Last night the Edmonton Oilers had a dominating performance against the NHL basement Chicago Blackhawks. The Edmonton Oilers were up 5-1 going into the third period and they were able to keep that gap all the way up till late in the third.
That is when one of the best feel-good NHL moments I’ve seen in a long time took place. At the 17:34 mark of the 3rd period the Edmonton Oilers emergency backup goalie(EBUG), Matt Berlin, was put in the net.
Why The Edmonton Oilers Needed Matt Berlin As Backup?
The EBUG is as the name suggests only used in case of an emergency. The emergency last night was Stuart Skinner fell ill with a non-COVID-related illness. This illness wasn’t noticed until it was too late to bring up the team’s regular goalies from Bakersfield.
This does happen from time to time in the NHL, but it is a rarity that the goal actually gets in the game and plays. One of the last significant EBUG moments was when David Ayres. In Ayres’s case, though he had to play a total of 28:41 for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Toronto Maples Leafs back in 2020.
Last night Matt Berlin mostly got put in cause the Edmonton Oilers were up by 4 goals and the Oilers wanted to give Matt Berlin the moment of a lifetime. A moment of a lifetime is exactly what he got.
At the start of the game I thought there was going to be no chance that Berlin was going to see the net, but last night the Oilers were able to run the score up and give a healthy gap in the score. This led to Berlin getting into the game and being able to make a save in the NHL.
Who is Matt Berlin?
Just like most Edmonton Oilers fans, I had to look up who Matt Berlin is. He is a 25-year-old from Edmonton who knows is currently a goalie for the University of Alberta Golden Bears. In 5 games played for the Golden Bears, he has a 2.57 GAA and a SV% of 0.892.
| Goalie Stats | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | DEC | GA | SA | SV | SV% | SO | PIM | TOI |
| 2 | Matthew Berlin | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 2:26 |
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/29/2023.
This is a moment that I think that not only will Berlin look back on, but this is a good moment for all the Edmonton Oilers. Jay Woodcroft noted that it was the players that want him to go in and play. This goes to show that this team is a solid unit as they wanted to make this man’s dreams come true.
Long Break Between Edmonton Oilers Games
After last night’s win the Edmonton Oilers don’t play again till February 7th. The Oilers now start their by-week then it is the All-Star game. Last night’s game was a good note to go into the long break on.
Going through a break after a loss can have those thoughts in your head over the time off. The way the Edmonton Oilers ended things they will be happy and feel good when they play again against the Detroit Red Wings on the 7th.