THE BRIGHT SIDE

• Jujhar Khaira hadn’t played since October 28th and he needed to get something done if he wanted to stay in the lineup. He did that tonight with a huge third period goal. Khaira got himself to the front of the net and banged home the loose puck and open the scoring.
• Connor McDavid was really good tonight. Magic happened anytime he had the puck on his stick, and the fact that he didn’t get any points has more to do with Holtby and less to do with how Connor played.
• For the second straight game, Jesse Puljujarvi looked good on the wing with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Once again, Pool Party was hard on the forecheck and threw absolutely everything he could on net, and that shooter’s mentality is something that has sorely lacked around here.
• Actually, the Lucic-Nuge-Puljujarvi line deserved to have something go their way. They spent a lot of time in the Capitals zone and were equally effective in their own zone. Damned, Holtby ruins everything.
• Laurent Brossoit performed very well in only his second start of the year. Hell, it’s been almost a month since Brossoit last saw any game action so he deserves some huge kudos for being up to the task of facing Ovi and crew and holding his own. Brossoit finished the night with 18 saves and a .947 save%.
• Oilers did a great job in the faceoff circle again tonight. They finished the night at 53% on the dot.
• Props all around to the defensive six for keeping the Capitals mostly to the outside and limiting their ability to produce offence. Yes, there were a few hiccups but for the most part, all six guys held down the fort and kept the lanes clear for Brossoit.
• The Oilers did a really good job on the penalty kill and didn’t really give the Caps much of anything in terms of chances. I can’t comment on the power play, though, considering the Oilers didn’t get a chance.
• Pat Maroon and Tom Wilson got into a pretty solid scrap right at the end of the first period, with both guys getting in some good shots. Maroon and Wilson had gone back and forth a couple of times in the period and it wasn’t overly surprising to see them drop the mitts. Get another look at the fight on Maroon’s fight page over at HockeyFights.com.

THE FACE PALMERS

• Dmitry Orlov walked past Jujhar Khaira at the blue line and buried the tying goal past Brossoit. Orlov ran a perfect give-and-go with Tom Wilson that caught pretty much everyone on that half of the ice off guard.
• What is a penalty these days? It seems like the answer really depends on what day it is and what colour your jersey you’re wearing. How did the Oilers not get a single call go their way? i find it really hard to believe that the Capitals did absolutely nothing wrong in 60 minutes of play. Ridiculous. Anyone else?
• Holtby steals a point. It happens.
• Since I’m complaining, that ‘no goal’ call on Lucic’s second period goal was ridiculous. Holtby could not have gone down easier and the game should have been over in regulation.
• The Oilers played a really good road game but couldn’t get anything past Holtby. Silver linings are great but they don’t pay the mortgage.
• I really didn’t want to eat beets two days in a row. Damn you, Oilers. Damn you. As always, I’ll post updates on Twitter. Damn it.

SCORING SUMMARY

#GOODCONTENT