Opening night, the 1984 Cup team in the house, playing against a team that is starting their back-up goalie AND is playing in the second half of back-to-back games. Oh, and did I mention against a team, that at least on paper, you are better than? That should be two-points, every single time, especially for a team that believes it can make the playoffs. Then there are the Edmonton Oilers, who found a way to lose said hockey game.
The Oilers, within five minutes, were down 2-0 to the Calgary Flames. That’s right, down two less than five minutes into your home opener. That’s pathetic, no scratch that, it’s embarrassing. I’m sure Gretz and the boys were awfully proud sitting in their press box watching this hockey game.
Edmonton, for about fifty minutes, was the much better team in this hockey game. It’s not all negatives, in fact there were actually a lot of positives here, which I will get to. Anyway, after tying the game at two and DOMINATING Calgary, Edmonton found themselves in gut check time. Tied at two with a chance, at home, to start the season right with a big third period. The result? Three unanswered Flames goals, a series of defensive break downs, and as per the usual, a loss on home ice.
Frustration, after a six month vacation during the off-season, only took sixty minutes to settle back in with Edmonton Oilers fans.
Positives!:
Look, anytime you lose it’s tough to look at it in a positive light. That’s just natural human instinct, and in Edmonton it’s even more so. People don’t want to hear about moral victories for a team that has been so bad for so long. That being said, there were a lot of positives to come out of this 5-2 loss, and we would be foolish to not look at them.
I’m an advanced stats guy, that’s just how I am, and if you are an advanced stats person, then you should like what I’m about to tell you. The Oilers won the Corsi battle in a major way last night, getting a 66% Corsi For. That is absolutely terrific, and if Edmonton posts more efforts like that in the Corsi department they will win their fair share of games.
The Oilers were a team that was always in the lower 40% area in regards to Corsi, and last night they blew that away. The odds of Edmonton, or any team for that matter, playing at 66% every single game are slim to none, but if Edmonton can parlay last night’s effort into a consistent 50% or better every game? Then this team will be competing for a spot come April. Last night was a moral victory in the advanced stats area.
The Oilers, for the first time since probably the mid-2000’s, had four lines that moved the puck and had extended offensive zone time last. The top line of Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle was absolute magic, these guys totally dominated the Flames last night. The second line of Benoit Pouliot, Leon Draisaitl and Nail Yakupov was sensational as well, and Nail looked the best he has looked since his rookie campaign.
The third and fourth lines both looked good last night too, and had extended offensive zone time throughout the night. Jesse Joensuu was engaged all night and if he can keep that up, this team will have three guys that can actually play the game on line four.
Defensively, Brad Hunt really stood out. He moves the puck REALLY well and has a bomb of a shot to go with it. Jeff Petry? This guy was money last night, easily the best defender wearing orange and blue. If Edmonton does not re-sign him, I’ll seriously have to consider Craig MacTavish as not cut out to be a NHL GM. Petry is Edmonton’s best defender.
The Oilers, possession wise, dominated the Flames last night, had four lines clicking, and got solid efforts from most of their defenders. Yes, they lost, but it isn’t all doom and gloom just yet. If these positives can be consistent throughout the season, Edmonton will be a much improved hockey club.
Negatives:
Yeah, there were a few of these things too. I thought Justin Schultz and Mark Fayne were disappointments in this one. Schultz is playing far too many minutes, and while his mistakes were cut down, he is still making too many of them. That’s a problem, and Craig Ramsay needs to address it. I thought Mark Fayne made far too many questionable decisions too. He needs to be the rock back there if this team is going to have some success.
The worst negative to me was Ben Scrivens. I love the guy, and I think he is going to be good, but Scrivens just was not good enough last night. He could have stopped at least two of those goals. I believe Ben will bounce back, but his effort last night, and even his pre-season efforts, just have not been good enough. Viktor Fasth was the better goalie in the pre-season, and will get a chance on Saturday to take the reigns.
I don’t want to start a controversy, but if Scrivens doesn’t pick it up, Fasth could be Edmonton’s starter in very short order.
Another negative for me is that this team found a way to lose, which is really scary considering their past. I’m not going to tell you the season is over, it’s one game, but this team has to start figuring out ways to win hockey games. They don’t do the little things needed, and that is a scary thought.
Overall:
When you take a step back, this is a game Edmonton easily could have won. The Oilers, for about fifty minutes, were the better hockey club last night, there just is not a debate. They were dominating in the possession game, great on the power-play, and had four lines that applied offensive pressure. To be quite honest, it was a thing of beauty.
The Oilers had a few too many defensive breakdowns, and got some weak goaltending last night. The Flames capitalized, and the Oilers did not, it’s that simple.
If Edmonton can keep up the solid possession play and the offensive pressure while fixing their defensive breakdowns, then this will be a solid hockey club. It’s frustrating, I know, it frustrates me too, but there were a lot of good signs on night number one. No need to panic just yet Oiler fans.
Next up? The Canucks, it’s a game Edmonton can certainly win.
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