On Tuesday night, the Oilers iced their top players against a Seattle Kraken team that did not. The results were as expected as Edmonton waltzed away with a 6-0 victory. As I must with ever pre-season game, let me start off by saying pre-season games are nothing games where things don't matter, except for the things that do. Here are some thoughts on that game and where the Oilers should go from here.
We got our first glimpses of the Hyman-McDavid-Puljujarvi trio and they were an absolute pleasure to watch. Hyman and Puljujarvi finished with a goal and an assist each while the captain had a goal and two assists. The highlight goal of the night was easily the Hyman powerplay goal. McDavid skates in like a fiend and fires a shot which circles all the way around the net. Puljujarvi picks it up and pushes past a Kraken player and fires a wicked backhand pass to McDavid who fires it right onto the stick of Hyman in front of the net who taps in the goal. The trio showed some good chemistry all night and it was that particular play that showed how deadly these three players could be and how aggressive they are in the offensive end.
The Oilers second line had a quiet night and were actually outchanced by the Morgan Geekie, Sheahan, Lind line and got a healthy dose of the Oleksiak and Dunn duo. Draisaitl and Yamamoto both registered two shots on net at 5 on 5 while RNH did not record a single shot. Again, I'm not going to be overly critical on their first pre-season game but it is something to simply note for now. Draisaitl as always was money on the powerplay.
It was a quiet night for Benson and McLeod and while it shouldn't hurt their chances at roster spots it certainly won't help them either. Benson finished with a shot on net while McLeod did not. McLeod can skate brilliantly but the young forward is going to need to start showing some ability to generate offense, especially against a Kraken lineup like the one that was iced.
Tuesday night it was the veteran line that provided the best offensive punch for the Edmonton Oilers. Kyle Turris, Devin Shore, and Brendan Perlini were rolling all night with Perlini in particular standing out with a two goal performance. Perlini has such a good shot and a fast release with both of his goals being absolute bombs. Shore and Turris both had some nifty passes to their linemate but it was Perlini who did the heavy lifting on that line. The Oilers picked up Perlini as another depth option to try and improve their depth scoring and right now he is looking like the player who has scored 10+ goals in three NHL seasons.
The Kraken failed to generate much in the way of grade A chances so that makes it more difficult to grade the Oilers defense. Darnell Nurse had the best night on the blue line for the Oilers. His goal was one that Driedger would want back but Nurse scored it by skating all the way from his own zone and letting off a shot. Last season Nurse scored a number of his goals the same way and with three shots on Tuesday night the Oilers number one defenseman showed he intends to do the same once more.
Mikko Koskinen and Smith stopped all the shots that came their way so that was neat.
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Where does this leave the lineup right now? Based on current performance, here is how I would set up my opening night lineup:
Hyman-McDavid-Puljujarvi RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto Foegele-Ryan-Perlini Benson-McLeod-Turris Shore
Perlini has some size, he skates well, and he has a great shot. If he continues to play like this than he is everything that the Oilers should want in a third line winger. While a left shot winger, he did score his goals last night while playing the right side. Kassian will soon get into some games; likely tonight against the Winnipeg Jets and for his own sake he needs to show up big.
Does a situation exist where Kassian finds himself out of the opening night lineup? I'm not sure. Tippett gives some of his veterans far too much rope and Kassian could be one of these players. Kassian, who has three years remaining on his deal at 3.2 million can only struggle so much this season before he is shown the bench. Right now we are seeing a flurry of young prospects and veterans pushing for spots which means if a player is struggling than his job shouldn't be safe.
Alternatively, Kassian could be dealt before the season begins, especially if he has a couple good pre-season games and a team with some cap space takes note and believe the big man can improve their lineup.
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Lastly a quick Josh Archibald update. Dave Tippett has said that Archibald is currently undergoing some blood tests but is not feeling well and states there is some concern. Tippett has also said that the forward has tested negative for COVID. This situation could also affect the Oilers roster decisions so I will keep tabs on it.