Losing the first game isn't a big deal. The Oilers have actually lost their last two season openers, both to the Canucks. Losing in the way that the Oilers did on Wednesday night is a far greater concern.
Campbell was pulled after letting in 4 goals. Skinner came in fairing no better himself, allowing another 4 goals. The floodgates opened up but I find it hard to criticize either netminder when the entire team in front failed to show up.
The McDavid and Draisaitl lines were both completely ineffective, slow, and looked like AHLers compared to the Canucks lineup. Nurse, Bouchard, Kulak, and Ceci looked lost and surprised every time an open man flew past them and scored. There was a complete lack of effort from the top of this roster to the bottom. That is on the players and that is on the coaching staff as well.
The only line that seemed to care at all and create any chances was the McLeod-Foegele-Holloway line, with Holloway in particular being the only stand out player for Edmonton. He was skating for miles, had some chances, and even though the game was totally out of hand at 7-1, he blocked a shot and left the game after the puck hit him in the wrist (luckily it appears he is fine).
The team reportedly had a meeting after the game to discuss what the heck just happened. The message should be simple; if they want to show the NHL that they are a potential Cup favorite, than they need to have the matching effort.
Perhaps it's good that they are getting this message knocked into their heads so early and this is something we will be laughing about two months from now when the Oilers only have 4 losses on the season but why do they still need to learn this? All pre-season long we heard these players talk about how much they hated losing to Vegas and how now is the time to step up. Stumbling out of the gates is not a good sign.
Obviously there will be a better effort in the home opener against Vancouver on Saturday (because I don't think it could be any worse) but there are still some things I worry will continue moving forward.
I don't like both Kane and Brown on McDavid's wings. Neither player is particularly fleet of foot and that line struggled to match any form of speed that the Canucks threw at them. I would rather see one of Hyman or RNH swapped onto that line.
This new box defense we are seeing Edmonton implement is not clicking yet. The defensemen on Wednesday all looked completely lost and second guessing themselves on where they were supposed to be. I know there is a belief that Edmonton needs a more structured defensive system but I don't know if this group is the one to pull it off.
It goes to show how crucial Ekholm is to this roster and what an enormous difference it made last season when he entered the lineup. It looks like Ekholm will be ready for Saturday and that we are returning to the Ekholm and Bouchard pairing with Ceci and Nurse. I like Ekholm and Bouchard together... not sure I like Ceci and Nurse back together but there isn't a better option at this time.
If the team learned a lesson than it will be an easy loss to move on from. Time will tell if this loss was simply indicative of bigger problems ahead.
Thanks for reading.