Edmonton Oilers Talk: Would You Let the Other Team Beat on Your Stars if it Meant More Powerplays?

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

The Athletic

The Battle of Alberta gets heated, Connor McDavid’s one-timer and Jesse Puljujarvi’s next step: Oilers observations

McDavid’s got a one-timer…
Goaltending was thought to be a major concern for this team. It’s still early, but Smith — who finished seventh in Vezina Trophy voting last season on a strength of a .923 save percentage — is putting those fears to rest.
Backup Mikko Koskinen is likely to get one of the two starts on the road next week, Thursday against Arizona or Friday against Vegas.
Puljujarvi hasn’t looked out of place with McDavid and Draisaitl for a second through two games.
Puljujarvi assisted on two of McDavid’s goals, including the empty-netter to secure the victory. But his most impactful play was the goal he scored.

Right now, this is a three-line team with five defencemen — even if they’re a good team at that.

BLH’s Thoughts: The Bison King is coming… That’s all I’ve got to say.

Cult of Hockey

The Edmonton Oilers’ special teams thrust into a new-age role as “enforcer”: 9 Things

Draisaitl has scored at least a point in each of his last 6 season opening games. Only Wayne Gretzky’s Oilers streak of 7 is longer.
Oilers prospect Carter Savoie scored on a lovely one-timer on the power play Friday as Denver beat Air Force 4-1. Then Saturday for an encore he had a hat trick plus 3 assists in an 8-0 route!
Bouchard played 4:08 short-handed on Saturday and his play on a hard-charging Andrew Mangiapane was an eye-opener. It’s early, but…who forecast this?
McDavid passed Doug Weight for 7 ^th on the Oilers all-time points list with 578. Just 52 back of Ryan Smyth… His 3 “hatties” against Calgary is also a franchise record, and now 4 ^th in the NHL among active players behind Alex Ovechkin (27), Evgeni Malkin (12) and Sidney Crosby (11).
I fielded some legitimate questions from a few worried people wondering if I was concerned how Edmonton would match up with them physically… I responded that if I were the Oilers, I would let Calgary play that game and beat them on the Power Play. The best defence against a rough & tumble team like the Flames in today’s NHL is special teams.

BLH’s Thoughts: So, here’s the thing, how long can you allow the other team to thump on your stars until said marquee players’ bodies start to break down just to get a few extra powerplays?

As we are witnessing, Dave Tippett has no interest in playing his 4th line, so it doesn’t matter how skilled they are, how many games they’ve played in the NHL, or how many goals they scored in preseason because they’re only getting 5 minutes a game. So why not simply employ a 4th line that can go out and make life miserable for the other team physically if the plan is to have that trio sit on the bench for the most part anyhow?

I think it’s a dangerous line to walk when your toughest player is also your no.1 defenseman and your second toughest player has been injured in his last two scraps… The Oilers can’t really afford to lose either of them and there’s nobody on the farm to call up in the event they do need some extra muscle. Also, in the event that they do need an enforcer, it’ll be too late and they’ll overpay for one…

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying this roster can’t take care of itself. What I’m saying is if the team is tempting fate by dangling the health of its stars, they’d best have a backup plan in place when the Hockey Gods decide they’ve had enough.

Spector’s Hockey

SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports one of the biggest hurdles to getting a Jack Eichel trade done is the Buffalo Sabres’ unwillingness to retain any portion of his salary.

Friedman believes the Colorado Avalanche made a call to see if they could make it work but the Sabres’ unwillingness to take salary stopped discussions.
Jeff Marek said the Vegas Golden Knights were in conversation with the Sabres but were unwilling to part with young center Peyton Krebs.

NEW YORK POST: Mollie Walker believes 2021 Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox is inching closer to a massive contract extension with the New York Rangers.

SPORTSNET: Jeff Marek said the Dallas Stars want John Klingberg to stay and the 27-year-old defenseman wants to remain with the Stars. However, his asking price could make it difficult to re-sign him. Marek reports Klingberg seeks an eight-year contract between $62 million and $66 million.