The Edmonton Oilers had compiled a treasure trove of momentum and points prior to the All Star break that had left the impression, in late January, that the Northern Alberta squad was almost bookmarked for the playoffs.
Hold your horses though, because in the 3 games that have followed, this Edmonton Oilers team has not looked the same at all. Prior to their game against the Canadiens on Super Bowl Sunday, not only had the Oilers compiled 3 straight losses, but all of the defeats happened to come in regulation time. No wins, no momentum, not even any points. Rough situation.
Worse yet, the Oilers had another break not he horizon, with a 5 day layoff coming up immediately following the game against the Montreal. Obviously, how the team performed today would have massive implications on what the mood would be over the break. Win, and the Oilers could at least feel a bit better about themselves. A loss and who knows what would happen coming out of the break. Who would have thought that a Sunday afternoon game in February, against an Eastern Conference opponent, would have such significance?
Could the Oilers get back on track and defeat the Montreal Canadiens, featuring their backup goaltender, or would Super Bowl Sunday bring them another awful result? Let’s take a look and see.
1st Period
- Bob Cole, baby. Bob Cole.
- For a team desperately looking for a hot start, at the Oilers did a good job of providing a spark. On the very first shift of the game, Maroon levelled Andrew Shaw into the Montreal bench, McDavid got a decent shot on net, and a scrum ensued at the whistle. Excellent early energy.
- 5 minutes in and it was evident that the crowd was hot, the pace of the game was upbeat, and the action was coming on both ends of the ice.
- Jeeze… only the 1st period, and McDavid had already taken a slew foot for Shaw and another questionable interference/trip from someone else in front of the Oilers net. Pair that with the Canadiens fans booing him and it was pretty clear that the number 1 enemy in Quebec today was Connor. Keep up the booing, but stop the slew foots, okay?
Here's the Shaw/McDavid incident early in the first. pic.twitter.com/YdbuUL628m
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 5, 2017
- The thing with McDavid, however, is that when you anger him, that isn’t always a good thing. Connor is a special player that thrives off of emotion, and he had a couple killer chances late in there period to score.
💯 @NHL games for Captain Connor. #EDMvsMTL pic.twitter.com/NAtOLieeQB
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 5, 2017
- Final shots in the period were 15-8 Oilers, and hits were 16-4 in favour of Edmonton as well.
Wow, now that is a much better period than the previous 9. Energy, hits, hustle, visible effort. That type of effort and execution will get you wins more time than not. If the Oilers could keep it up for 40 more minutes, they would have an excellent chance at victory.
2nd Period
- Great to see that the pace and energy of the game’s first 5 minutes was still present all the way into the 2nd. Despite the game not having a goal at the halfway point, there was certainly no lack of excitement.
- It must be noted that Lucic looked a lot better than games previous, as he was hustling and hitting just as he should be. Additionally, Draisaitl, who had looked a bit off over the last 3, was back on his standard level, making more than a few sharp passes.
- The Oilers had a great chance to crack the scoreboard 12 minutes in with a 4(!) on 1, but the boys tried to just be bit too fancy/polite, and well… there was barely even a shot registered on the play.
- Oscar Klefbom through 40 had compiled 16 minutes of ice time. That is a full 2 minutes more than any other defender on the Oilers. It was shaping out to be an excellent afternoon for #77.
- No score to close out the 2nd, but Edmonton once again lead in both shots, 25-15, and hits, 29-12.
Hmm… another period where Edmonton was the better team, yet they still didn’t find a way to score. It looked like the Oilers might have had a decent chance to get one on a late Power Play, but Draisaitl’s stick broke on the shot. The game was definitely there for the Oilers taking after 40… they just had to, you know… take it.
3rd Period
- The game throughout the 3rd, with it looking like whoever would score first would win it, had a really intense theme to it by this point. Just knowing how badly the Oilers needed this win, it made every shot, every rush, every opportunity feel dire. The heart, I am sure, hates games like this, but man can it be exciting.
