Sometimes when I play sports video games, I get a little bit bored. In order to mix things up a bit I’ll play the occasional game on rookie mode just because I know it will be easy to rack up points.
The Edmonton Oilers have a very similar luxury in the real world. They’re named Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and last night Dave Tippett put the pair together in the third frame when the team was needing two goals to come back and win. Think of those two together as the Oilers playing on rookie mode and that’s just what they did in last night’s 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
The chances of a comeback victory actually happening weren’t exactly in the Oilers favour, either. Coming into last night’s game, the Oilers had a 1-11 record on the season when trailing after two periods. Their only other win came on Feb. 23 coming back from a 3-1 deficit against Vancouver.
Instead of squandering the opportunity, the Oilers did what they’ve started to learn how to do — play a tight hockey game. That starts in the Oilers own zone where they played some of their best hockey of the season over the last two games against Winnipeg. It came at exactly the right time, too, as this Jets team is nothing short of a walk in the park.
“I think we’re resilient. We figure out different ways to stick around and win hockey games,” said Leon Draisaitl after the game. “it’s obviously a big part of making the playoffs.
“I think it’s a matter of sticking with it. I think in the past we’ve tried to come back from a few goals by cheating, cheating on offence. I think that was led by Connor and myself, and I think him and I figured out that if you stay patient if you continue to play good defence, you’re going to get good chances. our whole team is doing a good job of that.”
That top line in the third period featured Puljujarvi slide in alongside the big two and the numbers were ridiculous. In 4:31 ice time at 5×5, they controlled 72.22 percent of the shot attempts, 93.85% of the expected goals and had nine (!) scoring chances. The Jets really had no answer for the trio.
That resiliency is paying off for the Oilers, and Draisaitl’s quote was spot on to what happened. Edmonton played defence first and didn’t allow the Jets to muster much of a chance.
They bided their time and when they had a chance, they jumped at it. McDavid, Puljujarvi and Draisaitl pulled all five Jets deep in their own zone allowing Darnell Nurse to get wide open and wire a shot past Connor Hellebuyck.
The game-tying goal saw, once again, multiple Jets try to circle McDavid who then used his speed to pull away and find Draisaitl. Devin Shore’s empty net goal was just the cherry on top.
“They want to get better and they know that we have to get better if we want to be a good playoff team,” said head coach Dave Tippett after the game. “They continue to push, continue to get better and from a coaching standpoint, you love to see the results come with the work they’re putting in.”
It’s another game the Oilers can hang their hats on as a tremendous learning experience. Next up will be some very competitive games as the Oilers hit the road to Montreal for games Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Backhanders…
- Is there anything more stressful than watching Mike Smith play? He’s got to be the most chaotic goaltender in the league and with a giveaway behind the Oilers net in the second period he was forced to make a diving save to keep it a one goal game. He makes me nervous sometimes.
- Edmonton dominated the possession game last night. At 5×5, they controlled 60% of the shot attempts and 66.8% expected of the expected goals. When you look at the head maps, the Oilers did a great job of limiting the Jets chances in the high-danger areas, too. These are some key numbers to keep an eye on for the Oilers, as is their goals against rate which has climbed to about the league average this season.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
