Okay, it’s rant time. And this is coming from Jacob, your normally calm man at The Analyst Desk.
What the hell was that? That might have been one of the worst Oilers season openers I’ve watched in years. Yes, they got a point. Yes, they scored five goals. Yes, they showed they can still score in bunches.
The Defensive Structure Looked So Broken
Good lord, this team could not defend. Turnover after turnover, defensive breakdown after defensive breakdown. It seemed like every time Vancouver came back the other way, something went wrong for Edmonton. And you think you’re getting a save? HA, I laugh at this. You should have kept Skinner at this rate.
The Oilers outshot Vancouver 37-23 and still allowed six goals. Vancouver did not need 40 or 45 shots to put six on the board. They did it on 23. That’s just insane.
Tristan Jarry allowed six goals on 23 shots, finishing with just 17 saves and a .739 save percentage. I’m not going to sit here and blame every goal on him because the team in front of him was sloppy as hell, but come on. You need a save. There are going to be defensive breakdowns during an NHL game. There are going to be turnovers. Your goalie has to steal one or two when those mistakes happen, and I just didn’t see enough of that.
Great. Edmonton can score. We knew that. Evan Bouchard had a ridiculous night with a hat trick and five points. Vasily Podkolzin scored twice. Edmonton put 37 shots on goal and came storming back after being down 5-2 in the third.
This team can skate. This team can score. This team can make some ridiculous plays with the puck.
None of that is news. The question is whether Edmonton can actually defend well enough to win when it matters. Because you cannot expect to score five, six or seven goals every night just because you can’t keep the puck out of your own net. That’s what drove me crazy about this game.
Every time Edmonton seemed to get something going, another mistake happened. Another turnover. Another breakdown. Another puck in the back of the net.
One Last Thing: Mike Babcock
And I have to mention Mike Babcock. Watching his post-game press conference honestly gave me flashbacks to his time coaching the Leafs.
He wasn’t really willing to fully answer much. There was a lot of talk about needing to be better, cleaning things up and doing what it takes to win. And yeah, obviously he’s right. But man, it felt like I was watching a Game 60 press conference from a team that had been struggling for months, not a Game 1 press conference after your season opener.
Maybe that’s just Babcock being Babcock. Maybe I’m reading way too much into a post-game press conference after one game.
Am I Overreacting?
Am I overreacting after Game 1? 100%. That’s what opening night is for. It’s one game. The Oilers aren’t doomed. Babcock isn’t suddenly the problem. Jarry isn’t finished. The defence isn’t going to give up six goals every night.
But this is a team with Stanley Cup expectations, and when your first impression is six goals against, turnover after turnover, and a post-game press conference that already sounds like you’re 60 games into a frustrating season, I’m going to have some questions.
Maybe Edmonton comes out next game and makes this entire rant look stupid.
For Oilers fans, you better hope they do.
