Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Mike Smith set up OT winners before it was cool.

After the Overtime winner was scored, Leon Draisaitl was asked about Calvin Pickard’s play with the puck to set him up. He called him “a heart and soul of the team”. It’s no secret that Edmonton’s goalie tandem have struggled this season compared to last. But as much as we’ve been harping on them as fans(justifiably so), the players themselves have clearly not given up on them. I think I’d ride a couple more games in a row with Pickard for a bit until Stuart Skinner gets more of his confidence back. It would remind me of when Anders Nillson(remember him?) briefly took over the starter’s net for Cam Talbot after a bad game in the 2015/2016 season. Will Pickard build off Friday night, or he repeat his performance against Anaheim after the Carolina game?

After the other night, Ilya Sorokin has a career save percentage of .932 in 8 games against our team. Just once, I wish he’d play a bad game against Edmonton. Speaking of our goaltending, watching Sorokin keep the first period scoreless with save after save is the reason Oilers fans have been raging about the subject online. Not every goal against is the fault of Skinner or Pickard. But even when it isn’t, you still want to see the spectacular save that motivates the bench. They were finally able to beat him with a really hard shot from Draisaitl at the circle. Although, I also wonder that if Adam Pelech’s stick didn’t connect with the shot, Sorokin may’ve gotten a piece of the puck and made the save. Sometimes you need that bounce against a really good goaltender. With all our team’s issues with Goals Against, I’ll welcome it.

The Oilers got only one win in 5 games on their Fenruary eastern road trip. Being 1 in 3 on this one, they have a chance to at least go to a .500 record at the iconic Madison Square Garden against the Blue Shirts. The keys to the game are…

Edmonton Oilers Thoughts

Can’t Someone Else Do It?: Listen, I love our German Gretzky as much as the next guy. But he needs more help here than he’s getting. The Oilers have scored six goals on this road trip so far. That’s not the worst, until you remember that Draisaitl is the only forward to score; the other scorers have been defensemen. Offense from the defense- who doesn’t love that? Kris Knoblauch was asked about Draisaitl’s chances of winning the Hart trophy this season. Depending on how you read or hear the response, is it a dig at his team’s wingers? If you’re on the same line as a 100 point player, you have to get your name on the scoresheet more often.

Keep Firing: The last time these teams played on November 23rd, it was very similar to Thursday night. Lots of shots and scoring chances to start, but Jonathan Quick looked like he was going to skate away as a brick wall. All it took was one goal, and the floodgates opened, leading Edmonton to an eventual 6-2 win. Don’t get discouraged when you’re doing good things. The better things will come around if you keep working at it. Just because some shots don’t go in doesn’t mean others won’t.

It’s Miller Time: Since being traded from Vancouver on January 31st, J.T. Miller has 18 points in 17 games for the Rangers. With his new team now having the second Wild Card spot after a win last night, his production has helped them start making a comeback after they were freefalling down the Eastern standings.