GDB 58.0 Wrap Up: Ducks @ Oilers

8 years ago

Ah, how can I be mad at the team that once spawned this hilarious cartoon? Final Score: 5-3 Ducks

Remember at the beginning of the year, when the Ducks were struggling and it looked like they would never pull out of their tailspin? Yeah that was sweet. Those were the days when the Oilers looked like they may not finish dead last in the Pacific Division. Sweet times indeed. These days, all is back to normal and we’re here talking draft lottery, checking scouting reports, and debating 18-year old upgrades for our lineup. It’s sad business, but it’s business as usual.

Coming into tonight’s game, I have to admit that I wasn’t overly excited to be giving up my Tuesday night to potentially watch the Oilers lay another shit on home ice. Quite frankly, my PVR is slammed and I need to start clearing some space before Miss Milk takes it upon herself to wipe the slate clean. No one needs that. No one deletes my stories. Needless to say, my mind was elsewhere before this thing had even started. The debate: watch a red hot Ducks teams take on my beloved Oilers, or finally figure out if Ross and Rachel get back together? It was a close call.

As for the game, the result was what you probably would have expected even though the Oilers played better than you also may have expected. Edmonton was able to produce enough offence to keep themselves in the game, and I guess that could be considered a moral win, but it wasn’t enough to get points out of this hockey game. This game was tied going into the third and the Oilers blew the chance for two points. On the other end, Anaheim scored timely goals and suffocated the Oilers third period attempts to the point that they weren’t even getting chances to get chances, save for the strange goal off Cam Fowler’s melon.

In the end, the team that you’d expect to win won the game and the Oilers continue their quest for Auston Matthews. I think I’ve seen this movie before.

We wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Connor McDavid had a quiet night apart from a few quick burst up the ice. Even so, just waiting for him to do something special is worth the price of admission. McDavid did get an assist on Taylor Hall’s goal in the second period, giving him 25 points in 21 games. Amazing.
Leon Draisaitl put home his 15th goal of the season on a quick snapshot that beat Anderson through the wickets.
Taylor Hall ended his goal scoring drought by scoring an ugly one (his 19th) as a result of crashing the net. It wasn’t the prettiest goal, but he definitely needed it.
Despite the score, Cam Talbot was solid again, and kept the Oilers in this game with some big saves. Talbot finished the night with 26 saves and an .897 save%.
You can throw me into the re-sign Gryba camp. If Chiarelli can sign him to reasonable contract I suggest that he should do it. Gryba is one of the few guys on the team that is willing to scrap if you need it, and hits every time he has the chance. He’s certainly better than whatever fourth round pick they would get for him. The Oilers missed him when he went out with that leg injury.
They scored on the power play? THEY SCORED ON THE POWER PLAY! The Oilers finished the night going 1/4 with the man advantage.
Good for Benoit Pouliot for scoring a goal after being benched by Todd McLellan in the third period. I mean, the goal was weird as all hell but they all count, and that’s what matters.

THE FACE PALMERS

I’m jealous of the way other teams are able to break out of their own end. It looks like a good time. Bastards.
How many power play chances do you give the Ducks before realizing that it’s a stupid idea? I guess the answer is four.
The Oilers only get offense if they can generate it off the rush. Cycle offense is virtually non-existent.
Of course David Perron scores. Of course he does. And you say it was with under a minute left in the period? Shocking.
Of course Andrew Cogliano scores. Of course he does.
Todd McLellan bumped Yak up to the McDavid/Eberle line and one of the first things he does is give up a puck at his own blue line that wound up in the net. That play was Yakupov’s season in a nutshell.
Speaking of McLellan: he benched Benoit Pouliot in the third period after taking his third penalty of the night. It will be interesting what happens with Pouliot in the coming years (months?) considering Chiarelli got rid of him once before.
The delays in this game were ridiculous. At first it was the goal challenge, then the coach’s challenge. Then it was the clock that needed adjustment. Longest. Game. Ever.
Two empty net goals for the Ducks. Lame.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
19:08	ANA	PPG – David Perron (10) ASST: Ryan Getzlaf (38), Sami Vatanen (21)	1 – 0 ANA
2ND PERIOD
02:16	EDM	PPG – Leon Draisaitl (15) ASST: Lauri Korpikoski (9), Justin Schultz (7)	1 – 1 Tie
14:54	ANA	Jakob Silfverberg (8) ASST: Ryan Kesler (18)	2 – 1 ANA
16:29	EDM	Taylor Hall (19) ASST: Jordan Eberle (15), Connor McDavid (16)	2 – 2 Tie
3RD PERIOD
05:35	ANA	Hampus Lindholm (8) ASST: Rickard Rakell (16)	3 – 2 ANA
18:29	ANA	SHG – EN – Andrew Cogliano (7) ASST: NONE	4 – 2 ANA
18:53	EDM	PPG – Benoit Pouliot (13) ASST: Mark Letestu (9), Andrej Sekera (15)	4 – 3 ANA
19:47	ANA	EN – Corey Perry (23) ASST: Frederik Andersen (1)

BEST OF THE TWEETS

Be sure to tweet at @OilersNation and @jsbmbaggedmilk for your chance to land in Best of the Tweets. Talk to me, Twitter.

THE NORTH X NORTHGRETZ PODCAST

The boys are back from Jasper and still licking their wounds! This week they talk about McDavid’s five point night, if McDavid has a legit shot at the Calder, what could have been for McDavid this season, and other, non-McDavid related things!