Jay Woodcroft’s experience as coach of the Edmonton Oilers has been productive for everyone. The team has a record of 35-18-3 including postseason, won two rounds of the playoffs for the first time in 2005, and are among the favourites to win the Pacific division in 2022-23. Every sky has some clouds, and sometimes the skies turn grey and electricity fills the air. This team is miles from trouble, but it would be a good night for a productive and cohesive showing by Woodcroft’s troops. Certainly a clean first period wouldn’t go amiss.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New DNB: How the Oilers can manage Connor McDavid and star players’ workloads
- Lowetide: 6 Edmonton Oilers positives from an uneven start
- Lowetide: Can the Oilers’ AHL affiliate sustain a productive prospect pipeline?
- DNB: Oilers need Jakob Chychrun or another top-4 defender, as loss to Flames shows
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers early impressions from season-opening win
- DNB: Oilers must adapt to short-handed lineup because it’s coming again
- Lowetide: Can Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi be a modern Jere Lehtinen?
- DNB: Oilers goalie Jack Campbell enters season intent on exceeding expectations
- Lowetide: Why Oilers’ Evan Bouchard will be a key to 2022-23 season
- New DNB: A summer day with Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft
- New DNB: 11 bold predictions for 2022-23 season
- Lowetide: What’s Oilers prospect Reid Schaefer’s NHL ETA?
- DNB: Oilers’ missing pieces? Trade strategy? Breakout player? Mailbag
- Lowetide: 5 areas for Edmonton Oilers roster improvement in 2022-23
- DNB: Projecting Oilers’ opening-night roster
- Lowetide: Is Oilers’ Connor McDavid facing Hart Trophy voter fatigue?
- DNB: Dylan Holloway’s emergence for Oilers puts Jesse Puljujarvi’s future into focus
- Lowetide: Is this the year an Edmonton Oilers player wins the Calder Trophy?
- Jonathan Willis: Jakob Chychrun would look good on the Oilers, but is there a deal to be had?
- DNB: Oilers’ Connor McDavid may have 50 goals in his reach, but a bigger goal remains
- DNB: Darnell Nurse’s big-money contract with Oilers isn’t going to change who he is or how he plays
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers reasonable expectations for every player in 2022-23
- Lowetide: Oilers top-20 prospects, summer 2022
WHAT TO EXPECT IN OCTOBER
- At home to: VAN, CGY, BUF, CAR, STL, PIT (Expected 4-1-1) (Actual 1-1-0)
- On the road to: STL, CHI, CGY (Expected 1-1-1) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 5-2-2, 12 points in 9 games
- Actual October results: 1-1-0, 2 points in 2 games
- Oilers in 2022-23: 1-1-0, 2 points in 2 games
A win tonight sets up the week nicely, but a loss with Carolina coming to town and suddenly things get a little more daunting. I don’t think there’s any panic, nor reason to, but all involved will want a better game with more clarity and form. I bet the Oilers deliver. I think we’ll see some tweaks tonight, not sure what they might be, but Woodcroft has a MacGyver feel to his coaching style and my guess is the breakouts will have a wrinkle. We’ll see.
POSSIBLE LINEUP
- Evander Kane [0-2-2]—Connor McDavid [4-1-5]—Kailer Yamamoto [0-1-1]
- Zach Hyman [0-2-2]—Leon Draisaitl [1-4-5]—Jesse Puljujarvi [0-0-0]
- Dylan Holloway [0-0-0]—Nuge [0-0-0]—Warren Foegele [0-0-0]
- Devin Shore [0-0-0]—Ryan McLeod [1-0-1]—Derek Ryan [0-0-0]
- Darnell Nurse [1-1-2]—Cody Ceci [1-0-1]
- Ryan Murray [0-1-1]—Evan Bouchard [0-0-0]
- Brett Kulak [0-0-0]—Tyson Barrie [0-1-1]
- Markus Niemelainen (may play his first game of the season tonight)
- Stuart Skinner [0-0-0] [0.00] [1.000]
- Jack Campbell [1-1-0] [5.98] [.851]
SOMETHING TO WATCH FOR
One of the things I’m looking for, even this early in the year, is the coaching staff increasing the five-on-five minutes for the Darnell Nurse-Cody Ceci pairing. The samples are too small after two games, and there’s some noise due to special teams being more prominent (if often happens early in a season), but look for heavier minutes from the top pairing during those important five-on-five minutes.
