Edmonton Oilers: Analyzing Their Win Against the Flames

The Edmonton Oilers got a shoutout win over their provincial rival, the Calgary Flames. This team needed to trend in the right direction after their ugly loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.

The Edmonton Oilers got on the winning track last night with a shootout victory over the Calgary Flames. This was a much-needed win after the blowout fiasco they suffered on Tuesday night against the Buffalo Sabres. This game showcased the good, the bad, the ugly and most certainly the optimism that has surrounded this team for most of this season.

You can also probably say that this win was needed for the mental fortitude of the Oilers before All-Star weekend. Especially for their captain and two-time All-Star Connor McDavid, who’s been at a loss for words for most of the year, with how poorly his team has played.

Recap

This game against the Calgary Flames was somewhat a tale of two different stories. The first period was as typical as any other Oilers game, they had a slow start and a bad break in the first 2 minutes by coughing up a goal after a horrible giveaway by Milan Lucic. By the end of the period, they were already down 2-0 by a delayed penalty call, which the Flames had a man advantage to score the second goal.

Things did turn around in the second period where the Edmonton Oilers finally got their footing on the offensive end. They had 14 shots on net, which help them nail 2 goals to even up the game. It seemed like the Oilers were a bit fired up after the first period and didn’t want to blow another game down the tube. If they had that type of mindset before the game, they wouldn’t have been down 2-0, to begin with. Credit has to be given to Brandon Davidson (was out since Jan. 7) who kept the Oilers in the game with his two goals in the second and third period.

Controversy

This game should have ended in overtime with the overturned Ryan Strome goal. It was a bad call by the league office by insinuating that McDavid interfered in the goalie crease. If you look at the replay closely, anybody can clearly see that McDavid wasn’t intentionally impeding the goalie’s movement before Strome got the rebound.

McDavid had every right to get a clean shot at the net, he was just hounded by two Flames defenders that were trying to box him in the goalie crease. If the Oilers did lose this game, they would have had a legit gripe on that specific call.

How the Edmonton Oilers finished off the game with a win is a step in the right direction for this franchise. The Oilers did stave off all four of the Flames’ power play opportunities but they didn’t capitalize on their 3 chances as well.

They’ll need to improve on that front and also they need to protect the puck throughout the game. Horrible pass attempts in their defensive zone have almost always given the opposition ample scoring opportunities, and the Calgary Flames capitalized on those mistakes.

The Edmonton Oilers will have the next 5 days off due to the All-Star Weekend. It’ll be crucial for this team to work on their tendencies which have hurt them throughout the year. Facing off against the Colorado Avalanche on the first day of February will be a test to see if the Oilers can build off some momentum from their thrilling win over the Calgary Flames.