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GDB 71.0 Wrap Up: Oilers outscore their mistakes in a wild 5-4 OT win over the Sharks

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baggedmilk
11 months ago
Jeremy Coupal, we speak your name. Final Score: 5-4 Oilers in OT
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All day long, I found myself thinking about how the Edmonton Oilers should be able to handily beat the San Jose Sharks, easily securing two big points from a team that they should beat more often than not. Not only are the Sharks terrible but the Oilers would undoubtedly know how important these two points were, which should have been more than enough motivation to fuel a strong start. So to see that the Sharks had their legs moving early was incredibly frustrating as the last thing any of us needed was for the Oilers to be chasing again. But at the same point, it also wasn’t surprising to see the Sharks get on the board first given the chances they were creating for themselves as a result of their hard work and hustle. Even though the Oilers were able to tie the game less than 90 seconds later, I actually think they were lucky to make it to the intermission with the score knotted at one.
Heading into the second period, I was expecting a much better effort from the home side as there was a laundry list of items that they could improve. Most importantly, they had to be the ones setting the tone and could not get outworked again by a team that had no business even competing in this game. So when the Oilers put themselves in the lead only 30 seconds into the period, I thought that maybe the boys had learned their lesson and that we’d be in line for the effort we expected from them. Unfortunately, what happened next was a trio of Sharks goals of varying quality that not only negated the Oilers’ lead but wrestled it back in their favour not once but twice. Even when the boys bounced back with a goal by Mattias Ekholm to knot the score up at three, the Oilers couldn’t get out of their own way nor could they get a save to bail them out after mistakes and it cost them their lead in a horrifying fashion.
Down by a goal with 20 minutes to go, the Oilers undoubtedly had the firepower needed to get back in it but could they avoid giving anything else up? Could they get the goals or saves they needed to overcome their mistakes? As always, the first step to making the comeback happen was to start putting some shifts together to build some momentum. The bad news was that despite their best efforts and a tonne of shots on goal, the Oilers were simply unable to beat James Reimer. Even worse was that the Sharks found a way to extend their lead amongst all of that chaos on a perfectly executed 2-on-1 that saw Noah Gregor finish off the play and seemingly give his team some insurance. The good news, however, is that Jeremy Coupal’s eagle vision was dialed in as he pulled the trigger on a third coach’s challenge to wipe the goal off the board, paving the way for Ekholm to even things up in the dying minutes.
With the game going to OT, the question was whether or not the Oilers could finally rid themselves of the black cloud that’s been tailing them in bonus time. Either eight straight losses in either OT or the shootout, the Oilers could do themselves some good by not only grabbing the extra point but also putting an end to a run that doesn’t even make sense when you consider how much still we have in this lineup. But to his credit, James Reimer kept the Sharks alive in OT just as he had all night long and it almost gave them a win that would have been really tough to swallow. Fortunately, Darnell Nurse came through with his 4th career OT winner to not only complete the comeback but put the Oilers five points ahead of the Seattle Kraken who have two games in hand. For many reasons, this was a huge win and one the boys needed to bust their asses to get.
The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

  • Nick Bjugstad tied the game with a tap-in from beside the net (1-1) after Warren Foegele fed a beautiful pass through to set Big Bjugs up with all kinds of time and space to make a play.
  • Kailer Yamamoto gave the Oilers the lead (2-1) on the back of a scrambled play that saw the Oilers buzzing around the Sharks’ net before the puck eventually kicked out to Yamo who was able to slide it through Reimer as he was laying on his face. Make it goals in back-to-back games for Yamamoto to give him 10 on the year.
  • Only 1:25 after the Sharks took the lead, Mattias Ekholm tied the game (3-3) with a nifty backhand chip shot after Draisaitl fed him with a pass along the boards with a lane to charge toward the front of the net. I don’t know how many ways I can say that I love Mattias Ekholm but the guy has been fantastic since coming over from the Nashville Predators. Ekholm tied the game for a second time (4-4) with a goal late in the third period after he absolutely tattooed his shot from the left circle, beating Reimer over the shoulder on the blocker side.
  • Darnell Nurse got the game winner (5-4) in overtime with a low snipe through Reimer’s legs after Kailer Yamamoto rimmed the puck around the boards, caught Darryl behind the coverage, and put #25 in all alone with the win on his stick. Up to that point, I actually thought that this wasn’t one of Nurse’s better games but he came through with a clutch goal to seal the deal and I was very happy for him when he got the job done.
  • The Oilers snapped their eight-game losing streak in extra time. Finally. The streak of doom is over.
  • Connor McDavid continues his reign of terror with another multi-point effort that puts him at a staggering 136 points on the year.
  • Make it 86 points on the year for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as my dude picked up another pair of assists. I say everyone that was hating on him over the past couple of years isn’t allowed to enjoy his success.
  • Make it another casual two-point night for Leon Draisaitl as he continues his heather without getting any love for it from anyone outside of Edmonton. Dude is a stud.
  • The Oilers’ PK came up huge as the boys were able to kill off both shorthanded situations they faced. To put it lightly, we’ll need more performances like this down the stretch.
  • Jeremy Coupal don’t miss. I thought we were going to get a first shot goal against but we get a classic Coupal Bailout to save the start of this hockey game. Not done there, Coupal pulled the trigger on a goalie interference(ish) call in the second period to cancel out San Jose’s tying goal. Coupal completed the hat trick early in the third period to negate Noah Gregor’s 5-3 goal after he was deemed to be offside. I have never seen a video coach get three goals called back before and I think Coupal deserves some kind of award or an edible arrangement at the very least.
  • How can you not love seeing the Oilers outshoot an opponent by a 51-32 margin? Shoot from the parking lot and create your own chaos.
  • The Oilers won 62% of the faceoffs and you know I’m excited about it.

