That’s as good of a beatdown as I’ve seen in quite some time. Fantastic. Final Score: 7-2 Oilers
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If you were putting together a game plan ahead of tonight’s matchup with the Penguins, a quick start had to be up near the top. Even though the Oilers were able to close out the win against Philadelphia on Tuesday after snoozing through the first 40 minutes, the last thing they could do at PPG Paints Arena against a struggling Pens team was give them any kind of life. They needed to come out firing. So when the Penguins opened the scoring just over a minute into the first period after a brutal turnover and general disregard for defensive positioning, it was hard to imagine a worse way to start our evening. But the thing was, the Oilers actually had a really solid road period and my hope was that they could keep it up despite the mistake and fight their way back into the mix. Right on cue, Connor McDavid knotted the score with a ridiculous goal from below the goal line that saw him thread the needle with his shot and bank the puck off the goalie’s head. A few short moments later, Leon Draisaitl wrestled the lead away with a second power play goal that completely erased the early deficit and finished off the period in style.
Heading into the second period, I wanted to watch the Oilers keep their foot on the gas. Outside of the early gaff that got Pittsburgh on the board, the Oilers were by far the better team to start off the game and all they needed to do was keep giving us more of the same. And more of the same is exactly what we got. Picking right back up where they left off, the Oilers continued to dominate the Penguins in every possible way, and it was almost inevitable that they were going to extend their lead at some point given the constant pummeling they were laying down in the offensive zone. It was a complete annihilation to the point where the home crowd was booing more than cheering. Frankly, it was awesome and the kind of game we all needed to watch after what’s been a challenging week. In no universe will I ever get tired of watching the Edmonton Oilers play like that — it was an ass kicking. To be honest, given the way the period played out, it wasn’t all surprising to see the Oilers cash in goals from Yamamoto, Shore, and Nugent-Hopkins to put the night (hopefully) out of reach.
Up by five with a period left to play, my hope for the rest of this game was that the Edmonton Oilers continue to poke holes in the sinking dinghy that was the Pittsburgh Penguins. I don’t know what the hell was going on with the Penguins tonight — they looked like they all had mono or something — but there was absolutely no reason to let them off the mat. Even though their lead was huge, the Oilers needed to nail the coffin shut not only for the points in the standings but also to exorcise the demon from those blown leads earlier in the week. Thankfully, there would be no such story tonight. Instead, what we got was a closing period that wasn’t quite as dominant as the first two but was by no means ever out of control. Even when the Penguins managed to put a dent in the lead, it took them three tries before the goal wasn’t waived off for cheating. It was the kind of night where absolutely everything was going our way, and even though these kinds of games don’t come around often, I sure as hell love watching them happen. I think that goes even more so when that blowout win comes against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Huge win for a whole bunch of reasons.
The wrap.
THE BRIGHT SIDE
- Connor McDavid tied the game (1-1) with a shot from below the goal line that banked into the net off of Jarry’s head, and even after watching the reply, I still have no idea how 97 was able to drain that puck from where he shot it. McDavid added a second goal in the third period on a penalty shot (7-1) with a deke that made Casey DeSmith probably wonder why he ever became a goalie in the first place. Ridiculous. Just another casual little four-point night for the captain, ya know?
- Leon Draisaitl gave the Oilers the lead (2-1) with a line-drive single to right field after Barrie’s attempt kicked up in the air at the goal mouth and the former MVP was able to knock the puck out of the air and into the net.
- Kailer Yamamoto extended the lead (3-1) with a (beautiful) garbage goal from the crease after he found a loose puck behind Jarry and tucked it into the open cage.
- How about Devin Shore picking up his first goal (4-1) in 41 games after Puljujarvi found him charging toward the net and hit him with a nice pass behind the traffic? Tbh I was pumped for the guy because he’s bobbed up and down from Edmonton to Bakersfield and back again more than a few times.
- Warren Foegele got in on the action late in the second period (5-1) when Draisaitl found him with a pass at the door step and he made no mistake of pumping it home.
