An unfortunate series of brainfarts by the Oilers collective allowed the team to take a 2-1 lead early in the third period and turn it into a 4-2 loss. However, that shouldn’t be what we take away from that game. The Oilers iced Darnell Nurse, Adam Larsson, and the Bakersfield Condors whereas the Canucks basically had an NHL lineup and through 50 minutes or so, the game was all Edmonton’s thanks to an excellent goaltending performance from Shane Starrett and the whole group buying into a blue-collar style of play.
Even though the Oilers were lacking the game-breaking talents and skill that Vancouver had, they worked their asses off. They were hard on the puck and relentless in their pursuits. I feel like Edmonton’s forecheckers made the Canucks’ nights very difficult when they had the puck and it took me back to a time when the Oilers had to use this style of play because they didn’t have the money to pay really high-end skilled players.
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,
Anthony Peluso – 4 – Really solid performance from the AHL enforcer. I thought at one point he was going to drop the mitts with Arseneau but it never came about, unfortunately. He skated in straight lines, played with purpose, and he managed to get FIVE shots on net. For a 4th liner, that’s a decent game.
Joe Gambardella – 2 – Didn’t even notice the guy. It doesn’t look like he’s interested in winning a spot on the Oilers roster.
Brad Malone – 2 – Kirk Muller’s son-in-law had a really good night on the draw (nearly 80%) but apart from a good open-ice hit, was largely invisible for most of the game.
Cameron Hebig – 2 – Hebig took Quinn Hughes out of the game for a solid chunk of TOI early when he whacked him in the mouth with his twig. I guess Young Hughes will be seeing the team dentist as a result. He was hitting but not really effective offensively. Loved the effort but he lacked finish. If he continues this play in Bakersfield, he’s going to be really entertaining.
Tyler Benson – 2 – Pretty physical in this game. Reminded me of a slower Chris Kunitz. He’s still not quite there with regards to playing in the NHL. He’s a smart kid with great hands and vision but the skating has to improve if he’s going to make the impact many pundits are expecting him to.
Ryan McLeod – 4 – What was going through McLeod’s head when he hit the post on a net just aching for him to put the puck inside and all he got was a DING!? I like watching this young man play. He’s fast, he handles the puck smoothly, and he’s an efficient hockey player for the most part. I can only imagine how fast he’s going to look at the AHL level when guys like Gambardella and Marody are considered quick down there.
Patrick Russell – 5 – What. A. Game! A team-high seven shots on net as well as a lovely goal and an assist. One of the best skaters for the Oilers by a country mile. As a grinder, he knows where to go on the ice, when to go there, and what to do when he’s there. Coach Tippett has been talking quite a bit about him in his post-game avails and I reckon Russell has a pretty good chance to stick with the club past the preseason this year.
Markus Granlund – 2 – Oh boy. Not the greatest of debuts for the Finn. He didn’t really stand out for me. I wasn’t expecting much from him but he could’ve made himself a bit more noticeable in my opinion. Had nearly two minutes on the penalty kill.
Colby Cave – 4 – Caveman had a really nice start to the game. He was engaged and battling all over the ice until the 3rd. He missed his check on Brandon Sutter’s 2nd goal and it was pretty much downhill from there.
Josh Currie – 2 – Tough game for the lad from PEI. He was responsible for the turnover that led to Sutter’s eventual penalty shot goal and he’s simply not getting it done from an offensive point-of-view. I don’t really see a place for him on the Oilers this season but it’s early in the preseason and he’s still got some time to redeem himself.
Tomas Jurco – 4 – Wow! I never really watched Jurco play before but I was impressed with his slick playmaking and quick release. He’s a bigger body too, another thing I didn’t realize. No disrespect to Marody, but I would really like to see him alongside a proper playmaking centre. There’s potential there for him to be a real sniper in the right scenario.
Cooper Marody – 4 – MUCH MUCH better effort from Marody. He was in the trenches and battling the defenders in front of the net almost all night. He also had a hand in both Oilers goals and that has to count for something.
Shane Starrett – 5 – This game would’ve been over much earlier if not for the efforts of Mr. Starrett. The net-front save off of Ferland was fantastic and the subsequent stop of Elias Pettersson’s signature one-timer right after had me mouth agape. It’s been a good preseason for the Oilers netminders so far.
Darnell Nurse – 4 – Didn’t I tell you before the game to watch when the other team adjusts to Nurse taking the puck himself? Vancouver’s empty-netter was a direct result of Darnell trying to skate the puck into the Canucks’ zone on his own and he got stripped and the Oilers got scored on. But I’m not going to crucify him for that, on the whole, he was pretty decent for me. Skated well, joined the rush on numerous occasions and defended Vancouver’s stars admirably. Muffed a couple of scoring chances.
Adam Larsson – 4 – Tight game for the Iron Swede. Played hard, also took the time to join the forwards on the rushes up the ice and in the corners on the cycle. One thing stood out to me was when he tried to block the backdoor pass on Sutter’s tap-in goal. I wish he would’ve either blocked it outright or got his stick in the way instead of trying to use his foot.
Brandon Manning – 2 – Manning was okay. Tough around his net and seemed to have Virtanen’s number.
Ethan Bear – 4 – His skating IS better and that pleases my heart. He didn’t look out of place against NHL competition and that is very promising for Bear. I would’ve like to have seen him take advantage of the shooting opportunities he had in the game though. He has an outstanding slapshot but it didn’t seem like he felt confident enough to unleash it.
Dmitri Samorukov – 4 – It was a solid effort from the Russian. Sure, he got his stick in Sutter’s hands and that resulted in a goal against via the penalty shot, but what else was he going to do, he was already beat and it was a last-ditch effort. The play should’ve never happened anyhow had the forwards done their jobs. His point shot found its way past Demko but not the goal-line at least twice.
Evan Bouchard – 4 – He’s so close to being a regular NHLer but tonight’s challenge was a purposely difficult one and he started to fatigue in the 3rd period. It was particularly noticeable on Pettersson’s goal. If the Oilers were good enough that they could shelter him and give him the cherry starts and TOI, he’d be a lock to start the year with the team, but they don’t have that luxury. He needs to spend some time in Bakersfield.
