GDB 82.0 Wrap Up: Oilers tie club record with ninth straight victory with 5-2 win over the Sharks

Photo credit:Academy Award winning Sharknado

1 year ago

That’s a hell of a way to wrap up the regular season. Final Score: 5-2 Oilers

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When you get to the last game of the year, it’s usually tough to get fired up about it when you’ve got playoff games to think about, but seeing as we didn’t even know who we’re playing yet, the outcome of tonight’s game played a part in that decision. If the Oilers beat the Sharks and Vegas lost to Seattle in regulation, the Oilers would lock in the Western Conference and their first division title since 1987. And with the every day roster dressed and ready to go, the Oilers built themselves a 2-1 lead with goals by Janmark and Draisaitl, and put themselves in good shape to handle their end of the bargain despite still being hours away from knowing what will happen between Vegas and Seattle

Heading into the second period, the Oilers didn’t have to change much apart from maybe the over passing that was happening from time to time. If they played their game and kept it simple, the goals would come naturally and the San Jose Sharks would find themselves even further in the rearview mirror. But as expected, the Sharks weren’t about to roll over and die, and they actually put a lot of pressure on the Oilers in their own zone without being able to beat Stuart Skinner. At the other end of the ice, the boys did a rough job of putting pucks on net as they only fired four total shots on goal in the period. Yet, despite the lack of offensive opportunities, the Oilers still managed to put two pucks behind James Reimer to extend their lead to three goals before allowing the Sharks to get one back in the dying moments of the period.

Up by two goals with 20 minutes to play, all we needed was for the boys to keep ‘er steady and limit the mistakes as best as they could. I mean, let’s be honest, San Jose has been a disaster all year when they’re down after two periods, and that meant there was no reason why a team that’s competing for the Western Conference title couldn’t close out this game. And just as you’d hope they would, the Oilers made life difficult throughout the final third as they spent much of the time cycling the puck down low and basically playing keep away while slowly running down the clock. Even when the Sharks did get control of the puck, they couldn’t get much done as any chances they got tended to come off the rush and were easily kicked aside by Stuart Skinner. By the time Evander Kane put the Oilers back up by three, you could tell the Sharks’ hopes had been squashed and the only thing that was left to do was wait for the buzzer to make it nine straight wins.

The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Mattias Janmark opened the scoring with a lucky bounce goal (1-0) after he drove to the net and had James Reimer’s poke check take a friendly bounce in off of his leg. Janmark added another goal late in the second period (4-1) that came on a shorthanded breakaway after Derek Ryan put him in all alone with enough time to make a play.
Leon Draisaitl extended the lead (2-0) with a power play goal from his office in the circle after Nugent-Hopkins found him with a perfect cross-crease pass that left a wide-open net for the former MVP to put the puck into.
Evan Bouchard restored the Oilers’ two-goal lead (3-1) after he followed up the play, took a ridiculous backhand pass from Draisaitl, and sunk it into the open net. Leading up to the goal, the Oilers were buzzing in the offensive zone and it seemed like only a matter of time before they were able to cash one in.
Evander Kane nailed the coffin shut with a goal late in the third period (5-2) that saw him go bar down with a redirection from the slot after Leon Draisaitl found him with a heater of a pass.
Leon Draisaitl finished the year with 128 points, and I don’t think he gets nearly the credit he deserves just because he plays with Connor McDavid. The rest of the hockey world may not give you enough love, Leon, but we certainly appreciate you around these parts.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins picked up an assist on Draisaitl’s power play marker to give him 104 points on the season. What a year by RNH.
Stuart Skinner was back between the pipes for one final tune-up game before the playoffs start, and he was fantastic for the Oilers as he has been all season long. Despite not being as busy as his counterpart, Skinner was still called upon to make some huge saves to give his teammates the foundation they needed to close out the victory. Skinner finished the game with 27 saves and a .931 save%.
Another day, another game where the Oilers’ power play come through with a goal. Tonight the boys were able to cash in on 1-of-3 opportunities with the man advantage.
Mattias Janmark picked up the Oilers’ 18th shorthanded goal of the season. That’s a ridiculous number.
As you would expect them to do against a team like the Sharks, the Oilers led on the shotclock for most of the evening and ended up winning the battle by a 36-29 margin.
Do you think I’m excited about the Oilers winning 57% of the faceoffs? You’re damned right I am.

PRESENTED BY BETWAY

THE FACE PALMERS

Noah Gregor cut Edmonton’s lead in half (2-1) with a chip shot near the crease after a rebound kicked out to him at the side of the net and he was able to chip the puck up and over Skinner.
Steven Lorentz pulled the Sharks back to within a pair (4-2) with a power play goal that came late in the second period after Tomas Hertl’s shot from the circle deflected off of his stick and into the net.
How the Oilers got two goals on only four shots in the second period is beyond me because I did not think they were anywhere near their best.
After a nice run by the PK over the last few games, the boys got tagged with one goal on four shorthanded situations against the Sharks. The good news is that we seem to be a long way from the PK horrors we suffered earlier in the year.
Now we wait to see what happens between Vegas and Seattle.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
4:16	Oilers	Mattias Janmark (9) Assists: Mattias Ekholm (23), Stuart Skinner (2)	0	1
6:56	Oilers	Leon Draisaitl (52) (Power Play) Assists: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (67), Connor McDavid (89)	0	2
9:44	Sharks	Noah Gregor (10) Assists: Thomas Bordeleau (2), Steven Lorentz (9)	1	2

2ND PERIOD
5:02	Oilers	Evan Bouchard (8) Assists: Leon Draisaitl (75), Kailer Yamamoto (15)	1	3
14:04	Oilers	Mattias Janmark (10) (Shorthanded) Assists: Derek Ryan (7)	1	4
18:48	Sharks	Steven Lorentz (10) (Power Play) Assists: Tomas Hertl (41), Jacob Peterson (7)	2	4

3RD PERIOD
15:55	Oilers	Evander Kane (16) Assists: Leon Draisaitl (76), Cody Ceci (14)	2	5

#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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