GDB 28.0 Wrap Up: That’s how you do it, Oilers snap the losing streak with 5-2 win over Columbus

THE BRIGHT SIDE

• WE SCORED FIRST! WE SCORED FIRST!
• @Jesse Puljujarvi opened the scoring for the Oilers(1-0) with a 5-on-3 power play goal after a point shot took a friendly bounce off the backboards and right onto the big man’s stick. Puljujarvi added a second power play goal only 46 seconds later (2-0) on a beautiful passing play by McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins that resulted in one of the easiest tap-ins he’ll ever get at the NHL level.
• Then, just past the midway point of the first period, @Derek Ryan extended the Oilers’ lead to three (3-0) after he drove to the net and picked up the rebound on Brendan Perlini’s wrister. The bottom-six scores in two straight games? It can’t be.
• Late in the second period, Brendan ‘Lamborghini’ Perlini put the Oilers up by four goals (4-0) after a rebound kicked out to him in the high slot and he ripped it into the top of the net. I know a lot of us were bummed out that his pre-season heater didn’t carry over into the regular season, so I was pumped to see Perlini get himself on the board.
• @Warren Foegele added an empty-netter (5-2) to ice the game, but maybe more importantly, get himself back on the scoreboard for the first time since October. We need Foegele to chip in with some offence from time to time, and I hope this goal can be the start of getting his groove back.
• @Stuart Skinner was back between the pipes for the first time in a week and I was hopeful that the hometown boy would hook us up with the kind of effort that would end this losing streak. Up for the challenge, Skinner provided some very solid goaltending and looked about as steady as we’ve seen so far in his young career. From start to finish, Skinner was steady in the crease and made the kind of saves you need when the team in front of you is trying to rebuild its confidence, and it was a real pleasure to watch him lock things down when we needed him to. Skinner finished the night with 36 saves and a .947 save%.
• Make it two straight games with goals from the bottom six! Hallelujah.
• Speaking of the bottom six, I like the way the third line is looking right now. They’ve had a couple of strong nights in a row and I hope that’s the start of something.
• The power play was exactly what we needed it to be, scoring a pair of goals on five chances with the man advantage.
• Not to be outdone, the penalty killers did their job too and killed off all three shorthanded situations that were thrown their way.
• How about the puck moving skills on Evan Bouchard? By my count, there were three or four passes that made me laugh because I didn’t know what he was trying to do until it happened. My point here is that I cannot wait to see how good dad can be as he keeps collecting at-bats at the NHL level.
• Pretty awesome to get a 5-2 considering Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were held off the board. Depth scoring, baby!
• Another assist for Ryan Nugent-Apple tree. Need some goals, though, pal. I love ya.
• Oilers won the shot battle by a 45-38  margin and you could almost feel the spreadsheets lighting up with joy.
• Looking at the fancies, the Oilers finished the game with a 48 CF% and a 51.73 xGF%.

THE FACE PALMERS

• Gustav Nyquist got Columbus on the board (4-1) with a chip shot under the bar after a point shot was deflected on its way to the net and bounced right to him. In the end, the goal didn’t really mean a whole lot but it was annoying to see Columbus end Skinner’s shutout bid.
• pulled the Blue Jackets back to within a pair of goals (4-2) with a quick move to his backhand after picking up the rebound on Werenski’s wrister from the slot, and I could actually feel my heartbeat speed up as if my body was trying to avoid danger.
• The Oilers gave up way too many odd-man rushes and had it not been for Stuart Skinner’s brilliance, this game may have ended up playing out differently.
• Make it seven straight games without a shot for @Kailer Yamamoto. I actually think he played well against the Jackets but that doesn’t change the fact that he needs to find a way to throw pucks on net more than he has been.
• Unfortunately, I must report that the Oilers won only 49% of the faceoffs. I know that’s not even that bad, so I’ll just wrap this up by saying there’s room for improvement.
• This game had a weird vibe to it because of what’s going on around the league right now because of COVID. The Canadiens played in front of an empty building, the Flames are on the shelf for a while, and both the Canucks and Leafs cut capacity to only 50%, making the whole schedule feel like it’s teetering on the edge. Fingers crossed, dear friends.

SCORING SUMMARY

#GOODCONTENT

WRAP UP PRESENTED BY TOURISM JASPER