They won again? I mean, they won again. Of course, they won again; who said they wouldn’t? You said it, not me. It took a month, but the Edmonton Oilers finally have a two-game winning streak. It was also just their first win at Rogers Place this season. Their other home win was during the Heritage Classic, not the same thing. Congrats to Kris Knoblauch and Paul Coffey for getting their first wins behind the Oilers bench. But for a team looking to make a good first impression for the new bench bosses, most of the game felt kind of boring to sit through. The Islanders dictated most of the play and scored the first goal in only the first minute on only their second recorded shot. It wasn’t until the third period that Edmonton finally came alive. New York got into penalty trouble, and the league’s potent powerplay from a year ago struck with two goals. Evander Kane would end up sealing it with an empty net goal. Stuart Skinner also had another solid game in net. In the last two games he’s started, he’s allowed only two goals on 51 shots. We need to see this version of Skinner more often, the one that was nominated for the Calder trophy and who saved their season last year.
There was also some bad news that came out yesterday. Dylan Holloway will be out for a few months with an injury after sliding into the boards last night. He started playing well and was deserving of more ice time as the season went on. We’re wishing him a speedy recovery and a great return. Time to get ready for a rematch. The keys to the game are…
Revenge On The Road: The Seattle Kraken got dominated by the Oilers in their own building last weekend. They’ll want to return the favour in Edmonton’s arena, especially with some of the former Oilers players on the visiting side; they’ll relish in this opportunity as well.
What Can Brown Do For You?: Some signs point to Connor Brown returning from injury for this game. If he does, it’ll be his 10th game of the season, which means the $3.25M bonus that came with his contract will activate and count against Edmonton’s salary cap numbers next season. He’s had a rough start to the season offensively. He was mostly trying to get more comfortable again after only playing the first four games of last season. Maybe he’ll feel a spark with both he and a certain other Connor’s former junior coach now behind their bench again.
Stay Cool: Leon Draisaitl was fined $5K for his dangerous trip on Islanders forward Bo Horvat, that he got a penalty for. Leon didn’t take too kindly to getting tripped up before that, and there was no call. That being said, a retaliation play is not the appropriate way to respond. It’s one thing to play with emotion; it’s another thing to get emotional. Missed calls happen, but don’t make the refs turn against you. Just move on and think about how you can make them pay on the scoreboard.
ITR 35: Round One – Inside The Rink
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