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins continued his hot run with a snipe from the circle (6-1) after McDavid found him with a nifty little pass that he buried with a laser beam. Combined with an earlier assist, my boy hit 600 career points one game after McDavid got to 800 and Draisaitl to 700. What a season so far for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
- On Tuesday night against the Flyers, Stuart Skinner was fantastic between the pipes for the Oilers and he absolutely earned a second straight start against the Penguins. And while he wasn’t nearly as busy as what was going on with the goalies at the other end, Skinner was quiet and steady in net for the Oilers and was always there when they needed him. With the game over long before the final buzzer, Stu made the saves he needed to make to lock in the win. Skinner finished the night with 22 saves and a .917 save%.
- Tyson Barrie is quietly having a fantastic season and he continued it this evening with two more assists to go along with three SOG in 15:52 of TOI.
- Any time the power play scores multiple goals, the Oilers have a very good chance to win and that’s exactly what happened as the boys were able to cash two of their three chances with the man advantage.
- If you love the Corskis then you’ll love to know that the Oilers outshot the Penguins by a 44-24 margin.
- Jeremy Coupal gets another offside review right on the challenge. Guy doesn’t miss.
- Get your tickets to the Oilersnation 15th Anniversary Party right here!
PRESENTED BY BETWAY
THE FACE PALMERS
- Kris Letang opened the scoring (1-0) only 65 seconds into the game after a turnover behind the Oilers net led to the Penguins turning the puck around and punching home one of the easiest goals they’ll ever score. Letang added a second goal late in the third period (7-2) on the back of a pretty passing play with Crosby and Malkin to set him up on the doorstep. I mean, the goal didn’t matter in any way but it’s always nice to pad the stats.
- Shout out to the Penguins fans that hung around until the bitter end. I’ve been there and I always admire the dedication on a night like this.
- By no means was the PK awful, but the Oilers’ PK did give up a goal on the four shorthanded situations they faced.
- The Oilers won only 41% of the faceoffs. Yes, I’m going to complain about it.
SCORING SUMMARY
| 1ST PERIOD | EDM | PIT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
1:05 | Penguins | Kris Letang (6) Assists: Bryan Rust (21), Evgeni Malkin (36) | 0 | 1 |
13:18 | Oilers | Connor McDavid (45) (Power Play) Assists: Tyson Barrie (30), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (44) | 1 | 1 |
17:49 | Oilers | Leon Draisaitl (35) (Power Play) Assists: Tyson Barrie (31), Connor McDavid (62) | 2 | 1 |
| 2ND PERIOD | EDM | PIT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
6:06 | Oilers | Kailer Yamamoto (5) Assists: Zach Hyman (41), Darnell Nurse (24) | 3 | 1 |
7:50 | Oilers | Devin Shore (1) Assists: Jesse Puljujarvi (9) | 4 | 1 |
15:10 | Oilers | Warren Foegele (10) Assists: Leon Draisaitl (52), Brett Kulak (13) | 5 | 1 |
18:54 | Oilers | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (28) Assists: Connor McDavid (63) | 6 | 1 |
| 3RD PERIOD | EDM | PIT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
16:27 | Oilers | Connor McDavid (46) (Penalty Shot) Unassisted | 7 | 1 |
18:12 | Penguins | Kris Letang (7) (Power Play) Assists: Sidney Crosby (44), Evgeni Malkin (37) | 7 | 2 |
#GOODCONTENT
I feel empty!!
— Liam Horrobin (@LiamHorrobin) February 24, 2023
Nuuuuuuuuuge pic.twitter.com/Q3O7JXlrzU
— Wendo (@WendolynLamchop) February 24, 2023
Connor McDavid is the Jeremy Coupal of hockey
— dangersuede esq. (@dangersuede) February 24, 2023
Talk to me, Twitter. Hit me up at @jsbmbaggedmilk and Wanye at @Oilersnation and you could find yourself landing in this very spot.
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