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Morning, folks!
The big story, of course, is last night’s preseason game that saw the Oilers control the shot clock but lose by a score of 4-2. It is worth noting the Oilers trailed for most of this game, which tends to have an effect on shots for and against, but there were some definite positives to take from last night’s game.
Chiefly, Connor McDavid’s health. While The Captain didn’t factor in on the scoreboard, priority number one was making sure he got through a full game without any setbacks, and that appears to be the case.
The Darnell Nurse / Adam Larsson pairing struggled last night, too. I’m still not sure how the puck is going to leave the zone if Nurse isn’t legging it up ice, but we’ll keep an eye on that pairing.
Evan Bouchard and Shane Starrett were both assigned to Bakersfield yesterday, which may come as a bit of a surprise given Joel Persson’s injury that forced him to leave last night’s game. I’ve long maintained that Ethan Bear has excellent puck skills and it appears he stands to benefit from Persson’s injury the most. It’s a clear path to the right of Kris Russell for the young man from Ochapowace First Nation.
Simply a travel/practice day at training camp for our heroes today, as their preseason schedule resumes again tomorrow night with another battle against the Winnipeg Jets in Winnipeg.
That’ll hit the high notes for now, get to reading and we’ll see you later!
From Us
Upper Body Injury To Joel Persson Could Pave Way For Ethan Bear (Copper and Blue)
PRESEASON GAME THREAD: Edmonton Oilers vs. Arizona Coyotes
PRESEASON GAME PREVIEW: Edmonton Oilers vs. Arizona Coyotes
The Blueline Battle Is Heating Up for the Edmonton Oilers
Hot Links: Tuesday, September 24
From Elsewhere
Oilers Make Right Decision Sending Evan Bouchard Down (The Oilers Rig)
Bouchard And Starrett Assigned To Bakersfield, Persson Suffers Shoulder Injury (Oilersnation)
Oilers’ Connor McDavid Works Out Kinks In Return From Leg Injury (Sportsnet)
McDavid Felt ‘A Little Rusty’ In First Preseason Game (Sportsnet)
McDavid Pointless In Return To Ice As Coyotes Down Oilers In Exhibition (Sportsnet)
NHL Player Poll Results – Players (Oilersnation)
NHL Player Poll Results – Arenas, Mascots And More (Oilersnation)
For Money
Oilers Cut Evan Bouchard And Shane Starrett. Is Ethan Bear On The Cusp Of Making The Team? (The Athletic)
Oilers’ Bottom-Six Forwards, Penalty Kill Shine In Loss To Arizona Coyotes (The Athletic)