:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48580771/usa-today-9062159.0.jpg)
You could forgive Oiler fans for their groaning in the 1st period. They home team was being taken to the woodshed and not much of anything was going right in the first period offensively. Every possession seemed to just die and the Flames spent most of the first period counter punching the Oilers into submission. If not for a pretty heroic save by Talbot, this one could have been over by the end of the 1st.
Whether it was score effects or a different strategy, the Oilers dominated the 2nd and 3rd period, out shooting the Flames by a combined 29-13. For a long time, it looked like it would be one of those games where the Oilers generated their chances but couldn't convert until Mark Fayne (you read that right) wristed one past Hiller off a good team effort on the face-off circle between Draisaitl and Hall.
The Flames went all out in OT and generated their chances, but Talbot held them off and helped take the Oilers to the shootout. Talbot was perfect and Hiller wasn't thanks to Ted Purcell and the Oilers escaped with a 2-1 shootout win.
The Good
Cam Talbot was fantastic all game long, but his glove save early on in the game against Brodie was incredible. He had a rocky start but his game has turned around big time in the last couple of months and it's given the Oilers a level of goaltending they've missed over the past couple of seasons.
The Bad
That first period... woof. The Flames dominated the Oilers for the full 20 minutes and scored their lone goal of the game on a defensive breakdown that saw Yakupov react too late to Sam Bennett driving to the net. He almost recovered, but the puck bounced right back to Bennett who beat a sprawling Talbot.
The Ugly
1 goal. The Oilers goal scoring has completely dried up this month. They've been held to 2 goals or less in 5 of 7 games in January, and this is a tough league to win in when you can't score. It's also another game where the Oilers get torched for a whole period. It's something that's been happening for years now, and it's a thing they need to get out of their game if they want to be successful.