The Cult of Hockey's "Gassed Oilers find way to beat Blackhawks" podcast

Let's do this! The Cult of Hockey podcast. By the Faithful and for the Faithful. Today Bruce McCurdy and David Staples dig into the Oilers of Edmonton's 4-3 win over the Blackhawks of Chicago

[@markh4545454]

It was funny seeing mcdavid do the same move twice at the end. Like he knew how he was gonna win it

[@maxpower4909]

Great move hitting Hyman when everyone expects Leon to get the pass.

[@MahoyEdm.Gardens1972-cx8qv]

At 23:00 of the podcast; David and Bruce address the topic of fatigue. Even though most hockey fans would have been able to see that the Oilers were tiring as the game wore on, due to the back-to-backs and travel, (Chicago had not played since Saturday and are a younger team) it was quite clear that there was no shortage of effort. If the Oilers play unselfishly and with effort every night, (I know it's a long season and you can't win 'em all) great things should happen. I'm sure many of the Faithful like me, noticed during the interview that Gene Princepe had with Zach Hyman, shortly after the game had ended, that Jeff Jackson was clearly visible standing off to the side. This is fantastic news for Oiler Nation. It tells me, and many of the base, that there is a clear endorsement for what Kris Knoblauch is doing with the team. (Experimenting with line combinations etc.) Back in Oiler history, when the team won 4 Cups in 5 years, one of the greatest strengths the club had, was Glen Sather's relationship with the owner. He had the full endorsement of Mr. Pocklington. This is a great asset for a team to have. Make no mistake; it was Sather's team. That being said; there is no player, past, present or future, who was, is, or will be, bigger than the Edmonton Oilers. Here we go Oilers...Here we go.

[@MahoyEdm.Gardens1972-cx8qv]

At 14:40 of the podcast: Bruce talks about the late Chicago goal and who was to blame. With 17 seconds to go in the first period, of his 501st game, Kapanen did everything right. He took a nice feed from Nurse and let a hard, low shot go. He took a little bit off it to ensure he hit the net and kept it low. This did two things; it ensured there would most likely be a rebound, and there was no chance of injuring McDavid who was behind the net and protecting his face with a glove. But with 13 seconds to go, he made a mistake by trying to lunge and keep the puck in the offensive zone. This is what coach Knoblauch would probably be most concerned about. The risk/reward of his decision was flawed. The play was to give up on offense at that moment and start heading back. He just needed one more step at the other end, and he would have been okay. I believe (and I could be wrong) that he did even break up the play by getting his stick on the shot to the net by the Chicago player. But the puck looked like it hit his stick and then hit the stick of the goal scorer. (Which makes the goal a fluke) After the bad decision at the opposition blueline, the 22nd overall pick by Pittsburgh in the 2014 entry draft, with over 500 games, and still just 28 years old, was a bit unlucky. And he also was playing in a back - to - back like everyone else on the team. (except Henrique) Here we go Oilers. Here we go.

[@MahoyEdm.Gardens1972-cx8qv]

At 5:24 of the podcast; Bruce mentions the "sourest" of celebrations of game-winning goals. In my opinion, Connor McDavid ( and I agree with Bruce that they were upset that it got to that point ) was a little upset with the extent of the celebration. It makes me think of the great Jerry Rice, one of the best receivers to ever play football. (Arguably the best of all time) When he scored one of his many touchdowns, ( 208. Still the most of all time) he simply trotted over to the nearest official and handed him the ball. The lack of celebration is a great celebration in its own right. (I had to Google magnanimous to make sure I had the word right) Apparently; Vince Lombardi, Bear Bryant and Paul Brown are all credited with saying, "When you get into the endzone, act like you've been there before" That is what I think 97 was thinking. Here we go Oilers. Here we go.

[@tomkennelly7393]

Our goalie saves us to tonight

[@rileywulff2010]

Gotta have that 3-3 goal, and looked awful on Teravainen in the dying seconds.

