GDB 75.0 Wrap Up: Oilers dominant in every way, dummy the Golden Knights in massive 7-4 win

Photo credit:Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

1 year ago

NUUUUUUUUUUUUGE! Final Score: 7-4 Oilers

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Seeing as everyone that cares about the Edmonton Oilers knew how important tonight’s game was, I won’t bore you with my routine of pacing and drawing up breakout plays that were going on at the Castle Milk today. All you need to know is that I was fired up for puck drop about 14 hours before puck drop. But even with all of those hours of preparation, in no way was I prepared for the ridiculousness that took place in this first period. Even though it was probably reasonable to expect a first-shot goal in the opening minutes at this point in our Oilers fandom, I don’t think any of us would have expected five combined goals in under 10 minutes. There were lead changes, power play goals, shorties, and just about anything you could ask for apart from a reasonable expectation for defensive hockey. Then again, who needs defence when you can seemingly score at will?

With a one-goal lead in their pocket but plenty of time left to go, the Oilers could not afford to take their foot off the gas nor could they allow an early one to tie things up. So what happens? Exactly what we didn’t want to happen. As if cursed by the Gords, the Oilers allowed yet another goal in the opening moments of the period that erased their lead and reset the table. The good news is that throwing pucks on Jonathan Quick is always a pretty good idea, and that’s exactly what Darnell Nurse did at the six minute mark to wrestle the lead back in Edmonton’s favour. Clearly inspired by the idea, Nurse’s teammates followed suit with a barrage of shots over the remainder of the frame, which results in goals by Kane and Hyman to further extend the lead to a field goal. The thing I liked most is that the Oilers didn’t lead the early goal against put them down, and that’s the exact kind of resilience we’ll need down the stretch.

Despite playing last night in Arizona, the Oilers were by far the better hockey team in this game and they just needed to keep it going for 20 more minutes. Even though they had a nice lead to fall back on, my hope was that the boys kept pushing for more to avoid any possible swings in momentum or shifts in the Universe that could allow the Golden Knights to fight their way back. More importantly, I wanted to see the Oilers finish off strong. As hoped, the boys were wheeling again once the puck dropped. And just as they had through 40 minutes, the boys did a fantastic job of pushing for offence while giving up very little in their own end. Even though both sides traded goals in the period, it never felt like Vegas was ever at risk of making things close. Rather, this was as good of an effort as you could expect from a team that needed to win despite playing the second half of a back-to-back set. In every single way, this was a massive win for the Oilers, two points they needed, and you absolutely love to see it.

The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Only 37 seconds after Vegas opened the scoring, Evan Bouchard tied the game (1-1) with a power play goal after RNH found him with a pass in the high slot that he quickly snapped top corner. It was the kind of response you wanted to see from the Oilers and it’s no surprise that it was the power play that got the job done.
Near the midway point of the first period, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gave the Oilers the lead after he snatched the puck up from the Vegas defenders and snapped a shot up and over Quick on the glove-hand side. Hell of a shot by RNH. And with five points on the night, Nugent-Hopkins now has 96 on the season. As my friend, The Towel Boy, said, this could be the quietest chase for a 100-point season in NHL history.
Only 24 seconds after Karlsson picked up the shortie, Leon Draisaitl restored the lead (3-2) on that very same power play as the business end of a tic-tac-toe play with McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins. Give Draisaitl 47 on the season.
Darnell Nurse gave the Oilers back the lead (4-3) with a half-clapper from the boards that probably should have been stopped but thankfully Jonathan Quick hasn’t been Jonathan Quick in nearly a decade.
In the back half of the second period, Evander Kane put the Oilers up by a pair (5-3) after a beautiful play by Leon Draisaitl saw him dangle the defender before feeding a perfect backhand pass to EK91 for the tap-in. Incredible play by Draisaitl and goal number 300 for Kane.
After taking a penalty early in the third period, Brett Kulak walked out of the box and picked up his first goal in 48 games (7-3) after getting out of the box, receiving a pass behind the coverage, and burying his shot like he’s done it 2000x before.
Warren Foegele continues his fine run of play, picking up an assist, two hits, and a shot on goal in his 13:56 of TOI.
As usual, the power play was electric once again — they were perfect, in fact — cashing in three goals on three opportunities with the man advantage. If you take penalties, there’s a very good chance the Oilers’ PP is going to burn you.
Not to be outdone, the Oilers’ PK was also rock solid this evening as they killed off three-of-three shorthanded situations they faced. Outside of giving up the shortie, this was a really nice night for the special teams.
We thank Jonathan Quick for his service.
If you’re a fan of shots on goal then you’ll be thrilled to know that the Oilers outshot the Golden Knights by a 39-22 margin.
The Oilers won 59% of the faceoffs and I couldn’t possibly think of a better stat to end the night with.

