Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

In 2023, I attended an Oilers game in my home city of Toronto. That is still the longest second period I’ve ever sat through, but Thursday night was pretty close.

Put aside the trip to Seattle, this team has actually done a solid job at gutting it out and scoring goals without Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. Many people can call their last meeting against the Kraken a “schedule loss”, but Edmonton has deserved full marks all week for hanging in the games prior. It’s genuinely hard to take that into account because our team has slid down from first to third in our division so fast and so easily since the Four Nations break. Their offense should no longer be called a two-man offense, because the secondary forwards have been stepping up more than before, with the exception of Thursday. Calvin Pickard was hung completely out to dry on the goals against. Not having Mattias Ekholm in the lineup didn’t help, Darnell Nurse is making fans hate him again, and Jake Walman has been slumping with his recent play as well. It’s almost like everyone forgets what defense even is when Ekholm is absent.

Olivier Rodrigue, called up from Bakersfield heading into the game, had a respectable showing in the third period. You couldn’t ask for a whole lot given the score and the situation his team is currently in. With the nosedive Edmonton’s goaltending has taken this year, I wouldn’t oppose giving Rodrigue a whole 60 minute look tonight. What’s the worst thing that could happen? I’d rather try that experiment for a bit, as it would also allow Stuart Skinner to not rush back for a couple of games or so. What better time to play a first full NHL game than in the Battle of Alberta?

In the earlier months of last season, I called it the Pillow Fight of Alberta. Because one team looked to be in rebuild mode, and the other was disastrously underachieving. This season, one team is a Cup contender on a current slump, and the other is in a Playoff race defying expert predictions. Both sides of this rivalry would love nothing more than to spoil things for each other. The keys to the game are…

Edmonton Oilers Notes

The Big Bad Wolf: If the Calgary Flames make the Playoffs this season, Dustin Wolf has to be the Calder Trophy favourite in my eyes. What he’s been doing for his team in his rookie season reminds me of Stuart Skinner in 2023, because the Oilers wouldn’t have made the Playoffs that year, were it not for him. Stu was robbed of the Calder, and I still stand by that. If Wolf can have a better backup/1B partner long term, he won’t have to feel the same burnout as Skinner.

Team Toughness: After Stu Skinner’s head made contact with Mikko Rantanen’s knee on Wednesday, Corey Perry told the media he was “pissed he didn’t see that” and the team would “have to look internally” about how to respond. Remember when Stu got taken down by Nikita Zadorov in Boston? It’s been reported that Draisaitl will participate in practice, and then we’ll see if he’s in the lineup. If so, a game against a heated rival will put a target on his back. Be prepared that the Flames might want to, not injure him, but aggravate his bruises. If they mess with one of you, they should mess with all of you.

Comebacks All Around: Despite their game on Thursday being highlighted by controversial coaches’ challenges, the Flames knew not to give up in their three games prior. In two of them, they erased multi-goal deficits. In one of them, they allowed a go-ahead goal with 3 minutes left and then tied the game just 30 seconds later. Our team has sometimes been like that, too. Win or lose, they don’t always throw in the towel just yet. This means I’ll once again give the message I’ve given before to Oilers fans on social media. Wait, JUST WAIT until the game is officially over.