The Edmonton Oilers left Rogers Place with a solid win over the Detroit Red Wings Saturday. With many players showing a strong effort, the newest Oiler in the locker room was excellent.
Edmonton Oilers
Though David Desharnais could have been better in the faceoff dot, he was great in all other areas. With this style of play, Desharnais is proving that he fits in perfectly to the Oilers’ plans. In 14:28 of ice time, he picked up an assist and was a minus-1, and played a key part in the Oilers’ offensive rush.
The 30-year-old centre slotted in between Zack Kassian and Drake Caggiula, and the entire line seemed to click. Kassian picked up a well-deserved goal standing in front of the net, and Desharnais got the secondary assist.
Not to mention, he was a key player in making that goal happen, thanks to his feed to Adam Larsson. After that, the Swedish defender fired a shot that Zack Kassian deflected past Petr Mrazek to put the Oilers in the lead.
Desharnais also finished with two shots and had no problems when it came to zone entry or jumpstarting the rush. In fact, he fit in quite well and didn’t seem to have many problems.
Lastly, the chemistry on the third line was outstanding. As Desharnais mentioned post game, Kassian used his size, as well as his speed, to allow Desharnais more space, time and control with the puck. Caggiula was able to keep up and make nifty plays, bouncing off his linemates. They looked like they had been playing together for longer than they had, and this just goes to show that this unit clicked.
Areas to Improve In
Desharnias took 11 faceoffs, and only won two of them. This lead to a poor showing in the dot, as he only won about 18 percent of his draws. However, this is something that he can work on with more time and practice. The Quebec native only got one practice in and has more time to show his true potential.
He could also try to backcheck more effectively, and add some physicality to his game. Though Desharnais is just 5-foot-7, 171 pounds, he does have room to throw a few hits around and win those battles for the puck.
Overall, it was by no means a shabby start for Desharnais in orange and blue. He will surely be the player this team has been looking for on the forward lines.