Richard Bachman Turns It Into Overdrive Versus Stars
By Kurt Leavins
Well…that was unexpected.
Sincerely. All I was expecting out of the Edmonton Oilers tonight, a depleted roster filled with AHL players and a blue-line as raw as I can ever recall seeing in this city in the past decade, was a great effort. Well, I got that and a whole lot more, in a thoroughly enjoyable 4-nothing shut-out over Dallas. I could write about 20 Things. But, as always, I’ll settle for 9:
9. I barely noticed Brandon Davidson all night. If this kid goes on to enjoy an NHL career, that will be the style of game he plays: Low event, smart, sound, simple choices, all things that we have NOT come to expect from the Oilers. The fact that Davidson is easy to cheer for anyway made tonight that much more enjoyable.
8. Nail Yakupov was run into the end boards by a Dallas player, and a minor penalty was properly assessed. Keith Aulie walked up & let the Stars player know he did not appreciate it, but did not retaliate. The resulting Power Play and Nugent-Hopkins break-awway turned the tide. It was a small, almost invisible but smart decision by Keith Aulie. A veteran play.
7. What a bounce-back game by Justin Schultz. Half the city lost its mind and wanted to ship the rearguard out of town after that rough outing the previous game. But Todd Nelson showed confidence in Schultz, even put him on the starting line (!), and was rewarded with almost 25 minutes of terrific hockey. It’s why he coaches and fans don’t.
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6. Anton Lander was brilliant tonight. I’m getting rather full, eating my words over and over again on this kid. With Boyd Gordon hurt, Lander became the de-facto face-off man in the Oilers zone, and played a physical game bigger than his stature would suggest, with 4 hits on the night. He was a force.
5. Benoit Pouliot has turned into almost everything that Craig MacTavish would have hoped out of a free-agent signing. He scored his career-high 17th goal of the night on a team that was a laughing stock for 40 games. Against Dallas, a goal, an assist, 4 shots and 4 hits. That is a power forward. Huh.
4. For the 2nd night in a row, I use a Derek Roy goal to shine a spotlight on Nail Yakupov. The kid practically willed that play, busting into the offensive zone on an agressive fore check, knocked the puck loose, and fed it to Roy, who put it home for his 12th. On nights like this, you remember how strong and fast Yak really is.
3. Would the game have turned out differently had the Shawn Horcoff “goal” counted? Perhaps. But hey, when a referee loses sight of a puck, he usually blows the play down. And everyone in the rink including Horcoff knew it had gone before he had shot the puck, let alone before it went in. That’s the Hockey Gods at work.
2. Richard Bachman was been a good soldier for this club. He has spent the lion’s share of the season with Laurent Brossoit as his apprentice in the AHL. Then, he left a pregnant wife behind to ride the pine behind Ben Scrivens on a 28th place NHL team. Was it nice to see him start and shut-out a team that once gave up on him? Damn straight.
1-B. Andrew Miller will be sitting in a rocking chair when he is 80, telling his grandchildren about the goal he scored tonight. Only the 6th player in NHL history for Pete’s Sake, to score his first goal in this league on a penalty shot. And he looked like a 500 game veteran moving in over the blue-line, before scoring on an absolute bullet. The Rexall Place crowd absolutely lost it’s mind! What a magical, wonderful moment.
1A. The Edmonton Oilers’ best player set the tone for this game, tonight. That’s what “best players” do. Taylor Hall flattened big Jamie Benn, a strong, talented, tough-as-nails NHL player, then challenged the Stars captain to a duel, which Benn ultimately refused. Not only did the entire rink see that, so did the entire Oilers bench. The team looked so confident after that. Great leaders help win hockey games in a lot of ways. Tonight, Taylor Hall did not do it with his speed, his hands, or his shot. He did it with his character. Taylor beat Tyler, and all that. Hope you were watching, Corey Hirsch. Hope you were watching, and taking good notes.
What a joy it was to be at Rexall Place with my family tonight. The place was rocking. This city loves it’s hockey team. That is partly why it gets so depressed when it loses. We really and truly give a hoot. But make no mistake about it. When the home town wins, Edmonton knows it.
Fan Appreciation Night, indeed.