Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

They finally played the first La Bamba, and everybody rejoiced.

That was a pretty nerve-wracking way to get the first win of the season, but we’ll take it. It was a weird game as far as officiating was concerned. Both teams scored at least one goal that shouldn’t have counted. Congrats to Matvey Mitchkov for scoring the first 2 goals of his NHL career. But his first goal once again made the eyes of Oilers fans collectively roll when talking about goaltender interference. He pushed Stuart Skinner’s pad with his stick before the puck went in. A coach’s challenge was used, but it was still deemed a good goal. Kris Knoblauch, in the post-game interview, referenced a similar goal scored during the Canucks VS Lightning game; it didn’t count there. Then, Evan Bouchard, had a goal waved off because Zack Hyman bumped into Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson. Right call, different standard.

In Overtime, Travis Sanheim had a breakaway opportunity. Connor McDavid backchecked, but Sanheim went down after he didn’t convert. You can argue that McDavid made enough contact that Sanheim should’ve drawn a penalty on the play. It allowed the Oilers to go the other way and win the game. Both teams and fanbases will argue the referees were against them on Tuesday night. They’re not going to be perfect in every game they work, but they should try to be more consistent with their calls. The regular season just started, imagine us having these talks during the Playoffs. It would’ve still been a 3-2 final score in regulation without those 2 goals in hindsight, but then it wouldn’t be as amusing to talk about.

On the plus side, we saw Connor Brown score his first goal in October instead of March. Edmonton ended the disappointing home stand they started the new season with on a higher note, salvaging only 2 of a possible 8 points. They begin a brief two-game road trip tonight. The keys to the game are…

Statement: Leon Draisaitl was benched for a couple of shifts to start the third period after taking a bad penalty as the second period was coming to a close the other night. He found redemption when scoring the OT winner. The stars on the Oilers have been off to a slow start by their standards. Draisaitl needs to remember that one time he was “pissy”, but not too pissy.

Team Toughness: Against the Flames, Stuart Skinner got slashed in the back of his leg by Mikael Backlund. There was no penalty, so that only adds to the recent frustration with the officials. Even more troubling was that no one came to Stu’s defense. Against the Flyers, he got taken down by Sean Couturier, though not completely intentional, and Troy Stecher, the smallest guy on the Oilers roster, dropped the gloves. Right after the next faceoff, Corey Perry and Joel Farabee fought each other. Darnell Nurse got into people’s faces around the net at times. The tensions in the 4th game of the season might be the wake-up call Edmonton needs. Stand up for each other, don’t keep letting the opposition push you around.

We Can Relate: The Nashville Predators were looked at as a team that could make noise in the Playoffs heading into the season. But just like the Oilers, they started the season with an 0-3 start. Their biggest offseason acquisitions, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, have yet to score their first goals. They’re experiencing the same very early slump as our team’s stars. Edmonton shares the same perspective with their record so far, but saved themselves from going 0-4. They’ll have to match the desperation the Preds have for getting their first win.