Oilers Postgame: David The Great!

FINAL SCORE: EDM: 4 SJS: 3 (OT)

Wow. Wow. Wow.

The Edmonton Oilers now lead the San Jose Sharks 3-2 in the series.

I really do not have many words for this one, so let’s just get a quick overview of how we got to this point!

Recap:

1st Period:

The game started off rather favorably for the Edmonton Oilers. A quick goal by Patrick Maroon gave the team the quick start that they desperately needed, and they had San Jose on their heels for a good 10 minutes. Darnell Nurse looked especially ready to go in this one as well, hitting two posts early on.

However, the pressure could not be sustained by Edmonton and the veteran Sharks team started to show off their experience. The Oilers were not able to exit the zone cleanly and that ended up in a beautiful tic-tac-toe sequence that resulted in a Mikkel Boedker goal and a tie game. The Sharks then capitalized on a poorly executed line change by Adam Larsson and Patrick Marleau was able to clean up a puck that just barely squeaked through Cam Talbot. 2-1 Sharks after one.

Overall, it was definitely a period that showed two sides of the Edmonton Oilers. The first 10 minutes had a team that seemed determined to put Tuesday’s embarrassing loss to rest, while the last 10 painted the picture of a young team with playoff inexperience. Much was left to be decided in the final 40.

2nd Period:

This one did not go exactly to plan, but the second frame was a very meh period both ways. The Sharks were able to extend their lead to 3-1, scoring almost immediately after a power-play had expired, and the excitement in the building turned into a haze of nervousness. That is…until Connor McDavid got fed up.

I am not hesitant to say that Connor McDavid’s crushing hit on Michael Sorenson was the turning point in Game 5. Out of pure frustration, McDavid uncorked Sorenson with a clean hit in open ice to ignite the building.

From here the Oilers were able to do good on a couple of consecutive power-plays. Leon Draisaitl threaded the needle to, PP God, Mark Letestu to shrink the lead down to 3-2 heading into the third period.

3rd Period:

Believe it or not…but I found the third period to be quite boring outside of the final 5 minutes. It was clear at this point that the Sharks had seemingly grown tired, as they were content to eat up as much time as possible. Despite Edmonton only being down a single goal, San Jose wasn’t actively pressing for a bigger lead, opting to lock things down defensively.

It was a tight checking and very well played game that San Jose was playing, and they would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for that meddling flying Frenchman! David Desharnais was able to pick up the puck and maneuver himself around the Sharks net and lay the puck on an absolute tee for Oscar Klefbom. With under 3 minutes to go in the final frame, the Oilers had tied this sucker back up at 3-apeice….and Orange Crush was absolutely rocking!

Overtime was the only way this one would be dealt with.

Overtime:

This is where the tides truly turned in the Oilers favour. The team was flying and using their speed to their advantage. Countless opportunities came for the Oilers in this period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins nearly snuck one through Jones, Connor McDavid was robbed on a 2-1, Draisaitl had a point blank opportunity, and it had Oil Country going absolutely crazy.

Then the puck came down to Leon Draisaitl in the right offensive corner. The middle of the ice seemed to vacant until a streaking Desharnais battled to get in front of a hulking Tomas Hertl. The patented Draisaitl pass came right onto the stick of DD and was quickly transported over the right shoulder of Martin Jones and that was the game!

It was an absolutely brilliant overtime period by the Oilers, as they showed off a youthful prowess to take Game 5.

Quick Hits:

• The Oilers once again showed some resiliency after losing in this series. They shook off that crushing 7-0 loss and got right back to work. It’s been a long time coming for this hockey club to have this sort of mentality.
• Oscar Klefbom’s game-tying goal was an absolute cannon at 100mph! The stick flex was truly a thing of beauty!
• Patrick Maroon potted his first ever NHL playoff goal and it truly could not have happened to a better guy, honestly love the Big Rig!
• The Oilers were much more disciplined in this matchup; only having to roll out the PK once.
• Lots of talk before Game 5 was centered around the idea of scratching Desharnais. THANK GOD WE DIDNT! He’s the Edmonton hero for the time being!

Conclusion:

It’s currently 1:10 in the morning as I write this and I am truly exhausted, both mentally and physically! The Edmonton Oilers now have a chance to advance to the second round when they take to the ice in San Jose on Saturday night!

Enjoy this one Oil Country!

Thanks For Reading!

You can find me on Twitter @PrestonKixFM

#OrangeCrush