OILERS ERUPT LATE TO SINK CANADIENS
Edmonton explodes for four goals in third to finally figure out the fourth-place Habs
They own the Ottawa Senators.
They know they can beat the Winnipeg Jets.
They’re better than the Calgary Flames and they’re 3-1 against the Vancouver Canucks.
They even sorted out the midseason heebie jeebies they had against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But the Montreal Canadiens were the black hole in the Edmonton Oilers’ North Division schedule.
Five games, one win.
And it looked like 1-for-6 was about to be jammed down their throats Monday night with the Oilers offence held to a standstill through 40 frustrating minutes at Rogers Place.
But sometimes enough is enough and that time came in the third period, where the Oilers exploded for four goals and a hard-earned and frankly stunning 4-1 victory.
Ethan Bear broke a 48-game scoreless drought to tie it at 10:49. Connor Mcdavid went Full Mcdavid to score the unassisted winner at 15:11. Jesse Puljujarvi added the insurance at 17:30 and Devin Shore put the cherry on top at 18:21.
Four goals in less than 10 minutes.
Prior to this one, the Oilers had been held to zero, one, one and two goals in the four losses, with Mcdavid and Leon Draisaitl held scoreless ( just two assists each) in all five games.
It had been a complete shutdown. And was for most of this one, as well. But the Oilers stuck with it and ground out a playoffstyle effort.
With all of Calgary cheering hard for Edmonton, hoping an Oilers win might keep the Flames’ minuscule playoff hopes alive, the third-place Oilers had their hands full with the fourthplace Canadiens. The offence that seems to come so naturally on some nights just wasn’t there on a night when Montreal made them work for every single inch of ice.
And even when the Oilers did work themselves into a scoring chance, they always found themselves on the wrong end of the bounce and couldn’t finish the play.
It was a scoreless, but feisty and rambunctious first period that looked every bit like the kind of stuff they’ll be playing in the post-season. The Canadiens took the body on Mcdavid every chance they got.
The Oilers thought they went up 1-0 12 minutes into the game, but Alex Chiasson had bumped Habs goalie Carey Price and the Canadiens won the challenge.
The Canadiens scored for real on Eric Staal’s goal 6:46 into the second period. There was some question about this one, too, but Staal redirected it in with his foot rather than make a distinct kicking motion, so the Oilers didn’t risk the challenge.
Edmonton’s best chance in the second period came when goalie Mike Smith sent a Hail Mary pass to set up a two-on-nothing for Mcdavid and Jessie Puljujarvi, but Mcdavid bobbled the setup from Puljujarvi and the Oilers didn’t get a shot.
Even the power play, Edmonton’s bread and butter, couldn’t figure things out. Edmonton had the man advantage four times, with a couple of opportunities to make the Canadiens pay for their aggression, but they couldn’t find the handle.
It was a frantic Oilers team that came out for the third period, though. They threw everything they could at the net, finally drawing blood when Bear pinched to between the hash marks and ripped a pass from Mcdavid into the top corner to finally put Edmonton on the board.
Mcdavid took it from there, dancing through the Canadiens defence and scoring upstairs to break Montreal’s heart.
WELL RESTED
Playing just their second game in the last nine days, the Oilers are fresher than any team in the league right now. And after the two-game set with Montreal they have another four days off as this stretch of 11 games in 36 days, followed by 11 in 20 to close the season.
“It’s nice to be rested, but it’s nice to play in a little bit of a groove where you have the rhythm of playing every other night,” said Draisaitl. “We’re doing the best we can to stay in game shape and making sure we at least secure a playoff spot.”
KHAIRA HELPED OFF ICE
A bit of an upsetting sequence in the first period when Jujhar Khaira had to be helped off the ice after a hit from Alexander Romanov. It didn’t seem to be a very punishing hit, but Khaira, who missed a few games earlier this season with a concussion, was on wobbly legs as he tried to make it back to the bench. He obviously didn’t return to the game.
LATE HITS
The Oilers were without forward Ryan Nugent-hopkins for a fourth straight game as he recovers from a head hit April 7 in Ottawa. He is scheduled to practise with the team on Tuesday and they’ll see where he’s at Wednesday.
Carey Price started the game for Montreal, Jake Allen came in after the second intermission.
It was only Edmonton’s fourth home game in the last 15 starts, dating back to March 13.