Well isn’t that a cross-check in the melon?
In their first of three games without suspended captain Connor McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers put up as good a fight as you could ask for Tuesday, swarming the Washington Capitals for almost all 60 minutes.
But, just like the Department of Player Safety’s wonky Wheel of Justice, the final verdict defied logic and reason. Despite outshooting the Capitals 34-14, the Oilers came out on the wrong end of a 3-2 decision.
“We had plenty of opportunities to score, especially early in the game, but we just couldn’t buy one,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “Leon scores early in the game, Perry comes up with a nice shot early in the third, but (aside from that) we just couldn’t put one in.”
As far as stern tests go, this was about as tough as it’s going to get in the league right now, taking on the first-place team in the NHL without your best player.
But the Oilers didn’t look at all like they were feeling sorry for themselves. They came out strong and pressed hard all game. And it was just the start they wanted when Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring just 3:02 into the first period. But the goals weren’t coming easy.
The Oilers were doing everything but winning all night — they were outshooting Washington 23-9 through 40 minutes — but trailed 2-1.
By the time the shots were 27-11 in the third period, the Capitals were ahead 3-1.
Corey Perry cut it to 3-2 with 15 minutes left, with Draisaitl getting an assist, but that’s as close as they could get on Capitals’ goalie Logan Thompson.
All in all it was a strong effort and even though it ended in a loss, taking it to the first place team in the NHL, which hasn’t lost in regulation in 11 games, shows a little something.
“We’re a pretty good team in here,” said Perry. “We have a lot of good players. He’s been out earlier in the year and we took care of business. You can’t fill his spot, but you can adapt, and I think guys have done that.”
The Oilers are essentially 2-3 without McDavid in the lineup this season. He missed three games with an injury in late October and played just 37 seconds in the game in which he got hurt.
They’re not as good, but they’re proving that they’re not that bad.
“We’ve got a lot of really good players on this team,” said defenceman Ty Emberson. “We have Leo and a lot of guys who can step up. The last time Connor was out we saw that, where it was a next man up mentality, where someone else steps up and finds a way. There’s a reason everyone’s on this team and it’s because there’s good players here.”
The power play went 2-for-11 when McDavid was out in late October and looked a little lost Tuesday. It went 0-for-2 and had zero shots on net on its first opportunity. By the second power play, Mattias Ekholm replaced Evan Bouchard on the first unit.
Its final chance to make something happen came on a third man advantage, and the goalie pulled, with 2:01 to play. The six-on-four couldn’t find the equalizer.
McDavid didn’t play, but he was only slightly less noticeable than Ovechkin. In likely his last trip to Edmonton before he breaks Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record, Ovechkin dearly wanted to get one in Gretzky’s former stomping grounds but he was practically invisible. He remains at 874 goals, 21 away from passing Gretzky’s 894.
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