GDB 22.0 Wrap Up: You Blew It!

7 years ago

Of course they lost to the Coyotes. Of course they did. Final Score: 3-2 Coyotes in the shootout

As Robin Brownlee taught us this morning, the Coyotes were 24-1-4 against the Oilers in their last 29 games played coming into tonight’s game. That stat is a gross as numbers can possibly get and it only got worse after tonight’s loss. Forget what the fancy stats crowd is saying about Kris Russell, losing 29 of 30 games against a mediocre team like the Coyotes is bad in a ‘relegate the franchise pick up knitting’ kind of way. How do they not accidentally win some of these things? Anyway, the Oilers were on a nice little run right before tonight, but if they can’t handle a team like the Coyotes with regularity then we may need to start tempering our expectations. With the Coyotes sitting in last in the Western Conference, this was a game that the Oilers had to win. Period. And they couldn’t do that.

I have to admit that I was nervous about how this night would play out before the game had even started. I’m so accustomed to the Oilers being useless against the Coyotes and, even though they’re last in the Western Conference, I was almost expecting Arizona to make our beloved blue boys look dumb again. After Connor scored on a breakaway, giving the Oilers the lead only 90 seconds into the game, my fears of being embarrassed started to subside, but the Coyotes still kept things way too close for my liking. Then the feelings started coming back again. Not only was Arizona keeping the game close, they were running the show for big chunks of the night and it became incredibly frustrating to watch. It’s not necessarily that the Coyotes played like hot fire that was creating the problem but it was the fact that the Oilers played as sloppily as they did. They kept finding ways to shoot themselves in the foot.

From where I sit, the Oilers were actually lucky to carry the 2-1 lead into the third period and seeing them give up that lead wasn’t all that surprising. While the Coyotes played a simple and tight game, the Oilers were on the other end of the spectrum which gave the home side plenty of gifts along the way. If it wasn’t for Cam Talbot the Oilers wouldn’t have even gotten a point out of this game, and that’s bad news. Talbot faced 41 shots from a team that had no business getting that much puck possession time against an Oilers team that was first in their division. People can talk about parity and say “any given Sunday” type stuff all they want, but this was a missed opportunity for Edmonton to continue their win streak and to put two points in the bank. It’s not that getting one point is so horrible but it’s irritating to watch the Oilers play down to their competition rather than crushing them and to see them miss out on the second point they were supposed to get.

Wrapping we shall do.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

What else can you say about Connor McDavid other than he’s simply amazing to watch? Connor put the Oilers up by a goal (his 10th) 90 seconds into the game, and almost had the winner with literally no time left. Connor was great all night, and probably could’ve had five or six points if his linemates could’ve cashed.
How sweet is it for Puljujarvi and Lucic to play with Connor and collect points just by being on his line? It’s a good gig if you can get it. These guys need to help McDavid with some of the goal scoring though.
Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson teamed up for one of the nicer passing play goals that the Oilers have had recently. The two Swedes decided that the forwards didn’t matter as they both defenders pinched perfectly and Larsson made no mistake (second goal of the season) on the softball Klefbom lobbed his way. Who needs forwards?
Klefbom and Larsson were the best pairing of the night for the Oilers. They were the ones that were best able to break out of their zone cleanly and were obviously able to chip in on the scoreboard.
Leon Draisaitl may not have gotten a point tonight but he was still all over the puck. Watching Drai protect the puck along the boards and find teammates with his backend is a pleasure to watch.
Cam Talbot kept the Oilers with the lead early in this game and his teammates were lucky to have him. Talbot stopped 19 shots in the first period alone, and his fine work kept the Oilers in the lead for longer than they probably deserved to have it. Talbot was the biggest reason the Oilers were able to get a point tonight and was one of the few players to actually show up. Dadbot finished the game with 39 saves and a .951 save%.
The penalty kill was solid again tonight, killing off all three Arizona chances.

THE FACE PALMERS

How did an NHL referee actually believe that the reviewed non-goal actually crossed the line? Even crazier is how it took the NHL so long to review and overturn the call on the ice. This is madness.
The Oilers sat back and allowed the Coyotes to take control for big chunks of the first period. Let me remind you that Arizona is last in the Western Conference. Shouldn’t happen. Luckily, Talbot was locked in and allowed the Oilers to weather the storm. The Oilers game up 20 shots in the first and that is way too many at the best of times let alone when you’re playing the last place team.
Is it just me or does Milan Lucic miss the net way wide from within 10 feet more often than others? Connor set him up on a tee, on their 2-on-1, and Looch threw the puck six feet wide.
Jordan Eberle should be demanding a refund from that shooting coach. He missed the net twice in OT on the power play, and he missed the net yet again in the shootout.
Of course, Shane Doan scored against the Oilers. Of course he did. And it was only his second goal of the season, you say? NO WAY!
How did Max Domi already turn into an Oiler slayer? Every time they play the Coyotes Domi comes out with a huge performance. What’s up with that? Clearly, someone should be paying attention to him, no? Slippery little bastard, though.
I hate Mike Smith’s gypsy stranglehold over the Oilers. It’s getting ridiculous now.
I blame a lot of the Coyotes chances and shots on the mistakes and sloppiness that was the Oilers passing game tonight. I don’t know what was going on but some of these guys couldn’t have made a six-foot pass to save their life. What was that about? This was not the same team that beat Chicago, nor the one that scored four third period goals to beat Colorado.
The power play couldn’t put the Oilers over the top and they obviously could have used a goal with the man advantage. They finished the night 0/3 on the PP.
Oilers went 46% in the faceoff circle. Third game in a row where they’ve won less than half.
I will not complain about the refs. I will not complain about the refs. I will not complain about the refs.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
01:31	Edmonton	Connor McDavid (10) ASST: Jesse Puljujarvi (6), Milan Lucic (9)	1-0
17:29	Edmonton	Adam Larsson (2) ASST: Oscar Klefbom (5), Jordan Eberle (10)	2-0
17:38	Arizona	Max Domi (3) ASST: Radim Vrbata (7), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (4)	2-1

2ND PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
No Scoring

3RD PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
08:06	Arizona	Shane Doan (2) ASST: Anthony DeAngelo (4), Tobias Rieder (4)	2-2

OT PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
No Scoring

SHOOTOUT

TEAM	DETAILS
Arizona	Missed – Anthony Duclair
Edmonton	Goal – Mark Letestu
Arizona	Goal – Radim Vrbata
Edmonton	Missed – Connor McDavid
Arizona	Goal – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Edmonton	Missed – Jordan Eberle