GDB 2.0 Wrap Up: Better but not better, ya know? Oilers lose 4-1 in Boston

5 years ago

We’ll always have the five minutes after the McDavid goal. Final Score: 4-1 Bruins

After the Gord awful game that we watched last weekend, I don’t think I’ll be the only Oilers fan to admit that I was really nervous about how this one was going to play out. Let’s be honest, the Oilers were hot garbage against the Devils and it was a real bummer to see them come out flat like that for their season opener. With that turd in the punchbowl still fresh in our minds, hoping for some improvement wasn’t exactly a big ask for tonight’s matchup. Much to our delight (albeit temporary), the Oilers got a much better start tonight as they not only were able to navigate the first shot of the game but were even able to convert on an early goal of their own. Connor McDavid gave our boys the lead and the Nation was feeling pretty good about it. The unfortunate part is, of course, that the positive vibes lasted for about five minutes before the wheels fell off. After dropping the first goal, the Bruins pumped home three straight, taking a lead that they would not give up.

Though the Oilers were able to settle things down in their own zone as the game progressed through the second period and into the third, the offensive side of their game struggled mightily and their overall luck was almost as bad. They were only able to muster a handful of shots in the middle frame, none of them all that dangerous, and that snakebite carried over into the third period as well. Though it’s not that the Oilers weren’t able to generate some chances, they actually had more than enough to get something done in the third, but they just couldn’t manage to bear down bury anything. There were posts, there were pucks that walked the line, there were breakaways, but there were no goals. The bright side is that this game was a fair margin better than the one we watched last Saturday, but that was a really low bar to clear and the problem is that moral victories don’t cut it around here anymore. While I appreciate a mostly better effort (glaring defensive holes aside), I’m a lot less fond of being outscored nine to three through two games and already sitting in a four-point hole.

The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

The Oilers needed to have a better start tonight and they got it with an early goal by who else, the captain. Connor McDavid ended his goalless streak against the Bruins with a beautiful breakaway snipe that he absolutely ripped through Halak.
Beauty pass by Ty Rattie to McDavid on his goal.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a much better game tonight than he did against the Devils. Nuge had both a post and a puck that was inches from being a goal in the third period, and he looked more like the guy that should be parked with McDavid.
I know he’s a divisive player but I’m going to give Drake Caggiula a shout out for being one of the few guys that were consistently willing to get in the mud tonight. Specifically, I’m thinking of the second-period exchange with David Backes and the willingness to drop the mitts even though he was outsized by a wide margin. Dude has balls, you have to give him that.
Cam Talbot is going to take heat for allowing three goals on 31 shots but there’s no way this game was on him. The goals scored came as a result of a skilled play by Pastrnak, perfect 2-on-1 passing, and sheer luck on the deflection. Aside from maybe trying a poke-check on Pastrnak’s goal, I don’t know that he had a chance on any of the Bruins goals but he’s going to take shit anyway. Talbot finished the night with 28 saves and a .903 save%.
I want to give some props to my man Jujhar for trying to get the boys going with a scrap against Kevan Miller in the second period. If you want to have another look, you can check it out over on Khaira’s fight page at HockeyFights.com.
At least the Flames are losing.

THE FACE PALMERS

I wish I could hate David Pastrnak’s goal that tied the game at one apiece on the power play but I can’t. Dude shelled out a filthy dangle that caught Benning puck watching and slid the puck home for his fourth of the season.
Brad Marchand gave the Bruins the lead after his cross-ice pass bounced in off Drake Caggiula and into the net. Caggiula needed a goal in his first game back and he got one. Wrong team, mind you.
Less than a minute after Brad Marchand gave the Bruins the lead, Joakim Nordstrom finished off a 2-on-1 with a top-shelf snipe that put the Oilers down by two goals and triggered some real rage on Twitter.
I guess I should also mention that Bergeron scored the empty netter after taking a perfect pass from Benning right into the high slot.
The Oilers lost this game because of the special teams. The Bruins went 2/4 on the power play while the Oilers didn’t get much of anything done with their two chances. Too much time in the box for the Oilers and not nearly enough execution with the man advantage. That’s a bad combo.
For the second straight game, the Oilers’ defensive group was an adventure at best, and I don’t think I have to tell anyone here that this is not even in the ballpark to being good enough. I mean, we said it a lot last year and Chiarelli didn’t see fit to make any adds so I’m not sure why I’m surprised by a similar result. Matt Benning, specifically, did not have a good game. I guess all we can do is pray for improvement, huh?
This was the kind of game where Zack Kassian could have made a huge impact, it was chippy, physical and a little bit dirty, but he was totally invisible. Disappointing.
Oilers were only 38% in the faceoff circle. Yeesh.
Another game, another #BeetCast. As always, I encourage you to jump in over on my Twitter feed.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
03:43	Edmonton	Connor McDavid (1) ASST: Ty Rattie (1), Darnell Nurse (1)	1-0
09:20	Boston	PPG – David Pastrnak (4) ASST: Matt Grzelcyk (1)	1-1
14:37	Boston	PPG – Brad Marchand (1) ASST: Matt Grzelcyk (2), Patrice Bergeron (3)	1-2
15:13	Boston	Joakim Nordstrom (1) ASST: David Krejci (2)	1-3

2ND PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
No Scoring

3RD PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
19:25	Boston	EN – Patrice Bergeron (5)	1-4

BEST OF THE TWEETS

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

NATION ROADIE TO CALGARY

Photoshop: @isuckatpicking

Just like last year, it was important for us to try and make this trip as cheap as possible and to announce it as early as we could to give you as much time as possible to get your life in order. Based on last year’s trip, this is a roadie that you really won’t want to miss — it’s an absolute blast and a good chance to get ridiculous behind enemy lines. And since I already know that you want to come, let’s get to the when, where, and how much, shall we?

Give me the details, guy:

When? Saturday, November 17th, 2018
How much? The depends on how many people are coming with you. To put it another way, we’ve got a range of options including single occupancy ($329/person) up to groups of four ($249/person).
Why? Because we love to party
Where do you buy tickets? Right here, friend. But be warned, just like the last time we did this, the trip sold out quickly and procrastinating will be your enemy if you want to come.

Source: NHL, Official Game Page, 10/11/2018 – 8:00 pm MST

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