The Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche squared off in the first of their three meetings this season, and it was the Oilers who came through with a convincing 4-1 win.
VASILY PODKOLZIN, WE SPEAK YOUR NAME
I love Vasily Podkolzin. Even when he wasn’t scoring, the kid always found ways to contribute through pure work ethic. The hustle was always there, the work always put in, and it felt like a matter of time before something clicked. What I didn’t expect, however, was for the floodgates to open for him the way they have over the last three games. He went 21 games without a goal before rattling off three in three straight games. What a heater — and it couldn’t come at a better time.
Of course, we know this run won’t last forever, but I’m enjoying it anyway. It’s hard not to cheer for the kid, isn’t it? The way he works, hustles, and grinds shift after shift makes him the exact player type this city loves. To know we acquired him from Vancouver for a fourth-round pick makes the adventure even more fun. Maybe I’m just petty, but I enjoy watching Canucks fans melt down on social media every time Podkolzin does something awesome.
GREAT NIGHT, STU
If we’re going to criticize Stuart Skinner when he plays poorly, then it’s only fair to praise him when he has a game like he did last night in Denver. For my money, that may have been one of Skinner’s best games of the season, and I was pumped to see him have that success. Not only was he rock solid between the pipes from the opening puck drop to the final buzzer, but he made massive saves to keep the Oilers in the lead.
With 27 saves and a .967 save percentage, Skinner looked every bit like the guy who helped the Oilers win 16 straight games last season. Even though I highly doubt a run like that will happen again, it’s been great to see Stu string together two starts in a row above .940. Again, goaltending at that level probably won’t last, but the point is that he’s starting to turn the corner with a string of quality starts. That wasn’t happening a month ago, and I love seeing our moustached hero get his game back. Gord knows we need him.
FIRST TIME AT BALL ARENA
One of my bucket list items is watching the Oilers play in every NHL rink, and yesterday I crossed off rink No. 13 with my first-ever visit to Ball Arena. Having never watched a game in Colorado outside of what we see on TV, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the now 25-year-old rink. Would it feel old? How much have they upgraded it? Would I get to sing All the Small Things? As it turns out, the rink was fine. You could tell the place is older, but they’ve also done a solid job keeping it current.
Even though our seats were way up in the nosebleeds, the sight lines were fantastic. The Oilers attacked the net in front of us twice, which was perfect given how the score worked out. If I were to complain about the rink at all, it would be that the seats are a little small — we were packed in there pretty tight. Other than that, we had a blast, and it was a lot of fun interacting with Avalanche fans, who were impressed we flew all the way from Edmonton to watch the game. I was sitting beside a couple of huge hockey fans, and talking to them about where the Avs are at and why they kind of stink this year was a good time. Would definitely recommend.
OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING…
-Big shout out to Kasperi Kapanen for picking up his first goal with his new team. Kapanen got thrown in the deep end since he’s been here, and I appreciate the way he’s navigating the challenge. Kapanen may have only played 14:13 in TOI, but he was very effective with that time. Not only did he score the tying goal midway through the first period, but he also blocked two shots and threw three hits. I tip my cap to you, sir.
-Nothing would make me happier than if Ryan Nugent-Hopkins could heat up a little bit. Now with goals in his last two games, RNH is looking a little more like himself than what we got earlier in the season. Having him contribute regularly is such a huge boost, and I’m hoping that these last two games have him feeling a little more confident with the puck on his stick.
-Digging into the special teams a little bit, the Oilers went 0-for-2 on the power play while killing off 4-of-5 shorthanded situations they faced. It was a hell of a run for the PK crew before finally allowing a goal
Because I know you were wondering, beers at Ball Arena cost $18 USD for a tall boy. Given the current exchange rate, this is not ideal.
-Just because I’m still in Denver for the #NationVacation doesn’t mean I forgot to tell you that the Oilers won 69.8% of the faceoffs. Nice.
