GDB 8.0 Wrap Up: Oilers take the money and run with sloppy 5-2 win over Seattle

2 years ago

Joey Daccord, we speak your name. Final Score: 5-2 Oilers

As much as I expect the Edmonton Oilers to beat the Seattle Kraken given the conditions — Seattle played last night and they’re missing key pieces from their lineup — but I also know that the ex-Oilers curse is a real thing that we always have to contend with and keep in mind. And since there were three such players in the Kraken lineup, my blogger senses were on high alert for one of Eberle, Larsson, or Sheahan to burn us with a goal or two in that same way we’ve seen so many times before. Of course, we always hope that the Hockey Gords will grant us a safe passage from the ghosts of Oilers past, but there are no guarantees in this world and you never know when the heavens will deem it necessary to humble us. Thankfully, we were able to avoid the curse of having a former friend score, but not the one where we were being outworked by the opposition. The good news, though, is that the Oilers got two goals from Leon Draisaitl to set themselves up with the lead while successfully navigating the early Seattle storm.

Moving into the second period, it went without saying that the Oilers needed to do a much better job of asserting themselves with the puck and just spend more time in the offensive zone in general. At the very least, they needed to find a way to get more than four shots on net because there was no way that Daccord was going to continue allowing goals on roughly half the pucks that went his way. Yet, even though they started about as flat as we’ve seen this year, things didn’t get a whole lot better for the Oilers in terms of their execution or finding ways to manufacture zone time for themselves. I know the boys were able to tack on a third goal to buy themselves some much-needed insurance — they needed it to somehow maintain their lead ffs — but the home side was honestly lucky that Seattle doesn’t have more guys that can score because they were not playing well and would have been in trouble. Finally, in the third period, the Oilers were able to settle in and compete, and when that happened, they were handing the Kraken all kinds of problems and looked more like the team that was heavily favoured to win.

In the end, the Oilers were probably lucky to win this hockey game since they were not exactly dialled in for the first two periods, but that’s the way things go in the National Hockey League. Sometimes you win a game that you probably shouldn’t, and sometimes you’re on the other side of the coin. Fortunately, tonight’s game went our way and we should all be happy to tuck another two points in the bank because we all know they won’t all end this way. Take the money and run, my friends.

The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring (1-0) after Tyson Barrie’s wrister from the point took a fortunate bounce in off the former MVP’s foot. I don’t know if he’ll ever score an easier goal than that, to be honest. Then, only a few shifts later, Draisaitl added a second goal (2-1) on the power play after he was the business end of a beautiful passing play with Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman.
Duncan Keith got his first goal as an Edmonton Oiler (3-1) in his 1200th NHL game after he charged towards the crease at the perfect time to punch home the centering pass by Draisaitl. This morning in Risky Business, I bet on Duncan Keith to score at +600 and I can’t believe it actually worked.
Kyle Turris restored Edmonton’s two-goal lead (4-2) with a tap-in from the crease after Shore found him with a perfect cross-cream pass, and I have to say that that line needed to get one because they were not looking great through the first 40 minutes.
Finally, after countless chances and missed opportunities, Kailer Yamamoto got the monkey off his back with a beautiful goal (3-2) after Draisaitl found him sliding behind the defence and charging towards the net. Yamo picked up the puck in flight before pulling off a little shimmy and a shake and sliding the puck through Daccord’s five-hole, and it was especially fun to see how fired up the bench was for him.
Mikko Koskinen looked shaky to start the game but he really locked things in as time moved along, often making huge saves to keep his team in the lead. Had it not been for him, we probably would be lighting up the comments section after a horrible loss rather than celebrating a win, and I think the big man deserves some love for his part in that. Koskinen finished the night with 27 saves and a .931 save%.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins wants all of the assists the NHL has to offer. That’s my working theory and I’m sticking to it. Either way, RNH extended his point streak to seven games.
I’ve been ripping Tyson Barrie for his defensive play lately so I also have to give him credit for doing what he does best, which is putting up points. Barrie now has five points (1G, 4A) in his last five games.
As we’ve seen through the first seven games, the Oilers’ power play is absolutely lethal and they were murdering once again, scoring one goal on three chances with the man advantage. Keep taking penalties, people, we love it.
The PK was excellent against the Kraken as the Oilers were able to kill off all three of their shorthanded situations.
Evan Bouchard appreciation post!
After reading hundreds of words so far, you’ve finally landed at the portion of the Wrap Up where I tell you that the Oilers won 54% of the faceoffs. You’re welcome.

THE FACE PALMERS

Only moments after Draisaitl got the Oilers on the board, Jaden Schwartz tied things up with a beautiful individual effort that saw him carve through the Oilers’ defenders before tucking a backhander through Koskinen’s legs on his way to the net.
Carson Soucy pulled the Kraken back to within a single goal (3-2) after he picked up a pass high in the slot as the trailing man on the play and roofed a wrister up and over Koskinen’s blocker. To that point, the Oilers were looking incredibly sloppy and it was not at all surprising to see Seattle close the gap before the period ended.
The Oilers only had 12 shots after two periods. No bueno.
The fourth line was not good tonight and they seemed to get caved-in every time they were on the ice. Thankfully, those boys were able to get something done in third period to redeem themselves.
I thought Darnell Nurse had a little bit of a rough night as he was too often getting beat in the defensive zone in situations that he would normally handle with no problem. I’m not sure what was going on with Darryl tonight but he did not look like himself, by my eye.
The NHL’s recap had the giveaways as only nine for the Oilers, but I’m not sure I buy that after they looked like a gift giveaway early in the game.
I’ll be the first to admit how bummed out I was by seeing Adam Larsson in a Kraken jersey tonight. If you had told me at the end of last season that he wouldn’t be signing a new contract here in Edmonton I don’t know that I would have believed you.
I regret to inform everyone reading this that we lost the Corskis. Unfortunately, the Oilers were outshot 29-23 and it hurts me in the spreadsheet.