GDB 54.0 Wrap Up: Oilers got the result they deserved in lopsided 6-2 loss in Montreal

1 year ago

This game was a real world representation of the phrase “funk around and find out.” Final Score: 6-2 Canadiens

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The Oilers pulled out a big win in Ottawa yesterday in what was a chippy game with the Sens, and I was curious to see how much gas they’d have left in the tank for today’s session with the Habs. As much as it was nice to win by three goals, that win took some gas to pull out and my concern was how long it would take for the Oilers to find their legs. So it wasn’t exactly surprising to see the Canadiens be the ones with more jump in their step, but what I didn’t expect is just how sleepy our side would be over the first half of the period. They were outshot, outplayed, outhustled, and basically out-everything that matters in a hockey game. Unless they were running the rope-a-dope, there weren’t many guys in white jerseys that were moving their feet. And with a major gaff in the defensive zone leading to Alex Belzille’s first NHL goal that gave Montreal the lead, the Oilers needed to get themselves going or this game could easily get out of hand.

Lucky to get out of the first 20 minutes down by only a goal, the Oilers needed to sharpen up in a big way for the middle section because they were total passengers early. Yeah, the boys had some decent chances as the period wore on, but I don’t think it’s talking out of school to say that the Canadiens were outplaying them by a long shot. But in what was basically a carbon copy of the first period, the Oilers played with zero urgency and the Canadiens used the extra space and time to do as they pleased. I mean we all saw Jordan Harris’ goal to extend the lead coming, right? Same goes with Josh Anderson’s goal from in tight to dig the hole even deeper. But even as the Habs increased their lead, there was hardly any pushback from the Oilers. They almost seemed content allowing Montreal to put on a show for the Bell Centre faithful. But then just as our hopes were at their dimmest, the Oilers chipped away at the lead with a pair of quick goals that looked like they might be the start of a comeback for the ages. That was, of course, until a lazy penalty by Bouchard led to Rafael Harvey-Pinard’s (hell of a name) power play goal in the final minutes of the period. Momentum halted.

Down by two goals with 20 minutes to play, the Oilers needed a hail mary and some luck to go right for them if they were going to get at least a point out of this hockey game. Given the hole they dug for themselves, earning anything other than an ‘L’ was going to take a monumental effort and I wasn’t so sure that the club we were watching would be the one to provide it. As much as I wanted to be wrong, it was hard to get too excited when we got a third straight period where the Oilers were a step behind out of the gate. And just like we got in the first two periods, the Habs picked up an early goal to essentially cancel the comeback before it ever had a chance to even get started. But at the end of the day, the Oilers got the result they deserved as they were simply outworked at every turn outside of a few minutes of sustained pressure in the second period. What’s most disappointing about this result is that the Oilers had the chance to pull themselves into first place in the Pacific Division but blew the opportunity by not being ready to compete. They played down to the Canadiens’ level and got burned by a proud team that wasn’t about to roll over and give them two points.

The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

The game is over now.
Leon Draisaitl got the Oilers on the board (3-1) with a power play goal that came on a scrambled play after Hyman drove to the net and caused all kinds of chaos near the crease.
Evander Kane pulled the Oilers back to within a single goal (3-2) with a quick shot from the top of the circle that made its way through traffic and up over Allen. The goal game in the seconds following a failed 5-on-3 attempt and couldn’t have come at a more clutch moment.
How about the scrap that Vinny Desharnais got in against Arber Xhekaj in the second period to give the boys some life? I know a lot of people don’t buy into fights swinging the momentum, but in this case, I’m going to have to disagree because the Oilers looked like a different team afterward.
Warren Foegele was back in the lineup after missing yesterday’s game with some kind of bump or bruise from a blocked shot against the Flyers that was bad enough to keep him off the ice. In his return to the lineup, Foegele finished with 14:51 in TOI and contributed with two shots, two hits, and a blocked shot.
Outshooting the Montreal Canadiens 32-30 isn’t nearly as fun when you lose by four goals.
I can’t even enjoy the fact that the Oilers won 73% of the faceoffs and that in itself is a crime.
I know it has nothing to do with this hockey game but the new Dustin Brown statue is hilarious. It looks like they made a statue of some other guy named Dustin Brown.

