The Edmonton Oilers were THAT close to losing to the New Jersey Devils. If not for the heroics of their captain and the world’s greatest hockey player, Connor and the boys might be heading into this afternoon’s tilt with the Rangers on the tail end of a loss.
I still feel like the Oilers are getting a lot of good bounces and that their game still possesses quite a bit of chaos. They haven’t won a single possession battle to date and it’s not like their opponents have been Corsi Kings, especially the Devils who were playing on the latter end of a back-to-back. That game shouldn’t have been as hard as it was for the Oilers, yet they found a way to make that win as difficult as possible.
I just feel like saying they’re lucky doesn’t capture the essence of it all. Taylor Hall should’ve ended that game on at least two occasions and to add to that, I noticed that the only guy shooting for Mikko Koskinen’s glove hand was Kyle Palmieri… He scored on one of those shots. They kept trying to beat him low, where the giant Finn is very good. So I suppose that loss is on them as much is it is on the Oilers scoring timely goals, which shouldn’t be overlooked either.
The boys over at the Cult of Hockey made a really good point in their latest post,
What’s the main thing Edmonton has to improve upon?
When it comes to Grade A scoring chances, Edmonton’s been on the wrong side of the ledger three out of four games: Edmonton, 7, Vancouver, 14; Edmonton, 12, Los Angeles, 14; Edmonton, 14, New York Islanders, 3; Edmonton, 9, New Jersey, 16.
Overall, the Oilers are giving up far too many Grade A chances per game, and they were lucky to come out with wins against Vancouver and New Jersey. If they had two wins and two losses right now that would be fair value for their success in the offensive and defensive slots.
The good news is they’ve gotten great value so far. But time to crank it up in the defensive zone, as the Oilers did in their stellar game against the Islanders.
Look, it’s great that the Oilers are winning winnable games. They should be. And we should celebrate every win with as much passion as possible. All I’m saying is, IF the ship gets turned back around the other way, the warning signs were there.
On the other hand, there are a lot of good signs. Namely the special teams and to a lesser extent, the goaltending. Two improvements that were of the utmost importance to this team’s turnaround. Let’s see if the boys can keep the pedal to the metal on this bus!
Jesse Puljujarvi Update:
Pulju scored a goal and an assist in Karpat’s victory over Jurkurit two nights ago to take his totals to four goals and ten points in ten games. That’s an NHLe of 37 points.
4th goal of the season for Jesse Puljujärvi. He sure knows how to make goalies look like fools. 9 points in 9 games and counting https://t.co/qUARwZpH1o
— yp (@jrabane) October 11, 2019
He’s also dominating the league when it comes to the fancies as written here by my friend Mari:
By eye and according to Aki-Petteri Pulkkinen here Jesse is at the moment Liiga’s biggest star. Before today’s game his corsi% was 58,1 and PDO 105,4. Here some other stats, because You are not able to see him play.
Check out the article that my friend Mari is referring to right here.
Game Notes
- Coming out of this game, Zack Kassian’s ankle is banged up, Leon Draisaitl’s wrist took a healthy whack, and Oscar Klefbom’s jaw is recovering from a high hit from Blake Coleman.
- Was anybody else wondering about a possible goal interference call on the Devils’ third goal? Palmieri was all tied up in Koskinen’s legs preventing him from moving over to make a save.
- Jack Hughes did alright. He had a couple of highlights where he showcased the skills that made him the first overall pick, but there are already questions as to if he can stick at this level. Those have carried on since before he was drafted. Premature in my opinion. He’s not killing the Devils while he’s on the ice and they’ve got him centering the third line there. The light switch will turn on sooner or later.
- Leon Draisaitl has been fantastic on the PK this year. I thought he was supposed to get less TOI there though. Maybe the fact that Gaetan Haas doesn’t seem to have the coach’ trust quite yet is the reason Leon is playing so much there?
- The Oilers are forechecking a helluva lot better these days. Instead of just swooping in on the opponent or patiently waiting for them to make a move, Edmonton’s forwards are pressing and in waves. A little bit swarm-like perhaps?
- The third line of Khaira/Sheahan/Russell wasn’t as effective in keeping the puck in NJ’s zone for extended periods of time.
- Does anybody else want to see Joakim Nygard on the ice during OT?
- I’m very curious how they are going to alter this lineup with Chiasson and Archibald rumored to be ready to go. Cave hasn’t been playing much, is his place on this team hanging by a thread?
Game Grades
Markus Granlund – 2 – Stoned on a breakaway but was solid on the PK and tried to stuff a wrap-around in the net early in the second period. Other than that, uneventful, which has been par for the course so far.
Riley Sheahan – 2 – Made a gorgeous drop pass between the legs to Kharia in the second that was right in front of the Devils net. No dice, but a great effort sprinkled with some pizazz. Only 36% on the faceoffs though and a 35% CF%. Gotta do better there.
Connor McDavid – 4 – When’s the last time McDavid was one of the poorer possession players in an Oilers game? He’s starting to get his feet back though. A few more attempts to go through the middle and dangle were noticed by me and I feel like he’s starting to shoot a bit more. That first shift in OT was mucky…
Gaetan Haas – 2 – I like the guy but he’s not getting any love from the coaches. He’s quick and tenacious but maybe the strength isn’t there? He works really hard when he’s on the ice and I think he’s a smart player. But he was also on the ice for a goal against vs. NJ (Gusev). He might be the last player in all of hockey to lay down to block shots, I can respect that. Takes himself out of the play doing it but it tells me he’s committed.
