We Are All Scrivens (Oilers)

There are times in your sporting life as a fan when you realize that you are witnessing something special, something that no one else has seen before and that you will always remember. Tonight, if you watched Ben Scrivens’ performance against the Sharks then you watched the performance of a lifetime and an NHL record get re-written by an Oiler Goalie.

The previous record for the most saves in a Shutout in 60 minutes was 54, Scrivens stopped 59, but the night didn’t start well for him and I can vouch for that.

When Scrivens was warming up and the Oilers were taking shots on him one at a time there was a sequence where 4, maybe 5, average looking shots went right through him like he wasn’t even there. I was parked up in section 212 right behind him when it was happening. I couldn’t help but think to myself that he better tighten up before the game started.

The first period seemed to go by relatively quickly. Halfway through the 1st you could tell it was going to be one of those nights because the Oilers were getting destroyed on the shot-clock.

By the end of the first it was simply comical that the Oilers were getting outplayed so badly. I think we all thought Scrivens had already earned the 1st Star of the game but we had no clue that we were witnessing something special.

The Oilers have been badly outshot in the 1st Period before, this isn’t exactly newsworthy. But the 2nd Period continued in the same way and the level of play from The Professor just seemed to elevate. For every shot he had an answer. The Sharks came wave after wave and crashed on the rock the Oilers had in net but nothing could get by him. It was after he made one sprawling save only to be followed up split seconds later with another that the Rexall faithful gave him their first standing ovation.

It was so clear that even if the Oilers went on to lose this game Ben Scrivens had put in the performance of a lifetime. There was so much time left though that surely one would get by him. I mean the attack by the Sharks was relentless and the Oilers were helpless against it all night.

In the 3rd Period it was all anybody could think about but nobody was willing to say it. Shutout. Was it even possible? For every second that ticked off the clock the anxiousness of the crowd grew. For every San Jose shot and subsequent save volume level of the crowd grew.

All of the Oilers faithful in attendance could feel it; a collectively shared experience that bonded the crowd with the players on the ice in a way that rarely happens on a January night in the NHL, let alone in Edmonton. Scrivens had the crowd out of their seats 3-4 times. Every big save sent more electricity through the building.

By the time the final few minutes of the 3rd period were left there was no doubt, the Oilers were going to win the game. The only thing we all feared was that one would get by Scrivens and ruin what to that point had been an absolutely incredible performance. Then the Sharks took a penalty that would all but seal the Shutout for Scrivens.

Except the Oilers scored so early in the Power Play that there would still be almost 2 minutes of even strength play left in the Period! As exciting as the goal was there was this terrible fear that the Oilers had just blown their best chance to keep the puck away from Scrivens.

The final minute seemed to take an eternity but as the crowd counted down the final seconds we could all finally acknowledge what Scrivens had just done, and that’s give one of the greatest performances a Goalie has ever had in an NHL game.

Scrivens stopped 59 shots from the ultra-talented San Jose Sharks for a Shutout that made the NHL Record Books. If you missed it, you wont admit to it. If you watched it, you wont forget it. If you saw it live, you were a witness to History.

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

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