THE BRIGHT SIDE
- @Leon Draisaitl pulled the Oilers back to within one (2-1) with a power play goal after the former MVP found a loose puck in the slot that he was able to bang home over an outstretched Fleury. Right before Draisaitl got the job done, Fleury made a huge save on Evander Kane and I honestly thought it was going to be one of those nights where no one could score, and that made Draisaitl’s PP marker so incredibly important.
- I was pretty excited to see the power play come up with a goal — they were 1-for-4 on the night — because the boys have been struggling to get much of anything done with the man advantage lately. That said, it would have been nice to see more than one goal considering how many opportunities they got, but I’ll still take the lone marker as a small victory on a night when there weren’t all that many.
- People that love shots on goal are thrilled with a big 41-30 win on the shot clock.
- Wading into the fancies, the Oilers finished the night with a 60.87 CF% and a 47.83 xGF%.
- I can’t even enjoy the fact that the Oilers won 61% of the faceoffs. Rude.
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had nine shots on net. I don’t even know why I’m including that in the bright side section aside from the fact that it’s a ridiculous number.
- At least @Caleb Jones did not score! Great success.
- Do me a favour and check out the latest episode of Better Lait Than Never and let me know what you think! Subscribe to my podcast for FREE on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and wherever else you get your podcasts.
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THE FACE PALMERS
- Only 1:44 into the game, Alex DeBrincat opened the scoring (1-0) with a power play goal after Patrick Kane found him with a perfect cross-ice pass that he teed off on and beat Smith down low.
- On only the second shot of the game, @Brandon Hagel extended the lead (2-0) with a wrister from the slot that beat Smith low on the blocker side as he was trying to slide to the top of his crease and get in position. A bang, bang play by the Blackhawks, and the Oilers were in a hole once again.
- @Dylan Strome restored Chicago’s two-goal lead (3-1) on the power play after parking himself right in front of the net and perfectly deflecting DeBrincat’s shot/pass up and over Mike Smith.
- Midway through the third, @Kirby Dach put the final nail in the coffin (4-1) with a goal from the slot after he was able to take a pass in tight and quickly chip the puck up and over Smith’s shoulder.
- The NHL site had the giveaways listed at 15-3 for the Oilers and that honestly seems about right. Edmonton was disastrous with the puck at times.
- The Oilers are so soft to play against that it drives me crazy when other teams are so often able to push them off the puck.
- I thought it would be hard for the Oilers to bobble the puck as much as they did last night against Vegas, but they were fighting it again in the first period and looked like they weren’t playing with very much confidence at all.
- @Connor McDavid was quiet again tonight and I wonder how much truth there was to the report during the all-star weekend that he’s battling some knee issues right now?
- Despite most of us thinking that @Stuart Skinner would get the start, @Mike Smith was back between the pipes for the second half of this back-to-back set, and when the news came out, I thought Oilers Twitter was going implode on itself. While there’s no doubt that Smith is the de facto starter, I think having him play two days in a row was a risky bet and when he gave up two goals on the first two shots, it looked like the house would be collecting rather than paying out. To his credit, Smith was able to settle things down a little bit as the game wore on, but I don’t think you’d find many people that would throw their hands up and say that he had a spectacular evening. Smith finished the night with 26 saves and a .867 save%.
- @Jesse Puljujarvi may never score again, but I want him to so badly.
- The PK struggled again, giving up two goals on three shorthanded situations. Not nearly good enough.
- It’s been a while since we’ve got a good Bronx cheer.
- With only 1:02 left in the first period, Duncan Keith fell awkwardly into the boards behind his own net and it looked like he was out cold before eventually leaving the ice with the help of his teammates. Unsurprisingly, Keith did not return and I think I can speak for all of us when I say that I hope he’s okay.
SCORING SUMMARY
#GOODCONTENT
Smith stopped the puck and the crowd cheered and he raised his stick and waved to everyone 😂
— Kennedy (@kennedystrash) February 10, 2022
it doesn't help that the oilers can't get goal support, but if you're gonna hold koskinen's feet to the fire for allowing the first shot, you've got to do the same when smith lets in the first 2. plenty of good smith saves in this one otherwise. but woof
— Jeff Chapman (@NewWaveOil) February 10, 2022
The Oilers at the start of the season and the Oilers right now. pic.twitter.com/CaujqpaoyM
— TheTowelBoy (@TheTowelBoy) February 10, 2022
I wish flex the barking dog was there to drown out whatever that noise is
— Oilersnation.com, Oily Since ‘07 (@OilersNation) February 10, 2022
Like Smith @jsbmbaggedmilk pic.twitter.com/A6EEsy3azH
— Surveyor Brett – Game Manager (@BLuchanski) February 10, 2022
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