September 28, 2022 by Ryan Lotsberg

The Oilers iced a weak roster against a team playing many of their regulars for the second game in a row, and they got shut out for the second game in a row. This time they lost 4-0 at the hands of the Flames.

Call Outs:

The pairing of Jason Demers and Markus Niemelainen struggled tonight. They spent most of the night in their own end. Demers failed to tie up Brandon Sutter’s stick as Sutter scored the Flames’ first goal. 

Niemelainen inexplicably got caught forechecking behind the Flames net, and the Flames went the other way for an odd man rush. They didn’t score on that rush, but that rush led to an extended shift in the Oilers zone which led to a goal against. Niemelainen laid a big hit near the blue line early in the third, but he wasn’t able to get into a defending position before Demers got stuck in a two on one situation down low that resulted in a dangerous chance against. Hits are great, but not if they leave you out of position. This pairing was also on the ice for the third goal against.

Phil Kemp didn’t have a great game either. He got caught floating too far up the ice when the puck was being played along the left wall midway through the third period, and he left a man all alone by the net. Dmitri Samorukov had to race back to cover him, and he took a penalty on the play. The penalty wasn’t necessary, but that wouldn’t have happened if Kemp would’ve stayed in position. Kemp also gave the puck away to Milan Lucic who had a partial breakaway broken up by the hard back checking effort of Samorukov.

Standouts:

I thought that the line of Mattias Janmark, Devin Shore, and Derek Ryan was great tonight. Janmark had much more jump than he did in Seattle on Monday. He was much harder to play against. This was the best that Shore has looked in a long time. He made a great stretch pass to Janmark in the first period, and he was in on a bunch of chances throughout the night. Ryan was the least involved of the three, but he played a solid game as well.

Shout Outs:

Warren Foegele was good tonight. He made several good touch passes all over the ice, and he was aggressive on the forecheck. Dylan Holloway didn’t look out of place on that potential third line. He was consistently in the right positions tonight, and plays weren’t dying on his stick. 

Greg McKegg and Matvei Petrov were really noticeable on the fourth line. Their line was consistently in the Flames zone all night long. McKegg looked fast and he had a few good scoring chances. Petrov was basically invisible in the Young Stars tournament, but he was in the battle tonight. He was good on the forecheck. We didn’t see his skill shine through, but he did the little things that professional hockey players need to do to succeed.

The good news tonight was that the Holloway – McLeod – Foegele and Janmark – Shore – Ryan lines didn’t give up any goals to the Huberdeau and Kadri lines. Those two lines featured most of the guys that will comprise the bottom two lines for the Oilers, and it was encouraging to see them keep the top two lines of the Flames in check despite not being able to score any goals themselves. That’s what Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are for.

These two teams will head north for a rematch on Friday at 7 PM at Rogers Place.