LOWETIDE AND JAMIESON
10-2, TSN1260. Bruce Arthur from the Toronto Star will happen by to discuss the Oilers and TML starts, Tom Gazzola will chime in from the rink for a pre-pre-game update, and Glen Suitor talks CFL as we enter the final stages of the regular season. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. Talk soon!
Summarizing!
Chiasson was held off the scoresheet in a 5-2 loss. However, he shan’t wait long for a chance at redemption.
Bag Skate them!
In 2005-06 MacT bag Skated the moribund Oilers who went on a near historic tear. Only falling short in the final thanks to a certain shrimp sized defenceman.
Now of course we have to wait until these McDavid Oilers win the cup to consider that MacT thank you statue.
Do we ever beat Buffalo? Doesn’t feel like it.
On the bright side…nobody is talking about how much better Skinner is….he played a C- game tonight.
I was expecting more a violent response after Libushkin lined up Drai behind the net on the PP….crickets….this was a green light that led to the Holloway “encounter” …pathetic
I know score effects but 48 shots should yield a W.
This is not the Oiler team of May ’22 – do they miss the vets like Keith and Smith?
It wasn’t all score effects though – the Oilers were the far better team for abut 45 minutes – recall how unlucky they were not to come out of the first up 2-3 goals.
Not unlucky at all.
Oilers were out of synch. Taking the same kind of shots that worked in the playoffs, without the same level of committment/conditioning/skill than last spring.
The team is sleepwalking, and Holloway looks like anything but a sure bet to make it in the NHL today, after handing the opposition the first goal of the season, and now getting himself flattened like a raw rookie by a predatory Sabre who is after all only trying to do his job.
Can’t agree – they had multiple point blank looks and high danger chances in the 1st period they didn’t cash on. Unlucky may not be the right word. We can go with “lack of finish” or whatever but the Oilers essentially dominated that first period, carried the play and crush the Sabres in real scoring chances.
What a sorry effort, hope they keep losing until they can play 200 ft and 60 min. More holes than a cheese grater.
I would like one 60min performance please
Twas a character loss, against a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since before the iPhone was invented.
Well they dominated the third. I don’t hate that game by the Oilers. Clean up the lackadaisical back passes and it’s probably a different result.
They need to start better, though, and I’m still going to harp on them for not attempting more straight ahead play. Establish the shot, then the back door opens up. They try for that net front play way to much.
I think they bounce back Thursday with a win.
The start was fine though, wasn’t it? They all but dominated the first as well.
They forgot to come out and play the second period . Kane couldn’t score , nobody else could either . Then the give aways . What can you do ? Nothing .
OK but that has nothing to do with my response to the original post…..
Ok I was talking about the second period where they lost the game , after a decent first period . That’s what I’m responding to .
hmmm
some dominating periods, Comrie was excellent but …..
And of course Calgary came back from down 2-0 to win 3-2 in reg. This was a terrible outcome
Good game. This team is nuts offensively. Just couldn’t finish well enough.
Show up for 2 periods, maybe the can win next time. Jeeze.
Had there been a timeout that I missed? I’ve not coached a game in my life, but I kept expecting one sometime in the last minute.
Yes, with about 90 seconds left.
Thanks. I’m 50 going on 94, apparently.
Yes, right after Buffalo iced the puck.
Bad shot selection. It’s a thing. Ugh…
As soon as the game started i wanted an OTL lol
Hyman can’t miss that chance. Needed to shoot properly not just whack the puck at the net.
I mean he one times it from close range, it’s a nice save too.
Ha! See what I did there a minute ago? The goalie compliment hex worked again!
Nuuuuge
Really nice game by Comrie tonight.
Our stars are give away machines tonight
For crying out loud. The Oilers have absolutely dominated the 3rd and were BY FAR the better team in the 1st (deserved to be up by 2-3 based on chances).
