Oilers win against the Seattle Kraken 5-4
Breaking news out of Oil Country as the Oilers win a thrilling preseason matchup against the Seattle Kraken 5-4.
This was a little bit of a moral victory for the Oil - the boys needed this one. Having lost the oast 3 straight games by a margin of 6 goals, this was more than just a regular pre season game. With Connor McDavid at the helm, the Oilers needed some results, and the team delivered.
According to David Staples, Against Seattle in Saturday night's 5-4 exhibition win, Stecher looked like a decent NHL d-man, even a solid one. He was fast to pucks. He won a good share of his puck battles. He moved the puck well. He defended smartly and effectively. He even threw a few decent hits, even as he's not a big player, just 5-feet, 10-inches, 184 pounds.
He's finally showing why he's been able to log almost 500 games in the NHL to date.
By my eye, Stecher never looked right for the Oilers after they acquired him and a 7th round pick for a 4th round pick from the Arizona Coyotes last March. Stecher played seven games for the Oilers, but not one in the playoffs as he was sidelined with a cyst in his ankle. He had surgery to deal with the injury in the summer and the Oilers brought him back on a new two-year deal at the league minimum of $787,500.
According to Staples, these were the highlight players:
Raphael Lavoie. Another player finally bringing his best game and looking like a possible NHLer. Is putting together his best streak of games in an Oilers jersey. He's winning board battles and firing pucks on net. Late in the third he battled hard to get to the net and pounded in the winning goal on a wicked shot.
Ben Gleason. He looks cool and sharp every time he has the puck. Rushed into the o-zone early in the third and deftly set up Mattias Ekholm in the slot for a shot off the crossbar. He's no Kris Russell in his own zone, but he can move the puck. If Gleason was a right shot and not a left shot, he'd have a much greater chance to stick. He looks like he could hold his own in a bottom-pairing in the NHL.
Noah Philp. While thwarting a dangerous chance around the net, he bumped into goalie Calvin Pickard, and Pickard was knocked out of the game. He was not seen on the bench for the rest of the game, which could be bad news for the Oilers. Philp made a number of solid plays on the puck, especially a rush up the middle to take a Mattias Ekholm pass and direct it into the top of the net for a goal.
Matt Savoie. Quiet game to start but looked good on a few shifts with McDavid. One excellent shot on net off a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins feed. Another dangerous shot on the McDavid line in the third.
Travis Dermott. Quiet game as well, though that's OK for a d-man. He made no major miscues and executed all the expected plays.
source: Edmonton Journal
After rough start, feisty veteran d-man finally impresses in Edmonton Oilers win over Seattle Kraken
