I watched a pretty good amount of last night's game.The crowd in Winnipeg really seemed to be into this one and things got chippy after the Oilers pulled away 5-2 late in the game.
Here's Taylor Hall's 23rd Geno of the season. He actually talked to the officials after netting it and said that it was Lennart Petrell's goal in the way a good teammate does.
Hall was all over the ice last night, netting the goal, and an assist early in the game to tie the score at 1-1. He was +1 on the evening. He's got 48 points now on the year.
All was as it should have been last night in Edmonton.
Taylor Hall got the Oilers on the board and up 1-0 with a powerplay goal, his 22nd of the season. Jordan Eberle would later add his 27th in addition to an apple assist on the Hall powerplay goal. Devan Dubnyk shut out one of the highest scoring teams in the NHL. The Oilers proved that they again are a formidable opponent in Edmonton.
Bobby Ryan has been a solid contributor to my fantasy team all year long. This goal made ESPN today, so you know it's pretty slick. Had to get this bad boy on the blog before I went to bed tonight.
Ryan's got 22 goals and 16 assists on the year. He could have given me more (he had a +15 +/- last year compared to a -4 this season) but I still think he's capable of a big game should I make the playoffs. And he's a good young player to have in keeper league hockey.
Last night after my 3 mile run, I decided it was time to dedicate the night to some NHL hockey. I had the Red Wings/Blackhawks tilt on my television and the Oilers/Flames going on my computer.
Things started off looking bleak, with Devin Dubnyk giving up an early goal to get down 1-0 to the Flames. Taylor Hall minutes later fed Ales Hemsky on a breakaway that opened up Oilers scoring and they did not look back from there.
It was a banner night from Hall--and I noticed before the game that he was not great in his brief history playing against his hometown team. He had never logged a point and was -6 for his career against Calgary. Things would change on this night. Here's a synopsis of Hall's night from the Edmonton Journal's Cult of Hockey:
Finally played his first game of the season in his home town, and it was a doozer. Set the tone with an early breakaway which, while repelled by Kiprusoff, stated that Oilers had brought their skating legs and were open for business. Led all forwards in ice time just a couple of ticks below twenty minutes, during which time he was personally involved in 10 scoring chances between even strength and powerplay. Made a superb pass to Hemsky on a fast-developing 2-on-1 for the game winner. All 9 of the shots he attempted were on target, and the last of these (barely) beat Flames backup Henrik Karlsson for a well-earned goal that was the cherry on top of a great night’s work.
I'm fighting to get into my fantasy hockey playoffs and there's a week after this one to lock up the 6th and final spot. Last night was a huge night for me, netting tasty results from Jordan Eberle (1 goal, 2 assists, +3) and Dubnyk's win aside from all the saves he tabulated. Of course there was also Hall's nice game.
This was the Oiler's first win in Calgary since 2008--since before I was even really following the sport and the Oilers. It was the first win since the opener of last season, dating back to October of 2010. This was an important win for the franchise and the fan base. And it's on nights like these where you want to hold on to the Smyth's, the Sam Gagner's, and the Hemsky's. It's tough to imagine breaking this team up when they play like this.
Here's Taylor Hall's 21st goal of the season, the first he's ever scored against the Calgary Flames:
This one was a late 10:00 PM start time that I would have preferred played on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday evening. As it was, I fell asleep before the third period began and didn't wake up until the Oilers had lost again.
Here's a look at Hallsy's 20th goal of the year. This tied the game at 2-2.
This is my second Hockey Day in Canada as a fan. It ended up a pretty good day. I had a feeling that if the Oilers went into overtime, Taylor Hall was going to find a way to win this one for the boys. Edmonton beats a team that's now 28-22-8 to improve to 22-28-5.
It was a downright freakish night for Sam Gagner--and I missed the entire thing.
He became the 11th player in NHL history to collect 8 points in a game. He had FOUR goals and FOUR assists. The Oilers are getting all kinds of national recognition across the domestic United States today and I heard about it on my way into work on ESPN radio. You would figure one of their big three youngsters would be the one to do something like this. Although Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle played well, Sam Gagner was the whole damn show last night.
The Oilers once again blew out the Chicago Blackhawks. And when things like this happen you realize the Oilers really do have a nucleus and really do have a future. And it's hardly too late for this team to go on an exciting run.
Taylor Hall took his bumps and bruises last night, he turned it over a few too many times (five in total), but at the end of the day he got the knockout shot landed. His 17th goal of the year ended up being the game-winner for the Oilers:
Dubnyk had a good night in net, and Eberle (pictured above) got his goal early on to open up scoring. This is the type of win that could start a serious winning streak for Edmonton I feel like. It was a win over a quality opponent and the Oilers are getting their young guys healthy and a lot of regulars and veterans are returning to the lineup.
I could be wrong--easily--but I think it could be a really nice February for the Oilers.
