It all starts tonight. The season in anticipation for so long that the sting of the last one almost forgotten, but not completely. They weren’t good enough. Heck, they weren’t good at all. But now after a summer of change the Oilers are about to begin anew with depth the club hasn’t seen in a long time. MacTavish admits wholeheartedly now that last year’s incarnation of the Oilers was a deeply flawed group. The defense was paper thin and the goaltending failed them early. He took measures to remove the pieces that weren’t working and plug in ones that should.
Unquestionably, on paper, these Oilers are better. Much better. The core group is intact, even growing, and more NHL bodies have been acquired to complement them. The Oilers added an NHL pairing in Fayne and Nikitin, costing them only a 5th round pick and money. This boost to the Defense should result in immediate dividends for a team that was previously incapable of defending. The club, last year, was forced to play the few NHL caliber defensemen they had in situations that put them over their heads. Even if we can find enough common ground to say that Marincin and Petry were the team’s best pairing, they were still facing top opposition when they really should have been facing the 2nd tier of opponents. With the new additions patrolling the blueline we can expect a reduction in the tough minutes faced by Petry and Schultz. With that we should hopefully see them thrive under less pressure.
At the forward positions the Oilers were 4 players deep last year in terms of scoring. It was Taylor Hall leading the charge, Eberle after him, David Perron scoring big goals, and then RNH greasing the wheels while trying to stay responsible in his own zone. After RNH’s 56 points it was almost a 20 point cliff to the Oilers’ 5th best scorer Gagner. Now the team is banking on a newly acquired 3rd Overall pick Center to occupy Gagner’s spot in the lineup. That’s asking a lot of an 18 year old but the team also added former 60 point man Teddy Purcell and Corsi pro Benoit Pouliot. Along with the maturation of Nail Yakupov and Mark Arcobello they are banking on there being significantly more scoring this season. The Oilers need about 20 more goals scored on the whole to become middle of the road in the NHL. They weren’t a high scoring team, they weren’t a hard working team, they weren’t much of a team at all.
The Oilers can be a good team this year, but it’s about time they start to prove it with wins on the ice. Everybody is tired of questioning whether this will be their year or not. The Rebuild has been going on long enough. It isn’t actually good enough to compete for the Playoffs. The expectations should be to make them and it doesn’t matter how difficult that task might seem. Last year Colorado and Tampa Bay rocketed up the standings from the bottom of the NHL heap. The Oilers can do the same thing but like those other clubs they need things to start working out for them.
This can be the year the Oilers take the big leap forward, and may the hockey gods have mercy on us if it isn’t.
LINEUPS
The forward lines are sharp and look very impressive. The 3 scoring line experiment excites the living daylights out of me and a 4th line that is expected to provide relief in the Defensive Zone is a welcome thought. However, once we move past the forwards we start to get into a little head scratching territory. As per the Oilers yesterday, Brad Hunt will be Schultz’ defensive partner and both Klefbom and Nurse will sit in the press box. I cannot begin to describe how absolutely insane that is in detail. Perhaps I’ll save that for tomorrow after we see Hunt in game action. Suffice to say, the decision is ludicrous and defies all logic almost out of spite. Scrivens is expected to start despite being thoroughly outplayed by Fasth as well.
Hall RNH Eberle Pouliot Draisaitl Yakupov Perron Arcobello Purcell Hendricks Gordon Joensuu
Nikitin Fayne Ference Petry Hunt Schultz
Scrivens
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Big Night, Bright Lights. The home opener should be an exciting night for this Oilers team. They want so badly to be good for the fans and it seems as though they may be finally ready to compete. Brad Hunt and Draisaitl are going to see first-hand what the season/home opener for an NHL team is like. The adrenaline should be coursing through them, Draisaitl especially as he makes his NHL Debut.
2) Tired Flames. The Flames were just beaten in last night at home by the Canucks and they will be starting their backup Ramo who had a .911 sv% in 40 games last year. It is well documented that teams fare worse in the 2nd half of back to backs than under normal circumstances. There is no excuse for the Oilers not to overwhelm the Flames tonight. None. Calgary has 1 capable Defensive pairing and only a smattering of NHL forwards.
3) Power Play Please. The Oilers have been working on the PP since camp ended and the units are as follows, 1st Unit: Hall RNH Eberle Pouliot Schultz, 2nd Unit: Perron Draisaitl Yakupov Purcell Hunt. The Oilers are banking on Hunt’s big shot on the second PP but both units SHOULD be deadly. Nobody in either unit is a lead-handed grunt whose sole purpose is to block out the sun. They all bring offensive elements to the game, though the 2nd unit looks extremely susceptible to shorthanded chances against. If the Oilers want to overcome a perceived lack of toughness it will be by punishing teams on the man advantage.
Puck drops tonight at 7:30PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet 360. Game On! Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy