Edmonton Oilers Talk: Finns Rescue Keith’s Dodgy Debut

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Edmonton Sun

Edmonton Oilers ride quick-strike offence to comeback win over Calgary

In a pre-season coming out party that featured pretty close to the best of both teams, the Edmonton Oilers bobbled their way to a 3-0 deficit with some shoddy puck management before coming to life and roaring back to beat the Calgary Flames 4-3.
It was exactly the kind of start the Oilers were hoping for … for a while, anyway. They came out strong and were outshooting the Flames 8-1 through nine good minutes.
Then the Flames pushed back and things went south… The Flames actually scored three times in the opening frame but their first one, from Milan Lucic, got wiped out by an offside. They made up for that with the 3-0 goal from Elias Lindholm at 8:57 of the second period.
The biggest addition is Keith, who made his pre-season Oilers debut Monday against the Flames. He isn’t spectacular, and never professed to be, but he did supply a steady stream of deft passes and plays to relieve pressure in the Edmonton end.
On defence, the Oilers will ice a new-look blue line this year, with Adam Larsson, Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones replaced by Duncan Keith, Cody Ceci and Evan Bouchard, who steps into a full-time role… That means there will have to be an adjustment period.

BLH’s Thoughts: ‘Twas a weird game to be honest. The Oilers were controlling the shot share at the beginning of the game but I didn’t feel like they were the dominant team at all. To me, it simply seemed like Calgary were trying to find their legs and when they did, they took it to Edmonton in a big way.

That shiny new defense had a very tough go, Duncan Keith and Cody Ceci more specifically, and that’s fine given it was their first game together, right? It would be inhuman not to realize this and give the pair some time to find their rhythm.

I will say this though, Calgary’s heavy bodies appear to be a very dangerous group. I hate watching Connor fly in on Zadorov or Tanev (more on that in a second) and I get nervous when Bouchard and Barrie have Brett Ritchie, Walker Duehr, or Milan Lucic bearing down on them. I feel like there’s a lot of potential for something really bad to happen because the meat jockeys on that club give ZERO F*CKS. That’s their game and they’re not changing it for anybody.

Should the Oilers go out and get some big bodies to counter it? I don’t think that’s necessary as they’ve got quite a few as it is. You just hope for the best and that if something does happen, it’s not season-threatening and that the league will take care of it.

Sportsnet

Oilers’ Connor McDavid calls out ‘dangerous’ trip from Flames’ Chris Tanev

The play in question this time occurred on McDavid’s game-tying goal in the third period. Using his signature speed, McDavid cut around the Flames’ defence and drove towards the net. As he did so, Flames defenceman Chris Tanev — in an attempt to push McDavid back — got his stick caught between McDavid’s leg, causing the Oilers superstar to slide into the net.
After the game, McDavid called the play “dangerous” for both himself and goalie Jacob Markstrom.

“Obviously they have the right to defend their net and defend me trying to get in there but when the stick kinda comes into the feet there like Tanev’s did it’s a dangerous play for me and the goalie,” McDavid said. “I think you’d like to see that called a little more.”

BLH’s Thoughts: First off, why in Sam’s Hell was Connor driving the net like that in preseason. Good Christ man! Second, when he went down I had flashbacks of when he broke his leg on the post in Calgary. It wasn’t a good feeling to have at all.

Connor is right to be pissed off and I don’t know the rules on this, but could the refs have called a tripping penalty after the fact? Edmonton scored. So wouldn’t that nullify the penalty? Or maybe McDavid is calling for supplemental punishment? If so, good luck with that.

Cult of Hockey

Player grades: 3-0 – The Worst Lead In Hockey

Jesse Puljujarvi (7) –Recognized the quick up by Keith, went to the net and was all alone in front to deposit a perfect Drai pass. Earned an assist on the tying goal, following up a strong McDavid PP rush by firing the puck off of #97 and in. Mashed Dillon Dube with the heaviest hit of the game.
Kailer Yamamoto (5) –The clear third wheel on the second line in all three periods… A quiet night, again.
Warren Foegele (6) – A strong winger-win off a defensive zone draw and power zone exit and entry. A strong forecheck shift along with Kass on the shift after the two Oilers PP goals to help keep momentum. Solid play for most of the last 40 minutes.
Brendan Perlini (7) – Perlini has all but made the team and solidified himself in the opening night lineup.
Duncan Keith (4) – Keith looked like it was his first game after being in quarantine for two weeks and missing the first 10 days of camp.
Cody Ceci (4) – After playing his first two games with William Lagesson, Ceci finally saw action with his projected partner in Keith. The pairing settled down as the game went on but will need the next two games to get comfortable with each other, or so Oilers fans pray.
Evan Bouchard (8) – A very nice bounce-back game in a true third pairing role, after playing up the lineup in two straight games.
Mikko Koskinen (7) – He stopped 26 of 29 shots but had no chance on two of them and no puck luck on the third.

BLH’s Thoughts: The Finns were fantastic on the night, eh? They really rescued a nightmarish debut for Keith individually, but also his pairing with Cody Ceci had a tough go for stretches.

I want to say that each time Jesse scores that I’m a little bit surprised. It’s not like he’s the feature goal-scorer on his line, right? But what I’m witnessing is him coming into his own and some of those things that made him a star as a teenager in Finland, he’s now strong enough to give them a go at the NHL level. I can’t wait for him to bring back the clapper from the top of the circle barring he stops fanning on drop passes from Connor 😉

How long do you think Yamamoto stays on that 2nd line if he’s not scoring? Reckon Tippett would give him a full season?