[@Ace96x10]

@@rileywulff2010 ?? Pickard was the best Oiler on the ice, or at least right with Dria. Maybe we watched different games.

[@Ace96x10]

100% yet again Pickard comes through huge. It P*ss me off that knob treats him as if he was a backup that can't be trusted. He's way better then most yet get, and wow it's taken a long time for people to start to realize that. Best "Backup" in the NHL.

[@epiphany519]

Game 54. Long post follows with base game statistics including some for the Chicago Blackhawks. Read, don't read, up to you. These are BASE stats not detailed ones. My comments and observations at the end. Statistics for Edmonton Oilers at Chicago Blackhawks February 5th, 2025 Edmonton Oilers: Arvidsson 1 Goal J Skinner 1 Goal, 1 Primary Assist Draisaitl 1 Goal, 1 Primary Assist Hyman 1 Goal (PP) (GWG in OT) Janmark 1 Primary Assist Kulak 1 Secondary Assist Podkolzin 1 Secondary Assist McDavid 1 Primary Assist (PP GWG) Bouchard 1 Secondary Assist (PP GWG) Pickard 29 Saves on 32 Shots = .906 Save %age Chicago Blackhawks: Reichel 1 Goal Donato 1 Goal (PP), 1 Primary Assist Martinez 1 Goal Teravainen 2 Primary Assist (1 on PP) Mikheyev 1 Secondary Assist Bedard 1 Secondary Assist (PP) Soderblom 34 Saves on 38 Shoots = .895 Save %age Oilers Blackhawks Shots on Goal 38 32 Hits 7 18 Faceoffs Won 25 24 PP 1/4 1/1 Penalty Mins 2 8 Giveaways 12 (9 per NST) 16 (14 per NST) Takeaways 4 5 Blocked Shots 16 (15 per NST) 8 (6 per NST) 3 Stars: 3-Donato (1G (PP), 1A), 2-Draisaitl (1G, 1A), 1-Hyman (1G (GWG in OT)) Player TOI PP TOI PK TOI SOG +/- PIM Hits Blocks Giveaways Takeaways Nurse 25:14 2:10 0:00 6 -1 0 2 4 1 0 Bouchard 24:10 4:07 0:00 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 Ekholm 20:13 1:55 1:07 2 -1 0 0 3 0 0 Klingberg 17:01 0:00 0:00 1 3 0 0 2 0 1 Kulak 16:00 0:00 0:00 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 Emberson 15:17 0:01 1:07 0 -1 0 1 1 0 0 Draisaitl 22:22 3:46 0:00 3 1 0 0 0 1 2 McDavid 21:46 4:13 0:00 2 -2 0 0 0 0 0 Hyman 19:06 3:58 0:00 2 -1 0 0 0 0 0 Arvidsson 16:06 0:00 0:00 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 Nuge 15:48 3:57 1:07 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 J Skinner 15:27 1:57 0:00 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 Podkolzin 14:51 0:00 0:00 0 2 2 2 0 1 0 Janmark 13:56 0:01 1:01 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 Henrique 13:32 1:46 0:04 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 C Brown 13:13 0:00 0:00 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Perry 10:11 2:02 0:00 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Kapanen 9:46 0:00 0:00 3 -1 0 1 0 0 0 Oilers Faceoff Breakdown: Won Lost Percent Draisaitl 13 7 65.0 McDavid 6 7 46.2 Henrique 5 2 71.4 Nuge 1 4 20.0 J Skinner 0 1 0.00 Podkolzin 0 1 0.00 Janmark 0 1 0.00 C Brown 0 1 0.00 Blackhawks's Faceoff Breakdown: Won Lost Percent Bedard 8 5 61.5 Nazar 5 3 62.5 Dickson 4 5 44.4 Reichel 3 2 60.0 Donoato 3 2 60.0 Foligno 1 8 11.1 Still can't watch or listen to games while I wait for surgery. I actually have to take tonight off and am doing this the next day. Sometimes it's good to be lucky. With 5 seconds to play in the third that thought came to me (and probably Picard). PP going 1 for 4 sucked (though the one was in OT) and PK epic failing to prevent the one and only one opportunity Chicago got. Jeff Skinner has been playing better and adding a defensive dimension to his game. He finally got to play on the 2nd line with Leon and got a goal and an assist with him. Leon also got a goal and an assist (and 2nd star). At one point the Oilers led 3-1. Then Chicago tied it up and nearly won in the dying seconds of the third. In OT the Oilers get a power play and it takes 18 seconds to end it. The game was borderline boring until the 3rd period. Take care all

