Edmonton Oilers Sunday Ramblings: Wins, Losses and Kings

This week, the Edmonton Oilers had three games, two wins and one loss. The Oilers were riding a three game winning streak after losing four in a row.

This included wins against Vancouver and Detroit and an awful loss against Washington.

October has been a brutal month in terms of scheduling. The last week of October does not get any easier with the Oilers playing four games over the span of the week (a game every second night).

Let’s Talk Coaching

Todd McLellan so far in this young season, has been a revelation of what a great coach looks like. This is a guy that calls it like he sees it. Take for example, his post game comments after that dreadful Washington game, where the Oilers lost 7-4:

“I’ve been disappointed in our team this year, the Dallas game in particular but tonight I was more disappointed in individuals. We’re a good team but we can’t afford to have four or five guys not with us. We had guys who played 18 minutes who didn’t get a shot or a hit. Pretty poor individual line,” said McLellan, who wouldn’t name names, but offered a few cryptic clues.”

It’s pretty apparent that a loss like that did not sit well with the coach. No doubt about that. McLellan pin points the game to four to five individuals that simply did not show up to play. It’s pretty open to interpretation because unlike prior coaches, McLellan is adament about not disclosing this to the media.

“We’re a month and a half into this (camp and regular season) and if we’re negligent in certain areas, that’s either on the coach or flat-out, it’s on you, the player. I’ll sit with certain individuals one-on-one and I want to find out what their preparation is like, how they’re approaching the game.”

The kiddy gloves are off. This is where McLellan’s reputation as a skilled communicator is really going to come through. I have an idea of which players McLellan might be talking about. What I love about this situation is the willingness for McLellan to communicate, one on one, with the player in question. It will probably be a scathing conversation, but one that is very needed. As a teacher, we’re always told that students learn better from direct, one on one instruction. McLellan has a lot of parallels with the education field.

I like that he’s being direct. I like that he’s not belittling players in the media. I like that he’s going out of his way to assess the problems directly.

He’s right: it’s up to the players to finally show up. It’s not on the fifth coach in so many years or the new management. When it comes down to it, it’s up to the players to show up and play the game.

The Players

Anton Lander: is probably one of the players that he was talking about after the game against Washington. So far this season, Lander has been slow and is pointless after eight games. After a strong pre season where he lead the league in scoring, it looked a bit like a mirage. Lander is one of a few Oilers that really needs to take another gear. To say he has been unimpressive is an understatement. He’s been too often a non factor out there. He even has been playing on the Power Play with little results.

Andrew Ference: Played in Friday’s game in lieu of an injured Griffin Reinhart and he was terrible. He took a dumb penalty that lead to a Capitals goal, looked slow and out of place. He will not be playing tonight against Los Angeles as Brandon Davidson will be taking his place. Andrew Ference on the ice is a complete non factor. He’s a great guy in the community and most likely in the room but he’s been dreadful in the games that he’s played. The Oilers need Reinhart back sooner than later.

Eric Gryba: Has been a pleasant surprise so far in this young season. For better or for worse, he is the Oilers most consistent defender. He has had a rotating defensive partner, has been a tad slow, but he brings an element to the Oilers. He’s playing well enough, some nights looking like the best defenceman for the Oilers, which is not a good thing.

Justin Schultz: played as though he forgot how to play defence and it was taken advantage of by the Washington Capitals. It was his worst game of the season so far and he’s definitely one of the guys that McLellan will probably be meeting one on one. As a team, we cannot afford Justin Schultz to be playing like a below average defenceman.

Nail Yakupov: He’s finding some great chemistry with Connor McDavid and it’s showing. He is second in points so far, with 7 points in 8 games played. He’s making some nifty plays in the offensive zone and is using that shot very well. However, against Washington, he vanished. He played around 18 minutes and did not register a single shot. That is not acceptable, especially with a strong start from him. I think he rebounds and puts it behind him.

Cam Talbot: had a great week. He’s easily the number one guy in Edmonton and is a blessing. I think it might be early still to be talking about what type of contract the Oilers should try to re-sign him to (since per CBA rules, they cannot discuss contract extension until January). Yet, Talbot has been our best player this season. His game against Detroit was masterful: he was calm, collected. He did not need to make the outstanding desperate save, which is great. The Oilers have not had this type of goaltending since Dwayne Roloson. He played the relief role in Washington and yielded the 7th and final goal.

Connor McDavid: is now the leading scorer of the Edmonton Oilers. He had points in all three games played, including two goals and two assists for four points. He scored a beautiful first goal at Rexall place against Detroit and has easily been the Oilers most dangerous forward. He had an up and down game against Washington: two points but was in the box for a Power Play goal and had an own goal. Still, it’s hard to believe that he is only 18 years old. He had such a strong week up until the second period against Washington. I do not think he will slow down either; maybe he will not continue that Point Per Game pace but he’s been living up to the hype.

Coming Up

It’s a doozy of a schedule.

Tonight, we have the Los Angeles Kings visiting Rexall place.

Tuesday, we visit the Minnesota Wild while Thursday the undefeated Montreal Canadiens visit. Finally on Halloween, we face the Calgary Flames.

It’s a tough four games: The Kings are a good hockey team and are a physical mean team. Historically, the Oilers are awful in Minnesota and the Canadiens are too hot right now. I think Calgary is a winnable game, but the Oilers go 1-3 for the week.

Next: Edmonton Oilers Look to Dethrone Kings

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