Now that the Oilers prospects have played a warm-up game against the children of Canucks season ticket holders they are free to start this tournament against the Flames prospects.
An 8-2 drubbing last night included goals scored by 8 different players including all three of Edmonton’s top prospects. The game was so out of hand that the Oilers opted not to play McDavid during the final 5 minutes or so of the game, including some PP time. It made no difference as others were scoring at will as well.
The game was scrambly and Edmonton’s most talented players looked very much out of sync early on. McDavid would say after the game that he didn’t think he played all that well, and early on I would agree with that sentiment, even though he created scoring chances often and finished with a goal and an assist. He just looked like he wasn’t on the same page as his wingers Moroz and Chase, at least offensively. The two of them honed in on Jake Virtanen after the Canucks prospect leveled McDavid with a good hard hit. Moroz would return the favor and get into a few scrums throughout the game and Chase threw a filthy elbow towards the chin of Virtanen while the ref wasn’t looking.
The reaction to McDavid getting tagged was on the verge of going overboard but I don’t think it actually got there. Frankly, the Oilers have turtled so often in the past when games got rough that seeing them stand up for each other was a welcome sight. That sentiment comes right down from the team’s Captain Darnell Nurse who also went after Virtanen.
Here are a set of random thoughts I collected from the game:
McDavid showed his speed and skill, even finished with multiple points, but he was rusty and you could tell. He looked much more comfortable as the game went on. He attacks the net with incredible speed and has no reservation about holding onto the puck an going behind the net.
Nurse’s skating ability is going to be one of his most powerful weapons. He can fly out of his own zone as easily as he can make the outlet pass. He can also slide across the blueline in the offensive zone to create new shooting lanes and avoid shot blockers. I can’t imagine a scenario where he isn’t an Oiler full-time by Christmas.
Draisaitl also started off a little sleepy but he too started to look really good. He is incredibly patient with the puck. It’s a quality that makes some analysts a little nervous. We are bombarded with the idea that everything has to happen at warp speed in the NHL. I think Draisaitl changes the pace on purpose and it throws defenders off their game. If he develops more chemistry with Slepyshev then things could get really out of hand.
Slepyshev was relatively quiet most of the night but he is a big boy at 6’1… and 217 pounds. He went into the corners a couple of times and it looked like the Canucks defenders were trying to move Grandma’s old tube TV up the stairs. Slepyshev scored the sweetest goal of the night on a one-timer that was wired from the slot. He was billed as a shooter and now we know why.
Braden Christoffer is much more skilled than I anticipated. He was supposed to be a physical player with some skill but it looked the other way around last night. He was dangerous on a couple sorties against the Canucks.
Connor Rankin is also dangerous. He had 79 points in 72 games last year and a few more nights like that one will go a long way to earning him a look at the professional leagues.
Ethan Bear was largely invisible last night. I didn’t notice him involved in the game one way or the other. I was expecting more. Hopefully the rust is shaken off now.
Eetu Laurikainen looked really good. 16 saves on 16 shots and only played half the game. We should see him again if the Oilers are only playing him in half games. Kid might be the real deal.
LINEUP
As we were yesterday, we are waiting for official word on the lineup. The one thing everyone is expecting is for McDavid to sit tonight’s game out. The hit was fine, it’s not about resting him after such a big collision, it was always about pacing him. I’ll lay out my best guess then update as the real info becomes available.
Winquist Draisaitl Slepyshev Moroz Platzer Chase Rankin Roy Soy Christoffer Linaker Loiseau
Nurse LaLeggia Betker Bear Jones Davis
Papirny
UPDATE
As per Reid Wilkins the lines are as such. I still believe McDavid wont play:
Slepyshev Draisaitl Chase Loiseau McDavid Winquist Rankin Platzer Sanford Christoffer Roy Bukarts Soy Linaker Moroz
Nurse LaLeggia Waltz Jones Bear Leveille Betker Davis
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Don’t Let Up. These are inexperienced players who just dominated the last team they faced. It might be reasonable to expect them to take their foot off the gas, but that would be a mistake. The Flames beat the Jets in their first game and the Jets were one of the favourites at this tournament. The Oilers propects will need to get their heads back into the game.
2) Chemical Reaction. Yesterday the players shook off a lot of rust. By the end of the game they were starting to look much better but the score was so out of hand that they held back. The Draisaitl line in particular, if kept together, has a chance to really explode. That said, Moroz and Chase looked like they were getting in sync as well. Even without McDavid the club has a lot of offensive firepower in the lineup. It has to be on display.
3) Depth Defense. Last night Edmonton’s depth defenders were exposed relatively frequently. Waltz in particular was caught on several occasions. From Betker down the defense needs to tighten up or players like Sam Bennett are going to victimize the team. Calgary has enough talent to make Edmonton pay on mistakes that were being made last night.
Puck drops tonight at 8:30PM on the Oilers Website. Game On!
Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy