from the point, Hyman picked up the garbage.
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gave the Oilers the lead (3-2) with a snipe from the hashmarks that best the goalie clean over the glove hand. What a beautiful shot by Nuge for his 18th of the year. Wow. My guy finished the night with a tidy little three-point night as he continues the year of Nuge.
- Tyler Seguin tied the game (3-3) on the power play goal after he got his stick on Marchment’s shot/pass from the point and deflected it perfectly.
- Warren Foegele gave the Oilers back the lead (4-3) after Leon Draisaitl found him with a pass to the wheelhouse that he was able to tee off on, beating the goalie upstairs over the blocker side.
- Connor McDavid gave the Oilers some insurance (5-3) after picking up a pass in the neutral zone, flying into the zone, and burying his shot through the five-hole.
- Mattias Janmark added a second goal (6-3) into the empty netter to seal the deal and lock in two big points.
- Stuart Skinner was back between the pipes and tasked with ending the three-game losing streak, but we knew he would need to be on top of his game as the Stars are a very good hockey team. Skinner finished the night with with 25 saves and a .893 save%.
- A few of us had a sizeable parlay on this game as a team bet but Jay’s bet on the under ended up sinking the ship. Way she goes sometimes.
- Looking at the special teams, the good guys wrapped up the night at 1-for-2 on the power play and 1-for-4 when down a man.
- I am heartbroken to report that the Oilers won only 41% of the faceoffs in this hockey game.
Nation Staff Thoughts…
“Devin shore did not play and that’s a win in its own for me. Nuge is huge, Janmark went off & Connors shot was hot. Goodnight dallas!! Thank you for your service, & we’ll see you in March.” -Kylie
“Depth scoring comes through! That wasn’t how we maybe drew it up but a road win against a good team like Dallas… can’t complain about that. Wins like that make you forget about the bad losses earlier this week.” -Tyler
“Everyone is a coward for not thinking Janmark could score two.” -Jay
“What Jay Woodcroft did with the lines clearly worked. All four lines were cruising tonight and what more can you say about Matthias Janmark and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins having three point nights? I, like many, have questioned what Janmark’s done to deserve the top-six minutes he’s seen but at least tonight he’s put some of us doubters to rest. Hopefully he can continue producing like he’s done in the NHL before.
The Oilers needed a game like this where they go into an opponents barn and have a dominant performance. Let’s hope they carry it over Friday because a big win over the Canucks would be a great early Christmas gift.” -Zach
“Klim was an absolute freak out there tonight with two apples. Love to see Senor McDavid watching his boy score goal 29 tonight.” -Woz
“Celebrating an Oilers win, Connor extends his 14th game point streak, Janmark being the owner of the Stars and Nuge’s two point night! Playing la bamba baby!” -Kennedy
“Very good game. Nice work Ryan Nugent-Hopkins along with Stuart Skinner. Thank you Connor McDavid for being very good for being good at hockey too. I wish Devin Score would’ve played – it probably would’ve been 7-3 tonight if he had.” -Liam
“I missed all of the third period because having kids is one of the best things to ever happen to me. (I love them as much as I love hearing McDavid is on his 50in50 pace again.” -Nation Dan
NATION VACATION TO TORONTO
Do you want to come with us to Toronto in March for an HNIC matchup that we’ll be watching in a suite? Of course you do. That’s why I’m telling you to sign up for the #NationVacation to T.O. and join us for a weekend that no one will soon forget. Check out the details you need right here.
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