GDB 42.0 Wrap Up: Merde en feux, Oilers fall 5-0 in Calgary

3 years ago

On nights like these, I’m thankful for NationBeer and my air fryer. Final Score: 5-0 Flames

There’s nothing better than a Battle of Alberta on a Saturday night, is there? I mean, sure it would be nice if we were actually able to go watch — I can even feel my legs burning from what is always a long climb up to the press level at Saddledome — but it is certainly nice that this year’s edition of the BOA has been so handily lopsided in our favour. Needless to say, I was fired up. And after some kind of weird lineup delay, the game finally got started with a crawl as both sides spent most of the opening period feeling each other out, which meant a lot of back-and-forth play with a bunch of shots coming from the perimeter. While some may suggest that this was a pretty vanilla start when it comes to the Battle of Alberta, I accidentally drank more than I planned before puck drop so I was having a great time in spite of the lack of scoring or fireworks.

With a fresh cocktail by my side and 40 minutes left to play, I went into the second period with the belief that our boys were done warming up and that the table was set for their triumphant arrival. At the very least, my body was ready for greatness. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as the Oilers were completely gassed and it was the Flames that seemed most interested/able to get the party started, cashing in four-straight goals before the middle frame was over and putting Edmonton in the biggest hole they’ve seen since the Canadiens stole their lunch money earlier in the week. That said, I also wasn’t all that upset about the way this thing played out. Seeing as the Oilers are wrapping up four games in six days, just had to fly across the country, spent the morning watching their teammates’ celebration of life, and were clearly running on fumes, the result was about almost as understandable as it was disappointing.

I know we expect that the Oilers win every game, but I think there are times when it’s best just to take any lessons you can from a loss and move on. Either that or we blame the lineup delay from the start of the game.

The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

The game is over now.
This unexpected break gives Ken Holland the best chance to make a trade and have the quarantine period give him minimal grief. That said, I still don’t expect him to do much even though I’d love to be surprised.
I wanted to say thanks to everyone that participated in the Colby Cave special this morning. It’s still unbelievable that he’s not playing with the team, and I commend everyone that put their hearts out there — his wife Emily was especially wonderful — in today’s special.
I honestly think the break will do the Oilers some good here. They have some guys banged up and looked completely exhausted.
@Caleb Jones admitted yesterday that he was battling some confidence issues but that he feels like he’s starting to settle in again, and I’m pretty happy for him because I still believe there’s a quality player there.
As sure as the sun will rise, so too can you bet on your ol’ pal Baggedmilk sending you into the rest of your weekend with the knowledge that the Oilers won 56% of the faceoffs? That’s consistency, my friends.
Lucic didn’t score.
I accidentally got drunker than I expected before the game so the fact that I’m spelling things mostly right should be applauded.
When you have the two best players on the planet, the only option is to make a t-shirt that reflects their brilliance. Shine bright, boys. Pick up the Dynamic Duo tee here.

THE FACE PALMERS

@Sean Monahan opened the scoring with a tap-in (1-0) near the crease after he found some open ice when the Oilers got caught in transition. I’m not saying there was anyone specifically to blame for the goal but rather a product of some yardsale defence after the puck got turned around.
@Johnny Gaudreau extended the Flames’ lead (2-0) after he was able to beat Mike Smith up high from a tough angle near the faceoff dot. After the puck went in, Smith shook his head and you know that means it was a goal that he’d love to have back.
@Elias Lindholm converted the field goal with a one-timer from the slot that beat Smith down low. Honestly, I missed the moments leading up to the goal because I was busy checking on the sausages I was air frying at the time.
@Mark Giordano rushed into the play from the Flames’ bench, took a pass along the left side, and ripped a wrister through Smith’s legs. By that point, I was having more fun on TikTok and Twitter than I was watching the game so I’m not going to pretend that I was all that upset about it.
@Brett Ritchie added salt in the wound early in the third period as he threw the puck on net and caught Smith with a softie.
@Mike Smith was back between the pipes and looking for another win over his former club, and I can imagine that he could have been any more fired up about the possibility of hurting their playoff chances. The bad news was that this was not Smith’s night as neither he nor his teammates were overly sharp, and the score was a direct reflection of that fact. Smith finished the night with 27 saves and a .844 save%.
I think it’s totally unfair to single out the goaltender so I’m going to add another point about the entire team in front of him looking like they were completely out of gas.
The Oilers got no goals on two powerplay chances, which was the exact opposite of the special teams boost they needed.
Unfortunately, the penalty kill lost their battle as well as the Flames were able to get one goal on four chances with the man advantage.
The Oilers were outshot by a 32-17 margin. We, once again, offer our apologies to the Corsi Gods

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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