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If any game guarantees the Oilers fan base, there is good reason to worry about what the team might have this spring, then Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
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Still without Connor McDavid, Mattias Ekholm and Stuart Skinner, and in the heavyweight division that is played against the top of their own division, it is strong in every aspect of the game.
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They scored when they needed it, they shut it down when they needed it, while goalkeeper Calvin Pickard made a 3-2 decision against the Vegas Golden Knights team, 7-1-2 in the first 10 games.
“It’s a tense game, and it’s probably a playoff opponent, so it’s a big game for us,” said Winger Viktor Arvidsson, who has started heating up at four goals in his last eight games. “Their game is a lot like Boston once played – a heavy game, so, to be sure, you have to dig a little more and get heavier on the stick.”
The Oilers looked pretty good in the first four games, without McDavid defeating Seattle and Calgary 2-2 in the roster and losing to Seattle and Dallas, but there is a big difference between a one-goal victory against Aquaman and a win against the Flames and walking in the Golden Knights.
This is a hockey team from a team with a lot of question marks.
“It’s a tough fight with a tough team, and we’ve done a great job,” said defensive Jake Walman. His first goal as a hawker entered the second stage in the second stage, so the team rolled in.
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“We have the ability to defend the best teams, and it’s one of the best teams. They’re really deep on and off their roster and I think everyone is doing a great job. We played a team game tonight.”
It starts with scripts and Edmonton cannot generate anything. You or I could have been on the network in Las Vegas, and that doesn’t matter. The Oilers managed to shoot just one shot in the first 12 minutes, from 73 feet away, two shots to 16 minutes, and the second shot went from 45 feet away, one third, in the center ice at 17:26.
They were lucky enough to escape the opening 1-0 20 minutes on the Leon Draisaitl giveaway on the Center Ice.
“It seems like the game plan is to get them to sleep and take over in the second phase,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “Missed pass, offside, execution does not exist.”
At this point, the results look obvious – the high-profile Oilers will return to reality in the hands of a hot competitor. After all, the Cavaliers were 24-2-4 when they were leading after 20 minutes.
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But the Oil Man has been abandoning it. Three consecutive goals in the second stage – Walman in 19 seconds, Draisaitl gained a two-way advantage late in the frame, while Arvidsson’s goal – once again proved that the team is more than most believe.
When Vegas closed it to 3-2 with a 2:40 mark in the third stage, the Oilers had to prove that they could end a goal lead at the last 17:20 on the road.
Final score: 3-2.
Again, Pickard isn’t just about completing tasks in the network. He has been doing well since falling down with a head/neck injury since his loss to Dallas.
“He was hugging it and I was happy for him,” Avesen said. “He was always happy to come to the rink, an incredible guy had it in the team and in the locker room.
Everyone was happy for Pickard because he was such a popular teammate and so was Knoblauch, but the coach was more about saving than sentiment.
“I like the fact that he played well and won a lot of our hockey games.”
Email: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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