I mentioned to the Oilers on Twitter that the above gem should be the Oilers goal song come playoff time. Wouldn’t that just be sweet?
Final Score: Oilers 5 – Canucks 2
And with that, a truly brilliant season comes to a close, with playoffs ready to begin on Wednesday. Tonight’s game was a rather fitting end to this season, if you ask me.
For starters, the Oilers have had a great season, playing damn fine hockey for a good chunk of the year. Tonight? Well, tonight was certainly a dominating win. The score clock read 5 to 2, the shot clock closed at 44-17, and the Oilers once again, just as they have done 46 other times this year, did their job and got the win. The expectation was to win, and they delivered. They’ve done it all year.
This season has also been noteworthy for the feel good moments and stories that have emerged. Patrick Maroon and his son, Cam Talbot’s record season while being a father to twins, Zack Kassian’s story of redemption, to name a few.
Tonight had its fair share of feel good moments. Jordan Eberle closed his regular season with a hat trick to further redeem what had been, for a large portion, a lacklustre season for the right winger. He has found his legs late, just the same as Nugent-Hopkins and Lucic have. If the fact that the Oilers may just have a legitimately dangerous second line heading into the playoffs is not a feel good story, then I don’t know what is.
But let’s be real here. The biggest feel good moment of the night came in the 3rd period when Connor McDavid, with his second point of the night, reached the century mark at 100 points on the season. To see his reaction on the ice, to hear the fans at Rogers Place scream their heads off with joy, it just felt so good to witness after everything that this team, and the fans, have been through over the past decade.
Here is hoping to even more good moments to follow this spring/summer. I’ll have more on McDavid below.
To close on some thoughts for the game, as stated, the second line looked impressive yet again, while the top line, with Caggiula in place for Maroon, looked sharp as well. Much of that was due to McDavid playing at a possessed level, although it was good to see the rookie Caggiula score in his one game bump up to the top line. His game has been at a solidlevel for a few weeks now, I was glad to see it continue.
Kassian looked speedy and impressive, Slepyshev chipped in with what should have been a goal, a few hits, and some takeaways, while Pakarinen carried a notable physical presence. Desharnais didn’t do much to inspire confidence in his game heading into the postseason, and I can’t help but wonder if Anton lander doesn’t find his way into Desharnais’ spot.
Oscar Klefbom potted another assist in 25 minutes of ice time, extending his point streak to 4 games. He has 7 points in that time frame. I have extremely high expectations for him and Adam Larsson this postseason. I expect Klefbom to carry on with his steady offensive contributions, while Larsson crunches, slashes, and whacks the hell out of the Sharks.
By eye, I thought Matt Benning had a fine game, and his 18 minutes of ice time reflects that, while the others all did their part to saw off a largely uninspired Canucks squad. It was not half the test that they will face on Wednesday, but seeing how this group of guys has performed in March and April, there should be a healthy amount of confidence in them to get the job done.
Laurent Brossoit was fine in net, although he wasn’t tested much at all. 16 saves on the night, for his 4th win of the season.
Overall, the Oilers capped their regular season much in the same way that the year has gone for them since October. Feel good stories, highlight reel moments, remarkable milestones, and an overwhelming feeling of euphoria spread across the Oilers community.
It has been brilliance in motion, all year long, starting with Connor McDavid. Let’s hope it continues.
Oilers Players of the Game
Connor McDavid no doubt earns the honour tonight, after having a game that was “take your breath away” good. He was on an insane level, and it startles me to think of how well he could play in the playoffs if there is another gear in his repertoire.
He closes the year on a 14 game points streak, compiling 27 points during that time frame. When the Oilers needed him to hit turbo down the stretch, he went mach three. It is unthinkable to me, to picture him not winning the Hart trophy. One of the best individual seasons this city has ever seen.
CONNOR! 💯 #VANvsEDM pic.twitter.com/awbhHxtmSm
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 10, 2017
Jordan Eberle has to get a nod here. He had a great game, scored 3, and I am just hoping like hell that he is one of those scorers who gets hot, and stays hot, in the postseason. Every team that goes on a run needs one, why not him?
Ebsolute beauty! #VANvsEDM pic.twitter.com/1o0pQ9xCze
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 10, 2017
10 Takeaways
1. The Oilers will finish with a record of 47-26-9. Good for 103 points. That is 16 more wins than last year, and 33 more points. Such an amazing turn north.
2. 100 points on the season for Connor. He is the 6th youngest player in NHL history to accomplish that task. In doing so, McDavid has won the Art Ross trophy, and he becomes the 3rd youngest player in NHL history to do that. I would wager that McDavid wins the Hart trophy as well.
Just brilliant.
3.
McDavid would have lead 20 NHL teams in scoring with just his 70 assists this season.
— Dustin Nielson (@nielsonTSN1260) April 10, 2017
4. The Oilers record this year against the Sharks, who they will meet in round 1 of the playoffs, is 3-1-1. In their last meeting on Thursday, the Oilers held the Sharks to 15 shots in the game. Milan Lucic recorded a hat trick as well.
5. Patrick Maroon, Darnell Nurse, and Mark Letestu sat out of tonight’s game. Probably safe to assume that this was just a chance to give these guys an extra day to rest some bumps and bruises. I would expect all 3 men to be dressed for Wednesday.
6. With his hat trick, Jordan Eberle was able to hit the 20 goal mark on the season. If he had not, it would have been the first time he didn’t hit the 20 mark since his rookie year (not including the half season in 12/13.
7.
EDM finishes with best record vs West 33-11-6, and vs Pacific 20-6-3!
Previous 2 seasons:
Edm: vs West 23-59-18, vs. PAC 13-36-9— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) April 10, 2017
8. We know that McDavid is the runaway favourite for the Hart trophy, but what are your thoughts on other awards for this team? Cam Talbot in the Vezina conversation? Todd McLellan for the Jack Adams? I think both of those men deserve some share in those discussions.
9. That is now 9 straight wins at home to close the season for the Oilers. That is significant news for a team that has home ice advantage in the first round.
10. And to think… the Pacific Division crown could have been the Oilers if Gustavsson wouldn’t have blown it against the Flyers way back when….. I’m kidding. Kind of.
Up Next:…. PLAYOFFS!!!!!!
It has finally arrived! 11 years in the making, but the playoffs are here and game 1 is right in the heart of downtown Edmonton. The puck drops at 8, against the San Jose Sharks.
The OilersRig will get you geared up with a bunch of articles previewing the postseason, and in the meantime, make sure to get out and buy a car flag, get some orange and blue gear, and hell, maybe even dye your hair? Whatever it takes! Let’s get ready because this is going to be a damn good time!
Oilers Highlights
😍😍😍 #VANvsEDM pic.twitter.com/fBAzHIl3q1
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 10, 2017
2nd period time! #VANvsEDM pic.twitter.com/YDElmBmxKm
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 10, 2017
#Oilers get a PPG from @ebs_14 to lead Vancouver 1-0 through 20 mins. Home side dominating shots 14-6. #VANvsEDM pic.twitter.com/C1xYkSvtPb
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 10, 2017
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