Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

At least the captain is back, that’s cool.

Although Connor McDavid didn’t get a single point in his return on Wednesday, he did have two pretty good rush chances. In his first game back from an injury last season, he had two shots then as well, along with an assist and two blocked shots. I still have a slight concern that he could be making the same mistake he made before by being back earlier. But he knows his own body more than anyone else, so we can only hope that the former just doesn’t happen.

When the game was starting, I hadn’t realized the Golden Knights had yet to win on the road before Jack Michaels announced it on the broadcast. For a team that has started the season 9-3-1, that’s a pretty interesting stat. They don’t ask how, they ask how many. Both Stuart Skinner and Adin Hill were on potential Team Canada roster lists before the season started, but have now been trying to win Team Canada’s management group back. Hill won the first audition.

Okay, so Edmonton will be back on the road just for tonight and then they’ll have another 2 game homestand. Being outscored 7-2 at Rogers Place wasn’t pretty, maybe a night out of their province can help them take a load off. The keys to the game are…

No Hard Feelings?: The first game of the season against Vancouver since the second round of last year’s Playoffs. The players on both sides played personal, both fanbases got way too personal, but the Canucks hold the first Wild Card spot and are 2 points ahead with 3 games in hand as of right now. A win for the Oilers puts them back at a .500 record, their opponents would see a win for them as nice revenge early in the season.

Feeling Lanky: With 23-year-old goaltender Arturs Silovs, Vancouver’s playoff MVP from last season, struggling worse than Edmonton’s goaltenders, it has been 29-year-old goaltender Kevin Lankinen, easing the pain the Canucks feel not having Thatcher Demko back from his injury. Are we getting the solid Lankinen’s .923SV% and 2.08 GAA tonight? Or the young Silovs looking to rebound heavily out of his .797 SV% and 5.00 GAA?

Look Everywhere: Evan Bouchard became a punching bag after the Vegas loss. On two goals against, he stood by and didn’t pay nearly enough attention to a rushing forward going the other way. On a tying goal halfway through the third period, Darnell Nurse overcommitted to a shot block attempt beside his net. That forced him out of position, and Noah Hanifin got an uncontested shot away at the point. You can argue that Stuart Skinner should’ve stopped the game-winning goal; it’s true. Also, the players in front shouldn’t frequently have those lapses in judgement.