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The Edmonton Oilers welcomed back Shawn Horcoff and the Dallas Stars in the only way they knew how by rolling out the red carpet. Allowing the Stars to outplay the Oilers in almost every facet of the game.
Highlights
Analysis of the Play
Yet again the analysis of the play comes on the game winning goal against because that is all I can show.
The play starts at centre ice when Jordie Benn makes a pass to Rich Peverley which Ryan Jones tries to swat at but can't break up. Jones coasts back into the zone but doesn't cover anyone, he just floats around. Jeff Petry has his check, Peverley, but he is still able to get a shot on net. Antoine Roussel over skates the puck but Petry still with his check doesn't really do anything and allows Peverley to walk in and flip a shot over top Devan Dubnyk who is still on his knees after stopping the original shot.
Problems in the Play
- Ryan Jones just let up after he can't poke the puck away. He doesn't cover anyone, he just coasts back into zone almost like he's waiting for the breakout pass
- Jeff Petry needs to lift Peverley's stick. That is all. If he lifts the stick Peverley can't get the second shot its that simple
Tweet of the Night
There was only one person that could be tonight's Tweet. Former Kaptain and life long Komrade of the Copper and Blue @SHocov.
I kept telling guys put it upstairs. They say but Dubnyk is giant. Trust me I say. Trust me.
— S Horcov (@SHorcov) November 14, 2013
There is one more that I just had to include because this was pretty good.
Another #kevinlowe meme. #Oilers pic.twitter.com/4pN92fwPGM
— Lucas Timmons (@lucastimmons) November 14, 2013
Take Aways
Devan Dubnyk
Dubnyk had a good game. He let in a bad angle goal that basically cost the Oilers the game but when your best players can't score goals this game isn't on him.
The 5 on 3
The Oilers had a 1:31 two man advantage! That's right! For 91 seconds the Oilers had 2 extra players on the ice and what were they able to do? A David Perron shot with nobody in front of the net so Kari Lehtonen could see the shot perfectly. Yep, that was about it. Oh, and Nail Yakupov wasn't on the top PP unit at all so that made sense as well.
Pulling the Goalie
I have been a fan of Dallas Eakins' strategy to pull the goalie early but it's killing this team. The Oilers cannot get the puck deep enough or can't keep possession of the puck for long enough. Until they can start doing that he needs to stop pulling the goalie so early because it just ends up in the empty net.
The Third Line
Boyd Gordon is the only functional player on that line. Today was a perfect example of how bad Ryan Jones and Jesse Joensuu are. A player like Gordon doesn't look this bad on a regular night when playing with actual functional players. It's time to send Jones back to AHL and take Joensuu with him.
Tier 1 Oilers Fans
Seriously? Booing Horcoff during his presentation? Then booing Yakupov? This fan base is a class act. Ryan Batty said it best.
The are people actually booing Yakupov. Some people just don’t deserve a good team to cheer for.
— Ryan Batty (@ryan_batty) November 14, 2013
TSN
Thanks to the Toronto Sports Network all of us tier 2 fans had to wait until what seemed like the dying minutes of the third period to watch the Oilers play as the Leafs and Wild game ran long. Oh, and TSN2 had the Sidney Crosby game on so that wasn't going to happen either.
Kevin Lowe
I hear that the Buffalo Sabres are looking for a new GM. Please! Please! Please! Take your 6 cup rings and knowledge of winning to Buffalo so that they can bask in your glory!
Three Stars
I can't really award three stars tonight. There was only one player that kept them in the game and that was Devan Dubnyk and he was pulled with 1:30 left to play in a 1-0 game at that time. So, there you go, the one player that kept the Oilers in the game was the goalie that everybody hates. Enjoy.