Edmonton Oilers Lose Hard-Nosed, 2-1 Affair To Florida

The Edmonton Oilers lost a 2-1 game to Florida, Sunday, that they could ill afford to, and still stay within shouting distance of a playoff spot.

It is not that it’s a sin to lose to the Panthers, they’re a good hockey team. But the urgency in saving their already slim post-season hopes is high…and the defeat versus Florida did not make matters better.

There was also a great debate on Twitter & elsewhere, Sunday, about the physical nature of the game and how the Edmonton Oilers responded. Don’t worry, I’ll get to that, too, in a few paragraphs.

9 Things:

9. The Edmonton Oilers out-played, out-possessed, even out-fought Florida Sunday. When the score was 2-0 in the 1st Period, I did not expect that to happen. The push-back was very good, by the Oilers, albeit not enough in the end to end the Panthers 11-game winning streak…which is now 12.

8. The Taylor Hall goal, on a beautiful set-up by Leon Draisaitl, was correctly called back after a coach’s challenge & video review found that it was off-side…by the narrowest of margins. But it was a great example of how these challenges are sucking the life out of the NHL’s offence.

7. The one Edmonton Oilers line-up change tonight saw Mark Fayne draw in for Brad Hunt. Fayne played the kind of game you would hope to get from him, solid, unspectacular, ending the night with terrific possession numbers. But without Hunt, the Edmonton Oilers Power Play also went 0-for-3.

More from Oilers News

6. That is as good of a game as I have seen Mark Letestu play as a member of the Edmonton Oilers. His goal was the end result of a spectacular shift by he, Matt Hendricks and Lauri Korpikoski. Letestu ended the game with a shimmering Corsi of 85%, was strong physically, and was effective on the dot.

5. I do not disagree with a lot of smart fans out there that the Edmonton Oilers really suffer on the power play from the absence of a hammer from the blue-line. Andrej Sekera and (usually) Justin Schultz move the puck well, but neither has a cannon. If Nail Yakupov is activated on Tuesday, that could help.

4. The Florida Panthers, by their average age, are the oldest team in the National Hockey League. And their experience showed in the last 5 minutes of the game, which they managed to near perfection. It was an impressive display of the very quality the Edmonton Oilers failed to bring versus Tampa on Friday.

3. You will not score just one goal and win many NHL hockey games. The Edmonton Oilers directed 69 pucks at the Florida net on Sunday, easily out-classing their opposition. But the guys paid the big bucks to score are not: Leon Draisaitl goal-less in 14, now, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in 10, etc. And while Taylor Hall was very good, on Sunday, he did not hit the score sheet, either.

2. It is not over-simplifying the analysis of that game by saying that it boiled down to 3 plays. One, Darnell Nurse hesitated at the blue-line against, of all people, Jaromir Jagr. Goal. Two, Teddy Purcell failed to pick up his man in the slot. Goal. Three, Teddy Purcell beat the puck into the Florida zone by millimeters. No goal. All of the rest was entertaining and all, but those 3 plays decided the game.

1. O.K. I saved this for last, as there are a lot of parts to this debate. A significant number of people were not satisfied with the Edmonton Oilers physical response Sunday night. One of the great things about living in a country like this is that we are all entitled to those opinions, even when others strongly disagree with you. Tonight, I am one of those who does not agree with you. Here’s why:

-The mid-ice hit on Taylor Hall was not a dirty check. There were only two things wrong with that play: Leon Draisaitl put a pass right up Taylor Hall‘s ass, and Hall had his head down. If it was a knee or a head shot, I’d feel differently.

-Having said that, when someone lays out your best player like that, good teams respond. The very next shift, Matt Hendricks scrapped Alex Petrovic in a good, clean fight. Hendricks admitted after the game, it was in response to the Hall hit.

-Many wanted a response seconds after the Taylor Hall hit. Sorry, folks, that’s how it was in the the W.H.A. In today’s game, that draws an instigator penalty. The Oilers were chasing 2-1 at that point. The last thing you do at that juncture is give the opposition a power play. That would have been stupid.

-A lot of people have said “But Hendricks didn’t fight the guy that hit Hall”. So what? Matt Hendricks teammates didn’t care. I can tell you, having spent some time in dressing rooms, the guy in the stall next to you cares not who you grabbed. All he cares about is that you grabbed SOMEONE.

-Besides, did you want Teddy Purcell or Leon Draisaitl to pick a fight? Justin Schultz, perhaps? They were the guys on the ice at the time. Sure, you are in a playoff race and one of your goal scorers breaks his hand. Good decision.

-When Matt Hendricks left the penalty box, every single one of the players on the bench stood and applauded him. They recognized the response for what it was. And so did the hard-nosed, veteran coach after the game, as he shot-down the question from a member from the media who did not see it the same way.

I’ve talked to a number of people who thought that was as physical and as responsive of a game as the Edmonton Oilers have played in years. Todd Mclellan says in all of his years coaching in San Jose, he never saw that from this team. Ever. Until Sunday night. And still, for some people, it’s not enough.

More from Oil On Whyte

Well guess what. Whether you agree with me or not, fact is…while it is a compelling and divisive debate, in the final analysis…it was not the deciding factor in the hockey game. I covered that off in Thing #2.

But hey…I’ve been around more than long enough to know that it’s this kind of stuff that sells newspapers.

On the road go the Edmonton Oilers, now, for 7 of their next 9.

Home / Oilers News