Oilers Postgame: Predators Snap the Oilers Streak

5 in a row… Could the Oilers pull out a win to close their 6 game home stand and win their 5th game in a row for the first time since October? It would be a task that would go a long way into helping secure their playoff chances, especially considering that their 5th straight win could come at the expense of a Western Conference rival in the Nashville Predators.

Working against them would be a Nashville team backed by Pekka Rinne in net, who has historically been a thorn in the Oilers side. Additionally, PK Subban, who had been sidelined since January 1st, would be making his awaited return to the lineup on a last minute activation, which would surely provide some boost to a Predators squad that had been underachieving since his injury.

Could the Oilers, on their first game of a back-to-back on the weekend, find a way a to capitalize on a tired Predators team and win their 5th straight game, all of which coming at Rogers Place? Let’s take a look and see.

1st Period

• Gene Principe dressed as Donald Trump will haunt my dreams forever.
• Cam Talbot needed to be sharp early on with Nashville getting the first 5 shots on net. Not only did he weather an early even strength storm, but also a couple of penalties by the Oilers that resulted in a 5 on 3. Great start for the Oilers netminder.
• Would the result of the first 10 minutes been different with Laurent Broissoit in net? Something to think about for sure.
• Matt Benning will definitely have more of an offensive punch in his future. He has the ability to recognize when to jump into the play quite well and this will only sharpen in time. He is a lot of fun to watch.
• Nice fight for the Big Rig a little over 10 minutes in where the big Oilers winger was able to get in a few shots. Way to inject some energy into a game that could definitely use it.
• Adam Larsson took a little bit of the wind out of Zolnierczyk’s (Predators’ forward) sails when he caught him with a fist that seemed to hurt the Nashvile forward quite a bit. Whether intentionally or non-intentionally, Larsson is usually found making difficult nights for the opposition in the physical department. Reminds me of Jason Smith.
• No goals would come in the first frame, with shots reading 10-7 Nashville at the final buzzer.

That isn’t exactly the first period that you want to see. The Oilers failed to control the play against a team that played the previous night and as a result, it almost cost them. If not for a sharp goalie and a couple of posts, the Oilers would have found themselves down by 1 or 2 goals after 20. Not pretty. To find success against the Predators, the Oilers would need to get their feet moving a lot more in the final 40.

2nd Period

• An early Power Play would prove fruitless with only 2 shots generated. Much more danger in terms of second chance opportunities would need to be generated to beat Pekka Rinne.
• Shortly after that, big Milan Lucic won a decisive fight against Cody McLeod which spurred from an unintentional elbow on PK Subban by Matt Hendricks. The Oilers took a penalty for the elbow, which wasn’t good, but perhaps the fight for Milan will spur a little bit more of inspired play from him.
• On that penalty the Oilers would juuust about score on a shorthanded opportunity generated by Kris Russell and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Terrific defensive support by the Predators to prevent the goal.
• Halfway through the game and the Oilers defence had compiled a total of 7 shots. Solid production from the backend.
• Another interesting stat halfway through the game? 5 Power Plays for the Predators! 5! Thankfully the Oilers penalty kill was on their game, especially Nugent-Hopkins, and no damage was done. Still, that level of undisciplined play is not a good recipe to win a game.
• This game featured just a ton of scuffles and scraps. Pretty spirited for a game in which both team were playing each other for the first time. Makes a 0-0 game a lot more interesting.
• Nashville would score unfortunately on what was a series of shots and bounces that eventually found its way past Talbot. 1-0 Nashville.
• That lead would would be short-lived though as the Oilers would tie it up right after on a Hendricks goal assisted by Kassian. Goota love when the 4th line pitches in! 1-1 game.

ALL TIED UP! #NSHvsEDM pic.twitter.com/mygQe3omBo

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 21, 2017

Still not a great period. Despite the scoreboard reading a 1-1 game, the play of the game was not really even at all with the shots after 40 reading 27-16 in favour of Nashville. Through 2 periods, it has been quite the disappointing game by a home team that by all accounts should have more energy than the visitors. The damage was limited, and thanks to Talbot the Oilers had a chance to win… they would just need to wake up in the 3rd.

