Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Sportsnet was airing an Edmonton Oilers game from the 80s on Saturday. Oh, what? It was a 2024 Oilers game? My mistake.

Stuart Skinner can laugh now at his blunder that inched the Golden Knights 2 goals closer to a comeback from 5-0 down. Stopping 38 shots out of 41 is still a solid night, and he’s been very good lately. But watching his gaffe is one reason some Edmonton Oilers fans (not me) don’t believe in him as a #1 goalie. If the other side was only 1 goal away from tying it, I’m sure he’d be a tad more cautious about playing the puck outside of his net. Even with a multi-goal lead, it only takes one really bad error to lose all momentum. We thought we had moved on from those silly goalie moments, but Stuart graduated from the Mike Smith School of Goaltending. It was a lame way for Edmonton to allow its first shorthanded goal against this season.

Fortunately, the other Skinner responded with a goal moments later and restored a 3 goal lead before the third period started. Jeff has been coming along offensively, even though I think he should be higher up in the lineup. I want to believe scoring an insurance goal at a key time will boost his confidence. This sort of game is why I don’t 100% agree when someone advises against running the score. It isn’t nice, but do you want to risk an embarrassing collapse? The Edmonton Oilers almost blew a 6-0 lead on New Year’s Eve a few years back. No lead is ever safe, no matter how good you feel about it.

Last season, it took Connor Brown until March to score his first goal. 30 games into this season, he has 5 and just passed his goal total from last season. I hope he keeps this up, as it’s been great to see him rebound. Corey Perry continues to age backward, and Evan Bouchard looked fine after concerns about the hit he took in Minnesota. Tonight’s opponents are statistically similar to Vegas. This should be a rinse and repeat sort of match if played responsibly. The keys to the game are…

No, Canada: The Panthers still look good being second place in their division, but are 0-2 in their Western Canadian road trip, being outscored 7-0. Being shut out in 2 consecutive games is surprising for a team that’s 6^th in Goals For. Struggling to keep the puck out is not surprising for a team that’s 24^th in Goals Against. Out of all 7 games they’ve played this month, they’ve been on the road for 6 of them. As of today, they’ll only play 2 home games before the Christmas break. Take advantage of tired legs and exhaust them with strong play.

Rocket Men: There are still 50+ games left to play until the Rocket Richard Trophy winner is decided. Both Leon Draisaitl and Sam Reinhart are former 50+ goal scorers. Both are in a tight race for the league lead in goals this season; Leon is up on Sam by 3. Team success matters more than individual success, but star players want to one-up each other whenever they meet.

Stats, Schmats: Sergei Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner and one-time Stanley Cup champion, has an .892 SV% so far this season. His stats are no better than Stuart Skinner’s. Spencer Knight has worse stats than Calvin Pickard. But just like the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights, the important thing is Florida still found ways to get points in the standings. Wins and losses are the only stats most fans care about more.