Rattie puts positive spin on scoring woes

Vasilevskiy’s head gets in way of winger’s glorious opportunity against Lightning

Ty Rattie felt snake-bitten on the Edmonton Oilers’ recent road trip, unable to buy a goal despite a number of glorious opportunities.

The Oilers forward returned to the lineup against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday after missing the previous nine games with an abdominal strain.

Rattie should have scored in his first game back, but banked a shot off the head of Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy on a setup from Connor McDavid.

“I had the entire net and the one part that he took away with a little bit of his helmet, I hit,” Rattie said prior to facing the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. “When you play against world-class goalies they’re going to make world-class saves and that was just the way things went.”

Rattie had another great chance the following game against the Florida Panthers, but was stymied by Roberto Luongo, who was outstanding in a 4-1 win.

“It’s a positive getting those chances, you’re doing something right when you get them,” Rattie said. “At the same time, that’s all they are is just chances unless you finish them off. I have to do a better job bearing down and get the puck up when I get those chances.”

Rattie earned a spot on the Oilers top line alongside McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins by being able to bury his scoring opportunities during the pre-season. Heading into the game against the Avalanche, Rattie had a goal and two assists in seven regular-season games.

“The biggest thing for me, is that it’s time to worry when you’re not getting chances,” Rattie said. “When you’re out there and you feel like you’re not doing a whole lot and chasing the puck and things like that, that’s when you worry. But when you’re getting chances you know you’re clicking, you know something is going on with your line and it’s a matter of an inch or two whether those go in. That’s the biggest mindset I have. As long as I’m getting those chances, as long as my line is getting those chances, they’re eventually going to go in.”

HOMECOMING FOR JOST

Avalanche forward Tyson Jost missed four games with a head injury sustained against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 26, but returned in time to play against the Oilers on Sunday. Jost, 20, a St. Albert product, had plenty of friends and family on hand for his third game at Rogers Place, and first this season.

“Yeah, I have quite a few people coming, it’ll be nice having them in the stands,” Jost said. “I’m excited to get a chance to see them after. I got to see them a little bit (Saturday) too, it was very enjoyable.”

Jost was selected 10th overall by the Avalanche in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He had two goals and three points in 12 games this season heading in against the Oilers.

“I grew up an Oilers fan, it’s pretty cool to come play a game here,” Jost said. “I watched a lot of games in the old Rexall Place, but it’s pretty special to be in front of friends and family here.”

AVS BIG LINE AMONG BEST

The Avalanche boast, arguably, the best line in hockey with Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.

Going into the game Sunday, the trio had combined for 62 points in 16 games this season. Rantanen was tied for the NHL scoring league with Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins with 24 points (five goals, 19 assists). MacKinnon has 11 goals and 22 points this season, while Landeskog had 11 goals and 18 points.

“They bring a lot of different challenges,” said Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot. “They’re a crafty line. They’re also a hard-nosed line. They can get in on the forecheck and come out with the puck or make plays off the rush. So they do a lot of things very well and it’s going to be a tough task against a line like that that’s firing on all cylinders.”

HONORARY KENYANS

MacKinnon, along with his good friend Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, were recruited to play with a Kenyan hockey team this summer. Actually, the only hockey team in Kenya.

The team, the Ice Lions, was brought from Nairobi to Canada by Tim Hortons, who asked Crosby and MacKinnon to surprise the group during an exhibition game against a team of firefighters in Toronto.

“They told us a couple of months before the event that’s what they had in mind,” MacKinnon said. “We were pretty shocked at first, we didn’t know what to expect, Kenyans playing hockey. But it was a lot of fun and something I’ve never done before. We stayed and chatted a while with them off camera, they were great people, it was a lot of fun.”