Devils at Oilers, G13 2024-25

We are not, as a group, electric when it comes to nuanced conversation. I don’t know when it happened, but at some point the internet tooK ‘subtle’ out behind the barn and shot it dead. We tend to argue our point with wording that doesn’t allow for thoughtful retort. “There’s no damn way this team wins with Robin Alfalfa playing defense. It’s not even blue!” is met with “Robin Alfalfa’s feces has a higher IQ than you” and on we go.

Last night was a tough game for the all or nothing gang. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins spent an entire shift being ‘also in photo’ and it was painful. He tracked his mark without ever impacting the play in any fashion. God Almighty! That’s hard to watch. Later, he sent an other-worldly pass to Zach Hyman for his beautiful goal and all was well again. If you look across the roster, this year, you can see veterans playing well in moments and unwell in others.

Are they sick? Tired? What the hell man!!

The Athletic article is about the real worries for Stan Bowman and the Edmonton Oilers in the months to come. It is here.

THE NUMBERS

Leon Draisaitl is herding cattle, catching strays, shooting varmints and striking gold every night with his giant oar and lion’s roar. My goodness what a wonderful player. Remember him when he is like this. Hold him in your mind’s eye forever. I still have Bobby Orr memories (aided by crappy video) of his wild changes of gears and directions and low shot along the ice that often found the net. Draisiatl is a special player.

Stuart Skinner is not a player we can have a nuanced conversation over, and that’s fine. Oilers fans have never been especially sophisticated in their view of goalies (stop the effing puck, idiot!) so we’ve seen this movie since the days of Grant Fuhr. Skinner did save the season in 2022-23 and 2023-24, and backstopped the Oilers to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final a year ago. He also played well last night, and this season remains (so far) a small sample. I suspect regression has already begun.

Darnell Nurse made some dandy plays, a couple you’d like back, and it’s pretty clear Brett Kulak is his partner when the shifts matter. I’m not sure how that impacts Ty Emberson and the third pair, I only know that it does. Emberson needs 40 more games in the NHL or he’s a free agent next summer, one hopes Oilers management makes that happen and the young man avoids injury.

Vasily Podkolzin has been impressive with Draisaitl. I don’t know how long that tandem will last, but it’s looking good so far.

Jeff Skinner is quickly becoming my favourite new winger, and that’s a tough chore because Viktor Arvidsson is golden. Both veterans are so damn good at the hockey, in different ways, and it’s clear Jeff Jackson did some good work over the summer to upgrade the roster.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN NOVEMBER

• On the road to: CAL (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
• At home to: NJD, VEG (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• On the road to: VAN (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• At home to: NYI, NAS (Expected 2-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• On the road to: TOR, MTL, OTT (Expected 1-2-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• At home to: MIN, NYR (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• On the road to: UTA, COL (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• Overall expected result: 8-5-0, 16 points in 13 games
• November results: 1-0-0, 2 points in 1 game
• Oilers in 2024-25: 6-5-1, 13 points in 12 games

The Oilers are 6-2-1 after the early-season disaster and are crawling from the wreckage with aplomb. I don’t see tonight as a win, the New Jersey Devils are going to skate the Oilers to the edge of forever tonight. I’ll go further: If the Oilers win tonight’s game, they should put Robin Alfalfa in the Hall of Fame tomorrow morning. It’s the right thing to do.

A busy show today, the Lowdown hits at noon on Sports 1440. Rachel Doerrie from Betalytics and ESPN will join me to talk about the uneven performances of veteran Oilers, and I’ll ask about the potential for Vasily Podkolzin if he has sustained time with Leon Draisaitl. Jason Gregor will pop in, I want to find out what he thinks of Kulak-Nurse as a viable second pair, and we’ll check on the Elks (some encouraging happenings there). NFL, CFL playoffs, MLB signings and more will be part of the show.  I’m at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section here and on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly. We can be heard at sports1440.ca; iHeartRadio; Radioplayer Canada, we tweet out the show after it’s done and you can catch us on Apple and Spotify.