"A morning of awkwardness is far better than a night of loneliness."
A large sign emblazoned with that quote welcomed patrons at a San Francisco bar I used to frequent. In my mind, it served three practical purposes. First, it helped differentiate the regulars from the tourists, who loved having their picture taken in front of it. Second, a glance back at it on the way out the door injected some courage in a young fellow leaving with a girl whose parts would only add up to nine if she was a set of triplets. Third, it offered some degree of comfort when you stopped in for a pop during your early-morning walk of shame.
At this point, each fan of the Edmonton Oilers would agree that a morning with two points is far better than a night without them. That's what it boils down to really, either in barroom copulation or NHL competition. The performance won't always be pretty. In fact, it might be ugly enough for you to erase the videotape, silence the eyewitnesses, and burn all the evidence, but you find a way to bank the two points and move on to the next one. Sometimes it's all about survival, especially when you're one of the league's doormats.
Some will focus on the Oilers' horror show of a third period in last night's 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals. Can't blame them for that, because it was a white-knuckle ride that ended with a gassed Taylor Hall on his knees in the defensive zone, too tired to even celebrate at the final buzzer. But for all their positional and tactical mistakes, the Oilers bent but didn't break. We can thank Ben Scrivens for that. He delivered a terrific performance, restoring a good chunk of the confidence he had forfeited last week.
I was impressed with the Oilers' discipline in that third period. With Washington coming in waves that perpetually pounded Edmonton's defensive coastline, a penalty could have doomed the home squad. However, the penalty never came. Disjointed as they were, the Oilers never gave into the pressure with one of those lazy hooking or holding penalties. You can thank Scrivens for that as well, for providing enough quality stops to give his teammates some breathing room and confidence in his ability to make the save.
For the second game in a row, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins played the hero. I know Nikita Nikitin scored the game-winning goal on a hydrogen bomb from the point, but Nugent-Hopkins' goal on the rush moments after Washington took a 2-1 lead calmed the nerves and restored faith in the building. Stripping Alexander Ovechkin after a swing-and-a-whiff, Nuge came barreling into the Capitals zone and the only thought in my mind was "unleash the beast."
The "beast" in this case isn't some bawdy innuendo, it's a wrist shot that's quickly become one of the Oilers' most potent weapons. Nugent-Hopkins' lightning-quick release and deadly accuracy have made the wicked wrister a game-changer each of the last two outings, dooming the Lightning and deflating the Capitals. It's the perfect shot for RNH. There's no need for a back-scratching windup or ankle-breaking dangle before getting it off, it's just a wrist shot that's as simple and unassuming as the man who wields it.
Wins like Wednesday's go a long way toward forging the team's identity and character. Sure, those team bonding outings to tourist destinations and military bases are fun, but they don't help teammates trust in and depend on one another the way a third-period onslaught will. You see that trust in teams like Los Angeles and Chicago, squads that know they can either rally from any deficit or fend of any attack. The Oilers have a long way to go, but they'll happily take the walk of shame and pocket the two points.
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