You’re always going to hear from media members in any sport that you shouldn’t put too much stock into preseason games and that’s always sort of bugged me a bit. The reason for that is because I feel like if the games didn’t mean anything, why have them at all? Why not just have an extended training camp and then hop into the regular season? Well, you can’t do that because these games DO mean something to the players trying to make these hockey teams and it’s not just about the players, the coaches have something to prove as well.
I believe that we’re going to see a shift in how Edmonton plays. Meaning that the free-wheeling offense is a thing of the past. We’ll be seeing an onus on a defense-first style of play that’ll probably lead to lower scoring games. Games where leads will be locked down early and often.
So it is to no surprise that in game 1 of the preseason, the Jets got very little offense against the Oilers after the first period. The second and third periods saw Edmonton take it to Winnipeg and come out with a two-nil victory.
The game was pretty mucky at the start. Not a whole lot was getting generated, but the Jets did manage to find themselves trapping the new Oilers in their own zone on a couple of occasions. William Lagesson, Evan Bouchard, Gaetan Haas, Joakim Nygard, and Alex Chiasson first and then the same forwards but with Matt Benning and Caleb Jones on defense the second time.
Rust is getting knocked off, players are getting to know each other on the ice, new systems are being introduced, etc. The fact that the team made the adjustments in the 2nd intermission successfully gives me hope.
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
Here are your game grades for Edmonton’s first 2019-20 NHL preseason game vs. Winnipeg,
Dylan Wells – 4 – Wells was quite good in his half of the game after coming in to replace Skinner. Made one lovely point-blank glove-hand stop later in the match. Apart from that, he didn’t have a real heavy workload.
Stuart Skinner – 4 – Excellent work in the first half of this game to keep the Oilers in it as they tried to get in the game. He was cool and collected and most importantly, didn’t let any goals in. Nice work!
Matt Benning – 2 – Like his partner, I didn’t really notice Benning apart from the one time he tried to step up on one of the Jets bigger players but just bounced off the guy like he was nothing.
William Lagesson – 4 – Solid is how I’d describe his game. He was all business. As I said in the pre-game post, he passes well, he skates well, and he plays a gritty game. During a board battle behind the Oilers net, he got his feet taken out from under him from behind in the 3rd period and I wondered how that would affect him but he was okay.
Evan Bouchard – 4 – Bouchard carried his intra-squad scrimmage performance into this one. He looked solid. His inside passing lead to a number of zone exits and he also displayed some very solid technique on defense versus a Jets squad that will most likely be similar to what he’d be facing in the AHL. Had one hiccup in the first when he tried to carry the puck out and skated into Joakim Nygard. This lead to a chance against that was stifled by Stuart Skinner. One highlight that I particularly liked was near the end of the game when he found RNH in the Jets’ slot but Nuge couldn’t handle the pass. The vision on this kid!!!
Caleb Jones – 2 – I hardly noticed Jones to be honest. Not sure if that’s a good sign for him.
Joel Persson – 4 – Had some chaos early. The Jets forechecking had him spinning a couple of times but he settled down in the 2nd and 3rd and showed his poise and confidence on the puck. He attempted a three-zone saucer pass to Nygard from behind his own goal line that I found impressive. It didn’t connect mind you, but the fact that he nearly succeeded is a positive in my books. A great debut! He assisted on both Oilers goals.
Joel Persson is really picking up his game in the second period. The skill on this little pass is something the #Oilers defense has been lacking badly. It leads to a zone exit and a scoring chance. pic.twitter.com/64MzxjVNXq
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) September 17, 2019
Oscar Klefbom – 4 – Two assists on the evening while playing a safe and solid game. He was a calming presence for his rookie partner. They looked good.
Tyler Benson – 2 – Not a whole lot going on for Mr. Benson in this one. He was on the 4th line with AHL vets Patrick Russell and Colby Cave. He did have a lovely chance in the last frame of the game where the puck squirted out to him around the Jets’ faceoff dot and he leaned into it with a big clapper that was ultimately swallowed up by Eric Comrie with relative ease.
