Edmonton Oilers Gut-Check Nets 5-4 Win
The Edmonton Oiler’s collapse in Calgary Saturday night was a reminder of how learning how to win has its up’s and down’s. And who could forgive fans for the strong sense of Deja-vu that washed over them Monday, when a 3-1 3rd period lead once again evaporated. But what happened next in San Jose is what did not occur in Calgary…a serious gut-check. 5-4 Oilers over the Sharks. 9 Things;
9. It took 15 games for Todd Nelson to get win #7 as Oilers head coach. Dallas Eakins needed 36 games to reach the same number. Dallas Eakins may well not be a bad coach. But there is strong evidence that Todd Nelson is the right coach for this particular group of players. The case for hiring Nelson for next season continues to strengthen.
8. Andrew Ference comes in for a lot of stick from segments of the fan base, but the veteran was equal to the task against the Sharks Monday. The Captain was able to stay a ½ step ahead of his attackers, managing gaps in a fashion that allowed his grittiness and compete to take over. And a competitor like Ference won’t lose a lot of those battles.
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7. Pulling 2 points out of San Jose with two of your best players in the dressing room is impressive. But with Taylor Hall and Benoit Pouliot icing down injuries, players like Derek Roy, Nail Yakupov and Matt Fraser stepped up and filled huge shoes. Fraser, in particular, took on 3 Sharks in front on the Derek Roy goal, set up on a never-give-up effort by Yak. Nice.
6. So, I need to get something off my chest. Those of you who were whining about Taylor Hall coming back too early: You know some people think Hall doesn’t “care”, right? This proves he has “care” in abundance. It’s a bloody unfair knock against this franchise player, and its distasteful that some of his own fans are hacking on him for showing some spine.
5. The “Wagon Line” was tremendous, Monday night. I know Boyd Gordon lost the faceoff on that PP goal, but check his F/O numbers and zone starts this season. He doesn’t owe you anything. Plus, Gordon, Matt Hendricks and the guy with the
game-winning goal, Rob Klinkhammer, played hard, hard minutes. They are a joy to watch.
4. Oscar Klefbom was spectacular, Monday night. Spectacular. This kid is on a major league roll. He has so many tools available to him, and when they all come together, he starts to look like a top-pairing D-man. But what caught my eye on Monday was his foot speed. The Sharks are a quick team, but Klefbom looked quicker. Arrows up. Waaaayyy up.
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Eyes On Isles
3. Jordan Eberle has been terrific in back-to-back games, enjoying another 2-goal performance on Monday night, including a goal that deserves to be on the year-end high-light reel. An injury clearly slowed him early, and I believe the previous coach suffocated his creativity. But now he is in a groove with the coach who over-saw his first AHL season. Go figure.
2. Viktor Fasth was full value for the win Monday night. In fact, it is easy to argue that this game never should have gotten to O/T. The 4th Sharks goal was a blatant miss by the officials, on an obvious case of goaltender interference. But he faced 37 regulation shots before slamming the door in the shootout. Start him Wednesday. Right??
1. Our collective hearts sank Saturday, when that lead over the rival Calgary Flames went “poof”. Man…that stung. But remember: This is an Edmonton Oilers team that is just learning to win again. And as much as it hurts, this WILL happen. It was the same fragile club that fumbled a 3-1 lead in San Jose. Here we go again, right?
Nope. The push-back that was absent on Saturday night was present this time, and a greasy goal (they have scored so few of them this season) sent this into overtime, and eventually led to the shoot-out winner.
They’re learning to win, folks. It won’t always go the way you want. It won’t always be pretty. But never, never discount the feeling that it leaves in this young group to over-come adversity.
When the Edmonton Oilers are eventually back in the playoffs, think back to this night.