GDT: Preseason Game 8, Oilers at Canucks in the final (thank God) beer leager. Sportsnet 8 PM

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Will update as lines confirmed, these are my guess. Ryan looked like he hurt his foot blocking a shot last game so he might be out for Philp and it’s my guess that they give old man Perry a break to give Lavoie one last test drive. Emberson and Stetcher missed the last game so here is their final beer leaguer.

RNH - McDavid - Hyman
Skinner - Draisaitl - Arvidsson
Janmark - Henrique - Brown
Pokolzin - Philp - Lavoie

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Emberson
Kulak - Stetcher

Skinner
Pickard

Goes live @ 7:30

Also to those Canuck fans with nothing better to do in their lives coming here to troll, this is for you;

Click to read more...

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Another one?

 

[Jumptheshark]

can someone post the stream if there is one...legal of course.

 

[Mr Kot]

 

[SupremeTeam16]

Skinner - McDavid - Hyman
Lavoie - Draisaitl - Arvidsson
RNH - Henrique - Podkolzin
Janmark - Philp - Brown

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Emberson
Kulak - Stetcher

That’s the line up I’d like to see them give a shot.

 

[The Panther]

I haven't watched any pre-season because I could not care less, but my general take on the Oilers' roster right now is:
Forwards = GREAT
Defence = POOR
Goal = OKAY for now

Cody Ceci was a valuable player (despite what most of you seemingly think) and there is hole there now. Desjarnais was good in a limited role, but should theoretically be replaceable. Broberg didn't give much in the RS but he showed his potential in the playoffs last spring, and his loss is big.

The defence really concerns me. If the Oilers blow a tire in the first few games again, I could see them losing confidence and trying desperation shake-ups to the D-core, resulting in another disastrous first 15 games or so.
Luckily, their schedule seems favorable, with the first 4 games at home against (theoretically) 'beatable' clubs. If they can somehow win about 3 of those first 4, I think they'll be okay to survive until February or whenever Bowman Jr. decides to acquire another Dman.

But their schedule in early/mid-January is absolutely brutal...
2025-01-04 @ Seattle Kraken
2025-01-07 @ Boston Bruins
2025-01-09 @ Pittsburgh Penguins
2025-01-11 @ Chicago Blackhawks
2025-01-13 Los Angeles Kings
2025-01-15 @ Minnesota Wild
2025-01-16 @ Colorado Avalanche
2025-01-18 @ Vancouver Canucks

...so they're going to need to make hay before then, and they'll probably have to do so before any defensive help arrives.

By the way, if I'm the coaching staff or Connor, I'd be encouraging the players to look at this season as a series of "best of 7's". That is, they have to win 4 games out of 7 all year... and when you reach 4 wins, you stop and start over. If they fail to make it to 4 wins in any 7 game stretch, Connor gets to flog any three teammates of his choice.