Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The Edmonton Oilers Needed Their Game Last Night, It Didn't Happen

01/17/2021 at 8:49am EST

from Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun,

...what was that Saturday, on Hockey Night In Canada, against an inspired Montreal Canadiens club that came to Rogers Place to make good on blowing their opener to the Toronto Maple Leafs?

The Oilers were outshot 12-3 in the first 10 minutes. The Canadiens had an 8-1 ‘edge’ in scoring chances in the first period. It was total domination.

For long periods of time, you didn’t hear the names Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, just 48 hours after they seemed to own the puck.

On a night when this hockey club needed to show up and win battles like they did the previous time out, if for no other reason to build some confidence in Mikko Koskinen in goal, the Oilers looked like they didn’t deserve to be on the same sheet of ice as Montreal. And the 5-1 final score was representative.

Yes, Montreal was the more rested team. The Canadiens were the hungrier hockey team.

Koskinen wasn’t to blame for the Oilers being down 4-0 after 30 minutes. But he wasn’t playing well, either. And he’s already well on his way to setting some sort of record for goals allowed high glove side.

Game highlights are below.

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry NHL Short Notes - 4 hours ago
Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry NHL Short Notes - 4 hours ago
Comment by Steeb in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Quick Recap- Wings/Hurricanes - 4 hours ago
Comment by calquake in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Quick Recap- Wings/Hurricanes - 5 hours ago
Comment by StargateSG1 in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Quick Recap- Wings/Hurricanes - 5 hours ago