The Oilers lost to one of the only teams below them in the standings. Happy day. Final Score: 3-1 Sabres
After Wednesday night’s win over the Red Wings, the Oilers needed to whatever was humanly possible to ensure a repeat performance. Frankly, that game against Detroit was one of the best overall efforts that we’ve seen all season and I want more of it. Unfortunately, a few of the guys, including Cam Talbot, are battling the flu right now which is never a great spot to be in when you’re in must win scenarios. I don’t know about you guys, but the last thing I’m able to do when I have the flu (real or self induced) is go out and do anything remotely physical. I’d be on the floor, huddled up in a ball just hoping I didn’t poo myself. Coincidentally, the way this game played out made me feel kinda the same way.
Considering the Buffalo Sabres are absolutely terrible, it seemed like the kind of game where the Oilers should realistically be expected to walk away with a win. And I don’t mean moral victories, I mean that they should actually win the hockey game. But after the Oilers took three penalties in the first period, they were only able to muster four shots on net and it didn’t exactly give you warm fuzzies about how this was going to go. Needless to say, that’s the opposite of the kind of start you want to have on the road in a game that should’ve been easy points. The fact that the Oilers got shutout by Buffalo is a shocking state of affairs and that they looked so bad while doing it should raise all kinds of alarms for anyone involved in this mess.
The Sabres hadn’t won a hockey game since November 7th and the Oilers just got dummied by them. What does that say about Edmonton? The black cloud remains. If ‘good enough’ was a ballpark then the Oilers couldn’t find the parking lot.
The wrap.
THE BRIGHT SIDE
- The game is over.
- Yohann Auvitu scored the loan goal of the night for the Oilers off of a seeing eye single from the blue line. Auvitu threw the puck through traffic (something that there wasn’t enough of all night) and it made it past Lehner and into the back of the net.
- Laurent Brossoit needed to have a good game today and he did that. He’s getting himself into the territory of needing to prove that he belongs in the backup role and having a big night against the Sabres could have gone a long way in reassuring everyone that watches this team that he truly belongs here. Unfortunately, LB let in a really bad goal to Eichel and that might be what people end up remembering. That said, it’s not fair to blame Brossoit for this loss either. He was mostly solid and actually kept the Oilers in it longer than they deserved. Bad goal against Eichel, yes. But this loss isn’t on him one bit. Brossoit finished the night with 28 saves and a .933 save%.
- The penalty kill was perfect tonight, killing off all three chances they faced.
- It was a tough night in the defensive zone, but Darnell Nurse and Adam Larsson were the most effective pairing the Oilers had tonight. They played the most minutes and were the only pair without a dash near their names (Auvitu was the third d-man without).
- Have you checked out the new Blackout collection on the NationGear store? We’re selling out of basically everything so you’d be best to go check it out now if you’re hoping to score some new threads. Gordspeed, Black Friday shoppers.
THE FACE PALMERS
- You could see Jacob Josefson’s goal that opened the scoring coming for miles. The Sabres were dominating the play and by the time Josefson scored his goal late it was almost surprising that it didn’t happen sooner. To add salt to the wound, that was his first goal in 19 games. Gross segment of hockey for the Oilers.
- Jack Eichel scored a garbage goal, in my opinion. Well… That’s unfair to Eichel. He made the smart play and threw the puck on the net but Laurent Brossoit needed to stop that. Most goalies would stop that.
- The top six forwards were all bad tonight. I don’t know what was going on but none of the top guys produced anywhere close to the level we need them to. I don’t know if it’s the flu or what, but the Oilers forwards looked a step behind all night long.
- Wouldn’t it be cool if the Oilers could consistently hit 10-foot passes?
- At some point, the Oilers will score on their power plays, right? It has to happen. Right? Personally, I think they should put Puljujarvi on the half boards as a shooting option. I like the idea because you know he’ll fire the puck at the net. In their lone PP chance in the first period, the Oilers didn’t even get a shot on net. That’s bad. While the PP did get a little bit better, they couldn’t cash anything in and ended up going 0/3 on the night.
- Is it just me or does Connor take a lot of sticks/hooks to the hands that go uncalled? I know the NHL says they want to crack down on that kind of stuff, but it seems like 1/100 calls on McDavid actually get called. What’s up with that?
- Why didn’t Benoit Pouliot take any horrible offensive zone penalties against the Oilers? It was like he was on his best behaviour and I find that to be bullshit. What happened to “once an Oiler, always an Oiler?” I was expecting ol’ ? to do us a solid with a few PIMs tonight but it just didn’t happen. Rude.
- The Oilers got destroyed in the faceoff circle, winning only 41% of the draws they took.
- I really didn’t want to eat beets tonight. Not because of the Buffalo Sabres. This one is a new low. #BeetCast will be up on my Twitter.
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Scoring | |||
2ND PERIOD
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14:16 | Buffalo | Jacob Josefson (1) ASST: Kyle Okposo (8), Jordan Nolan (2) | 0-1 |
| TIME | TEAM | DETAILS | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:43 | Buffalo | Jack Eichel (7) ASST: Evander Kane (10), Rasmus Ristolainen (6) | 0-2 |
| 19:09 | Buffalo | EN – Kyle Okposo (3) ASST: Rasmus Ristolainen (7), Evander Kane (11) | 0-3 |
| 19:40 | Edmonton | Yohann Auvitu (1) | 1-3 |
#GOODCONTENT
That was just the “Benoit Pouliot didn’t take an offensive zone penalty” alarm.
— Ryan (@IAmByks) November 25, 2017
@jsbmbaggedmilk McDavid should start coughing on guys in post-whistle scrums #Iwillhavemyrevenge
— Dane Thompson (@Dr_Thompson94) November 25, 2017
The Buffalo Beets was probably one of the rejected original names.
— StevenX (@StevenX_DFA) November 25, 2017
Puljujärvi is like a baby moose. (Not the Messier one, an actual baby moose – if you put skates on one)
— The Towel Boy (@TheTowelBoy) November 25, 2017
Wouldn't get many reads, though. That whole "Link in Bio" crap Instagram forces is just not worth the time. 😉
— Marcel Schoenhardt (@mschoenhardt) November 25, 2017
— Darth McSidious (@GregTalksHockey) November 25, 2017
Talk to me, Twitter. Tweet at @OilersNation and @jsbmbaggedmilk for your chance to land in the Best of the Tweets.
THE BLACK FRIDAY BLACKOUT COLLECTION
If you’re looking to stock up on some fresh NationGear for the holidays there is no better time for wardrobe upgrades then today. Check out the brand new designs that are exclusive to the Black Friday weekend. Don’t wait, though. Quantities are limited.
Source: NHL.com, Official Game Page, 11/24/2017, 7:30pm MST
Baggedmilk, the team didn’t get shut-out. Can’t blame you for writing the wrap-up or at least beginning to write it before the game ended, result was obvious after the eichel goal.
Another loss, another problem with the officiating.
Injury bug, flu bug, travel, immigration delays, refs, small market team, back to back games, western conference, matinee games. All tried and true excuses the Oilers and their apologists have used for years. No other team has these issues. Exclusive to Oilers only. Poor guys.
No luck with the draft lotto. No, wait…
This team isn’t that bad, the coaching is however.
Oh snap! Yotes win!!!!
Yep… how convenient that they start winning right before we play them…
*** on Tuesday
A coaching change will happen.. A farmer from Viking is on the way.
If a Sutter coaches the Oilers I’m done. And I watched the Oilers first WHA game on TV when I was a kid.
I don’t care if the devil himself coaches this team – I think its time to bring in a disciplinarian. The country club atmosphere has gone on way too long here.
didnt we try that with Eakins? the lowest point in the organizations history.
Oilers lost both games to Buffalo last year so this shouldn’t be a surprise. Bruins have spent last 2 years building a faster more skilled team. It will be a tough test for the Oilers.
Peter Chiarelli has built the Edmonton Boilers.
