Linus Omark, the gifted Edmonton Oilers left wing and shootout connoisseur who brought us this gem from last season, made his NHL debut last night against the Tampa Bay Lightning and certainly did not disappoint.
Omark not only tallied a power play assist and had two blocks, but he also won the game for the Oilers in the shootout with a nifty little spin-o-rama before faking a slapshot and then burying a wrist shot through the five-hole of goaltender Dan Ellis. A video of the goal can be found below.
Omark’s shootout antics, however, did not sit well with members of the Lightning.
“It’s embarrassing for him,” Ellis said. “You come into a league, a respectful league like this, and you try a little move like that. It’s not a very classy thing. That’s just the kind of person he is.”
Other members of the Lightning weighed in on the move with negative comments. Left wing Ryan Malone called it “a joke” while Martin St. Louis described it as “a slap in the face.”
Perhaps Ellis and his Lightning teammates are just a tad sour that Omark had the confidence to pull off such a move in his NHL debut. Besides, the spin-o-rama seemed to work as Ellis looked to the rafters after allowing the goal in an effort to reconcile his thoughts and figure out what just happened. The move and the fake worked to both pull Ellis out of position and freeze him to allow the opening in his five-hole where Omark buried the shootout-clinching shot.
What are your thoughts? Was Omark’s move disrespectful to the league and to the game or was it a great ploy to freeze Ellis and get the game-winning goal? Check out the video and let us know what you think.
They were talking about this goal on The Ticket all afternoon. As a goalie, I got no problem with it. My job is to stop showboaters like him. I’m find with it in a shootout it if hes ballsy in a close game. I only get irritated when showboating in a 7-0, 8-1 blowout game to rub it in.
Honestly, as a fan watching this video, I have no problem with the move. I think it was an effective maneuver used to throw Ellis off his game as he came out to challenge a young shooter. He had no idea what Omark was going to do next, so the fake slapshot froze him and the wrist shot got buried for the winner. It’s sour grapes for the Lightning squad.