Edmonton Oilers (Almost) Dominate Blues 6-4

The days of the Edmonton Oilers being not just beat but out-right bullied by the St. Louis Blues appear at the very least numbered, if not over. A much more physical home squad picked apart the 2nd best PK in the league with four (4!!) Power Play goals, and then hung on for the 6-4 win, including a big save from their goaltender late.

O.K., hands up everyone…who predicted ANY of the above?

Put your hand down. I don’t buy it. Not for a second.

9 Things:

9. Tonight was a very positive result with lots of hi-lights, but lets get this out of the way first. The Edmonton Oilers had a 5-2 lead in the 3rd Period, and ended up winning 6-4, by virtue of an empty net goal. Sure felt like it may slip away, there, for a bit. Yikes. Not good, fellas.

8. Most nights, in the NHL, when your goalie outplays the guy at the oher end, you won. And Cam Talbot out-played Jake Allen tonight, no question. And Talbot made a save late, with the score still 5-4, to preserve the lead and (ultimately) 2 points…something you need from your starting goaltender.

7. The game is changing, and its allowing Jordan Oesterle a shot at a regular NHL job. We knew he could skate, and felt he could transport the puck. But what I really like is how Oesterle makes up for his lack of size with serious smarts, in his own zone. That’s what allows defencemen his size to stay in the league. He played an outstanding 22:52 tonight, had 2 assists.

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6. Matt Hendricks was rightly criticized for a D-zone giveaway on the one St. Louis goal. But that from Hendricks is damn rare, he may be the most responsible player on the team. So it was great to see him, having just been run into the end boards 5 minutes earlier, gave up an easy empty netter to his line-mate Mark Letestu. Love this guy.

5. Griffin Reinhart has shown consistent grit, two games in a row, now. While neither game has been perfect, Griff’s new-found aggressiveness served him very well against a big, heavy Blues team Wednesday night. Adding this dimension to his game is vital to his future career in this league. I’m not ready to write him off, especially after watching him tonight. His 6 hits led the team.

4. Leon Draisaitl played a hard, fast, heavy game tonight against a hard, fast, heavy team tonight, and was very effective. Earlier in the year, some wanted to trade the young German for a D-man. Sorry, but you don’t trade pivots in this league with that combination of size and skill. He’s in the mold of those big centermen who help their teams win Stanley Cups. You saw glimpses of that tonight.

3. While I appreciate Mark Letestu as a role player, I have been consistently critical of his spot on the Power Play. He had, after all, gone 24 games without a goal of any kind before tonight. But Wednesday night’s game was one of Letestu’s best of the season, including a tally on the man advantage, and an excellent back-check that may have saved a goal in the dying minutes. I’m happy for him to make me eat my words…at least for one night!

2. What was the difference between the 1st and 4th games of the season, against St. Louis, and this one? Size. Suddenly, the Blues can’t just bully the Edmonton Oilers anymore, like they have so often he past few years. Now, the likes of Darnell Nurse, Patrick Maroon, Leon Draisaitl and Zack Kassian are now in the lineup, with the brawn and brains to push back. And they did. And that just opens up so much more room for Connor McDavid, Tayor Hall, et al.

1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins made a pretty good case, tonight, for the Edmonton Oilers carrying 3 centers next year, named McDavid, Draisaitl and #93. Nugent-Hopkins, I think it’s fair to say, is under-appreciated by many in this market. His 2-Way game is really valuable in today’s NHL. And tonight, Nuge performed at an elite level on both sides of the puck, potted 2 Power Play goals. On a night when Connor McDavid was light’s out (2 assists, could have had 6), for Nugent-Hopkins to be even better is really saying something.

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The Edmonton Oilers were very, very good tonight with 2 of their best defencemen (Oscar Klefbom and Brandon Davidson) on the sidelines. Imagine what this team might do if it’s a) Healthy, and b) Has a real, top-pairing D-man.

Fun to think about, isn’t it?

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