Edmonton Oilers Fillibustered By Senators

Well…that was kinda hard to watch, wasn’t it?

If you read these game reviews on a regular basis, first…thank you. I get that, as yet another trying season for the Edmonton Oilers slips away, reading all about it can’t be much fun, so your loyalty is genuinely appreciated.

But as a regular reader, you will also have come to understand that I’m simply not the kind of critis who delivers cheap shots or kicks players when they are down. So tonight presents an especially difficult challenge. Here goes…

9 Things:

9. Can someone please explain to me why Connor McDavid is not carrying the puck through the neutral zone on the Power Play? I’m a little less bothered when Andrej Sekera lugs it. But Mark Letestu? As a Power Play quarterback, Letestu makes a great 4th line Center. Sorry, that one is on the coaching.

8. Brandon Davidson made one glaring error, to my eye, tonight. It was an easy give-away behind his own net. But no sooner had I drawn in a breath and managed a “Wow, don’t see this kid do THAT much”, he had recovered the puck, and tucked it safely behind his own net to his waiting D-partner. Not near enough of that from his teammates.

7. Jordan Oesterle made a few mistakes, but each of them that I counted were ones committed in an effort to do the right thing. I am a big believer that if you try to wring mistakes out of creative people you can suffocate them. Oesterle had a few moments in his own zone, but generally moved the puck North & skated well.

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6. The Edmonton Oilers had two stretches, on Tuesday night, where I really felt they had a shot. The first 12 minutes, where they held the balance of possession and play, and from that goal late in the 2nd Period heading into the 3rd, where it looked as if they has regained the momentum. Alas…

5. It may seem odd to mention a goalie who suffered a 4-1 loss. Well, Cam Talbot is the main reason why it wasn’t 6-1. At one point in the second period, the shots were 12-3 Ottawa. Talbot’s steadfast play was the primary reason why his club escaped that period only down 2-1. And on the PP goal he DID allow, that was a 90-second long tire fire during which it was a miracle the Sen’s did not score sooner. Hardly on the goalie, that.

4. At some point, this collection of Edmonton Oilers forwards should be able to expect a damn pass. I’m waiting for the fan who calls out Taylor Hall for looking skyward after that neutral zone pass missed him. Yeah, well…it only eluded him by about 20 feet, and both passer and would-be receiver were undisturbed. For pity sake…I could count on one hand tonight the number of times Hall or Connor McDavid were hit, mid-stride, with a head-manned pass from the D-core. Its a big reason why they can’t score.

3. But the Hall-Draisaitl-Purcell unit did not have much going on. The Edmonton Oilers only had one line that consistently had something going tonight. All of them showed all-too-brief flashes, but the trio of Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle and Benoit Pouliot was by far the most effective. They managed the only goal of the night, with Eberle stuffing home a rebound, and Pouliot, Eberle and McDavid all managed strong Corsi scores on the evening (79%, 75% & 73%, respectively).

2. It has been some time since I have seen/heard an NHL coach say publicly that one (or more) of his players needed to be dealt. But has Todd McLellan not stood by his players all year, past when perhaps many of us were past our own patience? Yes. So to me, for him to be as emotional and blunt as he was tonight spoke volumes, and personified one thing in particular: Todd McLellan has seen quite enough. His patience, especially with specific players, has run out. And who can blame him?

1. It was not a pleasant night to sit in Rexall Place. No, no jerseys were tossed on the ice (thank god). But after the 3rd Ottawa goal, every shift that Justin Schultz played after that was punctuated with boos, loud and noticeable, by his own fans. Here is a player than used to be booed whenever he would go into Anaheim, the team that Schultz declined to sign with, choosing instead…Edmonton. How painfully ironic, then, was tonight’s display of displeasure by the paying audience. I am not a boo-er, never will be, and my son has been taught the same. But after all the pain everyone has been through (including, in fairness, the player), Schultz was directly responsible for 3 of the 4 goals tonight. The time has come. On the farm, when an animal came up lame beyond repair, we did the humane thing.
All sides have now suffered enough, Peter Chiarelli. You alone now have the power to put this unfortunate chapter of Edmonton Oilers history out of it’s misery. Mercy, please and thank-you. I don’t care to sit through that distasteful display again. And I’m pretty sure that you do not, either.

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What else is left to say? That a better effort is required in Los Angeles? I won’t insult you by explaining why that is.

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