Edmonton Oilers Dominate Jackets, Settle For Single Point
The Edmonton Oilers were, flat-out, the best team on the ice at Rexall Place Wednesday night, absolutely dominating the Columbus Blue Jackets. But that domination did not result in a win. 9 Things:
9. Andrew Miller had a ‘good’ 1st NHL game. The kid (well, he’s 26, but you know what I mean) clearly has tools: Vision, foot-speed, he can shoot. And for the most part, I was impressed with his defensive awareness. He has a few issues, but nothing unusual for your first spin in this league.
8. There were a few hits tonight where I thought the referees were too lenient, on both sides. But the shining example was the hit on Boyd Gordon. How, for pity sake, was that NOT a 5-minute major? Brad Watson had a Go-Pro mounted in his helmet tonight. Maybe the screws were too tight?
7. Todd Nelson may want a do-over on the 2nd Columbus goal. Oscar Klefbom‘s careless outlet pass led to an icing, late in a shift. The Lander line was caught out, and as a result started the shift tired. When Lander then lost the face-off, you could just feel the Jackets goal coming. Why not use you time-out, there?
6. I’ll get to goaltending in a bit, but really for the most part, the Edmonton Oilers started strong tonight. The shots were 8-1, 10 minutes in! But at 14:25, a bad line change left Nail Yakupov and Anton Lander fending for themselves, as the 2 fresh Oilers D-men tried in vain to get back in time. But the starts, over-all, are better.
5. For the most-part, Justin Schultz was quite good tonight, save for the spotty line change on the 2nd goal. It’s too bad people are so down on the kid, as he really has turned his season around. He played a staggering 28:35. The day fans stop wishing he was Shea Weber is the day he may actually catch a break.
4. Whine about Nikita Nikitin all you like. But while he absolutely did have a few defensive adventures, he also led both teams with 7 shots. Tell me. Go ahead. Tell me you would sooner have Keith Aulie on the ice. You won’t because you know you can’t. Nikita Nikitin, imperfect as he may well be, is a “real” NHL defenceman, unlike Keith Aulie. Get over it.
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A Winning Habit
3. Does this club remind you of the ones Ralph Krueger and even Tom Renney coached? Me too. They absolutely have defensive deficiencies. But over the last 35 games or so, I’ve developed the faith that they will also score often enough to win. They are playing an exciting brand of hockey. The jerseys have stopped being tossed. This bunch seems pointed in a positive direction for the first time in a long time.
2. O.K., it’s official. Nail Yakupov has become a dangerous NHL hockey player again. He had a pretty goal (his 12th) and an assist on the night, to extend a very productive stretch for the Russian. And while some still pick on his defence, what they are not saying? Is that his mistakes today are not even close to the glaringly awful variety that we witnessed before Christmas. You could, in good conscience, re-sign Todd Nelson based upon the sheer progression of Yakupov alone.
1. The Edmonton Oilers were beaten by the better goalie tonight. I don’t lay blame for any of the Jackets goals at the feet of Ben Scrivens. They were all good NHL goals. But the fact is: Curtis McElhinney made at least one more big stop than Scrivens did. And at the end of the day, in the NHL, if your goalie plays better than their goalie, you will win more often than not. True #1 starters find a way to make “that save”. Ben Scrivens only has about 10 games left as an unchallenged #1 goalie to prove that he deserves that title.
It is hard to be upset about that loss. Columbus is a fair-to-middling hockey team that looks as if it is playing out the string. On a night when the ice was SO heavily tilted in one direction (Shots 47-20), the Edmonton Oilers honestly deserved better…several times over.
The Flyers are in town Saturday.