Weird game. The Islanders basically looked like ass. Patrick Roy maybe didn't get the L.A.-memo that the 1-3-1 just does not work against Edmonton. And especially with Barzal out, the Isles just did not have enough offense and did not look like they even wanted to score most of the time. And their PK was the most anemic I've seen in a while. Just sitting back and letting the Oilers run roughshod.
The GOOD:
-- McDavid was heroic. It's easily his best game of the season, and actually I think it was his best game of the past two seasons. I did not see much of this McDavid last season, when he was clearly injured much of the season. So great to see back on c.2021-2023 form.
-- Draisaital was also wonderful.
-- Emberson is looking much better these days, defensively. (His shot, however, makes Ryan Smyth's muffin slapshot look like Al MacInnis's.)
-- Bouchard very good, minus one or two weird defensive plays.
-- The overtime shift by Nuge, Ekholm, and (was it?) Bouchard (?). I loved Ekholm's effort to keep the puck in and wear down the defenders, and also Nuge's quick decision to make the line-change. Doing those two things allowed McD and Drai to come on ice with already-tired defenders, which means automatic goal.
The BAD:
-- Derek Ryan makes the odd good pass, but I really think he needs to just retire. He's too slow and, worse, he is starting to process the game slowly. Certainly no sense playing him and Perry all the time. One Grandpa needs a rest every night, just about.
-- Jeff Skinner. Why did they acquire this player -- knowing he's a talented, but one-dimensional scorer -- just to barely play him, thus rendering him ineffective? He barely saw the ice in this one and did not look good. But it's hard to look good when you're sitting on the bench, cold.
-- Stu Skinner: I thought Skinner was good the past few games (or 'good enough', at least), but not in this one. None of the three goals were of the stinky-bad variety, but at the same time each (esp. the latter two) were stoppable.
It's not that either of the current goaltenders is particularly bad; it's just that on nearly every night the opponent's goaltender is better -- especially on home ice.
Anyway, glad to see the Oilers score 11 goals in two games, which they really needed. But they're still struggling to to score on home ice.
