Benoit Pouliot - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Mark Letestu
Milan Lucic - Leon Draisaitl - Tyler Pitlick
Taylor Beck - Anton Lander - Anton Slepyshev
DEFENCE
Oscar Klefbom - Adam Larsson
Andrej Sekera - Eric Gryba
Darnell Nurse - Matthew Benning
GOAL
Jonas Gustavsson
Cam Talbot
Oilers Victorious In Detroit; How RNH Got His Groove Back
Jonas Gustavsson stopped 22 shots and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the game winner by way of the power play. The Oilers' final game at Joe Louis Arena ended with a W, and they're on a 2-1-1 road trip. Not too shabby. Justin Abdelkader scored Detroit's only goal midway through the first period on a Red Wings power play, but Tyler Pitlick got Edmonton on the board eight minutes later with his fourth of the year.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the GWG for Edmonton on a nice pass from Wonder Jesus late in the second period. Two goals were all the Oilers would need en route to this W. Edmonton picked up a win against a team that typically would cause fits for the Oilers, and they did it in Detroit. Jonas Gustavsson didn't look too out of place earning his first win of the year. While I'm happy for him, let's get back to a dozen games of Cam Ward.
Edmonton is in Pittsburgh tonight, and they've got a chance to make it 7 out of a possible 10 points on this road trip. Let's go to the tape.
The Oilers are saying
"If that pass gets knocked down or picked off, we're having a debate about why I didn't shoot. Luckily, it worked out."
That's Connor McDavid on setting up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' power play game winner.
No, Connor McDavid doesn't pass too much. When you're setting up game winners on the power play, I'd suggest you're passing at an OK rate. I wonder how that nugget crept into his brain...
The opponents are saying
"Sid has been unbelievable. He's the best player in the world, and he's playing hard, winning battles and getting the puck." Source
That's Penguins forward Carl Hagelin on team captain Sidney Crosby after Sunday's 5-0 victory over San Jose at the Shark Tank.
Crosby had a pair of goals, Hagelin had three assists in a Stanley Cup rematch. All is well with Pittsburgh.
Have some of this
POWERPLAY PAYDIRT III: The power play gardens are fertile now. Rain o'er me. Another power play goal for the Oilers, this time of the game-winning variety. Pop a few power play goals in your hockey diet and all of a sudden you're top ten in the league. Run 97 with 93 on the power play. Run.
BUYING IN?: There are still plenty of skeptics about this Oilers club (myself included), but didn't the Detroit game make you feel a little better? The Oilers didn't get waxed in any area of statistical importance, and they won the game. I don't like Jonas Gutstavsson's net play, but he yielded just one goal and had a ten bell save against Steve Ott midway through the first. Oilers are depleted on the right side and their defence after the top line doesn't scream at me. Feeling a little better?
KICKIN' TIRES: I realize that Jacob Trouba's agent said that his client wants to play in the US, but with a 3MM x 2 deal, you've gotta make a phone call, yeah? I haven't heard a whisper about Brandon Davidson, and having a top four RHD where Eric Gryba is playing sounds like something I'm all about. Dream big, baby.
Cam Talbot (8-3-1, .925 SV%, 2.36 GAA) is likely to start for the Oilers today. Marc-Andre Fleury (6-2-2 .908 SV% / 3.07 GAA) will go for the Penguins
Iiro Pakarinen (knee), Drake Caggiula (hip), Mark Fayne (undisclosed) Brandon Davidson (upper body) Zack Kassian (lower body, and Matt Hendricks (lower body) will not dress for the Oilers tonight. Jesse Puljujarvi will take warmups tonight, and he may return to the lineup. The Penguins will be without forward Derrick Pouliot (lower body)
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51731495/usa-today-9652201.0.jpg)
