Edmonton Oilers Between Two Posts: Detroit Red Wings

Welcome back to Between Two Posts, where we preview each of the Edmonton Oilers‘ 29 opponents this season. Up next, we have everyone’s favorite team… the Detroit Red Wings (*crickets*). Just kidding. We’re also going to change the format a bit, so stay tuned and read more about our favorite hockey town in America. We also have Nate, editor of Octopus Thrower, as a special guest.

Team Name

Detroit Red Wings

Rival Blog

Octopus Thrower

Recap of Last Year

The Oilers met with the Red Wings twice, once in January and again in March. The Wings swept both games, winning 4-2 the first go of it and dominating 5-2 the second time around. Jordan Eberle and Pavel Datsyuk both performed to their highest potential, scoring three and four points respectively in both games combined.

While the Oilers remained in the bottom of the standings, the Red Wings put up a 100-point season, notching the sixth seed for a playoff spot. However, in a tough playoff matchup to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Wings said goodbye to hockey and were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

A sad way to go, but the Lightning were dominant throughout the whole playoffs, until of course the Stanley Cup Finals, where they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks.

This Year’s Preview: Players, Teams to Watch

This year is going to be different for both teams. The Wings will obviously improve on the backend with Mike Green, but defense remains their weak spot, and the Oilers have been rebuilding and are collecting pieces to the puzzle that may help them bounce back up the standings.

This year, I am keeping an eye on both teams. The Wings can be a great team if they have built a good defense, which they have, and the Oilers are going to become better with their new additions.

The players to watch are Pavel Datsyuk and Jordan Eberle, no question about it. Why? Well, both Datsyuk and Eberle display skill and talent, and both are a bit older and have put up good numbers in the NHL. Eberle’s looking to build more onto a 24 goal-performance last season, and Datsyuk is looking to show more skill and talent and become more of a goal-scorer, as well as a playmaker.

Sammi’s Take

Gah, the Red Wings. The Oilers used to dominate them… back in the good old days where the Oil made the playoffs and went all the way to the Cup Final. But then, the gears switched. Edmonton sat at the bottom of the totem pole, and Detroit kept climbing up, and they were the ones to win the Stanley Cup in 2008.

Now, with the Oilers ready to bounce back, I get more excited for the season to start every day. Because, the Oilers are ready to take back their glory, and they are ready to fight on the ice. They are ready to establish themselves as a tough team to match up against.

I think that this series will go half-and half. The Oilers face the Wings twice again this season, once Oct. 21 and again Nov. 27. The Oilers will drop the first game, primarily because the team will still be developing and trying to adjust to Todd McLellan‘s coaching style, and because the Wings have great additions that will help them win. The score will be 2-1. Nov. 27, the Oilers will now know the Wings’ ways, and they will dominate 4-2. Simple.

What I love that the Wings fans embrace Hockeytown and the history behind the franchise, as well as the closeness between the teammates. I also love Tomas Tatar, because he’s a great young star.

I can’t find much to hate… maybe just the fact that they have outstanding seasons but never seem to fully reach their potential in the playoffs. Your jerseys are spared from my judgement right now.

So yeah, 2-1 loss first, then 4-2 win the second time.

Octopus Editor Nate’s Take

My Red Wings fandom extends a few decades. Though I could barely tie my shoes when the Wings faced the Oilers in the ’87 and ’88 Campbell Conference Finals, I still remember seething when the Oil dispatched the Wings quickly both seasons. Borne was my disdain of everything Oil.

But then 2006 happened. And dammit, it was the third time the Oil got the best of my Wings. And well, it was hard to for me to feel sorry for you all during your nine year playoff absence. But as the 2000’s stretched into the 2010’s, it was sad to see the once proud franchise descend on hard times.

The calliope music hung in the frigid Edmonton air as Craig MacTavish tap danced from the bench to the luxury box–unsure of how to turn four #1 picks into a competitive hockey team. And then the music stopped. Mac was knocked down a peg. Peter Chiarelli showed up. Now you have McJesus, which of course, means you’re going to be the envy of every team as he lights the NHL on fire.

Good for you.

Yes Edmonton, your time has arrived. It’s time to emerge from the basement and claim your place as a big boy of hockey again. Frankly, it’s been too long. This coming from a fan tortured in the playoffs by your organization.

What to Expect with the Wings

Well, we don’t have Babcock anymore. But you already knew that–didn’t you? We’ve got Jeff Blashill now, who is what Dallas Eakins was supposed to be. Successful at every level, Blash knows most of the faces on the team since he guided them to a Calder Cup in 2013. You’ll see more speed, and a pretty potent power play with Mike Green quarterbacking. We’ve all but crowned Petr Mrazek our savior between the pipes. We’ll see if that holds up.

Our Achilles Heel? Defense. Green helps but there are still some question marks heading into training camp. Many of us think that with Big Bad Babcock gone, some of the targets of his death stare will flourish. Then there’s another camp that wonders if Babcock coached them up. We’ll see. But with the scoring power you have, you’ll definitely give our blue line fits.

Since we only play twice, I see a home-home split. You guys take one in your barn. We’ll notch one in ours.

By the way, back to that enemy of our enemy bit. If you want to knock the Hawks off their perch, it’d be much appreciated. It would be a great way to begin your revival.

Conclusion

Thank you Nate, for your input, and go Oil! We’ll be back tomorrow with more Between Two Posts!

Next: Between Two Posts: Nashville Predators