Breadcrumb Trail Links
Cult of Hockey
Article content
Oilers 2, Flames 1 (OT)
Mattias Ekholm has been nowhere in evidence to this point of Oilers training camp, but his words of advice from an interview a couple of weeks ago keep ringing true. Paraphrasing: “Maybe we need to be more patient and be willing to take a 1-1 score to overtime if need be” or words to that effect.
Article content
Well, for the third time in four preseason games, the Oilers found themselves playing a 1-1 game in overtime, and for the second time in a row they found a way to win it in the extra frame. The hero wasn’t Connor McDavid as was the case Wednesday in Edmonton, as he and Edmonton’s other scoring aces were nowhere to be seen in Calgary on Friday night. Instead it was Brad Malone who made the nifty deke and deposit after accepting a wonderful lead pass from fellow minor-league vet Seth Griffith to walk in alone on Dan Vladar.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Patience was very much part of the recipe on this night, as the Oilers trailed 1-0 deep into the third period and had netminder Jack Campbell to thank for still being in the game, setting the stage for a remarkable series of events. First the Flames scored what appeared to be the clinching goal with 2:38 left, only to have the refs wave it off for goaltender interference by one Blake Coleman (remember him?). For some reason, Flames coach Ryan Huska decided to challenge the call, lost that challenge and incurred a delay-of-game penalty. That led directly to the tying goal, scored by Oilers’ best skater Dylan Holloway on the resultant 6-on-4. Then the Oil got the better of another review when it was determined that an apparent last-second winner by the Flames was a millisecond late, setting the stage for Malone’s OT heroics.
The Oilers had by far the weaker line-up and were on the back foot for much of the game, but came on strong down the stretch and were the better team in the third and fourth periods.
Footnote: Terrible job on the game feed which dropped out the moment Malone scored the winner, showing no celebration by the winners or even a replay of the goal but just an endless loop of giant Flames and Oilers logos rotating meaninglessly on the screen. Seems to this paying customer that if you are going to charge your fans to watch the game feed on Oilers+, maybe you should show that feed right to its natural conclusion. A mildly sour note to what was otherwise a pretty sweet ending.
Advertisement 3
Article content
Player notes
No player grades for preseason, where different players have differing objectives and motivations. We do provide commentary for each of the 19 Oilers who saw action, sorted by lines and pairings.
Forwards
Warren Foegele screened an Edmonton point shot, then very nearly banked in the rebound off Dan Vladar. But after two periods of fairly standard grinding, he had a terrific final frame. Had a pair of chances in rapid succession early in the frame, the more dangerous a goalmouth deflection of a terrific Ceci pass. Jumped in on a breakaway off a brutal Flames turnover only to ring his backhand shot off the post. Made a terrific centring pass to Holloway for the tying goal with under 2 minutes left (assist wrongly credited to Kulak, but it was definitely Foegele). Played 19:34 with 5 shots.
Lane Pederson took a neutral zone penalty. Had a decent chance on a powerplay one-timer but missed the target. Did some fine work on the half-wall on a late powerplay but bobbled the puck at the critical moment. Played 20:37 and had his moments, but not enough of them to move the needle.
Headline News
Article content
Advertisement 4
Article content
Derek Ryan made an excellent play to hold the defensive slot and cut out a dangerous pass on Calgary’s first powerplay. Got a partial breakaway on the PK, forcing a fine arm save by Vladar. Played 16:08.
Dylan Holloway was flying right out of the gate. He showed a great burst of speed to blow past Noah Hanifin but couldn’t finish on the backhand. Was flying around the Calgary zone again on the next shift, creating space and chaos before dishing the disc to an open mate in good passing position. Blind backhand pass on the PP was promptly picked off and cleared. Picked off a pass inside his own line late in the first and took it the other way in a hurry. Made another interception in the neutral zone, led a 3-on-1 rush the other way, but couldn’t handle Malone’s return feed. Finally was rewarded with 100 seconds to play when he fired home Foegele’s pass through Desharnais’ screen to know the count. 3 shots, 3 hits, and 21:35 ice time to lead the forwards.
Brad Malone failed to clear the zone on a Calgary PP but made a terrific defensive play to snuff Calgary seconds later. Dangerous chance in the third when he screened Vladar on LKavoie’s outside shot, then nearly cashed the rebound with a diving attempt. Nearly played the hero with a minute left in regulation when he picked off the puck in Edmonton territory, rushed in 2-on-1 with Hamblin and fired a dangerous shot. Made no mistake on his overtime breakaway with a deft deke and deposit, this after first making the play that caused the change of possession.
Advertisement 5
Article content
Raphael Lavoie made a nifty backhand pass right through the low slot to Ceci for a close-in look. Jumped on a loose puck in the slot and quickly distributed it to the open man on the point. Made a fine defensive play in the third, hustling on the backcheck and stretching out to tip a dangerous shot into the netting. That type of play will earn the notice of the coaches. Finally let fly with a shot in the third, when his one-timer from distance handcuffed Vladar and created a dangerous rebound. Cancelled one rush by going offside when Holloway bobbled the puck just outside the blueline. 2 shots, 1 hit in 16:10 of action.
