That one was tough to watch. Final Score: 4-1 Stars
For as long as I am alive and have my brain working at a reasonable clip, I will hate the Dallas Stars. Even though those playoff losses in the late 90s and early 2000s happened a long time ago, your ol’ pal Baggedmilk doesn’t forget about the heartbreak he felt as a young Oilers fan after watching his favourite team get knocked out more often than not. Those memories have been enough to fuel my hatred for decades and I can’t see it fading anytime soon. Sure, you could call it unhealthy that I would hold a grudge for this long but you’re not my mom and I really don’t care what you think. Whatchoo think about that? And if I’m being honest, having the game start the way it did doesn’t exactly help matters much. Not only were the Oilers flat from the jump but that sloppiness also resulted in a pair of avoidable penalties that they could not kill off, digging yet another early hole that got them chasing the game. I love a good comeback as much as anybody, but I’d rather not make it a requirement as often as they do.
Heading into the second period, it went without saying that the Oilers had all kinds of room for improvement, and I was hoping that this was going to be one of those times when the boys turned things around and fought their way back into the mix with a flurry of skill. The first step, however, was to start putting a few shifts together. Whether it was in their own end or on the attack, the Oilers needed to find a way to assert themselves in this hockey game to try and tilt the ice in their favour. Instead, what we got was another dose of sloppy play coupled with sketchy officiating as the rotten cherry on top, and the result was a turd in the punchbowl that undercut our chances of climbing back into it. Well… that and the fact that we’ve basically lost the entire left side of our defence in a matter of five days. Regardless of the excuses I want to try and make for this hockey team, the reality is that the Oilers didn’t play anywhere close to good enough to win and they got tagged with a loss they deserved. Put another way, it’s pretty tough to win in this league when you spend half a period shorthanded and get outplayed in all three zones of the ice when you’re not.
The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

  • Ryan McLeod is looking more and more comfortable with each passing game, and I was pumped to see him rewarded with a big goal (3-1) — that’s three in five games for the kid — after taking a feed from Leon Draisaitl and being patient enough with the puck to lift it up and over the goaltender. Whether it’s finding success with the draws (60%) or producing offensive opportunities for himself and his linemates, McLeod is starting to fit in nicely with this group.
  • Stuart Skinner got a third straight start for the Oilers and I could not wait to see what he was going to do for an encore. After playing about as well as anyone could hope against the Jets and Blackhawks, Skinner certainly earned the opportunity to keep the ball rolling and I thought the Stars would be another formidable foe to see what he’s got. Unfortunately, this was not Skinner’s night but I also think it’s important to remind everyone how he was left hanging more often than you’d ever want to see. Frankly, had it not been for the goaltender then this score would have been even uglier and I think that says a lot about the way things went in front of him. Skinner finished the night with 29 saves and a .879 save%.
  • At least Leon Draisaitl got another point to tack onto his league-leading totals.
  • Philip Broberg was probably the best Oiler as he was one of the few that seemed able to make plays more often than not.
  • At least Andrej Sekera didn’t score!

THE FACE PALMERS

  • The Dallas Stars got on the board first (1-0) with a power play goal from Roope Hintz an incoming point shot deflected a couple of times on its way past Skinner.
  • Jason Robertson extended the Stars’ lead (2-0) with a second power play goal after Dallas moved the puck around the zone with precision before eventually draining it with a perfectly executed play.
  • Denis Gurianov threw sand in our eyes with a third Dallas goal (3-0) after he blew past Tyson Barrie (who basically soiled himself on the play) and found himself in all alone, beating Skinner with a quick deke that opened up the five-hole.
  • This was one of those games where everything looked like a challenge for the Oilers. They couldn’t make passes, they passed up chances to shoot, they got frustrated by the officiating, and it almost felt like a loss from the first few shifts of the game.
  • I know we’ll want to complain about the refs but getting outshot by a 30-22 margin is a tough look no matter how to slice it.
  • I guess I have to say that the Oilers were 0/2 on the power play even though they got a combined 12 seconds over the two opportunities. Okay, so maybe it was a little bit more than that but we’re only talking about 55 total seconds with the man advantage.
  • Unfortunately, the penalty kill looked average in this one and got tagged with two goals on five shorthanded situations.
  • Duncan Keith left the game with an upper-body injury and that means our defence on the left side for tomorrow’s game could be Broberg-Russell-Lagesson. Sweet mercy.
  • Connor McDavid’s point streak is over. Sad panda.
  • I’m pretty sure the Stars blocked 2000 shots tonight. I know the NHL site says it was only 20 but I don’t buy it.
  • I will not complain about the refs. I will not complain about the refs. I will not complain about the refs. I will not complain…
  • Imagine a world where I didn’t tell you that the Oilers won only 40% of the faceoffs? Sounds like a nightmare to me.

SCORING SUMMARY

#GOODCONTENT

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