Leon Draisaitl – 4 – About five minutes into the second period he had a hellish shift where he turned the puck over at the Devils blue line to a blazing Miles Wood who proceeded to skate in on Koskinen unmolested for a glorious chance. Lucky for Edmonton it was stopped. Then the puck came back to Leon, only he was dog-tired and a stretch pass turned into an icing call. Had a team-high five shots. The goals though and his work on the special teams! Wow! He’s turning into one of the NHL’s elite two-way players. How long until his name is being spoken in the same sentences as Anze Kopitar and Sasha Barkov?
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 4 – RNH was a two-way beast in this game. Quite the thorn he was in the sides of the Devils all night long and rightfully rewarded with two points. His backtrack with around four minutes gone in the game to intercept a cross-ice pass to Kyle Palmieri was vintage Nuge. 54% on the dot doesn’t hurt either!
Joakim Nygard – 2 – A really quiet game for the Swede. I wonder how long until he moves up the lineup and replaces a guy like Jurco. Only 8:34 in TOI and no shots.
James Neal – 4 – A gorgeous tip off of Nuge’s shot to give him the league-lead in goals. He was skating very well vs. NJ and I seen him playing the body often, though the stat sheet only said he had one hit… The Oilers powerplay is blazing right now and I think a good portion of the praise should go to James Neal. Part of that is the goal-scoring, no doubt, but the other is he’s a constant threat. Teams have no idea where to go when they see Edmonton’s first unit. Do they cover McDavid or Nuge on the walls? How tight do they get to Draisaitl in the slot? Should there be a man within reach of Klefbom? Then James Neal is at the side of the net or in front of it… There are only so many PKers on the ice at a time, right?
Jujhar Khaira – 2 – Absolutely steamrolled Hischier in the first period. Nearly deflected an Ethan Bear point shot into the net early in the second frame. Not as good as the previous match vs. the Islanders, but not as poor as his first two games of the year. He might be close to finding his sweet spot with Sheahan and Russell.
Patrick Russell – 2 – Drew a penalty on Pavel Zacha in the 2nd. I’m getting a tad bored typing the same ol’ thing regarding Russell’s play but what can I say? He’s consistent and he rarely makes a bad play.
Tomas Jurco – 2 – Tough penalty to take right after NJ scored their second. Shades of Benoit Pouliot in his game at times. I wonder if he’ll be sitting soon to make room for Josh Archibald or Alex Chiasson in the lineup?
Zack Kassian – 4 – Couldn’t quite make it four games in a row with a goal, but he assisted on the Oilers’ first goal and nearly got on the board again early in the second but got tripped up by the Devils defenders. Only one shot and two hits to go with a nicked up foot/ankle.
Kris Russell – 2 – Eaten alive by the Devils forwards. Had real issues moving the puck out of the defensive zone effectively.
Matthew Benning – 2 – See above. Got away with slashing the stick out of Jack Hughes’ hands in the second period.
Darnell Nurse – 4 – Another terrible possession game for Darnell (35% CF%) and he took an early penalty by tripping Palmieri, but on the whole, he had a decent night. When he was on the ice, the shot share was in the Oilers’ favor so that’s a plus, but how long until he really gets exposed and the offense isn’t there to bail him out? Good assist on that beautiful Draisaitl goal and a really good stick check on Coleman half-way through the first.
Ethan Bear – 4 -On the Oilers first goal, it was Bear who outworked a bigger and stronger Miles Wood behind the net and then instead of chipping the puck out off the glass or rimming it around the boards, he turned, took three steps and deftly place the puck between an oncoming Blake Coleman’s legs to hit a streaking Connor McDavid to exit the defensive zone. The result, a lovely game-tying goal from Leon. All because of Bear’s hard work to get 97 the puck. Had a sub-40% CF% (only four players had a CF% higher than 48%) but he also played the 3rd most amount of minutes on the team. I hope that the coaching staff doesn’t burn him out…
Joel Persson – 2 – A tale of two defenders. Case in point, with 7:44 remaining in the 2nd period, Persson smoothly enters the Devils’ zone under control and proceeds to skate the puck into the left corner and from there he attempts a very low % shot on net. As the puck is whipped around the zone, two more chances on net take place from teammates, but eventually, it comes back to Persson who doesn’t have a play on the net, so he tries to chip it down the wall unsuccessfully which results in a NJ clearance. Some good, some bad on that shift. He did manage two more shots on the net though and he was one of the Oilers better possession players on the night.
Oscar Klefbom – 4 – Palmieri blocked his point shot and then soared down the ice to put NJ on the board. Tough break. His work in OT was… Yikes… I wonder if he’s getting a bit fatigued or if that headshot he took earlier in the game might’ve knocked something out of him? His point shot was on full display though and I’d say was a factor in the game-tying goal.
Mikko Koskinen – 5 – Made two highlight-reel saves early on in the first period when the Devils had the man-advantage. He was really on his game and that was on full display during the OT and shootout. A great confidence builder for him. That said, he’d better get some chapstick if he’s going to be kissing his posts this often. Should the Oilers get this level of effort out of Koskinen on a consistent basis, we’re looking at a playoff team.
What do you think? Who stood out for you in a positive or negative light? Let us know in the comments below!
