The Edmonton Oilers dominated the Nashville Predators en route to a 5-1 win without the services of Connor McDavid. This was a textbook road victory. The whole team stepped up, and 11 different players registered a point. Here are five takeaways from this dominating performance:
Noah Philp Makes His NHL Debut
Noah Philp is an incredible story. He went from being undrafted to taking a year off hockey last season, and now, he’s an NHLer. He’s exactly what the Oilers needed in their bottom six. He’s a 6-foot-3, right-shot centre with speed, and is good in the faceoff circle. The former University of Alberta Golden Bear adds a much-needed boost to this aging forward group. He was centring the fourth line alongside Corey Perry and Drake Caggiula.
Related: Oilers’ Philp Making a Case to Crack Opening Night Lineup
Philp made an early impact, registering his first NHL point midway through the first period on a goal by Perry.
The fourth line was really solid in their limited ice time. They cycled the puck effectively which resulted in some quality chances. The rookie was also used shorthanded to win some important draws in the defensive zone. He’s already building trust with the coaching staff which will bode well for him moving forward. Philp was more effective in one game than the fourth line has been all season. He finished his debut with one assist, three shots, and one hit, and led the team with 10 faceoff wins in 11:54 of ice time.
Even when McDavid comes back from injury, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Philp stay up with the big club. He earned a roster spot out of camp, but they gave the last spot to the veteran in Derek Ryan. Now, Ryan is the odd man out and shouldn’t be in the lineup every game. This team desperately needs to get younger and add some speed, which Philp provides. He should be here to stay.
The Oilers’ New Top Line Produced
In the absence of McDavid, the Oilers’ top line was Leon Draisaitl, Vasily Podkolzin, and Viktor Arvidsson. This was easily Edmonton’s best line. They were dominant in the offensive zone and showed up on the scoresheet. Arvidsson got his first goal as an Oiler just 37 seconds into the first period on a great forecheck by Podkolzin which led to him winning a puck battle, and passing to Draisaitl, who then set up Arvidsson for the tap-in. That was an elite play all around.
Draisaitl extended the Oilers’ lead to 3-1 on a breakaway, over the blocker of goaltender Juuse Saros 9:03 into the second period. He added another goal in the third period to make it 4-1. The superstar forward has been deemed the Mayor of Nashville by the fanbase because of his sheer dominance against them. In 28 career games against the Predators, he has 27 goals and 46 points, including 12 multi-point games.
This whole line works really well together. They have the skill in Draisaitl, the physicality in Podkolzin, and the tenaciousness of Arvidsson. This line has found chemistry, and they need to stick together.
Even though Podkolzin has yet to score a goal, he’s doing all the right things, including getting into a fight in the third period. This was the second fight of the game as Ty Emberson dropped the gloves in the first period. In a weird statistic, the Oilers are now 5-0-0 when there’s a fighting major, and 0-5-1 without.
Special Teams Continue to Struggle
The only negative is that the Oilers’ special team woes continue. They gave up another shorthanded goal, and failed to score on the power play, even though they only had one opportunity that was ultimately cut short due to an offensive zone penalty by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The power play is currently 27th in the league at just under 14%. This team is too skilled for their power play to continue struggling, so they should break out eventually, which may be harder now with their captain out of the lineup.
The penalty kill struggles are more concerning. They are currently last in the league at just over 62%. They need to figure that out quickly, and that starts with the goaltender. Your goalie needs to be your best penalty killer, and so far this season, that hasn’t been the case. The team is also giving up too many quality looks, including cross-seam passes, and letting the opposition walk right in and pick their spot. They need to tighten that up if they want to improve.
Zach Hyman Breaks His Slump
Zach Hyman finally scored his first goal of the season in their 11th game, and got the monkey off his back. He split the defence and received a great breakaway pass from Darnell Nurse, going forehand over the glove of Saros. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come, and he starts scoring in bunches, especially in the absence of McDavid. He’s been doing all the right things, including getting to the blue paint and working hard behind the net, but nothing was going in. Despite this slump, he never changed his game, because he knows how he needs to play in order for this team to be successful, and he finally got rewarded for his efforts.
Calvin Pickard Was Solid
Calvin Pickard quietly had a very good game between the pipes. He stopped 26 out of 27 shots which resulted in a .963 save percentage (SV%). This is now back-to-back quality outings from the Edmonton netminder, as he allowed two goals on 26 shots in a 3-2 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings this past Sunday (Oct. 27). With the current struggles of Stuart Skinner, Pickard may be getting some more starts, so it’s crucial that this team gets quality goaltending from their backup.
Since his first start against the Chicago Blackhawks where he gave up five goals on 20 shots, he’s bounced back nicely, racking up three straight wins. He now holds a 3-1-0 record, with a 2.48 goals-against average (GAA), and an .897 SV% this season. He’s stepped in and consistently gives the team a chance to win.
The Oilers conclude their four-game road trip on Sunday night (Nov. 3) when they play the Calgary Flames in the second installment of the Battle of Alberta.
