Oilers Can't Complete Comeback Despite 'Cheesy' Goal

Sometimes, you need a little sauce to score in the NHL.

Okay, that's enough nacho puns. For now, at least. It's hard to lean too much into the wacky stuff when the team you cover loses, but yesterday's game necessitates it. Because for a game between two of the best teams in the league, Tuesday's Edmonton Oilers - Washington Capitals tilt was a slow affair.

For the second straight game, the Oilers fell just short of a comeback, falling 3-2 to the league-leading Washington Capitals. Connor McDavid's absence was acutely felt, especially on the powerplay as the Oilers' attack was flat and lifeless.

Leon Draisaitl did his best, scoring on a wicked backhander three minutes into the game to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead and picking up an assist on Corey Perry's third-period goal, but otherwise the Oilers just couldn't crack netminder Logan Thompson.

The Capitals picked up three consecutive goals after Draisaitl's opener, courtesy of Tom Wilson, Matt Roy, and Pierre-Luc Dubois. The Caps' supersized second line of Wilson (6'4", 220lbs), Dubois (6'4", 225lbs), and Aliaksei Protas (6'6", 224lbs) were all over the Oilers, factoring into all three Capitals goals.

That said, the real highlight of the night was the Oilers' second goal, scored by Corey Perry early in the third period. During the play, someone in the stands threw a container of nachos onto the ice, but somehow, the play was never blown down.

Perry glided right over the nachos, just barely missing them, before wiring a one-timer past Thompson. He and the rest of his team seemed to protest the play, but to no avail. Perry scored the 437th goal of his career, and the first while skating over a plate of chips.

It's a shame the Oilers couldn't complete the comeback. It's so easy to imagine a world in which nachos become a rallying point and a meme among the fanbase, and Tuesday night is forever known as "The Nacho Game." But alas, the Oilers just couldn't perform when the chips were down (full credit to The Athletic's Sean McIndoe for that one; it's just too good).

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It was a frustrating loss for the Oilers, who despite outshooting the Capitals 32-14 couldn't even force overtime and gain the upper hand on their floundering foes in the Pacific Division. They'll have to rediscover their scoring touch quickly before their much-anticipated rematch with the Vancouver Canucks.

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