Patrick Russell – 2 – Russell played the way he always plays and had three shots on the night. Hard-nosed and tough. He’s not someone you’d like to go to battle against on the boards because he works his ass off trying to gain possession of that puck. There’s no quit in this guy. Personally, I think he’s ready for the NHL. The Dane does a lot of things right according to Coach Tippett and I happen to agree. He was a late cut in prior training camps and it wouldn’t shock me if that was the case again this season.
Colby Cave – 2 – Good on the dot (8/13) but there wasn’t much more than that to speak of.
Joakim Nygard – 2 – Very tentative early on. Looked apprehensive to try and make plays and it took him some time to get comfortable on the ice. By the 3rd period, he was starting to assert himself a bit more. He’ll need a good portion of this preseason to get himself acclimated.
Gaetan Haas – 2 – Not sure if this is the right-handed centre the team is looking for. To me, he looks like he might be more suited to the wing with his speed and quickness. Looked alright defensively and positionally but I’d like to see some more offense out of him. Like Nygard, I reckon he’ll need a few more games to get sorted to this style of hockey.
Alex Chiasson – 2 – He had one outstanding chance in the slot set up by Khaira’s forecheck but he shot it right into Comrie’s chest. The rest of the game he looked out of sorts if I’m being frank. Maybe it had something to do with the unfamiliarity of his linemates.
Josh Archibald – 2 – Archie had a really nice first shift where he went out and was banging bodies hard but after that he sort of disappeared. If he can play that style on every shift and in every game, he’ll be a fan favorite in Edmonton easily.
Riley Sheahan – 2 – To my eye, he had a pretty tight game. Was 50% on the draw and used his body well to shield the puck as well as on the forecheck. I’m not expecting a lot of offense out of Sheahan this season, but I am expecting him to be quite good on the defensive side of the puck. He was pretty good there vs Winnipeg.
Jujhar Khaira – 4 – Ohhhh. JJ might be back kids! We’ll see how he does against better opponents, but he was looking very confident with the puck on his stick. He used his reach and strength to outmuscle the Jets forecheckers and defenders easily. Set up Chiasson with his excellent work ethic for a great one-timer early on.
Sam Gagner – 2 – I’m disappointed in Sam’s game. I thought he would’ve been more involved offensively but he had little impact on the match in this regard. He wasn’t horrible mind you and he didn’t cost his team defensively, he just wasn’t on the same level as Nuge and Neal. Once the line was set up in the offensive zone, he was where he needed to be though.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 4 – He scored a lovely net-front backhand goal late in the 2nd period that caught me by surprise. It was something you’d try in ball hockey and it worked! But seriously, Nuge had a massive impact on the game for the Oilers offensively and that should be expected when his opposition was icing very few NHL defenders. That said, he still struggles to win faceoffs… He was under 50% again…
Yes it's only pre-season, but nobody told Nuge's backhand. Mid-season form. 👌 pic.twitter.com/0FcLRSCTq9
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 17, 2019
James Neal – 5 – Neal starts his Oilers campaign beautifully! He got a bit lucky on his goal as the puck hit him and then fell to his stick making it a mere formality as to where the biscuit was going to end up. Point is, he was right where he was supposed to be at exactly the time he was supposed to be there. He played with passion and purpose once he found his legs. He was the Oilers best player I felt and I’m looking for more of the same in future games.
James Neal scores first as an Oiler (Pre-season) pic.twitter.com/MZeXHtwKo6
— Main Team (@MainTeamSports) September 17, 2019
In conclusion, I thought that the game looked like it should being the first match of the preseason. Players are trying to shake some of the offseason habits while at the same time attempting to make the most of an opportunity to show the coaching staff that they have what it takes to make this hockey team.
Next preseason game goes tomorrow night vs. the Canucks! See you then!
