Edmonton Oilers Talk: Oilers Rooks Spank Flames Vets, McDavid to Surpass Gretzky, and the Latest NHL Rumors!

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Edmonton Sun

Edmonton Oilers lay a pre-season whipping on Calgary Flames

This one was all Edmonton, with the Oilers outshooting Calgary 13-5 in a scoreless first period and then jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the second on goals from James Hamblin, Derek Ryan, Xavier Bourgault and Brendan Perlini.
Evan Bouchard started as the first pairing right shot defenceman and looked extremely good in his pre-season debut.
Bourgault and Ryan finished with a goal and an assist each and veteran Colton Sceviour had a pair of helpers in the win.
Philip Broberg looked smooth as silk with the puck on his stick. He also took a big hit from Milan Lucic in the first period and got up like nothing happened.
Skinner faced some early Calgary pressure, but didn’t get a lot of work after that. The shots were 23-8 Edmonton when Tippett made the goalie switch and put Konovalov in midway through the second period.

BLH’s Thoughts: Derek Ryan had a really great game I found. He’s a little water bug out there and quite clever. He gets in the muck but he’s smart about his on-ice timing too. Positionally, a really nice performance from him.

Anybody else wondering how much that shot block took out of Slater Koekkoek? I think it might’ve happened in the third on the Flames second powerplay.

Rafa Lavoie, from a body composition POV, is NHL ready. He didn’t have the benefit of playing with the highest of skilled linemates and therefore there weren’t many chances for him, but I saw a player who is not far from getting his first NHL game. If he can add a little bit of quickness and a bit more physical assertiveness, the Oilers will have a very good hockey player on their hands.

I was quietly impressed with Kyle Turris. He looked faster and played with some more sandpaper. He’ll be one to keep an eye on in preseason because I think he’s going to get quite a few opportunities.

Oilersnation

Off the Top of My Head

… it’s not a stretch to suggest Dave Tippett’s top nine forwards are pretty much decided.
Tyler Benson is right in the middle of that mix along with Brendan Perlini, Devon Shore, Ryan McLeod, Kyle Turris and Colton Sceviour as the pre-season schedule begins.
While there’s plenty of convincing left to do and lots of competition, Benson has found a way to stand out.
McDavid is entering his sixth season as team captain, a tenure in which he’s worn the C 362 games – that ranks him third in the history of team captains. Next is Jason Smith, who captained the Oilers for 368 games 2001-07 and Gretzky, who wore the letter for 377 games 1983-88.McDavid became the youngest captain in team history when he got the C in 2016.
Yesterday would have been Joe Moss’s 58th birthday. So many people miss you, Joey.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m going to need to see more and against better competition that the Flames meat jockeys in order to make a judgement on the skaters battling it out for the 4th line LW spot.

The underlying question that nobody is talking about is, for how long will the gentleman who wins this spot out of camp hold onto it? Dylan Holloway is coming and he’ll be eyeing the path of least resistance in order to get onto the Oilers roster this year. That path begins at 4th line LW…

Connor will become the club’s longest serving captain at the end of this season and I think he’s going to hold that record for a very long time.

Spector’s Hockey

NEW YORK POST:Mollie Walker recently reports Mika Zibanejad isn’t giving anything away about his contract extension talks with the Rangers or allowing it to get in the way of his preseason preparation.

THE ATHLETIC: Rick Carpiniello wondered if Rangers general manager Chris Drury will play a game of chicken with Zibanejad if he can’t get him signed before the March trade deadline.

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Matthew DeFranks’ 10 questions facing the Dallas Stars this season included speculation over John Klingberg’s future with the club.