Viel Taunting Oilers Bench Could Wind Up Being a Massive Mistake – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

You don’t wake a sleeping giant. That phrase is often used in sports, referring to not wanting to fire up top talent on opposing teams if they aren’t playing at their best. Anaheim Ducks forward Jeffrey Viel could quickly learn just how much truth there is to that saying.

The Ducks have the upper hand on the Edmonton Oilers after picking up a 7-4 victory on Friday night. As a result, they now have a 2-1 series lead, and have a strong opportunity to eliminate a team who is fresh off back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances. To no surprise, they are a team that is feeling very good about themselves right now.

On the other side of the scale, the Oilers look like a tired, banged-up team who have little left in the tank . That said, if they do have anything left, we should find out in Game 4 following some events that took place late in Friday’s game.

Viel, who has been a force on the Ducks’ fourth line this series, scored a massive goal in Game 3 late in the third period to give his team a two-goal lead. They were able to hold onto that lead and added an empty netter for good measure. It was what happened immediately after Viel’s goal, however, which could wind up swinging this series in the Oilers’ favour.

Viel Barks at Oilers Bench

Viel was very fired up after finding the back of the net on Friday, and one can’t blame him. It was a massive goal to help secure his team a huge victory, one which has put the Oilers up against the ropes. That said, it was his reaction skating past the Oilers bench after which garnered plenty of attention.

Viel, a 29-year-old who has logged just 99 career games, was giving it to the Oilers bench before going past his own to celebrate his goal. It’s generally an unwritten rule to bark at the opposing bench to the matter he did after scoring, especially when you’re a player who has six career goals under his belt.

There’s no question in this series that the Oilers’ big guns haven’t been at their best. Connor McDavid has left plenty to be desired, and the same can be said for the likes of Evan Bouchard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman. Leon Draisaitl has been the best of the bunch, but even he is capable of giving more.

The Oilers stars are clearly getting frustrated by the Ducks, who have done a phenomenal job at limiting their scoring opportunities through the first three games of this series. The best plan of attack would simply be to continue doing what they are doing, as it’s worked great thus far. Instead, Viel may have lit a fire under their bellies.

It isn’t at all often to see the likes of McDavid, Draisaitl, and Bouchard struggle in the playoffs. In fact, their games generally seem to elevate in these types of stakes. The fact that they aren’t producing at their usual clip is surprising. After all, it isn’t like they haven’t gone up against teams in past playoff runs who were better than the Ducks. Instead, it seems as though playing as much hockey as this group has simply has them mentally and physically fatigued.

This group needed something to galvanize them, and you can bet having a journeyman player in Viel giving it to the entire Oilers bench isn’t going to go over very well with the likes of McDavid, Draisaitl, and several others. If there is going to be something to give them a spark, Viel may have done it.

Oilers Have Trailed Before

Though it seems many are already counting the Oilers out, the situation they find themselves in isn’t anything new. Last season, they trailed the LA Kings 2-0 in the first round before rallying off four-straight wins. The year before that, they trailed the Vancouver Canucks two separate times in the second round before winning the series in seven. And, of course, everybody remembers them erasing a 3-0 series deficit versus the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final to force a Game 7.

There are certainly reasons to doubt the Oilers, as they have been a very inconsistent and frustrating bunch the entire season. That said, this isn’t the first time they’ve appeared to be down and out, only to storm back and establish themselves as one of the NHL’s very best. That could very well turn out to be the case once again in this series.