Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Skinner x2, that’s pretty cool.

Playing on the 4^th line again, the home team gives up a go-ahead goal late in the first period, and Jeff responds with a tying goal under 20 seconds later. I’m super positive he’ll be rewarded for that really important shift against his former team with another night up in the press box. That’s a joke, but seriously, please give him more ice time, and not in the bottom 6. Stuart had a great night as well. Although he allowed a soft goal seconds after making a great save, he brushed it off and came up with a 39 save performance. It should be 40 saves, in my opinion, but they didn’t count a scoring chance from Tage Thompson early in the first period as a shot on the net. This season, Stuart Skinner has an 10-3 record in games following a loss. The loss against Washington was his first such a loss since October 28th. Not every loss is solely his fault, but he’s very good at bouncing back from a bad game 90% of the time. Oilers fans talk about consistency with Stu, and there’s some truth to that. But almost never losing two straight games is also pretty consistent. I wish some of us within the fanbase would be as quick to give credit as they are to give blame.

Ryan McLeod was listed as injured on NHL sites that I looked into, but it was nice to see him on Edmonton ice again, even as a visitor. He made a nice play to set up a breakaway after his team killed off a penalty. He’s also having a career year statistically, good for him. Before Vegas won their game last night, being 1st in the Pacific Division was fun while it lasted. I hope they can go back to 1st and stay there all season long. If we have to face L.A. in Round 1 again, I may consider boycotting that series altogether. A fresh new opponent would be nice for a change. But we’re still another 3 months away from that, we’ll cross the bridge when we get there. The keys to the game are…

McReturn: Connor McDavid’s suspension is over, and he’ll be back in the lineup. We know he’d have loved to play the revenge game against the Canucks in his own rink. But better late than never, look for him to want a big productive night in his first game back.

Clear: There were times on Saturday that once the Sabres went on the powerplay, the Oilers lost so much momentum. Of course, the team with the man advantage is more likely to look better, but eight shots against on one attempt? Even though that same PP expired, Buffalo managed to score moments later because Edmonton failed to clear the puck.

A Feather In Your Kaap: Since being traded from the Rangers on December 18th, former 2^nd overall pick Kaapo Kakko has 14 points in 17 games for the Seattle Kraken. On his new team, though a small sample size, he seems to be reaching the potential as high as his draft position at last. He got an assist in Seattle’s last game against Edmonton, a meeting where they almost erased a 3-0 deficit.