GDB 5.0 Wrap Up: Welcome home, Yak

7 years ago

Yak scored, but the Oilers won. I’m happy with that. Final Score: 3-1 Oilers

I have to take a minute to start off the wrap up by talking about Nail Yakupov. On the day he was traded, I wrote a farewell letter to everyone’s favourite enigmatic Russian in which I said that it looked like he had lost the joy for playing hockey that he had when he was a rookie. Over the last few years he was drowning in Edmonton, and a lot of that was his fault, but it’s not like the organization played no part in it. After watching him play for the Blues it looks like the smile is back on his face, and that he’s back to being the same kid that many of us fell for back in 2012. Will Nail Yakupov ever live up to the first overall billing? Most signs point towards no, but that won’t stop me from cheering for him. Nice to see him get a cheer after they announced his name for his goal.

As for the game itself, this was truly the first test the Oilers have had all season, and I mean that in terms of the quality of the opposition. To this point in the season, Edmonton hasn’t faced a team that played in last year’s playoffs and the Blues were their first measuring stick to see where they’re at as a team. If the Oilers are going to make the playoffs they’re going to have to beat teams like St. Louis and they’re going to have to do it with regularity. Tonight’s game was important to see how they match up. Were they going to hang in there or were they going to get pushed around like we’ve seen so many times before? Not only did the Oilers not look outmatched throughout most of the night, they actually won the game, and I don’t know how often we could have expected that last year. I almost feel bad that I was shocked to see the Oilers keeping up with the Blues, but it’s true. I guess the last 10 years have conditioned me to expect failure and when that doesn’t happen I’m filled with doubt and conflicting emotions.

Winning games against teams like the Blues have been about as common as solar eclipses around here, so it’s hard not to get excited (parade route is almost planned out btw). Sure, there are still plenty of things that the Oilers still need to work on, and I’m sure we’ll argue about those things in the comments section, but wins like this will give the team confidence moving forward and let them know that they can hang with the best. Will the Oilers win every game when they’re outshot like they were tonight? No, probably not, but the fact that they didn’t succumb to the late pressure and lived through another patented third period collapse can be viewed as nothing but positive. I’m sure one of you guys will tell me I’m just fluffing the team again, but you have to admit it’s nice to watch actual victories instead of moral victories.

Le Wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

First-Place *clap clap* First-Place *clap clap*
I don’t think I will ever get tired of watching Connor McDavid skate with the puck. The things he can do at such high speeds are amazing. Even when he doesn’t score he’s always dangerous and not knowing what he’s going to do next is almost good enough for me. Very special player. McDavid continued his streak of never hitting three pointless games in a row with his assist on Lucic’s goal.
Milan Lucic has to love playing with Connor McDavid because his second goal of the season was a tap in. Lucic was smart enough to head to the net and keep his stick on the ice and Connor hit him with the pass. I thought Lucic had his best game as an Oiler so far. He was rushing the puck, throwing hits, scoring goals, and doing everything the Oilers wanted when they signed him.
McDavid, Lucic, and Eberle were producing chances all night and I think we’re starting to see some nice chemistry on that first line. Dare to dream, Arnold. Great night for that line.
Though they didn’t get on the scoresheet the Pouliot – Nuge – Kassian line played some heavy defensive minutes and were able to keep St. Louis’ top line off the board. They need to produce, but keeping the other team’s top line off the board is just as good.
How good has Tyler Pitlick been so far this season? The kid scored another goal tonight and is on pace for 49 on the year. Okay, so he won’t get anywhere near 50 but it’s still awesome to see him having some early success. Here’s hoping he can stay healthy.
Cam Talbot had another solid night tonight despite the fact that he just had twins yesterday. He wasn’t as sharp as we expected he would be to start off the year, but he’s bounced back in the two games since he was blown out against the Sabres. Another solid night for the Oilers starter. Talbot finished the night with 34 saves and a .971 save%. Lights out.
The Oilers had a better start tonight than they did against Carolina and it showed that they were ready to play. St. Louis is a very good team and it was encouraging to see the Oilers match up evenly against them and keep it going throughout the night. In years past, we would see the Oilers keeping pace for 10-15 minutes and fall apart. Tonight was different.
Solid night in the faceoff circle for the Oilers with the team finishing at 58%. (McDavid – 53%, Nuge – 60%, Lander – 68%, Letestu – 14%, Draisaitl – 78%)
I thought all three defensive pairings had good nights. Larsson and Klefbom played some heavy minutes, Sekera and Russell continued to develop chemistry, and Gryba and Darryl were steady on the third pairing. Pretty impressive when you compare the top six defensemen for these two teams.
The penalty kill was perfect tonight, killing off all three Blues’ chances.
Nail Yakupov scored his second goal of the season against his old team and I was happy for him. It was nice to see the smile back on his face. Thirteen more goals until that second rounder.

THE FACE PALMERS

The Oilers have to tighten up on their giveaways at both blue lines. So far this season, I’ve been noticing lots of turnovers at both blue lines and they’ve been lucky that more of them aren’t winding up in the back of the net.
If I had to nitpick I’d say that the Oilers allowed too many shots again. Things were pretty even through 40 minutes and then the Blues seemed to pour it on in the third. The Oilers bent but never broke, but they probably shouldn’t allow 35 shots and register only 23 if they plan to keep winning hockey games.
The Blues pushed hard in the third period and the Oilers had to hang on for dear life to keep the game tied. Credit to Cam Talbot for some excellent goaltending, but there were some nervous moments in the d-zone.
The Oilers didn’t have many power play chances but they sure as shit didn’t do anything with the ones that they got. Once again, the Oilers had a hard time setting up in the zone and they didn’t get enough shots towards the net. They have to figure out a way to score on the power play, and I’m thinking they might want to fire off the current game plan down to the Flames.
I want a Colten Parayko. The kid is gigantic and he’s a hell of a defenseman.
People getting on Nuge for not producing points right now are getting a little bit crazy. You know neither Kassian nor Pouliot have ever gotten more than 37 points in a year, right? It’s like sticking Kyle Lowry with a bunch of toddlers and wondering why he can’t make them dunk. Here’s a garden spade — go dig me a lake.
I did not like seeing Yak in a Blues jersey. Dislike. *spits* I know some of you guys hated him, but I’ve heard too many good stories about Yakupov the person to not feel bad that things didn’t work out here.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
No Scoring

2ND PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
03:37	St. Louis	Nail Yakupov (2) ASST: Joel Edmundson (1), Dmitrij Jaskin (1)	1-0
06:22	Edmonton	Tyler Pitlick (3) ASST: Andrej Sekera (2), Mark Letestu (2)	1-1

3RD PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
00:36	Edmonton	Milan Lucic (2) ASST: Connor McDavid (4), Jordan Eberle (3)	1-2
19:22	Edmonton	EN – Connor McDavid (4)	1-3

BEST OF THE TWEETS

Talk to me Twitter. Tweet at @OilersNation and @jsbmbaggedmilk for your chance to land in the Best of the Tweets.

NATIONGEAR POP-UP STORES AT VACANCY HALL

Before each and every home game we’ll be putting on a NationGear pop-up store at Vacancy Hall (10363 104th Street NW – in the Mercer building) for a couple hours before puck drop. Feel free to swing by before (store closes an hour before puck drop) to upgrade your wardrobe with the latest NationGear without having to wait for shipping.