GDB 63.0 Wrap Up: Blues @ Oilers

9 years ago

ELPH, we speak your name! Final Score: 2-1 Blues

I’m going to be honest with you, when I look at the schedule and see that the Oilers are playing on Hockey Night in Canada I instantly fear the nationally televised blowout. It’s becoming an Oilers staple at this point. Somewhere, I’m sure there are people betting with an over/under for goals against that is absolutely insulting. Do you blame these gambling men? No, of course not. The Oilers got blown out 7-2 on Hockey Day in Canada which also happened to be Valentine’s Day. Not very loving, was it?

Anyway…

To say that tonight’s game was infinitely better than that Senators game would be the understatement of the month. I know the Blues aren’t exactly at the top of their game (5-5-0 coming into tonight’s game), but the Oilers held their own despite the injuries. It’s either the Oilers were able to keep up, or the Blues were playing like they just came off a bender. Either seems likely. Regardless, tonight’s game was entertaining and another notch in the the “Todd Nelson gets more with less” column on his report card.

At the end of the day, the result is the one that most people would have expected even though the Blues weren’t nearly as dominant as they should have been. Frankly, they’re going to need to play a hell of a lot better than they did tonight if they want to get anywhere in the playoffs. The Oilers game them all they could handle, and that doesn’t bode well for a long run for the Stanley Cup. For the Oilers, tonight’s loss kept them below the Coyotes in the MeJesus sweepstakes, and kept us all entertained. All in all, that makes for a good Saturday night… I guess.

We wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

I loved seeing Bill Ranford out there to drop the opening faceoff. He signed an autograph for me when I was a kid, and I will love him forever for it. I remember the Oilers getting absolutely pummelled that night, but #30 stopped to give this youngster
Nice start for the Oilers despite finishing the 1st period down by a goal. The Oilers only allowed 7 shorts against to a very good Blues team. The goal the Blues did score came on a nice passing play that Scrivens didn’t have much of a chance on.
Justin Schultz scored (his 5th) on a nice little snap shot.
Jordan Eberle got his 11th assist in his last 10 games. He’s been one of the players that seems to be playing better under Todd Nelson. Coincidence? Probably, but you never know.
The Oilers were able to compete against one of the better teams in the league (again) despite being severely shorthanded talent wise. The Oilers are battling a lot of injuries right now, but they’re still able to keep themselves in these games. I’m not sure whether it’s a mirage yet or not.
Ben Scrivens played really well tonight. He came up big for the Oilers on multiple occasions. I’m sure he would have liked to have the Statsny goal back, but he bailed the Oilers out more times than what he gave up. Solid night for the Professor. He finished with 25 saves an a .926 save%.
At least they didn’t get blown out!

THE FACE PALMERS

So long, Jeff Petry. You were a good Oiler, and you shouldn’t be leaving right now. I fear that management doesn’t know how to properly evaluate talent, and you’re the latest example of that.
Speaking of Jeff Petry… The panel on CBC was talking about his trade value, and Nick Kypreos mentioned the price to be a 2nd round pick+. Normally I wouldn’t listen to Nick Kypreos save for the fact that Elliotte Friedman didn’t disagree with him. If Petry gets moved for a 2nd rounder and a mediocre prospect of some kind MacT had better start updating his resume because his last year will have been brutal. Oh wait… I’m talking about the Oilers here. MacT has a job for life.
It was a tough night for Mark Fayne. He got caught puck watching on the winning goal by Statsny. Fayne was playing much better than this earlier in the season.
Arizona lost again tonight, and it was important for the Oilers to make a move. Tonight’s edition of ELPH ensured that the Oilers kept pace with the Shitacular® hockey that the Coyotes are playing. The Oilers are hanging on by a thread in the McEichel raffle, and it’s almost getting too close for comfort.

SCORING SUMMARY

From TSN.ca…

BEST OF THE TWEETS

Talk to me Twitter… Tweet to @jsbmbaggedmilk or @OilersNation for your shot at Internet glory.

YOUR PHOTOSHOP CHAMPION!

Not only did this entry win the contest, it got retweet by the Lord of Yak Manor himself (which probably helped it win). I want to congratulate the Towel Boy for his winning piece of art! Frankly, the guy might be unstoppable. Not only did he just win this photoshop contest he also placed in the top 10 in the NationDrafts hockey pool! For the rest of the winners, I will be getting in touch with you in the coming days (I’ll also be announcing the winner again later this week). A big shout out goes out to all the winners, and everyone that entered the contest. I will be getting all the pictures up on the Nation’s Facebook page at some point this week – there are so many good ones.

In case you want to review the voting…