Well have you ever felt disappointed after winning a game? Connor McDavid goes down with what looks like a clavicle injury at the end of the 2nd period doesn’t feel good at all. The Oilers out shot the Flyers 49-22 which is a plus and they dominated the game at times with ease. Let’s go through the game a little bit here:
First Period:
Anders the Giant gets the nod in place of Cam Talbot and proceeds to bounce back from a poor performance. The first period was dominated by the Oilers top 6 and by the 10 minute mark they were up 12-1 in shots on goal. Griffin Reinhart had three of those shots which was a bit of a surprise to me. I didn’t expect the Flyers to be this bad to be honest.
The one scare for the Oilers in that period was when former Oiler Nick Schultz creeped in to the slot and nearly scored on a tip in. I missed the center that should’ve had him covered but I did see Sekera covering that post… Lucky it was only Nick Schultz.
Other notable hightlights in that period include Hendricks missing right in close after some great work behind the net by Teddy Purcell to get him the puck. Gryba’s hit on Matt Read along the boards got the crowd going and Nuge scoring on the PP to end the period really got the team fired up!
19 shots later, we're on the board! 🚨 #PHIvsEDM pic.twitter.com/JzIZDurkdb
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 4, 2015
Second Period:
I’ll be honest, I missed the first ten minutes of the second so that means I missed the Laughton goal but I got back to the game at the Vandevelde goal… Another former Oiler bites the team in the ass. Not only that but the 2nd periods are killing the Oilers so far this season.
Then it happened…
That happened at the end of the period. If this isn’t the worst second period of the year so far, I’m not sure what game’s was worse. What will happen to Yakupov? Will Leon Draisaitl get moved to the 2nd line? Will Jordan Eberle be inserted into the lineup versus Pittsburgh?
How many of the players are stoked to be leaving Rexall? I mean Hall and Nugent-Hopkins have both missed games due to shoulder injuries… How long will Connor McDavid be out?
https://twitter.com/Sun_Tychkowski/status/661763034503757824
Coach McLellan says @cmcdavid97 has an upper-body injury that will keep him out long term.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 4, 2015
So those two tweets kind of sum up the whole ordeal but here’s the bright spot. The team finally has some depth to which they can draw from. Eberle will come back and hopefully pick up where McDavid left off.
Third Period:
The first shift of the period felt depressing but the Oilers went on the power play and absolutely bossed it. My problem with it was they were being kept to the outside a bit too much and I hoped they would make the Flyers penalty killers move around a bit more.
By the 15 minute mark the Oilers were kicking the Flyers asses on the shot clock 37-16 and momentum was slowly bring regained by Edmonton. I was worried about the effect of McDavid’s absence might have on Yakupov but he showed the same vigor and confidence as before, I think the difference being he didn’t have anybody to get him the puck which is what McDavid was doing till now.
Around the 14 minute mark Matt Hendricks potted one in his return to the lineup! He was absolutely delighted too. A point shot took a bounce off the glass behind Flyers goalie Michael Neuvirth and fortuitously bounced right to Hendy for an easy tap in.
One minute and twenty seven seconds later Taylor Hall took the puck from Leon Draisaitl at the Flyers blue line and broke into the middle of the ice and made a shot on net that took a deflection off a Philly stick and dribbled past the Flyers goalie with Draisaitl tying up the dman. That turned out to be the game winner for the Oilers.
The Flyers tried to change the game by getting more physical but it was to no avail as the Oilers fended them off and Nuge potting the empty netter sealed the deal! Oilers win!!
General Thoughts:
I think the Oilers dominated the Flyers for the most part. They played a very sound and simple game. I’m hoping this is something they’ll continue versus Pittsburgh. The third line also showed up a bit more and I couldn’t imagine how this game would’ve turned out if Todd McLellan couldn’t’ve shortened the bench in the third to preserve that lead.
- Taylor Hall continued his all-star play and he’s up to 3rd in scoring for the entire league.
- Leon Draisaitl picked up two more points to take his tally up to seven in three games.
- Teddy Purcell had 7 shots to lead the team and has really picked up his play of late.
- Matt Hendricks had 5 shots, 7 hits, and a goal to boot in his return from injury! Love my energy guys!
- Nuge picked up a pair including an empty net and a power play goal.
- Eric Gryba had 3 shots, 3 blocks, and an assist
- Nail Yakupov didn’t score but he had 4 shots and 3 hits. Well done!
- Pakarinen and Gazdic didn’t break the 6 minute mark in TOI this evening…
Three Cheers
- Taylor Hall – Beast mode versus the Flyers! A goal and two assists and 5 shots… Beastly
- Matt Hendricks – refer to the General thoughts above
- Radko Gudas – An assist, a penalty, two shots, three blocks and five hits. Old School Hockey!
The Next game is versus the Pittsburgh Penguins who are coming in 7-4-0 and will be a whole new ball of yarn for the Oilers. This is a team that has Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, and Kris Letang to deal with. Not only that they have an elite goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury… The Oilers will have their work cut out for them to say the least and without McDavid no less.
Let’s hope the boys can continue to dig deep and pull one out!
Good Night!
