THE BRIGHT SIDE

• @Josh Archibald opened the scoring for the Oilers with a shorthanded marker that saw him use his speed to beat the Coyotes defender to the puck in the neutral zone before pulling off a nice little deke on the breakaway and sliding the puck through Raanta’s legs.
• @Sam Gagner extended the Oilers’ lead to two goals (2-0) after he parked himself near the side of the net and smashed home Riley Sheahan’s centering pass that was right in his wheelhouse. I know he’s been in and out of the lineup a lot this season, but I always seem to find things about Gagner’s game that I like and it has me thinking that he’s the 13th forward this team needs going forward. I mean, not at his current rate but at million bucks. Anyone agree?
• @Kailer Yamamoto put a punctuation mark on a fantastic first period after he picked up his third goal of the season (3-0) that just squeaked its way through Raanta and into the back of the net. I love the way Yamamoto forechecks. For a small dude, his puck pursuit is relentless and it’s been fun to watch him give defenders fits with his speed and stick work.
• @Connor McDavid added the Oilers’ fourth goal of the afternoon after he caught Raanta cheating away from the post and found a way to sneak a wrister through the small hole that was created. The captain added a second goal a little bit later in the period as he and Josh Archibald executed a perfect 2-on-1 that the Coyotes had absolutely no chance of defending, restoring the team’s four-goal lead. As he always is, McDavid was an absolute pleasure to watch this afternoon and the way he can make plays at high speeds is unlike anything this sport has seen and I can’t help but mention again how lucky we are to have him on this hockey team.
• Adding salt to the wound, @Joakim Nygard scored his first goal in ages to give the Oilers a five-goal lead before the second period was even 10-minutes old. For me, there is a lot to like with Nygard’s game, his speed being at the top of the list, but I don’t know how many goals he’ll score at this level with the muffin of a shot he’s got. That said, it worked today and that’s really all that matters.
• Empty net goal! We did it! A huge shout out to @Riley Sheahan for finishing his day with a goal and three assists which was his first four-point game of his NHL career. After a slow start to the season, Sheahan has really poured it on over the past month or so and he’s providing the kind of depth scoring that this team will need to be successful down the stretch.
• @Mike Smith got the start today as he looks to build upon the strong January he’s been having, and I was looking forward to seeing how he’d handle today’s matinee. Outside of a few weird moments like when he was stickhandling near the hash marks, Smith was rock solid again today and he provided the foundation needed to close out a big win. I know his stats aren’t overly sexy but that doesn’t mean he didn’t play strong game as he finished up his fifth straight win with 27 saves and a .900 save%.
• How about another casual two-point game for @Leon Draisaitl? After a tough month of December, the big man is back and he is rolling.
• @Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is now on a five-game point streak where he’s put up eight points (4G, 4A). #KeepNugeForever
• Do I like seeing the boys win 57% of the faceoffs? You know I do.
• Another quick shout out to @Caleb Jones for locking in a new two-year deal with the Oilers this past week, making what happens on the backend a much more interesting storyline as the season progresses.

THE FACE PALMERS

• @Taylor Hall got the Coyotes on the board (5-1) after taking a pass in the high slot that made its way through traffic and beat Mike Smith low. Yeah, yeah, I know the Hall thing is old news but that doesn’t mean I have to like him being back in the Pacific Division as an opponent.
• @Christian Dvorak further chipped away at the Oilers’ lead (5-2) with a powerplay goal that came off of one of the worst interference calls that I’ve seen in a very long time. McDavid got called for interference after a Coyote ran into him and Arizona was able to take advantage.
• Oliver Ekman-Larsson got the Coyotes’ third goal of the game (6-3) but all it did was pad his stats as the marker was meaningless at that stage of the game.
• The penalty kill continues to struggle at home as it was on the hook for two goals against in the four chances faced. I don’t know why the PK is so good on the road and struggles at home, but it’s an issue that needs to be resolved. That said, Archibald did score that shorthanded goal so I’ll go ahead and give them a pass for today.
• @Oscar Klefbom took a shot to the hand late in the third period and you could tell that it was a problem as he could not even hang onto his stick before eventually finishing his shift and making his way down the tunnel to get checked out. Thankfully, he was able to return to the game for the third period because losing him would have been a MASSIVE blow to this defensive group.
• I missed @Antti Raanta when he was gone.

SCORING SUMMARY

#GOODCONTENT

THE RED TURTLE TEE