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Edmonton Oilers 3 Winnipeg Jets 2: 9 Things

By Kurt Leavins |

The Edmonton Oilers having a 3-0 record to start the exhibition season does not a Stanley Cup win. But for a franchise whose confidence has been in serious decline the last few (o.k., 9) years, I think we can all agree…we’ll take it. There were some signs tonight that start to point toward a final roster, for Todd McLellan‘s club, even against a pretty outmatched Jets club, on paper at least. 9 Things:

9. O.K., I’ll be the guy to say it: 2 Starts for the Edmonton Oilers so far, and a soft goal allowed in each of them by Cam Talbot. It wasn’t that he didn’t perform well the rest of the night. But even on Ben Scrivens‘ good starts last year, fans complained about there “always being a softy”. Fair’s fair.

8. Braden Christoffer is flying so far under the radar right now, the Edmonton Oilers didn’t even add his name to the post-game summary on their website! But the kid continues to impress. I noticed him nearly every shift. Unfortunately his enthusiasm also led to 2 ill-advised penalties in the 3rd Period.

7. It appears as if Matt Hendricks came into camp in impeccable shape. Always, always a gamer, Hendricks look to have an extra step this Fall, and tonight was one of the Edmonton Oilers better forwards. He also scored the winner on a penalty shot, although that patented move of his didn’t quite go according to plan!

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6. I really liked how Todd McLellan ran his bench tonight. When he encountered real-game situations in this otherwise meaningless exhibition game, he approached they with real-game solutions. The best example was, with the lead late in the 3rd, he sent out both Mark Letestu AND Matt Hendricks for a D-zone draw.

5. Of all the Russians playing for the Edmonton Oilers tonight, Anton Slepyshev was by far the best. He had a number of chances from close in, and seems to know where the net is. Bogdan Yakimov was invisible except for one shift, and Nail Yakupov, while he didn’t make any mistakes, did not stand out.

4. Leon Draisaitl is making an extremely solid case for being kept on the opening day roster. He easily out-distanced Yakupov and Anton Lander. He thinks an offensive game on another level from many of his teammates, and I don’t remember his stick being so active, on the other side of the puck.

3. It was sure nice to see the power play click a couple times. That was something Todd McLellan had on his resume when he came here. Now, lets not get carried away, that was hardly the regular Jets lineup out there tonight, but again…positives are nice to have. And they did accomplish it without Taylor Hall or Connor McDavid on the ice.

2. Griffen Reinhart certainly looked like a better NHL bet tonight that Darnell Nurse did. Now, Reinhart was paired with Eric Gryba and not Nurse’s partner, who was a very challenged Jordan Oesterle. But Reinhart was confident, used his body effectively, was cool under pressure, and moved the puck quickly.

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1. The best player on the ice for either team, by a fair margin, was Justin Schultz. He did all of the good things we know Schultz can do. But more than merely avoiding the yips that scarred his game last season, Schultz used the body way more, and even mixed it up a bit when one of the Jets took liberties with Oscar Klefbom, who is more than capable of looking after himself. If Todd McLellan turns out to The Schultz Whisperer, this season could end up being even more fun than I had imagined.

On to Winnipeg, Friday.

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