GDB 13.0 Wrap Up: Put Your Hands Up for Detroit

7 years ago

We goin’ streaking! Final Score: 2-1 Oilers

After a big comeback win against the Islanders yesterday, I was honestly expecting the Oilers to come out flat against Detroit. With less than 24 hours of rest, the Oilers looked to build on their win against the Islanders and to start another winning streak by taking advantage of the struggling Red Wings. Today’s game marked the first time that the Oilers have had to play back-to-back games, and last night’s shootout win against New York surely must have depleted their energy reserves. If the Oilers had any hopes of winning this game, they had to find a way to get their legs moving early and weather the initial surge that you just knew would be coming from a rested Detroit team.

While the Oilers got the start they were looking for, and handled the initial onslaught relatively well, they were still guilty of making some sloppy mistakes in their own end. On more than one occasion, their outlet passes were less than perfect, and the inability to break out of their zone gave Detroit unnecessary attacking minutes. Fortunately, the Red Wings were only able to capitalize on the loose defensive coverage once, and, as a result, the Oilers were able to hang around long enough to tie the game. Once the game was tied the chances basically evened out, with both teams trading shots and zone time. With the final forty minutes of this game being played as evenly as they did, the stage was set for goaltending to make the difference and it was the Oilers that finished with the upper hand.

As someone who admittedly didn’t expect much from the second half of a back-to-back weekend, I admit that I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Oilers played despite the lack of rest and being banged up. With the roster depleated by nine guys, the Oilers continue to find ways to get the job done. One difference that I’ve noticed this year as opposed to the last is the Oilers’ ability to be resilient and get themselves back into games even after giving up an early lead. Equally as impressive was the fact that the Oilers were able to close out two tight games in a row, games they surely would have found a way to lose last year. Even when the Red Wings had their goalie pulled and were bearing down in an effort to tie the game up, the Oilers looked calm and found a way to maintain the lead.

If we’re looking for ways to prove that the Oilers aren’t fluking their way into wins then we should talk about how they’re finding ways to win rather than creating new ways to lose.

We wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Lance “Don’t Call Me Tyler” Pitlick continued his excellent start to the season by scoring the first Oilers goal of the night (his fourth) by banking the puck off Howard from a tough angle. Pitlick filled in well on Draisaitl’s line and he was rewarded for his efforts.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a beauty (his second) on the power play after Connor McDavid won a big faceoff to gain possession. The Oilers moved the puck around the zone efficiently, and Connor found Nuge wide open in the slot. RNH’s goal ended up being the game winner and he looks good on the power play with Connor. The two seem to know where the other is going and it looks like it could be a fit for now.
Another shout out to Darnell Nurse for the progress he’s making this year. Nurse had another solid night on the third pairing, and he looks good when properly slotted in the lineup. Darryl played some tough minutes tonight and you’d have to think his ice time gets bumped up as a reward for his play and also because of the injuries on the back end.
Jonas Gustavsson had his first start of the season against his old team, and the Monster did not disappoint. Frankly, he didn’t look like a guy who hadn’t played all season. Gustavsson picked up his first win of the season by stopping 22 shots for a .957 save%.
Leon Draisaitl had a great night despite not scoring. The big man was moving his feet, held onto the puck well, and seemed to produce offensive chances every time he was on the ice.
I thought Klefbom and Larsson had a much better night than they had in the past few games. They were breaking up the cycle nicely, keeping Detroit’s forwards to the outside, and making clean exit passes all night long. Solid night for the top pair.
Matt Benning looks better and better as he continues to get his feet wet at the NHL level. He’s earning minutes and getting some valuable experience as a fill in during this run of injuries. He’s looking solid so far.
The power play was there when the Oilers needed it, and it helped them win this hockey game. I’m not breaking news here by saying that a good power play can win you hockey games and that’s exactly what happened tonight. Actually, the power play has looked better in general since McLellan mixed up the lines. So far on this road trip, the power play has gone 4/11 and it’s been refreshing to see. Much improved to say the least.
I have to give it to Sportsnet/whoever made it for the mini-documentary they put together about Rogers Place. It was pretty cool to see the building come together from the inside, and it’s still surreal that the arena is actually done.
Coming into tonight’s game the Red Wings had lost four games in a row, and it was another one of those games that the Oilers had to win. How many times have we seen the Oilers play the role of the slump buster rather than a team that will kick an opponent when they’re down? Tonight, the Oilers kicked the Red Wings while they were down and it was nice to see.
I’m happy we won’t have to hear about how brutal the Oilers have been in Detroit anymore, or at least as often. So they’ve sucked in Detroit for 200 years, let’s move on.
The Oilers limited the Wings to only 23 shots on goal and several of those came from the perimeter. To me, winning the Corsi is even more impressive on the second half of a back-to-back.
Shout out to Justin Abdelkader for going full Happy Gilmore when he proposed to his girlfriend. I really hope he had endless love playing through the PA.

THE FACE PALMERS

The Oilers gave up the first goal again. It’s not that they started poorly, but Eric Gryba took a bad penalty and the PK couldn’t bail him out. Detroit’s power play goal was the first that the Oilers have allowed on the road all season.
The Oilers had a tough time breaking out in the first period. It’s not that they were out of position but the breakout passes were often off, and it caused the Oilers to have to defend more than they should have.
I know it’s nitpicking but I’d like to see Connor shoot the puck more. For a guy this talented, it’s more than okay to be selfish sometimes.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but the Oilers try to force way too many cross ice passes. Sure, sometimes they work and everyone looks good, but most of the time the puck ends up going the other way.
The Oilers weren’t good in the faceoff circle tonight, winning only 42% of the draws. The centres went: Nuge 58%, Lander 50%, Letestu 47%, McDavid 31%, Draisaitl 29%
The injuries are piling up around here and there’s only one logical explanation: Chris the Intern’s injury report. Feel free to send all of your injury-related hatred to Chris on Twitter at @TheNationChris.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
08:53	Detroit	PPG – Justin Abdelkader (3) ASST: Brendan Smith (2), Frans Nielsen (5)	0-1
16:39	Edmonton	Tyler Pitlick (4) ASST: Milan Lucic (4), Leon Draisaitl (5)	1-1

2ND PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
19:40	Edmonton	PPG – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2) ASST: Connor McDavid (9), Oscar Klefbom (3)	2-1

3RD PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
No Scoring

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