Two wins in a row? What’s going on here?
Last season, it took Edmonton until the end of October to get their second win. It was also technically their first home win, but it was played in Commonwealth Stadium, not in their actual NHL rink. The Oilers got both their first home and road wins much earlier this season. What’s more fun than comparing bad season starts? A quick congrats to Predators defenseman Luke Schenn for now being part of the 1000th game club, I feel old.
Thursday night started off looking like it’d be one of those “got goalie-d” nights. Were it not for Juuse Saros, Nashville may’ve found themselves up a couple of goals after the first period. Although Calvin Pickard wasn’t as busy as his counterpart, he also made big saves early to keep his team in it. I don’t think many Oilers fans expected him to get the start, but you can’t argue with the result. Perhaps they’re trying to make it a habit of not playing Stuart Skinner too much. He’s had moments of burning out from a heavy workload in his first two NHL seasons. I hope this careful use of the goalies pays off.
Darnell Nurse has been on everybody’s good side in this two-game winning streak. His fight with Michael McCarron was enough of a momentum swing leading to the first of Brett Kulak’s 2 goals, a tying goal. Nurse always plays his best when he shows his physical edge on a more consistent basis. That’s the version of him we remembered before he signed that massive contract, and we have missed it since. It’s hard to play like that 100% every game, or else your body becomes your own worst enemy. But in order to not be as much of a lightning rod, he can’t let go of that meanness.
With a win this afternoon, Edmonton could put themselves at a .500 record. A lot can change in two weeks, and they did. The keys to the game are…
Depth Scoring: I referenced Kulak’s 2 goal game, he also has an assist this season. All of Edmonton’s defensemen have 9 total points combined. Jeff Skinner was placed on the third line, and he’s been productive with them. With their top forwards not lighting scoresheets on fire(yet), they need to continue getting contributions from everyone against a team known for secondary scoring up and down their lineup.
Goalie Tilt: That first key is easier said than done, as Dallas has the second-best Goals Against Per Game at 1.6. The new $8.25M man Jake Oettinger is sporting a .948 Save Percentage and a 1.63 Goals Against Average in three games, undefeated. His backup, Casey DeSmith, has been solid, too, with a .941 SV% and a 1.53 GAA in two games. The Oilers trusted Pickard on Thursday; they need to trust Skinner for this one.
Even Strength Combat: The powerplay on the Stars is ranked 29th in the league, but their penalty kill is ranked second. Contrast that to the Oilers, who have both a bad PP and a bad PK. It’s mostly the bad PP that shocks me. However much of a factor special teams are today, Edmonton needs to continue the 5v5 scoring they benefited from the last couple of nights.
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