The Edmonton Oilers had won nine straight and 17 of their last 20 games. Connor McDavid also came to the Bell Center on a streak of 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) in his last nine appearances.
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On paper, but also in simple logic, the Oilers were significantly more dangerous rivals than the San Jose Sharks, the NHL's worst team. Evil tongues predicted an easy victory for the gang with the two-headed monster McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
But Martin St-Louis and the Canadian sometimes have the ability to surprise. They managed a 2-1 overtime loss to the Oilers.
Evan Bouchard scored the winning goal with a powerful shot after a precise pass from McDavid, who was kept away from scoring at 61:59.
“He [Bouchard] “I hit a good shot, the puck hit the post and then bounced off my butt and went into the net,” Samuel Montembeault said. It's a shame. We played a great defensive game. It's not Mike's fault [Matheson] for punishment. He did a great job in the three-on-three duel and ran very well.”
Matheson watched the final scene in the penalty box. The speedy defender hit Darnell Nurse in the face with a stick while making a defensive retreat.
“On Sunday I could probably say we played a good game, but right now I find it frustrating,” Matheson said. We worked hard for over 60 minutes, but a game like this is over. It was about to be a breakaway for Nurse and I was fighting for the puck. I didn't see the replay perfectly, but I think my stick was on him and when I tried to lift his stick he moved. It is boring.”
Fire against fire
There is no magic formula to counteract McDavid or Draisaitl. But for the visit of the Oilers, St-Louis shuffled his cards on the blue line. He moved Kaiden Guhle to the right side to slot him next to Matheson.
St-Louis had its two fastest defenders against the McDavid rocket. The Oilers captain played with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman.
“Yeah, that was probably the goal, relying on our speed compared to McDavid’s speed,” Matheson noted. He is a player who attracts a lot of attention. He is impressive. Our goal was to slow him down. We worked hard to contain the best player in the world for over 60 minutes.”
With an assist on the winning goal in overtime, McDavid extended his winning streak by at least one point to ten. And the Oilers won their tenth game in a row.
“We handled McDavid’s speed well,” St-Louis said. Matheson and Guhle cover a lot of ice, which helped us. But our attackers also helped control McDavid's speed. We didn't let him breathe much. McDavid can turn at the drop of a hat, he is very explosive. To play against him you need speed early and in your own zone. I felt confident with Matheson and Guhle. I knew they could handle it.”
The game of confrontations
St-Louis relied on Nick Suzuki's trio (with Caufield and Slafkovsky) to play against McDavid's unit, while Jake Evans' trio (with Harvey-Pinard and Gallagher) went against Draisaitl's unit (with Kane and Foegele).
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CH outscored the Oilers in the first two periods. Draisaitl scored the first goal in the 38th second of the third period, taking advantage of a counter shot from Warren Foegele.
St-Louis lost a duel against Montembeault in that game due to interference from Foegele.
“I can’t always agree,” St-Louis replied. I saw it differently.”
Against the Oilers' offensive machine, St-Louis opted for regular confrontations. And it was the right strategy.
After two weak games against the Flyers (3-2 shootout loss) and against the Sharks (3-2 loss), the CH played a good game against the Oilers, especially on defense.