Oilers Postgame: Cam “The Thief” Talbot Steals One

Before we go any farther, know this: Cam Talbot is a thief.

The Oilers were in Chicago tonight, for the first of a 6-game road trip that will take them to Tampa, Miami, Washington, Nashville and St Louis.

This road trip is critical, as they can gain points on Western opponents without giving any up. There’s no way of knowing how the trip is going to turn out, but with news that Kris Russell and Darnell Nurse may be available, there could be a new look Oiler team on the ice as soon as Tuesday.

The Oil came into tonight’s game on a 2-game win streak, and looked to extend against a Chicago team that was coming off their bye week. The first period made it look like the Oilers were the sluggish team, and Cam Talbot was stellar, stealing the game for the Oilers.

With that, we wrap!

1st Period

• Oilers looked a little sluggish early, even though Chicago was coming off the 5-day layoff.
• Draisaitl took a weak penalty and Chicago’s power play got to work – Hossa rang it off the bar and the Oilers were miraculously not down a goal
• Lucic gets the puck taken away from him on the next shift, and Chicago gets an immediate scoring chance; the puck stays in the Oilers end for over 45 seconds as a result of the Lucic giveaway.
• Oilers get 1 shot in the first 10 minutes, and it looked like the Oilers of old, or at least from last weekend, were out there.

• Cam Talbot right now pic.twitter.com/7QzMde7Diy

  — Jeanshorts (@JSBMjeanshorts) February 19, 2017

• Kassian takes a penalty, and as the Chicago power play begins, the Oilers haven’t had a shot in 12 minutes.
• RNH has a beauty opportunity, but is checked at the last minute and the Oilers remain at 3 SH goals on the season.
• There was a weird noise on my TV.
• Draisaitl and Lucic (?) had a great 2-on-1 chance, and the Oilers had 2 shots with 1:41 left.
• Old Man Panarin rings one off the cross bar – much excitement!
• Brian Campbell takes a tripping penalty with 4.6 seconds left, so the Oilers will start period 2 on the PP.

The best thing about that period is that it ended. pic.twitter.com/zJuplE7J5w

— StevenX (@DVDVR_DFA) February 19, 2017

2nd Period

• Oilers start on the PP. Hjalmarsson blocks a shot with his body and the puck goes missing for a minute. Oilers had some good pressure on this PP, but only managed to generate 1 shot.
• Gryba lays Kero out, and ends up dropping the gloves with Ryan Hartman. Even without his beard, Gryba has superpowers and ragdolls Hartman. Hawks pick up the extra penalty, and…..
• OILERS SCORE ON THE PP. Technically it went in off Trevor van Riemsdyk, but Matt Benning gets credit for the goal, his first against Chicago.
• Oilers new motto is “No shots? No problem.”
• Quinn and Remenda talked a lot about the number of hits the Oilers have. Benning had a bunch. Gryba too. And?
• The weird noise is still there.
• Drake Caggiula is a Toews fanboy. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
• Old Man Panarin has some skills for a 72 year old.
• Oilers tried some swarm defence at 5v5 and it did not go well. Luckily, the puck got out of the zone before it went in the net.

• I know! Let’s try another cross ice pass thru the neutral zone just in case the Hawks aren’t expecting it this time.

  — Bruce McCurdy (@BruceMcCurdy) February 19, 2017

• The Blackhawks have two modes: medium and turbo. When they cycle the puck, it’s hard not to be impressed, and the Oilers get caught looking a couple times.
• Panarin should have 3 goals on his own.
• By a miracle, the Oilers are leading after 2.

3rd Period

• Oilers are mostly outclassed in the early stages.
• Maroon takes a big hit, but bounces right back because he’s tough as nails.
• The Blackhawks are not letting up at all, and the Oilers need to be careful
• Kassian takes an interference penalty, and the Hawks PP goes back to work with all the momentum.
• That weird noise is still there – I think it’s the mic on top of the glass behind the net.
• The Hawks PP can cycle like nobody’s business – they should have scored 4 times.
• The Oilers go up 2-0 on an even strength goal by…..Milan Lucic?

• MILAN LUCIC IS ALIVE

  — StevenX (@DVDVR_DFA) February 19, 2017

• On his next shift, Lucic goes offside, and this happened:
  
• Richard Panik scores to pull the Hawks within one. 4:30 left.
• But that’s as far as they get, as Connor McDavid scores an empty-netter to make it 3-1
• OILERS WIN OILERS WIN
• Cam Talbot better not have to pay for a cup of coffee on this road trip.

Final Thoughts

The Oilers are in a playoff spot right now. They are more than likely going to make the playoffs. This is uncharted territory for most Oiler fans, since it’s been 84 years since that last happened.

They’re currently on a 3-game win streak, which is awesome, and they’ve obviously won more games than they’ve lost.

Here’s the thing that’s a bit concerning, in my humble opinion:

I don’t think they can win 4 games against the same team.

Cam Talbot can steal a couple in a playoff series, sure, but that means that the rest of the team needs to step it up for at least 2 more games. They won’t sweep a series, so I’m not sure if their whole “let Talbot make 30+ saves and hope for a win” strategy can work out over an extended period of time.

Don’t get me wrong: I want them to make the playoffs, but I’m just not sure if they can actually win a series.