Preview: Kraken @ Oilers

Just the Facts

The Time: 5:30 pm PT / 8:30 pm ET
The Place: Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Where to Watch: ROOT Sports NW, Several Sportsnet feeds in Canada, ESPN+ and Sportsnet+
Where to Listen: KJR 93.3-FM
An Opposing Viewpoint: Copper & Blue, For Oilers Fans

Know Your Enemy

All you need to know about the Edmonton Oilers is that Connor McDavid will be on the ice for 25 or so minutes out of 60. Leon Draisaitl as well. If you can keep the score even during that block of time, the Edmonton Oilers are very beatable. Especially this year’s team. The Oilers goaltending situation is so shaky that they sent Jack Campbell to the minor leagues, a player that current general manager Ken Holland signed to a five year, $25 million contract only one calendar year ago. And it’s worth noting that the goaltender had to clear waivers, meaning 31 other teams had an opportunity to pick him up for free, and all of them declined.

Add to that the scoring struggles the team has had at both end of the ice, and one sees an ultimately beatable team. The collective plus/minus stats look like the leaderboard at the Masters. The aforementioned McDavid has a pedestrian (for him) 12 points and is -5. Top pairing defenceman Evan Bouchard has an identical stat line. The teams big deadline acquisition from last season, Matthias Ekholm, is -3. It goes on, and on. The Kraken are facing a team with two of the best players in the league on its roster, and they’d do well to stay out of the penalty box. But they are not facing a Cup contender.

Gameplan

Simply, stay out of the penalty box. I know I just said it above, but the single thing you cannot do against the Edmonton Oilers is give them the special teams advantage. The National Hockey League has been around for a long time, so setting the all time powerplay completion percentage record is not an easy feat. That’s what the Oilers did last season, and most of the pieces involved in that powerplay remain in place.

Edmonton also just changed their coaching staff. Gone is the young, and apparently talented, Jay Woodcroft. Getting the team to the Conference Finals and semi-finals the past two years wasn’t enough currency to get him through a rough first dozen games of the season. Replacing him as head coach is Kris Knoblauch. The incomer has an impressive Junior record, collecting both Western Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League championships in his career, but he’s never been an NHL head coach. He does have a familiarity with the Oilers’ captain, having coached McDavid as an Erie Otter. Naturally, in keeping with tradition, a 1980’s Oiler has been named as one of his assistants. Paul Coffey, whose number hangs in the rafter at Rogers Place, will be on the bench as a part of the new crew.

The Oilers are a poorly run organization. They have a couple of immense talents on the roster, but it is a very realistic statement to suggest that the Kraken could beat Edmonton out for a wildcard spot this spring. That makes these two points vitally important. Let’s go squids!