Oilers 4, Capitals 1 post-game Oil Spills: The importance of special teams
By Cam Lewis
5 years agoThe class of the NHL, the Penguins and Capitals, who have combined to win the last three Stanley Cups, came through Edmonton and the Oilers managed to earn three out of four points. That’s huge.
What happened…
Evan Bouchard opened the scoring in the first period with his first NHL goal. The second power play unit, which hadn’t converted yet this season, finally scored. Bouchard got the puck at the point and blasted a bomb past a screened Holtby. The best thing about this shot is how much Bouchard was able to get on it without a big, long windup.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gave the Oilers a two-goal lead in the second period with a shorthanded beauty. He picked off a drop pass John Carlson was trying to make before going into the zone, deking out Nicklas Backstrom and sniping a shot past Holtby. This is probably my favourite goal the team has scored so far this season. It really shows how well RNH thinks the game.
Washington’s lone goal of the game came in the second half of the second period. The Caps’ fourth line got the puck down low and the Oilers defence got caught looking. Nic Dowd made a smart play spinning around behind the net to find a wide-open Andre Burakovsky. You have to praise the play by Dowd here to an extent, but he wasn’t being pressured at all and Burakovsky was able to just stand beside the net while the Oilers watched the play happen.
Do you think Alex Chiasson wanted to show his former team that they made a mistake letting him go? The former Cup Champ took a pass from Tobias Rieder and roofed a snipe post-and-in over Holtby’s glove. Chiasson can shoot.
By the numbers…
I think this is a prime example of a game in which in the Corsi chart is a little misleading. Washington carried the play in terms of getting shot attempts at even strength, but the two teams were completely split down the middle in high danger chances. While Washington had good possession, they failed to break Edmonton’s defence and generate high-quality chances. Obviously, possession is a good thing, but shooting from the outside isn’t going to do much for you.
Thoughts…
- This game really goes to show you how important special teams are. The Oilers were able to neutralize Washington’s offence because they only took one penalty. The Capitals have a deadly power play, but if you don’t give them a chance to use it, they aren’t going to burn you.
- Cam Talbot had a nice bounce-back game after his rough outing against the Penguins. We’d like to see some more consistency for Talbot, but, still, he was a key reason why the team won this game. Washington threw quite a few shots Talbot’s way but he stopped 31 of 32. That said, you have to give some credit to the blueline as they did an excellent job limiting high danger chances and shutting down Washington’s top line. But, when Talbot had to be good, he was good.
- Alex Chiasson continues to thrive in a top-six role. He’s big, has a good shot, and goes to the net. It’s going to be hard to take him out of such a role when Ty Rattie is ready to return especially given the fact Chiasson has a much bigger track record of success in the NHL.
- I mentioned it at the beginning, but it’s huge the team was able to take three of four points from Pittsburgh and Washington. The Oilers had a very difficult nine-game stretch to start the season, but they’ve guaranteed they’ll finish no worse than 4-4-1 after Saturday’s game in Nashville. Given the fact many worried the team would go, like 1-8 after the 0-2 start, I’d say things have gone pretty well.
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