WE WIN!
Would you have believed it if someone had told you 2 months ago that the Oilers would open the season 5-1-0? I KNOW! ME TOO! We’re going streaking folks, and it feels damn good. I don’t even know what to do with my hands right now. There’s literally nothing to complain about on twitter…
Other than the sun. The game was scheduled to start at 1pm MT today and was 2 hours late due to a “weather delay” because apparently the NHL didn’t realize that Winnipeg isn’t a frozen hellhole 365 days of the year. The reaction from fans on twitter was priceless though, so I collected a few of them for you here:
@maylee9 There’s just no way they could have known the sun would be up at 1pm.
— Scott Hetherington (@srheth) October 23, 2016
In Winnipeg, glowing ball of light in sky confounds sports league.
— Bartley Kives (@bkives) October 23, 2016
Time for plan B #HeritageClassic pic.twitter.com/Dsn3PzUdqu
— The Oil Refinery (@lowemustgo) October 23, 2016
The game would eventually get underway however, and with an epic opening ceremony. The Heritage Classic takes a lot of heat from some fans (pun intended), but I tend to look forward to it. Especially when the Oilers are involved. Having the Oilers meet the Jets in this years edition just made it that much more special. When else are you going to get to see a game like this open up with a sweet flyby of the snowbirds and a CF-18?
The sun was in their eyes ☀️#HeritageClassic #StartTheDamnGame pic.twitter.com/muEK8q0ZDE
— WinniPretty (@Pretty__G) October 23, 2016
Not only that, but with the alumni game yesterday, it’s been a great weekend for fans of both teams. I mean just look at this ceremonial puck drop:
Legendary puck-drop. #HeritageClassic pic.twitter.com/NaYGd90Wga
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 23, 2016
Once the ceremonial fanfare was out of the way (and it was great), the puck would eventually drop as the sun dipped low enough behind the Investor’s Group Field to get the game started, and what a game it was. Here’s how I saw it, with a few of my favorite tweets from the game:
1st period:
-The game started off with a good pace as both teams traded chances early, but neither team had any grade A opportunities. Both teams were physical, with the Jets laying some crushing hits in the first 5 minutes of the game.
-Pouliot seemed to be turning the puck over a lot. While he didn’t take any offensive zone penalties, he didn’t look good through the first 20.
-Nuge looked good and seemed to be creating chances, but couldn’t convert. He was excellent in his own end (as usual).
-As the period approached the halfway mark, the Jets started to dominate the Oilers. The Oilers found themselves stuck in their own end for large stretches of the latter half of the 1st and if it wasn’t for Cam Talbot, this game could have gotten away from the Oilers very quickly.
-Speaking of Talbot, he was YUGE. JUST TREMENDOUS (sorry, not sorry). Story of the game, really.
-The giant sunbeam of death that was covering the neutral zone seemed to be causing issues for both squads, but more so the Oilers. I’m not sure if it was just the angle of the light and the resulting glare, but you could see the Oilers gravitating towards the wing and avoiding the centre of the ice in the neutral zone (something the Jets would exploit for most of the period).
-As the period wore on the Jets would take it over completely, eventually outshooting the Oilers and killing them on scoring chances. Lucic would go on to take a pretty weak roughing call and put the Oilers even further back on their heels with about 8 minutes left in the frame.
-The Oilers would go on to kill the penalty but struggle in their own end under a relentless forecheck from Winnipeg. Edmonton’s defense looked shaky at best in the 1st, and the only D-man that looked like he held his own to me was Darnell Nurse (more on that later 😉 )
-McDavid started this game out rough. I’m not sure if it was just the delayed game or what, but he had multiple turnovers in the 1st and wasn’t generating much in the way of offense.
-Patrick Laine on the other hand, had an excellent period despite being unable to find the twine. He’d burn Adam Larsson pretty badly in the last few minutes of the period, but thankfully for Oilers fans he didn’t end up converting:
Well that was nifty. pic.twitter.com/iaND9KmB2S
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 23, 2016
-The Oilers and Jets would finish the 1st period scoreless, largely due in part to a magnificent performance by Cam Talbot. Sloppy play by the defence and sloppy play by the forwards.
2nd Period:
-The giant sunbeam of doom seemed to be gone as the sun dipped to start the 2nd period. I’m not sure if it had anything to do with the Oilers awful start to the game, but they started the frame with a couple strong shifts and seemed to be limiting their mistakes compared to the 1st.
-Nuge’s line would generate some good offensive zone time and a few scoring chances within the first 5 minutes, but they just couldn’t seem to convert.
-As the period wore on, the game would lull significantly. You could pretty much hear a pin drop in the stands. There were portions of the first 10 minutes of the 2nd where you could definitely be forgiven for falling asleep if you happened to be hung over from yesterday’s game.
-Darnell Nurse would go off for roughing with about 11 minutes left. Seemed to be a controversial call for some, but I thought it was warranted. He was handing out one too many cross checks behind his own net and eventually got called for it.
