Edmonton Oilers Late Push Falls Short, Slip 3-2 To Avalanche

The Edmonton Oilers had the tying goal on their stick, in the final seconds (again) Saturday night against Colorado. But despite intense pressure over the last 4 minutes of the game (and with Cam Talbot on the bench) they just could not get the equalizer, ultimately losing 3-2 to sit…sigh…30th over-all in the NHL. To think how real the Oilers playoffs chances seemed after the Ottawa game. That seems YEARS ago, now.

9 Things:

9. The Topic de Jour on Twitter was Nikita Nikitin getting back into the lineup. His one glaring error, a cross-ice give-away on a 75 foot pass, did not end up in the net, and he was other generally ineffective, his lack of foot speed more than once exposed on the Colorado rush.

8. After struggling with rebounds against Minnesota, Cam Talbot had a strong bounce-back game against the Av’s, stopping 26 of 29, and really…none of the three had much to do with what Talbot did or didn’t do. On balance, he is giving his team a chance to win, most nights.

7. The Matt Hendricks line almost always delivers the mail, and did again tonight, their gritty, extended shift in the 3rd Period seemed to turn the momentum for a club that had started just look defeated, out there. He and Iiro Pakarinen, especially, were effective.

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6. A rough night for the Edmonton Oilers blue-line, over-all, although there were a handful of bright spots that I’ll get to in a minute. But after a couple really solid games in a row, Darnell Nurse struggled again…puck-watching on the 1st Avalanche goal, and AWOL on the 3rd, although to be fair…BOTH D-men abandoned Matt Hendricks on that one, not just the kid.

5. Did Zack Kassian hurt himself in that 1st Period scrap? He only played 6:07. There was no obvious reason for that, otherwise. And I sat very close to the penalty box: Cody McLeod needed the ice bag after that tilt, but Kassian waved his off. In a game in dire need of a good forecheck, it seemed odd to sit a guy capable of delivering. I can’t explain it.

4. The blue-line had one hell of time getting the puck out, tonight, giving the Avalanche extended periods of time in the Edmonton Oilers zone. That was the direct cause of Tyson Barrie‘s 1st of 2 on the night. And far too many of those times, the Oilers forwards were left in thee neutral zone, waiting for the puck to be delivered. Far too many times, it did not arrive. Brandon Davidson is, all to often, saving this D-group from being a tire-fire. Played 22:50, including a 3:30 shift on the 5-on-3 PK. Impressive.

3. Both of the Edmonton Oilers top two lines cashed, tonight (the Hall line should have had a 2nd one, but I’m getting to that). Leon Draisaitl was driving the net much better this evening. As a result, he pounced on a loose puck and got a quick shot away, the resulting rebound hammered top shelf by Taylor Hall. And Jordan Eberle had a strong game in the Av’s zone, in particular, with a Corsi of 73 (Connor McDavid was 70, Benoit Pouliot 68), and set up Pouliot for the 3-2 marker.

2. Really, Justin Schultz was not too bad tonight, in fact he posted a Corsi of 69, easily beating allother Edmonton Oilers defencemen. Herein lies the problem, however: Especially with Oscar Klefbom out (he skated today, BTW), Justin Schultz is by far and away the D-man best suited to lead the rush. The guy at the other end of the ice, Tyson Barrie, was everything that Oilers fans hoped that Justin Schultz would turn out to be, but didn’t. The kid is now being booed at Rexall Place, now, during pre-game introductions, for pity sake. I like him…but its time he moved on.

1. I don’t know about you, but I”m damn good and tired of being screwed on these Coach’s Reviews. Again tonight, with the score 3-1, the Edmonton Oilers swarmed the net, applying severe pressure on the Av’s D. Finally the puck kicked through and Teddy Purcell put it home. But Taylor Hall had been pushed into the goaltender by Nathan Mackinnon, and the Referee inexplicably both disallowed it AND handed Hall an interference penalty.

Forget that the replay showed they made the wrong decision: The Oilers noticeably slumped, when that happened, and didn’t really wake up until the final few minutes of this one. Both Taylor Hall and Coach Todd McLellan had strong, yet constructive, words for the decision during the post-game. I wonder if either man gets fined for what they said? It wasn’t out of line or disrespectful, by any stretch. But you know…that doesn’t always matter to the NHL.

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To state the blindingly obvious: The Edmonton Oilers would be in a playoff race today, if they had Tyson Barrie. It is so clear what type of player Peter Chiarelli (at all costs) needs to acquire in the off-season. So many of the Oilers problems tonight were rooted, big and small, in the state of that blue-line.

Ottawa is in town Tuesday, to play the last of what has been a very disappointing 6-game home stand.