THE BRIGHT SIDE

• It was a quick start for the Oilers as Benoit Pouliot was able to successfully screen and tip home the opening goal (his 8th) less than two minutes into the first period. ? has been much better since coming back from injury and that extra production could be huge coming down the stretch and into the playoffs.
• Leon Draisaitl one-timed (FOR REAL! I ❤️ one timers) home his 27th goal of the season off of a beautiful pass by Drake Caggiula. Caggiula temporarily replaced Pat Maroon on the first line and he made an immediate impact.
• Drake Caggiula followed up on his wonderful assist with a big power play goal in the third period. Nuge set him up perfectly with a shot/pass in the slot and the Drake tipped it perfectly for his 6th goal of the season. The Drake has really played well over the past couple weeks and is providing a nice little boost of secondary scoring.
• The Oilers were great on the power play tonight and he added another power play goal (his 16th) after being in the right place at the right time to bank home a shot that bounced into the slot off of the end boards. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins finds himself with back-to-back multi point games as he finished the night with a goal and an assist.
• Laurent Brossoit was great again tonight and really dialled his game in after allowing a goal on the second shot of the night. Even then, that goal was a nice one and I you have to give Andrighetto credit for making a nice play. Aside from the one goal, Brossoit was rock solid for the rest of the night stopping 23 shots and finishing with a .960 save%.
• Andrej Sekera was great again tonight and he was rewarded with two assists for his efforts. Sekera has been a stabalizing force all year long and has really come into his own this season.
• Another big minutes night for Oscar Klefbom as he played 24:40 worth of solid minutes. Klefbom has been a workhorse on the back end and he’s getting better by the minute.
• McPoint!
• The Oilers won both sides of the special teams battle tonight by going 2/4 on the power play and also killing off all three of Colorado’s chances with the man advantage.
• The Oilers have a chance to clinch on Tuesday night. You have no idea how happy I am to be able to write that.

THE FACE PALMERS

• Less than a minute after the Oilers opened the scoring, Avalanche were able to tie the game up at one goal apiece. Sven Andrighetto was able to fight off Adam Larsson and make a nice move to his backhand that he finished off through Brossoit’s five-hole.
• Matt Benning unintentionally blocked a shot in the third period and had to be helped off the ice by his teammates. Benning couldn’t put any weight on his right leg and it was just a bad scene in general. Here’s hoping that he isn’t out for any length of time.
• The Oilers had too many passes that were just a bit off tonight and it gave the Avalanche more puck time than they would have otherwise had. It was just a small detail that they need to tighten up going forward.
• Why have two referees on the ice if neither of them are going to call anything. The ridiculous crosscheck by Beauchemin on Pat Maroon in the first period happened right in front of the net and neither ref managed to call it. It’s ridiculous.
• The NHL site had the Oilers listed with 13 giveaways but my eyes would have had that number a little bit higher. Colorado wouldn’t have had nearly as many chances had the Oilers not given the puck to them as often as they did. More shooting, less passing sometimes please.
• The Oilers were better in the faceoff circle than they were on Thursday night but they still came in at 47% on the dot. Not too bad against the Avs who are lights out on faceoffs.

SCORING SUMMARY

BEST OF THE TWEETS

THE NATION/APOLLO COLLAB 2.0