GDB 37.0 Wrap Up: The streak is over, Oilers fall 4-3 in Winnipeg

6 years ago

Giveaways at the blue line are the Oilers’ kryptonite. Final Score: 4-3 Jets

After having a few days off, all I cared about was a win and that the Oilers make this game entertaining. A lot of Nation Citizens, had to go back to work today and the last thing they needed was to be forced back into the man’s agenda while also suffering through another lacklustre effort. When the puck first dropped, both teams looked a little bit hesitant and in need of a few shifts to get their feet back under them. But after the blood started pumping, both teams cranked up the intensity and traded a pair of goals in what was an exciting first period. As the game progressed and the pace picked up, the mistakes were magnified as both sides worked to shake off the rust accumulated by pounding back a plethora of Christmas food and booze.

Unfortunately for Oilers fans, the visitors got off to a rough start in the middle frame that saw the Jets scoring within the first minute and adding another shortly before the midway mark. That two-goal lead was ultimately the killer. While Edmonton was able to get the game back to within a goal and create a flurry of chances in the final few minutes, the comeback was just not meant to be. The Oilers got punished for sloppy puck choices and the rust, or whatever it is that you want to call it, didn’t really wear off until it was too late. The frustrating part about this loss is that there were plenty of moments where the Oilers looked poised to seize control of the game, but their own errors and giveaways at both blue lines ended up being too much to overcome.

At the end of the day, the Oilers just plain made more mistakes than the Jets did and that difference was what cost them the game.

We wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring with a shorthanded tap in goal that Connor McDavid set up for him on a tee. Connor ended up with a shorthanded breakaway and after pulling out the Gordon Bombay triple deke he left puck wait with an open net.
Jesse Puljujarvi tied the game up at two apiece after being relentless on the puck in the slot and outmuscling his man to smash home a rebound. Hellebuyck couldn’t handle the point shot and Pool Party was there cash in the r. Puljujarvi scores a lot of goals on second efforts and you have to appreciate that about the big fella.
Jujhar Khaira’s roll continues as he scored another huge goal to get the Oilers midway through the second period to get his team back to within one. Khaira got the puck on the left side of slot and absolutely ripped it past the goaltender for his seventh goal of the season.
Don’t you love the way Connor does Connor things? The captain was flying in the first period and it almost seemed like one of those game where he would take things over single-handedly. McDavid finished the game with two assists on the night.
Cam Talbot was better than his numbers will show for tonight as he made a number of huge saves that kept the game as close as it was. He was easily one of the best Oilers tonight and a reason that they were able to keep things close. Talbot finished the night with 35 saves and a .897 save%.
You forget how many little things that Andrej Sekera does until you don’t have him in your lineup. It seems like the Oilers’ breakout has improved dramatically just by having him available to make passes. I wish the Oilers had five more of him.
The Oilers have seven shorthanded goals on the season. I’m pretty sure that’s more than they’ve scored on the power play. Actually, the penalty kill was rock solid tonight as they killed off all four chances they faced.

THE FACE PALMERS

Bryan Little tied the game up just under two minutes after Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring after the Jets relentless puck pursuit became too much for the Oilers to handle. Winnipeg had the Oilers hemmed in their own zone and scrambling to find their position, and by the time Little smashed the puck home at the side of the net you could almost see it coming.
Joel Armia got the Jets second goal on a seeing eye wrister that made its way through traffic and past Talbot to temporarily give the Jets a 2-1 lead. I’m not sure how much Talbot saw this one, but if you ask him he’d probably say that he wants it back. Armia got another goal after picking off a horrible cross-ice pass attempt by the Oilers at the Jets blue line and he walked in home free on a breakaway for his second of the night. Brutal giveaway by the Oilers’ defencemen.
The Oilers got off to a horrible start to the second period as they allowed the Jets to walk the puck into their zone after intercepting another errant pass. Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler ran a little give and go on a 2-on-1 that left Talbot scrambling and the Oilers looking useless.
This is where I’d normally complain about the power play being bad but the Oilers didn’t get a chance to use it until the game was 50 minutes old. How did the Jets play such a clean game? They didn’t. The refs were horribly inconsistent. Yeah, yeah I complain about the refs too much.
What was with the Oilers’ inability to make a tape to tape pass for chunks of the night? The Jets got all kinds of looks on net because of turnovers and most of them could have been avoided had the boys been able to make a clean pass.
The Oilers lead the league in giveaways at the blue line/60. I don’t know if that’s actually a thing or not, but it should be.
The Oilers got killed in the faceoff circle tonight, winning only 40% of the draws they took.
I really didn’t want to eat beets tonight. I was having such a good run and they ruined it. *spits* Watch out for the #BeetCast coming up on my Twitter.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
06:17	Edmonton	SHG – Leon Draisaitl (9) ASST: Connor McDavid (30), Brandon Davidson (2)	1-0
08:12	Winnipeg	Bryan Little (6) ASST: Nikolaj Ehlers (13), Mathieu Perreault (11)	1-1
14:44	Winnipeg	Joel Armia (5) ASST: Matt Hendricks (5), Dmitry Kulikov (8)	1-2
16:07	Edmonton	Jesse Puljujarvi (7) ASST: Kris Russell (13), Connor McDavid (31)	2-2

2ND PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
00:54	Winnipeg	Kyle Connor (11) ASST: Blake Wheeler (33), Mark Scheifele (23)	2-3
09:48	Winnipeg	Joel Armia (6)	2-4
10:35	Edmonton	Jujhar Khaira (7) ASST: Ryan Strome (10), Leon Draisaitl (22)	3-4

3RD PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
No Scoring

#GOODCONTENT

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REAL LIFE PODCAST

This week on the Real Life Podcast, the boys locked themselves in the KGB interrogation room to talk all things Oilers, break down McDavid’s illnesses, look at Maroon’s beard tug, and talk about why the City of Calgary is stealing Baggedmilk’s beet thunder.

Source: NHL.com, Official Game Page, 12/27/2017, 9:00pm MST

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