The Edmonton Oiler's faced off against the New York Rangers earlier today it what oddly felt like a must win game for the team. With the brutal schedule they have this month, the Rangers looked like by far the easiest game. It was a really close game but the Oiler's managed to squeak out a victory 2-1.
The Oiler's played a pretty solid game and with how exciting the game was, I'm a bit surprised to have seen the score only at 2-1. I felt both squads probably should have put a few more goal in the net but anytime the Oiler's can put together a win I'm happy.
After the first two loses, the Oiler's switched up the defense a little bit. Matt Benning was moved from the second pair into the pressbox and as a result the defense looked much better today. After a good rookie campaign Benning took a few steps back last year and looks even more out of place this season. He can probably benefit from sitting out for a few games and realizing that his spot on the team isn't set in stone. I felt the Oiler's were very generous with his $1.9 million contract this offseason and so far hasn't looked better than the washed up old guy the Oiler's signed for the league minimum. I hope we don't see Benning back in the lineup next game and that the crew that helped win our first game of the season gets the call again on Tuesday.
Connor McDavid got a goal and an assist today and so far on the season has got a point on every single Oiler's goal. It's great the McDavid is producing but at some point there needs to be some scoring outside of McDavid. A lot of that is going to fall on Leon Draisaitl who has looked pretty average to start the season and doesn't appear to be worth his hefty $8.5 million price tag. The season is early and Draisaitl in known for his slow starts, so I expect him to turn that around by the end of the month. Draisaitl is a great hockey player and the Oiler's will need him producing in order to be in the hunt for a playoff spot this season.
It feels good to no longer be last place in the league and the only team without any points on the season. The Oiler's still have at least a game in hand on most of the teams in the league and a few wins next week will go a long way to erase the first two games of the season. The team has looked a bit better each outing this season and I'm hoping that trend can continue this week. The Oiler's are in Winnipeg to face the Jets on Tuesday, then back home on Thursday for their home opener against the Bruins and then one week from today they face the Nashville Predators. That is about as stacked a week in the NHL can get, that's three of the top four teams from the regular season last year. The Oiler's will need to steal some points this week and be competitive against the higher end of the league. Hopefully they are up to the task but we won't know for sure until the games are played.
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