Carter Savoie made a nifty interception and quick pass deep in Calgary territory to sustain some rare first-period zone pressure. Around the puck in good spots, but didn’t have much puck luck. Terrific steal in the neutral zone created a late powerplay as Calgary scrambled to recover. Played 10:15, least of any Oiler.
Greg McKegg played a quiet, competent game that won’t move the needle. He seems destined for another year in the AHL. Zeros across the boards other than a solid 61.5% on the faceoff dot. Played 12:46.
Advertisement 6
Article content
Seth Griffith‘s best moments in regulation came on the powerplay, including a terrific cross-ice feed to Pederson for an open look. Earned a secondary assist on the 1-1. Then collected the primary apple on the 2-1 with a gorgeous, perfectly-weighted saucer pass to a breaking Malone. Played 14:51 with 0 shots, but made his mark passing the puck.
Drake Caggiula was industrious but not overly effective until the third, when he made a good pass off the rush to Ceci for an open look. Played 10:59 with no shots or hits.
James Hamblin dropped his stick on the backcheck to abet a Nazem Kadri 2-on-1 chance, but came back hard and made a key play to scramble away the loose rebound. Nice play to tip a dangerous Calgary shot wide of the target, and another to disrupt an attempted Calgary zone entry right at source. Skated well, drew a penalty, won 6 of 11 draws in 14:58.
Xavier Bourgault had little impact until late in the second period, when he made a terrific play to spring the puck free behind the Calgary net, then made a nifty reverse pass to Hamblin that resulted in a Flames penalty. Nearly repeated the feat on his next shift with another steal and centring pass. Had a couple of shots in 10:27 of action.
Advertisement 7
Article content
Defencemen
Brett Kulak played a ton (25:38) as for the second time in their 2 appearances he and Ceci were Edmonton’s top pairing; indeed, the other 4 defenders have a combined 79 games of NHL experience. Skated well as usual, made a couple of mistakes but was solid for the most part. 3 shots on net.
Cody Ceci was caught on the wrong side of the ice leading to a good Jordan Oesterle chance at the back door, but Campbell had the answer. Was part of the screen on the Calgary goal. Took two penalties. Made a fine pass to Foegele for a great chance, then had a good look of his own off a Caggiula feed seconds later. Played 25:49 to lead both teams.
Alex Peters, the only player left in camp on an AHL contract after Thursday’s cuts, was a steady force on the back end. He did a nice job on the PK to recover a rebound and clear the puck. Played 15:28 and held his own.
Vincent Desharnais commanded his area of the ice, using his mammoth body to good effect to shield the puck, then move it effectively. He made a fine play to overpower Hanifin after a shorthanded d-zone faceoff, then safely guide the puck to a mate for the easy clear. Made mincemeat of a Calgary attacker who tried to beat him wide up the boards but wound up losing both the puck and his balance in a one-sided contest with the giant defender. Blocked a point shot, recovered the rebound and quickly headmanned the puck to Savoie. His failed clearance on a third period PK led to a Calgary chance that Campbell snuffed. He was the extra attacker on the late game 6-on-4 and made it count by going straight to the goalmouth and getting in Vladar’s grill as Holloway ripped home the tying goal. Played 18:10 with 1 shot, 2 hits.
Advertisement 8
Article content
Markus Niemelainen got some rare powerplay time with Ceci in which both rather predictably looked like fish out of water. Appeared much more in his element when he decked Elias Lindholm with a big open-ice hit right at the defensive blue line. But got caught in a bad spot on the first goal, obscuring Campbell’s view from directly in front while failing to block the shot himself. Made a fine pokecheck on a Jonathan Huberdeau rush. Played 16:47 with 2 hits.
Philip Kemp sifted in a few muffins from the point, but never got the screen or tip he needed from them to be remotely dangerous. Played a quiet (read: “good”) game behind his own blueline. Made a fine play on the PK that ultimately led to the Ryan shot. Smart and safe with the puck on his stick, where it rarely stayed for long. Played 14:13 with 3 shots and very few mistakes.
Goalie
Jack Campbell was busy early, stopping a close range chance in the opening quarter-minute, then dealing with a couple of tricky outside whots through traffic. Made a nice stop of Kadri on a wide-open 2-on-1 but couldn’t corral the rebound leading to a couple of nervous moments and some welcome defensive assistance from Hamblin. Stopped Oesterle eyeball-top-eyeball. Made a series of excellent saves on a strong Calgary powerplay, the best a reflex blocker stop from point blank range. Minutes later, dragged his pad to thwart a dangerous shorthanded chance by the Flames. Beaten from long range on a deflected point shot that had eyes, which was more than Campbell himself had with both Niemelainen and Ceci directly in his line of sight. Nearly ruined his night when he sieved in a low angle shot by Oesterle “at the death” of regulation but the clock saved him by a millisecond. Named the game’s first star on merit. 35 shots, 34 saves, .971 save percentage.
Recently at the Cult of Hockey
STAPLES: Oilers making the switch to zone defence
McCURDY: Oilers assign 15 to Bakersfield camp
STAPLES: Niemelainen stands tall among bubble players in win over Canucks
LEAVINS: Oil outgunned in the Peg
McCURDY: Oilers get goalie’d by the Jets in pre-season opener
Article content
Share this article in your social network
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.