We have been hemmed in our zone now for years and years by teams forechecking. It’s like every team comes in and says all we need to do is put pressure on them in their own zone and the game is won, and they’re right. Why do we not have that type of forechecking tenacity on our team?
we did last year with 90% of those players returning…
So the answer is… no Sekera and Eberle!?
That doesn’t sound right… Maybe Hendricks???
Fire the GM.
It’s not too late. Replace coach. Sutter is the right guy. Whip this team into shape. Replace GM with a proven guy. Or do nothing and get us Dahlin. Awesome prospect.
Tmac is a proven coach. He can only work with what he’s been given. Given our track record of coaches I think that the fall guy behind the bench is the least of our problems. GM need to go now so that the next guy has time to assess the situation before the summer and can lay the groundwork for moves that actually improve the roster.
Proven? How so?
He had fantastic teams to work with in SJ and never made it to the cup final. The very next year after He’s gone they get to the sixth game of the finals.
To my eye he seems to be getting tactically dominated in most games and the team seems to losing interest in his leadership.
A couple more “efforts” like tonight and he’s a goner.
Sitter is yesterday’s man.
Win win win scenario! Most positive post I’ve seen all season.
Except now thereis a much better chance of not getting that 1st overall.
Literally, #becauseoilers
Screw this. GO JETS.
Beets are pretty much assured for the rest of the season. I think you can probably get through all 23 of these recipes
http://www.chatelaine.com/recipes/recipe-collections/beet-recipes/
Where are all the homers that were calling people band-wagon fans and who were so proud of their loyalty to this Mickey Mouse team?
Where are you? I don’t hear you!
No?
Okay.
Go Leafs go.
Wow nice to know you are alive. Since Ebs was traded you and Spyder have had little to nothing to say.
that was ugly
Heard on Wednesday: ‘Lets see how they play on Friday against Buffalo before planning any parades…’
On Friday: Sees the shot count after the first period sitting at ‘3’… turns off TV and buries optimism in the back yard for good.
Good efforts in one game don’t mean a thing if you don’t repeat them more than once every five tilts.
Train-wreck…
7 points out of playoffs.
Not able to beat a team worse in the standings.
Not able to string wins together.
Only 2 teams in the pacific are under 500, oilers one of them.
The oilers have to pass in the standings quite a few teams.
Season is over, no?
Connor: ask for a trade. You deserve to win cups. This team won’t get one in the next decade.
Watching TSN right now:
Craig Button knows reality?lol
The Oilers fans did not hate Button as he was telling the truth, the Oilers fans hate him because of his biased against the Oilers. Craig Button knows as much about hockey as Trump knows about business.
Anyhow, fans should calm down a bit. To be honest that the Oilers was over-achieving by a mile last year. No one was even suggested the Oilers to make playoffs last year and it was a big story due to the excellence of Talbot that kept the Oilers winning the close games. Sadly that Talbot is not available this year and the Oilers are becoming what they supposedly be, a fringe playoffs team that will be finishing between 7th~12th place in conference.
The problem? Well, if you compare to all the successful teams that the Oilers have almost no available depth at bluelines. Klefbom was never really known for a mobile offensive d-man but because he scored 12 goals (t-13th among D) last season that he is trigger happy shooting from everywhere this season and forget about on how to play defense (team worst -14 with [tied] team high 67 shots). His regular pairing is only -3…makes you wondering about is Klefbom letting goals scored whenever that Larsson was not on ice. Sekera the actual puck-moving d-man is still hurt and the Oilers have no replacement for him. The back pairings are all over the place and a huge mess without Sekera, Matt Benning is not the same without Nurse being his partner. Gryba is almost useless other than warming the penalty box’s bench for the other Oilers, no one on the active roster of the Oilers have a stats line of zero-zero-zero (other than that team 2nd, 29 mins of penalty). If Chiarelli is blamed for anything, he has not adding more tools to the fragile blueline. The only bright spot from the back is Nurse that has slowly emerging as a future top pairing d-man, the Oilers can only hope that Bear and Jones will be ready in less than couple of years.
I agree that Talbot was essential to our success last season, and said many times he was our true MVP, but I still think this team is underachieving this season. Klefbom was better last year and is capable of more.
