Though it’s early, and the Edmonton Oilers have just one regular season game under their belt, it is hard not to acknowledge their defence.
With Edmonton starting the year without arguably one of their top defencemen in Andrej Sekera, there was some concern as to how their blue line would cope. Led by Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson, without Sekera, the Oilers defence is relatively young.
Edmonton Oilers
However, they proved to have no problem handling the Flames, showing outstanding awareness and ability. In the end, they limited Calgary to just 27 shots on goal and took away a number of scoring chances. Edmonton also dominated with 31 hits and 18 blocks.
And though it is early, the defence was not only outstanding but also showed a lot of growth. It was easy that the younger players have done a lot to evolve their game, and in the end, it won the Oilers the season opener.
Let’s take a look at their defence and how they performed.
First off, the pairing of Klefbom-Larsson continues to thrive. Both of them logged over 20 minutes of ice time, and they were a plus-3. Larsson provided a lot of physicality with three hits, and Klefbom showed a lot of offensive upside with a team-leading nine shots on goal. Both complement each other extremely well, and their mentalities sync well together to make them one of the Oilers most fluid and complete overall pairings.
Kris Russell was also one of the best players of the night. He blocked a team-leading seven shots, and also registered three shots on goal. Without him, Edmonton would have suffered the consequences.
Matthew Benning also played a solid game in his first appearance on the top-four, racking up three hits and a shot block. However, he needs to take better care of the puck, and his four giveaways were far from impressive. Kris Russell shined with a team-lead
Darnell Nurse and Eric Gryba were also excellent and proved to be a strong bottom-pairing. Nurse logged four shots on goal, and Gryba also impressed with two hits, two blocks and two takeaways. He was one of the best Oilers blueliners on the ice and proved that he still has a lot to offer and can be a vital member of the lineup.
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Overall, the defence looked great. Even though this is just the beginning, they showed a lot of strength and cohesiveness, and the pairings worked well together.