Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Oilers in town to face the Panthers
Last week
I had my first chance to see Connor McDavid in action. The Oilers
were in Sunrise to play the Florida Panthers. There wa s a
distinctive buzz in the arena. Some of it pertained to the exciting
young Oilers team. But there is also excitement about the Panthers.
They had just completed
that deadly five game road trip to the West Coast. It remains a
difficult chore for all sports teams. Even the Raptors never look
forward to that trip. The Panthers emerged from the trip with five
victories, first time in the history of the franchise.
After picking up my
pass, I headed down the hall to the elevator. Three guys were ahead
of us, turned, and asked directions to the elevator. At that point, I
almost blurted out, “You look quite familiar. Do I know you from
somewhere?” But I bit my tongue and said, “Sure, follow me,”
when I realized it was Wayne Gretzky. He was with his brother Keith,
a former Belleville Bull, and Peter Chiarelli, president and General
Manager of the team. Keith Gretzky is listed in the official guide as
“Assistant General Manager”.
Both the Panthers and
the Oilers have several young, exciting players. With less than a
quarter of the season remaining, it is only natural that they might
slow down a little at this time. Not on this occasion. It was full
tilt all the way. McDavid raced around defencemen to nullify icing
charges. He scooted through the neutral zone to set up two on one
opportunities.
But the Panthers
returned the favour to the Oilers. Huberdeau, Barkov, Trocheck,
Ekblad, Marchessault, Matheson....they keep coming off the bench to
provide the Panthers with spirited play. James Reimer got the nod to
play between the pipes.
Oscar Klefbom opened
the scoring for the Oilers in the first period. He was handed the
puck on a giveaway at the blueline, and ripped a shot into the net.
The period ended with the Oilers leading 1-0.
Alexander Barkov evened
the score at the 21 second mark of the second period on a power play
goal. The teams traded markers during the period. With just 3.9
seconds remaining in the period, Yandle hit Marchessault with a long
pass, and the game was tied 3-3. Plenty of fireworks from both teams.
With almost 8 minutes
gone in the third period, McDavid raced from his own end with the
puck, dropped a pass to his linemate Leon Draisaitl. Leon shuffled
the puck to Kris Russell who hit the twine for the winning goal, his
first of the season.
The Panthers had some
excellent chances near the end of the game. The puck trickled off
Jagr's stick as he stood alone in from of the Oiler net. Moans and
groans, but the red light remained unlit.
Attendance for the game
was listed at 15, 300. There were some empty seats, some of them
going for twenty bucks apiece. Not quite the case at the Air Canada
Centre, nor the Bell Centre. For those of you heading south for a
little sun this spring, it is a perfect opportunity to see the game
at its best.
The Panthers need to
maintain the momentum they picked up on the West Coast. They added
Keith Yandle in the off season from the Rangers. He spent most of his
ten years in the NHL with the Coyotes. When asked about the loss, he
referred to the preceding games: “We just weren't able to get that
one at the end of the game that we needed. We weren't as sharp as we
needed to be coming off the road.”
McDavid Family gathering, with Janet and Wayne Gretzky
That is often the case,
and can be a coach's nightmare. For the Panthers, that is part of the
challenge for the remainder of the season. The Oilers are pretty well
assured of a playoff berth. At that point anything can happen.
James Hurst
February 26, 2017.
# posted by James Hurst @ 8:41 AM 