That being said it sure would be nice if Bear and Jones pan out quickly. I can’t see them being much of a factor for a couple more seasons though.
Not denying the team is underachieving this season and they were also overachieving last season which made a huge contrast about the highs and lows between two seasons. Not saying that the Oilers need to rush Bear and Jones but Chiarelli definitely need a plan to fill the spot for more depths. Unfortunately that Chiarelli failed to sign Jan Rutta was actually a bigger deal than many realized, Rutta is actually a puck moving right hand shot d-man that the Oilers desperately need.
Chiarelli is no Bowman, unfortunately. I think we’re in agreement on most counts. Although I have to admit I generally liked the line-up heading into the season. There are holes and Chiarelli didnt do anything to fill them but I expected the team to build off of the chemistry built in last years playoffs. And I think that many of the players that had career years last season will duplicate that success again in the future.
Neither will ever be a factor. Bottom pair guys maybe possibly muddle pair at best
I remember being disappointed when TMac was first hired because I was really wishing they’d sign Babcock as head coach.
I’m not saying all the problems rest with MacLellan, but it’s hard to see the team in the same spot if he was at the helm right now.
Edmonton was not winning that bidding war with T.O. It was always between them and Detroit.
Chia knew this and made the smart decision (at the time) to hire the next best available.
I remember that I was outright MAD when the news that the leafs got Babcock, knowing that he was going to make that team shine. But I also knew that Babcock was not choosing the oilers. Why? #BECAUSEFRICKINOILERS!!
I worked with a niece of Babcock, and although Toronto was going to be the choice, the last two were Edmonton and Toronto not Detroit or Toronto
Yeah well you’re full of it. I know his in laws. He didn’t even interview with the oilers. He told them very early on he was not an option because ms Babcock refused to move back here. Which is why Mact interviewed him before Chia even was hired.
And the team that he very nearly signed with was Buffalo not Detroit you morons
Ya buy what were Lauren Pronger s feelings about where he coached?
#herecometheoilers
Now at least we know why Bob Nicholson has made himself scarce this season…Stauffer said he has heard rumors that Bobby Nich is JOB HUNTING!
I don’t know that I blame him.
So this makes me wonder, were the Oilers that good or was Detroit that bad. Sometimes hard to tell whether a team is having a good game, or if the other team is having a bad game. When teams bring their A game, the Oilers lose. That is a big problem. Oh well, who is the top draft pick this year.?
For the last ten years, whenever they played a dominating game then you’d see ON lose their minds. (Remember #OilersDomination?) Then they’d invariably crap the bed the next game or two.
I personally would prefer a trade ban until PC is fired.
I was the only guy at work to say that I didn’t want Ebs traded AT ALL even right after the lost production and the blunder in the playoffs. Not because of the lost points, but because I genuinely liked having him on the Oilers. After Hall got traded, I REALLY didn’t want chia trading away Nuge or Ebs. (Unless obviously another GM was willing to part with a stupid amount of assets)
And now people are talking that Chia might trade Nuge for “potential and magic beans”.
I am FIRMLY on the fire chia bandwagon!!!
What does nurse have to do to get on the pp? How was our 28 yo 6/7 deman promoted ahead of nurse? Nurse has worked his way to the top pairing, and is out most offensively talent young d-man. How is he not getting pp time with Klefbom out? What is the opposite of nepotism?
So many mistakes.
‘Loan Goal’ ‘Oilers needed to whatever humanly possible’ ‘Shutout’
Sober up and stay in school, you can barely write the English language.
Those tweets are stupider than usual.
I am not sure Todd McL is the problem, but for arguement’s sake what about Rick Tocchet? Assistant coach for 2 (maybe 3) Pens cup teams. Stanley cups as a player. Would a cleansing of Todd’s assistants do the trick? I think we all have concerns about Jay Woocroft. McD, Drai, Nuge, Klef, Lucic, Maroon, Nurse, Caggiula, Pulijujarvi, etc and our PP is stale and predictable? C’mon man.