Men Against Boys As Edmonton Oilers Lose To L.A.

At this stage of the season, and with the Edmonton Oilers much closer to the the Lottery race than the Playoff race, post-game columns are better spent with one eye firmly trained on next season. With the theme of this piece set, 9 Things:

9. Jordan Oesterle was maybe the Edmonton Oilers best defenceman tonight. That is clearly not a good thing, over-all, as the D-Core had serious issues tonight. But this kid is interesting: He can flat-out fly, and while he’s not big, he has a good compete level, looks confident, and earned his 1st career point.

8. They were on for a couple against tonight, but the line of Derek Roy, Nail Yakupov and Ted Purcell was the only trio that was much good at all. And all 3 played hard to the final buzzer in a game that was out of reach early. Purcell has been inconsistent this year, but 8 & 10 together have something going on.

7. Luke Gazdic had a strong game, one of the few Edmonton Oilers to do so. He made good decisions in his own end, hustled in the opposite zone, went to the net, and was rewarded with a goal, and a +1 rating in 8:37 of TOI. There is a reason he is one of the few enforcers left in the NHL…he can play a little.

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6. Your first line has to be better than that. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Benoit Pouliot combined for 5 give-aways over the first 40 minutes. And Nugent-Hopkins got absolutely killed in the face-off circle. I thought Pouliot was exposed tonight, and reminds us how much we miss Taylor Hall.

5. The Los Angeles Kings played a very good hockey game tonight. No, the Edmonton Oilers were not strong at all. But the Kings started the game as if they were in a battle for their playoff lives, and once they had the lead, played like the L.A. Kings with a lead. This loss was not all The Edmonton Oilers.

4. Tonight helped illustrate why the anti-Andrew Ference camp is out to lunch. On a team with a lot of young defencemen going forward, you need “real” NHL veterans. Ference competed hard all night, and continues to be a good partner for Oesterle. This town is pretty good at running useful D-men out of town. Just sayin’.

3. I have a lot of time for Matt Hendricks. This guy shows up every night and gives it his all. On the occasional night, though, it just won’t go right. Exhibit “A”: That failed chip at the Kings blue-line, which Jordan Nolan sent in the other direction for the King’s 4th goal.

2. Justin Schultz and (especially) Oscar Klefbom got absolutely lit up against L.A. But you know what? That is going to happen to a young pairing like that, exposed to a veteran team that knows how to play the right way. Two words, for this pairing’s experience tonight? Growing Pains.

1. So…before you head for the nearest 7th story ledge, keep in mind what was in play here, tonight: The Kings are an extremely good team that is close to being in playoff-form, and with some of the best players in the world today. The Edmonton Oilers are a 29th place team, who have sold off two big salaries, who are missing their very best player, and who iced a 3rd Line consisting of Matt Hendricks (at center), Ryan Hamilton and Matt Fraser. Let that sink in, for a minute.

It sure doesn’t get easier from here, as the club heads into Chicago Friday night. And really, the lineup won’t be much different (if at all) that it was tonight…including the goaltender, although even the harshest critics couldn’t pin that performance on Ben Scrivens, who was the only reason this was not 4-0 after the 1st.

But a lot of young Edmonton Oilers players will gain more valuable NHL experience. And on March 3rd, 2015, that’s the single most important thing.