With a nod to Yogi Berra with the World Series on tap for Tuesday, the New York Yankees great may have been foreshadowing the Edmonton Oilers' season when he reportedly said, "It gets late early around here." Monday night, the Oilers were at a crossroads just two weeks into a new season..
Averaging nearly five goals a game against, they were winless for the first five games with only a solitary point from a shootout loss in the points column. Thoughts turned to last season when the Oilers won only one of their first eight starts and fell out of the playoff chase before Halloween had arrived. They were en route to an eighth consecutive season without a playoff appearance.
Oilers break through
So, Game 2 of seven-game homestand against the Tampa Bay Lightning and super scorer Steven Stamkos took on added importance as the grumbling from Oilers' fans grew louder with each wasted opportunity.
Finally, Edmonton's heavy artillery showed up as Taylor Hall scored on a penalty shot and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins bagged his first goal of the season, the game-winner with only 3:25 left in regulation, to pace the Oilers' 3-2 triumph.
Ben Scrivens stopped 22 of 24 shots and just when the Lightning tied the game 2-2 with just over six minutes remaining in the third period, Nugent-Hopkins allowed the Oilers' faithful to exhale with a huge sigh of relief.
Now they can look forward to the next five games at home instead of wondering when, or if, they would ever break into the win column.
Taylor Hall the right choice
If there was one player the Oilers wanted taking a penalty shot it had to be Hall. The 23-year-old was one of the few players doing any scoring at all as he came into the game with three goals on the season. Edmonton had been outscored 24-11 in its first five games.
In the second period, with the score tied at 1-1,Hall revved up the Rexall Place crowd and went to work against Lightning goalie Ben Bishop.
Here's what happened.
Who was that masked man?
Oilers' goaltender Ben Scrivens decided before the season to get involved with the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta in a charitable campaign. His mission was not only to raise awareness about the disorder, but to raise funds for the organization.
Scrivens is wearing four different masks throughout the season, designed by artists with schizophrenia. At season's end, the masks will be auctioned off. Monday night Scrivens unveiled the first mask, designed by Richard Boulet, an Edmontonian.
One in five Canadians is affected by schizophrenia including a member of Scrivens' extended family. The goaltender intends to work on other mental health initiatives throughout the season.
Things to know
Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman fractured a finger on his right hand during Saturday's 4-2 win at Vancouver. He's set to have surgery on Tuesday and will miss four to six weeks, reported Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.
It's a big loss for Tampa Bay (3-1-1), which is looking for the former No. 2-overall pick to build on a career-best 55-point season. Hedman was off to a good start with three goals and four assists in five games.
Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin was called up Sunday from AHL Syracuse, where he spent a two-game conditioning stint after missing Tampa's training camp with a fractured thumb. The move sparked speculation that he'd make his NHL debut against the Oilers. After a trying journey from Syracuse first the Lightning said no. But when Alex Killorn couldn't make the starting lineup, Drouin made the start. And acquitted himself well.
The third overall pick in the 2013 draft, Drouin was a major star in the Quebec junior league, scoring 213 points in 95 games over the past two regular seasons. He was named the CHL player of the year for 2012-2013 and helped the Halifax Mooseheads win the Memorial Cup as part of a dynamite 1-2 punch with Nathan MacKinnon, who was picked first in the '13 draft by Colorado and won NHL rookie of the year honours.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
3 stories from Monday night in the NHL
Dengan url
http://sportiflover.blogspot.com/2014/10/3-stories-from-monday-night-in-nhl.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
3 stories from Monday night in the NHL
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
3 stories from Monday night in the NHL
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar