The Edmonton Oilers soundly outplayed a Calgary Flames split squad Sunday at Rogers place but still fell 3-2 on OT.
Oilers held the balance of play in the first with the shots 9-3, 22-10 after 2, and 30-14 after 60 minutes plus overtime.
But Calgary got a solid goaltending performance, and Edmonton suffered from a lack of finish.
Here’s the tale of the tape…
As per tradition, no actual Player Grades until the NHL Regular Season begins. In their place tonight, and throughout the pre-season…
“A Good Things, Bad Things, Numbers Game Report”
Good Things
David Tomasek. The Oilers best forward. A steal and shot early in the first. A feed to Dineen for a shot. A good backcheck but whistled for a minor on the play. Set up Dineen again in the second. Could not drain a great feed by Savoie. Protected a puck to create a play in the third. Played the whole game at center. Was 67% on draws. He sure looks like an NHL player to me. As he reacquaints himself to the North American ice surface and game, he will realize he has more time.
JWalman/Nurse pairing. The Flames breakaway on the first shift of the game did not seem like an encouraging sign. But this pair really dominated play most times they were on the ice together. It was against a split squad, so let us not get ahead of ourselves. But it bodes very well going forward. Darnell Nurse had five shots and five blocks, scored the first goal and was Edmonton’s best D-man. Jake Walman also had five shots and moved the puck calmly.
Matvey Petrov was on the two even strength goals, scored one by banking it off a D-man in front. Assisted on the opener.
Bad Things
Mattias Janmark had a five-alarm giveaway that the Flames scored on, but it was called back for goalie interference. Two other nasty turnovers on the same shift in the second. Needs to be better.
For a guy who is battling for the 6-6 spot on the blueline Troy Stecher struggled. Too much chaos in his game, especially early.
Numbers
Nurse-Walman logged a fair bit of ice, 21:59 TOI for Walman, 21:48 for Nurse. This pair was excellent.
Vasily Podkolzin was noticeable and physical, has four hits to lead the club.
Odds & Ends:
-Alec Regula, our first look at him in Oilers silks despite spending a large chunk of the year with the team (IR). Moved the puck well, darts in from the point effectively. But had some “high event” moments in his own end, too. His man scored the 2-1.
-Matt Tomkins stopped Farabee on a breakaway on the opening shift. Not a lot of work. And he was arguably outplayed by the guy at the other end.
-Matt Savoie created a terrific look for Frederic with a dogged play behind the net. Good PK work. But not as noticeable as you might hope.
-Speaking of Trent Frederic, while he was certainly moving better than we last saw him last spring he did not stand out, either.
-Viljami Marjala has skill. Created a screen on the Darnell Nurse goal. An assist on the Petrov goal. A post in the third.
-Tommy Lafreniere had a sitter in the second but could not bury it.
The Oilers head to Winnipeg on Tuesday.
This article is not AI generated.
Recently, at The Cult…
STAPLES: Edmonton Oilers make a smart move on the back end for this upcoming season
LEAVINS: Why the Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup window remains open
Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.
Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.