Jets 2, Oilers 3 (OT)
A decently entertaining opener to the NHL preseason, as both the Edmonton Oilers and the visiting Winnipeg Jets iced line-ups that weren’t super high on name recognition. Indeed, the home side didn’t dress a single player who contributed to last year’s playoff run, managing to hit the minimum of 8 NHL veterans with a combination of recent additions and a couple of guys whose time in the bigs came a few years ago.
Not a real heavy-hitting affair but both teams ground it out on both sides of the puck without a lot of cheating for offence.
Each squad held the lead briefly but almost the entirety of the action featured a tie score. The Oilers were victimized for a goal in the first 17 seconds, and another just 10 seconds after they forged a 2-1 lead in the third. It eventually came down to overtime where Cam Dineen decided things after Vasily Podkolzin and Matt Savoie did a fine job of getting the puck headed north.
Ice time was very evenly distributed, especially at 5v5 where all 12 forwards played between 12 and 16 minutes and all 6 d-men played between 17 and 21. All 4 forward lines played between 9½ and 11 minutes as a unit:
Player thumbnail reports follow, sorted by lines and pairings. As usual, with different players having very different priorities at this time of year, we’ll hold off on player grades until the games start counting for points.
Forwards
#92 Vasily Podkolzin – Impressed in all aspects with a nice combination of skills. A threat to either shoot or pass. Mashed a couple of opponents into the boards on the same aggressive forecheck. Slipped a fine pass through to Caggiula for a decent look. Worked his way to the edge of the crease for a hard jam shot. Caused some chaos in front on Lavoie’s powerplay goal. Made a terrific play in OT, breaking the cycle with a heavy body check in the defensive corner, then jumping back into the play to take Savoie’s breakout pass, lead the rush and feed Dineen who delivered the winning shot.
#52 James Hamblin – Forechecked like a dog on a bone. Excellent job to tie up the puck in the o-zone while his wingers were changing and wait for the reinforcements. A similar sequence early in the second saw him win multiple puck battles. Nice steal and quick centring pass to Podkolzin for a stuff attempt. Couldn’t block the shot on the 2-2 and likely screened his goalie in the process.
#22 Matt Savoie – His one-on-one skills shone through in flashes. Heeled a one-timer right to Emberson for an excellent look. Made a nice rush to the centre of the slot but his pass didn’t connect. Good one-timer from the wing on the PP forced a strong save by Comrie. Fed Podkolzin for a one-time blast in the 60th minute that just missed the target. Earned the secondary assist on the game winner, slipping a nice pass through the defensive slot to send Podkolzin away with Dineen on a 2-on-1 rush.
#62 Raphael Lavoie – Quiet first period. Drew the game’s first penalty early in the middle frame by hustling to a puck in the neutral zone, forcing the obstruction foul. Open for a one-timer on the subsequent PP but broke his stick, which seemed on par with his luck wearing Oilers silks to this point in his career. Used his size to advantage on the cycle both on and off the puck. Made a splendid cross-ice feed to Hoffman on the powerplay, Seconds later, hammered home a one-time blast from the left circle to put Edmonton in front 2-1. Found Caggiula with another fine left-to-right cross-ice pass. Worked his way into the high slot and fired a hard shot on net late in the third but couldn’t solve Comrie. Led the Oilers with 4 shots.
#72 Sam O’Reilly – Found the net on his second “NHL” shift, taking Dineen’s fine pass at the offensive blueline, pivoting, busting in, making a rapid backhand-to-forehand transition and fooling Comrie along the ice with a quick release. Unable to contain the centring pass on the 2-2. Kept turning up in good spots on the ice.
#8 Drake Caggiula – Did some nice work along the end wall to dig the puck out and create some chaos in front. Broke in for a decent shot off the wing. On the next shift broke in for another decent shot off the other wing. Broke in for yet a third good look but couldn’t get a decent shot away. Landed a heavy open-ice hit that dropped Elias Salomonsson. Unable to get in the shooting lane on the 2-2. lane
#68 Mike Hoffman – Top NHL scorer on either side of the action had very little impact through 40 minutes. Finally got a look early in the third when he hopped on a stray clearing pass and wired a shot high blocker, but Comrie parried with his blocker. Earned a secondary assist on the 2-1 with a cycle pass to Gleason.
