We start off with televised poker. I’m really happy that Sportsnet has finally started airing things like this during prime-time. I’m never able to contribute to the water-cooler-talk at work when everyone is raving about the thrilling highlights from the Poker game. As for the game we all wanted to see, well...

First Period:

Lots of forechecking, mostly by the Penguins. Neither team gets much going through the first five minutes.

Six minutes into the game, Milan Lucic works his ass off to take the puck to the front of the net. He ends up getting a weak backhand on net that Matt Murray easily turns aside, but this kind of play is exactly what Lucic is supposed to bring to every game.

A moment later, the Penguins get their high-quality scoring chance. The Patric Hornqvist line gets three shots on Cam Talbot from in close and on rebounds. Talbot was looking around for a few of them and it sure looked like the kind of play where the Oilers get scored on. Luckily Talbot stopped all of them.

Immediately upon the ensuing faceoff, the Penguins do it again. It looks like it might be one of those games. Talbot is keeping it scoreless at the moment.

A few minutes later, Bryan Rust comes over the blue line and wires a shot off the post. This really isn’t looking good.

One of our key attractions in Sidney Crosby gets on the score sheet first. It’s a penalty for holding half way through the period.

Powerplay looked good, lots of shots but no goal. You know the drill by now.

The Oilers managed to sustain pressure for the final 5 minutes of the period until Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gets called for some stick work in the final minute. We really don’t need to go into the locker room down by one, here.

We don’t the Oilers will the final 46 seconds without getting scored on.

Not a great period but not a bad one either. The Oilers looked pretty good in the second half of the frame. Also, Rogers can’t seem to figure out how a clock works.

Second Period:

56 seconds in, Hornqvist scores on the powerplay. Assists are from Kris Letang and Phil Kessel. Nuge comes out of the box looking sad and I kind of with we had a right winger like Kessel and an offensive Dman like Letang.

Oilers go back to their own poweplay when Jake Guentzel trips Kailer Yamamoto. Apparently he also held Yamamoto and he’s getting 4 minutes instead of two. This is a must score for the Oilers.

Powerplay doesn’t look good. They’re in the zone most of the time but they sure as hell aren’t accomplishing anything. No one is moving and the passes are sloppy. The Penguins manage to kill a lot of time. I’m not sure how much time though, Rogers has apparently decided that we don’t need to see the clock.

GOAL!!! RNH gets his revenge. Connor McDavid sends the puck to Patrick Maroon behind the net and he sends it to RNH in front to beat Fleury’s replacement. 1-1 game.

GOAL!!!! That’s right, two goals a few minutes apart. McDavid goes full Le’Veon Bell by squeezing through defenders for a ten yard gain and passes the puck to Leon Draisaitl to put in a wide-open net. I’m feeling pretty good now.

The teams go back and forth a bit and then Zack Kassian decides that he’s allowed to play the puck while still standing on the bench. He’s not, he gets penalized for it and in Kassian-like fashion he argues his call. I think he learned this trick from Ricky.

Would you feel better about killing a penalty right now if Darnell Nurse goes to the box for slashing 20 seconds in? That’s what happens. I have very little faith in this team killing off 1:40 of 5 on 3 time.

It actually works out pretty well. Kris Russell in particular did a good job. He cleared the puck three times on this kill and did so all while staying on his feet and not getting baited into taking himself out of the play. On the third clear, he even catches Kassian coming out of the box for a breakaway. Kassian goes in, goes backhand, doesn’t score than falls in the corner. It would have been really nice had he scored but we all know it wouldn’t have counted, anyway. Nurse steps out of the box and we’ve managed to kill the penalties and hold the lead. I did not see that coming.

Nurse gets a good shot off of a one-timer but hits the post. It was a rocket shot. I love the way this team looks right now.

We have a minute left and the linesmen are starting to waste everyone’s time with faceoff delays and stupid things like that. You know who watches hockey games and enjoys the linesmen doing this stuff? The same people who want Poker televised on Sportsnet.

Crosby and McDavid put on better shows once the puck finally gets dropped. The Oilers get a really good look with speed but McDavid just can’t tip Leon’s pass into the net. The Penguins get it, Crosby catches Nurse too low in the O-zone and goes in 2 on 1. Larsson can’t stop the pass and Conor Sheary puts it home. We can’t take the lead into the intermission and the game is 2-2 after 2.

Third Period:

We can’t score on two poweplays. Nuge gets called for interference, Evgeni Malkin scores and the game ends.

I’m so goddamn sick of losing.

Notes:

• I’ve been waiting for a game where Kailer Yamamoto was given a chance and didn’t look like one of the best players on the ice. Tonight was that. He was fine, drew a penalty but didn’t create much of anything. Now that it’s happened I won’t pitch a fit if he gets sent down.
• Lucic was playing as the 2nd forechecker while Yamamoto was 1st on that line. It’s really stupid planning right there. Yamamoto is fantastic defensively and doesn’t have the size to be the first guy in the corners on offense. Complete opposite for Lucic.
• Powerplay needs to move
• Talbot really should have stopped that Malkin shot
• Next disaster is Friday against Taylor Hall