Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts 2/7/2025

Two straight nights of hockey, two straight Overtime wins, against two non-Playoff teams. We’ll take it.

I should take greater issue with how both Tuesday and Wednesday went, but on the other hand, we lead the Pacific Division. Jeff Skinner started the game in Chicago on the second line with Leon Draisaitl, and Oilers fans all across Twitter rejoiced. He scored a goal and an assist in the third period. His goal was scored with a nice backhand move in front of the net after receiving a pass from Draisaitl. Then, his assist came when he disrupted the Blackhawks from getting out of their zone. He took the puck at the blue line, then fed Draisaitl, who was all alone to extend his league lead in goals. Skinner could’ve had two goals on the night, but Arvid Soderblom robbed him with a great save. Both Soderblom and Calvin Pickard had solid nights in goal for their respective teams. All season long, a lot of us have been displeased with the deployment of Jeff Skinner. He signed a one-year contract and came to Edmonton as a one-dimensional forward. So, of course, it’s an eye roll when that type of player is always in the bottom six and can’t produce with bottom six linemates. However, he’s worked his tail off, even with the limited minutes and healthy scratches he was getting. He’s even backchecking now, who saw that coming? If he hangs onto those second-line minutes and keeps producing at a good pace before the Playoffs start, we’ll all have to admit we were wrong about how Kris Knoblauch was using him. I wouldn’t be afraid to do so.

John Klingberg made a good outlet pass at center-ice that wound up leading to Skinner’s goal. He was brought in for offense, more so than for defense. If he can continue making those plays and getting comfortable in his minutes, does that change any potential plans to go after a top 4 defenseman at the Trade Deadline? Evan Bouchard should also get love for a defensive effort that stopped the Hawks from scoring the OT winner, as well as shooting the puck at a Hawks player and forcing them to take a Too Many Men penalty in the extra frame.

While these were two straight games where Edmonton looked to be in control and then blew their momentum, I also sympathize with Louie DeBrusk’s point that it may’ve been their fatigue from their back-to-back road trip showing. But now, back at home for one more game before the 4 Nations Tournament break, and a day off from playing, they must more come prepared for a tougher opponent. The Oil needed a comeback win from 3-0 down against the Avalanche last month. That shouldn’t be the game plan again. The keys to the game are…

Edmonton Oilers Thoughts

SHOOT: You’re probably wondering, “But they outshot both of their last two opponents.” that’s a good observation. However, there were points in both games where instead of getting a scoring chance on net, the Oilers kept passing the puck to each other. Until they went to OT, their powerplay was abysmal. Do people still think they’re PP merchants? The Sportsnet panel raised a question of whether the team needed more offensive support for and secondary scoring for their stars. They would have that support if they JUST SHOT THE PUCK MORE!

#1 VS #2: Leon Draisaitl and Nathan MacKinnon are in a very tight race for the league lead in points. Leon has already won the Art Ross and is looking likely to win the Rocket Richard, whereas MacKinnon has never won the Art Ross. But what they have in common is they’ve both won Hart trophies. They’ve undoubtedly been the two best forwards this season. Watching two league MVPs go at it before the start of a weekend? How else would a Canadian want to spend a Friday night?

The New Guy: If a team decides to trade Mikko Rantanen for you, then you’d better be good. Martin Necas is on pace for a career year with 61 points this season, 8 of them in 7 games since joining Colorado from Carolina, including a 3 point performance last night. Replace a big-time star winger for your franchise centre isn’t the easiest thing to do. Necas has been pretty good at it so far, and is looking for more.