RECAP: Canucks Trip Up Oilers In Preseason Finale

Edmonton wrapped up their preseason card with a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver was powered in part by their special teams, which picked up a shorthanded goal and a power play goal en route to their win. The Oilers picked up a pair of goals from Leon Draisaitl, but were unable to hit the scoresheet elsewhere.

To the bullets.

• FAMILIAR FACES: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl got together again for the finale, which was both comforting and concerning. It was great to see Leon Draisaitl rocket a pass behind Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom with one second left in the first. We’re going to see a fair bit of 97-29 when the going gets tough. In a pinch, that’s probably not an issue.
• DO IT AGAIN: Here’s the duo once more on a 5 on 3, a time where you’ve got to make hay.

• ONE TRICK: Oilers lacked any significant threats from anyone not named McDavid and Draisaitl last night. If tonight’s game was a dress rehearsal, there’s at least a bit of concern on the right side.
• SOME TALK: Some talk about Anton Slepyshev getting into the lineup, but it never came to fruition. We’ll know more in a little while, but if the Oilers are going with Draisaitl on the right wing to start the season, they’ve got a choice of Yamamoto, Puljujarvi, Kassian, Pakarinen, and Slepyshev, who hasn’t yet gotten into any game action this preseason.

• Not a particularly good look for Matt Benning here. Markus Granlund does the deed and takes it to the house for a shorthanded goal.
• Loui Eriksson would tally a power play goal midway through the third to put the Canucks up permanently.

PRESEASON WRAP-UP

What did we learn from the preseason?

• Oilers end the preseason with a 6-2-0 record which is all very nice, but it gets reset to zero today. There are a few issues with this roster, and one of the big ones we talked about a few paragraphs up the page is how much of 97+29 we’ll see on one line.
• Jesse Puljujarvi played 9:19 last night on the fourth line. Remember when he was on the first line a week ago?
• I don’t see how the Oilers don’t rock with Kailer Yamamoto (moreso than Jesse Puljujarvi after Puljujarvi’s nine minutes of ice last night) to start the season. With talk about Anton Slepyshev possibly dressing in last night’s game, it sounds like Slepyshev is closer to playing than I originally thought.
• Some concern with the Darnell Nurse / Eric Gryba pairing. Edmonton staying the course on defence while Andrej Sekera is out for the foreseeable future is a risky move, especially if something wonky happens on the left side.
• What’s going on with Chris Kelly? Sunil’s got some ideas on where the Oilers are headed if they do indeed sign the veteran who’s on a PTO.

Final cuts are coming. The next 72 hours are going to be a whirlwind until Wednesday finally comes.