Connor McDavid notched his first five-point game of his young career, and his eighth and ninth goals of his rookie season in a 5-2 Oilers win against the team that felt it was their given right to have him.
The night was special because he set up Jordan Eberle three times for Eberle's first hat-trick of his career.
Goal #1
Goal #2 (One of the first real shots I've seen him score on)
The Oilers lost a few tough games since this one. But this will no doubt go down of the first HUGE game of McDavid's career and it came against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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.
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:
It's becoming a common occurrence. Another night, another Taylor Hall goal, another 4-3 loss. The season is slipping away from the Oil. The Oilers also got the news that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be out 3 to 4 weeks with a separated shoulder.
We're just to that lull part of the year. I'll have the game on Saturday afternoon, but I like the Oilers players seem to know it's an exercise in futility. They'll go out, they'll lose, but they'll find a way to fall just short; and rinse wash repeat.
Right now I'm trying to just enjoy the development of Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle (Eberle added another goal last night too). That's what it's all about. Also I'm trying not to screw things up too badly on my hockey pool, but my fantasy lineup has been missing Scottie Hartnell now for two games this week (my own fault, I didn't update my lineup) of which he's scored a goal and he had 18 hits or something nuts in the Winter Classic.
Video of Taylor Hall's 13th Goal of the Year:
How about the fricking game the Bruins had last night against the Calgary Flames? A 9-0 win, Tyler Seguin nets his 16th goal of the season on a tip in, while adding two more assists.
The Oilers are now 14-15-3 on the season. It's sad and depressing. I don't think they'll be over .500 again this year. The wheels have fallen off and this team needs a change.
Basically, for the Oilers to make the playoffs, they need to do the same. Assuming 95 points as the playoff cutoff (and right now it looks more like 97 points to get in for the Oilers) and assuming the Oilers continue to pick up overtime losses at relatively the same rate, the team needs to go 30-15-4 to get in. Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? Hardly.
RNH & Hall with markers recorded on Eberle's bomb:
The Washington Capitals have been surging, jumping out to a 7-0-0 start this season. Last night I think the Oil grew up a bit. Look at the sheer joy and passion on the face of Taylor Hall, as he scores his 50th NHL point on a beautiful goal. The video is below.
It's almost as if Hall's look is part joy, disbelief, happiness, and 'holy shit can you even believe we're here doing this right now against an undefeated Alex Ovechkin-led team?!?!'
It's absolutely astounding to me how much fun these Oilers are to watch. They're now 5-2-2 on the season and they're tied for first place with the Colorado Avalanche--whom they play tonight. I don't expect first place play to continue, partly because I don't think the Oilers get the type of goal-tending they're getting right now all season long. But you ride it for as long as it lasts and accumulate as many points as possible. Right now, the Oil are a good home team who are a tough out every night because of the energy the young kids like Hall, Jordan Eberle (each with goals last night, Eberle adding an assist to go with his GW Goal), and Nugent-Hopkins. Those guys are here to stay for the foreseeable future.
Save by save (34 times to be exact), Nik Khabibulin put another brick in the wall. How long can he keep this up? I do think to a degree with Bulin cools off, Devin Dubnyk will be there to pick him up a little bit. And surprise goal-tending was a reason I thought the Oilers could slip into the playoffs this year.
The great thing about this team is they are arriving ahead of schedule and doing it under the radar because no one in the NHL saw this happening.
