The Edmonton Oilers started a four game road trip on the other side of Niagara Falls against the Buffalo Sabres. Jeff Skinner was in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for three straight games. He got a video tribute from his former team during a commercial break.
First Period Summary
Newly acquired Oilers defenseman Jake Walman started the game on the top pairing with Evan Bouchard. Mattias Ekholm is still out due to illness/injury. Edmonton’s second line had momentum and a couple of opportunities to open the scoring. Then, a fumble at the blue line by Darnell Nurse gave the Sabres a chance, but an intended pass just missed the intended receiver. Two posts were hit on shots by Connor Brown and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Connor McDavid made a nice move skating to the net, but Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made the save. Bowen Byram had a chance to give the Sabres a 1-0 lead, while we thought during the commercial break that Adam Henrique got a minor high-sticking penalty; it turned out to just be friendly fire by two Sabres teammates. After both teams trade good scoring chances, the puck goes out of play for just the second stoppage in play halfway through the period.
Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker nearly converted on an Edmonton turnover near Stuart Skinner, but the shot went wide. Then, shortly after, Leon Draisaitl outskated Rasmus Dahlin to go on a breakaway, but Luukkonen made the save. At 13:28, Tage Thompson skated into the offensive zone and shot the puck on net. Skinner fumbled the rebound, and Thompson made it 1-0. The Sabres had chances to make it 2-0 late, but kept missing the net. Nurse has a chance to tie it late, but it’s the third post hit by his team. Peyton Krebbs made a centering pass that ended up hitting Skinner’s pads. The first period ended with the home team up 1-0.
Second Period Summary
1:35 into the second period, Darnell Nurse scored with a point shot. Vasily Podkolzin screened Ukko Pekka-Luukkonen, and the game is tied 1-1. Nurse tried grabbing a puck in mid air, but it escaped him. The Sabres entered the zone, and Alex Tuch fired a shot that put his team up 2-1 at 3:52. Max Jones took the first minor penalty of the game, getting called for slashing. Buffalo failed to score on the powerplay. The Oilers had a 3v1 rush after the penalty expired, and Luukonen stopped Connor Brown’s shot. At 8:20, the Oilers got their first powerplay of the game after Buffalo was called for Too Many Men. Evan Bouchard accepts a pass from Connor McDavid. It’s a heavy slap shot, and the game is tied 2-2 at 9:12. There was a turnover near Stuart Skinner’s net, but he stopped Ryan McLeod’s shot. McDavid got tripped trying to get out of his zone with the puck.
The Oilers have their second powerplay of the game, with Jordan Greenway going to the penalty box at 12:41. Edmonton fails to score with the man advantage. Corey Perry spotted Brown after taking the puck away, but they were offside. Leon Draisaitl went on a rush starting against the boards, his backhand shot is stopped by Luukkonen. Rasmus Dahlin tripped Zach Hyman, and the Oilers got their third powerplay at 17:36. Connor Clifton nearly had a shorthanded breakaway, but Hyman took the hooking penalty at 18:43 to disrupt it. There was 4-on-4 hockey for 53 seconds, and the Sabres played the last 24 seconds of the second period on the powerplay. It’s a 2-2 game through 40 minutes.
Third Period Summary
The Oilers started the third period shorthanded for 43 more seconds; they killed it all off. Vasily Podkolzin turned the puck over at the offensive blue line. Evan Bouchard is in a foot race with Josh Norris and Tage Thompson. Norris strips the puck away from Bouchard and finds Thompson, who buries his second goal of the game to give Buffalo the 3-2 lead. Connor McDavid made a rush and shot the puck wide, and then he set up Leon Draisaitl for a shot that hit the post. That was the fourth post hit by Edmonton in this game. A moment later, Corey Perry had a great chance to score and missed. McDavid turned the puck over in the offensive zone twice. He is human, after all. Jeff Skinner went on a rush of his zone and nearly tied the game. McDavid drew another penalty with 5:27 left in regulation, a crucial powerplay. The Sabres had a shorthanded 2v1 rush, but Stuart Skinner stopped it. The powerplay expired, the Oilers didn’t score. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a Grade A chance to tie it, but Luukkonen stoned him. Stuart Skinner went to the bench for the extra attacker with than 2 minutes left to play. The game ended with a 3-2 loss in Buffalo.
Final Verdict
Turnovers, lack of offense, and below-average goaltending. They lost what should’ve been an easy 2 points against a basement team. You can copy and paste all of those things for most Oilers who have lost this season. The Sabres had only one less turnover than the Oilers; neither side played a perfect game. But the home team got bailed out by their goalie. If Edmonton scored after the big shorthanded save by Stuart Skinner, we’d perhaps talk about that and not the rebound he nonchalantly let go of on the first Buffalo goal. Less posts hit would’ve been nice, too. One game down on the road trip, three more to go. The Oil drop the puck again on Thursday against the New Jersey Devils.
ITR 30: Down The Stretch – Inside The Rink
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