Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

Connor McDavid skating for the Edmonton Oilers

I had fairly low expectations for Monday night, but I still feel bad for the Edmonton Oilers fans who attended the game.

They were without two of their top 4 defensemen, and the Kings had Drew Doughty back in theirs. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was Edmonton’s only top 6 center in the lineup while LA has Anze Kopitar, Quinton Byfield, and Phillip Danault. Good luck getting a win or even a tighter loss against all of that. I didn’t really notice Quinn Hutson that much, but I still feel bad that it had to be his first NHL game. For what it’s worth, even with a 5-0 final score, Edmonton’s penalty kill impressed me at times. I know they allowed 2 powerplay goals, but it was out of 8 chances, including a 5v3 that was two minutes long and a 5-minute major, more on that later. Calvin Pickard showed up as best he could; he made 31 saves despite being hung out to dry and allowing five goals. I think since the puck hit his glove on the 4th goal, it should’ve been a save. But how many people were really keeping track when the game was that bad?

With that loss, this season will be the first time in the McDrai era that their team starts the Playoffs without home ice advantage in the first round. I don’t know what to tell you about tonight’s game because it means absolutely nothing. Just sit back and enjoy it. Unless you’re a writer, you at least don’t have to worry about staying up super late for all 3 periods. The keys to the game are…

Edmonton Oilers Notes:

No Stupid Things: Darnell Nurse was handed a one game suspension yesterday for his cross-check to Quinton Byfield’s head on the goal crease in the second period of Monday night’s game. It was a dumb move on Nurse’s part with his team’s roster already depleted and banged up hysterically. He’s lucky it won’t take him out of a Playoff game. I know some Edmonton Oilers fans think there are double standards because other opposing players didn’t get the same treatment. But copying what other players do isn’t the answer. On the last night before the Playoffs start, don’t do anything dumb that might cause another suspension or injury.

Another Look: I have no idea if Quinn Hutson will or can get any Playoff games this year. Regardless, I’m sure he’d like his second NHL game to go better than his first. Someone whose Boston University career may dictate his NHL potential will look for a good night against the young stars in San Jose.

Do Nothing: This isn’t like the first key, where I ask them to not do anything dumb. I’m also asking them not to do anything at all. I don’t know the lineup for tonight, as I’m writing this, and I tend to get lineups wrong sometimes. But I assumed Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl would play on Monday just to try and get home ice advantage. Now that that’s not possible anymore, don’t try as hard tonight. If you’re playing, just skate around and look pretty until your shift is over. Don’t risk reaggravating an injury when you’re playing against the Sharks in a nothing game. The same goes for Zach Hyman and Jake Walman, if they’re in, because we already have Mattias Ekholm out for at least the first round. If you win this one, cool. If you don’t, it doesn’t change what next week will look like.