The Edmonton Oilers began a four-game road trip last night against the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas would be their only Pacific Division opponent on a roadie that otherwise navigates the Central Division. But it was the one circled with the most amount of red Sharpie, especially given the standings entering play.
Just asking for a friend, is giving up 56 goals in 12 games good? No? Basic math tells you that’s 4.66 (repeating) goals per game, which is absolutely brutal, and which is what prompted Leon Draisaitl to make his viral “tough to score five goals a game” quip. Apart from an 8–1 demolition of the Los Angeles Kings that prompted them to fire their head coach a few days later, the Oilers have bled chances and goals against. Given the opponents this road trip presents, stopping said bleeding is paramount to any success.
Message received, it appears, as Edmonton never seemed overly erratic in this game. The Golden Knights had sustained zone time, sure, but the Oilers had solid defensive posture to match. Only one bounce didn’t go the Oilers’ way on this night, and that was all Vegas could muster scoring on until it was too late.
Oilers win 4–2.
Outside of that Kings game, this is the least-stressful Oilers game since sometime in January. It felt really darn good to actually enjoy a win, for once. Here’s the game story.
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The best defensive effort shown by this team in quite some time
The hot-button issue around the 780 lately hasn’t been construction, or City Council discussions. Lately, it’s been that the Oilers have reverted to trying to outscore opponents in 1980’s fashion every night. The reason it’s a hot-button issue is because the Oilers have only won two of their games since the Olympic break.
After a crash-course game in which the newcomers from the Chicago Blackhawks got their sea legs beneath them, things looked far more improved in this game. Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson were solid in this one, and the rest of the team seemed to follow suit as well with plenty of shot-blocks, and tying up of Vegas counterparts. Not only was the commitment to playing defence there on this night, but the execution was far better.
The only goal Vegas scored that counted was via a bounce off of Darnell Nurse, which has happened two games in a row now. For the most part, he too looked more energized in this game, which is a positive. But the below fact tweet from a fellow pundit says it all about the wreckage that has been Nurse’s season.
Jack Eichel got the only other Vegas goal, and it was shorthanded, which really wasn’t great. But you could tell the Oilers had things locked down, which isn’t something we feel too often lately. Here’s hoping, unlike the 8–1 Kings rout, this is truly the turning over of a new leaf.
Bounces and inches went the Oilers’ way, and they capitalized
The Oilers’ goals all came in different shapes and sizes, sometimes with some help. Trent Frederic got the icebreaker in this game by pure determination, and will to force this puck into the net. Greasy goals, folks; Edmonton has not had enough of these this season. Not every goal is gonna be a latte masterpiece; sometimes, the drip coffee at your local coffee shop is what you have to settle for. It’s caffeine, all the same.
An offside challenge wiped a potential tying goal from Vegas off the board before their actual goal. Hockey, just as much as any other sport, is a game of inches. The measurements were in the Oilers favour in this game.
Vasily Podkolzin got the go-ahead goal with a “McDavidian” rush up the ice, followed by a shot that overpowered Adin Hill. Hill had no idea the puck wasn’t across the line initially, but nobody else could touch it before it fully crossed. Podkolzin has 15 goals this season, which surely his former team could use right about now.
Draisaitl got the game winner off of a fully play. Former Calgary Flame Rasmus Andersson broke his stick earlier in the play, and as Eichel attempted to clear the puck, it bumped right into the shattered composite material. Connor McDavid pounced, dished to Draisaitl, and with all of the Golden Knights having been geared up for an attacking rush, Draisaitl scored easily.
That was all the offence the Oilers needed; Kasperi Kapanen added an empty-netter for good measure. Sure, each goal had a favourable bounce, and to borrow from Metric, the Golden Knights were victims of luck. But you make your own breaks in the NHL, and the Oilers made enough of them for a win.
Ingram ups his game with a terrific showing on this night
Connor Ingram owns the only Oilers single-game save percentage north of .900 since the Olympic break. That, of course, came against L.A. where he put up a .955. Besides that, it’s been tough sledding for him and Tristan Jarry, with the defence in front of them doing little to assist them.
On this night, however, he really stepped up. After the Oilers got the first four shots of the game, Vegas pushed back. 18 of the next 25 shots on goal were tallied by Golden Knights, yet after two periods of play, the score was only 1–1. Sure, Ingram got some help from a successful offside challenge, but even counting that as an extra shot on goal, Ingram was playing close to .900 hockey.
Ingram finished with 24 saves and a .923 save percentage, which are much better numbers to look at. Edmonton is going to need more of this the rest of the way here. Presumably, Ingram is going to get the matchups against Colorado and Dallas, so the opponents don’t get easier. Ingram said after the game that the Oilers “did everything we’ve been talking about; packing the d-zone, and playing good defence.” Your goalie will always approve of better defensive efforts you put forth.
Kris Knoblauch must not develop “Jim Hiller Syndrome” with his lineups
Getting back to that first goal, there’s something to be noted beyond who scored it. Frederic was on the fourth line tonight, with Colton Dach and Josh Samanski. Surely, them scoring would afford them a few extra shifts, and give the Oilers a chance to lean on the top dogs a little less.
Negative. Dach, despite getting an assist, played so little you’d think he told Knoblauch he hates garlic. Samanski, and even Frederic, the goal-scorer, didn’t fare too much better. That’s just the absolute most absurd kind of bonkers.
The Oilers are much stronger when they use everybody equally in game action. For the love of Clare Drake, they just had twenty different goal-scorers on their run to the Stanley Cup Final last year. Get a clue.
Speaking of said run, remember a big reason why the Oilers rallied against the Kings in Round 1? Put away your “Stuart Skinner got benched,” because the answer is that the coach the Kings just fired, Jim Hiller, had a fatal tendency to severely limit the minutes of his fourth-line and third defensive pair. This would exhaust the stars well before end of game, and even more so towards the end of the series.
Knoblauch, at all costs, must avoid falling into the same trap as Hiller. He has to have some trust in his depth, rather than stapling them to the bench. If they went out and got a goal for you, reward them. Otherwise, as the saying goes, “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
