Adam Oates might not have been able to suit up for the Edmonton Oilers quite yet (He still needs to get into game shape), but that was no problem for his new teammates. Oates was at Skyreach Centre to watch his new team beat the Chicago Blackhawks.
With the Hawks on a 5-game winless streak going into this game, I wondered, in the back of my mind, whether they would break out of it against the Oilers. However, the Oilers have done well against the Hawks at home. What is interesting is that both teams have had goaltending shake-ups. For the Oilers, Tommy Salo hasn't been able to get it done and has been replaced by Ty Conklin as the #1 Oiler goalie. Conklin has done a great job so far. Meanwhile, Hawks #1 goalie Jocelyn Thibault is out due to hip surgery, so Mike Leighton has taken his place.
In the first period, the Hawks had the majority of the good scoring chances early in the period, and Conklin had to make some sharp saves. After weathering the early storm, the Oilers stormed out to an early lead. Radek Dvorak scored the first Oiler goal on a pass from Ales Hemsky during a 5-on-3 advantage for the Oilers. Hemsky wired it across the slot to Dvorak, who bruied it behind Hawks goalie Mike Leighton. Then, the Oilers captured lightning in a bottle. Jarrett Stoll slid the puck underneath Leighton to make it 2-0. He had a couple of whacks at the puck before potting the goal. One ... two ... three time's a charm! Seconds later, Ethan Moreau blasted a shot past Leighton to make it 3-0 after the Hawks turned it over in their own zone. The Oilers' second and third goals came in a 1:18 span. The Oilers outshot the Hawks 16-15 in the first period.
However, the Hawks fought right back in the second period, which was their most dominant period against the Oilers. Mark Bell put the Hawks on the board at 6:55 of the second period, going upstairs on Conklin after the puck bounced over to him. Scott Nichol, a native of E-Town, cut the Oilers' lead to 3-2. Conklin made the original save, but the Oilers couldn't control the rebound. Overall in the second period, the Hawks had the better scoring chances and if it wasn't for Conklin, we might not have won. The Hawks outshot the Oilers 11-7 in the second period.
The Hawks continued outshooting the Oilers in the third period, by a 9-7 margin. However, despite the Hawks' efforts this period, the Oilers refused to sit back on a one-goal lead and instead, took a lot of pressure off of Conklin by scoring two more goals to put the Hawks away. Raffi Torres scored his 8th goal of the season midway through the third period. Dvorak fired a long shot into the Hawks' zone, and the rebound went out to Torres, who wasted no time with that puck and blasted it past Leighton. Shawn Horcoff had a chance to score another Oiler goal seconds later, but Leighton made a big save on it. Dvorak then scored an empty net goal to seal the Oiler win with 1:25 remaining in the game.
The final score of this game may be a little deceiving. The Oilers three quick goals in the first period, including two goals in a 1:18 span. After the first period, however, the Hawks outshot the Oilers and began taking the play to the Oilers more often. Conklin was spectacular on some of those second and third period saves. Is there any wonder why he's the Defensive Player of the Week? Also, the Oilers refused to give in to the pressure that the Hawks were putting on us. Maybe earlier in the season, we would have bowed down under that kind of pressure, but in this game, we did not give in.
__________________
"If you're going to lose, lose with enthusiasm." -- former Edmonton Oilers coach Ron Low
The second period is the one that the Oilers seem to give up the most goals in, but its great to see them getting the lead. Dvorak looks like he may start to get hot (knock on wood), and finally get some of his confidence back. 3pts on the night, very good game by Dvorak.
Ethan has been one of the oilers best players since mid-way through last season, and I have to say I'm even more impressed with his play this season... he has emerged as quite the leader of this team.
Conklin is looking great to me in net, only 2 goals tonight... Conklin has alot of confidence in himself and basically he has nothing to lose... .943 save %, those are awsome numbers for a rookie goalie... 2 goals on 35 ****s isn't bad either.
I think edmonton's main issue is, that they get the lead and start to sit back a bit.. if they can stay aggressive through out the second period I believe that they can easly win alot more games. Tonight Edmonton actually won more faceoffs than the opposing team, which is a very very good sign. They also got a PP goal tonight, and where perfect on the PK...
__________________
"You see things and you say "Why?"; but I dream things that never were and I say "Why not?""- George Bernard Shaw
"Education is the power to think clearly, the power to act well in the world's work, and the power to appreciate life." - Brigham Young
Excellent game summary, wingoilerfan. C26, I really liked the comment, "2 goals on 35 ****s isn't bad either".
Living out in the boonies with just basic cable I didn't get to watch the game on PPV (I also played last night), but I kept switching from the Flame/Leaf game to the Score to get highlights (after the damned b-ball game finished).
It's great to see Edmonton tied with the Wings for 5th and 6th spots in the west...but even better to see the Stars in 11th!!!!
Thanks, I appreciate it ... . I wish I had time to write these recaps more often, like I did 2 to 3 years ago ...
I listened to the game on NHL.com radio and considered myself lucky that the broadcast came in good, without much static ...
"It's great to see Edmonton tied with the Wings for 5th and 6th spots in the west...but even better to see the Stars in 11th!!!!"
I agree. I'd rather have the Wings and Oilers closer together in the standings so they don't meet each other in the first round! I don't want to chew my fingernails to stubs when the playoffs begin ... :lol:
I also agree about the Stars ... :twisted:
Canadian26 ...
It is nice to see Dvorak and Moreau do well. All it takes is a few good games for them to get their confidence up.
I'm really glad that we didn't sit back in the third period. Rather than keep a one-goal lead, I'd rather have a 3-goal lead ...
As for the Oilers' goaltending situation ... I had always considered Salo my favorite Oiler ... BUT he's just not getting it done and hasn't shown the kind of confidence he once did. He is a little older now and maybe his better years are behind him. I'd much rather that the Oilers stick with Conklin, because he's winning more games ... and he's been unbelievable as of late ...
__________________
"If you're going to lose, lose with enthusiasm." -- former Edmonton Oilers coach Ron Low
Hawks @ Oilers, Nov. 18 game recap
Hawks @ Oilers, Nov. 18 game recap
. I wish I had time to write these recaps more often, like I did 2 to 3 years ago ...
Linear Mode
