The door to the home team's dressing room opened Thursday night after the Oilers 6-4 loss to the Maple Leafs, and as reporters burst in, there was Kris Russell standing by his locker, prepared to answer for the season's biggest blunder -- an own goal that snapped a 4-4 tie with just 65 seconds remaining in regulation.
"I don't know what you want me to say, you know what happened there at the end," offered a still shell-shocked Russell.
"It was a bounce. Turned, tried and bat it out. Obviously, you know what happens."
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Kris Russell with an unbelievable snipe to put the Leafs up 5-4 in the dying moments of the third period. I swear to god that I'm not joking. Just watch. #HereComeTheOilers pic.twitter.com/bxwVUSmHaa
— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) December 1, 2017
With a distant look in his sad eyes, Russell added, "I can't remember this ever happening."
Of course, Oilers fans certainly can remember Steve Smith's much-more unfortunate own-goal against the Flames in the Smythe Division Final that eliminated Edmonton from the 1986 playoffs. But we digress.
The focus Thursday was on Russell, the 30-year-old defenseman who led the NHL in blocked shots last season, is a solid teammate and is also a controversial figure -- even before scoring into his own net -- in that the analytics crowd and those who put less emphasis on numbers and rely more on what they watch debate on a regular basis Russel's true value.
Russell actually played a solid game Thursday, though that is burying the lede since his miscue literally cost his team the game, one in which the Oilers rallied from deficits of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3. Adding to this surreal story, it was Russell who capped the second comeback, scoring only his second goal of the season 3:01 into the third period -- a blast that seemed it would hold up and set up a mouth-watering 3-on-3 overtime featuring Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews.
The veteran d-man logged 24:20 of ice-time -- second most on the team -- added an assist to his goal for his second two-point game of the season, registered four shots on goal and recorded four hits. Oh, and he wheeled a shot from the slot past his own -- shocked -- goaltender, Laurent Brossoit, that sent the reeling Oilers to yet another dispiriting loss. On social media, many typed out that this one plays sums up the 10-14-2 Oilers season to date.
Not surprisingly, Russell's coach and teammates rushed to his defense after the bitter loss Thursday.
"You have to feel for him," said Oilers coach Todd McClellan. "There was never any intent for him to do it and a not-so-good thing happened to a great player tonight."
Added McDavid, "He's a guy you'd go to war for. He does everything for us. He throws himself in shooting lanes where most guys would be diving to get out of the way. He puts himself in harm's way. He battles so hard each and every night."
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Even Toronto's Nazem Kadri, whose puck pressure helped force Russell into his crucial mistake and then seemed to laugh after the puck went into the net, felt badly for the Oilers defenseman afterwards.
"That's the worst, I can't imagine, and I'm feeling for him right now," said Kadri, who referred to the play as "a tough bounce".
Nazem Kadri is 100% of Leafs fans right now pic.twitter.com/xnBdXYBEyG
— Stats Canada (@stats_canada) December 1, 2017
All Russell and the Oilers can do now is pick themselves up and look to rebound Saturday night in Calgary against the Flames.