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G8 - Red Wings @ Oilers - Win... But Better

October 18, 2019, 11:14 AM ET [197 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Edmonton Oilers racked up the goals against the Flyers with a 6-3 victory.....

And Coach Tippett was pissed.

As he had every reason to be. Aside from the first couple shifts of the game, as well as some time after one of the Oilers numerous powerplays, the Flyers controlled the pace of the game at 5 on 5. The only reason why Edmonton did not lose that game 10-6 is because Mikko Koskinen had to bail the team out all night, stopping 49 of 52 shots on net.






Some might be happy with the now 6-1 record Edmonton currently carries as they sit first in the Pacific Division, but thankfully Tippett was not one of them. The 45% PP numbers Edmonton is boasting will not be sustainable all season and the moment that starts to falter, the Oil are going to lose a whole bunch of games.

Thankfully Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are super human and can carry this team on their back to victory on any given night, but again... the supporting cast is failing to provide any glimpse of offense. Neither of the Oilers third or fourth lines have yet to register a goal at even strength.

The schedule has been unbelievably kind to Edmonton as tonight the team faces another non-playoff team that is coming off of a back to back situation. Last night the Red Wings lost to the tune of 5-1 against the Flames and have now lost three in a row. This should be another easy 2 points for Edmonton but they need to start looking much more dominant against these bottom feeder teams.

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LINEUP

OILERS


Draisaitl-McDavid-Kassian
Neal-RNH-Chiasson
Khaira-Sheahan-Russell
Jurco-Haas-Archibald

Nurse-Bear
Klefbom-Russell
Manning-Benning

Koskinen

RED WINGS

Bertuzzi-Larkin-Mantha
Hirose-Athanasiou-Glendening
Filppula-Nielsen-Erne
Helm- de la Rose-Abdelkader

Nemeth-Green
Daley-Hronek
Cholowski-Biega

Bernier
OILERS PLAYER SPOTLIGHT - RILEY SHEAHAN

Sheahan is the one player I have been impressed with in the bottom six. He is a hard working player who wins tough battles in the corner and is usually the reason Edmonton's third/fourth line remains in the offensive zone. Sheahan works hard in the corners and against the wall but seldom is he able to bring the puck into a position where he can fire a scoring chance on net. Sheahan once played for the Red Wings and I think we see him try and be a bit more offensive tonight.

RED WINGS PLAYER SPOTLIGHT - ANTHONY MANTHA

Mantha came out of the gates as hot as James Neal with 5 goals in his first two games. Since then Mantha has slowed down with only one goal in his last five but the young skilled forward can certainly bring it.

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3 KEYS TO VICTORY

1.) Respond To The Coach's Message -
You have to believe Tippett had a loud conversation with his guys after the last game. The lineup intrigues me because I feel Tippett will be sending a message to some guys tonight but the first ten minutes of the game will be very telling about how Edmonton took his message.
2.) More Shots - Going hand in hand with the inflated PP numbers is how opportunistic individual Oilers players have been with their shots. Now that the schedule has started to balance out and teams have played roughly the same number of games, we can start to see some patterns. Edmonton has the 4th fewest shots in the league but has scored the 6th most goals. That will not last.
3.) Protect the Slot - One of the most aggravating things to watch against Philly was how easily Edmonton allowed their players to fire high danger chances from the slot. That centre area of the ice needs to be much tougher for the opposition to get to.

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FILM OF THE DAY

Despite only one lose through seven games, the Edmonton Oilers are not a good team nor are they playing like a team that can make the playoffs. The players need to understand this and not let their ego's get the best of them and instead focus on playing a tight game. Things seldom end well for people who let their egos get the best of them. Take Gordan Gekko from Wall Street...

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