Edmonton Oilers G1 Reviews: Oilers Barely Claim Season Opener

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

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Cult of Hockey

Player Grades: Old warrior Smith and new warrior Hyman shine as Edmonton Oilers beat Vancouver in OT

Leon Draisaitl, 3. Not his game. Not even close. He even missed the net on a wide open slot shot in OT.
Jesse Puljujarvi, 7. Looked sharp. He popped a puck on the forecheck late in the first, setting up a Grade A shot for Draisaitl.
Zach Hyman, 8. Seven more years of games just like this one, pretty, pretty please . Impressed with his hustle and skill.
Kailer Yamamoto, 7. Combined well with his linemates early on. Broke in on a second period breakaway but failed to score. Buzzed around all game. Some good work on the PK.
Brendan Perlini, 4. Barely played, just 5:37 of ice time.
Darnell Nurse, 7 . He played 32:24, super hero minutes, and he played them well. He made a few major miscues but even more strong defensive plays.
Tyson Barrie, 2. Iffy, iffy performance. Six major mistakes on Grade A chances against at even strength. Little wonder the coaches had Bouchard out at the end of the third period, not Barrie.
Duncan Keith, 7. A memorable debut and a very good one.
Cody Ceci, 7. Solid debut game. Did not notice him much, save for when he made a few notable defensive stops and passes.
Mike Smith, 8. Vancouver deserved better in this one, but Smith slammed the door. He kept the Oilers in early, making huge saves off of Pettersson, Dickinson and a rebound off McDavid.

BLH’s Thoughts: The Player I was most impressed with was Kailer Yamamoto. He was all over Vancouver’s big men buzzing around like an annoying mosquito and I didn’t notice him getting caught with his head down, so that’s also a plus. He was really really good on the PK too.

Speaking of getting caught with your head down, how about that hit Tyler Myers laid on Duncan Keith? My-Lanta! Two things I loved about that hit though,

Keith bounced right back up and was prepared to get right back into the play, bloody face and all.

Colton Sceviour, giving up seven inches or so, immediately heads for Myers, drops the mitts, eats a right-handed uppercut, and takes Myers down. WHAT A TEAMMATE!

Now, not all of the performances were good for Edmonton. Leon had a shocker, McLeod lost another golden opportunity to show the coaches he belongs, Tyson Barrie looked a step behind, and Warren Foegele was only average.

Reckon Leon a bit pissy because he wasn’t playing center? Or maybe he was under the weather a bit. Who knows? But Tippett should be using Leon on his own line at this point, no? Spread out the wealth, baby!

The Hockey Writers

Oilers 3 Burning Questions in 2021-22

What is Realistic to Expect of Brendan Perlini?

…did Perlini catch lightning in a bottle for two weeks? Or is it reasonable to think he could push to score 20 goals, or even more, for Edmonton this season? His history suggests the latter might not be out of line.

Does Mike Smith Continue to Defy Father Time?

Smith showed no sign of breaking down last season, but that was during an abbreviated schedule in which he only logged 1,847 minutes. The key to Smith maintaining a high level of play could hinge on not overtaxing the multi-time All-Star, who hasn’t played more than 2,400 minutes in a season since 2017-18.

Will Kailer Yamamoto Bounce Back?

The Oilers have greater depth on the wing than last season, which is a blessing and a curse for Yamamoto. If he’s under less pressure, it also means the 2017 first-round draft pick is more likely to see a diminished role if he doesn’t produce.

BLH’s Thoughts: Well, Perlini played just under six minutes last night. So, that should be about all you need to know about him scoring in double-digits in 2021-22.

Mike Smith looked fantastic last night, but he’s a cross-seam pass away from a groin pull or a net-front scrum away from a concussion if we take last night’s game as a sign with regards to how teams are going to play in front of him. Edmonton just needs to be prepared in the event he does go down and the man filling in for him (Koskinen) has to be on his game. The other thing is that Tippett can’t just play Koskinen every game (like he did last year) because he’s unsure that the call-up from Bakersfield will be able to handle the increased competition.

Yamo had himself a really good game last night. I hope he continues with that work rate. Killer was so effective on the puck pursuit and in the muck, his time on the PK was outstanding too.

Spector’s Hockey

SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports no change in the contract impasse between the Ottawa Senators and left winger Brady Tkachuk. They still want a seven- or eight-year contract while Tkachuk wants a bridge deal.
Friedman believes the New York Rangers’ re-signing Mika Zibanejad takes them out of the Jack Eichel trade market unless the Buffalo Sabres or a third party is willing to retain salary.
The Philadelphia Flyers informed Travis Konecny at the end of last season they could’ve easily traded him as there was lots of interest in the winger.
Friedman wouldn’t be surprised if the Seattle Kraken sign captain Mark Giordano to a contract extension
TSN: Pierre LeBrun reports the Chicago Blackhawks have a surplus of centers and there’s a good chance Dylan Strome could be traded within the next week or two.
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reported the New York Rangers have given Vitali Kravtsov’s agent permission to talk to other clubs about a trade. He claims there’s “definitely interest” in the 21-year-old winger, who was selected ninth overall by the Rangers in 2018.