Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Alex Ovechkin and Corey Perry at a faceoff

Who else started craving nachos on Tuesday night?

It doesn’t matter anymore since the Oilers lost that game, but isn’t there supposed to be a stoppage in play if something gets thrown onto the ice? Louie DeBrusk said the goal counted because it didn’t interfere with Logan Thompson’s ability to make the save. There was a regular season game in 2010 between the Canucks and Flames where a fan aimed a laser pointer at Mikka Kiprusoff’s mask. The fan wasn’t ejected right away, both the referees and security eventually noticed it. Remember when Oilers fans used just to throw jerseys on the ice? Why don’t we all be more respectful when we attend the games?

Stuart Skinner’s recent magic streak has started to fade in his last handful of starts. It’s not his fault that the team in front could only muster up two goals on 32 shots. It is his fault that he allowed three goals on 14 shots. It’s 95% impossible to win a hockey game with goalie stats like that one. The Capitals were more opportunistic on their scoring chances, they look like a completely different team compared to last season. While still wanting my team to win, I couldn’t help but cheer for Alex Ovechkin to get at least 1 goal on the evening. Even though I knew the goal scorers, I’d check the scoreboard online just to see if his name would be there, because I’m so used to doing that every other night. What he’s close to achieving is so remarkable that you almost can’t even be mad if he scores against you. Instead of next season, he could’ve already been ready to break Wayne Gretzky’s goal record this season, were it not for his injury.

Tonight’s a rematch from less than a week ago, and I’m not expecting any hard feelings at all. Right? The keys to the game are…

Statement: A bigger statement would be if Connor McDavid were in the lineup. But perhaps his team can make that statement. Don’t injure anybody, but it is a contact sport. Just ruffle a few feathers, let them know you won’t let them push you around and get in your head.

SHOOT IT: Edmonton was gifted a powerplay with 2 minutes left in regulation against Washington, and they didn’t shoot the puck enough to pose any scoring threat. This unit? Not intimidating? There were just too many passes that led to absolutely nothing, giving the penalty killers a chance to relax and not get tired. I know it’s ironic to say this because they outshot their opponent by almost 20. But they didn’t look like they were trying to tie the game. Don’t be polite, just get the puck on net quickly, any way you can.

Goal Balance: Jeff Skinner drew back into the lineup on Tuesday after being a healthy scratch for 4 of the five games prior. I have nothing ill to speak about Mattias Janmark, who I do like and who is a solid player. But how does a forward with only 1 goal, which was scored on an empty, get a spot on the second line instead of a former 40-goal scorer who you need to break out of his rough start? McDavid’s suspension has two more games left, so let Skinner have some of those top 6 opportunities and at least give him chance. We can’t just let Draisaitl hog all the points.