Man, losing to the Oilers always stings but wins will also taste sweeter.
The bad : offense
Poor puck support in the offensive zone - no one was finding open space. So because of that, guys were trying to make low % passes through legs.
No sustained pressure in the offensive zone. The only line that seemed to sustain pressure was the 4th line and they were dumping it in. The other lines didn't seem to adjust to that and kept trying the same moves all night.
They could not seem to build any momentum but then why not start throwing the body? Pretty bad when Backlund almost led the team with hits.
Bennett needs to stop trying to beat guys 1 on 2. He did the same stuff last year which rarely worked.
Terrible offensive zone faceoffs. Matt Stajan was a dismal 29%.
The good
Aside from the McDavid gaffs, I thought the defense started to play better as the game went on. Hamilton needs to start playing with more physical edge and use his size.
Smith was the best player tonight. Can't fault him on either of those goals. It's nice to have a goaltender who can handle the puck.
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