Select all. Delete.
That’s what your scribe had to do Wednesday night when the Edmonton Oilers nearly mounted a comeback for the ages against the Dallas Stars, only to fall 4-3.
You see, it’s entirely common for writers to try and get a head start on putting fingers to keyboards on post-game stories. You know. Deadlines and stuff.
And after two periods of last night’s game when Edmonton trailed 4-0 on the back of Jason Robertson’s natural hat-trick in a lifeless second frame from the Oilers, it’s easy to understand why. Nobody, however, expected them to get the game within a goal, as markers from Corey Perry, Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman made the game tighter than Dallas would’ve wanted.
What made it so from the Oilers’ perspective was far from ideal, as Stuart Skinner was forced out for the second time in three games after being on the receiving end of an opposing hit. Last week it was a collision with Gabriel Vilardi that resulted in concussion spotters sending Skinner to the quiet room, while Mikko Rantanen was the latest offender to join the list when he kneed the side of Skinner’s head.
It was an awkward moment, no doubt. Skinner had been down in the butterfly before springing up to stop a shot, only to fall downwards to the ice quickly, exposing himself to Rantanen. He, meanwhile, had his eye set on the puck and likely didn’t see the falling netminder.
There was no response to the hit, likely since Corey Perry didn’t see what happened. He didn’t like his lack of response, saying he was “pissed at himself” and that he “should never let that happen.”
As for his response-less teammates: “We’ll talk about that internally.”
Perry’s response may not have come physically, but it did come on the scoresheet, as he kicked off the comeback effort five minutes after Calvin Pickard was sprung into the game. Henrique’s came four minutes later on the power play where he scored his second man-advantage marker in as many games before Hyman slammed home a loose puck from his office with Pickard having fled to the bench.
“We gave up too many Grade A scoring chances,” Perry said. “Forwards, myself, not covering for the D and it ends up in the back of your net. They’re a good team and they know how to play.“They’re skilled, they’re quick, they took advantage, but after the second there, you never say die. You come back and push for one on the power play at the start of the period, and go from there. I thought we battled hard at the end.”
Had the Oilers managed to find a way to eek out two points, they would’ve been just the ninth team to mount a comeback when having faced a four-goal deficit in that game. A story for another day, so they say.
“I don’t think we could’ve played the first period any better than we did,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch after the game. “We made one mistake and we’re down 1-0 after the first period, where I thought we had a lot of good chances, couldn’t put it in.“Second period, it’s not that it was a bad period. There were some mistakes they capitalized on them, but then again, the third period was a lot more like the first, maybe a little bit more push, and we were able to put the puck in the net.”
That’s not all Knoblauch had to say after the game, saying that while he didn’t have an update on the status of Stuart Skinner, the netminder wasn’t expected to travel with the team to Seattle, where the Oilers are set to face the Kraken tonight.
That opens the door, he said, for a recall from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, who now get put in their own bind between the pipes. They suffered a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Eagles at home Wednesday night, a game in which prospect Olivier Rodrigue got the start. Bakersfield also has games on Friday and Saturday against Calgary and Utah’s affiliates, while the Oilers will hope to know more about Skinner today.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
