Oilers Vs. Sabres: Post Game Recap

After winning their first two games of the season, the Oilers squared off tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, hoping to remain undefeated. Remember the last time the Oilers faced the Sabres? This happened:

Unfortunately, Jack Eichel wasn’t in action tonight after suffering a serious ankle injury a few days ago.

First Period

– It wasn’t a good start for the Oilers. The Sabres jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. After an Oscar Klefbom turnover, Kyle Okposo scored on a nice feed from Sam Reinhart. Then shortly later, Ryan O’Reilly deposited a powerplay goal.

– Jesse Puljujarvi and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins both had grade A scoring chances but were denied by Robin Lehner.

– Tyler Pitlick threw a big hit. The video evidence:

PITLICK SMASH! 💥 #BUFvsEDM pic.twitter.com/e1lehknEOd

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 16, 2016

– Cam Talbot kept the Oilers in the game, making a big pad save on a Sabres’ 3-on-1.

– Benoit Pouliot continues to take penalties, taking two in the period. Pouliot will be in McLellan’s doghouse soon if he keeps this up.

– Fortunately for Pouliot (and the Oilers), number 67 did more than take penalties. He also did this:

Pou puts the #Oilers on the board! #BUFvsEDM pic.twitter.com/mhEU1Y4N2X

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 16, 2016

– Pouliot’s goal was assisted by Zack Kassian and Nugent-Hopkins. 2-1 Sabres.

– The with one minute left in the period, Milan Lucic scored his first goal as an Oiler, tying the game. The assists went to Leon Draisaitl and Jordan Eberle.

– Looking at the stat sheet, the Oilers won the Corsi battle with an even strength CF% of 61.29%.

1st #Oilers goal for @27MilanLucic! #BUFvsEDM pic.twitter.com/f98XwiczQf

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 17, 2016

Second Period

– The second period was not a good one. Talbot let in an O’Reilly bouncer from center and then Brian Gionta deflected a shot into the Oilers net. 4-2 Sabres.

– Todd McLellan challenged the Gionta goal, hoping it was a high stick. Nope. Good goal.

– Talbot was replaced in net by Jonas Gustavsson. A little later, though, Adam Larsson collided with Gustavsson (after another bad giveaway by Klefbom), hurting the goalie’s neck. Gustavsson continued to play but was pulled a few minutes later, perhaps to check him for a concussion.

– The Oilers continued to have the Corsi advantage, posting an even strength CF% of 55.56%.

Third Period

– The Sabres scored two quick goals in the third–first by Gionta (his second of the night) and then Matt Moulson.

– At this point I wanted to turn the game off but couldn’t because I had volunteered to write this recap. Why did I volunteer to do this game?

– The Oilers didn’t get their first powerplay until about five minutes left in the game.

Final Thoughts

– Final score: 6-2 Sabres. A big letdown for the Oilers considering this was a team the Oilers should be able to beat.

– The Oilers had lots of scoring chances but couldn’t bury them.

– I’d say the “TSN Turning Point” was the knuckle puck goal let in by Talbot to put the Sabres up 3-2. Talbot has to be better. Before that goal, the Oilers were starting to take control of the game.

– Finally: