Hey y’all! Welcome back for another season of Edmonton Oilers hockey! I’m BLH and I’ll be giving you the skinny on today’s game!
If you’re new here and are wondering what 3P2W means, well, it stands for Three Players to Watch and seeing I’m as lazy as I am, I figured we’d shorten it to 3P2W.
So with that out of the way, let’s talk a little bit about what’s been going on lately in the Oilogospehere and then get into the player’s I’ve put under the spotlight for tonight’s matchup!
Random Pontifications
- One of Edmonton’s best players against the Canucks was Dylan Holloway and he left the game in the third period after blocking a slapshot on the PK. Who blocks shots like that in a blowout anyhow? Dylan Holloway does, that’s who. F*cking guy is a legend.
- What do think the odds of this are? A couple days ago Bob Stauffer is talking about the Oilers finding a way to add an impactful bottom-sixer who could play in the middle six and the very next day Frank Seravalli is chatting up Washington’s Nic Dowd… Coincidence? As if. I asked my source if Dowd was on Edmonton’s radar and was told, “Very likely.” and even with the signing of Adam Erne the club will still be looking to upgrade the depth of its bottom six as it still lacks any sort of identity currently.
- According to Boston Hockey Now, the Oilers are keeping a close eye on Boston’s netminding situation. In the event that Jack Campbell and/or Stuart Skinner can’t hold it together, Ken Holland may reach out to Don Sweeney as inquire about the services of Linus Ullmark. How he’d pull that off would fall under the “miracle” category if you ask me.
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Three Players to Watch for the Canucks
- #9 JT Miller – “Miller Time” helped himself to four points in the first game as his line embarrassed Edmonton in game one.
- #6 Brock Boeser – Four goals!? How about four more if Jack Campbell gets the redemption start?
- #40 Elias Petterson – Another one who tallied four pints in the season opener. He also rocked a couple of sleepy Oilers in that game.
Remember what I said in that previous blog? About how the Canucks could win that game? If not, take another gander below,
I reckon the Canucks are in tough to win this one tonight. The Oilers’ depth is much better than Vancouvers but two possibilities ring out for me with regards to Rick Tocchet’s men taking the two points,
- Demko (or whoever is playing net) goalies Edmonton. The Oilers get stunned by a sharp goalie more often than you’d think.
- The Oilers shit the bed on the PK. They took quite a few penalties in preseason I noticed and with Hughes, Pettersson, and Kuzmenko running the PP, I think it’d be daft to underestimate this scenario.
And what happened? Flu-struck Thatcher Demko goalied the Oilers and Edmonton’s PK shit the bed PLUS their offense couldn’t pass the puck if their lives depended on it…
I don’t know the status of Demko for tonight’s game but Casey DeSmith wasn’t exactly challenged when he came into the game. I mean it was a lost cause at that point for Edmonton, but nevertheless. Edmonton could just as easily let Vancouver walk all over them again.
I have a hard time seeing Connor McDavid allowing his club to put up another stinker like that though. The Oilers might not win but it won’t be another laugher.
Three Players to Watch for the Oilers
- The Goalie – Here come the Oilers! Amirite? Let me take you back to the first pre-game post of the year when I said this,
- “The odds on Stuart Skinner regressing are very good as goalies who’ve been nominated for the Calder trophy almost ALWAYS eat shit the following season. So that leaves the club with the ever-reliable Jack Campbell to guide them to the post-season and I tell ya, if he’s not the leading candidate for the Ty Rattie award, I don’t know who is.”
- #71 Ryan McLeod – Edmonton’s 3C looked pretty good in game one. His whole line did, to be honest. His speed and direct style of play gave the Canucks’ defense a bit of trouble. I think that will continue.
- #25 Darnell Nurse – Watch tonight. See if Vancouver’s forwards have any issues taking the puck down Nurse’s side because they sure as hell didn’t the other night. Opposing teams are targeting him because he can’t move the puck (but he’s damned good at icing it so that the other team gets a faceoff in Edmonton’s zone against tired defenders) and he gets himself into the shittiest of positions (like screening his goalie on at least two of Vancouver’s goals in their 8-1 humiliation of the Oilers). Did you see Devon Toews new contract? THAT’S what Nurse should be making and Toews is an even better defender.
I’m not going to give this one to the Oilers so easily this time. Whatever Jay Woodcroft had up his sleeves this season might as well be locked away with Dallas Eakins’ “Swarm” tactic and whatever the hell George Burnett had them doing in ’94.
This team… I don’t even know what to say. I mean, there are 81 games left in the year but at the same time, can we really trust Connor and Leon to drag the club to the playoffs again? For YEARS(!!!) I’ve been saying that this team needs to sort it’s defense and goaltending and for YEARS (!!!) they’ve ignored it. You can say they’ve got Ekholm now and Bouchard is developing into a 50pt defender and that’s all find and dandy, but the Viking is 33 years old with hip issues and Bouchard isn’t able to operate alongside Nurse or Kulak or any other defender they’ve put him with aside from Duncan Keith and now Ekholm. So how is this team going to operate successfully if this continues to be the case?
Look, when they’re on, they’re on and nobody can touch them. Even the dynasty Oilers go blown out from time to time. I think this team can go far this year but I’m skeptical as to HOW far with how the goaltending and defense is currently constructed. As for tonight’s game, I predicted a win below and I still believe they’ll grab the two points.
The First Block (Games #2-#13)
- 10/14 vs. Canucks – I think the Oilers will take 2/2 vs. Vancouver to start the year. (W)
- 10/17 @. Predators – The Pred don’t scare me. Their roster is in shambles. Poor Jusse Saros and Roman Josi. (W)
- 10/19 @ Flyers – Their forward group looks entertaining but they’ve got nobody on defense. (W)
- 10/21 vs. Winnipeg – The Jets are always a tough out. I like their chances. (L)
- 10/24 @ Wild – Minny isn’t as good as they used to be but still very solid. (W)
- 10/26 vs. Rangers – I like NY’s defense and goaltending here. (L)
- 10/29 vs.Flames – Calgary is going to surprise a few this year. (L)
- 11/2 vs. Stars – This will be a very tight game. (W)
- 11/4 vs. Predators – Leon will continue to light the Preds up. (W)
- 11/6 @ Canucks – I’ll take Edmonton for a third time here, Alex. (W)
- 11/9 @ Sharks – I don’t even recognize half the names on SJ’s roster… (W)
- 11/11 @ Kraken – I like Seattle’s roster. Well-rounded. (L)
The date of publication on these predictions is 10/11/2023 and I stand here to say that I think the Oilers will take 16pts out of a possible 24. Let’s see how we do!
