Oilers Squeak Out 3-1 Win Against Senators

The Edmonton Oilers pulled out a close 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night. The win marks the first time in Oilers franchise history that the team has gone 9-0-0 against a team in a season. Kailer Yamamoto got the team on the board while Devin Shore netted the third-period game-winner. Mike Smith was solid with 39 saves.

It wasn’t the best game the Oilers have played all year but a win is a win. I got the all the details right here for your reading pleasure...

First Period:

Ottawa came out a little more aggressive than we are accustomed. Perhaps with a little extra bit of motivation to prevent Edmonton from sweeping the nine-game season series. They had a few good looks in the early minutes but Mike Smith was there to keep them off the board.

Edmonton would get more comfortable as the game went on. Their first real chance of the game came off the stick of Gaeten Haas as he intercepted a cross-ice pass and had a clean break. Former Oiler, Anton Forsberg stayed with him to keep the game scoreless.

Ottawa was able to pin Edmonton’s makeshift second line in their own zone in the final few minutes but no harm was done. It wasn’t the greatest period for the Oilers but wasn’t the worst. Ottawa held the edge in shots by a 10-5 margin but the score remained 0-0 after the first 20.

Second Period:

The Senators came out guns blazing and quickly jumped ahead 8-2 in shots for the period. Smith, once again, was keeping the Oilers in this as he was turning away everything he faced.

It was starting to feel like the notion to keep Draisaitl and McDavid on the same line wasn’t a smart decision. The top line was performing but everyone else looked completely flat. That one-line narrative was prominent in this one.

Despite being outplayed, it was Edmonton who opened the scoring. Kailer Yamamoto, fresh off a new stick-job, picked up the trash in front of Forsberg and knocked the game’s first goal into the net. 1-0 Edmonton.

The Senators wouldn’t leave the period without a goal of their own. Connor Brown would extend his goal-scoring streak to six games in the final two minutes as he beat Smith short-side on a wrister from the near-side circle. 1-1 game.

We would end the second period the way we started the game: Tied. The Sens did get some late momentum from that Brown goal and nearly took the lead on a few chances but were denied by Smith.

Third Period:

The final frame saw the Oilers come out with a bit more energy. That would last for a little while but, again, the Sens were able to get the the majority of the chances as the period wore on.

That wouldn’t matter, as the Oilers were able to regain the lead off a Caleb Jones shot that was deflected by Devin Shore. 2-1 Edmonton with under 10 minutes to go. Ottawa would try to get the equalizer in the dying minutes but an empty-netter by Jesse Puljujarvi would put this one out of reach.

The Oilers complete the 9(!)-game sweep of the Ottawa Senators! 3-1 is your final score from the nation’s capital.

Takeaways:

• Mike Smith was the true MVP of this game as he held the Oilers in this one despite some loooong periods of poor play. He picked up 39 saves on the night and improves to 14-3-2 on the season. Seriously, he might get some Vezina votes this year.
• Power-play was few and far between tonight but they came up when they needed to. They scored on their only chance of the game and it was nice to see Kailer Yamamoto break out of his slump. He plays a heavy game for a small guy and deserves to be rewarded.
• Similarly, the PK was good tonight. Their five-on-five play wasn’t that great but their special teams was good when it had to be.
• Sign me up as someone who is starting to like Devin Shore. He is in the right spots at the right time and it is always nice when an Oilers GWG is a depth guy. That whole third line had a decent game matter-of-fact.
• Cut the crap, Tippett. The second line is not good enough to survive without RNH. The Oilers were vastly outplayed when lines 2-4 were on the ice against the LAST PLACE Senators. You gotta spread out McDavid and Draisaitl on separate lines in situations like this. I heard a guy named Taylor might help this...
• I will take the win tonight, but this was not a great team for a club with high playoff aspirations. You can’t be nearly doubled up on shots by one of the worst teams in the NHL. The Oilers have struggled getting shots on net of late and that has to be addressed. Still lots of time to figure it out.
• Puljujarvi getting the empty-netter to seal the deal makes my heart feel good. He has been looking fantastic but hasn’t been getting the results. He’s a key player on this roster.
• The Oilers improve to 25-14-2 on the season and remain one point above of the Winnipeg Jets for second-place in the North Division. Still five back of the division-leading Maple Leafs. Next up is another date with the slumping Flames on HNIC this Saturday!