In 2002, Marshall Bruce Mathers III, also known as Eminem, released one of the most iconic rap songs of all time, “Lose Yourself.” The opening stanza was absolutely brilliant.
Look If you had a shot or a chance to take advantage of everything you’ve always wanted, in a moment, would you catch it? Or would you just let it go?
What made these lyrics so great is how they can relate to any area of life. We often have a chance, a chance, to get up in a better position. Some days we crush it and we get it, and other days we fail.
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Tonight represents a wonderful opportunity for the Edmonton Oilers. They win the fourth game and take a 3-1 lead. He loses and the series is tied at two and Calgary regains the ice advantage at home. The Oilers are 14-1 in the series when they win three of the first four games. The only defeat was in 1989 against Wayne Gretzky and the LA Kings.
Calgary are 0-9 when they chase a 3-1 series. In NHL history the teams are 296-31 when they lead 3-1. In the first round, the Penguins became the 31st team to lose a series by leading 3-1. Tonight presents a great opportunity for the Oilers.
Will they seize it?
Edmonton has controlled the game since the start of the second period of the second game. They beat the Flames 8-2, including 6-1 at 5 × 5. Each team has a power play goal and the Oilers also scored in taqui form.
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Edmonton has overtaken, overtaken and overtaken Calgary for the past 100 minutes. And the Oilers ’top line has crushed Calgary’s top line at 5 × 5.
In the regular season Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk were excellent in 5 × 5, but since Jay Woodcroft joined the MDK line in the second game, they have crushed the Calgary front line. If the Flames hope to stop the Draisailt-McDavid-Kane trio tonight, they will have to play more in the offensive zone. Once the Oilers have the record, they’re dangerous, but one of the main reasons the McDavid line has been so dangerous offensively is because they haven’t had to defend very often. They are creating loss of control on the defensive end and then making a quick transition to the ice.
This line has a mission right now. They beat the Flames 6-0 at 5 × 5. Four of those goals came against the top line of the Flames (Gaudreau had exchanged for one goal, so technically it’s four goals against 2/3 of the top line of the Flames).
“They were a very good regular season line for us,” Flames head coach Darryl Sutter said. A subtle challenge that needs more than its front line tonight. The challenge for the Flames trio is that the current Oilers top line is more skilled.
ALIGNMENTS …
Oilers
Kane – McDavid – DraisaitlHyman – RNH – PuljujarviFoegele – McLeod – YamamotoArchibald – Ryan – Kassian
Nurse – CeciKeith – BouchardKulak – Barrie
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Smith
No lineup changes for Oilers. Zach Hyman has been a beast for Edmonton the last two games. He played 23 minutes in games two and three, the highest of any Edmonton skater. His never-ending attitude to loose records and to table battles has been very remarkable. He has also scored two key goals. Kane and Hyman have been massive additions to the depth of the Oilers and their skill set is the main reason Jay Woodcroft can load McDavid and Draisaitl together. However, Draisaitl’s injury also played an important role for the coach to choose to play together.
In Game 3, Dave Manson rolled his three D pairs almost the same minutes. Brett Kulak and Tyson Barrie played more in just over 14 minutes. Edmonton is having a solid game of all three pairs. Anyone who thought Ethan Bear was a better player than Barrie has really calmed down.
Flames
Gaudreau – Lindholm – TkachukMangiapane – Backlund – ColemanDube – Jarnkrok – ToffoliLucic – Lewis – Ritchie
Hanafin – AnderssonKylington – GudbransonZadorov – Stone
Markstrom
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The flames also stick with the same formation. Chris Tanev suffered in the morning, but my opinion of the Calgary reporters is that he will not play. If they tie, they will go with 11 forwards and seven defenders. The Flames will try to be more assertive and aggressive at the forefront than in games two and three. The game of chess adjustments continues.
WHAT THEY SAY …
From Flamesnation.ca:
Jacob Markstrom [5-5, 2.65 GAA, .912 SV%] starts on the net, backed by Daniel Vladar. The scratches are expected to be goalkeeper Adam Werner, blues Connor Mackey and Juuso Valimaki, and forwards Ryan Carpenter and Adam Ruzicka. Don’t expect to see Chris Tanev as he is still suffering from a suspected upper body injury and looks likely to miss his fifth straight game.
The Flames scored nine goals in Game 1, but combined for just four goals in Games 2 and 3. They allowed nine goals in Games 2 and 3. That means they have to be better defensively and more opportunistic offensively. If you look back at the many goals that have been given up in this series, surely many have been Connor McDavid being a damn hockey wizard. But a lot of that has been helped because the Flames made key mistakes at key moments.
In short, the Flames just have to stick to the process, stick to their systems and structure, and try not to give McDavid and his friends too many opportunities in a hurry. By 2-1 in this series, it’s time for the real Flames, who played with rhythm, structure and intelligence, to make their presence known in the series.
From the Oilers ’perspective, it’s hard to imagine that they won’t be happy with their series so far. They fell in game 1, but managed to bounce back before losing 9-6. They fought in the second game and won 5-3. They were the best team in Game 3, winning 4-1. Of course, most of his offense has come from McDavid, Evander Kane and Leon Draisaitl, but they have also had some good performances from Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
TONIGHT…
Photoshop: Tom Kostiuk
GAME DAY FORECAST: Edmonton wins three straight games in a series for the first time since games 1-3 in the second round against the Ducks in 2006. The Oilers win 5-2.
OBVIOUS FORECAST OF THE DAY: Draisaitl scores two more points. The top line combines for three goals.
NOT SO OBVIOUS PREDICTION OF THE DAY: RNH scores its first playoff goal at home with fans in the stands. His only “home” goal in the playoffs came in the first game against Chicago in the bubble. Fans have been waiting for 11 years to have a NUUUGGEE song after announcing a playoff goal.
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