Oilers in March - A Review
The Oilers started March in a shaky fashion, but eventually got on track, and then had quite a strange ending. The Edmonton Oilers have had an overall solid month, with an eight wins, five losses and one overtime loss record through fourteen games.
Shaky Start
March got off to a very shaky start for the Edmonton Oilers because they suffered an embarrassing three game loss streak at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Starting with a 4-0 loss on February 29 on Hockey Night in Canada, succeeded by a 3-0 shutout, and then followed by an embarrassing 6-1 loss on Wednesday Night Hockey, being out scored by a 13-1 margin and losing to three different Maple Leaf starting goaltenders.
Getting Back On Track
Following the embarrassing effort against the Maple Leafs, the Oilers faced the Calgary Flames in another instalment of the Battle of Alberta. This game saw the Oilers respond with a win thanks to Connor McDavid’s late game-winner which also saw the two-headed monster of McDavid and Draisaitl reunited in the third period. Following the huge win against their provincial rivals, the Oilers were set to face the Ottawa Senators for a three game set. The Senators have the worst record in the North Division with a record of five wins, five losses and three overtime losses in the month of March and a twelve win, twenty loss and four overtime loss record throughout the entire season. The Oilers opened with a 3-2 win over the Senators in a gutsy performance off of an Alex Chiasson game winning goal in the 2nd period. The next game saw the Oilers confidently beat the Ottawa Senators 7-1 with Leon Draisaitl netting a hat-trick and five points, and Connor McDavid with a goal and three points on the night. The next game saw the Oilers win once again against the Senators with a score of 6-2, starting with a classic Connor McDavid bank-in goal (when the puck bounces off something into the net) ten seconds in to the game. It was relatively competitive throughout the first thirty minutes, until Darnell Nurse and Leon Draisaitl haunted the dreams of the young Senators with two goals just around five minutes apart, setting up a lopsided third period.
Playing Tighter Contests
One night after the commanding three-game sweep of the Senators, the Oilers faced the streaky Canucks and their hot goalie, Thatcher Demko. The Oilers unfortunately could not grab the win on the second half of their back-to-back thanks to the red-hot Demko standing on his head surrendering just 1 goal on 35 shots. Additionally, Tyler Myers scored the game-winning goal for the Canucks on a slap shot from near the blue line midway through the 3rd period. Just a couple of days later, the Oilers flew to Calgary to face-off in a two game set against their bitter provincial rival. On Monday the Oilers faced the Flames led by head coach Darryl Sutter in a very boring defence-oriented loss to the Flames by a score of 3-4. This game saw Oilers goals from Josh Archibald, Adam Larsson, and Leon Draisaitl but it wasn’t enough against the Flames that were undefeated at the time under head coach Darryl Sutter. Additionally, the game saw Tyson Barrie leave in the second period and not return. Following these disappointing losses, the Edmonton Oilers had to respond and salvage their position in the division. They came in for round two ready to go. Along with Tyson Barrie and Zack Kassian returning to the lineup, the Oilers put up a 7-3 win. This game saw Tyson Barrie tie a career high in points in a single game with four assists on goals from Jesse Puljujarvi, Dominik Kahun, Connor McDavid and Alex Chiasson. Zack Kassian also scored a great goal on the rush in his first game back in over a month.
A Statement Series
The Oilers had another game, this time a home contest against the big and bad Winnipeg Jets. The games involving Oilers and Jets were all very tight ones, seeing the Oilers win twice, and the Jets win twice as well. 3/4 of the previous matchups were just one goal games. The game saw a great performance from Connor McDavid, who scored both goals in a 2-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets. The following game on Hockey Night in Canada saw the Oilers come from behind and win once again against the Jets thanks to a game-winner from Leon Draisaitl, which caused Jets captain Blake Wheeler to break his stick in frustration.
COVID-19 Scare In Montréal
The Oilers were scheduled to play a three game set in Montréal against the Montréal Canadiens, but a positive test from Canadien Joel Armia and close contact Jesperi Kotkaniemi forced the three game set against the Canadiens to be postponed and rescheduled indefinitely. The Oilers continued to practice in Montréal, before travelling to Toronto for the final regulation games against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Emotional Series In Toronto
The Oilers were coming into Toronto without playing a game since the prior Saturday. The Oilers let in a tough goal for Maple Leaf Pierre Engvall. However the Oilers responded with goals from Darnell Nurse, Leon Draisaitl, and Tyson Barrie in the second period, but saw a third period collapse and an overtime winner by Maple Leaf Auston Mathews which went off of Darnell Nurse’s skate and past Mike Smith. This game no doubt left the Oilers frustrated and they had to respond somehow. The Oilers returned to ScotiaBank Arena in Toronto for the “Next Gen” game, which is an event held by he Maple Leafs to celebrate their younger fans. The Oilers opened the scoring in the first period off of a breakaway goal from Josh Archibald, but the Maple Leafs responded with goals from Mitch Marner and Austin Mathews to end the first period. The Oilers played better in the second period, but were unable to tie the game. Then came the third period, a shot from the blue line by Adam Larsson being redirected by Kyle Turris saw the Oilers tie the game early making the score 2-2. The Oilers then won the game in overtime off of a two-on-one finisher by Darnell Nurse. The Oilers finished their season series with the Oilers going three wins, five losses and one overtime loss against their North Division rivals.
Rough One in Montréal
The Oilers came in on the second half of a back-to-back, in Montréal. This was the first of three make-up games against the Canadiens that were postponed the prior week. This was an ugly game, seeing the Canadiens easily score on Mikko Koskinen and the Oilers by a score of 4-0. We also saw Connor McDavid throw a dirty hit on Jesperi Kotkaniemi which resulted in him being fined $5,000 by the NHL.
Summary
This month was a fluctuating one. The Oilers had highs and lows, triumphs and defeats, but played an overall solid month. What will April hold for the Oilers?
