Hard work has been the prevailing theme for the Edmonton Oilers throughout training camp this fall.

The pace in practice. The aggressive penalty killing. The defencemen stepping up to deny entries. It’s all part of Mike Babcock’s plan to turn a team that had become complacent back into a contender.

On Thursday, the Cond— I mean, Oilers, bought into Babcock’s game plan for an improbable 2-1 win against a Vancouver Canucks roster full of NHL regulars.

“ We were undermanned and obviously outmatched, but I thought our guys played with good determination,” said Babcock after the game. “Got some good saves from Jarrs, didn’t give up a ton, but worked real hard.”

The Canucks’ roster, which had a combined 6,789 NHL games of experience compared to Edmonton’s 912, was outworked, with Isaac Howard leading the way.

It’s been a so-so preseason for Howard so far. He played a simple, uneventful game for the most part in Winnipeg earlier this week, but he had his fingerprints all over this one.

In the first period, he and Quinn Hutson provided good pressure on the forecheck to force a clearing attempt, which was picked off by the pinching Tomáš Cibulka. The loose puck bounced to Howard, who shot it past Nikita Tolopilo for the game’s first goal.

In the second period, Howard, Hutson and Viljami Marjala put the Canucks on their heels with a great shift in the offensive zone. Howard found Hutson with a pass to the slot, which was stopped and cleared. On the re-entry, Howard nudged the puck ahead to Marjala, whose pass found Hutson for another goal.

Howard’s puck touches were a lot more ambitious in this game, but what was most encouraging to me was his battle level and his work along the boards. He was cut off multiple clearing attempts on the forecheck, keeping the puck alive in the offensive zone, and helped convert those won battles into scoring chances. If he can do that consistently at the NHL level, he will have success.

Howard was the best forward in the game, and on the back end, it was Cibulka who made the strongest impression. The 22-year-old, whom the Oilers signed this spring out of Ceske Budejovice HC in the Czech Republic, was strong on both ends of the ice.

He made the pinch that led to Howard’s opening goal, and he also made a game-saving block in the final minute. The Oilers finished the night with a 13-5 shot advantage and an 18-9 shot attempt advantage in Cibulka’s minutes, both of which were the best on-ice numbers on the team. Edmonton may have a legit prospect in him.

Another note I want to make isn’t about a prospect, but rather about one of the only NHLers for Edmonton in this game: Tristan Jarry. He looked composed, made the saves he needed to, and even had a great look at the empty net in the dying seconds, which was knocked out of the air by Elias Pettersson (what a buzz kill).

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Canucks generated 3.26 expected goals in the game, but only beat Jarry once. It was a solid preseason start for a goalie who needs to bounce back for the Oilers, but after the game, all he wanted to talk about was his teammates.

“I thought the kids played great, they worked their butts off,” said Jarry. “In the offensive zone, the defensive zone, they were doing everything right. And I think just everything we’ve been going through in practice, they really implemented tonight, and I think they did a great job.”