ONE BY ONE . . .
7 years ago
The last decade has produced so much defeat and disappointment for the Edmonton Oilers, it’s going to be impossible for them to put all of it in the rear-view mirror at once. What the Oilers can do is leave it behind step-by-step, bad memory by bad memory.
The Oilers took another one of those steps toward contention and respectability Sunday, beating the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in their swan song at Joe Louis Arena, a rink that’s pretty much been a house of horrors for them since they won twice at The Joe in the opening round of the 2006 playoffs on the way to a stunning first-round upset of the heavily favoured Red Wings.
It not just that they ended a 0-7-3 regular season streak in the Motor City that dated back to Dec. 3 of 2009 to improve to 9-3-1 on the season. It’s how they did it in the second-half of a back-to-back set after they beat the New York Islanders 4-3 in a shootout, ending a 0-8-1 losing streak against the Isles, in Brooklyn.
The Oilers, who had beaten the Red Wings exactly once in regulation time in their previous 26 tries in Detroit, got the job done last night with five regulars out with injuries — Jesse Puljujarvi, Zack Kassian, Kris Russell, Brandon Davidson and Mark Fayne. They got the better of the Red Wings with back-up goaltender Jonas Gustavsson manning the crease and starter Cam Talbot on the bench for this first night off this season.
The patched together line-up and re-worked forward lines that did play won this one by limiting the Red Wings to just four shots on goal in the third period, one of them producing a brilliant, game-saving blocker stop by Gustavsson on Steve Ott. This is the kind of game the Oilers used to lose every damn time.
ANOTHER STEP
“Tonight was a gratifying win for everybody in our organization because I thought it took the whole team,” Oiler coach Todd McLellan said. “It wasn’t on one or two people’s backs, it was everybody finding a way to contribute, following the game plan, sticking with it.
“When we needed to manage the game fairly well because of circumstances – back-to-back, injuries, that type of stuff – we did a good job of it. I’m happy for Gus, getting his first win. He made some real big saves for us when we needed him and the rest of the group pulled on the rope.
“I tell you what, you don’t over-analyze wins. You take them any way you can. It’s gratifying because it was a team thing. We checked our way to a win tonight. We were pretty good defensively and I like those nights where everybody finds a way to block a shot, take a hit, make a play. I thought that this was as close to that type of game as we’ve had for almost the whole year.”
It goes without saying that 13 games – good or bad – does not a season make, but the Oilers have 19 points in the bank that will stick to the bottom line in April no matter what happens between now and then. It’s the start, better actually, that fans were hoping for when the season began. It took the Oilers until Dec. 2 last season to hit nine wins. It took until Jan. 4 the season before.
After three straight losses that had their long-suffering fan base wondering if the wheels were coming off yet again, the Oilers go into Pittsburgh to face the Penguins Tuesday with a chance to make it three straight wins on this five-game road trip. It’s a game previous editions of the Oilers probably wouldn’t win. I’m not so sure this group sees it that way.
WHILE I’M AT IT
- After a 0-for-7 hiccup on the power play over a three-game stretch, the Oilers are 4-for-9 with the man advantage in their last three games on this trip. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got the winner last night when he zipped a Connor McDavid feed under the bar past Jimmy Howard.
- I really liked the trio of Milan Lucic, Leon Draisaitl and Tyler Pitlick and the threesome of RNH, Benoit Pouliot and Mark Letestu was very good as well. Pitlick scored the 1-1 goal, his fourth of the season, late in the first period and was credited with six shots. That’s a big-time performance with the right wing as depleted as it is.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TEAM 1260.
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