THE BRIGHT SIDE

• @Oscar Klefbom opened the scoring (1-0) with a beautiful backhand goal that was made possible from a nifty little pass from Sam Gagner along the boards. Klefbom walked down into the slot and Gagner found him with a perfect saucer pass that left Sexbom with some time and space.
• @Leon Draisaitl tied the game up at two apiece (2-2) on the power play after he was able to sneak one through the goaltender’s glove and body. Up until that point, the Oilers power play had looked a little bit disjointed, but those concerns were quickly dashed by Drai’s fifth PP goal of the season.
• Down by two goals with a period to play, my hope for a win had all but flown out the window until @Gaetan Haas scored to bring his team back to within a single goal (4-3). Haas got his stick on a point shot and deflected it past the goaltender for his first goal in 14 games, a sight that I couldn’t have been more pumped about had it been Miranda Kerr in string cheese bikini.
• Only moments after Gaetan Haas scored, @Connor McDavid tied things up (4-4) after he smashed the puck home near the side of the net after Ethan Bear made a wonderful play to get it to him. McDavid was buzzing all game and it was actually frustrating me that he wasn’t able to cash in on some of the chances that he probably deserved, but, in the end, he ended up getting a clutch goal when his team needed him the most.
• After the Oilers had tied the game up and blown it, @James Neal pulled them back to within one (6-5) with the team’s fifth goal of the night. It was fun, and I was happy to see him score again, but it was too little too late. Neal finished the night with two points.
• I was happy to see @Sam Gagner back in the lineup tonight after being a scratch against Buffalo and Carolina. Gagner didn’t waste any time in contributing as he picked up an assist with a beautiful pass on Klefbom’s first period marker. By my eye, he had been filling in admirably for Nuge while he was out with that hand injury, but clearly, Dave Tippett didn’t feel the same.
• @Darnell Nurse basically killed Jordan Greenway in the second period after absolutely beating the shit out of him late in the second period. Greenway was trying to mix it up in front of the net but Darryl was having none of it, and the next thing you know, Nurse was teeing off on his face like he was starting a lawnmower. If you want to see the fight again, you can check it out over on Nurse’s player page at HockeyFights.com.
• Shout out to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for registering his 400th point in the NHL with the assist on James Neal’s third period goal. He also finished the night at 73% in the faceoff circle as he moves towards the best totals of his career in that department.
• The Oilers won the special teams battle again tonight, scoring on one of two power play chances while also killing off the lone penalty they took.

THE FACE PALMERS

• In the back half of the first period, @Jordan Greenway tied the game up (1-1) after parking himself in front of the net and getting a lucky bounce go in off of his shoulder pad.
• @Jason Zucker gave Minnesota the lead (2-1) with only 17 seconds left in the first period after Jujhar Khaira gave the puck away at the other end of the ice, allowing the Wild the opportunity to turn it around and cash in a late goal. Frankly, Khaira’s hope pass to no one should never have happened and I’d prefer to see him throw it back down into the corner rather than fish for a miracle.
• @Marcus Foligno restored the Wild’s lead (3-2) with a snipe of a wrister that beat Mike Smith high over the glove hand. Once again, the Oilers got caught on an odd-man rush against but this time, they got burned by the chance that probably should have been avoided entirely.
• @Ryan Donato gave the Wild a two-goal buffer (4-2) after the Oilers got burned on a second straight odd-man rush against, this time as a result of a horrible defensive change by Nurse at the bench.
• Right as Oilers fans were getting excited about their team tying things up at four, @Eric Staal ruined the fun with a response goal (5-4) that came as a result of another defensive gaff and lack of a save in net. Were you surprised? You weren’t, were you?
• By the time Luke Konin scored the Wild’s sixth goal of the night (6-4) and the eventual game winner, I was full-on raging and ready to throw my TV out the window. Why do I love this team?
• @Mike Smith got the start tonight and was looking to rebound after a tough outing against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, and he wasn’t any better tonight against Minnesota. After allowing four goals on 11 shots, and admittedly I wouldn’t hang all four of those on him, the Oilers found themselves down by a pair of goals in a game that they should have been in. Again, I’m not suggesting that Smith is entirely at fault for this loss, but it certainly would have been nice to get another save or two or four, ya know? Smith finished the night with 20 saves and a .769 save%.
• Can I mention how bad goaltending will lose you hockey games 100% of the time? Would that be okay?

SCORING SUMMARY

#GOODCONTENT

BEAR SEASON TEE