GDB 66:0 Wrap Up: Oilers @ Hurricanes

9 years ago

When McDavid’s at the top, Ma. Tank it like it’s haaaawt. Tank it like it’s haaaawt. Final Score: 7-4 Hurricanes.

There was a lot of empty seats in Carolina today. I mean, who couldn’t get fired up about an afternoon game between the Oilers and the Hurricanes!? I guess they’re just not suckers for punishment like we are up here. In a way, I admire the fact that Carolina “fans” would use their Sunday afternoon to do pretty much anything other than watch a Hurricanes game. The team sucks, so why go? It makes sense, I guess. Unfortunately, I love the Oilers, and have invested so much time in watching them be awful, that I may as well ride it out at this point.

Despite what amounted to being a really awful hockey game, there were some good things to talk about for the Oilers. Nugey ended his scoring drought by popping a hat trick, and both he and Jordan Eberle finished the game with four and three points respectively. I also thought that the Purcell-Roy-Yak line was effective all night. From there, the wheels fell off completely for the Oilers. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead, the Oilers kept finding new and creative ways to let the Hurricanes get back in it. This is in fact the same team that played against Chicago the other night, yes? Just making sure.

At this point, I’m thinking that neither Jekyll nor Hyde would be able to comprehend what’s going on with the Oilers. How a team can look so different from night to night is simply astounding. Only the Oilers could make a 3-0 lead look like the worst thing to possibly happen to a hockey game. The Hurricanes were able to score six goals in under 20 minutes of play! And to think that MacT is “comfortable” with most of these “players” going forward? *whistles*

We wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Afternoon games give us all an excuse to day drink! Much praise to the schedule god!
Nuge scored his 17th goal of the year on a great play by Jordan Eberle on the boards. Eberle took a hit to make the play, and Nuge took care of the finish. Nuge added his 18th and 19th goal of the year, to finish off the hat trick, and prove that he is in fact a warlord in training. Nuge’s hat trick was the second of his career, and first Oiler hat trick on the season.
Jordan Eberle’s 16th goal of the year showcased his ability to read plays. He watched the power play develop and had the puck come right to him as if he knew it would be there. Eberle had a solid night.
The Purcell-Roy-Yakupov line was good again tonight. They were forechecking hard, and creating chances from turnovers all night long. It’s amazing to watch the turnaround in Nail Yakupov’s game this season.
Richard Bachman wasn’t quite able to take care of business (you know I had to) but it’s not like he had much help. From the second period onward, defence seemed to be more of a concept than something that’s actually supposed to happen.

THE FACE PALMERS

Keith Aulie and Andrew Ference is an actual pairing on the 2014-15 Oilers.
I don’t understand why people always seem to link Cam Ward to the Edmonton Oilers. Yes, I get that Cam Ward is from Sherwood Park and beat the Oilers in the Stanley Cup, but so what?

I’m not sure where the Oilers defensive coverage went in the second and third periods, but they kept finding ways to make the Hurricanes look like offensive juggernauts. It seems like every mistake the Oilers made wound up in the back of the net. It was an absolute yard sale out there.

The Oilers had a three goal lead with half of the game left to play. Unreal.

After producing 47 shots against the Blackhawks on Friday, the Oilers could only muster 20 against the Hurricanes. Amazing, right?

SCORING SUMMARY

From TSN.ca…

BEST OF THE TWEETS

Talk to me, Twitter.

NATIONGEAR PROMO CODE

Yesterday, I dropped a promo code on NationGear. Why? Because I can, and because Wanye is on the other side of the world and I didn’t think he would find out. He did. Regardless, I want you to have 15% off your gear order, and you can get that just by using the promo code “boobaggedmilk” at checkout. You can thank me for my generosity later. For now, I challenge all of you to use this discount code wisely – it’s only valid until tomorrow (Monday). Happy shopping, Nation.