- Still too much passing! The Oilers, on a Power Play past the half point way in the 3rd, once again went the route of pass first, shoot second and it deprived them of a really opportunity to score on the man advantage.
- Look at how close McDavid came to taking a 1-0 lead…
Which led to this… #EDMvsMTL pic.twitter.com/w2hzznZTku
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 5, 2017
- That is as close as they would come to scoring in regulation, as this game was headed to overtime. Final shots were 30-20 for Edmonton. No matter which way it would slice, the Oilers managed a point. That’s key.
Overtime
- It was rather quiet to start the 3 on 3 with a lot of outside skating, but it picked up immediately with an excellent chance on a breakaway. Montoya came up big with the stop.
- Few chances either way would mean that this game could not be solved with 3 on 3. That is a shutout for Talbot… To the shootout we go.
Shootout
- Radulov (MTL): No goal
- Draisaitl (EDM): Goal!
- Byron (MTL): No goal
- Letestu (EDM): No goal
- Pacioretty (MTL): No goal!!! Oilers win!
Final Score: Edmonton 1 – Montreal 0
Postgame Thoughts
The Edmonton Oilers marched into Quebec on Sunday in a desperate need of 2 points. Yes, they did need to put together an effort that was much, much better than their past week, but even a better effort with no win would not have sufficed. A win would mean that the Oilers would not only head into their 5 day break in a much better head space, but also that their playoff position in the Pacific would be a bit more protected.
The Edmonton Oilers did just that. Last year’s Super Bowl Sunday had the Oilers playing in the afternoon against the Islanders, where they put on, arguably, their worst game of the season in an 8-1 loss. This year was a much different story. The Oilers took to the ice and from the very first puck drop, they hustled, they hit, they checked well, they defended. It was great to see.
Was the game perfect? No, not at all. The Oilers still had a few too many turnovers for my liking. They refused to take advantage of opportunities to shoot, instead opting for too much passing, which certainly cost them some dangerous chances; and because of that, the Oilers still struggled to score, as has been the case since the All Star Break. Only 3 goals (in regulation) were scored by the Oilers in their 4 games since the break. Not nearly good enough.
Hopefully though, the lack of goal scoring is juts a bit of a slump, and this team can get back on track with scoring, as they were for much of January. In terms of individual performances in this game, there were more than a few standouts.
McDavid was remarkable all night, using his speed to send Canadiens player after Canadiens player to the penalty box. He played 25 minutes tonight, and if life was fair at all, he would have had at least 2 goals to show for his efforts today. Draisaitl was much improved making a number of gorgeous passes to set up McDavid on at least a couple really good chances. He had 23 minutes of ice time himself. Milan Lucic compiled 7 hits and was skating hard all afternoon. We need this Lucic to be present, night in and night out. His physicality makes a difference and it showed today.
On the backend, Oscar Klefbom played terrific, putting up 25 minutes of ice time with a good amount of PP and PK time as well. He had a couple shots on net but looked very good in his defending and checking of Montreal forwards. His partner, Adam Larsson, had 7 hits on the night and stood out in a very good game as well. Of the 2 defenceman that drew in, Oesterle had the better game. One thing that was really on display was his ability to move the puck. Much needed in the absence of Matt Benning.
Oilers Player of the Game
Mr. Cam Talbot takes the prize today. Shutout in regulation. Shutout in overtime. Shutout in the shootout. Can’t lose if the other team can’t score and Talbot denied Montreal of every single one of their chances. Great game with 22 saves plus 3 more in the shootout.
CAM-TASTIC! #EDMvsMTL pic.twitter.com/jj3rTo1nHm
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 5, 2017
Up Next: 5 Day Break
The Oilers will get another break, this one being of 5 days, where they can hopefully find a way to carry on the momentum of this game to the next one. At the other end of the week sits the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Place on Saturday night for Hockey Night in Canada. Should, and I do empathize should, be a terrific game.
Until then, enjoy tonight’s Super Bowl if that is your thing! Let’s say Patriots over Falcons 31-24.
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