-The Oiler’s would start off the penalty kill well, and then Test Tube would do what he does best (this season) and score a glorious shorty after Byfuglien bobbled the puck at the Oilers blue line:
First goal is ours! #HeritageClassic pic.twitter.com/RMEYIDyHH8
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 23, 2016
-Cam Talbot would continue his outstanding performance as he’d make a huge save on a Byfuglien point shot and then deny Mark Scheifele on the rebound
-Then my favorite part of the game happened. Nurse rushes out of the box as Connor McDavid skates up the ice with speed, resulting in this beauty:
A nice goal and a very tender celebration pic.twitter.com/weKOcWAdLY
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) October 23, 2016
-The game would start to pick up pace after 2 quick goals by the Oilers, as the Jets would wake up a bit and respond with some pressure in the Oilers end of the ice
-Kris Russell would take a blatant high stick straight to the face as he rushed the puck up the right side of the ice, but apparently the only ref watching the play was too busy admiring a beautiful Winnipeg sunset to notice (seriously, he wasn’t even looking at the play)
-Tyler Myers had a really strong period for the Jets, making multiple defensive plays and contributing to scoring chances as well. For me, he was one of the best players for Winnipeg throughout the game
-Tyler Pitlick had a decent period. While he wasn’t getting much done offensively, he played the body well and broke up a few Jets plays in the Oilers end
-Patrick Laine would make an awful turnover just inside the Jets blueline, resulting in a nice snipe by Zack Kassian:
That was a rookie oops.
— Arctic Ice Hockey (@arcticicehockey) October 23, 2016
What a pass! What a snipe! ? #HeritageClassic pic.twitter.com/WMtrbEd3qR
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 23, 2016
-The Oilers would take another penalty (this time with Andrej Sekera taking a turn in the sin bin) but the Jets would ultimately fail to score as Cam Talbot continued to deny them on some great chances
-Winnipeg would limp out of the 2nd down 3 goals:
Second period summary. #HeritageClassic pic.twitter.com/jO64dFYRz2
— VisuallyBetter (@Isuckatpicking) October 23, 2016
3rd Period:
-The Jets would come out flying to start the 3rd (again, pun intended) but fail to notch a goal as the Oilers seemed to tighten up defensively. It’s a good sign for Oilers fans.
-McDavid was all over the ice in the 2nd, generating a number of grade A chances.
-Jesse Puljujarvi would get a nice shot on Connor Hellebuyck after a pretty quiet 2nd period, but the lesser Connor shut the door.
-The Oilers would finally get a powerplay of their own after Eberle took a stick to the chops. On the ensuing man advantage, Tyler Myers would almost kill Nugent-Hopkins leading to a 5 on 3:
Myers may have saved a goal but takes a penalty on Nugent-Hopkins #HeritageClassic pic.twitter.com/MNQYFnKGhZ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 23, 2016
-Nuge would be ok, but the Oilers would fail to capitalize on the 5v3.
-The Jets would pull the goalie with 5 minutes left in the 3rd. Some people hate it when coaches do this, but I love it. I would love to see more coaches take risks like this. If your team is down 3 goals and there’s five minutes left, why not try and give them a chance to get back into the game?
-The Oilers would go on to take another penalty in the dying minutes as Connor McDavid tripped up Ehlers from behind on a completely meaningless play. I know Connor is the Golden Child and I love him too, but if it was Taylor Hall or Nail Yakupov taking that penalty, Oilers fans would be crucifying them. He’s young, and he’ll get better, but there’s no excuse for a penalty like that (no matter who you are).
-The Jets would call a timeout with 1:20 left and keep their goalie pulled with the man advantage, but fail to score. I really admire the tenacity they showed despite the game appearing out of reach at that stage.
-OILERS WIN!
Random Thoughts:
-People seem to hate the drone cam. I like it. Fite me.
-Ref cams are freakin awesome:
??? pic.twitter.com/lYbJBZ6y03
— Jeanshorts (@JSBMjeanshorts) October 23, 2016
-Speaking of refs, the Reffing in this game was questionable at times. While it didn’t cost the Oilers, it very well could have. I’m not saying the Oilers played a perfectly disciplined game (because they definitely didn’t), but the calls were a bit lopsided in this one.
-Cam Talbot was amazing, and completely deserves this shutout. Every team needs their goalie to steal the odd game for them, and Talbot did just that. It’s nice to see him have such a great game after having a somewhat tenuous start to the season.
-The 1st line looked rough early, but they picked it up through the 2nd and 3rd. Lucic appears to be just what the doctor ordered and while he didn’t score, he was running through the opposition, creating space for his linemates, and contributing to scoring chances.
-It’s really nice to see the Oilers take a lead and actually hold onto it for a change. I’m not saying it’s time to plan the parade, but there are some good signs here that indicate this team may have finally turned the corner.
-Although the Oilers had quite the rivalry with the Jets in the 80’s, the fans seem to have a mutual respect for each other that is unparalleled in the rest of the NHL. I love it, personally.
-I’m totally jealous of anyone that got to attend this game in person.
-WE’RE STREAKING! The oilers have now won 3 straight. Look at this beauty:
Enjoy the win and soak it in, ladies and gents!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
