GDB 45.0 Wrap Up: Oilers @ Sharks

8 years ago

At least we got a point? Final Score: 2-1 Sharks in the shootout

I hate 8:30pm starts. There is nothing worse than when the Oilers head down to California and the game doesn’t start for what seems like forever. I say this as someone that lives in Edmonton. I can’t even imagine how you Oilers fans out east (or abroad) must feel. Staying up until all hours of the night to watch the Oilers can be a little bit like Russian roulette — it’s risky. Sometimes you can’t sleep because you’re excited about an Oilers win, but most times you can’t sleep because you’re annoyed about a loss. Just like tonight.

As we have come to expect from games against the Sharks, Edmonton spent long chunks of the night in their own zone and the shot clock reflected it. Fortunately, Cam Talbot (starter edition) showed up to play and kept the Oilers in the game despite being badly outshot. Shot math aside, solid goaltending and timely goal scoring pushed this game into the shootout where anything could happen. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as the Oilers were unable to finish in both overtime and the shootout.

Tonight’s game had all types of storylines coming in. Tonight was the first game back for Todd McLellan, in San Jose, after amassing 311 wins as the head coach of the Sharks (I wonder how much money he put up on the board for a win). It also the night that Zack Kassian made his Oilers debut after being acquired in a trade for Ben Scrivens back in December. As it turns out, the biggest impact was made by a former first overall pick in first game back from injury, but it’s hard to win games when you only score one goal.

The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Another game closer to McDavid.
If it weren’t for Cam Talbot this game could have been over way earlier than the shootout. The goaltending was great, but it would be nice if he could get a little bit of run support. Talbot finished the night with 36 saves and a .973 save%.
I thought Yak looked great in his first game back since he was taken out by that linesman. He had some lots of energy on the ice, his hands looked good, and he was rewarded with a goal (his 3rd). Not too bad for a guy that missed 22 games.
Zack Kassian looked alright in his first game as an Oiler. He was a little bit quiet, but I think that has more to do with catching up to the pace of the NHL than it did him playing poorly. At the end of the night, he laid a few hits and was looked good mucking around in front of the net. I look forward to seeing how he progresses as he starts getting his legs back.
The penalty kill was rock solid tonight killing off all four disadvantages that they faced.
I don’t mean to alarm you but Justin Schultz put up another point tonight, giving him four in his last four games. If he keeps playing better and better as the season goes on would you still be as happy if the Oilers traded him?
Tickets are on sale for the Nation ski trip to Jasper! Get yours before they sell out.

THE FACE PALMERS

It’s hard to win games when you only score one goal.
Speaking about a lack of scoring… Lander may never score again.
Yak had a great game tonight so it seems strange that he only got 11:30 of ice time. Was McLellan easing him back in? Odd.
Nuge can’t seem to buy a goal right now. He had a great chance in overtime but couldn’t finish.
Martin Jones was giving up some huge rebounds tonight, but the Oilers were never around to put a second shot on the net. There was either no one there at all, or they would do flybys rather than stop in front of the net.
Please correct me if I’m wrong but was the reffing weird again tonight? I felt like there was soft calls, and non-calls going both ways. The craziest call had to be the ‘Delay of Game’ penalty on Kassian when the replay clearly showed that the puck deflected off Marleau’s stick. This can’t just be happening during Oilers games, right? How did they only get one power play?
Oilers got roasted in the faceoff circle again tonight. San Jose won 27 of 46 for 59%.
That was an empty looking arena in San Jose.
Why can’t Brent Burns be an Oiler? I love that wild bearded caveman.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
11:29	SJS	Marc-Edouard Vlasic (5) ASST: Melker Karlsson (2), Joe Thornton (24)	1 – 0 SJS
2ND PERIOD
08:02	EDM	Nail Yakupov (3) ASST: Lauri Korpikoski (6), Justin Schultz (5)	1 – 1 Tie
3RD PERIOD
NONE
OT PERIOD
NONE

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