Edmonton Oilers Hit Hot Goalie, Lose 4-2 In Chicago
By Kurt Leavins
The Edmonton Oilers fell behind early (again), Sunday evening, then stormed almost all the way back, to make a serious game of it against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. But in the end, they came up a shot, one bounce, one Corey Crawford save short of a point in The Windy City, maybe even 2. That’s tough.
9 Things:
9. Cam Talbot was not bad, Sunday night, I count this as a decent enough bounce-back effort from the Calgary game. He battled, even when he looked a little hand-cuffed by the puck at times. But at the end of the day, Corey Crawford was the best player in the rink. The best goaltender won. We will see Anders Nilsson against the Ducks.
8. It was interesting to see Andrew Miller on the ice, with the goaltender pulled, in the final 2 minutes of them game. McLellan was clearly playing a hunch that the kid (who was skating well tonight) could create a spark when they needed it. And it was (in part) Miller’s work deep that set up the 3-2 goal, a “3rd Assist”, if you will.
7. Anton Lander‘s situation-al statistics were quite good tonight, but boy, I sure didn’t see him good, again. I don’t disagree with McLellan re-uniting Draisaitl with Hall and Nugent-Hopkins. But when he does, the pressure is on Anton Lander to produce. And right now, your 2C (Lander) is tied with Luke Gazdic in team scoring. That’s ominous.
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6. It’s funny, how this old game works, sometimes. Brandon Davidson was supposed to be a scratch Sunday night. Instead, Matt Hendricks comes up lame, and Davidson draws in last minute. Then, with the game on the line in the 3rd, Davidson gets caught on the pinch. To his creedit, he grinds his way back, only to be turned inside-out by Patrick Kane.
5. Man, was Twitter a negative place to be, Sunday. You would have thought this game was the embarrassing 7-1 blow-out at Rexall Place last year. But if you check the possession stats, this game was a draw the final 40 minutes, including the best 2nd Period the Edmonton Oilers played all year. But Corey Crawford turned back the tide.
4. Andrej Sekera and Darnell Nurse were the Edmonton Oilers best pairing on the night. Sekera moved the puck better, and scored the 3-2 goal. Nurse was excellent along the boards, and his speed foiled two Black Hawk attemps, including just a dandy play on Jonathan Toews. Nurse is clearly the best skater on the Oilers blue-line. Together, Sekera and Nurse led the D-Core in TOI.
3. Jordan Eberle played like Jordan Eberle, Sunday night. With Connor McDavid out, if the Edmonton Oilers are to survive November and still be in a playoff race, they need #14, and they had him tonight. A power-play goal and an impressive Corsi of 70% on the night suggests that Eberle has very quickly shaken off the rust and is back on his game. His role is vital, over the next half-dozen games.
2. Part-way through the game, Todd McLellan got out the blender, and re-united the line comprised of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl. That combination dominated the Black Hawks from that point in, working over the Chicago Blue Line practically every shift. I would leave them together. Sooner or later, those pucks that did not go in for them tonight will.
1. The Start. Save for a couple of shifts, the Edmonton Oilers were not in the game in the 1st Period. But it is clear this club has resiliency, and is not folding up the tent like it did so many times last season. But you just can’t keep giving up early leads to really good teams like the Chicago Black Hawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, etc. It just will not end well…and did not Sunday night. The Oilers were loose on their gaps, losing puck battles and tentative when checking, for the 1st 20 minutes. Be better.
The Edmonton Oilers really need 4 points, minimum, on this road trip to stay within reach of the rest of the pack. Against the odds, they had a real chance at one or more, Sunday, with just a minute left to go. Who would have predicted that? Still, moral victories will not help you in the standings.
I love the fight in this team. I love it. But it is not getting them much in the way of tangible results.