Saturday, February 16, 2013

Post Game: Game #14 Oilers 6 Avalanche 4

1ST PERIOD
COL McLeod 2 (Hejduk, Mitchell) 1:22
COL Duchene 5 (McGinn, Barrie) 18:22
COL McGinn 2 (Duchene, Barrie) 19:11
EDM Hemsky 6 (Gagner, Hall) 19:56 PP

2ND PERIODCOL Mitchell 5 (McGinn, Duchene) 6:24 PP
EDM Nugent-Hopkins 1 (Hall, Eberle) 15:59
EDM Hemsky 7 (Smyth) 16:58 PP

3RD PERIOD
EDM Eberle 4 (Gagner, Yakupov) 8:58 PP
EDM Paajarvi 2 (Smyth, Belanger) 18:26
EDM Eberle 5 (Hall, Nugent-Hopkins) 18:51 EN


Colorado
Semyon Varlamov 50/55

Edmonton
Devan Dubnyk 9/12
Nikolai Khabibulin 16/17

Game Notes:
- A wild one on a Saturday night, it doesn't get much better than that. For the first time the Oilers found a way to impose their will against a club and take a victory. It took awhile for the Oilers to fully find their stride in this one. They were down 3-1 after one period, 4-2 half way through the 2nd period but the Oilers kept up their tempo. The Oilers new found philosophy of fire shots by volume paid off tonight as it was ultimately the undoing of the Avalanche. Oilers wore out the Avalanche by the end of the game as the Oilers kept Semyon Varlamov busy by firing a team record 56 shots towards his goal. It wae nice to see the results behind the volume of shots. 56 shots without the "W" just wouldn't have felt the same. Not only did the Oilers win this game but they might have created the foundation of an identity in this game. The Oilers will be about speed and offensive pressure but the key will be to establish the balance within the lineup. As much as this was a fun win, this was a win against a lowly Avalanche club, but one the Oilers needed to have. The key going forward is to establish this type of game against experienced/stronger clubs.

Player Of The Game:
Ales Hemsky RW - Hemsky once again was a big time offensive catalyst for the Oilers on this night. Big thing about his game tonight, was he pulled the Oilers out of the gutter when they needed it the most. Hemsky has been one of the more consistent performers for the Oilers, in a season filled with inconsistency thus far. Two goals, countless other opportunities. The Oilers lines were coming in waves tonight, and they were getting stronger and stronger as the game went on. Kudos to Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle for finding their games and contributing heavily towards the offense.

Goat Of The Game:
Devan Dubnyk G - Tough night for Dubnyk, gave up 3 in the first period and didn't get a chance to see the second period. Dubnyk had issues with pucks squeaking between his legs tonight, a sign that he really wasn't sharp. These things will happen from time to time on goaltenders, but the key is to keep it to a minimum. Dubnyk has to erase this game from memory and move on to the next one. He was a lot like the rest of the club, dealing with a lot of rust during the three day break.

Next Game - Tuesday February 19, 2013 vs. Kings @ Rexall Place on TSN 8 PM MT.

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