PRESENTED BY BETWAY

THE FACE PALMERS

Jonathan Marchessault opened the scoring with an early goal (1-0) after a miserable turnover in the Oilers’ zone led to a quick turnaround and resulting punishment. Only 1:12 seconds in and the Oilers were trailing. Headded another goal late in the third period (7-4) after a scrambled play in the Oilers’ zone resulted in the puck making it’s way towards the net where Marchessault was waiting for an easy tap-in.
Before I could even finish celebrating the Nuge goal, William Karlsson tied the game (2-2) after swiping the puck from Bouchard along the boards and sliding it through Skinner’s legs on the breakaway. Props to Hyman for busting his ass to get back, but it was just a little bit too late to run some interference on Karlsson’s stick.
Michael Amadio tied the game (3-3) early in the second period after a hardworking shift in the offensive zone by Phil Kessel led to the puck squirting out in front of the net where the Vegas goalscorer was able to outwork Broberg and take a couple of whacks before eventually sinking a rebound.
This was a weird game to evaluate for Stuart Skinner. Even though his numbers were obviously not where he would want them to be — Stu finished the night with 19 saves and a .826 save% — it’s hard to say that he was really at fault for most of the goals that got passed him. I mean, there were breakaways, and giveaways, and second chances like crazy, so sometimes you have to just throw your hands up and wonder what the hell happened. Either way, I’m sure even Skinner would say that he’d like to be better despite the lopsided win.
Klim Kostin may never score again. Thankfully, he’s starting to play a whole lot better and you’re really starting to notice him lately. I believe.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
1:12	Golden Knights	Jonathan Marchessault (25) Assists: Ivan Barbashev (26)	0	1
1:49	Oilers	Evan Bouchard (6) (Power Play) Assists: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (58), Connor McDavid (81)	1	1
8:20	Oilers	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (35) Unassisted	2	1
9:24	Golden Knights	William Karlsson (14) (Shorthanded) Assists: Alex Pietrangelo (39)	2	2
9:48	Oilers	Leon Draisaitl (47) (Power Play) Assists: Connor McDavid (82), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (59)	3	2

2ND PERIOD
3:13	Golden Knights	Michael Amadio (13) Assists: Chandler Stephenson (43), Phil Kessel (20)	3	3
6:01	Oilers	Darnell Nurse (10) Assists: Warren Foegele (13), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (60)	4	3
13:30	Oilers	Evander Kane (14) Assists: Leon Draisaitl (69), Kailer Yamamoto (13)	5	3
15:34	Oilers	Zach Hyman (33) (Power Play) Assists: Connor McDavid (83), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (61)	6	3

3RD PERIOD
4:24	Oilers	Brett Kulak (3) Unassisted	7	3
18:28	Golden Knights	Jonathan Marchessault (26) Assists: Alex Pietrangelo (40), Jack Eichel (32)	7	4

#GOODCONTENT

Talk to me, Twitter. Hit me up at @jsbmbaggedmilk and Wanye at @Oilersnation and you could find yourself landing in this very spot.

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