Edmonton Oilers

R2 G6 Oilers vs Ducks: Facing Elimination
May 7, 2017, 12:38 PM ET [492 Comments]
Matt Henderson
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I needed some time to compose myself after the disaster of Game 5. Needless to say that with 3:20 left in a 3-0 game I wasn’t expecting a Double OT loss. I also, naively, wasn’t expecting the Referees to make another game-changing Goaltender Interference review.

At this point I think we can safely say that we have no idea what IS goaltender interference. I can only come to the conclusion that whatever the Ducks do it IS NOT goaltender interference.



The tying goal with 15 seconds remaining in the game was a swirling vortex of chaos in front of Talbot’s net. What the referee saw was Darnell Nurse push Ryan Kesler into Talbot’s crease. In the world of the NHL this results in a very clear – open and shut case – of “Your own damn fault” for the official. When the call for the review came from the league (as it always does in the final minute) the same official who called it “Your own damn fault” in the first place got the chance to confirm the damned faultness of the Oiler defender on a tiny iPad.

The officials took roughly 90 seconds to review the play, in which it was confirmed that Nurse directed Kesler towards the goaltender. The official feels good about his initial call and calls it a good goal.

Problem, it took even the Sportsnet panel more than 90 seconds to realize that Oiler fans on Twitter weren’t screaming about Nurse directing Kesler towards Talbot. They were screaming about what Kesler did while he was on the ice. Friedman directed the eyes of the panel to Kesler’s hand.





While Kesler was in the crease he had his hand on the inside of Talbot’s pads and was pulling at them. Just as Corey Perry’s contact with Talbot’s blocker lead to a goal blocker side, Kesler pulling open Talbot’s pads lead to a goal 5-hole. It is almost certain, however, that the referee reviewing the play was only trying to confirm what he had seen during the wild action of the play and not looking for anything he had not seen. He confirmed the Nurse push and that was enough.

Given that Game 4 was also changed because of a blown Goaltender Interference call, it is shocking that the officials would make a hasty decision on a crucial GI challenge in Game 5. And yet here we are. This makes 4 of the last 8 Ducks goals that should not have counted as far as the rules are concerned and that’s a pretty big problem for the Oilers.

I have never been so close to believing in hockey conspiracies like some kind of Vancouver Canucks fan than I was after the NHL called another clear-cut case of interference in Anaheim’s favor. I’m not there. Not yet. I do question the integrity and competency of NHL officiating and that runs all the way through the Hockey Ops arm of the league. I do believe that the Ducks are being favored by the officials, but that’s not a conspiracy so much as it is the fact that the Ducks are a “Veteran Club” who are getting the benefit of the calls, as per standard NHL operating procedure.

But there’s absolutely nothing the Oilers can do about getting jobbed by the NHL in two consecutive games. They are down 3-2 in this series and now they are facing elimination at home. The club has to channel all of that frustrated energy into more positive play. They need to be able to stave off this disaster and force a 7th game.

As Leon Draisaitl was staring at the Duck celebration on the bench, Connor McDavid was there to tap him on the shoulder and tell him “Let’s go.” The series is not over, but it could be before the sun goes down in Edmonton tonight if the Oilers don’t play their best game. So far the Oilers have been pushed around by the Ducks in terms of possession. Game 5 saw the Ducks fire 22 shots towards the Oiler net. For 56:40 that was fine for an Oiler team trying to play in a defensive shell. After the 3rd goal went in the Oilers decided to play “Lead Protection Hockey”.

With the Oil up 3-0 the story of the game was the gutsy performance of the defenders who remained in the game after Sekera was lost for the game, Benning went down for a few shifts after some kind of should injury, Klefbom took a shot up in the high chest, and Russell had his head hammered into the glass with a high and dangerous hit from Ritchie. The confidence was so high and the focus on Russell toughing it out through an apparent brain injury was so strong that TSN’s Ryan Rishaug took the time to shut down the people (mainly bloggers) who were concerned about the shot attempts and zone entry/exit problems that were pointing to danger.




The story stopped being gamesmanship and gutsiness on behalf of the Oilers once the collapse was completed. Edmonton has now blown 2-0 and 3-0 leads in consecutive games. When they play well, there is offense to be found. Success is still possible. When Edmonton stops pushing forward the Ducks are too good and getting too much help to hold off.

This could be the final game of the season. Whatever this team has left to give has to be left on the ice.

LINEUP

Sekera and Klefbom didn’t take the optional skate this morning but both Reinhart and Fayne were there. Sekera has been deemed out for the series. The Oilers had Draisaitl down the middle and it worked well. Maybe we stick with that.

Maroon McDavid Slepyshev
Lucic Draisaitl Kassian
Pouliot RNH Eberle
Caggiula Letestu Desharnais

Klefbom Larsson
Russell Benning
Nurse Gryba

Talbot
Brossoit

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

1) Defensive Chaos. With Andrej Sekera out for the remainder of this series at least, this game will feature key changes that aren’t yet confirmed publicly. Sekera has been the anchor of the 2nd pairing all year long. He isn’t a flashy defender but he makes smart decisions with the puck and can do a little of everything. The most likely change is that Russell moves over to his natural left side, Benning moves up, and Gryba steps into the 6D spot. The Oilers have other options, but this is most in line with their previous choices. Moving Russell to his natural side should make him more effective in general and Benning has shown the ability to play above the 3rd pairing in many of his previous opportunities this year. The issue is that both of those players were briefly knocked out of the last game with their own injuries as well.

2) Getzlaf and Kesler. The story of the series for the Ducks has been and will continue to be their top two centers. The Ryans have demolished the Oilers and they’ve done it playing on or just past the edge. They know the referees are giving them both a wide lane to do what they need to do and Edmonton, for the most part, hasn’t had an answer. Game 5 was probably their best effort in keeping them off the scoreboard but that didn’t last a full 60 minutes. Getzlaf and Kesler are dangerous in the offensive zone and a menace while defending. There is no path to success that doesn’t involve keeping those two out of the game. Getzlaf has 15 points in 9 games and when the topic of Conn Smythe comes up, he’s the leader from the West. Kelser’s offensive contributions are not close, but he is a disruptive force against the Oiler offense and a key reason why the team switched to have all three of McDavid, Draisaitl, and RNH play down the middle in the last game. It’s that offensive spread that will be Edmonton’s best defense against the impact these two make.

3) Facing Elimination. This is it. This may be the final game of the year. The Oilers are undefeated when facing elimination this year, but that’s probably more to do with Edmonton not facing elimination in the playoffs yet at all. If there’s such a thing as “clutch” then this would be the game it shows up. This is the time for Jordan Eberle to find that World Junior magic he’s been riding for 8 years. It’s time for Nuge to finally break through and get that goal. It’s time for Lucic to make an impact 5v5. The Oilers need that gutsy effort and gamesmanship from the Rishaug tweet and they need that to turn into effective hockey. Every single battle in this game has to be contested by the Oilers. It’s all on the line. Whatever happens, it has been an incredible journey through the season with you. I’m not quite ready for it to be over and I hope we can do this again on Wednesday.

Puck drops tonight at 5PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet. Game On!