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!
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Random Pontifications
“Is this collection of guys, both players and coaches together, perhaps just not very well equipped to deal with pressure?”
- Here we go Oilers fans! The media are starting the gut checks early this year! I’ll tell ya what, this wasn’t the tune Leavins was singing last year when the Oilers made it to the conference final and if the team gets its act together, we’ll see him flip-flop again.
” Does a real Stanley Cup contender enter into the regular season without a real 4th line Center? I see that as an indictable offence.”
- Can anybody tell me when the last time a proper 4th line center made or broke a team’s Stanley Cup dreams? A guy who plays under ten minutes a game and is usually on the 4th line for a very good reason… Here’s Leavins giving Holland the gears because he re-signed Janmark, Ryan, and gave Sam Gagner a PTO instead of getting a proper 4C… Smh…
“There is a lot of noise out there Connor Brown. Specifically, I see calls for him to be optioned to the AHL before his games-played bonus structure kicks in… Do you really think there is a better $775k player out there just looking for a job?
- What is Leavins talking about here? You don’t think Holland could offer the same deal to another better player that he gave Brown and it would get rejected? What’s Phil Kessel doing these days? Reckon he’d turn down $3.25M guaranteed to play in Edmonton’s top six and give them a bona fide goal-scoring winger? Christ, at this point you have to consider Puljujarvi again now that his hips are back healthy again. What’s Josh Bailey doing these days? There’s always an internal solution too as Rafa Lavoie is tearing up the AHL right now.
- Not re-signing Klim Kostin in favor of Connor Brown is looking a tad foolish right now.
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Three Players to Watch for the (team)
- #91 Nazem Kadri (0g 1a 1pts) – Good Christ… I thought the forwards on Edmonton were struggling. Kadri has 23 shots so far this season (18 in the last five games) and not a goal to show for it. That probably means he’s going to get one tonight then… But if not, he’s going to get the focus on him somehow. You watch, he won’t be able to help himself.
- #52 MacKenzie Weegar (1g 0a 1pt) – Yikes… Calgary’s big acquisition with Huberdeau in the Tkachuk trade is eating absolute shit this year. Can’t say he’s not trying though because he’s tied with Kadri for most shots on the team. Imagine having 46 shots between two players but only one goal to show for it…
- #17 Yegor Sharangovich (1g 1a 2pts) – I can’t believe they’ve got this guy on the 4th line. Who’s running the show in Calgary for Christ’s sake? In the three seasons prior to coming to C-Town he had 30pts, 46pts, and 30pts and at this rate he’ll be lucky to get to 20pts. Two years ago he had 24 goals! The Flames should have him up in the top-six not Dryden Hunt.
Three Players to Watch for the Oilers
- #2 Evan Bouchard (2g 6a 8pts) – Leavins is comparing this Bouchard situation with that of Jultz’s saying be careful what you wish for, Bouchard could leave and win a Cup somewhere else… You mean he could go to another team and play behind a proper no.1 RHD (Letang) and be utilized correctly instead of getting shoved into the lion’s den with a rusty fork like he is now? Imagine if Edmonton had Erik Karlsson, Bouchard, and some Rando rotating with Desharnais on the 3rd pair… It’s fine, soon the Oilers will be throwing Beau Akey into the same spot and ruining another promising defender’s early career.
- #28 Connor Brown (0g 0a 0pts) – This is getting ridiculous. Brown has to do something, anything, to get his name on the scoresheet. I read some of the media guys in town saying that he needs time to get up to speed and to that I say, what the fuck has he been doing all this time? He’s been skating since the end of April according to his IG account and he got plenty of preseason games, did he not? Is there maybe a slight chance that maybe the Oilers overestimated what Brown might be able to bring this year?…
- #97 Connor McDavid (2g 6a 8pts) – Connor’s got 5pts in his last five before being asked to work from home. If there’s a game where the world needs to see classic McDavid, it’s this one. We know that he’s got Markstrom’s number and the Oilers could very well end Calgary’s season tonight with a strong performance from their captain.
The Next Twelve Games (#2-#13)
- 10/14 vs. Canucks – I think the Oilers will take 2/2 vs. Vancouver to start the year. (W)
- (4-3 LOSS)
- 10/17 @. Predators – The Pred don’t scare me. Their roster is in shambles. Poor Jusse Saros and Roman Josi. (W)
- (6-1 WIN)
- 10/19 @ Flyers – Their forward group looks entertaining but they’ve got nobody on defense. (W)
- (4-1 LOSS)
- 10/21 vs. Winnipeg – The Jets are always a tough out. I like their chances. (L)
- (3-2 OTL)
- 10/24 @ Wild – Minny isn’t as good as they used to be but still very solid. (W)
- (7-4 LOSS)
- 10/26 vs. Rangers – I like NY’s defense and goaltending here. (L)
- (3-0 LOSS)
- 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)
(predictions made 10/11/2023)
