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After playing the night before in Anaheim the Oilers rolled into Glendale to take on the Coyotes but decided not to dress the best lineup possible.
Highlights
The Good
For the first period and a half the Oilers actually looked like they may have kept the game close or even win it. They played a decent road game but just couldn’t capitalize on their oppertunities. If a couple more bounces went their way in the first 30 minutes this may have been a different game.
The Bad
Welcome back old friend, thanks to crappy defense that Edmonton has deployed this season, you’ve flown under the radar a little and you were missed. As you may have guessed I’m talking about Luke Gazdic. Specifically I’m talking about his horrible back check on Stefan Elliott that lead to the Arizona’s third goal.
You can tell this is bad play by Gazdic because Drew Remenda has to point out the good work done by Gazdic here and the poor play made by Mark Fayne.
By the way, if there was ever a good time to waive Gazdic it may be now. In the Bruins vs Avalanche game, Gabriel Landeskog took a head hunting run at Brad Marchand. If there was a time that the Bruins needed a meathead it’s now.
The Ugly
This honour belongs to the Oilers coaching staff and their misguided decission to play Anders Nilsson again tonight. Nilsson played well last night against the Ducks and helped keep the Oilers alive. The problem is that goalies that play both games in a back to back situation usually play worse in the second game. The numbers just don’t back up playing Nilsson again.
Must Reads
Once again Nilsson played decently for the first 30 minutes or so but then you could see the fatigue kick in. The rest of the team was tired and that compounded Nilsson’s responsibility which made it even tougher on him. I really hope that Todd McLellan and team don’t make this mistake again ever.
Up Next
It’s back to California for the Oilers to take on the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night. Since Toronto and Vancouver are playing against each other in the first game on HNIC the Oilers game will actually be aired on CBC. It is the late game so see you on Saturday at 8PM MT.