3rd Period

• Seriously, does anyone remember a game between these 2 teams as spirited as this? I sure don’t. Still a neat sight to see the Oilers sticking up for themselves though.
• A second Nashville goal was bound to happen though… and it sure did. After a series of uninspired play, the Oilers were unable to clear the puck out of their zone, and after a poor attempt to swat the puck away by Davidson, the rubber found its way into the Oilers net. Really poor play by Davidson to deflect it with his hand, but when you don’t drive the play enough, you are bound to make mistakes. As a result, 2-1 Predators.
• What a brutal miss by the referees halfway through the 3rd when they blatantly missed what should have been a too many men call on Nashville. They could clearly see the infraction, but failed to call it. I will never understand why Refs just give breaks in some situations like that. It is a penalty… so call the penalty.
• After a blunder by Lucic on the Power Play, he immediately made up for it with a MASSIVE hit on Watson of the Predators, which was followed up by a retaliatory penalty by Watson on Lucic. The Oilers would be granted a tremendous opportunity to tie it with a 5 on 3. Could they capitalize?

DESTROYED. #NSHvsEDM pic.twitter.com/SWIAO2eajc

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 21, 2017

• LOOCH SURE DID! On that 5 on 3, after the penalty he drew courtesy of his massive hit, the big man comes up clutch and ties the game at 2! Assists come courtesy of McDavid and Draisaitl. Way to take advantage of a huge opportunity. 2-2 game.

Perfect pass, perfect finish. #NSHvsEDM pic.twitter.com/9gkhlxnR2F

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 21, 2017

• No further damage would be done and once again the Oilers were headed to overtime! A point… you have to love the point.

Overtime

• 3 on 3 overtime is one of the best additions to the NHL, ever. So much fun, much better than the old 4 on 4.
• Just an outstanding chance by McDavid and Draisaitl with 1:35 left but Pekka Rinne comes up huge. What a chance, so close.
• You can tell that the Oilers are rather experience in 3 on 3, as they for the most part dominated the extra time.
• This one wouldn’t be solved in 3 on 3 though and it was to the shootout we went…

Shootout

• Mark Letestu: No Goal
• Ryan Ellis: Goal
• Patrick Maroon: No Goal
• James Neal: Goal

That was it, and the Nashville Predators win.

Final Score: Predators 3 – Oilers 2 (SO)

Postgame Thoughts

Let’s be honest… the Oilers didn’t deserve to win that one. The only portion of the game that the Oilers controlled was the extra frame of 3 on 3. That is nice and all, but when you get outplayed for the first 60 minutes, that really isn’t something to be proud of.

In terms of execution and expectations, this was a really disappointing game for the Oilers. In front of them was a tired team, playing their 3rd game in 4th nights on the latter half of a back-to-back. This game should have been a prime opportunity for the Oilers to out skate, out hit, and out muscle the Preds on their way to a victory. The result was quite the opposite.

Don’t get me wrong, the game was fun to watch. There were scraps, scuffles, emotions, etc. It was intense at moments, and eventually lead to some late game heroics courtesy of Milan Lucic. That part was fun. It was just all the other stuff that wasn’t as… fun.

The Oilers will be glad to get a point out of the game, a point that is much needed in the playoff race. Much of that point was earned by the man in net, Cam Talbot, who made 42 saves (not including the shootout). He was huge, and on both regular time goals, he could not be blamed.

Outside of the crease, Milan Lucic played maybe his best game of the season. He was physical, intimidating, disruptive, agitating, and found a way to get on the board. He is clearly at his best when he is emotionally invested, as was evidenced clearly tonight. He had a goal, a fight, and 3 hits to show for his night of hard work. His goal got the Oilers to extra time.

Another positive worth pointing out was the work of the Oilers penalty kill. Without their perfection on what was 5 total times at the man advantage, Edmonton would have never been able to squeak into extra time. Kudos to Russell, Sekera, Letestu and Nuge for their work on the kill.

The Oilers will take the point, but if they plan on grabbing 2 more in Calgary with just a 24 hour turnaround, they will need much of the roster to find a bit more motivation… and fast. A duplicated effort like tonight, and Saturday evening will not be pretty. I am sure that more than a few Oilers players will be looking to redeem themselves after less than impressive performances tonight.

Player of the Game

See the words on Milan Lucic above. He was stellar tonight. Technically, this award probably should go to Cam Talbot, but at this point we have come to expect his exceptional play. Lucic played one of his best games as an Oiler tonight and deserves to be recognized. The Oilers lost, but if not for #27, they fail to even get a point.

Once again, 1 goal, 3 hits, a fight, and 7 PIMs. He was noticeable all night long.

Up Next: The 4th and Final Against the Flames

The Oilers will head down south on the QE2 to take on the Calgary Flames tomorrow night on Hockey Night in Canada, in what will be a massive divisional game. A win, and the Oilers move up 9 points on the Flames with no game sin hand. A regulation loss and the Oilers slip to a 5 point lead on their provincial rival. Tomorrow night will be electric… come prepared.