Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Leon Draisaitl celebrating a goal for the Edmonton Oilers

Now that’s a duck hunt, better than the first one.

Credit to Anaheim for coming back in last night’s game. Lukas Dostal continues to be a great young goaltender for them. It would’ve been 3-0 in the second period were it not for a great save he made on Corey Perry moments before the cut the 2-goal deficit in half. I would’ve liked to see Stuart Skinner stop the first Ducks goal, but I don’t think he had a bad night; he was pretty good.

Leon Draisaitl provided the miracle heroics in the last 2 minutes of regulation with his league-leading 28th goal. He also leads the NHL in even-strength goals with 21(41 total EV points) and game-winning goals with 9. Before last night, I hadn’t realized he’d gone 30 games without taking a single penalty. That streak ended, but it was still impressive. Before the game, he spoke to a reporter about the pride he’s taken when it comes to consistency in his two-way game. He’s become a defensive force this season to go along with his elite offense and 56% faceoff wins. Even if he doesn’t win the Selke trophy, he should at least be in the conversation when the regular season is over.

The first win of 2025 was nice; let’s cap off the back-to-back with another 2 points. The Seattle Kraken are roughly the same when looking at the standings. They were one win shy of .500 in December and started the new year with a loss on Thursday. They’re looking to return to a Playoff race without their captain, who missed the last month and a half of games after having pelvic surgery. The keys to the game are…

Edmonton Oilers Thoughts

Cleaner Passes: I mentioned that I didn’t like Skinner on the first goal. However, it also came off as a mistake in the offensive zone. Connor Brown received a tough pass while a Ducks player was covering him, and he himself tried making a tough pass to Evan Bouchard. A lot of people might blame Bouchard for the gaffe, but every teammate needs to be careful and pick their spots on where to distribute the puck.

Bottom Grind: I’d like to give a shoutout to the Oilers 4th line, who made great work on their second goal, scored by Darnell Nurse. Jeff Skinner even made a nice move along the boards to help develop the scoring chance. Yes, Skinner should be in the top 6 playing with skilled forwards. That’s the type of player he is, or else he rarely contributes. But if he can have more moments like that one on occasion, he may finally move out of the dog house.

Ping: Before the 2-0 goal, Brown had a chance off a 2v1 rush, but his shot hit the post after Dostal got a bit of his glove on it. Then Viktor Arvidsson had a chance and hit the post. Before Draisaitl scored his goal, Frank Vatrano went on a breakaway and had a chance to put his team up. Guess what happens. It’s not easy, I realize. But try to place your shot right. Or, have someone on their off-wing set up for a one-timer to make the possibility of scoring easier.