• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • Atlantic Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Metropolitan Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Pacific Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle NHL
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • Fantasy Hockey
  • THW Archives
  • More…
    • Columns
    • NWHL
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • Long Read
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • Atlantic Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Metropolitan Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Pacific Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle NHL
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • Fantasy Hockey
  • THW Archives
  • More…
    • Columns
    • NWHL
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • Long Read
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Vancouver Canucks

Oilers Receive Early Season Wake-Up Call

By Rob Soria October 8th, 2017

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

It was bound to happen. After starting the 2017-18 campaign with a shutout win over their provincial rivals and media across the league singing their praises, the Edmonton Oilers showed they still have a ways to go in order to reach the lofty expectations of their recent press clippings. Make no mistake, this team is good but it is one that has gone from being the hunter to the hunted overnight and now has to figure out how to deal with it.

"They played a scrappy, hard game & by the time we figured that out it was too late." Coach McLellan reflects on tonight's #Oilers defeat pic.twitter.com/LP4u20u8ud

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 8, 2017

In the grand scheme of things, the fact the Oilers went out and laid an egg against the Vancouver Canucks means nothing. In fact, it might end up being exactly what the doctor ordered. Think back to the start of last year and one could easily make the argument the early season beat down they received courtesy of the Buffalo Sabres was the moment that group decided to zone in and take care of business.

Early Season Misstep Nothing New

Edmonton absolutely had to make hay of what was a cream puff October schedule in 2016-17 and it paved the way for what was a fantastic year. While the competition will be stiffer this time around, this club has once again been given a fairly favourable schedule to start the season. They don’t leave Canada until October 17, play zero back-to-back games and have four of five on home-ice to kick things off.

Unfortunately for them, the Oilers allowed one of the “supposed” free squares on their bingo card slip through their fingers but it was a result that should send a clear message. While the Canucks are a franchise in transition, it was rather obvious they were ready for Todd McLellan’s crew. Yes, the fact it was Vancouver’s season and home opener certainly played into it but there was more to it than that.

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers

Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

As much as fans loved to watch the performance Connor McDavid delivered against the Calgary Flames in the club’s curtain-raiser, understand that is not a feeling shared by opposing coaches and players. Being embarrassed is something no athlete or coach wants and because No. 97 can do things none of us has ever seen, those moments are going to happen over the course of an NHL campaign.

With that being the case, you can bet players and coaches across the league will be doing their damnedest to ensure they do not end up being a part of the growing McDavid highlight reel. We saw it in full motion on Saturday night in Vancouver, as the Canucks played hard from start to finish and had Derek Dorsett essentially follow the reigning league MVP around the rink at even strength.

Derek Dorsett has 5 of Vancouver's 13 hits thru 2 periods, 3 on McDavid.
Canucks have been sharper, more engaged.
Oilers need strong 3rd!

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) October 8, 2017

Despite falling behind early on, it was clear Travis Green had a plan of attack in mind and, to his credit, stuck with it all night long. McDavid created chances but they were nowhere near the volume we saw against the Flames. In fact, they were few and far between and at the end of the night, Dorsett was among the Canucks forwards ice-time leaders and the Sedins were essentially used as power play specialists. Can you see where this is going?

Teams Will Key on McDavid

Add to that, the aforementioned praises many have been throwing the Oilers way after their surprising 2016-17 campaign and suddenly the team wearing Orange and Blue has a target painted on their back. The days of this group being taken lightly are gone and if the plan is to ride their captain’s coattails, the collective has to be engaged on as close to a nightly basis as possible. Like it or not, that is non-negotiable.

That wasn’t the case in Vancouver and the Edmonton got the result they deserved. Like every other team in the league, the Oilers have their flaws but unlike most, they have a player on their roster capable of making many of those shortcomings nothing more than an afterthought. And in order for that scenario to have any hope of playing out, the rest of the roster needs to pull in the same direction.

(Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports)

Again, drawing too much from a one-game snapshot isn’t wise and can actually give a distorted view of reality. With that said, what we saw in Vancouver had far less to do with the Edmonton Oilers and more to do with what they should expect from the vast majority of their opposition over the next six to seven months. Welcome to the world of the hunted.

Also available from Rob Soria: 

Connor McDavid: Hockey’s Next Great One

  • Tags
  • Connor McDavid
  • Derek Dorsett
  • Top Story
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Facebook Comments

Editor’s Picks
Martin St. Louis, the Little Big Man

Martin St. Louis, the Little Big Man

9270
'Mr. Hockey' Gordie Howe

'Mr. Hockey' Gordie Howe

9763
Recent Posts
Dec 10th 12:13 AM
Calgary Flames

Monahan’s Goal in OT Gives Flames 5-4 Win over Avalanche

Dec 9th 10:49 PM
News

NHL Commissioner: We Will Not Tolerate Abusive Behaviour

Dec 9th 10:45 PM
Boston Bruins

Duclair Scores Twice, Nilsson Makes 38 Saves as Senators Beat Bruins 5-2

Dec 9th 10:30 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets Snap Skid, End Capitals’ Winning Streak at 6

Dec 9th 10:20 PM
New York Islanders

Varlamov, Nelson Lead Islanders past Lightning 5-1

Dec 9th 5:40 PM
Anaheim Ducks

Could Ducks Still Trade for Defenseman?

Dec 9th 5:25 PM
NHL Goaltending

Sharks See Jones’ Struggles Resurface…Again

Dec 9th 5:10 PM
Column

Vegas Golden Knights’ 3 Stars of the Week: Dec 2 – 9

Dec 9th 4:25 PM
New York Islanders

Islanders’ Most Memorable Opening Nights

Dec 9th 4:20 PM
Buffalo Sabres

John Carlson, Tristan Jarry, Jack Eichel Named NHL 3 Stars of the Week

Stay in Touch
Contact Us

Via our Newsletters
RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Our Partners
HFBoards

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

Join over 18 000 Subscribers of our free bi-weekly Newsletter.

© The Hockey Writers 2018. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • Atlantic Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Metropolitan Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Dallas Stars
    • Minnesota Wild
    • Nashville Predators
    • St Louis Blues
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • Pacific Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle NHL
    • Vegas Golden Knights
    • Vancouver Canucks
  • Store
  • The THW Archives
  • Prospects
  • The Goalie Page
  • NHL Salary Cap Information
  • Join Our Team
  • Search THW