Scoring Summary
1st Period
EDM Jordan Eberle 14 (PP) (Unassisted) 15:57
EDM Ryan Smyth 13 (Ladislav Smid, Tom Gilbert) 18:36
2nd Period
EDM Lennart Petrell 3 (SH) (Unassisted) 1:40
EDM Jordan Eberle 15 (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Corey Potter) 2:56
3rd Period
MIN Dany Heatley 10 (Matt Cullen, Jared Spurgeon) 7:57
Penalty Summary
1st Period
5:04 Minnesota hooking - 2 min W. Peters drawn by B. Eager
8:10 Edmonton interference with goaltender - 2 min D. Hordichuk drawn by N. Backstrom
10:37 Minnesota tripping - 2 min C. Stoner drawn by R. Nugent-Hopkins
15:11 Minnesota puck over glass - 2 min J. Falk
19:48 Minnesota tripping on breakaway C. Stoner drawn by T. Hall
20:00 Edmonton boarding - 2 min B. Eager drawn by C. Clutterbuck
2nd Period
10:29 Minnesota too many men on ice - 2 min Bench served by P. Bouchard
19:01 Edmonton high-sticking - 4 min S. Gagner drawn by P. Bouchard
3rd Period
2:50 Edmonton checking from behind - 5 min L. Petrell drawn by M. Zidlicky served by D. Hordichuk
2:50 Edmonton game misconduct - 10 min L. Petrell
Shots On Goal - Oilers 31 Wild 31
Game Notes:
- Good to see the Oilers come out and take the play to Minnesota right off the bat. They outshot the Wild 20-3 in the first period and coasted to a 4-1 win. Ran into penalty trouble in the 3rd period which allowed Minnesota to even the shot total by the end of the game. The kid line is becoming more and more a treat to watch. Speed, hands and vision all on the ice at the same time, really overwhelmed the Wild in the first period. Ales Hemsky was out for the Oilers and the Oilers won...sgain. Hemsky is like kryptonite for this Oilers team. The Oilers had more muscle in the lineup tonight which allowed them to win more puck battles and stem the tide of the Wild offense. The argument for that is the Wild were undermanned anyway with all kinds of injuries, but the numbers don't lie. Oilers record without Hemsky is 8-3-1 and with Hemsky, its 7-13-2. Just happy to see the Oilers stop the loss train, and get a much needed victory they deserved. On to the Xmas break!
Player of the Game:
- Jordan Eberle. The kid line really set the pace tonight and Eberle was the triggerman. Eberle's hands are pratically automatic around the net. He truly has a wonderful set of hands, able to navigate angles and seams, creating angles that compliment his shooting ability. Its too bad the line of Hall, The Nuge and Eberle didn't have a smidge more size, but they make up for that in stickhandling, speed and smarts. When they run up against behemoth defensemen, they may be shut down, but in games like tonight where they have room to free wheel, they can make things happen.
Goat of the Game:
- Darcy Hordichuk. Tough to bag on anyone after a convincing 4-1 win, but Hordichuk needs to find a way to make simple plays with the puck. When the puck comes to him in his own zone, all he shouold be thinking about is getting the puck over the blueline, because if he doesn't make that play, it turns into a fire drill. Simple plays should be coming from Hordichuk. Finish checks, get in the way, and dump and chase. Hordichuk goal on the ice is to consume the energy level of the other team. The same should be said of Eager as well.
Next Game - Monday December 26, 2011 vs. Canucks @ Vancouver on Sportsnet West 8 PM MT.
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