Oilers 2, Islanders 1 (SO) post-game Oil Spills: Talbot, McDavid spoil Eberle’s return to Edmonton
By Cam Lewis
6 years agoJordan Eberle had a great chance to play the villain last night in overtime, but Cam Talbot robbed him. He and Connor McDavid pushed the Oilers to a tight win over the Islanders, extending their losing streak to eight games.
Highlights
The Islanders opened the scoring a couple minutes into the third period. Andrej Sekera gets faked out by Brock Nelson who then dishes the puck to Thomas Hickey who was breaking in down the wing. Hickey dragged the puck to the net unchallenged and put a backend past Cam Talbot. This is a very good video on how not to do defensive zone coverage.
With two minutes to go, Connor McDavid tied the game and, in the process, set a new career-high in goals with 31. McDavid worked the puck around the outside, then tried to toss it out front, but it deflected off of Brandon Davidson’s stick and off Chris Gibson and into the net. It was ugly, but it counts. And it cements that Davidson still loves the Oilers. We love you too, Davy.
The Islanders had a great chance to win the game in the shootout, but Cam Talbot robbed Jordan Eberle point blank. Oh boy, would it have been something for Eberle to seal this game in overtime. Thank you Cam for making that not a thing.
Connor McDavid sent the fans home happy in the shootout when he deked out not only GIbson but everybody in the arena with this slowing-down-time-then-speeding-it-back-up beauty of a goal. This game was one of your classic McWins.
By the numbers
This was a pretty evenly played game. The Oilers led the game in shot attempts, but the teams were pretty much split down the middle in scoring chances and high danger chances. The Oilers, well, Connor McDavid, really turned on the pressure in the third period before tying the game.
Thoughts…
- There were three clearly good things about last night’s game:
- The first was Connor McDavid, who was pretty obviously the Oilers’ only consistent weapon on the ice. In the final 10 minutes of the third period with the team down 1-0, he really turned on the jets and dragged the team into overtime. Then, of course, in the shootout, he scored a ridiculous goal to end it.
- The next was Cam Talbot, who played an excellent game. Talbot made 35 saves on 36 shots, including a gorgeous game-saving stop on Jordan Eberle in overtime.
- Then, finally, JJ Khaira kicked the crap out of Cal Clutterbuck, who’s a tough customer in his own right. Clutterbuck crosschecked Iiro Pakarainen, Khaira took down him number, and then pummelled him later on. I’m not a fan of staged fights, but this was an example of a good fight, a guy standing up for a teammate in a situation where it was warranted. Respect, JJ. Respect.
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- I was critical of Ethan Bear’s play at even strength in his first two games, but he looked much, much better last night. Bear broke even in terms of five-on-five shot attempts last night and it was noticeable in his play as he looked more composed especially in the defensive zone. Obviously there’s a learning curve for players, especially defencemen, coming into the league, and Bear has shown positive improvement during his short stint with the club.
- Something not overly good about this game was the fact the Oilers could only score one goal against the Islanders, who are extremely bad at keeping the puck out of the net. Like I said earlier, McDavid was really the only consistent offensive weapon for the Oilers. When he wasn’t on the ice, it didn’t seem like the Oilers were pushing play.
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