At least the second game was better than the first game. You know hockey season is back when Oilers fans lose their minds on Twitter/X. Edmonton seemed perfectly in control just a minute into the game when they’d already made it 1-0. Then momentum shifted, and Vancouver kept taking the lead back whenever the Oilers tied it up. You look at the stats for that game and think, “41-16 shots on goal? Edmonton must’ve played great.” But a lot of their scoring chances were just crazy scrambles in front of the net, and some players forgot how to handle a puck. They weren’t very organized throughout the whole game. Although they got two goals on the powerplay, even that hasn’t looked the same. Last year, whenever they went on the PP, you knew for a fact they would score. Recently, when they’ve been on the PP, it was an eye roll. Some fans were harsher on the team’s defense, but four goals on 16 shots is an ugly statistic for a goalie. It was humorous to see Evander Kane joke to the media that the sky was falling after two games into the season. But Jay Woodcroft’s line changes at practice almost seem like it is. They had McDavid and Draisaitl on the same line today, which is what they would do if they were really desperate during a game. I hope that’s not already the case, with 80 games still to play. Warren Foegele was promoted to the second line. Despite his shot gone wide that led to a goal against on Saturday night, both he and Dylan Holloway were solid on the third line with Ryan McLeod. I would like to see Holloway get promoted as well.
According to Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast, the Oilers could’ve gotten Sam Lafferty from the Maple Leafs before the season started. Edmonton was interested in him during last year’s trade deadline before he wound up going to Toronto. Word is the Leafs wanted Vincent Desharnais in return. He ended up going to Vancouver, which got funnier after he scored the game-winner on Saturday. But I defend keeping Desharnais. A right handed defenseman just a couple of inches shorter than Zdeno Chara is hard to come by. Although his inexperience became evident in the Playoffs, he helped the Oilers improve their penalty kill in the regular season after he was called up. The team will look better when they get the hang of the high expectations put on them this season. Let’s get onto Game 3. The keys to the game are…
Homecoming: Mattias Ekholm is playing against his former team for the first time. Having played nine and a half seasons with the Predators before moving to Edmonton at last year’s trade deadline, he played an integral part on Nashville’s blue line, and that included their Cup Final run in 2017. He may still be feeling the effects of his injury that kept him out of the season opener, but returning to his first NHL home as the visitor might add extra motivation once the first couple of shifts of nerves settle down.
Old Friend: Now we’re talking about the player who was traded for Ekholm. Tyson Barrie played two and a half seasons for the Oilers. He had a role on Edmonton’s historic powerplay before Evan Bouchard took over his spot after the move. While he has never been a defense guru, his defensive play did slightly improve when Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson took over behind the bench. Look for him to be the PP defenseman should the Preds go on the man advantage.
Leon The Professional: While depth offense is still usually in question for the Oilers, Draisaitl always has his best games against the Predators. 22 goals and 13 assists in 23 games is music to his ears in Tennessee. Given Edmonton’s very early struggles to start the season, look for Leon to get extra pissy.
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