What a comeback! That was emotional. Final Score: 4-3 Oilers
There’s nothing more annoying than a rambunctious Habs fan. The fact that half of Rexall Place was filled with Canadiens fans was irritating enough and that was before they started with their soccer chants. Within minutes I was annoyed at the sound of the mindless murmur that leaked from the face hole of Habs fans. There was nothing that I wanted more than to see the Oilers ruin the night of every single person wearing a red and white jersey. It’s was a humble dream, but it was my dream.
What started out as a hope that all Montreal fans would slink home depressed almost ended up in a search for a white flag to wave. The Oilers were not ready to play tonight, and the Canadiens took advantage. Actually, “taking advantage” is probably the understatement of the night. The Canadiens absolutely ran the Oilers’ show for first 30 minutes and it wasn’t really close at all. It seemed like every time the Oilers gave up the puck the Habs turned it into a scoring opportunity. The biggest problem with that, of course, is that the Oilers gave up the puck a lot early. 
The tides began to turn when Leon Draisaitl was able to squeeze the puck over the goal line late in the second period. Amazingly, the Oilers clawed back from a three goal deficit in the final 22 minutes. The Oilers played with much more tenacity in the final frame, capitalized on their chances, and didn’t look like the same team as they were in the first two-thirds of the game. The most impressive thing about tonight’s win was that they never gave up as the night went on — they kept battling. How many times could we have said that over the last few years?
This was a big win for a team that desperately needed one. The Oilers showed heart, resiliency, and a willingness to stay in the fight even when things looked grim. This was the kind of moral victory that we can all be happy with. Not to mention, tonight the Oilers made a blogger’s dream come true as they sent home thousands of Habs fans with a sour taste in their mouth. I’d bet all of Wanye’s money that Habs fans thought they had a guaranteed win in their pocked after the first period, and taking that away from them is supremely satisfying. 
We wrap. 

THE BRIGHT SIDE

  • Darnell Nurse scored a goal in his first game back and Leon Draisaitl decided to follow suit. He scored his first and second goals of the year in his first game of the season. He wanted to make a good impression in his first game back and certainly did that with two big goals, including the game winner.
  • How about Nuge’s puck pursuit on the winning goal? Nugey’s puck lifting skills are pretty slick too, Connor. 
  • Speaking of Nurse, I thought he looked solid again and he was rewarded with an assist, his first of the year. There are moments when I still think he needs to settle down a little bit in his own zone but that will come with experience. He’s going to be an absolutely beauty for a very long time. 
  • Brandon Davidson scored his first goal of the year on an absolute blast from the point. The goal also gave Connor McDavid an assist, extending his point streak to seven games. 
  • I wonder where the people went that said Connor McDavid was a bust when he only had one point in four games? McDavid put up two assists tonight putting his season total to 12 points in 11 games. If he’s this good now, how good is he going to be when he’s 25?
  • Nail Yakupov also extended his point streak to seven games when he got a secondary assist on Benoit Pouliot’s goal.
  • Benoit Pouliot overcame the bad penalty he took in the first period by cashing in his third goal on a perfect pass by Connor McDavid. 
  • The night is finally over for Cam Talbot. He was getting hammered with shots early, and a high percentage of them were from dangerous positions. Regardless of how hard he looks, there’s no Ryan McDonagh around to bail him out. Talbot was able to shake off the first period and shut the door for the rest of the night which obviously helped the Oilers win this hockey game. Talbot finished the night with 18 saves and a .857 save%.
  • The Oilers won 37 of 71 faceoffs tonight for 52%. Not great, but definitely an improvement. 
  • Long live the Carey Curse®! Price can’t get it done in Edmonton. 

THE FACE PALMERS

  • WAAAY too many Habs jerseys at Rexall tonight. I hope every single one of them got gouged on the price they paid for tickets.
  • Brendan Gallagher was annoying all night for multiple reasons. He’s a solid player and he also plays an irritating brand of hockey. He’s the kind of player that pisses you off when you play against him, but love to watch when he’s on your side. 
  • Offensive zone penalty for Benoit Pouliot – everybody drinks. 
  • Oscar Klefbom gave up the puck at the defensive blue line and it cost the Oilers on the goal by Torrey Mitchell. He has to clear that puck. Giveaways at the line are absolutely killing the Oilers this year, and must be driving Todd McLellan nuts. 
  • Anton Lander got caught puck watching on the goal by Alex Galchenyuk. To his credit, Lander was skating beside his man and probably got a really nice view of the goal. 
  • The veteran players need to be better or upgraded. Fayne, Sekera, Purcell, Ference, and Pouliot all have to lead by example and not many of them can say that they did that in the first half of tonight’s game. 

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
09:27
MTL
PPG – Brendan Gallagher (5) Deflected shot – ASST: P.K. Subban (10), Tomas Plekanec(6)
1 – 0 MTL
16:56
MTL
Torrey Mitchell (5) Snap shot – ASST: Devante Smith-Pelly (3)
2 – 0 MTL
17:51
MTL
Alex Galchenyuk (2) Snap shot – ASST: Andrei Markov (10), Brian Flynn (2)
3 – 0 MTL
2ND PERIOD
19:08
EDM
PPG – Leon Draisaitl (1) Deflected shot – ASST: Taylor Hall (5), Oscar Klefbom (4)
3 – 1 MTL
3RD PERIOD
06:15
EDM
Brandon Davidson (1) Slapshot – ASST: Darnell Nurse (1), Connor McDavid (6)
3 – 2 MTL
10:43
EDM
Benoit Pouliot (3) Snap shot – ASST: Connor McDavid (7), Nail Yakupov (8)
3 – 3 Tie
18:58
EDM
Leon Draisaitl (2) Wrist shot – ASST: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (4), Taylor Hall (6)
4 – 3 EDM

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EBERLE MASKS FROM ATB FINANCIAL

Do you want to improve your face by wearing Eberle’s face? I know I do! Feel free to grab the image above and tweet us a picture with the #ATBHomeIce hashtag and you could win some pretty slick prizes! Don’t know how to Internet? No problem. We’ll be giving out Eberle masks at the Pint Downtown this coming Saturday during the Battle of Alberta.