#48 Noah Philp – Decent shot off his own o-zone faceoff win that whizzed past the post. Made a good rush but his cross-ice feed didn’t quite connect with Hoffman. Seconds later charged into the slot and drew a penalty. Beautiful pass in the neutral zone to spring Stefan for a shot, then followed up to nearly slam home the rebound. Rocked a 9/12=75% win rate on the faceoff dot.
#70 James Stefan – Largely on the fringes of the action. Got loose for a decent shot off the wing late in the second. His d-zone turnover led to an Edmonton penalty.
#38 Cameron Wright – Big, grinding AHL winger played to his strengths. Nice job to circle the net and fire a decent shot from medium range. Broke in alone and rang a heavy shot off the post. Some good work in the d-zone late in the third, first to thwart a D-to-D pass, then to win a puck battle and clear the zone.
#42 Jayden Grubbe – Excellent positional play in the defensive triangle, consistently identifying his man and playing him aggressively. Used his size to advantage, bulling his way around the puck and finishing his checks. Always seemed to be on the right side of the puck.
#56 William Nicholl – My vote for the most pleasant surprise from the Penticton tournament again lined up with Grubbe as he did throughout that event. Solid job coming back to the defensive slot to help out his d-man and neutralize a possible chance.
Defence
#24 Travis Dermott – Lost both a battle and his stick in the build-up to the first goal, and was unable to prevent the pass back to the point as a result. Generally solid thereafter, not in a standout way but more by keeping things simple. He’s smooth.
#49 Ty Emberson – Unable to contain the deflection of David Gustafsson on the first shot, and goal, of the game just 17 seconds in. Snuck in to good position to fire a one-timer off Savoie’s pass but was turned aside by Comrie’s blocker. Strong job on the PK, twice winning the puck and clearing the zone. Real nice job to put out a fire, pry the puck free and quickly move it to an open teammate to walk it out of the zone.
#6 Ben Gleason – Crisp outlet pass sent Wright steaming up the middle of the ice. Drilled Markus Loponen with an open-ice hip check. Earned his second primary assist when he teed up Lavoie on the PP. Played a team-high 23:13 on a night nobody else reached the 20-minute mark.
#44 Josh Brown – Solid positional play and simple but mostly effective puck movement. Fired a decent one-timer from centre point. One dicey shift where he twice failed to clear the puck in rapid succession though no harm done.
#85 Cam Dineen – Superb lead pass to O’Reilly for the primary assist on the 1-1. Another fine stretch pass to partner Carrick got the puck going north in a hurry. Delivered the game’s final shot when he cut across the slot in OT and fooled Comrie 5-hole. Play La Bamba, baby.
#58 Connor Carrick – His experience and savvy as a puck mover shone through immediately. Earned a secondary assist on O’Reilly’ds goal with a sharp D-to-D pass. Some chaos in his own end of the ice. Lost a battle in the low slot that led immediately to a dangerous shot attempt. Took a penalty for a rather obvious open-ice hold on Rasmus Kupari. Turned the puck over in the d-zone, then was beaten by Kevin He’s centring pass on the 2-2.
Goalies
#35 Olivier Rodrigue – Not much chance on the early-early deflection through a flyby screen. Made a fine stop of a somewhat similar close-range tip later in the first. Lightly tested in his nearly 35 minutes of action. 7 shots, 6 saves, .857 save percentage.
#60 Colin Delia – Came in late in the second period after the middle TV timeout was delayed. Quickly got involved, stopping a one-timer from the point. Looked big in the net, and positionally sound. Couldn’t handle Dominic Toninato’s slot shot that tied the score at 2-2, just 10 seconds after the Oilers had taken the lead. Made a decent stop on Axel Jonsson-Fjallby’s 2-on-1 shot early in OT. 12 shots, 11 saves, .917 save percentage.
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