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GDB 38.0 Wrap Up: Kings @ Oilers

By baggedmilk

Dec 29, 2015, 23:49 ESTUpdated:

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That sucked. Here’s Motorhead. Rip Lemmy. Final Score: 5-2 Kings

I’m not going to lie to you guys, I wasn’t very excited to watch this game tonight. With the way the Oilers had played against Vancouver and Calgary I really didn’t expect much from a game against the Kings. If anything, I was hoping for a classic Oilers Twitter night where #HereComeTheOilers gifs came raining down like self-deprecating gum drops from heaven. Needless to say I was planning for the worst. Sometimes I hate being right.

Tonight’s game was the third in a row where the Oilers had a good start, and first period for that matter, only to have the wheels fall off completely in the second period. It was like a scene from the same movie we’ve been watching for years now. This edition of the story featured what happens when goaltending lets you down and the team is never able to recover. As far as bad periods go, for a goalie, tonight’s second period was the top of the list for Talbot. After allowing three quick goals the Oilers were like a corpse, left to be picked at by vultures.

My preparation prepared me for a tough night and for that I’m thankful for that, but it didn’t mean that a loss like this was any less annoying. As far as reasons to suck this game checked whole bunch of them off the list. Bad goaltending – got it. Frustrated players – nailed it. A decent effort completely wasted – Got that too. Not to mention the fact that all of this happened despite the Los Angeles Kings playing last night in Vancouver. At least the home winning streak was fun while it lasted.

We wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

I turned down tickets tonight. The honest answer is that my wallet is a little bit light after Christmas, but I’m not exactly upset that I wasn’t able to make it.
Look at Benoit Pouliot heating up a little bit with another goal tonight (his 8th). Pouliot has been playing better since McLellan called him out last week.
I like Mark Letestu as a pick up for the Oilers. He knows his role, plays it well, and chips in offence from time to time. He did that tonight after finishing off a nice pass from Lauri Korpikoski for his 5th goal of the season.
Three assists in the two games for Nuge. The points are starting to come and I’m seeing a player that’s starting to play a little bit better. He seems to be gaining confidence with the puck.
How about the balls on Darnell Nurse for choosing to take on Milan Lucic as his first NHL fight. Darryl picked a pretty tough customer for his first scrap and he held his own. I wouldn’t give him the decision but I do give him huge marks for the balls that took. He was also one of the Oilers best players tonight.
Sekera has been getting better as the season progresses, and he’s playing tough minutes, but it would be nice if he had some help apart from Darnell Nurse.
The Oilers were able to generate 44 shots against the Kings. That’s a solid effort that was wasted by poor goaltending and mental breakdowns.

THE FACE PALMERS

I turn on my TV expecting to see an Oilers pre-game show and all they were doing was fluffing Johnny Gaudreau. When I turn on my TV expecting to see Oilers coverage, and it’s Flames talk… nauseating. To make things worse I wasn’t expecting it. *shudders*
After having a solid first period the Oilers dropped a shit on the ice in the second period. Cam Talbot was brutal and the team was never able to recover.
Gross night for Cam Talbot. He allowed three goals on 14 shots for a .786 save% but the worst part may be the fact that he allowed another goal from behind the goal line. After that, he was basically useless and got pulled after allowing two more weak goals. Awful night for Talbot.
Anders Nilsson wasn’t a whole lot better. After coming into the game in relief Nilsson stopped 17 of 19 shots for an .895 save%.
Another night, more wasted power plays. The Oilers went 0/2 on the night.
The penalty kill went 1/2 giving the Kings a sweep of the special teams game.
Matt Hendricks left the game but did return. Here’s hoping whatever was bothering him won’t be a nagging issue. The last thing the Oilers need is more injuries.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD
NONE
2ND PERIOD
04:22	LAK	Dwight King (1) Wrist shot – ASST: Dustin Brown (9), Trevor Lewis (4)	1 – 0 LAK
05:42	LAK	Michael Mersch (1) Wrist shot – ASST: Andy Andreoff (1)	2 – 0 LAK
05:58	LAK	Tyler Toffoli (18) Snap shot – ASST: Anze Kopitar (17), Drew Doughty (17)	3 – 0 LAK
09:56	EDM	Benoit Pouliot (8) Snap shot – ASST: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (18), Jordan Eberle (6)	3 – 1 LAK
14:18	LAK	Trevor Lewis (4) Snap shot – ASST: Dustin Brown (10), Dwight King (1)	4 – 1 LAK
3RD PERIOD
01:59	EDM	Mark Letestu (5) Wrist shot – ASST: Lauri Korpikoski (4), Andrej Sekera (10)	4 – 2 LAK
11:58	LAK	PPG – Dustin Brown (4) Backhand shot – ASST: Trevor Lewis (5), Jake Muzzin (13)	5 – 2 LAK

BEST OF THE TWEETS

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