Edmonton Oilers Suffocated By Devils Defence

By Kurt Leavins | Feb 9, 2016

Oct 17, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers goalie Cam Talbot (33) stops a shot from the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. The Oilers won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports /

There are really two ways for you to see the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 loss in New Jersey, Tuesday night. One, this was a gritty, push-back effort by the team, after a brutal 2-game stretch on the road. But Two, the offence was suffocated by the stingy Devils defence and one of the best goaltenders in the game, who was great when he really needed to be.

9 Things:

9. Adam Clendening shows some flashes, however what I see is a guy with decent tools but AHL level decision making. He’s “fine”, but do you really want “fine” directing your Power Play…which went 0-3.

8. A night in the press box did a lot for Darnell Nurse. To my eye, he saw the ice much better this evening, and looked like he understood that he had that split-second of extra time to make a smarter play. Arrows up.

7. I was a bit mystified by the lack of TOI for Zack Kassian, in a game in which he seemed well-suited for. He only racked up 8:17, lowest on the team. He doesn’t penalty kill, and didn’t see Power Play time. Maybe he should?

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6. Brandon Davidson was the Edmonton Oilers best defenceman on the night. He has average speed but uses it intelligently, with smart plays that waste very few strides. His best play of the game was on the PK, when he showed remarkable patience, ultimately getting the puck to a calm spot & icing it.

5. Perhaps Connor McDavid has set our expectations of him so high, that his performance on a night like this risks being lost. But he was excellent, engineering the one goal his mates DID score. And by my eye and others, he had 4-5 take-aways, even though the stingy off-ice officials in Jersey only gave him one.

4. Special teams stung the Edmonton Oilers tonight. The afore-mentioned Power Play showed signs early, but the blown opportunity at the start of the 3rd was ultimately the straw that broke the camel’s back. And at the other end, the Devils converted on 3 of their 5 opportunities. Game over.

3. The line of Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle and Benoit Pouliot was excellent tonight, the Edmonton Oilers best. They controlled the play while they were out there, and capitalized once…on a gorgeous 3-way play that McDavid started with a spectacular play off the face-off. But not enough credit was given to Pouliot for the on-the-tape pass for the primary assist, and Eberle for the finish…which too many people conveniently forget is something not just anyone can do.

2. Cam Talbot played like a #1 goaltender tonight, even though he was ultimately outplayed by the guy at the other end. I could find no fault on the 2 shots that did evade him, and he made a number of saves that kept the Edmonton Oilers in it at one end, while his teammates attempted in vain to gain the equalizer at the other. That’s really all you can ask from your goalie…to give you a chance to win. Talbot did. This loss isn’t on him.

1. On a night that Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur had his number retired, present-day Devils netminder Cory Schneider caught some of that magic with 3, big-time saves early on, on the Taylor Hall break-away, and then twice more on a Mark Letestu effort that Hall set up. That, and a post by Connor McDavid, and that about summed up the best goal scoring opportunities for the rest of the evening. A great example of how it’s not how MANY saves you make, but WHEN you make them.

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The Edmonton Oilers come home, now, to a very, very dangerous game. The Toronto Maple Leafs, having traded for a legitimate shot at The Lottery, should be ripe for the picking Thursday night at Rexall Place.

But the way this Oilers team is playing these days, I just can’t be confident which one will show up. Can you?

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