Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
The whistle allowed McDavid and Draisaitl to rest, and stay out for another 2 minutes. It definitely aided the Oilers more than the Flames.
There is no reason to assume that the Oilers would just immediately move up the ice and gain the zone - they had been unable to do so for the prior 90 seconds, and at that point their guys were tired.
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There's no reason to assume the Oilers win a faceoff, so they have a 50% chance of losing possession. So the whistle denies them sure possession with forward momentum, and puts the goalie back in the net (or risks a Flames faceoff win and easy goal). A mid-ice faceoff usually eats a good five seconds off the clock as well. It also allowed the Flames defenders the same rest.