December 7 NHL Game Recap

My ability to predict final scores continues its historical pattern of being wildly inaccurate. I forgot to add my Disclaimer on that post, but if you're wagering anything of value on my purely speculative guesses on final scores, you need to see your doctor immediately.

The results:

Final: MN 3 - Edmonton 7
My prediction: MN 4 - Oilers 2

Final: Carolina 4 - Ducks 1
My prediction: Ducks 5 - Canes 3

Final: SJ Sharks 2 - Dallas Stars 3
My prediction: Sharks 4 - Stars 2

Final: St. Louis 1 - Winnipeg 0
My prediction: Jets 3 - Blues 1

The Oilers played an excellent game. No doubt about it, their offense was flawless. The Wild couldn't get their act together for consistency. Goalie Devan Dubnyk was pulled in the first period after allowing three goals on six shots. Dubnyk is a great goalie, he had an off night. The Wild looked tired. Their desire was there but they couldn't get it to gel. The Wild had two power plays during the game, on which they did not score. Well, at least they didn't give up a goal on the power play which is a problem they still experience. Why this persists with them, I don't know.

I thought the Ducks - Hurricanes game would be tighter. I could analyze the game, but Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said it best:

"It was one of those games where nothing we seemed to try to do had any effect on it, any positive effect. It was all frustration and lack of ability to execute. They were faster, quicker, and executed to a higher rate than we did."

I watched most of the Sharks - Stars game, it being the most competitive game of the night, and it was. Stars' goalie Ben Bishop had a season-high 41 saves, which pretty much tells the story of why this game was a one point difference. Ducks Left Wing Evander Kane said of his team they were too relaxed and lacked intensity. That may be their problem, as in last season's playoffs the Sharks were two different teams on any given night. They either played as the top-notch, cohesive team they are or, they played like they've never been on ice before.

St. Louis beat the Jets 1 to 0. No one anywhere on the planet would have guessed that the bottom-ranked team would beat the third-place team in the Central Division. No one. Blues defense Colton Payrako scored the one and winning goal in the second period. A final score in any hockey game of 1 - 0 points directly to the success of the goalie, so chalk this Blues win to goalie Jake Allen's incredible performance as well as the Blues' defense. Maybe they're about to turn their game around and rise up from the bottom of the rankings.

Ten games play today. I'm not doing predictions for any of them. It's too early in the season.