The bad? The Oilers lost both legs of their pre-season split-squad games with the Calgary Flames, losing 6-3 at home and 6-1 on the road.
The good? There’s now only five pre-season games left.
When it comes to these early pre-season games, I find it difficult to draw too much from them. The rosters for both teams are filled with young players, either in the form of prospects, or players destined for American Hockey League and ECHL rosters.
But truth be told, you can ask any player and they’d say to you that losing any game, pre-season or not, isn’t a nice feeling.
Beyond watching Connor McDavid build up speed, scoring a third-period power-play goal in Edmonton, there’s not much to take solace in. The game at Rogers Place saw Calvin Pickard get the start, allowing four goals against on 15 shots, and while his replacement Brett Brochu, fared better early on, he would still give up two goals on 11 shots.
The fourth line of Dalyn Wakely, Connor Clattenburg and Seth Griffith may have seen the second most ice-time of any line at five-on-five, but they also gave up the most, getting caught out for two goals against controlling a paltry 28.41 percent of the expected goal share. It was also tough sledding for the defensive pairing of Connor Corcoran and Alex Kannok-Leipert, on the ice for three goals against each. Beyond Griffith, who will likely get another pre-season game or few, these players will likely be among the first round of cuts.
A significant bright spot in Edmonton, however, was Noah Philp, who built off a strong Sunday performance against the Jets with an equally strong one against the Flames. With him on the ice at five-on-five, the Oilers controlled 75 percent of the shot attempt share, and 81.03 percent of the expected goal share, despite the team being outscored 2-0. Both goals against were on rush chances the other way, where he was one of the last Oilers back.
After taking a year off from hockey for personal reasons, Philp has returned looking recharged, and these pre-season performances will go a long way. As the pre-season chugs along, watching him with a close eye is something I suggest all Oilers fans do. There’s been some thought that Philp will need some time in the AHL to get acclimated back to the rigours of the pro circuit, but who’s to say he can’t outright win a spot as the Oilers fourth-line centre? The man pencilled in for the spot right now is Derek Ryan, but Philp is a player who replicated Ryan’s game well as a defensively sound, right-shot centre.
Down the highway in Calgary, Olivier Rodrigue’s tough pre-season continued, allowing five goals against on 25 shots before giving up the crease to Nathaniel Day in the third, who allowed one goal against on just four shots. The latter is destined for the Ontario Hockey League’s Flint Firebirds, where he’ll look to bounce back after a tough 2023-24 campaign. But for Rodrigue, the shaky start is of some concern. Yes, he looked solid in Bakersfield last year for the Condors, but as my colleague Bruce Curlock mentioned yesterday, size continues to be of concern for him.
While I didn’t have as close of an eye on this one, Curlock did, who will have a piece coming later this morning about what appeared to be a rough affair. He shared on Twitter that “The Josh Brown experience in Calgary has been wild. And that’s not a compliment,” later adding Brown, Troy Stecher and PTO Travis Dermott were each 0-2 in goals.
“Stetcher has been ok, but that’s a relative comment,” he added.
Not a great start for the depth defencemen, so it seems.
Monday’s games mark the final split-squad game of the year, with Edmonton taking on the Jets once again on Wednesday night for a 6 p.m. puck drop.
