On Saturday night, the Edmonton Oilers won a convincing game against the Montreal Canadiens which left me with mixed feelings. Obviously in a 7-2 victory there are going to be positives to discuss. Evander Kane played in his first NHL game of the season and scored a goal just over 10 minutes into the game. Not only did Kane score the Oilers first goal, but it was the first time in 11 games that Edmonton scored the first goal. Shortly after that, Zach Hyman scored to put the Oil up 2-0 on another deflection goal. Seeing Edmonton quickly up on a 2-0 lead was a nice change of pace but also seeing the team score more greasy, deflection goals as well. Shortly after Draisaitl charged to the net and got a bit of help from the Canadiens defense to put Edmonton up 3-0.
At the end of the first period, the Oilers had a 3-0 lead from three different lines with none of the points by Connor McDavid, in fact, McDavid did not register a point in any of the 7 goals that the Oilers scored. For years, I have wanted to see the Oilers have enough forward depth where they could consistently ice McDavid, Draisaitl, and RNH as centres on their own lines and it looks like that can finally be a reality. By the time the game was done, Kane-McDavid-Yamamoto had played just under 15 minutes at 5 on 5, Foegele-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi had played 11 and a half, and Hyman-RNH-Kassian played 11 minutes as well.
In total, McDavid and Draisaitl each played roughly 17 minutes total ice time through the game. Compare that to the number of times we have seen both players average over 22 minutes a game. Having say, Nuge and Hyman as a third line that is a real scoring threat means that if the Oilers are down a goal late in the game, they don't necessarily need to over work their top players to try and tie the game.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't compliment Stuart Skinner for his own stellar play, stopping the shots he needed to, especially when the Oilers played too far back on their heels.
That was my issue with the game and once again, specifically Tippett's style of hockey. It's been rare lately because of how often the Oilers have gone down a goal early but after gaining a 3-0 lead we saw the Edmonton Oilers sit back and decide to not worry about pressuring their opponent anymore. While the team did score 4 more goals in that game, I credit that more to a combination of the Oilers being opportunistic and Montreal simply being a truly awful hockey team right now.
High Danger Chances at 5 on 5 heavily favoured the Canadiens in the second period, 9-1 and Edmonton was outshot 6-14. Against a superior opponent the game could have been tied after the second period. Luckily the Oilers bounced back in the third and while they only scored a single goal; a fourth line goal by Derek Ryan, the overall shot attempts were once again in the Oilers favor.
Tonight the Oilers will likely ice very similar lines in their away game against the Ottawa Senators. Now with Kane officially an Oiler, I hope the team had a better practice yesterday/this morning and will be able to bring the intensity they brought in the first and third periods against the Sens.
Ottawa is another bottom feeding Eastern Conference team that the Oilers should have no difficulties beating but they are not without their own weapons. Tkachuk will play and so will Matt Murray who has a 0.939 SV% in his last 5 starts. In the past we have seen Edmonton play down to the level of weaker opponents. That cannot happen tonight, especially when the team is trying to gain all of the ground they lost through December and January.
In terms of points percentage, Edmonton sits fourth in the Pacific Division, just a hair behind the LA Kings. As I said previously, the Oilers have a good chance at passing a number of teams that have played far more games than them already but only if they win those games in hand.
Koskinen will get the start tonight. Mikko has averaged above 0.926SV% in his last three starts but went well below .900 in the two before that. We know by this point that Mikko plays his best when he isn't playing every game and with Skinner playing on Saturday, has now had some more time off.
Barrie and Smith will both be out until after the All Star break, though Smith was a full participant at practice yesterday. The Oilers most recent win streak and the emergence of Bouchard as a top PP defenseman (who would've thought) I believe shows Barrie as an expendable piece on this roster.
Edmonton's two main needs right now are first and foremost a legitimate starting goalie, followed by another defenseman, ideally a more shutdown physical player. Now is the time for Ken Holland to prove he can be a competent GM and trade Barrie for the anti Barrie; a defensive stay at home player who can handle tough minutes, both at even strength and on the penalty kill.