Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

You can always count on them to be Bruin up a win. Ha, get it? I think Gene Principe would approve.

Being down 2-0 after a subpar first period, comebacks are always fun, especially after allowing the opponents in the previous game to come back and beat you. It was even better to see Evan Bouchard and Stuart Skinner come out of Thursday night with solid performances. When Elias Lindholm opened the scoring just over a minute into the game, it looked like a soft goal at first glance, and I said out loud, “Oh, Stu. What was that?”. But then the replay showed that the puck hit Leon Draisaitl’s stick on the way to the net, and I forgave Stu. Sportsnet even aired the New Era NHL commercial where goalies talk about tip-in goals, and that was a sign to cut him some slack. I also couldn’t blame the goalie too much because the team in front of him didn’t play well at the start. They were better as the rest of the game went on, and Skinner made big saves. At times during the first period, it felt like Boston had shots and scoring chances just a second after every time the puck was dropped in a faceoff. I look for Edmonton to be cleaner in defensive zone draws, but even that was a good goalie test.

Bouchard had himself a redeeming night defensively, even making a solid stick check in overtime moments before Mattias Ekholm’s winning goal. There was a tweet after Monday night asking if Edmonton would consider a Bouchard trade if they don’t re-sign him to a big contract, while alluding to some of his gaffes. The problem with trading him would be that, despite his flaws, players like him don’t grow on trees. Does he have the occasional hiccup? Absolutely, and I always mention it. But he also deserves a lot more credit on social media when he plays a more engaged game. Don’t forget he dominated the last two postseasons as a defenseman. If management loses him in the summer, good luck finding another top-pair blueliner as good as that one. Pay the money, then ask questions later.

Viktor Arvidsson had a weird return to the lineup getting hit with a puck and then getting tripped along the boards. I thought for split seconds we’d have to put him on IR again. He played on the third line, and that demoted Jeff Skinner to the fourth line. I really don’t like seeing Jeff get the Yakupov treatment in Edmonton. If he’s never given consistent top 6 chances, there’s really no other point in having him. I don’t believe we’ll trade him, although that would probably save him. Just give him real opportunities to be productive. Speaking of lines, Darnell Nurse was paired with Bouchard in practice yesterday. If they start this game together, it should be an interesting experience, given how improved Nurse’s play has been this past month.

Another defenseman, Cody Ceci, makes his return to Rogers Place as a visitor this afternoon. A weekend back-to-back, and then we can enjoy a week off with holiday bliss. During the last week or so of games, I’d sometimes hear people say, “These wins would be big statements for the Oilers”. Except the Oilers always play well against good opponents. It’s the struggling teams they almost always lay an egg against. It’s the San Jose Sharks who got Jay Woodcroft fired a year ago. If anything, this game is a big statement. Don’t play down to their level, and don’t make the 29th-place team look like the 1st-place team. The keys to the game are…

Edmonton Oilers Notes

A Gran Old Time: The regular season could end with a career-best in points for the 13-year veteran Mikael Granlund if he keeps it going, averaging a point in almost every game he’s played. He’s a huge contributor on both special teams. Watch for him on both ends of the ice.

Baby Shark: Macklin Celebrini, this past summer’s first overall draft pick, plays his first game against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. He missed 12 games with an injury after scoring his NHL goal in his team’s season opener. Since then, he’s still picked up where he left off, with a point in almost every game, just like Granlund. He’s learning from a productive veteran like Tyler Toffoli, along with a fellow rookie and newly acquired winger Nikolai Kovalenko.

Hello, Georgie: Alex Georgiev was traded to San Jose on December 9^th after failing to be a consistent #1 goalie in Colorado. He left the Avalanche with an .874 SV%. It doesn’t look any better with the Sharks, but being on a worse team will naturally worsen your stats. The Oilers already beat him once before that trade, but he’s been fairly decent in his total career games against them, with 5 wins and a .902 SV%. His new team won’t trend more upwards, or at least isn’t expected to. But he’ll have to embrace playing for pride in his new gig.