Edmonton Oilers Pregame Thoughts

I hope Canadian readers enjoyed their Thanksgiving weekend. Fans were more relaxed after Saturday night than they were after Wednesday night. During the game, however, there was a sense that maybe the Edmonton Oilers would be robbed of a win for the second straight time. When I wrote my pregame article, I mentioned the Vancouver Canucks needed a healthy Thatcher Demko to find themselves potentially being a Playoff team again. The season is only two games old, but judging by that last game, he looks pretty healthy to me. He stopped 35 of 37 shots faced, and made highway robbery-type saves a lot of times. His team could’ve lost by four or five goals instead of just one plus an empty netter, were it not for him. It’s the sort of goaltending performance that many Oilers fans crave to see on a consistent basis. Watching Edmonton dominate heavily, it’s crazy how they’re just a gaffe-free, .900-.905 SV% goalie away from being champions.

Also, take into account they don’t have Jake Walman or Zach Hyman back yet, and they just added Jack Roslovic. Imagine how much scarier they’ll look if Stuart Skinner bounces back and doesn’t cave frequently. Watching a former Vezina Trophy nominee like Demko and a Calder Trophy nominated sophomore like Dustin Wolf makes you wonder what could possibly be, whether with Stu or with someone else. Calvin Pickard still deserves some credit, though. He wasn’t as busy as his counterpart, but I remember him making a nice save after the Canucks cut the 2-0 deficit in half. David Tomasek has looked better than most of us probably expected this early, he should have two goals at the very least. He hadn’t played on North American ice since 2014/2015 in the OHL, he’s adapted quickly. Noah Philp scored his first NHL goal off a rush and some nice passing. Andrew Mangiapane, playing in his 500th NHL game, scored his second goal in as many games. Seeing Evander Kane take high-sticking penalties in the offensive zone for the other team was pretty humorous.

The Oilers are beginning a five game Eastern road trip tonight with a visit to the Big Apple. The keys to the game are…