Men With Broken Hearts

You'll meet many just like me upon life's busy street
With shoulders stooped and heads bowed low and eyes that stare in defeat
Or souls that live within the past where sorrow plays all parts
Where a living death is all that's left for men with broken hearts

-Hank Williams, "Men With Broken Hearts"

First Period: My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It

0:45 Ribeiro picks the puck off Petry’s stick right inside the Oilers blue line. Kind of a strange looking play. I’m not sure if it was Ference’s fault for not giving him an outlet option, standing too close, or Petry’s for trying to carry it in traffic.

1:30 Second shift for the Gordon line already this game as they come on for the defensive zone faceoff. Eakins looking to grind it out.

2:15 Eberle does good work fending off Shea Weber, shielding the puck with his body, and getting two pucks on net. He looks to be feeling better these last few games. A good sign for the Oilers.

2:51 Former UFA centre Mike Ribeiro puts away a rebound sitting in the Oilers crease. Ference played James Neal too passively on that play. He gave Neal a decent shooting angle, and left Ribeiro free to put away the rebound. Justin Schultz let Ribeiro in behind him as well.

7:30 The longest period of play in the Predators’ zone comes off a controlled zone entry by Nail Yakupov. Get the kid some ice time.

9:18 Matt Cullen puts away a rebound off a Seth Jones point shot. He did it from his stomach, too. Hendricks was there but Cullen’s sprawl put him ahead.

10:00 Sportsnet has the Oilers without a scoring chance thus far in the first. They have been miles from competitive so far tonight.

11:30 Mark Fayne makes a strong play keeping Gaustad to the outside off a giveaway at the Oilers’ blue line.

14:00 David Perron with a good back check to take the puck away from the Predators player right inside the Oilers zone.

17:30 The Oilers have been closing in on the puck a little faster in the past few minutes, closing gaps and pressuring the puck carrier. Please continue.

19:06 Filip Forsberg puts the Preds up 3-0. Nikitin lost the puck in the corner and went to the ice to try and take it back from Ribeiro. Forsberg had position on Arcobello at the side of the net.

The Nashville Predators have a whopping 80.65% of the 5v5 shot attempts through twenty minutes. The shots on goal are 17-6. ‘Nuff said.

Second Period: There’s a Tear in My Beer

0:31 What an important goal for the Oilers, and it’s none other than Benoit "Home At Last" Pouliot with a laser past Rinne. First assist goes to Nuge.

1:19 Nikita Nikitin continues his rough night with a penalty shortly after that Oilers goal. Replay shows it probably could have gone either way. Tough break.

4:30 Smart play by Joensuu to circle back in his own zone and wait for support on the breakout. It leads to a rush and a shot attempt for the Oilers.

5:30 Jeff Petry breaks up a play neatly in front of Scrivens.

6:30 Petry does it again about a minute later.

10:15 The top line establishes a strong cycle and it carries over into the following shift. String a few more of those together and we’ll have a hockey game.

12:00 Jeff Petry makes another heady defensive play by taking out a Predator who was all alone with the puck in front of the net.

14:42 David Perron does some heavy lifting off the side boards and sends a cross crease pass to Nail Yakupov, who puts it away. That’s a beauty. Oilers are within one.

15:00 Ference with the double shot block.

17:45 Bourque to the box for tripping. This is a huge chance for the Oilers to even things up before the third.

19:45 A flurry of chances from the Oilers’ second powerplay unit. Yakupov looked at home on that man advantage.

The Predators are still outshooting the Oilers at a 2-to-1 clip as the shots now stand 28-14. The Corsi Canyon narrowed ever-so-slightly as the Oilers tried to press; the Predators now have 72.41% of shot attempts at 5v5.

Third Period: Men With Broken Hearts

0:44 Matt Cullen to the box for high sticking off the faceoff.

2:39 Mark Arcobello goes off for slashing at the end of the PP.

6:37 Mark Fayne with an important shot block as the Oilers were looking a little panicky in their own zone.

7:45 Jordan Eberle dangles his way through a Predators defender and dishes it out in front of Rinne. Ference can’t find it. Then James Neal goes back the other way all alone and Scrivens makes a huge stop.

9:00 Teddy Purcell taking another shift with Boyd Gordon and Matt Hendricks. Joensuu in the dog house? Potentially injured? Or is Eakins just shaking things up a bit?

10:15 Pouliot with a one timer, Rinne with the save. They’re pressing to tie it up.

11:15 After a nice play by Petry in the neutral zone, Arcobello goes back the other way and gets a shot on net. Nail Yakupov also gets a crack at the rebound. Rinne with both saves.

18:30 The Oilers can’t crack the neutral zone. Predators are breaking everything up.

19:15 Sportsnet shows Yakupov heading down the tunnel and back to the Oilers’ room. Please, not Hall and Yakupov.

In Conclusion: You Win Again

A terrible first period and some subpar goaltending from Viktor Fasth, who allowed three goals on 17 shots, put this one out of Edmonton’s reach. Ben Scrivens deserves credit for coming in at the start of the second, holding the Predators scoreless through two periods, and allowing the Oilers to climb back within one.

Will the Edmonton Oilers ever win against the west?