Edmonton Oilers Earn Point In Good San Jose Effort

The Edmonton Oilers put forth a very good effort in San Jose Thursday night, took a 1-1 game to an overtime that they dominated, but ultimately lost in the absolute worst way to decide a professional hockey game…a shoot-out, 2-1.

9 Things:

9. In the shoot-out, given the game that Nail Yakupov had, and considering how badly Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has struggled, I have to question the choice of the the 2nd shooter that the Edmonton Oilers put out there. Nugent-Hopkins didn’t really test Jones on his attempt, ending the game 2-1 Sharks. I think that’s a miss.

8. Zack Kassian did not necessarily tip the balance, during his shifts tonight. But Kassian did bring the basis of what you would hope that he will every night: Skated well, played with grit, agitated and took the body (4 hits). If that is Kassian at Game #1, then I’m formally excited about his progress going forward.

7. Anton Lander may have 5 games left in his NHL career. Again tonight, there was a gaping, wide-open San Jose net that Lander barely waved at. He has come up bone-dry, offensively, and his defence (while decent), isn’t so good that you can over-look the drought. Connor McDavid is back February 2nd. Lander will then be a 5C.

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6. After running the rookies out there against Arizona and having it back-fire, both Andrej Sekera and Mark Fayne played North of 20 minutes (Sekera 24:51, Fayne 20:55). Fayne was especially solid. I do need to point out, however, that it was Sekera’s pinch that led to the Shark’s regulation goal.

5. Cam Talbot deserves credit, as any goaltender would, for stopping 36 of 37 shots on the evening. He did not get himself set on the 2-on-1 regulation goal, and was beaten high on a puck that he should have had a chance on. But he slammed the door shut the rest of the way, which is what #1 goalies need to do.

4. That Delay of Game penalty on Zack Kassian in the dying minutes of the game was an absolutely brutal call. The replay clearly shows the puck hitting a San Jose stick on it’s way up and out. The closest official initially signaled that, but was overruled by the more distant official. Weak, NHL. Weak.

3. Darnell Nurse was simply marvelous tonight. He lugged the puck effectively, finished tied for the team lead with 3 shots, and was extremely stingy and physical in his own zone. While he has looked like a rookie at times, this season, tonight he was practically mistake-free in 22:39 TOI.

2. Leon Draisaitl was very good tonight, even though he skated away without much to show for it. He was 64% in the face off circle against a team that is very good at the dot. And that play in Overtime was sublime: He had the presence of mind to take the puck back into his own end to settle the play, then fed Jordan Eberle who subsequently spotted a wide-open Andrej Sekera. What a play! A shame that Sekera’s shot hit the knob of Martin Jones‘ stick and deflected wide.

1. Nail Yakupov was named the game’s 1st Star, and well deserved it was. Todd McLellan smartly managed his TOI (11:30) in his first game back after 22 missed. And Yakupov rewarded his coach with energetic shifts each time he was on the ice, the most dangerous of the Edmonton Oilers on the evening. His 1-timer, on a lovely feed from Lauri Korpikoski, was “vintage” Yakupov. There was not a lot of talk of the Edmonton Oilers missing him during the injury, in the shadow of Connor McDavid. But we were all reminded of that tonight.

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It’s difficult to be mad at the Edmonton Oilers tonight. The defence played well. The penalty kill, after getting slaughtered in Arizona, was very good. The goaltending was above-average. Really, it was the offence that stalled. But in a shoot-out, getting one out of two points is not normally the end of the world.

Problem is…at this juncture, against division rivals, the Edmonton Oilers need those 2-point games to keep pace in the playoff race. And it sure puts the pressure on the club to handle Calgary on Saturday night.

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