Sorry everyone, it was a busy weekend for me! Saturday night the Oilers for the first time this season had to bounce back after a loss. Edmonton as a whole played well enough to beat the Flyers but ultimately if you had to point to finger at one player it would have to be Mikko Koskinen. The big Finn allowed four goals on 33 shots and the ones he allowed really took the wind out of the Oilers sails. The first was a goal in the dying second of the first period after the Oilers had just scored their second unanswered goal to tie the game. The second was a clean shot without traffic in front that simply stumped the Oilers netminder.
Last night Mikko Koskinen came up big and should have gotten the shutout but unfortunately this time his team let him down as they failed to clear a puck which ultimately ended up on Brock Boeser's stick to make it a 2-1 final for the Oilers. Here are some thoughts on the game.
This game was nowhere near close, despite what the 2-1 score indicated. Edmonton controlled play for large segments of the game. Their CF% or Corksi% as Dave Tippett would call it, was 51.02% and their xGF% was 55.83%. Simply put, the Oilers highly outchanced the Canucks and if it weren't for a couple posts and some stellar goaltending by Thatcher Demko, this could have been a 5-1 game.
Demko shut the door on the Oilers at 5 on 5 but once again the Oilers powerplay got to work. The first goal was a result of some hard work by the Oilers second PP unit, which yes contrary to popular belief, Edmonton does have a second unit powerplay. Darnell Nurse fired a shot on net which Warren Foegele fought for and ultimately shot past Demko in the final second of the powerplay. Foegele, now 2-2-4 in his first seven games continues to be a consistent, relentless option on the Oilers third line and if Yamamoto continues to come up short I could see the lines juggled to give him a chance in the top six.
The third line as a whole played excellent with Derek Ryan in particular having a strong game and was almost rewarded with a goal in the first period, mere seconds after the Foegele goal. That line received a healthy dose of the Garland, Dickinson, and Podkolzin line, which being a Canucks home game was the matchup that Travis Green wanted and it was the Oilers who came out on top. Edmonton finally has a third line which can outproduce it's opponent at home or on the road.
The weak spot for the Oilers remains their fourth line which has struggled to have any kind of identity over the first seven games. It was good to see Tyler Benson draw in but the young forward really never looked comfortable. I don't blame him as it's difficult to find any consistency playing less than 10 minutes a night but that doesn't change the fact that he struggled.
With how little the fourth line is playing, I wonder if it is time to call up Ryan McLeod and see if the natural chemistry that he and Benson had in the AHL could open up some opportunities, maybe alongside Perlini for a full offensive punch or with a player like Colton Sceviour to add a bit more grit.
I haven't talked much about Duncan Keith or Cody Ceci as of late. Both have been very solid for the Oilers. The biggest thing that is needed out of the Oilers second pairing is to be able to be defensively sound and help push play without playing much with Connor McDavid. They haven't been amazing in that regard but they have been steady. Away from McDavid, Ceci and Keith have posted a 41.18CF% which is lower but they have gone 3-3 in goals for vs against at 5 on 5 with an xGF% of 50.12%. Math aside it simply means that this duo have come up even against their opponents when the Oilers best player is not on the ice. Last night in particular Keith was firing the puck on net like a madman and I do expect to start seeing some more offense out of him.
Evan Bouchard has settled into his role of top pairing defenseman far quicker than I think even the most fervid fans expected. Bouchard has been relied on by Tippett since game one of this season and he has not dissapointed. Bouchard's emergence has allowed Tippett to ease off of his usage of Tyson Barrie, turning the latter into more of a PP specialist.
Going into the last game, McDavid and Puljujarvi were the only two Oilers players who had points in every single game. Now it is only Connor McDavid. Puljujarvi had a few good chances, including a wide open net which he somehow failed to bury. Right now JP is averaging just over 2 shots a game which is great for a top six player but now I want to challenge him to do more. With his shot, Jesse should be finding ways to get at least three shots on net a game. He is an excellent player in his own right and I think he needs to avoid falling into the "pass to McDavid" trap.
Edmonton finished the month of October 6-1-0 which is an absolutely brilliant way to start the season. They will try to keep this rolling into November when they face off against the Seattle Kraken at home on November 1st.