Long gone are the days of Edmonton Oilers star players could roam the rink freely under the watchful protection of a heavy-handed teammate who would waste no time extracting retribution for even the slightest sign of physicality shown his way.
For every Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri, there was a Dave Semenko and Marty McSorley. And opponents knew if you crossed paths with one, you’d wind up going off the beaten path with the other. Emphasis on the beaten and McSore.
That was then, of course, and this is now. The goons might be gone, but teammates still have to stick up for each other.
In theory, anyway.
But that’s not quite how things were shaping up for Connor McDavid & Co. coming out of the gates this season. Especially against a rival Calgary Flames squad that spared no expense trying to empty the register whenever possible on the Oilers poster boy.
And they got away with it too, Scot-free. If Mikael Backlund took a run at McDavid, the other Oilers on the ice barely batted an eye. It sure wasn’t because of Backlund’s imposing presence, tipping the scales at a run-of-the-mill 205 pounds.
The Oilers had just about as much energy as you’d expect from a team that was 0-3 to start the season, and had been outscored 15-3.
Listless.
Lifeless.
And just plain lost.
Things didn’t look much better while falling behind 2-0 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, either.
Only this time, the Oilers weren’t going to allow themselves to get Broad Street bullied.
And when Flyers forward Sean Couturier clipped Stuart Skinner behind the net midway through the third period and sent the Oilers goaltender tumbling to the ice, someone finally stepped up.
And the scarce spark came from a bit of an unlikely source.
Playing in just his ninth game since joining the Oilers at the trade deadline last season, Troy Stecher — yes, all 5-foot-10 of him — decided to take matters into his own hands, dropping gloves with Philadelphia’s captain.
It meant punching up to make up for the half-a-foot of height difference, while at the same time giving up a not-so-insignificant 25 pounds. But the underdog Stecher managed to hold his own until the fight ended with both players clutching each other.
While the bout might not have produced a clear victor, it did wonders to energize both the stands at Rogers Place and the rest of the Oilers roster.
Immediately afterwards, Round 2 featured veteran Corey Perry and Flyers forward Joel Farabee, as the Oilers appeared to wake up from the off-season hibernation that followed the Game 7 loss in last year’s Stanley Cup Final.
All of a sudden, things seemed to start clicking into place like they should.
Edmonton’s big guns, McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, sprung to life, getting in on the goals that first tied the game and then won, 4-3 in overtime, to put the Oilers into the win column and end a three-game skid.
“The fights seemed to fire the bench and the building up,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “You just can’t show up and play. It’s an emotional game and the fights definitely helped.”
Like much of the Oilers defence, Stecher has been moved around so far, getting in and out of the lineup before becoming the third different player to partner with Darnell Nurse over these first four games.
“He’s a fighter,” Knoblauch said. “Not a drop-the-mitts fighter, but he’s a competitive guy who battles hard. We saw that last season but he didn’t get into many games because he came in as a seventh defenceman and the injury (ankle cyst).
“But he doesn’t take anything lightly. Obviously, he felt their player was taking liberties with our goaltender and felt he had to do something. He did, and it created a lot of energy in building and with our team.”
The efforts didn’t go unnoticed by Stecher’s teammates, either.
“Stech standing up for a goalie getting run over in a check behind the net was awesome to see,” said Oilers centre Adam Henrique. “You always love that in those guys, a guy coming into the lineup the last few games and playing great.
“He wears his heart on his sleeve, so it was great to see.”
Even if the tale of the tape was a little lopsided.
“He had a few inches on him but he stuck in there and landed some good ones and overall he’s played really well,” said Oilers forward Connor Brown. “When you see teammates standing in there and going shot for shot with guys, the lengths that guys are willing to go to get an edge and win hockey games, it was a huge momentum builder for us in the third.”
And beyond?
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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