ABBOTSFORD, BC – Fresh off a day of bonding in beautiful British Columbia, the Oilers are looking to see if the added comeraderie converts into chemistry over the long run.
“I thought it was a really good day for us yesterday. We had the chance to spend some time together in a beautiful province, a beautiful part of the world,” Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. “To get outdoors and enjoy the scenery was fantastic. The weather was great, the company, the food, and the experience will stay with them for a long time.”
The Oilers players spent Tuesday’s day off fishing and skeet shooting as team building exercises. The rigors of camp and the unfamiliarity of a new roster can be draining, but the emphasis on team building prior to a long stay at Rogers Place was of vital importance for Woodcroft.
“You’ve heard me say this before. I think the best form of team bonding is when you win together. For me, the way our schedule lined up this season with the first six regular season games are at home and nine for the first 12 are at home, we wanted the feel of having a road game early in the month of October,” Woodcroft said. “That’s why we made the decision we made.”
The first chance to test their new bonds will be later tonight against the Canucks team they beat 7-2 at Rogers Place on Monday. However, the expectation is that Vancouver will ice a very different lineup than the inexperienced group that went up against the Oilers top stars.
“It was a great day yesterday, but it’s a game day today and that’s where everybody’s head and mind is at,” Woodcrofat said. “We want to move the needle as we progress through training camp. We want to make sure we’re getting better and that we see that daily improvement that we want from day one.”
Video: PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 10.05.22
POLISHED PROCESS
One area Woodcroft would like to see greater improvement is in the polish of the Oilers game. Preseason is the time to iron out the kinks that creep in during an offseason. It’s nearly impossible for players to mimic a game situation while training during the summer and it can take time to knock off the proverbial rust. However, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been parts of the Oilers game that Woodcroft has liked thus far.
“I’d like us to play a faster game. I think that’s normal as you work your way through training camp. We’ve seen a lot of good things so far, but I’d like us to play with a bit more pace and a bit more polish in certain parts of our game, but we’ve gotten really good efforts from every line so far,” Woodcroft said. “Now It’s about putting a professional polish on everything as we work through the last two preseason games.”
That polish can come from different aspects of the game. Whether it’s seeing how a play is developing ahead of time, or just having the game shape to get to the right spots. The Oilers only have two more exhibition games remaining before the results go from process oriented to result oriented, so tonight’s game will be an important indicator of how close the team is to be regular season ready.
“It comes down to the pace between your ears and understanding where the next play needs to be made and skating and supporting certain areas of the ice,” Woodcroft said. Sometimes it does come down to your feet, and sometimes it comes down to how fast you move the puck. All three of those areas we’re looking to take a step forward in today.”
Video: GOAL | Tyson Barrie 10.03.22
STUEY STARTS
Fresh off a sparkling performance in Winnipeg on Saturday, Stuart Skinner will get another chance to build off his strong preseason before heading into the regular season as Jack Campbell‘s backup.
The 23-year-old turned aside 33 of 35 shots against the Jets and was perfect in the shootout in the Oilers eventual 3-2 victory. The performance was just another in a long line a solid outings that have shown the local products growth since he was drafted in the third round back in 2017.
“I’ve seen a young man mature. I’ve seen a goaltender get better. I’ve seen a professional gain experience. I’ve seen him at every stage in his developmental process and he’s someone that I think is buoyed by the opportunity that is infront of him,” Woodcroft said about the netminders development curve. “He knows it’s an important year for him personally and an important year for us as a team collectively. I think he’s ready to make an impact.”
So far this preseason, Skinner is sporting an outstanding .942 save percentage, having turned aside 66 of 70 shots in parts of three exhibition game.
LINES FROM MORNING SKATE
The Oilers skated in Abbotsford this morning ahead of tonight’s 8:00 p.m. MT game against teh Canucks. It looks as if Dylan Holloway will get another shot in the top-six coming off a hat trick performance on Monday against the same team he’ll take on tonight. The rookie skated on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman on Monday, but tonight he’ll get an opportunity to line-up next to the Oilers other elite centre in Connor McDavid.
Jesse Puljujarvi draws back into the lineup after being rested from Saturday’s game in Winnipeg, while Tyson Barrie gets a break after a demanding preseason schedule in which the veteran has been asked to show several young Oilers defenders the ropes. Here is how the rest of the lines looked this morning, with tonight’s protential lineup likely to look very similar.
Holloway – McDavid – Hyman
Shore – Nugent-Hopkins – Puljujarvi
Janmark – McLeod – Ryan
Hamblin – Malone – Virtanen
Nurse – Ceci
Kulak – Bouchard
Broberg – Murray
Niemelainen – Demers
Skinner
Pickard
— Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com
OILERS at CANUCKS
Oilers Team Scope
Dylan Holloway highlighted Edmonton’s 7-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place on Monday night with a hat trick and an assist to extend his pre-season total to six points (four goals, two assists) in four games.
“I just wanted to play well. I wanted to play my game,” Holloway said. “I knew I would have to do something to make the team. I’m just happy with the way things are going, but I have more games coming up.”
Lost in the ‘Hollywood’ lights was a stellar 28-save performance from Jack Campbell and a goal and two assists for Zach Hyman, who played right wing on the second line with Holloway and Leon Draisaitl.
“I’m very, very happy with what we’ve seen from him,” Draisaitl said post-game of the kid who’s turning heads at Camp. “It’s just his hockey sense, which comes from his work ethic actually. It allows him to get into good situations and be up on the play. It gives himself an extra second to make a play, which is obviously big if you want to succeed offensively in this league. I’m very, very impressed so far.”
Warren Foegele found the back of the net twice in the final three minutes that saw the Oilers add three goals in quick succession, including Holloway’s hat-trick goal that started the late surge from Edmonton.
The Oilers travelled directly to Abbotsford, BC after Monday’s game to take part in team-building activities off the ice before Wednesday’s penultimate pre-season game.
Canucks Team Scope
Odds are that you can expect the Canucks to come back at the Oilers on Wednesday night with a tougher and more-formidable lineup at home.
It’s not the home of Rogers Arena, but the Canucks will look to rectify their five-goal defeat on MOnday at the home of their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, with the potential for the likes of Elias Petterson, captain Bo Horvat and Russian free-agent signing Andrei Kuzmenko to be in the lineup.
Vancouver is winless so far in pre-season through five games (0-4-1), including two-straight losses to the Seattle Kraken and split-squad defeats to the Calgary Flames before dropping Monday’s result to Edmonton. On Tuesday, the Canucks trimmed their roster by 13 the next day to a total of 29 players.
The Canucks have only two netminders in their expected tandem of Thatcher Demko and Spencer Martin left in camp, meaning the Oilers are expected to face stern competition between the pipes after putting seven past Collin Delia and Arturs Silovs on Monday.
— Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com
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