Prior to last night’s Oilers/Canucks game, I’d predicted that Vancouver would come away with the two points in overtime or a shootout. Well, we were a few inches away from at least heading to an extra frame as Alex Edler dinged one off of the iron in the closing seconds of the game.
It’s good to be wrong sometimes.
Speaking of folks being wrong…
Zach Kassian in top6.
Sweet Jesus! Only in Edmonton. https://t.co/J0grDn5fE8
— Tommi Seppälä (@TommiSeppala) October 1, 2019
Zack Kassian with his 1st of the season. Assisted by Draisaitl 2-2 in the 3rd. pic.twitter.com/S9eeMwflKD
— The Oil Drop (@TheOilDrop) October 3, 2019
Yeah, I have no idea why the Oilers would have Zack Kassian in the top-6 either… What kind of NHL coach would put him up there when they had a chance to claim Daniel Sprong or Josh Ho-Sang off of waivers for free?…
I heard that the in-game experience was a bit better. Is it true that they were parachuting pizzas down from the roof? I was pretty impressed with the pre-game introductions. If you were at the game, let us know how you felt about the whole thing!
Early on in this game, it wasn’t McDavid’s line that was terrorizing the Vancouver defense, it was the line of Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zack Kassian. They were absolute in their dominance until the adrenaline wore off… Even then they were still pretty good.
What I was really looking forward to was observing how the Oilers new shut-down pairing of Adam Larsson and Darnell Nurse would fare… They did not fare well… At all. The shot attempts were 7 for and 26 against 5×5… Tough tough first outing for the pair. Can we just do the right thing and get Adam and Oscar back together, please? I’d also like to see these boys utilize the middle of the ice a bit more instead of the boards and glass.
Not to sound ungrateful or to throw water on an Oilers victory, but I didn’t think they played a good game. A couple of players had outstanding games whereas the majority of them did not. My feeling is that thanks to some heroic goaltending from 37-year-old Mike Smith and an MVP performance from Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers got away with one. If your eyes don’t’ agree with mine, maybe the analytics will help out.
The shot attempts were 71 for Vancouver (Tanner Pearson had 13 of them!) and 44 for the Oilers… Isn’t it a great thing that the game of hockey is so chaotic and that luck is an actual thing?
Good news and bad news on the special teams front! The good news is that the PK was 100% on the night, the bad news is that the PP went 0/2. I found that the Oilers had a tough time gaining entry into Vancouver’s zone and when they did, getting set up was an issue.
It’s only one game though and I like to break seasons down into 10-game game increments. The first one is going to go like this for the Oilers,
- Vancouver (h): I predicted a loss. WIN
- Los Angeles (h): I like the Oilers chances here against their former coach. (WIN)
- NYI (a): The Islanders are a tough squad. Skill and grit in excess. (LOSS)
- NJ (a): This game will feature FIVE former first overall picks… Should be exciting! (WIN)
- NYR (a): The Rags are gonna be good soon, but I like the Oilers here. (WIN)
- Chicago (a): I’ll take Edmonton’s young superstars vs. Chicago’s aging ones. (WIN)
- Philadelphia (h): The Flyers are always a difficult team to beat and now they’ve got Hart. (LOSS)
- Detroit (h): Ken Holland’s first game against his old team. DET’s defense is horrid though. (WIN)
- Winnipeg (a): I’m a huge fan of WPG’s fwd core. I’ll take the Jets here. (LOSS)
- Minnesota (a): What are the Wild anyhow? They don’t impress me. (WIN)
So if the Oilers can come out of the first ten matchups with seven wins. I’ll be mightily impressed. More realistically, since I’m pretty shat at game predictions, coming out of that stretch batting .500 sounds about right.
The way I’m going to try to do my game grades this year is that I will give each player a score between one and five but no threes so as to eliminate any fence-sitting. The scores would mean something along these lines,
- 1 – Horrid effort, made an impact on the game negatively
- 2 – Could’ve been better, didn’t make much of an impact
- 4 – Above average, decent effort and impacted the game positively
- 5 – Outstanding game, was a major difference-maker
These are your game grades,
Adam Larsson – 2 – Granted he only played 2 minutes with Klefbom, the pair’s CF% was 100%. That same stat with Darnell Nurse was 17.95%. Not good. A failed zone entry saw the puck go the other way for a JT Miller breakaway but good thing Mike Smith was there to stop it. Adam probably got the hairdryer during the intermission after that… That shot he blocked was something… Boy, did that look like it hurt. Gotta respect the balls on this guy, he stayed on the ice after that and continued to defend his net.
The #Oilers have assigned defenceman Ethan Bear to the @Condors & recalled defenceman Evan Bouchard. The team has also placed defenceman Adam Larsson on Long Term Injured Reserve.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 3, 2019
Alex Chiasson – 2 – Was this guy snakebitten tonight or what? THREE golden chances I counted where he was set up only to whiff on the puck or have the shot saved. Chiasson shows up out of nowhere at times, doesn’t he? He tried to run over Brandon Sutter but got the worst of it.
