Going 1-1 on a road trip is better than going 0-2.
Up until the third period on Saturday, the Oilers didn’t play a terrible game against the Stars. It was really just the powerplay goal they allowed in the last minute of the second period that might’ve deflated them. Edmonton’s penalty kill is so bad that it only took Dallas 3 seconds to score after a penalty was called. Improving the PK was vital to Edmonton’s success last season, now they have to look back and improve it all over again.
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It’s easy to look at Stuart Skinner’s stats right now with a shrug, and Jake Oettinger was definitely terrific in the last game, as he has been early on. But if in half the total number of games played, you can’t score more than 1 goal, is it really fair to pin each loss on the goaltender? Sportsnet showed a stat with the five most career wins by goalies 25 or younger. Oettinger is #1 with 116 wins, but Skinner is #3 with 73 wins. Having a rough start doesn’t mean he’s a bad goalie, but I see many Oilers fans wanting to get someone else in net. Did this past summer teach us nothing about how to handle prospects and younger players? There has been talk of Kris Knoblauch perhaps making some decisions to try and shake up the PP. I’m just a guy who writes his own opinions on what he sees. But if it were up to this guy, why not put Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the second PP unit? They added much more to their offense during the offseason that they can roll out both units on the man advantage instead of just one for nearly the entire 2 minutes. Signing Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson meant that they didn’t have to put Mattias Janmark on the second line or put their top 2 centremen on the same line. I just hope it doesn’t take another coaching change to tap into the offensive possibilities.
We follow up two games on the road with two games back at home. The keys to the game are…
Don’t Break: What led to the 2-0 goal against Dallas, unfortunately, was Evan Bouchard slipping when receiving a pass, and the Stars wound up going the other way. But then an intended pass by the opposition hit his skate, further propelling the odd man rush. I also remember the first game of the season when he whiffed on a pass, allowing for a breakaway scoring chance. For all the offensive talent Bouchard has, he is prone to occasional gaffes like those ones. Sometimes on social media, there’s a contest between him and Darnell Nurse to see who makes more mistakes.
Ghosting: From one offensive defenseman to another, Shane Gostisbehere has 3 goals in 4 games thus far for the Hurricanes, with 2 of them being on the PP. So if you take a penalty, there’s one guy to cover. Limit Carolina’s space at the point.
Home Sweet Home: They’ll have a 4 game road trip after tonight and Friday night. Remember that 4 game homestand you started the season with? It wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea. I will view it as a factor in the next game as well. If you want to get yourselves back in track, do it in front of your fans. Let them help you earn more momentum.
