The Edmonton Oilers lost to the Dallas Stars 4-3, but it wasn't all bad.
The Edmonton Oilers have their work cut out for them. After losing to the Dallas Stars last night 4-3, they have dropped to 2-6-1 on the season.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins vs Joe Pavelski.Despite the losing score, there are some good things for the Oilers to learn from this game. The team isn't as bad as the record shows. Here are my takeaways from the game.
Stars Penalty Kill Did it's Job
The Oilers went 0-4 on the power play last night. One reason I'll get to later, the other involves the Stars themselves.
The Stars had the third best penalty kill in the league going into last night's game - and we saw why last night.
For every man advantage the Oilers had the Stars did a fantastic job of getting their sticks into lanes. They pressured the Oilers and forced them to make turnovers.
Gagner Provided Team Jolt
Sam Gagner played his first game of his third go-round as an Oiler. In 13 minutes he scored twice on five shots. He was also credited with three hits and spent some time on the Oilers second unit power play.
Gagner was on a line with Dylan Holloway and Ryan McLeod a lot. Because of the injury to Connor Brown, a lot of his time on that line came in the third. He also played a few shifts with Evander Kane and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
When Gagner was on the ice, it felt like the whole team was pushing. Gagner was working hard, not giving up on any play but also showing great puck skills and offensive awareness - something Adam Erne doesn't have to the same extent.
Unlucky Bounces
The Oilers hit an unfathomable amount of posts and crossbars last night. On one power play alone Evan Bouchard hit two posts, with another shot going off the crossbar. If one or two of those shots go in, it's a completely different hockey game.
A lot of the Oilers are snake bitten right now. But once the bounces start going there way, they'll be able to dig themselves out of this hole.
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