Player reviews: Edmonton Oilers do lots right in Winnipeg, but winning the game is not one of those things
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Oilers 3, Jets 5
Let’s begin where we ended a few days ago, the game day write-up of the first of a home-and-away series between the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets:
Tonight’s opponent is the “Winnipeg Jets” who will bring a top-flight defence pair in Josh Morrissey and Jacob Trouba, otherwise their travelling roster is populated with depth players and hopefuls. Expect to see the Oilers return that favour in Winnipeg on Sunday, with the takeaway being the home team should be heavily favoured in both games.
Pretty much how it played out, as the Connor McDavid-led Oilers crushed the understaffed visitors 7-3 in Edmonton. On Sunday the Jets’ A Team returned the favour against an Edmonton team missing most of its top guns, 5-3.
This one didn’t entirely go by the book, though. The visiting Oilers put on a spirited game through two periods before running into a string of penalties in the final frame that spelled their doom on the scoreboard. Different story on the shot clock, which Edmonton dominated to the tune of 41-21. The difference being that Jets snipers Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and, uhh (checks notes) Skyler McKenzie finished their chances with authority against Mikko Koskinen while the visitors couldn’t solve Connor Hellebuyck.
The loss is no surprise, nor is it consequential. The club used the circumstances of a round-trip-to- Winnipeg-in-a-day to look at most of the guys on the bubble, and to test them against the better part of one of the NHL’s top clubs.
Goal
#19 Mikko Koskinen. No doubt he’s getting pilloried in some quarters of Oil Country after being torched for 5 goals against on just 21 shots, for an unseemly .762 save percentage. In fairness to the backstop, four of the tallies were buried on Grade A+ scoring chances, the fifth a mid-air deflection from the slot that found the top corner. This old goalie wonders, which one(s) was he supposed to stop? Overall Koskinen looked far more in control than he did in a very sloppy first appearance in Calgary with some fine saves off the likes of Patrik Laine (twice), Dustin Byfuglien, and especially Scheifele on a 5-on-3 rocket that seemed labelled. Had far fewer adventures in the blue paint, way better rebound control, and a glove hand that actually caught the odd puck. That said, rebound control doesn’t enter the equation when you’re getting beaten cleanly on the original shot. Definitely not his night, but I choose not to panic.
Defence
#5 Kevin Gravel. Played a solid game for two periods, struggled in the third. His bad pinch led to the jailbreak that resulted in Winnipeg’s final goal.
#12 Jakub Jerabek. He played a subtle game, putting out a few fires before they started by denying zone entries with some strong play along the blueline. On one of them he deftly chipped a loose puck right through to Aberg for a breakaway. Also made a terrific emergency shot block to save what seemed like a sure goal. Did however get owned wide by a C.J. Suess on the final Jets’ tally. Mobility does not appear to be his strong suit.
#13 Jason Garrison. Stats sheet says the Oilers outshot the Jets 11-2 during his 14+ even strength minutes, but he was directly burned on the only one of those shots that found twine when he failed to tie up McKenzie’s stick on the tip. Bigger problems on the PK, where both Jets powerplay goals went through that same area.
#25 Darnell Nurse. Showed his quality throughout in a team-high 22:50. Lots of mobility with a nice edge of nasty. Highlight was a great play in the dying seconds where he shed a forechecker with a reverse move up the boards in his own end, took the puck the length of the ice, then fed the backhand sauce to Yamamoto for the finish.
#74 Ethan Bear. Showed off that shot again with a powerplay bomb that cleanly beat Hellebuyck from centre point. Had some good moments on the penalty kill as well. Special teams play is his path to the NHL.
#83 Matt Benning. My game notes are littered with small, positive comments about this player, who made the easy play time and again and made it look easy in the process. Played a very smart game. Did get bent over the boards at the Winnipeg bench when nailed by Scheifele, but came back and landed 3 hits of his own.
Forwards
#16 Jujhar Khaira. A tower of power who fired a team-high 6 shots at Hellebuyck, several of them by driving to the goal mouth. One standout play saw him drive the middle on a 3-on-2, draw a penalty, and make an unexpected spinnarama pass to Rieder for a good shot. Skated well, good on the cycle, strong on the penalty kill. Did struggle on the faceoff dot (3/10=30%).
#18 Ryan Strome. The other side of that lefty/righty faceoff duo with Khaira, trouble was he struggled just as much (4/13=31%). Once the puck was in play he was fine, moving the puck well and firing 5 shots of his own, though unable to solve Hellebuyck.