PRESENTED BY BETWAY

THE FACE PALMERS

  • Alexander Barabanov opened the scoring (1-0) on a rebound attempt that beat Campbell cleanly after he kicked Tomas Hertl’s shot straight into the slot. Rebound control hasn’t been kind to Soup this season and that was the case again on this one.
  • Steven Lorentz tied the game (2-2) on a breakaway that saw him knock his own rebound out of mid-air and past Campbell on the glove hand side. Nice pass by Agozzino to put Lorentz in all alone.
  • Just under two minutes after Lorentz’s tying goal, Erik Karlsson gave the Sharks back the lead (3-2) on a beautiful deke that left Jack Campbell confused and looking for his jock. TBH, that was a vintage Karlsson goal and I’m not sure there are many goalies that wouldn’t have fallen for that move. Karlsson added another goal to restore the lead once more (4-3) with a blast from the high slot that made its way through traffic and past Campbell down low.
  • All I want to do is cheer for Jack Campbell but it’s been tough sledding in year one of this new friendship. Even though not all four of San Jose’s goals were his fault by any means — Gord knows the Oilers were making terrible choices with the puck — it’s still hard to defend his night. I mean, in addition to the goals that counted, he also had three called back, a couple of posts, and looked like Darren Pang between the pipes despite being listed at 6’3. That said, despite the complaints and help of all sorts, Campbell was able to shut the door when it mattered and he gave the Oilers enough to pull out the win, including some key saves in OT. Campbell finished the night with 28 saves and a .875 save%.
  • The Nurse/Ceci pairing needs to make better choices in the defensive zone as they got caught with sloppy breakout passes more than once. If the Oilers are going to get anything done down the stretch, they’re going to need these two to up their level of play.
  • Zach Hyman would have 37 goals on the year if he had any luck. Make it seven goals called back now, which is completely unbelievable.
  • It’s almost weird when the Oilers’ power play doesn’t come through with a key goal or two, but that was what happened against the Sharks as the boys were unable to get anything done on their three chances with the man advantage.
  • The NHL site had the Oilers listed with 19 giveaways, which is way too many pucks to give up, especially against an opponent like the Sharks.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
San JoseEdmonton
5:48SharksAlexander Barabanov (15)
Assists: Tomas Hertl (37), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (17)
10
7:08OilersNick Bjugstad (16)
Assists: Warren Foegele (11), Mattias Janmark (14)
11
2ND PERIOD
San JoseEdmonton
0:30OilersKailer Yamamoto (10)
Assists: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (54), Connor McDavid (77)
12
8:32San JoseSteven Lorentz (8)
Assists: Andrew Agozzino (1), Matt Benning (23)
22
10:23San JoseErik Karlsson (21)
Assists: Fabian Zetterlund (16), Logan Couture (36)
32
11:48EdmontonMattias Ekholm (7)
Assists: Leon Draisaitl (61), Evan Bouchard (26)
33
14:23San JoseErik Karlsson (22)
Assists: Alexander Barabanov (32), Martin Kaut (3)
43
3RD PERIOD
San JoseEdmonton
16:13OilersMattias Ekholm (8)
Assists: Connor McDavid (78), Leon Draisaitl (62)
44
OT SUMMARY
San JoseEdmonton
4:45OilersDarnell Nurse (8)
Assists: Kailer Yamamoto (10), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (55)
45

#GOODCONTENT

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BETTER LAIT THAN NEVER

Fresh episode of Better Lait Than Now is out everywhere you get podcasts. This week, I’m talking the Year of Nuge, Connor McDavid’s heater, Leon Draisaitl hitting 100 points again, and a whole lot more.

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