Oilers VS Jets – Post Game Recap

My 3 stars of the game:

1. Patrick Laine
2. Connor McDavid
3. Connor Hellebuyck

*cuts to credits*

No but seriously. I really like Patrik Laine and I was hoping the Oilers would somehow end up with him. I still like him. But check out this game winning goal Laine scored for the Oilers:

Patrik Laine’s stick is so hot right now that he doesn’t even care what net he has to bury it into pic.twitter.com/yNCcNdCDsW

— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) December 12, 2016

I’d feel bad for him if it happened against any other team (honestly). But blood is thicker than water.

This game was pretty amazing, all things considered. The first 15 minutes of the 1st period was like watching a chess match, with both teams testing each other but neither getting grade A chances and both goalies standing tall. That is until the Jets made the Oilers pay on a bad pinch by Benning with about 5 minutes left to play, that would see the Jets take a 1-0 lead they would maintain for the rest of the period.

The 2nd period was a complete gongshow with the refs missing calls on both sides, and the Oilers tying the game up off a Kassian breakaway. That goal would be called back, because the NHL is stupid. No, honestly, the NHL was stupid. The call on the ice was a goal, and a coach’s challenge was called for offside after an Oiler was interfered with while trying to get to the bench. Because Kassian’s skate was slightly lifted as he crossed the blueline, the goal was overturned. I’m not sure which alternate universe that makes sense, but it exposed a very real flaw in the offside challenge.

I tend to like coach’s challenges, and I think they serve a purpose, but this was an example of how it can go terribly wrong because the people who created it haven’t thought of every possible contingency.

The Oilers seemed to respond to the called off goal, but the Refs weren’t done yet, and would send Kassian off for bumping into someone in the corner after the whistle.

Thankfully, the Oilers would tally in the 3rd to regain the tie, and then…well…Laine would snipe one past his own goalie to make it 3-2 Oilers (Letestu would get credit for the goal to mark his 2nd of the night).

This game was infuriating for Oilers fans for the most part, and it finished infuriating Jets fans. I couldn’t ask for a better outcome, personally. I mean sure, the refs were awful and so were the Oilers (at times), but Connor McDavid walked away with another point, the Calgary Flames are no longer 1st in the Pacific Division, and Patrik Laine sniped one home for the Oilers. It doesn’t get much better, folks.

Unfortunately, with the Ducks also winning tonight, the Pacific Division has now turned into a knife fight, and who makes the playoffs is anyone’s guess at this point. The Oilers need to stop the bleeding after losing 7 of their last 10 games (before Laine saved us) and build momentum off of this, no matter how ridiculous. It’s time to string together some wins.

Even the lowly Canucks are only 7 points out of a wildcard position, and we haven’t even hit the halfway mark of the season. The Flames went from what looked like the bottom feeders of the division (Arizona excluded) to contenders within 6 games, and anything could happen between now and April. It’s imperative the Oilers find ways to win games right now, even if it takes the opposition to score the game winner for them.

Sorry, Jets fans (not sorry).