Edmonton Oilers Struggle, Drop Preseason Game to Canucks
By Sammi Silber
The Edmonton Oilers were looking to remain undefeated to start their preseason, but unfortunately, the Vancouver Canucks were too much to handle. In a high-scoring affair, the Oilers couldn’t keep up the ace and fell 5-3.
The Canucks were the team to strike first about twelve minutes in. Troy Stecher buried power-play tally from Anton Rodin and Alex Edler. However, they held the lead for barely two minutes long, when Drake Caggiula scored on a deflection try on a shot from Patrick Maroon.
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As two more minutes passed, the Oilers regained the lead. Brendan Gauche scored, with Stecher and Michael Carcone picking up apples on the tally. However, it wouldn’t be long (at all) until the Oilers regained momentum on the power-play, and again tied the game all thanks to Drake Caggiula, who scored on a feed from Benoit Pouliot and Brandon Davidson.
The score was tied 2-2 at the end of the first, and it remained that way for a lot of the second period. As the two teams battled it out, the offense boiled down to the remaining five minutes. Joseph LaBate shot the puck past Jonas Gustavsson, reclaiming the lead for Vancouver. Thankfully for Edmonton, Griffin Reinhart evened the score with less than a minute remaining on a strong slapshot from the point.
Unfortunately, that’d be the last goal for the Oilers, and Vancouver would add two more tallies (including an Erik Gudbranson empty netter) to take the game 5-3. Here are some observations that are worth noting.
– Caggiula was excellent. He was involved with the offense all night long, and scored two gritty goals thanks to hard work and effort on the ice. Not to mention, the NCAA alum drew penalties and looked like an NHL player Wednesday. Don’t be surprised if he cracks the roster.
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– McDavid looked strong and put up a great game. He had three shots and generated a lot of scoring opportunities, and played a decent game overall. Unfortunately, the 19-year-old couldn’t get on the board where it mattered, but that was mainly to the effect of his wingers (we’ll get to that). In the end, he was definitely noticeable, fast and dominant when on the ice.
– Lucic didn’t look like he should. In fact, it was his turnovers that plagued him the most, and in the end, he was far from impressive. Not to mention, he looked lost at times with McDavid, and though the two have great chemistry, he needs to either pick up the place or go with his “get the puck to Connor” mentality. McDavid put the puck on a platter for him and Eberle multiple times, and neither of them could get anything done.
– Patrick Maroon appeared to be injured at the end of the game. Hopefully it is nothing big, but we will update you as more comes out.
– Special teams were brutal. Even on the power play the Oilers struggled, and let Vancouver dominate and create plenty of shorthanded chances. They appeared lazy at times as well, and not rushed to score or generate any kind of plan, which hurt them in the end and cost them the game.
– Gustavsson seemed rusty, but overall, Ellis looked strong in net, and stopped 10 of 11 shots in the third period. From the looks of it, he’ll be a top goaltending prospect in the Oilers system sooner rather than later.
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Hopefully the Oilers pick it up and get ready for their next matchup Friday against Winnipeg. They square off in Manitoba at 6 p.m. MT.