Game 69 RECAP: Oilers break Hayden, chase Grubauer in 6-4 rout

Ugh.

But first, the Highlights:

Game Notes:

• Your TOI Leader was
• Look, we can make all the excuses we want, fact is...Grubauer didn’t start this game great and didn’t improve whatsoever as he had to leave due to an unspecified illness, leaving Martin Jones to pick up the pieces. Fact is, this was a game doomed from poor goaltender play from the start: they more or less controlled chances overall, but the sheer puckmoving prowess of Connor McDavid and (ugh) Evander Kane made a tough job even harder for the Squids as their goalies just couldn’t beat even medium-danger chances. If Grubauer’s gonna be sick...couldn’t you just make the call early to go to Jones? Even if you’re probably not going to win it, there’s gotta be a better chance for you somewhere by choosing him to start.
• He didn’t play much better but he also came in relief with a game increasingly flying out of control. Neither goalie really earned their stripes tonight. We knew this was a possibility of some nights as their glaring flaw, and in many cases it has been true...but this one hurt more than others.
• Of course, The Kraken really didn’t do a great job of leaving their own end a lot of this game when they had the opportunity, and say what you will of the Oilers overall, they do know how to make you pay dearly for that. Poor form from the team defense tonight in a game that they needed. The Oilers used their high-speed to grind the Kraken’s free flowing game into second-guessing itself and that led to bad, bad things.
• Brightside? Yeah there are some bright sides. The Kraken got to keep Vince Dunn’s point streak intact, that’s always pretty cool. Eeli Tolvanen got on the board, and at long last Jordan Eberle, who had been fighting his own puck luck all game got back on the scoresheet. Ollie Bjorkstrand also gave us the critical hope of that 2nd period tally in another big situation, something I hope we get to see in April! It’s just a shame such efforts got wasted.
• John Hayden got injured on a dust up with Klim Kostin after Kostin pushed him all the way down and his leg twisted the wrong way. It looked quite painful, but he was able to get out under his own power, which is a positive! It’s just a shame that the big fella couldn’t finish the game; he’s already finding a place for himself as an energy guy in the Kraken depth.
• Well, points implications are as you might expect: Oilers are now three points up on Seattle, and are but a game ahead. Those two points really could’ve helped. But! Seattle’s schedule eases up a little after Tuesday, so maybe there’s a chance to get back into the mix.
• Keep Calm, and Post Zoidberg When We Win.

Let’s grouse about the game after we take a look at some Charts from NaturalStatTrick.com:

Grid View

• The pain is never ending. NaturalStatTrick.com
• Just...imagine if they had even .900 goaltending tonight... NaturalStatTrick.com

NaturalStatTrick.com

So! Did you enjoy playing the Stars? Well too bad, the Kraken are back at American Airlines Center on Tuesday night! That game starts at 5:30pm PT.

We’ll see you there.