After an extremely rocky start to the season, the Oilers seem to be turning the corner and are winning hockey games. Here are my take-aways from the Oilers season thus far.
Connor McDavid
The year began on a very awkward note as McDavid had yet to sign a contract extension and everyone was beginning to worry as each day passed. Once he signed his team friendly two year extension worth a bargain 12.5 million, Oilers nation was able to breathe easier.
However, in the first 25 games of the season, he just did not seem like himself. His play on the ice was tremendous as usual, but his demeanour was off. When he would score or be a participant in a goal, he did not seem happy, he almost seemed annoyed. With the team being so inconsistent, I was a little worried.
In the last 25 games, I see the old McDavid who is intense and displays more passion. He’s obviously been on a tear in the last 25 games and the Oilers are winning and this all goes hand in hand.
Tristan Jarry
I was against the Oilers trading for him, but so far I was completely wrong. He’s playing well, but just going with the eye test, I really like his positioning and he’s been fairly sharp. We’ll see what happens with the rest of the season, but at the end of the day a change was needed. I realized that Jarry is a far better goalie than I had initially presumed, and I’m happy to have been so out to lunch with my initial assessment.
Injuries
The return of players like Walman, Roslovic and Kapanen (who’s out again), gave the Oilers that scoring depth they sorely needed, and Walman is giving the backend some much needed stability. The Oiler’s overall play has improved dramatically, and they look more like the team that went to the finals.
Team Culture
During the Oiler’s 6-0 win during the Canucks, I liked how the icetime was more evenly distributed. Now this is probably a by-product of Draisaitl being out and the game being out of reach, but I really believe that the coaching staff needs to show that they believe in their bottom six and continue this trend. Not always rely on McDavid and Draisaitl when they are down by a goal. Trust your third line to be on the ice and give them confidence.
My only gripe from the last game is Mangiapane playing less than 10 minutes. He’s a good player and exactly what you want in a bottom six. Play him!
I’m not saying there is no team culture, but from my vantage point I’m not quite sure what it is. And this is not the player's fault. The coaching staff needs to better manage all of this so that the team feels and looks more united. It reminds me of this scene in Batman Begins.
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