GDB 41.0 Wrap Up: Hurricanes @ Oilers

8 years ago

Our Cam > Their Cam Final Score: 1-0 Oilers

The last time the Oilers played the Hurricanes they looked as though they were completely disinterested, and had no desire to win the game. From where I sat (and currently sit) the Hurricanes were (and are) a team that the Oilers should beat on most nights, and failure to do so means that the team/goaltending was likely awful. When the Hurricanes beat the Oilers by a score of 4-1 back in November it ended up being a combination of both lacklustre play and goaltending that sunk the ship.

Coming into tonight’s game I figured that it would be next to impossible for the Oilers to produce less than they did the last time these two teams met. With the way the first period went I started to doubt myself. Although, to Edmonton’s credit Carolina plays a horribly boring trap style of play which made us all want to pass out or pray for death. The Oilers struggled to produce offence against the trap, and they were lucky that Cam Talbot was ready to stop any of the mistakes that Carolina was waiting on. As far as excitement goes, this one ranked up there with ‘watching leaves bloom’ on the sliding scale of entertainment.

Regardless of the temptation to fall asleep the Oilers got a win that they desperately needed. While the Oilers weren’t able to score in regulation they were able to get things done in overtime and get Talbot the shutout that he deserved. In the end, this game ended up being a dual Cam battle with he who made the first mistake suffering the shame of defeat. Fortunately, it was our Cam that remained perfect giving the Oilers two points towards meaningful games in February. It may not have been exciting but the Oilers got the job done. Boring or not, I’ll take a win every time.

Wrap it up.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

One day closer to McDavid.
Cam Talbot started his fourth consecutive game and is finally starting to show signs of why Peter Chiarelli traded for him in the summer. He gave the Oilers a chance to win this hockey game, and came up with huge saves on multiple occasions. Cam Talbot stopped all 29 shots he faced for his first shutout as an Edmonton Oiler.
Andrej Sekera had a great game tonight. Not only did he get the OT winner (his fifth of the season) he also played tough minutes and laid out some huge hits.
Nuge got an assist on the winning giving him five assists in his last five games.
Who would have expected Brandon Davidson playing as big of a role on defence as he has so far? He’s been a great story in every sense of the word.
Huge PK, for the Oilers, with under four minutes left on the game. That was a huge kill.
I love how Darnell Nurse plays hockey. He’s mean enough as it is, just imagine what he’ll be like as a grizzled veteran.
Justin Schultz played a team high 23:17 and hardly Jultzed at all. Credit where credit is due.
I’m sure you guys are as excited as I am that a new season of Teen Mom OG premiered tonight.

THE FACE PALMERS

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The first period was probably one of the most boring first periods of hockey that I’ve seen in a while.
I was really hoping that the Oilers power play would start getting better after scoring against Arizona. It did not. Their first attempt on the night didn’t even produce a shot. Happy day.
While the Oilers were able to register a shot on their second power play of the night they still weren’t able to score. The power play went 0/2 on the night.
Actually, the Oilers weren’t really able to get much going in terms of sustained pressure all night. The Hurricanes lock up the neutral zone fairly well, and the Oilers weren’t all that great at retrieving pucks on the dump in. Not a great combo. When they did get the puck back they never seemed able to put the hammer down and keep the Canes hemmed in.
The Gryba/Hunt defensive pairing was an adventure to say the least.
Even Todd McLellan said that this game probably wasn’t the most enjoyable to watch!

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
NONE
2ND PERIOD
NONE
3RD PERIOD
NONE
OT PERIOD
02:47	EDM	Andrej Sekera (5) Wrist shot – ASST: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (20), Jordan Eberle (7)	1 – 0 EDM

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