GDB 25.0 Wrap Up: Oilers swept after another dreadful night ends with 6-1 loss

3 years ago

Thanks. I hate it. Final Score: 6-1 Leafs

Did anybody else make it through the day by convincing themselves that there’s no possible way on earth that the Edmonton Oilers would be shut out for a third straight game? I found myself pacing through the Castle Milk, wondering aloud how the Hockey Gords could repeatedly kick our shins with their trickery. It’s like we were having too much fun and needed a dose of humility, leaving the Gords no option but to stifle our offence and remind us that gloating gets us nowhere. With those lessons learned and absorbed, I was hopeful that we wouldn’t have to have another night ruined by 60 minutes of scoreless hockey and general sadness. Too much to ask? I didn’t think so… And in the early going, the Oilers hit the ice with plenty of pace and determination, firing a plethora of shots towards Andersen to try and get something going which made me feel good about where things were going. Yet, despite their best efforts, it was the Leafs who struck first with a goal midway through the period that put the Oilers in a hole once again.

Down by a goal with 40 minutes left to play, the first and most important thing the Oilers needed to do was make sure that they didn’t get down any further than they already were. But as we’ve seen all series long, the Oilers were simply unable to respond after giving up a goal and it allowed the Leafs the runway to tack on the insurance+ they needed to cruise to victory. Whether it was three goals against or six as it ended up here tonight, it almost didn’t matter what the final score was as the Oilers looked dejected from the moment the first one went in. It honestly felt like they were expecting to lose rather than believing they would be able to come back. It’s like the confidence and swagger that they were sporting in droves throughout the month of February has all but vanished, leaving only the fragile shell of a club that could seemingly do no wrong only a week ago. I don’t know how you solve a problem that seems to be more of a mental thing as opposed to what’s actually happening on the ice, but the Oilers now find themselves in a spot where all of the good work they’ve done over the last few weeks is severely at risk of being erased if they don’t find a way to stop the bleeding.

The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

The series is over now.
For as bad as this night was, at least the Oilers didn’t get shut out for a third straight game after @Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got them on the board (4-1) with his 10th of the year towards the end of the second period. Leon Draisaitl fired a low shot on net that kicked out into the slot off of Andersen’s pads where RNH was waiting to knock it home.
I had a good time watching TikToks during the third period.
May as well give some love to Gaetan Haas. Why? Need something to be happy about.

THE FACE PALMERS

@Jimmy Vesey opened the scoring for the Leafs (1-0) with a quick wrister near the side of the crease after he was found with a pass after coming off the bench with speed. Vesey added a second goal early in the middle frame (2-0) after the Oilers got caught napping in their own end, leaving Spezza and Vesey with endless time and space to make a play. Up until this goal, Vesey hadn’t scored in 17 games and with the way this week has gone, it wasn’t exactly surprising to see him get a pair.
Making matters worse, @John Tavares extended the lead to three with a powerplay goal after James Neal got caught for slashing. Neal was in the box for only six seconds before the Leafs scored, which was a perfect example of the kind of night the Oilers were having.
Honestly, when @Ilya Mikheyev scored the Leafs’ fourth goal of the night, I had kinda stopped paying attention.
@William Nylander continued his heater with his fifth goal in four games (5-1) after taking a pass in the slot, perfectly executing a toe drag around a fallen Calen Jones, and firing a wrister up and over Mike Smith. It was another beautiful goal for Nylander and another kick to the pills for Oilers fans.
By the time @Zach Hyman scored (6-1), I had completely lost interest. I know the goal happened on the powerplay but I can’t really tell you how it happened. Again, TikTok was fun.
Nothing will kill you quite like allowing four goals in a single period, ya know?
I don’t know if a three-game losing streak has ever been this upsetting.
With the team in front of him struggling to score, @Mike Smith’s job becomes that much more important and it was up to him to make sure that the boys had a fighting chance at winning without having to crawl out of an early hole. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be for Smith nor his teammates as neither were able to stop the Leafs’ offensive barrage. By no means would I hang this loss on Smith even though I assume he’d want a couple of these goals back, but this thing was a complete disaster for all parties involved. Smith finished with 26 saves and a .813 save%.
The big three combined for two points over three games. Not nearly good enough, but I know this trio can be better.
The Oilers needed their special teams to contribute if the losing streak was going to end and that did not happen whatsoever and it wasn’t even close. Not only were they unable to lock things down on the PK (2/5), but they didn’t even get a chance to get anything done on the powerplay because the Leafs are apparently angels and deserved no calls against.
Not gonna lie to you guys, I don’t like James Neal on the wing with Connor McDavid. It works on the powerplay but not at even strength — Neal just isn’t fast enough.
According to Reid Wilkins, the Oilers went 154:09 without scoring a goal. Ugly stat, my friends. Ugly.
You absolutely knew with certainty that I was going to talk about the Oilers winning only 43% of the faceoffs. You knew it would come, predicted its place in the wrap up, and here it is.
This tweet.

SCORING SUMMARY

#GOODCONTENT

Talk to me, Twitter. Tweet at @Oilersnation and @jsbmbaggedmilk for your chance to land in the Best of the Tweets.

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