Final Score: Predators 5 – Oilers 4
If that game didn’t make you want to put a hole in your drywall at least once, I applaud you for your resolve and/or apathy. The Oilers may not have necessarily “needed” this win (your mileage may vary), but with a Calgary Flames team that is getting hotter by the day, and an LA Kings team that just won against Anaheim, a victory against a potential rival for the Wild Card would have been a nice little bonus. Unfortunately, despite clawing back into the game on a couple occasions, the Oilers just couldn’t make up the final difference, and with that came their second straight regulation loss.
The way I see it, this game was maddening from 2 different aspects.
The first being very poor portions of the Oilers play. Hey look, we got some secondary scoring! Guess what, it didn’t matter because the Oilers gave up way too much the other way. Early on in particular, Edmonton was leaking a number of chances that, if not for stellar saves by Talbot, could have forced this game down a very ugly road. When the Oilers weren’t leaking those Nashville opportunities, they were continuing a trend of being abysmal on the penalty kill.
Yes, the ghastly penalty killing was the real anti-gem of the night, being the most significant factor for the Oilers loss. Inabilities to win key, defensive zone face-offs, lack of aggression and stick work towards the puck carrier, and entire segments of abandoning the front of the net (see the Preds 5th goal) were all to blame for 3(!) Nashville goals on the man advantage. Yes, there was a suspect penalty in there, but the bottom line is that those calls happen and your team has to be able to step up and make the stop. After a successful night in Washington, I was hoping that Edmonton’s brain-cramping shorthanded ways had abandoned them… I guess not.
Now, as was stated, despite those poor segments of play, the Oilers still found themselves with a great chance to win the game heading into the third. Thanks to some clutch secondary scoring and a will to not quit, Edmonton found themselves tied at 4 after 40. Considering they had been down 1-0, 2-1, 3-1, and 4-2 prior to that, this was terrific news. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t only be the PK to blame on the Predators winning goal, which bring me to the second aspect of anger this evening.
This.
in conclusion, offside. pic.twitter.com/EnMfZyonme
— steph (@myregularface) February 27, 2017
It’s bad enough when your team plays poor and costs themselves the game. It is even worse when they still have a chance to win it, but due to an abysmal decision by the referees on the go-ahead goal, they lose the game. I hate this offside challenge as much as anyone, but the way I see it, is that if the league is going to implement such a stupid thing, they should at least call it consistently. Deeming that play above onside, when it is very obviously offside, is the opposite of consistent. I can recall a Zack Kassian goal that was called back against Winnipeg which was much, much closer than the play above. The whole challenge thing is a discombobulated mess, and I think that we have all seen enough this season to say: scrap it, NHL! Thanks.
And yes, the argument will be that the Oilers still had 18 minutes to tie it, and they nearly did, but still. I can’t wait until game 7 deciding goal is decided by something as ridiculous as what we witness today. Maybe that will be enough to motivate the NHL to get rid of it.
In terms of individual performances, McDavid was electric as he scored and pick dup an assist, Maroon had a good game to my eye, and the 4th line for the Oilers once again provided a sufficient dosage of energy. I still believe that Anton Lander, in place of Matt Hendricks, would be a much more effective decision for this lineup. Lander could provide just as much energy, with about the same offensive levels, but has the added bonus of being better in face-offs ad efficient on the penalty kill. With the PK being so abysmal right now, any help would be nice.
Adam Larsson and Darnell Nurse both returned tonight and looked effective, collecting around 14 minutes of ice time each. It was really nice to see Nurse return and once he is back up to full speed, he will once again be a major contributor on the backend.
Andrej Sekera was spectacular in his 25 minutes of ice, nabbing himself an assist, while Oscar Klefbom, who has been on a tear for the past 2 weeks, pick dup 2 helpers of his own.
Cam Talbot made some pretty great stops, but did let one particularly weak goal against, and in total, had a .821 save percentage for the game. It looks much worse than it was due to the 3 Preds power play markers. He was not the reason why the Oilers lost, that is for sure.
Overall, it was a frustrating game, and one that the Oilers can hopefully improve upon heading into the final game of their road trip.
Oilers Player of the Game
Connor McDavid gets the nod. Most games he is at the top of the list for performers (obviously) but tonight he was really something else. 2 points and a goal that was an absolute jaw-dropper. He played the most of any Oiler forward with 23:00 of ice time.
ICYMI, @cmcdavid97 was 🔥 in the 1st. #EDMvsNSH pic.twitter.com/ziijeS4qZy
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 26, 2017
Oilers Highlights
POWER UP! #EDMvsNSH pic.twitter.com/2yXkqJOu0S
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 26, 2017
GOALS! Here's Letestu's PPG. #EDMvsNSH pic.twitter.com/cKcPdUVbpn
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 26, 2017
And here's @ebs_14's equalizer! #EDMvsNSH pic.twitter.com/nmU1nI7Hgr
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 26, 2017
Up Next: Tuesday Night in Missouri
The Oilers will head into St. Louis on Tuesday night to close their road trip with a game against another Central Division opponent.
Let’s hope that the Oilers can carry over their offensive perforce from this game, but find a way to plug the leaks on defence, particularly when down a man.
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