Calling the first two games a lackluster performance would be an understatement to say the least but the win against the Rangers at the very least gives the team something to try and build on. In no particular order here are some of my thoughts on the team through the first three games.
CAM TALBOT
Talbot currently sits with a .901 SV%, allowing 2.71 goals per game but I would also say he has been the Oilers second best player behind McDavid so far. Aside from one poor play behind his own net during the game against the Devils I would not criticize Talbot for any of the goals scored against him.
PRE-SEASON ≠ REGULAR SEASON
The biggest story for the Oilers in pre-season was how effective their unproven right wingers looked. It is the easiest trap to fall in to and even I found myself believing some of the hype. Through the first three games, Rattie, Puljujarvi, and Yamamoto have a combined point total of 1... an assist by Ty Rattie. Rattie has looked just okay on the top line, Yamamoto has looked out of his element and Puljujarvi... we will get to that in a second.
In fact the scoring has been non existent throughout the entire lineup. The Oilers have 4 players who have registered goals thus far, a total of 5 goals. The Coyotes are the only team doing worse in this category. For a team that is supposedly built from it's dynamic forwards we aren't seeing much goal scoring.
KILL THE DUMP AND CHASE
A big reason of this has to do with the system Todd McLellan has put in place. The Oilers are one of the few teams that still use the dump and chase system and there is a reason for that. Simply put the speed of the game has improved so much there is less of an ability for "fast" teams to get behind the goal line to retrieve pucks.
The Oilers have Connor McDavid...the best player in the National Hockey League... and the reason he is, is because of his speed. Instead of building a system to utilize your trump card to the best of his ability McLellan seems set extinguish any controlled entries in favor of dump and pray.
I'm a big fan of Sean Tierney and if you are a stats lover and unfamiliar with his work I recommend you check out his work. Tierney posted a number of graphs breaking down some numbers from the beginning of this season including this beauty.
In layman's terms this is a representation of pace of play. The higher teams on the list represent the teams that are taking more chances, shooting more, and overall playing a faster game. If you're having trouble finding the Oilers they are waaaaaay down at the bottom left.
THE PP IS TERRIBLE. CHANGE IT NOW
The Oilers currently sit 19th at 20% with 2 goals in 12 chances. That alone does not make their PP bad but the system in place clearly is not working. Watching the game against the Rangers I noted every time Lucic had the puck he had to turn and face his back to the net to get a pass over to the left side.
It cannot be understated how crippling and limited it is to have 5 left shots on the top unit. Every team knows exactly how the Oilers are going to move the puck making it incredibly easy to counter.
What makes it even better is when I see tweets like this...
Excellent! Progre...
Sigh...
SECOND LINE?
One of the key questions for this season was if Draisaitl could drive his own line. First and foremost let me be clear that Draisaitl has not been good enough thus far. On the other hand he has been dealt a 2 and a 7 and told to go all in.
Milan Lucic has been okay... not poor but okay. More and more I feel Lucic could really do well on a third line role providing support with a player like Strome. Yamamoto is moving his feet and drew a couple penalties against the Rangers but he is being pushed out of the play far too easily.
Draisaitl is dealing with two passengers and something has to give eventually. Giving players time to build chemistry without breaking out the blender is something McLellan stated was important for the players but if it isn't working it isn't working. Jesse Puljujarvi is the obvious candidate to swap with Yamamoto... which means we will probably see Caggiula or Rieder there instead.
The Oilers get back to it on Tuesday against the Jets who also have yet to truly spark their offense.
Thanks for reading.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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