GDB 21.0 Wrap Up: Oilers almost squander two-goal lead, beat Golden Knights in shootout
7 months ago
They don’t ask how, but how many.
On Tuesday evening, the Oilers took on the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights. Even with the third period’s close call, Edmonton defeated Vegas 5-4 in a shootout, bringing their record to 8-12-1.
Let’s take a look at the Oilersnation’s Player of the Game, and things worth mentioning.
Oilersnation’s Player of The Game: Connor McDavid
For the third straight game, Connor McDavid is our player of the game.
Coming into Tuesday’s game, McDavid had a goal and eight assists in his past two games. Well, he registered another three points as he tucked a breakaway to score his ninth goal and added two assists. He also scored a shootout goal, so that’s fun.
In 19 games played, McDavid now has eight goals and 28 points, as well as two goals and ten assists in just his past three games. His 28 is tied for ninth in league scoring.
Things worth mentioning:
Evander Kane scored once again. This was his eighth goal in as many games and his 11th goal overall. The 32-year-old power forward now has 11 goals and 20 points in 21 games and is one goal behind Zach Hyman for the team lead in goals.
Sam Gagner scored his third goal in nine games on Tuesday. The veteran had missed the past four games due to being a healthy scratch but drew into the lineup due to Hyman’s illness. Gagner’s three goals on the season have moved him into a tie with Warren Foegele for most goals from a bottom-six player. Maybe he should play more, I don’t know.
Mattias Janmark moved to the first line after Hyman’s scratch, which was an odd choice. However, he made the best of his opportunity as he scored his first goal of the season. He’s a solid player in the lineup, especially in the playoffs, but I’m not sure if it’s wise to play him in the top six.
Stuart Skinner had another rough one on Tuesday, allowing four goals on 27 shots for a .852 save percentage. He made a couple of big saves in overtime and kept the door shut in the shootout though, as it was ultimately enough to pick up the win. It seems as if the 25-year-old netminder is alternating between good games and bad games.
The Oilers had a dominant third period, allowing just five Vegas shots. However, they blew a two goal lead with under seven minutes left in the game. Some blame can be placed on Skinner as Vegas’ third goal was quite weak, but they have to defend the net better as a team.
This is Edmonton’s second three-game win streak of the season, and they now have 17 points. They’re inching ever so closer to a playoff spot, as the Nashville Predators currently have 22 points in the same amount of games. The Oilers will still have to overlap five more teams, but they certainly aren’t out of the mix for a wild card spot.
Edmonton returns to action on Thursday at 6:00 PM MT against the Winnipeg Jets. It’ll be a long bus ride to Manitoba for that game, but a win against the surging Jets will give them their first four-game win streak of the season.
Let’s go Oilers!
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