THE BRIGHT SIDE

• Pat Maroon tied the game up at one only moments after Aaron Ekblad opened the scoring for the Panthers. The Big Rig picked up a loose puck right in the slot and he was able to tuck it past Reimer. Massive bonus points go to Connor for the work he put in leading up to the goal. He was a man possessed with the puck before Maroon was able to cash in.
• When was the last time the Oilers got a penalty shot? I’ve seen them get hauled down on breakaways a time or two but very rarely do they get the penalty shot call go their way. But that’s exactly what happened tonight, as Leon Draisaitl was able to snap a wrister past Reimer for their first lead of the night and his 16th goal of the year. Actually, it’s surprising that Draisaitl didn’t get more than the one goal tonight because he was flying, and was tough to handle for the Panthers.
• Drake Caggiula got a nice deflection goal after he got his stick on a Kris Russell slapshot from the point. Personally, I think Caggiula was channelling the power of the bubble visor and using it to increase his hand-eye to superhuman levels. Prove me wrong. You can’t.
• Anton Slepyshev’s third goal of the year got the Oilers back to within one after they allowed the Panthers to open the third period with two straight. Slepyshev got himself into the slot and finished off the play to keep things tight. If his name was Anthony Smith he’d probably be in the lineup every night.
• Connor McDavid kept his point streak alive with a beautiful goal and an assist, as he looks to continue his ascent to the top of the NHL points leaderboard. Sure, it’s depressing that we’re talking about a points race for Connor rather than a playoff push, but that’s where we’re at and it’s all we’ve got at this point. McDavid deserves better than this.
• Kris Russell point streak!
• Once again, the Oilers did a great job in the faceoff circle, winning 57% of the draws they took. It didn’t matter, but it’s still true.

THE FACE PALMERS

• Are you surprised that the Panthers both scored first and that the goal was scored on the power play? No, you’re not. Anyway, Eklbad opened the scoring for Florida blah blah blah.
• Denis Malgin tied the game up at two after the Oilers allowed the Panthers to walk into the offensive zone without much problem or resistance. From there, Michael Matheson found a trailing Malgin and he was able to rip a shot past Talbot right from the slot.
• After reclaiming the lead with Caggiula’s second period goal, the Panthers responded almost instantly (less than 30 seconds) with a weak goal by Evgenii Dadonov. Sure, the Oilers allowed the Panthers to talk into the zone but Talbot should have had the shot by Dadonov. He stops that shot all day, last season. Fast forward to the third period and Dadonov became the second Panther with a multi-goal game. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a game with two penalty shots before, but that’s what happened. And just like Draisaitl did before him, Evgenii Dadonov walked in and snapped a shot past Talbot, executing the penalty shot perfectly.
• With the game tied heading into the third period, the Oilers got themselves into a good spot to win the hockey game. Unfortunately, they weren’t ready to play again and the Panthers were able to score just 18 seconds into the final frame after Keith Yandle sent Vincent Trocheck in alone, where he beat Talbot with a perfect deke. Trocheck scored again on the power play only a few minutes later after he ripped a stoppable puck past Talbot for his second goal of the period. Trocheck went on to complete the third-period hat trick as he cashed in the empty netter to close the game.
• Cam Talbot needed to have a better night. He needed to look more like the guy that was snubbed from a Vezina nod only a year ago, and less like the guy that is almost as likely to allow a goal on the first shot as he is to stop it. Unfortunately, that did not happen as Dadbot got beat with some very stoppable pucks and finished the night with what could have been his worst game as an Oiler. In the end, Talbot allowed six goals on 39 shots for a .846 save%.
• Make it 19 games without a goal for Milan Lucic. The swagger has flatlined.
• How many times do you think we’ve complained about the special teams through 55 games? The answer: thousands. TBH I’m lazy and don’t feel like counting but I’m guessing that I’m in the ballpark.
  • PP: Missed on all three chances. Just kidding they didn’t even get one. (0/0)
  • PK: Allowed three goals on four chances (3/4)
• Allowing 40 shots against is never a good look, and it’s especially bad when you can’t get a save. The Oilers need to do a much better job of containment as they allowed the Panthers to basically do as they pleased whenever they had the puck.
• It’s been a while since I’ve complained about the refs so I’m going to do it tonight. Why? Watch this shift by Connor and tell me there aren’t four or five things that could have been called.
• I don’t normally write about doing a #BeetCast in the intro but it’s been on my mind all day. This past weekend was horrible for my insides and it looks like a new work week won’t bring any reprieve. As always, you can follow along and join in over on my Twitter.

SCORING SUMMARY

#GOODCONTENT

THE NATION ROAD TRIP TO CALGARY

Photoshop: @isuckatpicking

• When? Leaving March 31st and returning April 1st, 2018. We’ll be leaving Edmonton at 11:30 am on Saturday morning.
• How much? The cost will depend on how many people are in your crew. To put it another way, we’ve got a range of options including single occupancy ($319/person) up to groups of four ($239/person).
• Why? Because we love to party
• Where do you buy tickets? Right here, friend. But be warned, this will sell out quickly and you procrastination will not be kind if you plan on coming.