GDB 49.0 Wrap Up: SWEEEEEEEEEEEP!

7 years ago

_{(photo: Eric Verduzco)}

SWEEP! Final Score: 7-3 Oilers

With the way the Oilers played last night, I was expecting that they would have plenty of extra energy for tonight’s shindig in Calgary. I was also hoping that the Oilers could use the Predators as back-to-back inspiration and hit the ice with more fire under their ass than the rested Flames. Besides, Edmonton needed to find a way to win this hockey game to give themselves a bit of breathing room going into next week’s California road trip. But before that could happen they were going to need a much better effort than what we watched a night ago, and that’s exactly what happened.

Unlike last night’s game, the Oilers got the start they wanted against the Flames. Anton Slepyshev opened the score early and it seemed to open up the floodgates for his teammates to get in on the scoring as well. The Oilers followed up with two more first-period goals and looked to have the game in control before it was even 20 minutes old. Combined with the outpouring of offense was some excellent goaltending from Laurent Brossoit. Brossoit showed no signs of nerves in his first start of the year and he was rock solid and able to weather pretty much any storm that the Flames threw his way until the final buzzer went on his first NHL win.

At the end of the night, the best way I can describe this game is to say that the Oilers killed the Flames and then all took turns poking the carcass with a stick. Even though the Flames scored a few goals and outshot the Oilers by a margin of 41 to 31, a lot of those shots, especially in the first period, came from the outside and weren’t really much of a problem for Brossoit. From start to finish the Oilers produced quality chances in the Calgary zone and found ways to capitalize on their opportunities, a stark contrast from the game they played last night.

For the first time in 31 years, the Oilers have swept the season series against Calgary. Enjoy it, Nation.

Wrap it like it’s hot.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Anton Slepyshev scored an early goal on a quick wrister that beat Johnson on the short side. Slepy’s third goal of the year gave the Oilers the early lead that they couldn’t get last night against the Predators.
Mark Letestu scored his 10th goal of the year after the fourth line had a great shift in Calgary’s zone. They kept the puck down low, cycled in the corner, and Kassian made a perfect pass out to Letestu in the slot.
Jordan Eberle flew in from the blue line with some time and he beat Chad Johnson on the short side for the Oilers second goal in a span of 36 seconds. Eberle’s goal (his 10th) ended up chasing Johnson from the game and was the kind of goal we’d expect Jordan to score when he has that much time. Ebs followed that goal up with another in the second period as he drove to the front of the net and deflected home a Matt Benning pass for his 11th of the year. After going goalless in 18 games, Eberle now has three goals in his last three games. It was a four point night for Ebs and we can only hope that he’s heating up.
Connor McDavid continued the offensive outburst by sniping a snap shot past Elliott in the second period. McDavid added to his league lead in points with his 16th goal of the year on a beautiful shot from the slot. You know the Oilers had all weapons firing when McDavid got one point but the team put up seven goals.
Oscar Klefbom must have felt left out because he got in on the scoring action by blasting a clapper past Elliott for a power play goal (his eighth) in the second period. Klefbom has gotten better and better as the season has progressed and it’s fantastic to see as he’s obviously going to be a cornerstone of the defense for a long time. Two points for Sexbomb.
Nuge put the icing on the cake with an empty net goal (his 10th) to finish the game. The second line is starting to heat up and, like his linemates, Nuge finished the night with multiple points.
Laurent Brossoit played very well in his first start of the year and he finished the night with his first NHL win. Brossoit hasn’t had a great year in Bakersfield, but he has been decent so I was wondering how he would perform under the pressure of a Hockey Night in Canada edition of the Battle of Alberta. Needless to say, he did not disappoint. Brossoit finished with 38 saves and a .927 save%.
Three point night for Adam Larsson and he was mixing it up physically whenever he had the chance as well. Solid game for the big Swede.
Two assist for Benoit Pouliot which is encouraging. That second line is starting to gel and that could be a major boost to the Oilers’ playoff push down the stretch.
After going a while without fighting, Milan Lucic scrapped for the second time in two nights as he threw down with Engelland for the second time this season. As always, you can check out the fight over at HockeyFights.com.
I said it last week and I’ll say it again now: I’m pumped that the Battle of Alberta means something again. These games are so much more fun when both teams are fighting to make something happen, and it’s been a pleasure to watch this year. Here’s to a BOA playoff series in the near future.

THE FACE PALMERS

Matt Tkachuk is going to be annoying for a long time and I dislike it. He scored a power play goal by parking himself in front of the net and making a nice deflection on an incoming point shot. Fortunately, Tkachuk took a penalty right after the goal that led to the Oilers scoring another one on the power play. LAWLZ
Sean Monahan got sent in alone for a short handed goal as a result of a sloppy pass in the neutral zone that landed on the wrong stick. The Oilers need to make better choices with the puck because they weren’t on the same page for this one.
Not much chance for Brossoit on the Bouma goal in the third period. Brossoit was being screened by multiple people and Bouma deflected the puck perfectly past him. Too little too late.
While many came from the outside, the Oilers still allowed too many shots against. Laurent Brossoit was dialed in but they certainly didn’t break him in slowly.
Oilers went 44% in the faceoff circle and that’s the second game in a row where they were in the low 40s. Faceoffs are a small detail they’ll have to figure out as they mature as a team.
The power play should have had more than the one goal with the man advantage. I’m not saying they were bad per se, but they gave up as many goals on the PP as they scored. Edmonton finished the night at 1/5 with the man advantage.
Goal challenges are getting ridiculous. The Flames challenged McDavid’s goal for goaltender interference and Pat Maroon wasn’t anywhere near Elliott at the time when the puck went in. All these challenges are doing is slow the game down and it’s annoying. Don’t @ me.
I wonder how Kris Versteeg’s “better opportunity” in Calgary is going?

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
01:17	Edmonton	Anton Slepyshev (3) ASST: Drake Caggiula (6)	1-0
05:22	Edmonton	Mark Letestu (10) ASST: Zack Kassian (11), Oscar Klefbom (10)	2-0
05:58	Edmonton	Jordan Eberle (10) ASST: Benoit Pouliot (4), Adam Larsson (8)	3-0

2ND PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
03:57	Edmonton	Connor McDavid (16) ASST: Leon Draisaitl (25), Adam Larsson (9)	4-0
12:24	Edmonton	Jordan Eberle (11) ASST: Matthew Benning (8), Benoit Pouliot (5)	5-0
15:55	Calgary	PPG – Matthew Tkachuk (9) ASST: Dougie Hamilton (23), Michael Frolik (17)	5-1
16:53	Edmonton	PPG – Oscar Klefbom (8) ASST: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (15), Jordan Eberle (20)	6-1

3RD PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
00:26	Calgary	SHG – Sean Monahan (15)	6-2
15:49	Calgary	Lance Bouma (3) ASST: T.J. Brodie (14), Dennis Wideman (12)	6-3
19:25	Edmonton	EN – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (10) ASST: Jordan Eberle (21), Adam Larsson (10)	7-3

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