After a nerve-racking first two games of the NHL season, from a fan perspective anyway, the Edmonton Oilers let us all exhale by handling the Nashville Predators with ease. This game was as close as you could get for a must-win this early in the season, so it was nice to see the W.
Going into this game the Edmonton Oilers were probably sick and tired of getting asked how they were going to fix what happened in the first two games and they shut up all those people. The player’s message coming in was they just needed to play their game and play their game they did.
This was easily the best game this team has played so far this season and the result on the scoreboard is proof of that. Although it was their best game in pretty much every aspect there were 3 main points of this game that were the biggest factors in the game.
Jack Campbell Played Outstanding
Jack Campbell has been here for a whole season and 3 games, but I would say this was one of the best games that he played. Not only was he good just by looking at his stat line, but the quality of his saves was impressive too.
His save percentage tonight was 0.977% making 42 saves on 43 shots. He saved all shots at even strength and the only goal he let in was while the team was a man down. As I mentioned above, it is not like they were all easy shots from distance. He made at least a couple of massive highlight-reel saves.
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Edmonton Oilers Even Strenght Finally Clicked
Coming into this game the Edmonton Oilers had one 5 on 5 goal through their first 2 games. Tonight they piled onto that number. Of the 6 goals the Oilers scored tonight 4 of them were scored at even strength.
It is not like the powerplay was left out though, as the other 2 goals game on the 3 opportunities they had. The thing is there was no concern about the powerplay, there was worry about the even-strength game though.
Whether it was the change in lines or it was just players waking up, either way, it really doesn’t matter. The main point is this team was producing at even strength and producing well. Hopefully, this is a thing this team can keep going even after they switch the lines back.
Draisaitl Contuines To Crush The Preds
There was pretty much no doubt that Leon Draisaitl was going to score tonight cause for some reason he tends to thrive against the Preds. Tonight was no different.
With two goals and two assists he adds another four points to the Nashville Predator bank that seems to keep on growing without effort. In the post-game interview, he complained about getting asked too much about why and said it is just something that happens with no real reason as to why.
draisaitl on his success against nashville: "i get asked this a lot and i'm kind of sick of it, i'm not gonna lie. i have the same answer every time. it's annoying. sometimes it works better against certain teams than other teams, and i'm sure there's going to be a time where it…
— zach (@zjlaing) October 18, 2023
With the win tonight, the Edmonton Oilers now have a record of 1-2. They are back on the ice Thursday when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers and they hope to bring their record back to 0.500.