Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Such a nice birthday present.

Connor McDavid scored the only goal on Monday night, and it wound up being the game-winning goal. He is now tied with Glenn Anderson for the most game winning goals in franchise history with 72. But the credit for that goal, all of the credit belongs solely to Leon Draisaitl. Trevor Moore didn’t connect with a pass at the point, and then Leon skated hard on the forecheck to retrieve the puck as it was making it’s way to the other end of the ice; outskating Moore. Darnell Nurse was given the primary assist, as he took the initial shot before McDavid, but Draisaitl’s play felt like so much more than a secondary assist.

Despite the game being just a 1-0 final score, their were chances galore for both teams. Stuart Skinner is now 9-0 in games played following a loss. Also, in those games before Monday, he had a .938 SV% and a 1.75 GAA. So imagine the increase in those stats now. He’s labeled inconsistent because he started his last two regular seasons so below average that it takes months of good games to finally get that save percentage above .900. But when he’s on, he’s as dependable as anybody in the league and doesn’t have as long a stretch of bad games as some might suggest.

It was a very classy gesture of the Oilers to wear stickers on their helmets that showed their support for the State of California during their wildfire crisis. As mentioned in the previous article, our thoughts are all with Californians. We’ve developed a rivalry with the LA Kings on the ice, but off it, there are more important things. Our team is back on the road for three games after one trip back home. If you were scoreboard-watching last night, we have chances to get even closer to first place in the Pacific Division.

Edmonton Oilers Thoughts

Wild Scarred: A team that’s usually had our number for so many seasons, but Edmonton crushed the Wild in Minnesota during their last meeting on December 12th. Even without the history between these teams, the hosts don’t want to be embarrassed by the same team in front of their fans a second time.

No Kirill, No Thrill: Kirill Kaprizov hasn’t played a game for the Wild since December 23rd. They’ve still kept their place in the standings without him, but he was a very early possibility for the Hart Trophy, were it not for his injury.

Tending Choices: I praised Skinner for having a great game, but Calvin Pickard was solid in net during the last meeting against Minnesota, Stu was solid in the first meeting against tomorrow night’s opponent in Colorado. I can’t accurately predict the lineup as I’m writing this, but that’s how I’d use the goalies on this back-to-back scenario.