The players were almost certainly unaware of the fact. But they came oh so close to writing history Monday night before losing 3-2 in overtime to the Arizona Coyotes.
If they’d won you would have had to go back to 1983-84, the year the Edmonton Oilers won their first Stanley Cup, to the last time the team had won their 11th game of the season by this point.
On the same day, Nov. 3 that season, the Oilers scored a 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins to run their record to 11-2-1 en route to a 119-point season and the President’s Cup for finishing first overall, the Oilers came from behind to go to OT with a chance to repeat the feat.
In the following seasons the 11th win came on Nov. 8, Nov. 8, Nov. 16, Nov. 18, Nov. 13, Nov. 27, Dec. 7, Dec. 8, Nov. 25, Dec. 29, Mar. 1 (lockout year), Nov. 23, Nov. 23rd, Nov. 17th, Nov. 25th, Dec. 21, Dec. 2, Nov. 5, Nov. 30, Dec. 6, Nov. 17, Nov. 18, Nov. 30, Nov. 30, Dec. 3, Dec. 10, Nov. 22, Mar. 17 (lockout year), Dec. 10, Jan. 17, Dec. 6, Nov. 21, Dec. 2 and Nov. 27.
You get the idea.
Now nobody is likely to knock the loser point to give Edmonton a 10-4-2 record and 22 points.
It was also an opportunity to launch their second significant winning streak of the season.
The Oilers won their first five out of the gate and, while they had been hot and cold, in and out since, they hadn’t managed to lose three in a row.
And with the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues here Wednesday and New Jersey here Friday it would have made the home stand more than a little interesting. Not that it isn’t, anyhow.
But a win coming from behind against the league’s most boring hockey club and a team the Oilers have had an almost total lack of success against dating back to when Dave Tippett coached the club, would have been a feel-good conclusion to the game — especially considering the first-game-back-from-a-road-trip scenario they were dealing with.
The Oilers hadn’t lost a game this year when they scored the first goal and first goals don’t come any greater than the one Connor McDavid scored only 91 seconds into the game.
Kept off the score sheet in the previous outing, McDavid scored on the first shot of the game on a ridiculous rush breezing by and around Oliver Ekman-Larsson of all people and then wrapping a bow around it to beat Darcy Kuemper brilliantly and guarantee a prime position on the league’s end of season highlight reels countdowns.
It was a return to the net for Mikko Koskinen, 5-0 at home this year. But the Finn gave up to Michael Grabner one he should be expected to stop on the Coyotes first shot on goal.
Another one he should be expected to stop, high glove side it should be noted of his much-publicized weakness, gave Arizona a 2-1 lead after the second period, although the goat horns belonged to rookie Joel Persson for the turnover that Carl Soderberg took advantage of to give the visitors the lead.
So it became situation normal headed to the third period.
The Coyotes, 5-0 when leading after two periods, had won 19 of the last 21 and took a point away from each of the last four against the Oilers. And since Winnipeg Jets moved to the desert to Arizona to become the Desert Dogs, Edmonton had managed to win only seven of their last 45 games in regulation.
Then it happened. The secondary scoring which has been missing most of the season kicked in for a third straight game.
This time it was Gaetan Haas to send it to overtime.
Derek Stepan went high blocker side to win it in overtime.
A loser point is a point is a point and the Oilers were able remain in first place in the Western Conference until they play the next one. So there is that.
But it was mostly what could have been.
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November 05, 2019 at 05:45PM
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