So many point blank looks and they can’t be Comrie.
Frustrating as they’ve created a ton of offence tonight.
I haven’t watched this whole game, but by eye the oilers are terrible at producing second chance opportunities. The Sabres are chewing up pucks in front of the net.
They go for back door tip ins again and again, it’s predictable.
Mcdavid just had the best chance of the period on a rebound, but it still seems like a lot of single chances for the Oilers, they reset for another single chance.
They can score with their skill but I think they need to compliment that with more straight ahead hockey in front of the net. Let’s see some rebound and tip goals.
Isn’t that what Hyman, Kane, Jesse, Foegele are supposed to bring?
There it is, finally a rebound goal.
The ice surface appears to be terrible.
None of these pucks are staying flat.
This game has had more missed trips than Air Canada’s flight schedule.
Just imagine if they play this way against Carolina.
And Pittsburgh.
This is frustrating I’m done for the night
My goodness Kane is struggling in the offensive zone….. did he try and drop that or was his release that slow that he was caught and stripped?
Either way, that’s not a confidant goal scorer on his game.
100+
Not liking Kanes game tonight.
Skinner sure gives up some juicy rebounds
Eric Comrie – square to every shot, and many of them off of puck movement, etc. He’s been very good. Geez!
Buffalo players sticks have been blocking out sun as well
Is it just me or was that another open net for Kane that he didn’t cash?
It’s painful to watch this team sometimes. It’s like having a dentist enter through your ass to do a root canal. I’ve scarcely missed a game in decades, but come on, they’re just not showing a lot of life tonight..
After Two:
3-1 Buffalo (2-0 Buffalo in the second)
24-19 Edmonton shots (12-9 Buffalo in the second)
29-25 Buffalo Corsi five-on-five (17-9 Sabres in the second)
—
As so often happens, the other team makes a strong comeback after a slow first period, and the Oilers were on their heels. Sloppy plays by veterans, including Nurse and Leon, and this Edmonton team is digging an unnecessary hole for themselves. Time to get to work.
We look weirdly short on confidence offensively. Always trying to make the extra pass or little drag to change the angle on shooting chances.
Would be nice to have more D-men than Nurse and Ceci
Barrie has been good, pretty much all year.
Bouch struggling so badly is a problem, a big problem.
Ya not bad
This game is making me sleepy.
Yes. Not very entertaining. Charmin! Much too soft.
Man! I thought we were supposed to be the fast team! They made us look slow and old with their speed and puck moving.
Nurse is fast is reasonably fast in a straight line.
The other D are 1963 Corvairs.
unsafe at any speed???
I look forward to Nuge reverting BACK to a player that is more than just “an OK player who touches all aspects of the game”.
I have liked Nuge’s game thus far. He had a nice chance in the second that Comrie turned away with a nice blocker save. I thought him, Hyman, and Puljujarvi were good together in Calgary as well.
Would you believe the Sabers have looked like the better team .
Yes
Youngesters (McLeod, Bouch) with poor decisions in the offensive zone – 3 players going full toward the opposition net and the puck goes backwards, risky – tire fire results.
He got the hand, sure, but, for me, that’s just a great defensive play.
JP playing well this period…But for a tik tac power play goal and a couple of McMoments, the team as a whole has been quite unimpressive so far this season.
This oilers team feels… different
and not a good different
Kane with some Kassian like work on the defensive boards….
It’s strange to see Draisaitl flat-out miss teammates with passes.
2 on the tape to Sabres
Was waiting until the Oilers spotted Buffalo a 3-goal lead, but it’s taking forever. So I’ve turned the game on, anyway.
Huge recovery play by Nurse (to save his own ass)….
Team Charmin doesn’t even respond to their prize rookie getting thumped,unless Foegle giving him a warm fuzzy hug is considered payback. Maybe start running around a little bit. They are a young team you would think we might be able to actually be physically dominant them….foolish me , I forgot we will make them pay on the power play. Just once I would like us to be to be the assholes in a game.
Love this. Team Charmin. Bingo! Feels like a DOD game. No inspiration and zero truculence.