Oilers win 6-1
As the final horn blared in Nashville, signaling the end of the game last night, if you were to listen closely, you could hear all of Edmonton and its fans give a collective sigh of relief. The first two games of the season did not go as the Oilers expected, and they needed this one before all of Edmonton blew up into panic mode. The Oilers needed it, and they went out and got it.
Jack Campbell
For transparency’s sake, the Oilers, who were needing a win badly, didn’t perform well out of the gate to begin the game. They were playing a little sloppy and allowed a couple of grade A chances for the Preds right out of the gate. Luckily, the Oilers had a superhero on their side to save them. His name? Jack Campbell. Right from the get-go, Jack Campbell had to make 3 or 4 really good stops before the Oilers woke up and started putting pucks in the net. He continued to do so for the rest of the night. No save was perhaps bigger than in the second period after Nashville had just scored on a power play to make it 4-1. They came flying back, and Campbell made a sprawling save followed up by a scorpion-like leg kick to save the puck again before the Oilers regained the puck and the whistle blew for an Oilers penalty. Campbell then went on to stop some big shots on the ensuing power play, and as soon as it was over, the Oilers stormed back and scored their 5th goal, all but ensuring victory.
Oh… Remember that 0.750 sv% Campbell had? Don’t look now, but Campbell’s up to a 0.915 sv%. That is what we would love to see from Campbell — to remain around there. Is it likely? Probably not. Can he keep it around .905? I hope so. The Oilers would be fine with average goaltending. Last night, on a night where the offense shined for most of it, Campbell “goalied” the other team and gave the Oilers a chance to take control on the scoreboard without letting in a soft goal here and there. Exactly what the Oilers needed. Start Campbell on Thursday.
McDavid
McDavid quietly had a 2-point night, wasn’t the star of the show by any stretch in a good way because others were producing all over the place. When we say a quiet night for McDavid, he still scored one of the highlight reel goals of the season. It won’t go down as one of his best goals in my opinion because a lot of it came down to luck… What was #45 on Nashville doing to just overskate and leave the puck behind him? But the whereabouts of McDavid to get taken down, spin around, get the puck up, and keep skating past anyone who was even close to him and finish off the play was simply sensational. It definitely got me out of my seat, watching from home. A play that only the best in the league could truly take advantage of.
Draisaitl
You’ve probably heard of the Scranton Strangler before? But have you heard of the Nashville Killer? It’s not a mystery as to who this man is, it’s Leon Draisaitl. This man can’t be stopped when it comes to playing the Nashville Predators. He now has 24 goals in 24 games against the Preds, which is an insane number. But we need to talk about what he’s done in the last 12 games alone against the Predators. In his last 12 games, the Oilers are 10-0-2 against the Preds, and Draisaitl himself has a record of 22 goals and 12 assists, totaling 34 points in 12 games. That’s very close to two goals per game and three points per game against the Preds over a fairly large 12-game sample. Astounding. Last night alone, Draisaitl casually had 4 points.
Foegele-RNH-Hyman
Foegele Foegele was given the opportunity to be elevated into the top 6 based on his performance against the Canucks, and it paid off big time for the Oilers. The team had just 1 even-strength goal over two games, so the team put McDavid-Draisaitl together to boost the 5-on-5 scoring. Little did they know, or maybe they had a good gut feeling, that Foegele’s line was going to be the star of the show. That line was on for 3, count it, 3 5-on-5 goals last night! Hyman picked up 4 points on the night, Nuge picked up 3 points on the night (both got some PP points as well), and Foegele, recently promoted, came up with a goal and an assist at even strength.
Going into Philly tomorrow, if I were the coach, I would keep the lineup the same, keeping McDavid and Draisaitl together, not because they earned it, but because the second line did such an amazing job. They deserve another game together to see if they can keep it going. This is an awesome scenario for the Oilers. I’d also put Jack Campbell back in net to reward good play. Then, give Skinner the job in the next game so he doesn’t sit for too long. Campbell earned it, so give it to him.
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