Oilers show no signs of panic despite 0-2 start, but have ‘room for improvement’

EDMONTON — You can beat up the Edmonton Oilers all you want for an 0-2 start that nobody saw coming. 

Despite the fact they allowed just 16 shots on goal Saturday (33 shot attempts in total), or that Casey DeSmith faced 40 shots on net, and another 48 that were blocked or sent wide. 

Let’s face it: If Edmonton hadn’t been a no show in their 8-1 opening night loss in Vancouver, this effort would pass by without notice. 

Or, as Zach Hyman said, “If you lose two games in the middle of the season it is not the end of the world. You lose two games here and you get all these questions about your defensive game. 

“It is not ideal, obviously, to lose the first two games,” he concluded. “But there is no panic.” 

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We could go down the list of everything that was lacking in the first 120 minutes of what many predicted to be a Stanley Cup season. It starts, for me, with the fact that Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse have been poor, two key defencemen and leaders who aren’t leading the way they are expected to. 

And the goalies haven’t stolen a thing. Gimme a big save, a robbery — just once — and we can overlook the fact that three of the four goals Saturday came on two close-in deflections and a Canucks two-on-zero. 

But the most compelling words I heard in the post-game dressing room Saturday came from losing goalie Stuart Skinner, who channelled some inner mixture of Phil Esposito and former goalie Mike Smith, as he answered questions about his teammates and his own game. 

First, on how an 0-2 Oilers team is feeling about itself: 

“There’s a little bit of frustration. Obviously, you want to start 2-0, not 0-2, but in my opinion adversity never kills you. I think it makes you a lot stronger,” Skinner said. “And for us to face it early on might be a really good thing for the long term. It really depends on how we bounce back from this, and it determines how we bounce back from any adversity that we’re going to encounter moving on. 

“Because we will face adversity,” he promised. “We’re going to have games like this. I’m going to get 16 shots at let four in. It’s how you respond to that. 

“I know these guys, I know everybody in here, and we have we have a lot of grit, and we know how to bounce back. We’re a hell of a team. So I have nothing but trust for these guys.” 

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He pushed back the way Smith used to when asked about his play, with numbers through two games that are nothing short of horrific. 

“That’s all other people’s opinions on goaltenders,” he said. “Goalies know how to play, and numbers lie.” 

Outside the dressing room, fans are free to panic. They are allowed to question the veracity of a team that lost of a pair of games to the Canucks, a surprisingly stout team that won’t get the credit they deserve east of the Rockies. 

Joke wryly about the meal on the team plane: roast beef, with a side of overconfidence. Question which of Skinner or Jack Campbell is going to have what it takes in a Game 7 in May or June — if Edmonton is even playing at that point. 

Ask yourself when the collective hands of a hard-charging third line comprised of Dylan Holloway, Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod will ever catch up to their feet. Or how Foegele could commit the cardinal sin of missing a net to the far side, while every other Oiler on the ice appeared to be hunting for the rebound that never came on the two-on-zero goal. 

But don’t lose track of reality either. 

“We’re not there just yet,” said head coach Jay Woodcroft, “but any game you have 88 shots attempts, 40 on net, and earn seven power plays give up 16 shots on net, you expect to win those games. 

“I didn’t happen for us tonight, but I think you win that game more often than you lose it.” 

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Play like this and you’ll win three games out of four, all season long. Keep to this standard, and you’ll even win a couple you didn’t deserve to — the way the Canucks did Saturday night. 

But any turnaround will start with goaltending, and defensive play. Erase a pair of loose Canucks sticks that were allowed to tip home pucks in this one, and the game goes a different direction. 

To hockey teams, winning the net fronts at both ends is football’s version of winning the lines of scrimmage. It’s where everything starts, and when pucks are being redirected less than three feet in front of your goalie, you will not win. It’s as simple as that. 

How is Edmonton’s defensive game? 

“I would say there is a lot of room for improvement,” Hyman said. “We have let in 12 goals in two games. There is room for improvement.” 

Room to get better, yes. 

Time to panic? No chance.

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