Ahh preseason hockey. That wonderful time of year when optimism is at it's highest point, right up there with the loftiest of expectations. On Sunday night an Oilers team that looked more like an AHL roster than NHL, faced off against a Flames roster with a fair number of NHL players. Backlund, Dube, Pitlick, Lucic, Lewis, Zadarov, Andersson, Valimaki, and Gudbranson are all players that should be in the mix with the Flames big club. The Oilers meanwhile iced a top line that was the Condors top line in Benson, McLeod, and Marody, a second line of veteran hopefuls in Perlini, Shore, and Turris, and likely the third pair for the Oilers to start the season in Koekkoek and Bouchard.
Naturally the Oilers would outshoot the Flames 49-15 and take home a 4-0 win.
Some people took to social media after the game to blast the Flames with #firetreleving and more while others were discussing how the Benson, Marody, and McLeod line could be one of the better lines in the bottom six this season. On both sides the brakes need to be pushed down with a lead weight.
This was the first pre-season game. The Oilers roster was filled with young guys and vets trying to earn a spot and need to be playing their hearts out in order to get noticed by their coach and stick with camp for just a day longer. The Flames meanwhile iced a number of veterans who will be using these games to get their legs moving again, get comfortable with the systems once more, and avoid injuries. Overall each side was playing for completely different reasons.
The Oilers absolutely dominated the Flames all night and there are success stories and good things to discuss there. Evan Bouchard looked like the best player for either team by a country mile and looked like a poised veteran all night. It's unfair to ask but Bouchard needs to step in this season and play like a veteran of several years instead of a young rookie. So far it is looking like he can be the former. Koekkoek alongside him played a steady game too and I could see this pair together for a number of games this season.
The Benson-McLeod duo continue to make magic happen and I think both men start in the top 12 forwards to start the season because of this. Benson looks faster than I have ever seen him and isn't afraid to get right into the tough areas of the ice to score goals. McLeod is also getting chances to show his offensive prowess by playing with a skill orientated player as opposed to a guy like Jujhar Khaira or Devin Shore. Marody looked fine but I still don't know if he has the skating ability to be an NHL regular. He still looks a step behind.
I think Derek Ryan is going to endear himself to Oilers fans quickly. Ryan plays a steady low event game but has the skating ability and playmaking to actually make things happen in the offensive zone. He was rewarded with a powerplay goal for his efforts against the Flames. Perlini was another player who likely improved his status with the coaching staff. Perlini was a wrecking ball and registered at least 4 hits by my eyes and wasn't afraid to fire the puck on net. While he is a left shot, right now a Benson-McLeod-Perlini trio gets my vote for the fourth line. The fact that both Perlini and Benson received PK time should be of note as well.
A couple of rookies impressed too. Xavier Bourgault will need another year or two but the young man reminds me a bit of when Ryan McLeod came into camp right after his draft year and impressed. Bourgault scored a goal but was strong on both sides of the puck and made a few good plays on the forecheck. Broberg made some good plays as well but there was some shakiness to his game and was bailed out a few times by his partner Filip Berglund. Philip Kemp has been another player who has impressed in camp and continued to do so against Calgary. The big right shot D man has some solid offensive instincts and made a few brilliant passes through traffic that still found their man.
While neither was challenged too much, both of the Oilers goalies in Skinner and Konovalov made all the saves they needed to. I'd like to see both men get at least another half game in apiece.
This is an Oilers blog but I'm not going to resist taking a few shots at the Calgary Flames. If this is the brand of Sutter hockey that Flames fans are going to see than buckle up my friends. While Calgary crushed it in the hits department, going 30-9 against the Oil that was really the only place they led. Even when the Flames found themselves down by a couple goals, the team did not open things up or try and take any risks offensively. Zadorov and Gudbranson in particular on the back end were slow as molasses and made some awful giveaways in their own zone.
The top six in Calgary should be competitive with the likes of Lindholm, Gaudreau, Tkachuk, Coleman, Mangiapane and Monahan but I don't know how any Calgary fans can be satisfied with this bottom six. Unless Dylan Dube suddenly breaks out I just don't see any offensive capabilities from this group and the defense lacks the ability to help these guys break it out.
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There are still seven pre-season games to go and the next will be on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken. It is a home pre-season game so we might see a few more notable Oilers players in the lineup.