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Oilers Win A Game They Should Win |
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The Edmonton Oilers heroically stormed into Anaheim to play the Ducks, a team that has only won four games in regulation all season (one of those being against the Oilers). The Oilers fought tooth and nail against a team that has not made it to the playoffs since 2018, managing a respectable 53 shots on net, compared to the Ducks 23. This was a huge win against an opponent that I am being told does in fact play in the National Hockey League.
Too glib? Too sarcastic? Alright, the Edmonton Oilers absolutely dummied the Anaheim Ducks on route to a 6-2 victory with John Gibson being the only reason the Oilers didn't reach double digits. If the Oilers did this against Carolina, Boston, Toronto or another top end team I might be less of a killjoy. Year 8 of Connor McDavid and people are celebrating earning a win against a team trying to lose to get Connor Bedard. The bar for this team is on the ground right now... actually the bar is on the ground in a basement, so technically it's below the ground.
The only way this win means something is if a week from now we are talking about it as the first win of a 5 game winning streak. Let's assume that the playoff cutoff for points is 97 (that's what it was last season). The Oilers have 47 points in their first 43 games which means they need 50 points in their remaining 39 games. Put another way, they need to win 25 of 39. Not an impossible feat, but a tall order for what this team has shown thus far.
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I've given my "glass half empty" talk so here are the positives as a palate cleanser.
Vincent Desharnais had an excellent showing in his first NHL game. With the team running 7 defensemen, I expected Desharnais to be the odd man out and play under 10 minutes. Instead, Desharnais played 12:58 at 5 on 5, playing more than Cody Ceci or Tyson Barrie and got in some good rotations on the PK as well. Desharnais was credited with 3 shots and 1 blocked shot and did an excellent job at standing players up at the blueline (though he was a bit too aggressive in one instance and earned an interference call).
Overall I thought he handled himself very well in his first game. At 26 years old, the 6'6 215lb right shot defenseman is not a young kid. He is a professional with over 100 games of AHL experience. The fact that a 7th round pick, drafted by Edmonton back in 2016 is even playing in the NHL is a win by the organization. He deserves a spot in the lineup every night over this road trip and a chance to show what he can do.
Broberg and Bouchard continue to look like a strong tandem together, with the former improving with every game. The Oilers produced 27 shot attempts when Broberg was on the ice (most of any defender in that game) and only allowed 4 against and posted a whopping xGF% of 90.96%. The best case scenario for Broberg would be turning into an Oscar Klefbom like player; a strong skater who moves the puck well at both ends of the ice. It cannot be understated how much the loss of Klefbom hurt this team. We are still in the early stages of his career but he is tracking in the right direction. The Woodcroft of last season wouldn't have been afraid to up his icetime and give him more responsibilities. We will see what JW of this season will do.
Boy do I have some mixed feelings on Klim Kostin. First of all, it is fantastic to see the Oilers make a trade that is actively helping the team. Kostin now has 7 goals and 11 points in 27 games with the Oilers while averaging just over 10 minutes a game. That is depth scoring. The big man is doing all the right things and has gotten very comfortable playing with RNH and is actually showing he has the confidence to make skill plays.
The issues I have are more in the long-term. Kostin has 4 assists on the season and has not registered one since December 21, a game where he had 2 assists. He has scored 7 goals on 36 shots, a 19.4SH%, that's probably unsustainable over a full season. Kostin is an RFA at the end of this season and is currently making league minimum. The player has produced in the role he has been given and seems well liked by his teammates and I certainly have the time to sign him to an extension.
That extension however needs to be smart. Put another way; he cannot become Zack Kassian 2.0. Pay him like a bottom six producer and anything he does for you on top of that is just gravy.
Dylan Holloway has been playing some great hockey as of late and in a shocking turn of events, playing him with skilled players is resulting in good results. Weird! The Holloway-McDavid-Yamamoto line outscored the opposition 2-1 at 5 on 5 and outshot the Ducks 9-5. The line was highly aggressive with Yamamoto being a smart forechecker while Holloway skated for miles. Holloway's goal opened the scoring for the Oilers and was a result of a great McDavid feed followed by no hesitation from Holloway on the shot. I would keep this trio together and give them a long look.
Last note on Connor McDavid... wow. Sometimes I gloss over great McDavid plays because of how common place they have become. He scored another highlight reel goal, breaking the ankles of none other than Trevor Zegras before ripping a backhand shot top corner. Not to be outdone, Draisaitl scored a beauty between the legs redirection on the PP from a great play and shot by Evan Bouchard. Edmonton's best players made some highlight reel plays but I hope they realize they can't win every game like that.
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Ultimately it was a fun night and great to see such a one-sided victory but as I have stated repeatedly over the past couple of weeks it is meaningless if they cannot follow up and do it over and over again. I'm not asking for a 6-2 win every game and in fact I would be much happier if they played a defensively sound game against another bottom dwelling team in the San Jose Sharks, limited their chances against and controlled 5 on 5 play. I guess we will see.
Thanks for reading!
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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