Oilers fans on Twitter jumping into paranoia after only the first game of the season? It’s good to be back.
My apologies to fans who attended that game, I’d guess you’d rather have spent the money on something else. Look at it this way, the Oilers allowed eight goals in last year’s season opener and were only two goals away from winning the Stanley Cup. In this year’s season opener, they allowed two fewer goals. You all know what that means, right?
They’ll be fine, don’t panic. I saw tweets saying they don’t have a goalie, or the defense won’t last this long before the Trade Deadline. The entire hockey world acted in complete shock. Does nobody remember what last season was like? I sat through that game just laughing, it was all I could do. One thing I alluded to in my keys to the season was needing to erase the habit of self-inflicting losses and bad starts. But it still feels like that’s sometimes too much to ask, especially after Wednesday night, because it’s practically part of their DNA to be that way all the time. The NHL On Prime clip of Connor McDavid yelling, “It’s not f***ing ideal, but it happens so many f***ing times,” is all too relatable. They had great chances to get on the scoresheet, Connor Hellebuyck just played the way you’d expect a two time Vezina winner to play. Also, take into account that this is the oldest roster in the NHL, with a couple of new teammates. Maybe they just needed to get used to each other and learn how to gel. While they’ve said they want to move on from last year, all of the hype from hockey experts surrounding them this year may’ve gotten to their heads a little. It wouldn’t surprise me if that were the case.
Every regular season is long, just sit back and enjoy this back-to-back hockey weekend. The keys to the game are…
Take It Seriously: Another mental flaw that grinds an Oilers fan’s gears is how often this team can play to the same level as their opponents. It’s a new season, maybe Chicago could surprise people. But right now, they’re always a rebuilding underdog in this scenario. They’re a weaker team on paper than the Jets, but they salvaged an OT point against them last night and should still be treated like any other game.
Kid In The Hall: Except he’s not a kid anymore. Former Oiler Taylor Hall was traded to the Blackhawks in the 2023 offseason for the purpose of being a veteran presence to their superstar Connor Bedard. Unfortunately for him, he only played the first two months of the 2023/2024 season due to a knee injury. He can still be a solid top 6 forward, but given his injury history, I wonder how much that knee might plague his impact this season the same way as with Connor Brown last season.
No Freebies: Within the first 2 minutes of Wednesday night, Winnipeg got a breakaway opportunity after a whiffed pass at the blue line. Stuart Skinner stopped it, but you wouldn’t know that just looking at a 6-0 final score. All three of Edmonton’s pairs let the Jets offense in too easily, and they might as well have played the whole game with an empty net. Both of these feelings can be true. The Oilers need to smarten up and tighten up.
