GDB 40.0 Wrap Up: 2018 sucks too, Oilers lose 5-0

6 years ago

The Oilers should offer refunds for these last two games. Final Score: 5-0 Kings

After the horrible effort brought forth on New Year’s Eve, all I could think about was how things couldn’t get any worse (I was wrong, more on that later). In fact, I was banking on the idea that there’s no possible way that the Oilers could be that bad for a second straight game. Sure, the Kings are firmly in second place in the Pacific Division and came into tonight’s game with a 5-3-2 record in their last 10 games, but I still felt like the Oilers were going to be good for a comeback performance. Early on, the boys got off to a much better start against the Kings, and while they weren’t able to score in the opening frame, they were much more engaged and in the fight.

As the game progressed through 40 minutes, the Oilers and Kings matched up fairly well at even strength which created a vibe that this game was going to boil down to which squad got something done with their special teams. Both sides had their share of 5-on-5 chances and both got the great goaltending needed to keep those chances off the scoreboard. Unfortunately, that’s where the wheels fell off. With the gameplay as tight as it was, getting production on the power play was imperative and, as usual, the Oilers completely shit the bed and the Kings did not. Once again, they couldn’t score with the man advantage and their penalty kill would have been about as effective if they all laid down and cried.

In the end, the Oilers started the night with all kinds of promise but still found a way to crash and burn in a remarkable fashion. Happy day.

For the first time in 2018, we wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

The game is over.
Connor McDavid’s work in the second period was one of the only highlights in this hockey game. I feel bad for him. He deserves better than this.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was easily one of the best Oilers tonight. He was all over the puck, generated his fair share of chances, was 62% in the faceoff circle, and would have scored if the Oilers had any luck at all.
The Oilers were 53% in the faceoff circle which is a big win, I know.
At least Jussi Jokinen didn’t score?
A lot of other fans are making fun of the Oilers right now, and rightfully so, but it won’t be so funny when we win the draft lottery again.

THE FACE PALMERS

Andy Andreoff opened the scoring for the Kings after Kris Russell took a risky pinch at the opposing blue line, granting the visitors a 2-on-1 that they made no mistake on. Torrey Mitchell made a perfect pass to Andreoff and he walked in alone and finished.
With Pat Maroon taking a five-minute penalty it seemed like only a matter of time before the Kings would score a power play marker. Did I expect them to score three? Not really. But with the way the penalty kill has gone this year, I don’t know why anyone would be surprised. Who scored? Marian Gaborik did. Who else? Dustin Brown. Lastly? Andrian Kempe.
Dustin Brown scored a second goal to make it 5-0 but nobody cared by that point, including the Oilers.
Pat Maroon got ejected from the game after connecting with Drew Doughty with a hit to the head. I doubt it was intentional, but Doughty left the game immediately and that may not be a good look with the folks at Player Safety. It was quite the sequence for the Big Rig as that fight resulted in a scrap with Derek Forbort after he jumped in to defend his teammate. As always, you can have another look at the fight over at HockeyFights.com.
Cam Talbot is going to take a lot of heat for tonight’s game but I don’t think he’ll deserve all of it. Yes, he would want a goal or two back but his teammates completely failed him on the penalty kill. That said, Talbot needs to be better as finishing any night with a .848 save% isn’t where you want to be.
First time in his career that Connor McDavid went three straight games without scoring a point.
“Hey, Baggedmilk, how did the Oilers do on special teams tonight?” I thought you’d never ask:
- PK: Allowed three goals. Perfect. (3/6)
- PP: Score no goals. Even better. (0/3)
The NHL site had the giveaways tonight as 14-3 against the Oilers. Makes sense to me.
Shout out to Peter Chiarelli for building such a fine hockey team. Good job trading away a bunch of skill and doing absolutely nothing to replace it. Oh, and they still need help on the blue line. Great job.
For the fourth straight game, my stomach will get punished for the Oilers’ inability to get things done. As always, the #BeetCast will be up on my Twitter.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
No Scoring

2ND PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
14:21	Los Angeles	Andy Andreoff (2) ASST: Torrey Mitchell (3), Oscar Fantenberg (7)	1-0

3RD PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
01:36	Los Angeles	PPG – Marian Gaborik (8) ASST: Tyler Toffoli (12), Trevor Lewis (9)	2-0
03:59	Los Angeles	PPG – Dustin Brown (14) ASST: Anze Kopitar (24), Alec Martinez (8)	3-0
04:34	Los Angeles	PPG – Adrian Kempe (12) ASST: Marian Gaborik (5), Jake Muzzin (19)	4-0
18:28	Los Angeles	Dustin Brown (15) ASST: Anze Kopitar (25), Tanner Pearson (15)	5-0

#GOODCONTENT

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Source: NHL.com, Official Game Page, 01/02/2018, 9:30pm MST

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