Connor McDavid suits his actions to his words in thrilling shootout win
Disallowed goal in overtime nearly derails Oilers come-from-behind victory over Calgary Flames
On a night with many strange happenings, in a game the Oilers won twice, it is interesting to ponder one paradox of professional sports: We want athletes to play with emotion, then at times we are bemused and bewildered when they do.
A case in point would be Connor McDavid's performance on Thursday, which saw him lead his team to a 4-3 shootout win over the Calgary Flames.
No win comes easily in the NHL, but this one was more difficult than most.
The Oilers and 18,000 fans at Rogers Place believed the game had ended in overtime, when McDavid broke in on the Flames net and made a play that set up Ryan Strome for what appeared to be the game winner.
As fans celebrated and gathered their coats to head for exits, the referee announced that the play was under review for goaltender interference. The replay showed that McDavid's skate did make contact with Flames goaltender David Rittich.
The video was reviewed in Toronto, and league officials overturned the call on the ice. The score was rolled back to 3-3 and the overtime continued.
Critics were handed one more example of the kind of call many fans, players and coaches have debated all season. It seems no one really knows what constitutes goaltender interference.
Oilers rally after trailing 2-0 after first period
With the Oilers goal disallowed, the full five minutes of overtime settled nothing.
In the shootout, Oilers forward Mike Cammalleri scored first with a sweet move that proved why he's a go-to guy when the game is on the line. Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot, who played brilliantly all night and several times kept his team in the game, stopped the first Flames shooter. Leon Draisaitl was up next for the Oilers, and was stopped. Matthew Tkachuk, who scored twice in regulation time, then beat Talbot five-hole to make things even.
Out stepped McDavid, who seemed to take all day to zig-zag toward the net before he deked Rittich to put his team ahead. As he coasted back toward the bench, McDavid appeared to say something to the effect that perhaps the officials should check that one on video review as well.
"I probably shouldn't have done it," McDavid said. "I feel like I'm always good to the refs. I try not to do stuff like I did tonight, but ultimately I did what I did, and hopefully they're not too upset."
It's safe to say that Oilers fans enjoyed the beauty of the move that scored the game-winner and the ever-so-slightly naughty moment that followed.
The play's the thing...
Shakespeare, putting words in the mouth of Hamlet, advised actors within his play to: "Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance that you overstep not the modesty of nature."
It is ridiculous to criticize a 21-year-old superstar who, under the gravest of pressures and with his team's playoff hopes nearly gone, allows himself to, perhaps, overstep modesty and show a hint of emotion in a sport that utterly depends on appetite, adrenaline and ambition.
Thursday's victory, coming so close on the heels of a shameful blowout loss two nights earlier, may silence some critics for the next few days at least.
For writers in search of story lines, this game had plenty to choose from.
For starters, the Oilers fell behind less than two minutes into the game when Tkachuk scored his 15th of the season. Mark Giordano made it 2-0 Flames before the end of the first period.
Brandon Davidson shines for Oilers
Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse took a penalty late in the period. The Flames power play carried over into the second. But the league's worst penalty kill rose to the occasion and the Oilers weathered the storm.
Oilers defenceman Brandon Davidson, playing his first game in more than two weeks, scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-1. Just over a minute later, Zack Kassian banged in a rebound to tie the score. The Oilers forward finished the night early, with a goal and 37 minutes worth of penalties, which included five for fighting, two 10-minute misconducts and a game misconduct. Chalk him up as another Oiler who played with emotion, though perhaps a touch too much.
Early in the third period, Davidson scored his second of the season to put the Oilers ahead for the first time. But Tkachuk soon knotted the score at 3-3.
The third period and overtime were sensational, with the teams trading scoring chances back and forth.
So, what is goaltender interference anyway?
After the game, Oilers coach Todd McLellan listed numerous things his team did better against Calgary than it had two nights earlier in a 5-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
"A little upper-end character came out of our team tonight," he said. "We didn't have it the other night against Buffalo."
Asked about the call in overtime, and the confusion surrounding such calls on what seems like a nightly basis, Talbot allowed that he has "no idea" what is or isn't goaltender interference.
"I thought it was a good goal, but that's just my opinion, not theirs, obviously," he said.
Questioned along the same line, McLellan kept his cards close to the vest.
"I have thoughts, but I'm probably best to keep them to myself," he said.
Having won four out of their last five games, the Oilers now have a week off as the league breaks for the All-Star Game.
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