Edmonton Oilers: Three Thoughts After 5-1 Loss To Winnipeg

The Edmonton Oilers lost a preseason game, and it really was not that close.

With goals from Jansen Harkins, Evgeny Svechnikov, Austin Poganski, and Kyle Connor the Winnipeg Jets easily beat the Edmonton Oilers last night. Edmonton did have a goal scored by Brad Malone and assisted by Warren Foegele and Zack Kassian.

Tonight’s game was not as fun to watch as the previous two preseason matchups against the Flames and Kraken, but hey hockey is hockey during the preseason! Because this is a preseason game I think everyone wants to forget about and move on with let’s just dive in with three thoughts from the game:

1. Didn’t Miss Or Forget About The Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg Jets were the team that knocked out the Edmonton Oilers during the postseason, and I know tonight was just a preseason matchup but it still stung watching the Jets handle the Oilers again.

Winnipeg has the system that could hurt Edmonton in the long run, they are great defensively and they block a lot of shots. For a team that likes to pass it around and set up great one-timers Winnipeg neutralizes that a lot making sure the front of their net has three to five players all clogging up the slot.

Luckily this is one matchup we will see again soon!

2. The Stars Were Missing Tonight

The Edmonton Oilers were on the road having played a game the night before in Edmonton. A lot of big stars were missing from tonight’s lineup. That is what the preseason is all about – testing out different young guys and seeing who fits into the lineup, but at the end of the day, I can’t wait to see how these two teams matchup during their first meeting in the regular season on November 16th.

3. That’s Preseason Hockey

The Edmonton Oilers played a tough preseason game missing out on a lot of star players. But there were still some performances that should be mentioned. Zack Kassian played pretty well which is uplifting as last year was not his best season by any means. It was also great to see Warren Foegele in action tonight.

On the defensive side of things, this was the first game of the preseason that I think Evan Bouchard would like to forget. Edmonton is back in action on Friday night against the Seattle Kraken in Seattle, personally, I know I cannot wait to watch this game to see Seattle’s rink for the first time and see what the lineup will look like at home for them.

Forget about that game, now on to the next one!