Through the first two periods of play against the Winnipeg Jets the Oilers did as they have done so far under Jay Woodcroft, they controlled 5 on 5 play, won the possession battle, and outchanced the Jets to the tune of 11-4 in High Danger Chances. After two periods the Oilers had a 3-0 lead.
As the third period started however, the Jets pushed back hard and started taking far more offensive chances and risks and it started to pay off. First the Jets were able to get behind Barrie on Edmonton's powerplay and force Koskinen and the puck into the Oilers net for Winnipeg's first goal of the game. Less than 5 minutes later, the Jets on their own powerplay would leave the Oil scrambling and make it a one goal game.
The third period was the first bad period that Edmonton has really played under Jay Woodcroft and even that was pretty tame compared to some of the bad periods the Oilers have played this season. Now it's up to the coaching staff and the team to take a step back, look at what they did wrong and correct it moving forward. There are always going to be bad shifts and bad periods, regardless of how good a team is. The best teams in the league simply are able to minimize those mistakes and correct them as they appear.
Tonight that will be the key to the Oilers winning; playing a strong systems orientated game against a very good Minnesota Wild team. The Wild currently sit third in the Central Division, due to the Blues winning last night. Minnesota has a +36 goal differential. Players like Ryan Hartman and Fredrick Gaudreau might not get much name recognition around the league but they are key pieces to the Wild's success and ability to frustrate even the most offensively potent teams.
The Wild are no longer a dull team to watch. Kirill Kaprizov emerging as an elite winger was the first big name to really shake things up but that is far from the only exciting player to watch. Kevin Fiala is emerging as one of the better two way wingers in the game and more recently Matthew Boldy, the player I wanted Edmonton to draft 7th overall in 2019 instead of Broberg now has 14 points in 15 games, including a hat-trick.
Once again the Oilers are going to need to rely on their now strong 5 on 5 play as well as their forward depth to shut down all of these players from the Wild, as well as find a way to get pucks past Kaapo Kahkonen. Talbot has struggled in his last couple starts and so the Wild will go to the 25 year old who has a 0.921SV% this season.
Very quickly the Oilers are playing a ton of games in a short amount of time. Somehow the team needs to keep their intensity up and avoid stepping back on their heels as they did in the third period against the Jets.
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Quick thoughts on Markus Niemelainen. The 23 year old 6=6 190 lb defender has been a force on the Oilers blue line, hitting everything that moves. It's been fun to watch as it has been a long time since Edmonton had this kind of player on their blueline.
Niemelainen was fined $2043.75 for this cross check against the Jets.
markus niemelainen, once again, showing no regard for human life. pic.twitter.com/qJiHd1nfo1
— zach laing (@zjlaing) February 19, 2022
Two things. First off, Kristian Vesalainen who received this cross check was not injured from this hit. Secondly I think a fine for that play is reasonable.
Thirdly I absolutely love this.
One of the biggest issues with the Oilers blue line in the past has been that it has been far too easy for opponents to get shots off right in front of the net. That is supposed to be considered one of the tough areas to go to because players are supposed to get punished for trying to enter that space. Having a blueliner who will actually punish players is a nice change of pace. Had Niemelainen not tied up Vesalainen like that, the Jets may have been able to get a dangerous shot on net.
Take the fine Niemelainen and keep doing it because the rest of your teammates will buy you plenty of dinners if you keep playing like that.
Enjoy the game tonight!