PRESENTED BY BETWAY

THE FACE PALMERS

The point streak is over.
Alex Belzille opened the scoring (1-0) with his first NHL goal after what can only be described as an indefensible sequence by the Oilers that started with Tyson Barrie passing the puck to Skinner, the puck popping loose without being cleared by Kulak, and the Canadiens capitalizing on the 1000% avoidable situation.
Jordan Harris extended Montreal’s lead (2-0) after his line set up shop in the Oilers zone and moved the puck around effectively. I don’t know what the Oilers got up to last night, but it looked like playing defence was the last thing on their minds. Harris picked up a second goal early in the third period (5-2) after some piss poor backchecking by the Oilers gave Montreal all kinds of space to make a play on the rush.
Josh Anderson put the Habs up by a field goal (3-0) after collecting the rebound in the crease on Dadonov’s shot from the hash marks and popping the puck past Skinner with a quick strike.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard put the Habs up by two goals for a second time (4-2) late in the frame after he got his stick on Matheson’s point shot and deflected it perfectly into the top of the net. While the Oilers were unable to capitalize on a pair of key power play chances, the Habs didn’t make the same mistake.
Christian Dvorak threw some sand in our eyes with a shorthanded goal (6-2) after Kirby Dach stole the puck from Evan Bouchard in the Oilers and set the Dvorak up on a tee.
Jake Allen was all kinds of annoying today, wasn’t he?
I honestly felt bad for Stuart Skinner that he was starting this game with that kind of effort happening in front of him. For the first half of the game, the Canadiens were basically able to do whatever they wanted and it forced Stuart Skinner to stand on his more than he should have just to keep his team in the game. And even though some people will snicker at the six goals he allowed, had it not been for him then the score would have easily been a hell of a lot more lopsided than it was. Skinner finished the game with 24 saves and a .800 save%.
The McPoint streak is over. Sad panda.
The NHL site has the giveaways listed at 13 for the Oilers but I’m thinking that might be a generous total because they struggled to connect with each other in a big way. Then again, they didn’t have the puck a whole lot so even having 13 giveaways is pretty impressive.
The penalty kill finally looked human again after a run that saw the Oilers give up next to nothing when down a man over the last handful of weeks. Unfortunately, the boys got tagged for two goals on three shorthanded situations, which ultimately proved to be the difference in this hockey game.
Even though the power play did score one goal on six opportunities with the man advantage, it’s hard not to feel disappointed that they weren’t able to get more done given the chances they had at key moments. That said, how can we really be too pumped when the boys also gave up a shorthanded goal?
Most of the Oilers mad bad decisions with the puck and should feel bad about it too.
No Klim Kostin for the Oilers today after he left yesterday’s game in the third period as a result of a rough collision along the boards. Jack Michaels noted on the broadcast that the injury doesn’t sound like it will be a long-term thing, but we’re still going to send our thoughts and prayers to Klim Shady anyway.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD			EDM	MTL
8:14	Canadiens	Alex Belzile (1) Assists: Michael Pezzetta (4), Jesse Ylonen (3)	0	1

2ND PERIOD			EDM	MTL
3:54	Canadiens	Jordan Harris (2) Assists: Evgenii Dadonov (11), Johnathan Kovacevic (6)	0	2
8:23	Canadiens	Josh Anderson (15) (Power Play) Assists: Evgenii Dadonov (12), Jonathan Drouin (13)	0	3
12:22	Oilers	Leon Draisaitl (30) (Power Play) Assists: Zach Hyman (36), Evan Bouchard (16)	1	3
14:59	Oilers	Evander Kane (9) Assists: Darnell Nurse (21), Evan Bouchard (17)	2	3
18:41	Canadiens	Rafael Harvey-Pinard (6) (Power Play) Assists: Mike Matheson (9), Nick Suzuki (25)	2	4

3RD PERIOD			EDM	MTL
2:58	Canadiens	Jordan Harris (3) Assists: Joel Armia (5), Jonathan Drouin (14)	2	5
9:12	Canadiens	Christian Dvorak (8) (Shorthanded) Assists: Kirby Dach (23)	2	6

#GOODCONTENT

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