GDB 82.0 Wrap Up: Oilers @ Canucks
By baggedmilk
8 years agoWe may have our ups and downs, but I can admit that I’ll miss you when you’re gone. See you at the Draft Party. Final Score: 4-3 Canucks in the shootout
I have to admit that this was a weird game for me to watch. I kept looking at the screen (specifically the core members) and wondering which of these guys won’t be Oilers by the time training camp rolls around in September. I think most people would agree that this was Yakupov’s last game as an Oiler, and I spent the last 60 (games) minutes watching him and enjoying him for the player he is. The guy is full of love for the game, and his personality is amazing, but you can’t bank on a guy being a nice dude and expect it to get you into the playoffs. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I am going to miss him and I was happy to see him finish the year off with a couple points.
The real sore spot for me would be if I just watched Ryan Nugent-Hopkins play his last game (and score his last goal) as an Oiler. The thought is almost nauseating. Unlike Yakupov, Nuge has always been able to find a way to produce a little bit of offense while, at the same time, developing into the Oilers best two way player. Call me crazy, but if Chiarelli does decide to move Nuge in the summer it had better be worth it. I just can’t see the Oilers getting any better when your top two centres moving forward would have played less than 150 total combined games. I know people say you have to give up to get, but centre depth is so important (as we’ve seen with injuries) that moving away a 22-year old guy that’s locked in for five more years doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. There has to be another way.
As for the game itself, it was hard to get excited about a game that literally meant nothing for either team. Both the Oilers and Canucks were locked into their slot in the standings (29th and 28th respectively) before the game had even started so the only reason to play was to literally get it over with, and shoot for bonus money. That being said, I was hoping for the Oilers to close out the year with a win but that wasn’t the case. It’s not that I’m surprised that they lost, but I’m the eternal optimist that’s always hoping for the Oilers to win and they just don’t come around very often. I guess it’s fitting for the Oilers to end the year with a loss. This was supposed to be the year that things were going to get better, and yet, here were are counting down the days until the draft lottery.
The wrap
THE BRIGHT SIDE
- Tonight was the last game that Nikita Nikitin will be on the Edmonton Oilers’ books. Cheers everybody. Craig’s on it.
- Darnell Nurse scored his first goal in 47 games (3rd of the year). Not to mention, that he came back to play after getting hit in the throat on Wednesday night. ATTA BE DARRYL!
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his 12th goal of the season by being in the right place at the right time, as he usually is. This hasn’t been the year he wanted, but Nuge is a better player than we’ve seen this year and I would hope Chiarelli understands that he would be dealing low. I’m happy that Nuge finished off the year on a personal high, and I truly hope to see him back here in September.
- What can you say about Patrick Maroon? He scored his 12th goal of the year on a beautiful shot from the left side. The guy has been an absolute stud since coming over from Anaheim. I remember listening to Gregor’s show on deadline day and some people were actually upset they traded a 4th round pick for him. Hilarious.
- Nail Yakupov put up three points in what seem likely to be his last two games as an Oiler and I’m happy that he went out on a high note.
- I think I’ve said it in every single Wrap Up for a game he’s played, but I love watching Connor McDavid. He may not win the Calder trophy because 43 year old Artemi Panarin has played more games, but he is easily the league’s best rookie. Hell, he’s already challenging to be one of the league’s best players. Rookie of the Year for Panarin because he played more games? Please. Connor McDavid was 12-years old when Panarin started playing pro hockey and even so Connor is better. It’s not close, and Panarin will need to put an asterisk on his Calder Trophy.
- THE OILERS HIT 70 POINTS! Yay?
THE FACE PALMERS
- DON’T TRADE NUGE, PETER! THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY!
- I’m going to miss watching Connor McDavid. I know he’s going to the World Championships and then he’ll be playing for Team North America, but it still won’t be the same.
- I’m going to miss you, Yak. I hope you go one to have a thriving NHL career wherever you end up. As much as I agree that you could have played better I still think the organization is on the hook for a chunk of your failures. I’ll be cheering for you, buddy. Good luck.
- That sky cam they used on power plays was horrible. It looked like they were trying to film from space, but there’s a roof in the way. Terrible angle.
- You could tell how bad Leon Draisaitl wanted to scored *cough* bonus money *cough* and I was really putting for his bank account… er… for him. Pulling for him. LOL!
- The power play scored a goal but the first couple attempts were ugly. Anyone surprised?
- That’s all she wrote. Another wasted season in the books.
- The Oilers will go for the record of 11 straight seasons out of the playoffs next year.
SCORING SUMMARY
| 1ST PERIOD | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:01 | VAN | Derek Dorsett (5) Wrist shot – ASST: Matt Bartkowski (11) | 1 – 0 VAN |
| 2ND PERIOD | |||
| 13:46 | EDM | Darnell Nurse (3) Slapshot – ASST: Nail Yakupov (14), Lauri Korpikoski (12) | 1 – 1 Tie |
| 3RD PERIOD | |||
| 01:21 | VAN | Emerson Etem (7) Wrist shot – ASST: Derek Dorsett (11) | 2 – 1 VAN |
| 07:46 | EDM | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (12) Tip-in – ASST: Taylor Hall (39), Iiro Pakarinen (8) | 2 – 2 Tie |
| 15:52 | VAN | Jannik Hansen (22) Wrist shot – ASST: Matt Bartkowski (12), Alex Biega (7) | 3 – 2 VAN |
| 18:33 | EDM | PPG – Patrick Maroon (12) Wrist shot – ASST: Nail Yakupov (15), Mark Letestu (15) | 3 – 3 Tie |
| OT PERIOD | |||
| NONE | |||
| SHOOTOUT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROUND | EDMONTON OILERS | VANCOUVER CANUCKS | ||
| 1 | Jordan Eberle (no) | Bo Horvat (no) | ||
| 2 | Matt Hendricks (no) | Alexandre Burrows (yes) | ||
| 3 | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (yes) | Jannik Hansen (no) | ||
| 4 | Connor McDavid (no) | Markus Granlund(no) | ||
| 5 | Lauri Korpikoski (no) | Daniel Sedin (no) | ||
| 6 | Leon Draisaitl (yes) | Jake Virtanen (yes) | ||
| 7 | Patrick Maroon (no) | Emerson Etem (yes) | ||
BEST OF THE TWEETS
THE NORTH X NORTHGRETZ PODCAST
This week the boys talk about the Yakupov trade request, gush over Patrick Maroon, talk about the NHL Email dump, the Jimmy Vesey drama and more. Then Chris tries to make Jeanshorts and Baggedmilk seem old by quizzing them on internet lingo before another educational edition of Ask The Idiots.
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PREVIOUS EPISODES
- Episode 12 – Making An Interner
- Episode 13 – Guilty Pleasures
- Episode 14 – All Star Weekend
- Episode 15 – Disaster In Jasper
- Episode 16 – Contagious
- Episode 17 – Story time with Pat Hughes
- Episode 18 – The Trade Deadline
- Episode 19 – Clean N’ Jerks
- Episode 20 – Battle of Blogberta
- Episode 21 – Down With The Sickness
- Episode 22 – A Very Podcast Birthday
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