September 25, 2022 by Kirk Morris

Edmonton Oilers handily defeat the Winnipeg Jets at home for the first game of the pre-season

The kids are alright.

In a late afternoon/early evening tilt, the Edmonton Oilers proved worthy with a mostly AHL laden lineup against a similar based Winnipeg Jets group at Rogers Place. For the way the lineups were constructed, the game as a whole had a very fast pace and feel to it, which was very nice to see-especially with the Oilers back in the old school home royal blue uniforms.

Three Stars of the Game

1. Dylan Holloway. One goal, six shots on net. Biggest standout of the game, it would be his spot to lose at this juncture to lose in the opening night roster for the Oilers. Especially in the first period, he made a play cutting to the net with the puck that would make Glenn Anderson grin from ear to ear. The tip-in goal in the third period from a shot from Evan Bouchard was damn sweet too.
2. Stuart Skinner. 19 for 19 in his service for the first half of the game, only to be relieved by Oiler back-up Calvin Pickard (which was pre-planned by the coaching staff and who also had a stellar effort), he stood tall and no happy feet was noticed. In his post game interview, he noted for the most of the first period that he was nervous, but going into the second, he stated that he had his feet under him. Even stopped some darn quick rockets, it looked like he wasn’t breaking a sweat at all.
3. Markus Niemelainen. Getting the Oilers on the board within the first minute of the game was impressive to begin with, but he was channeling his inner Bryan Marchment with six train-stopping hits in the game. Another very positive sign was his calm demeanour with the puck and outlet passing throughout the game with veteran d-man partner Jason Demers.

Other Noteables…

“James Hamblin couldn’t piss in the ocean from a rowboat.” – Mike Dirsa of heavyhockey.com

This statement made me chuckle, because for the first two periods, this statement couldn’t be more true…Hamblin was playing like a first-timer rookie at a full camp with missing two grade-A chances in the second period alone. But in the third period, he totally redeemed himself, cleaning up a gargantuan rebound made by Jets netminder “Big Save Dave” Rittich and shooting the biscuit into the yawning cage for a 2-0 lead.

Everyone knows that it’s the first game of the preseason, but if Hamblin wants to be a full-time contributor on the big club, more eye opening plays have to be cashed in.

All of the Oilers’ veterans present in the the lineup (six in total, bare minimum for NHL pre-season standards) looked solid as well, most notably was Ryan McLeod catching Rittich asleep at the wheel again for an easy potted marker to up the home club’s tally to 3-0 in the third period.

In his post-game interview to the whole local media, Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft noted the entire groups effort was exemplary, even said some well played effort from veteran player Jason Demers, on a professional try out contract.

Woodcroft also noted that there would be a lot of young players to be in service for back-to-back action in the upcoming week, with five games in eight days. Do not be alarmed that there will be another AHL-strong lineup to take the ice in Seattle tomorrow night.

Next game: Oilers vs. Kraken at 8:00pm local time on Monday evening.