Colby Cave – 2 – Solid on the dot (50%) but a pretty invisible night for the Saskatchewan boy. Took an unnecessary penalty in the 2nd I feel.
Connor McDavid – 4 – That goal was pure magic, wasn’t it? Apart from that though, it was a slow game for the best player in the league. Did well to draw a penalty in the first, but never really got going until the end there. Was 64% on faceoffs.
Darnell Nurse – 2 – The best it got for Nurse on the evening was 52 seconds with Matt Benning when the Oilers had two shot attempts to Vancouver’s one. Next best CF% was 25% during his three and a half minutes with Ethan Bear (a rookie)… Darnell had better shape up, it’s a contract year baby! I suppose it wasn’t ALL bad for him, he did have a secondary assist and he wallpapered Micheal Ferland as well.
Ethan Bear – 4 – How calm and cool is this guy? He is so good at getting the puck moving the right way. On numerous occasions, he received a pass and within the blink of an eye, the puck was already going up the ice to a forward. Nothing phases him and I love it!
Gaetan Haas – I can’t give this guy a grade. He only played two measly minutes. And with his family all the way from Europe in the stands no less… However, during his shift in the first period, I thought he was where he needed to be and executed a lovely zone exit. You’d have like to have had him win the faceoff in his own zone on that shift though. If Tippett isn’t going to play him, send him to Bakersfield or put him in the press box and give Patty “The Danish Love Muscle” Russell some TOI.
James Neal – 2 – LOVED the big hit on Edler early on and I think he had a really solid game. Only two shots but had four hits and was excellent on the forecheck. He didn’t cost his team just by being on the ice which can’t be said for the guy he was traded for.
Joakim Nygard – 2 – Threw a massive hit in the 3rd on Edler to separate the puck from Vancouver’s greybeard. He also had a lovely scoring chance early in the 2nd when James Neal sent him on a partial breakaway. I loved his forechecking! His speed really causes problems for defensemen. Got to know the timekeeper well during his two (I think) stints in the box serving the too many men on the ice penalties that Edmonton took.
Josh Archibald – 2 – To be frank, I didn’t notice him too much. The odd time he showcased his speed but really was ineffective to the eye in my opinion.
Jujhar Khaira – 2 – One little rush and dangle in the initial frame of the game but didn’t have the game I was hoping he would. JJ put his team in a spot of bother on more than one occasion with poor puck decisions. There’s so much potential there with this guy, but time is running out on him. He’s got to get things sorted. Hopefully, this was just a case of early-season jitters.
Kris Russell – 2 – Might’ve been at fault on the Canucks’ first goal. I think it’s possible it glanced off of him as he tried to block the shot. Rusty had one play where his patented starfish paid off later on in the game as he stifled a pass from the corner. The guy works his ass off, what can you say?
Leon Draisaitl – 5 – 27 minutes… Are you kidding me? I’d say about ten of those were Haas’, but when “Das Maultier” is in a groove, you give him all the time he needs. Great job to be in the right place at the right time, not only for his goal but the shot that hit the post too. He’s just swatting guys off of him like they’re mosquitos now too eh? I mean how strong is this guy?
Markus Granlund – 2 – What are we gonna do with this guy? Is he hurt or something? All of the preseason and now the first game of the regular season and he’s yet to show up.
Matthew Benning – 4 – How is it that this guy can sh*t the bed during training camp, have everyone on his case, and then in the first regular season game put up two assists and be on the ice for all three goals? Is he good, lucky, or both?
Mike Smith – 5 – THAT is how you want to start your season with a new club. His ability to handle the puck was a difference-maker on the evening. The Canucks’ big gunners had no answer for him (or his posts). I’d roll with him again on Saturday. Saved Nurse’s and Larsson’s butts on more than one instance, most notably JT Miller’s breakaway.
Oscar Klefbom – 4 – A VERY solid game for Klef. He was one of the only players who consistently played well throughout the whole game. In the first period, there was a specific shift where a Canucks’ shot rebounded into the corner and Klef gathered it, seen he was under pressure and bulldozed through a forecheck with a pivot and a push, then with the silkiest of mitts sauced it backhand over the back of the net (between Bear and Ferland) to Zack Kassian to exited the zone under control.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 4 – A rare dominating night on the dot (75%). Twice he set up Alex Chiasson beautifully and Chasser couldn’t bury either of them.
Zack Kassian – 4 – What great vision he had to tap that puck over to Leon for his goal and to find him for another grade A chance that hit the post. He hit Klefbom with a lovely cross-ice pass later on in the period as well that Oscar failed to capitalize on. Then the velocity on the shot for his own goal. WOWZAS! Kass can really rip a wrister. He was his usual tenacious self throughout the game for the most part. One notable hit was when he ran over Troy Stetcher behind the Oilers net around the middle of the 1st period.
The next game up is on Saturday when Todd McLellan returns to town with the LA Kings. Can the Oilers make it two in a row? We’ll see!