#22 Tobias Rieder. Some good, some bad. Made a soft play just inside his own zone on a puck that badly needed to be cleared, resulting in extended Jets pressure. Was otherwise strong on the backcheck and in transition, leading the Oilers with 3 takeaways and 8 shots attempts (4 on goal). Among the few Oilers who got better as the game went on.
#24 Brad Malone. Had a stinker of a performance on a night the career tweener desperately needed to show the coaching staff that he plays a “reliable veteran” kind of game. Instead he took an awful penalty on his first shift and made the Skate Of Shame back to his bench a minute later. Had 2 bad turnovers in the neutral zone that turned apparent Oilers’ rushes into Jets’ counterattacks. Later took another borderline penalty outside his own blueline that wound up in a second SOS. Two penalties resulting in two powerplay goals against, that’s the sort of thing coaches do notice, though not in a good way. I’ll be surprised if he’s not in the AHL after the next round of cuts.
#28 Kyle Brodziak. Dependable 2-way game. Was the only Oiler to hold his head above water on the dot, posting 8/14=57%. 3 shots and a splendid pass that sent Caggiula in alone.
#44 Zack Kassian. A day late and a dollar short on Winnipeg’s first powerplay goal, but helped get that back with a good play to shoot the puck in to his own corner, recover it, and start the cycle on the 1-1 tally. Had more trouble on the PK when he took an iffy slashing penalty that put his team two men down, and soon thereafter, two goals down. Had a couple of good hits.
#46 Pontus Aberg. His lack of assertiveness may cost him a spot on this club. A tiny example which I’ll bet the coaches noticed: after some extended pressure he got the puck and a clear path out of his zone, but he failed to gain the red line and his weak clearing shot went straight to a Jet who turned the puck the other way fast while Aberg’s mates were trying to complete a line change and/or stranded and out of gas. Had a clear breakaway later in the first but fired directly into Hellebuyck’s pads.
#56 Kailer Yamamoto. A primary reason that Aberg’s spot in the line-up is in doubt. Yamamoto lined up on the left side specifically for the coaches to get a look at him on his off-wing, and he didn’t disappoint with a pair of goals. The first was a terrific mid-air tip of an unassuming Benning wrist shot, the second a good finish of Nurse’s rush shown above. On another near miss, he smartly tried to take advantage of some chaos by banking the puck off the pile. Also drew a penalty. He’s exceptionally good at getting his stick on the puck in both offensive and defensive situations. Is making a strong case for himself — again — with 4-2-6 in 3 preseason games.
#65 Cooper Marody. After two impressive games earlier in the week, he had his struggles on a line between Malone and Aberg. Not for lack of effort; he doesn’t shy away from puck battles and won his share of them, notably one great dig out of his own defensive corner that resolved an extended board battle.
#70 Ryan McLeod. Played his seventh consecutive game including rookie camp. His 200-foot game was in strong evidence, as time and again he was well-positioned deep in his own territory to collect the puck and get it moving north. Earned an assist from deep in the offensive zone, taking Kassian’s short pass behind the goal line and sending it back to the point for a shot that was tipped home. Made a terrific cross-ice pass right through the slot to Aberg, who cradled rather than one-timed the feed, and the chance was lost. Was the only Oiler back on the Jets’ final goal and while in good position, was unable to cut out the cross-crease pass.
#91 Drake Caggiula. Had the unusual role of being the only lefty on the first powerplay unit, and served the role well when he teed up Bear’s point blast that gave the Oilers their only lead at 2-1. Made a good play to stop a Jets rush at Edmonton’s blueline, then join the counter attack and draw a penalty. Had a breakaway but couldn’t convert. More good than bad on this night.
#98 Jesse Puljujarvi. I’d liken him to a Condor despite the AHL implications. He’s seen the last of that league but appears to have learned some of the traits of that noble predator, the way he and his huge wingspan are swooping around the ice, puck in tow. His best moment was when he stole the puck outright from Tyler Myers inside the Edmonton line, sped up ice and unleashed a full slap shot from the right wing. His worst was when he let Scheifele zip right past him on shorthanded goal that put Winnipeg ahead to stay, 3-2. If he wants to earn a full-time role on the powerplay he needs to learn from plays like that one. Otherwise, looked excellent, testing Hellebuyck 4 times and making strong contributions to a line with Khaira and Strome that dominated open play.
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Mikko Koskinen had a weird game, Darnell Nurse and the Strome line stepped up, but Jason Garrison and Brad Malone struggled as the Oilers lost 5-3 to the Winnipeg Jets. David Staples and Bruce McCurdy of the Cult of Hockey dig in.
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Follow me on Twitter @BruceMcCurdy
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