Isaac Howard scores again, Jack Roslovic settling in, and the Oilers love winning the hard way

It was a tough weekend for Edmonton Oilers fans, as the boys dropped both games on the West Coast after disappointing efforts against the Kraken and Canucks. Back at Rogers Place for the first of a three-game home stand, the Oilers welcomed the red-hot Utah Mammoth for the first time since actually having a name. Utah came into town riding a seven-game win streak, and it was going to take a whole lot more effort than we got this weekend if the Oilers were going to avoid sliding back under .500. And while the Oilers secured their first victory in their new alternate jerseys, getting to that 6-3 win was anything but easy.

ISAAC HOWARD DOESN’T WANT TO GO TO BAKERSFIELD

Isaac Howard must’ve looked into the Condors because he’s playing like a guy who just learned the only good thing about Bakersfield is Korn. What I’m loving about the Ice Man right now is that he’s not waiting for permission to make something happen. If he’s got a lane and the puck on his stick, he’s ripping it. Howard’s registered at least one shot on goal in six straight games, and that willingness to fire every chance he gets is something a few vets on this roster could stand to copy. You can tell he’s building confidence, and it’s driving him to make the most of what are still limited minutes. On Tuesday, he only played 9:17, but with a goal, two shots on net, and a +1 rating, it’s hard to argue he isn’t making an impact.

On his second goal of the season, Howard drove to the net and banged home Adam Henrique’s centring pass before Karel Vejmelka even knew what hit him. The instincts are there, and the goals are starting to follow. For a rookie getting 10–12 minutes a night, you can’t ask for much more than steady improvement as the games roll along. He’s standing out more, he’s engaged, and, maybe most importantly, the Ice Man is unapologetically assertive with the puck. Even though it’s still early, you can see the trust he has in his shot — and using it as often as possible looks like his ticket to staying in the show. If he keeps taking small steps forward with every at-bat, any talk of him heading to Bakersfield will disappear. Clearly, Howard has no interest in finding out what it’s like.

JACK ROSLOVIC KEEPS GETTING BETTER

Jack Roslovic looks like he’s finally starting to get comfortable in Edmonton after what was always going to be a tough ask. The guy literally signed his one-year contract in the middle of the Oilers’ season opener against Calgary after missing all of training camp and the pre-season. So to get tossed into the deep end less than 30 minutes after eating was a challenge we had to be patient with. Roslovic’s first few games looked like a player trying to catch up to everyone else, but lately, it’s starting to click now that he’s got nine games under his belt. His ice time has bounced between 13 and 19 minutes, and his timing seems to be coming back to him with each passing game. He’s averaging just over three shots on goal per game over the last four contests, and that tells me he’s starting to look more like the guy Stan Bowman brought in to chip in with some secondary scoring.

That’s an encouraging sign, because there’s real upside here if he gets his mojo back. Roslovic was drafted 25th overall by Winnipeg back in 2015 and has since carved out a solid career with stops in Columbus, Carolina, and New York. Before coming to Edmonton, he had 102 goals and 260 points in 526 games on his resume, including 22 goals and 39 points with the Hurricanes last season. That’s the kind of guy that could end up bringing huge ROI for only $1.5 million. He may not be the flashiest player around, but he can skate, he can shoot, and he produces at five-on-five, which is exactly what the Oilers need more of. He picked up his first goal as an Oiler in Vancouver with a clean snipe that beat Demko upstairs, and he had a few dangerous looks against Utah, including a post in the first period. It feels like he’s settling in, and if this is just the warm-up, there’s a decent chance Roslovic becomes one of those under-the-radar signings that ends up making a real impact.

WINNING THE HARD WAY

The Oilers sure don’t make it easy on themselves, do they? Once again, the boys forced themselves to climb out of an early hole after another mistake-laden start spotted Utah a 2–0 lead. While Edmonton actually had a pretty strong start, a pair of tough turnovers by Darnell Nurse gave Utah the openings they needed to cash in early. But to the Oilers’ credit, they didn’t let another rough start keep them down. Instead, they clawed back into the mix early in the second period, tying the game at two thanks to goals from Mattias Ekholm and Isaac Howard, both of which came from driving to the net and letting pucks fly. It wasn’t the opening we wanted, but we did get exactly the kind of greasy response you need after shooting your toe off in the opening frame.

Of course, nothing ever comes easy for this team, does it? Just when we thought the momentum had swung their way, a brutal misplay by Stuart Skinner behind the net handed Utah the lead back on a platter. It was the kind of mistake, moments after a tying goal, that could have derailed the entire night had the team been more fragile. But once again, instead of folding, the boys pushed back for a second time with four straight goals to close out the win. If there’s an easy way and a hard way to do things, the Oilers seem to have no interest in the former. Nights like this won’t quiet down the noise about slow starts at all, but they do show the character in the group to keep battling when times get rough. And right now, that might be just as valuable as a lopsided win.

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