GDB -2.0: Pre-flight victory
By Cam Lewis
5 years agoThe last thing you want to do before a really long flight is lose a pre-season game to your provincial rivals. So what did the Oilers do? They wrapped up the North American part of their pre-season with a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames.
What happened?
JJ Khaira got the scoring started just a few minutes into the first period with a power-play goal. Connor McDavid lost the puck skating into the zone but Drake Caggiula picked it up and fed it back to the streaking McDavid who found Khaira all alone in front of the net.
Calgary would go ahead and score three quick goals before the end of the first period, but the Oilers battled back. McDavid got a shot on goal, the puck bounced around in front, and then the captain picked up his own rebound and buried it past Mike Smith.
This one was originally credited to Jakub Jerabek, but after the replay, it’s clear that the Calgary defender knocked the puck into his own net. Kailer Yamamoto streaked across the middle of the offensive zone, tried to feed Jerabek, but ended up with a goal of his own to tie it.
It was Yamamoto again giving the Oilers the lead in the third period. Drake Caggiula drove around Calgary’s defender and tossed the puck towards the net where a driving Yamamoto would nudge the puck over Smith’s pad. The Oilers would hang on to the one-goal lead and come out with the win.
Thoughts…
- Cam Talbot was the star of the game for the Oilers. He faced 43 shots and stopped 40 of them, giving the Oilers a chance to win. Save for that three-goal rally the Flames had late in the first, Talbot was unbeatable all afternoon. He’s had an excellent pre-season all around and it seems his troubles from last year are behind him. On the flip side, Mike Smith looked terrible.
- I guess this can be viewed as either a good or a bad thing, but the Oilers had terrible discipline all afternoon. They gave Calgary seven power-play opportunities, which isn’t ideal, but, on the bright side, they stopped six of them.
- I really noticed Evan Bouchard again today. He still has a bit of a tough time positionally in his own zone, which is to be expected, but he’s ridiculously good at breaking the puck out and hitting forwards in stride. Another thing he does well is join the play and give the forwards another option in the offensive zone without completely getting himself out of position.
- Speaking of rookies, Kailer Yamamoto will make the team this year. He’s earned it. He looked very good again today. He’s a weapon in the offensive zone and, all pre-season, really, has been one of Edmonton’s best forwards at generating offence without playing with Connor McDavid.
- This was Drake Caggiula’s best game of the pre-season. That was key for him because he had worked himself out of the opening night lineup by being largely invisible in earlier games. He looked quicker tonight, generating offence and getting the puck to the net.
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