3 Takeaways as Oilers humiliated 8-1 by Canucks
We look at some of the things which stood out in Wednesday night’s season-opener, as the Oilers were unexpectedly but deservedly dismantled by the Canucks.
Well that escalated quickly; as Devon Hladunewich wrote, what a complete tire fire. After so much preseason hype, the Edmonton Oilers were thoroughly out-everythinged during Wednesday night’s season opener in Vancouver.
The sum result was a demoralizing 8-1 loss to the Canucks, which no one could have predicted. As much as the home side deserved the win, there is no excuse for just how badly the Oilers performed on the night.
So what exactly went so wrong versus a team which isn’t as talented as the one from Edmonton? Here is a look at three things which stood out at Rogers Arena:
1) Not all the stars come out to play
Hockey might arguably be the ultimate team sports game, but you still need you main players to step up when it matters. In this respect, the Oilers stars were left wanting on Wednesday night in Vancouver.
Last season, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were ranked first and second respectively in the NHL for points scored. However, the star duo disappointed terribly in the season opener with just one point each on the night, as they combined for the Oilers’ solitary goal.
McDavid did little at even strength, as he totaled just two shots overall on goal. Draisaitl had similar results, although in fairness his did finish with a 0 plus/minus rating, compared to -3 by his esteemed colleague. (‘Fun’ fact: the 8-1 loss equaled the biggest loss of McDavid’s time in Edmonton.)
New addition Connor Brown, a fully healthy Evander Kane and 100-point man Ryan Nugent-Hopkins were expected to bolster the attack. The trio were uninspired on the night however, although — like their superstar teammates — you know they can and will be better as the season progresses. (At least Oilers fans will certainly hope so …)
As for the Canucks, while they don’t quite have the same star power as the Oilers, their top players still stepped up on the night. Leading the way was Brock Boeser, with the 2015 first round draft pick scoring a career-high four goals.
Boeser was more than ably supported by J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. Both players finished the game with a goal and three assists.
2) Bodies on the ice
In some cases, numbers can explain a situation just as well as words. Let’s begin with the Oilers’ penalty kill, which last season was ranked a lowly 20th in the NHL.
The ability to kill penalties continued to be an issue on Wednesday night in Vancouver. The Canucks were efficient in taking advantage, going 3-for-6 on the ice when they had the extra man.
On the flip side, the Oilers went 1-for-4 with the man advantage. As most fans know, the Oilers set an NHL record last season, with a 32.4 percent success rate on the power play.
When it came to 5-on-5 the Oilers were effectively toothless, despite having a team which scored the most goals in the NHL last season. They did not score even once though, on a night when overall they generated 27 shots.
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Meanwhile, the Canucks feasted on the Oilers when it was even stevens. (This might be the first time in using that description in a hockey post.) The home side scored five further goals, as they totaled 32 shots on the night.
As much as it didn’t ultimately help the Oilers, they did win 55.6 percent of the faceoffs versus the Canucks, at 35-28. In addition, they had 21 hits compared to 22 by the home team, as well as 10 blocks versus 13.
The Oilers can’t even use the excuse of being undermanned in Vancouver. While they were only able to suit up 17 skaters, so were the Canucks.
3) Neither Oilers goaltender steps up
The Jack Campbell revenge tour didn’t exactly get off to the best of starts. Despite appearing to be back to somewhere near his best during preseason, he was poor in the season opener.
In fact Campbell didn’t even last half the game in the end, as he allowed four goals on 16 shot attempts. Interestingly — or should that be depressingly — this was more than he gave he throughout the whole of preseason.
At least the 2010 11th overall draft pick can share in his misery with his fellow goaltender. Because Stuart Skinner was no better in replacement between the pipes.
In fact, Skinner also allowed four goals on 16 shot attempts. The main difference was that only one of Campbell’s goals were conceded on the penalty kill, compared to two by his teammate.
Let’s be clear though, as much a the goalie duo struggled, they didn’t exactly get much help from the players in front of them. The blue line looked disorganized and unfocused on the night, best exemplified by the play of Evan Bouchard.
As much as you shouldn’t place too much importance on one player, the defence was undoubtedly missing Mattias Ekholm. The Oilers have to hope his hip flexor issue doesn’t linger for much longer, because they desperately need his experience and leadership to shore up the blue line.
Quote of the day
Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft talking about his team’s performance. As per the Associated Press, he said:
“We laid an egg tonight. We all own it. We’re all in this one together and the bottom line is we were at a preseason level of work ethic and a preseason level of execution, all of us, and we got a lesson in regular-season work ethic and regular-season battle level.”
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Overall, we appreciate this is just one game, but to come out with such a seemingly lack of interest and energy was alarming. Saturday can’t come soon enough, as the Oilers will get the chance for revenge in the friendly confines of Rogers Place.