[@Redskydigger1]

Excellent! Thx

[@dianedyck3474]

Thanks again!

[@Ace96x10]

Pickard hung out to dry, yet again. Oilers looked tired indeed but that was a terrible game Vs a bottom team with weak D. I don't care what the Pickard diss'er say, he was the best player for the Oilers. Could have been 6-3 Hawks. Great tip From Kapinen, to bad it was on Pickard heh. Ya stuff happens. Weird but exciting game indeed.

[@aaronst.pierre3080]

I was hoping someone mentioned the national anthem guy in Chicago. Holy s! That guy was the best I've ever heard!

[@tube1062]

Bob Stauffer has been saying that for years. The national anthem guy in Chicago is #1 in the league....

[@coltsgotluck6518]

At this moment and whats most probable is that winning the division will earn us a 1st round matchup with the Avs or Wild. Two teams we have struggled immensely with. Finishing second would earn us a matchup with the Kings Canucks or Flames.

[@RobertMunn-l8l]

Oilers are having a stellar year, funny how some still have to nitpick criticize

[@connerslate9]

Thanks again men

[@janisdurwael269]

Wow!!! 14 straight. How did Edmonton do it???

[@oopopp]

Not every game is gonna be Oilers vs. Panthers... Dave needs to watch more of OTHER teams if he thinks Oilers keep playing boring games. Make staples watch LA for a week. Lol

[@aaronst.pierre3080]

I thought Bouchard had maybe the greatest defensive play I've ever seen in overtime. He broke up a 3 on 1 by himself and MacDavid messed up the 3-on-1 going back.

[@Ace96x10]

Knob, treating Pickard as if he was a backup that can't be trusted. It's getting stupid at this point. On a positive note, ya that anthem singer is a rocker, great feel and vibe.

[@Feedback4Utoday]

Oilers are amazing - beat both StL & Chi.... ( but I think both those teams hit a post in the final minutes... so just won by narrowest margin). The 4 vs 3 advantage - very helpful. Not sure why so tired playing just 10-20 mins in a game... but I guess still building up the conditioning. Yes, teams have to have FUN/chemistry... or may not work as a TEAM

[@kwaty]

Flying all over the place. Like more air miles than literally any other team. Playing 100 games last year. 50 some already this year. An NHL hockey shift is not a walk in the park. Team is also battling flu. These guys are the elite of the elite and yes they are taken care of well but they are also human beings. Some nights in the dog days of February even vs bad teams it may be a struggle. Was not pretty, Yet they still won!

[@NatsdadsamI]

Have you ever played an NHL level game?

[@russellsehn9566]

I wont boo the 'merican anthem, but I wont stand nor remove my hat for it anytime soon, and maybe never again.

[@flytheskymyway]

Show respect. One man is not an entire country of many good people.

[@dianedyck3474]

Sorry I dont agree…the people are still the same and so are the players..we still are the USA best friend so I think we should always honour them after all they do protect us no matter what!

[@DuffMcDowell]

Pickard saved there butts tonight. Perfect example of overpassing the puck which they do always do 3 on 1 in overtime and NO SHOT on net with their 3 best players WTF

[@danielhansen9203]

Back to back against 2 bottom feeders in early Feb. 4 points. Who cares. Get to Friday Florida Take a break and get ready for the Cup run.