Edmonton Oilers: Analyzing the Tampa Bay Lightning Win
The Edmonton Oilers blew out the Tampa Bay Lightning last night at Rogers Place. Connor McDavid put on a show for the fans with four goals and one assist.
After what transpired on Thursday night, you have to give the Edmonton Oilers credit in bouncing back against one of the best teams in the NHL. Who would have thought that the Oilers would smoke the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 after the overtime loss they suffered at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.
But the vibe you could read off of this team was that they were playing desperate, and it showed on the ice. The Oilers wanted this game more than the visiting Lightning squad, which was shocking.
This game was supposed to be an epic battle between Connor McDavid and Steven Stamkos, but it wasn’t shown to be as advertised. It was a complete and utter beatdown for the Edmonton Oilers who were led by their captain (4 goals and one assist).
The Tampa Bay Lightning had no answer for McDavid’s speed, as he created multiple scoring chances off of their turnovers and poorly timed line changes. The majority of his teammates seemed to feed off of his energy and followed his lead for most of the night.
Power Play opportunities
What stood out most from this game was that the Edmonton Oilers finally took advantage of the power play opportunities. They capitalized on their chances and managed to score two out of their four opportunities.
What worked on those two power-play goals was that the Oilers were making a concerted effort to put as many bodies near the goalie crease as they can. You can tell that the All-Star Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy had a tough time keeping his eye on the puck. The Oilers were sharp in creating those openings with their quick crisp passes and slowly tightening their shots around the net.
Mental Fortitude
The Edmonton Oilers took this game into their own hands. They started off strong from the gate and solely focused on winning this game. Their mental fortitude was the key for them to overcome one of the best teams in the league.
This game before it started had a lot of fans and experts a bit nervous on how both sides would matchup. It’s safe to assume now that the Edmonton Oilers are trending on the right track with this big win. Moving forward, they need to be locked-in consistently, no matter who they’re facing.
This month of February is a brutal schedule for the Oilers. They’ll be facing off against the Los Angles Kings tomorrow night, who are also just as dangerous as the Lightning. If the Oilers can ride this momentum from their win against the Lighting, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them beating the Kings as well.
Some naysayers believe that the Edmonton Oilers blowing out the Tampa Bay Lightning was an anomaly and haven’t shown this season that they can beat elite teams consistently.
We shall see if the Oilers can break that curse on their road to secure a spot in the NHL Playoffs.