The team is off to a neutral site to play their 2nd game against the Hurricanes. The majority of the club finds themselves in Saskatoon tonight, looking for vengeance against a Canes squad that wiped the floor with them. Edmonton was ill-prepared to start that game and didn’t gain any ground territorially until the match was out of reach.
The story of Oiler camp continues to be Kailer Yamamoto’s rise through the depth chart. Nobody else is seizing their opportunities the way this kid is has done it thus far. He is 2 days away from his 19th birthday and pushed past Puljujarvi, Strome, Kassian, and Caggiula to earn a shot as McDavid’s right winger. He has an NHL preseason leading 5 goals and looks like he belongs with the big club.
At this point it is inevitable that he makes his regular season debut in October and we can evaluate him further when the games are at 100% speed. Until then, we can see if the chemistry with McDavid continues. Edmonton can ill-afford to go into the season with their top line still trying to figure things out. If he fits there tonight then that could be where he starts on Game 1 in October.
What we haven’t really spoken much about is that the 2nd line of Lucic-Draisaitl-Somebody still hasn’t shown a lot of success either. In fact, most of the LWs on the team have been held off the scoresheet and the same issue at RW for McDavid’s line is afflicting Draisaitl’s line. I would love to see the pieces start to fit either tonight or against Vancouver so it looks like Edmonton has two lines ready to contribute offensively.
Jesse Puljujarvi shows bursts of high end talent and offensive ability and the he goes quiet for two shifts. I want to see him have a great game form beginning to end but it hasn’t happened yet. I think he’ll get there, he’s only 19 years old, but it’s going to be touch-and-go until he puts everything together. LINEUP
No RNH or Jokinen tonight. Strome will be in Letestu’s spot.
Maroon McDavid Yamamoto Lucic Draisaitl Puljujarvi Caggiula Strome Kassian Malone Kelly Pakarinen
Auvitu Larsson Russell Benning Nurse Gryba
Brossoit Talbot
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Faster. Edmonton was awful on Monday against the Hurricanes and you can trace almost everything back to just how slow they looked. They were second to the puck in almost every single battle until the 3rd period when Carolina let up. As a result, the Hurricanes dominated in possession and Edmonton’s players fell back onto lazy plays with the stick that turned into penalties. It was a non-stop parade to the box. They need to up their speed game. The Hurricanes were ready to play against the supposedly fast Oilers and the club needs to be ready for that all year long. They aren’t surprising anyone.
2) OV2. The Oilers are in a strange spot with their defense where they could obviously use an upgrade but Sekera will provide a huge boost when he returns. Until then, the 7th defender may be required to provide more than a few solid, yet unspectacular minutes. The 7th guy may have to do quite a bit more than that if trouble strikes. Auvitu has been great by my eye, but he hasn’t played a whole lot. He will be partnered with Larsson tonight. He should complement Larsson a fair amount because Auvitu is a better skater while Larsson is a heavier defender. If he wants to make an impression, now is the time.
3) Where Do You Fit? This lineup is trying out Strome at Center and Caggiula back to Left Wing. Strome has yet to establish himself as a winger. He’s scored a couple goals this fall, but he still looks uncomfortable at time. If Center is where he can assert himself more then that may be where he fits long term. As McLellan noted, it’s also good to see him play there now so they have a better idea of what to expect if/when the occasion arises that they need an injury replacement. Alternatively, if Draisaitl has to play RW in the future then Strome can go to 3C and RNH back to 2C.
Puck drops tonight at 7PM Mountain Time on the Oilers Website. Game On!
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