GDB 67.0 Wrap Up: The Oilers stopped playing in the second period and blew a 3-1 lead in loss to the Leafs
1 year ago
Well, I’d rather watch Game 5 of the 2017 Western Conference semifinals again than whatever that loss to the Leafs just was.
It was a flurry late in the second period that really sunk the Oilers as they let Toronto score three quick goals to erase Edmonton’s 3-1 lead. With eight minutes left, Ryan McLeod turned it over, starting the spiral. Before the end of the period, the Leafs had a 5-3 lead. What went wrong?
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What went wrong:
- Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. McLeod turned it over to Mitch Marner, who was alone in front of Stuart Skinner. Vincent Desharnais turned it over to Marner, leading to a William Nylander goal. Darnell Nurse turned it over to John Tavares, who eventually scored.
- Undisciplined play also sunk the Oilers. It started early with an Evander Kane penalty less than a minute into the game. Overall, the Oilers had 20 minutes of penalties, giving the Leafs five powerplay opportunities. Moreover, none of the penalties was a fighting major. Hard to win when you consistently take penalties
- The Oilers’ defence was shaky all game. The team had limited offensive zone time and was hemmed in their own zone for a large portion of the game Stuart Skinner faced 37 shots, allowing six goals.
The bright side:
- Connor McDavid scored his 55th goal and added two assists, giving him a total of 127 points in 67 games. It sucks they lost, but it’s always nice when McDavid adds to his historic season.
- The Ekholm-Bouchard pairing continues to play well. From an eye test perspective, they were the only pairing that wasn’t constantly hemmed into the zone. Bouchard’s game has continued to excel with Ekholm.
Flush it down the toilet and move on to the next one. The Oilers will play the Ottawa Senators on March 14th at home.
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