Oilers Postgame: Oilers Fall Prey to the Preds

On Thursday evening, the Edmonton Oilers took to the ice in Nashville Tennessee, fresh off of an ugly loss against the Minnesota Wild. A win, and the Edmonton Oilers would be back on track with the pace of hockey that Oilers fans had grown accustomed to prior to the All Star break. A loss, which would be their second in a row, and all of Edmonton would be singing the country blues.

Yes, it would seem that after the reaction to the Oilers latest loss, that Oiler fans are still adjusting to the stresses of hockey riddled with playoff implications. Suddenly, losses, which used to come by the truckload, now send shockwaves throughout the rest of the schedule, and chills up Oilers fans spines. “Could this loss cost us first in the Pacific?” “What if this loss kick starts a losing streak?” “This just means that we have to do something at the deadline!”

It’s an intense environment, but one that, aside from some early controversy and anger, will eventually shape up to be a terrific ride to April. Continuing on this journey into potential playoff hockey, was a trip to Smashville, a night on the ice with one of the premiere defenceman in the league, and a chance to kickstart another batch of wins. Could the Oilers make something happen in Nashville, or would they fall short for a second straight night? Let’s take a look and see.

1st Period

• Talk about a dull start to the game. Roughly 6 minutes in and 0 shots to report for either team. Maybe the Oiler are taking their afternoon naps too close to game time? I don’t know, but there has to be a reason why this team starts so sleepy, so often.
• The Oilers had a terrific chance to get off to an early lead with a Power Play 7 minutes in, but unfortunately couldn’t convert. The Oilers are 17-3-3 when scoring first, meaning that early goal = late success. Instead, they capped their opportunity with a penalty of their own.
• After a shaky start on Tuesday, Talbot looked ready to play during the Predators Power Play. How Talbot goes, so do the Oilers, it would seem.
• Debate Kris Russell all you want, the man,at the very least deserves respect for stepping in front of some pretty crazy shots. Russell stepped in front of a PK Subban howitzer on the penalty kill, which visibly stung the defender for a couple of minutes. Just picture yourself stepping in front of a slapshot like that… frightful thought.

Shot-blocking warrior. #EDMvsNSH pic.twitter.com/LM39YfuDXd

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 3, 2017

• The Oilers killed yet another penalty to close the period, although this one derived from a very cheap call by the refs.

The period closed at 0-0, despite Nashville having 3 man advantages to Edmonton’s 1. Shots, conforming with the shortage of 4 minutes in Power Play time for the Oilers, were 9-4 in favour of Nashville.

It definitely wasn’t a good period for the Oilers, with maybe the only positive (other than the penalty kill squads) being that Talbot appeared to be locked in. At this point, we were all hoping that the real Oilers would decide to show up in the final 40, as is usually the case with this team.

2nd Period

• Tough start to the period for the Oilers gave up a goal to the Preds just 2 minutes in. A poor giveaway at the offensive blue line is what resulted in the streaking Arvidsson who wired a slapshot top corner from the circle. Now that was a gorgeous shot. Similar to the Wild game, the Oilers showcased what bad turnovers will do.
• The Oilers wound up with a Power Play just a few minutes in, but managed just 1 shot in the entire 2 minutes. It was at this point where I was just begging for the Oilers to show just a bit more assertiveness in their play. Way too delicate and lagged on a night that the visitors needed more energy.
• Recognizing this, Patrick Maroon stepped up to fight Cody McLeod and decisively won the tilt.

Cody McLeod and Patrick Maroon drop the gloves. #Preds #Oilers pic.twitter.com/0AQE8hSVf4

— Mark Harris (@itismarkharris) February 3, 2017

• Halfway through the game, and the Oilers had worked an 8-3 shot advantage in the period to even up the shots for the game at 12 a piece. Not enough dangerous chances at all though…
• Well at least for the Oilers. Following the halfway mark, the Predators hit Talbot with a flurry of dangerous opportunities, that thankfully, were all turned away. Oilers needed to wake up in a hurry.
• Well… that is no way to close a period. Preds scored with a minute left… not good. 2-0 Predators.

Hmm… My suggestion at this point was for Todd to take a trip up to the building kitchen, grab some pots and pans, a few wooden spoons and return down to the dressing room prepared to make a racket. Something, anything, was needed to wake this team the hell up. 2-0 isn’t an insurmountable lead, but with the effort found in the first portion of the game, it sure as hell would be.

3rd Period

• 6ish minutes in and the Oilers were starting to generate a bit of momentum. They knocked more than a few chances Pekka Rinne’s way but just couldn’t get the puck home. They did, however, generate a penalty against the Predators. A chance to take advantage was there…
• But the chance would not generate a goal. At that point, it was hard not to feel like that might have been the Oilers last chance to get back into this one.
• Seriously, there was just not a lot to report from the last Power Play on. Looked a lot like the effort was just to get this one done, and on to the next one tomorrow.
• The Oilers came on a little bit with just a couple minutes left, but it was far too little, far too late. That type of effort, if present throughout the whole night, would have surely made this game a different story. Alas, the game ends in a shutout.

Final Score: Nashville 2 – Edmonton 0

Postgame Thoughts

Damn you All Star break… damn you straight to hell. All that precious, glorious momentum that the Oilers had gathered prior to the break… gone. What a shame. In a sense, I guess it is a really good thing that the Oilers found a way to sweep California last week, because if they had faltered on that trip, these past 2 games would have been even uglier.

So what did we see tonight? Well, for starters, we seen another lacklustre effort. The Oilers tonight, very similar to the game against the Wild, looked a step behind and a second too late. Turnovers at the offensive blue line, the inability to make clean passes, and lifeless shots that posed no real danger were the flavour of the evening.

This is now the second game in a row where the shot clock (31-27 Edmonton) does not begin to tell the story. The Oilers presented very little in terms of danger, and going the other way, had 17 blocked shots as opposed to Nashville’s 7. The Preds controlled the offence in this game, and if not for Talbot, would have had a couple more goals to show for their efforts.

The Klefbom-Larsson pairing had an unusually below average night, which I think would sum up most of the team. Quiet, ineffective, not particularly horrible, but just not good. Unacceptable group effort for a team in the playoff chase.

The great thing about the Oilers excellent January record is that they have a bit of a cushion in the standings. Even with the loss tonight, the Oilers still remain 9 points up on the Flames who hold the second Wild Card position. In saying that, the Oilers certainly shouldn’t be rushing to just give points away. The past 2 games, in my opinion, have been winnable, and should have been one with just a bit of a better effort. They can’t afford to let more games like this go. they have to show up, night in and night out.

Edmonton will get a chance to immediately redeem themselves tomorrow night in Carolina. The players need to rest up and show up tomorrow with a passion that screams “we want to win”. It will be one thing to be tired, but a whole other thing to put out tonight’s effort in Carolina.

With a game in Montreal on Sunday, losing tomorrow and extending this to a 3 game losing streak, could prove disastrous. Tomorrow. Is. Huge.

Player of the Game

Let’s give it to Drake Caggiula, one of the very few Oilers to have shown some passion tonight. He had 5 shots on net, showed some jump in his step, had a couple hits, and overall just stood out in a good way. I still think he would benefit from a trip to the wing, but time will tell what the trade deadline brings.

Up Next: Rallying the Troops in Raleigh

Regroup. Refocus. Win. The Oilers have to find a way to take tomorrow’s game against Carolina. They won’t have a ton of time to reorganize after tonight, but it simply won’t matter. Bringing passion to the game doesn’t require a week of studying. Bring the passion, bring some energy, rand the Oilers have enough talent to beat an average Hurricanes team.