Edmonton Oilers 3, Nashville Predators 2: Sergei Kostitsyn Gives Up

Midway through the third period, with a pivotal game tied 1-1 and Nashville on the power play, Sergei Kostitsyn had a puck get behind him at the point.

That happens sometimes, especially when you've got a forward working back there, but what happened next might be the single-worst thing I've ever seen a Nashville Predator do with a game on the line. With Sam Gagner starting to pull away and carry the puck into the Nashville end for a shorthanded 2-on-1 break, Kostitsyn merely turned and climbed onto the bench.

Here, take a look for yourself:

He completey and utterly gave up on the play, allowing Gagner to carry the puck into the offensive zone unmolested, where he fed an easy pass to Lennart Patrell for the winning goal in a 3-2 Oilers victory. The Preds have now dropped three games in a row, and allowed Edmonton to pull up alongside them for a 10th-place tie in the Western Conference.

Random Observations

• I was worried about that Edmonton power play in the preview, and sure enough, that's what got the Oilers the lead midway through the first period.
• I was keeping an eye on Scott Hannan's ice time relative to Ryan Ellis, so it was notable that when Edmonton scored on the power play, Hannan wasn't out there. Sure enough, word came shortly after that Hannan had suffered an upper body injury and was out for the night.
• Bright spots? Well, Roman Josi looked confident and assertive out there, scoring a goal late to give a glimmer of hope, and leading some dandy rushes earlier on.
• Oh, and Pekka Rinne looked confident once again, and deserved a better fate.

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