GDB 44.0 Wrap Up: Two inches makes all the difference, Oilers lose 2-1 in Nashville

6 years ago

An offside review is a tough way to lose. Final Score: 2-1 Predators.

With all the anger and general disappointment that has been hovering over the Oilers these past few days, it was imperative for them to show up and put in a good effort. How frustrating is it that we have to keep wishing for that? Frankly, I don’t know how much lower the Oilers can get if one of the biggest asks from the fanbase is for them to actually show up and actually do their job. Once again, that simple hope was dashed quickly as the Oilers gave up the first goal of the game for the 27th time this season. As if that wasn’t enough, they allowed another only a few minutes later, and for the third straight game were been down by at least two goals before the first period was over. Even the biggest moron can tell you that this is a bad plan for success.

As the game progressed, the Oilers did get much better but it’s never easy to come back in the NHL when you’re down by two goals, and that’s the position that they keep putting themselves in. To have the Oilers drop the first two goals again for the third straight game is a case study in lack of preparation. And while I’m appreciative of the way they stepped up and got to work in the second and third periods, they ended up losing because of what happened (or didn’t happen) in the first period. If you can’t be ready to play for 60 minutes then there’s a good chance that you’re going to lose at this level and, unfortunately, that’s what happened here. That said, having the tying-goal called back because Jujhar Khaira’s skate was off the ice by two inches is heartbreaking. For a league that’s constantly starving for offence, these are the kind of rules that don’t make sense.

Unfortunately, you don’t get points for heartbreakers.

The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Connor McDavid was easily the best Oiler tonight (as per tradition) and it was nice to seem him flying around the ice. After dropping the first two goals of the game, the Oilers needed to get themselves back into it, and it was the captain that got them there. Watching him blow past the defenceman from a dead standstill was a masterpiece on ice, and we should remind ourselves every day that we’re lucky to have him. Times may be bad, but he is very good.
The Maroon-McDavid-Draisaitl line was a force tonight, and I bet that Todd McLellan is going to ride them for a while now. Those three are comfortable together and I bet Todd will stick with it for the rest of the year.
Cam Talbot was perfect after allowing those two first period goals. Not to mention, the second goal was basically a gift after a rebound took an unlucky bounce off Larsson’s face. Anyway, Talbot kept his team in this game and made some huge, timely saves to keep things close. Much better effort by Dadbot and he finished the night with 22 saves and a .917 save%.
At this point in the season, I’m just trying to look for bright spots and I’m happy to say that Darnell Nurse is one. Darryl is having a great year, and it’s really fun to see how he’s progressing. That said, with Peter Chiarelli failing his community college courses in negotiation, Nurse’s contract negotiations could be terrifying.
Oscar Klefbom led the team in ice time with 23:45 and was second to Connor McDavid with three shots on goal (Connor had six).
Quick shout out to Jujhar Khaira right now because you know he probably feels bad even though he shouldn’t. Could he have dragged his foot? Maybe. I’m not going to blame him.
At least they won the Corsi?
The Oilers were great in the faceoff circle tonight, winning 64% of the draws they took.

THE FACE PALMERS

In this morning’s GDB, I wrote about the Oilers having a solid penalty kill on the road. In fact, the Oilers had killed 14 straight road penalties, coming into this game. That was until Craig Smith scored with the man advantage to open the scoring. For the 27th time this season, the Oilers gave up the first goal.
Viktor Arvidsson scored a goal that was basically the Oilers season in a nutshell. Talbot made a save off of a point shot and the rebound popped up into Adam Larsson’s face. Larsson dropped (understandably so) and so did the puck, right onto Arvidsson’s stick. If the Oilers didn’t have bad luck they would have none.
The no-goal call on Mark Letestu’s tying goal is one of the most ridiculous non-goal calls of all time. Jujhar Khaira’s body was onside, but his left skate was off the ice by a few inches and the goal was called back. There was no advantage to the Oilers. His skate being off the ice while his body was onside had no effect on the play. I understand that this is the rule as it’s written but it’s still ridiculous in every way. That’s just more crap from a league that always seems to be looking for ways to increase offence. No competitive advantage at all, but that’s the rulebook.
The Oilers lost on the special teams again. They allowed a power play goal and couldn’t score one of their own, and it’s as simple as that. How many games have the Oilers lost this season that was the same story? I don’t have the exact answer but I can certainly say it’s way too many.
The NHL had the giveaways listed as 10 for the Oilers and I’d bet that eight of those came in the first period. The Oilers were basically puck Santa with the Predators and it was that type of mistake that cost them.
Scott Hartnell is huge dick. I don’t know how one guy can slash another dude in the balls knowing full well what that feels like. Bush league.
Am I allowed to make fun of Lucic for publically criticisizing the power play on nights when he gets called for a bad one and the other team scores the game winner? Too soon?
Did I want to do a #BeetCast today? Of course not. But this one hurts. As always, check it out and join in with some questions over on my Twitter.
Is Peter Chiarelli fired yet? How about now? No? I’ll check again tomorrow. His intermission interview where he talked about “evaluation” and “looking for solutions” was complete bullshit. He should have known this roster was flawed in August. Ridiculous.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
08:26	Nashville	PPG – Craig Smith (15) ASST: Viktor Arvidsson (14), P.K. Subban (23)	0-1
15:31	Nashville	Viktor Arvidsson (13) ASST: Roman Josi (17), Ryan Johansen (21)	0-2

2ND PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
00:45	Edmonton	Connor McDavid (15) ASST: Matt Benning (6), Leon Draisaitl (23)	1-2

3RD PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
No Scoring

#GOODCONTENT

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Source: NHL, Official Game Page, 01/09/2018 – 9:00pm MST

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