Oilers win shocker over Dallas in Edmonton, 5-4!

[Oilers 5, Stars 4]

The Oilers won a shocker in Edmonton over the Stars tonight. Connor McDavid got the Oilers on the board with his 5th goal of the season.

This was after losing a 2-1 Overtime heartbreaker in Pittsburgh.

Connor McDavid's First Career NHL Goal comes in Dallas

[Event Summary]

Jason Spezza's hat trick for the Dallas Stars couldn't spoil what was an absolutely special moment in hockey history, especially for Edmonton Oilers fans.

Connor McDavid recorded the first goal of his career, a deflection that you would see from a ten year veteran that tied the game at 2-2. The Oilers would surrender two goals late including an empty netter to fall to 0-3 on the season, failing to get at least a point before returning home to the Rexall Place barn on Thursday evening for their home opener against the St. Louis Blues.

Anders Nilsson was the other story, stopping 48 shots and peppered all night long in a back-up role. Tyler Seguin logged ten shots by himself.

Taylor Hall was listed as questionable to play with an illness but gutted it out as a non-factor. He had two shots on the night.

The story of the game from an Edmonton standpoint was the play of the Connor McDavid, Nail Yakupov, and Benoit Pouliot line. I think having McDavid on that line will increase the effectiveness of Yakupov. He had a breakaway opportunity in the third period and looked involved all night long; Kari Lehtonen made the save on Yakupov's attempt and things swung quickly in favor of Dallas not long after that.

Yakupov had three shots and an assist on the night, while Pouliot added the same. Each player had two penalty minutes.

Sure, it was another loss. But it was a special moment to be watching when McDavid netted that first one.

The smile says it all. Connor McDavid with the re-direct and his first NHL goal. Hands of gold.

— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) October 14, 2015

#NHLFirsts: 🚨 - Connor McDavid #NHLFaceOff

— NHL (@NHL) October 14, 2015

Yep, that one's a keeper! 👌 pic.twitter.com/7Hyc67SoFV

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 14, 2015

The Oilers go down to Dallas, and lose. Again.

[Edmonton Journal]
[Box Score] [Event Summary]

Fresh off being named to participate in All-Star weekend, this was Taylor Hall's first game as a Centre in the NHL. The Journal had this to say about the young superstar:

A decent showing in his first game as a centre. He took a team high 21 faceoffs, and while his results were superficially poor (8/21=38%), the distribution by zone was pretty interesting: 6 of 9 in the offensive zone, just 2 of 11 in relatively meaningless neutral zone draws. Renney exposed Hall to just one own zone faceoff. He also put his two top wingers on Hall's flanks, providing his prized rookie the maximum possible shelter. Hall responded by being personally involved in eight Oilers scoring chances (six at evens) and an impressive zero against, alas couldn't find the scoresheet as his recent dry spell continues. For this experiment to work, this line absolutely has to score.

Other than that, Ryan Jones is a player man. The guy is a grinder. Tallied six shots and another goal. I say he's a building block heading towards the future. Every time I have the game on he finds a way to put the puck in the net.

Crosby's 2 Goals lift Pens over Stars

14 Goals now for young Sid

Three wins in a row now for the Penguins, after their 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars tonight in Pittsburgh. Crosby did his thing. Two more goals for the kid, and it's getting pretty obvious to me that he's decided he wants to be known as a scorer this season, not just a guy who sets up the scoring. In his first two seasons, he failed to reach 40 goals, finishing in the 30's. I think it's safe to say that if he wants to do it; he'll get to 50 this season. 50 goals is the benchmark of a legit scoring threat, wouldn't you say?

What is amazing about this Crosby, is that he seemingly does his nightly show with such ease at such a young age. He is the most dominating young player in any sport, in the history of sports. I know that people will eventually want me to shut up about Crosby, but it isn't going to happen unless he gets hurt or stops doing it. I'm sorry. It's just the way it goes. More hockey talk to come. I'm too fuggin' tired to write anything else tonight.

[Box Score]

Lights Out Dick. Pens Win. [The Pensblog]

Sidney Crosby is on a pace to score 48 goals this season. [The Sweater Ted]