GDB 77.0 Wrap Up: Second Place in the Division with First Place in Sight

7 years ago

Thanks for visiting. We won’t miss you. Final Score: 3-2 Oilers

Did anybody else kinda feel like there weren’t any more games until the playoffs after Tuesday’s clinch win against the Kings? I went into the office this morning and started thinking about all the things we could do for the playoffs, completely ignoring the fact that there was a game tonight. When Gregor fired me a text to get his GDB finished up before it went live this morning, I almost didn’t know what he was talking about. I mean, normally I’m checked out by this time in the season but that’s for a completely different reason. This time around I am literally too excited to even remember that the weeks leading up to the playoffs even exist.

As for the Sharks, they are a beatable team right now and the Oilers needed to figure out how to kick them while they’re down. I wanted to see Edmonton exert a little bit of killer instinct and take advantage of a struggling team. Giving up a goal just over a minute into the hockey game was not the best way to do that. Despite the stumbling start, the Oilers were able to settle things down and get back to playing the game that got them on this hot streak in the first place. Patty Maroon tied the game up at one, and then the Captain gave them the lead as he bolted through the middle of the ice and finished on a deke that left Jones looking for his jock up in the rafters.

While the Oilers were able to maintain their lead through 40 minutes, they took their foot off the gas in the second period which, along with help from the posts, allowed the Sharks to hang around longer than they probably should have. The third started out well enough as Patrick Maroon scored his second goal of the night and gave his team the extra little bit of insurance that the would need to close the thing out. With the Sharks pressing it wasn’t surprising that they were able to get themselves to within one, but the Oilers never panicked, they got the saves they needed, and they didn’t let the wheels fall off completely like we’ve seen so many times before.

Tonight’s win may not have been the prettiest but it was the kind of win that they’ll need to figure out how to get in the playoffs. Take the money and run.

Wrap it like it’s hot.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Patty Maroon finished (his 26th of the year) off a beautiful passing play that went from Draisaitl to McDavid to the Big Rig and into the back of the net. Tic, tac, toe and in. The Big Man added a second goal (his 27th) to put the final nail in the coffin and bring himself to back within one of the team lead.
Connor McDavid took over the team lead in goals with his 28th goal of the season on a triple deke that would have made Charlie Conway proud. For you youngsters that are reading this and don’t know who Charlie Conway is, you’ve got some homework to do. I’ll expect your report before next game. Anyway, McDavid had the assist on Pat Maroon’s first of the night and that made it 27 multi-point games for Connor on the season. Wow.
Cam Talbot was great again. He held the fort while most of the squad slept during the second period. Aside from that early goal, Dadbot was basically perfect on a night when he made 38 saves and finished with a .950 save%. From where I blog, there’s no way the Oilers win this game without Talbot standing on his head and that’s a luxury he’s provided many times this season.
Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid both extended their point streaks to nine games. My lawd.
Drake Caggiula got another assist tonight (hit the post too) and he’s really been coming around since being moved back to the wing. He looks noticeably more comfortable on the wing and you have to thank Desharnais being around for that.
The Oilers went 58% in the faceoff circle against some veteran centremen. Gotta like that.
Edmonton has been way better on the penalty kill lately and it couldn’t have happened at a better time. The Oilers killed off both of San Jose’s chances at important times in the game and that was obviously huge in them winning.
Shout out to Adam Larsson for jumping in to defend his goaltender after Yannik Hansen bumped him behind the net and additional props for taking Hansen’s sucker punches like a champ. It wasn’t much of a fight but, as always, you can check it out on Larsson’s player page over at HockeyFights.com.
Shout out to Martin Jones. Solid night for us.

THE FACE PALMERS

The Sharks got the start they were looking for as Jannik Hansen scored only 61 seconds into the hockey game. I don’t think I have to tell you that allowing a goal a minute into the night is not a strategy that is likely to be successful for the Oilers.
I can’t even be mad about Joe Pavelski’s goal. That puck was going three feet wide and he deflected it perfectly to get it over Talbot’s pad and into the net. There wasn’t much that Talbot could do on that one and sometimes you just have to give props when they’re due.
There were too many sloppy passes tonight. Aside from the McDavid line it seemed like everyone was having trouble putting 10-foot passes together.
How many posts have the Oilers hit over the past few games? With a little luck they’re going to blow teams out.
Edmonton was not good in the second period and they looked like they were just holding on more so than getting things done. San Jose outshot the Oilers 14-6 in the middle frame and the home side was lucky to carry the lead into the third.
The Oilers struggled on the power play. They’ve been great over the past few weeks but they couldn’t really get much going against the Sharks, finishing at 0/3 on the night.
Outshot 40-22. That’s not a good look.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
01:01	SJ	Jannik Hansen (8) ASST: Paul Martin (21)	1-0
10:22	EDM	Patrick Maroon (26) ASST: Connor McDavid (63), Leon Draisaitl (45)	1-1
17:28	EDM	SHG – Connor McDavid (28) ASST: Oscar Klefbom (19), Drake Caggiula (11)	1-2

2ND PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
No Scoring

3RD PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
07:51	EDM	Patrick Maroon (27) ASST: Kris Russell (10)	1-3
13:59	SJ	Joe Pavelski (29) ASST: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (19), Jannik Hansen (10)	2-3

BEST OF THE TWEETS

Talk to me, Twitter. Tweet at @OilersNation and @jsbmbaggedmilk for your chance to land in the Best of the Tweets.

THE #RIPDOD PARTY

As if you didn’t already know, the Decade of Darkness party will be happening at the Pint Downtown on Saturday, April 8th, with doors opening at 5pm and the hockey game starting at 8pm. Aside from making sure we’re all well hydrated, we’ve got the usual swag bags planned along with raffles, giveaways, and more.

Your $30 ticket gets you:

Limited Edition Violent Gentlemen/Oilersnation hat for the first 90 through the door
Limited Edition Violent Gentlemen/Oilersnation collaboration shirt for everyone else
Limited Edition Decade of Darkness collector’s cup
Gift cards from Oodle Noodle, the Pint, Jiffy Lube, United Cycle and more
Access to the Decade of Darkness NationGear pop-up shop
Don’t even think we’re done yet. We’ll be adding more prizes and giveaways as we get closer to the event. The value of the swag bag is already at $100 and you haven’t even seen what’s coming yet.

You’ve all suffered more than enough throughout the 10 years of darkness, and now we want to reward you for your loyalty with the 10 days of Clinchmas. Each day until the event we’ll be adding new prizes that will be available to win with the raffle ticket you’ll be given at the door. Get tickets while you can.

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