{"id":671646,"date":"2026-09-26T03:27:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T03:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/671646\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T03:27:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T03:27:27","slug":"jeeper-keepers-the-edmonton-oilers-season-is-riding-on-the-goalies-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/671646\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeeper keepers, the Edmonton Oilers season is riding on the goalies again"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s great that the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> have a new coach who stresses team defence and isn’t afraid to make sure everyone is on board with the system.<\/p>\n

And it’s great that everyone is on board with the system.<\/p>\n

It’s even good, probably, that the Oilers have changed things up on their blue line, although time will tell on that front if less is more when it comes to Darnell Nurse.<\/p>\n

But none of that matters if they don’t get the saves.<\/p>\n

As much as everyone wants to focus on line combinations and defence pairings, and Babcock’s hard-and-fast coaching style, the season will once again boil down to the crease.<\/p>\n

An area that the Oilers have been trying to shore up for a long time, which is why they brought in two new keepers and were going to experiment with a three-man system until Frederik Andersen got hurt.<\/p>\n

So now it’s down to Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi, a veteran looking to rebound after a disappointing end to last season and an unproven 24-year-old, to lead Edmonton into a campaign where a good start is crucial.<\/p>\n

So far, in the limited sample size provided by three games’ worth of training camp, the goaltending is holding up its end of the bargain, with Jarry allowing two goals on 42 shots in two 40-minute appearances. Levi’s given up one goal on 13 shots.<\/p>\n

“Jars played well and we didn’t give up a ton,” head coach Mike Babcock said of a 25-save effort in Vancouver, where he backstopped a bunch of rookies to a 2-1 win over the veteran-heavy Canucks.<\/p>\n

“His first save, he was there, he was square. When he slid he was there and square. He wasn’t fumbling. He was good. He had to feel good about himself.<\/p>\n

“I just noticed Levi in practice today because we did more of a flow and he made some good saves.”<\/p>\n

Jarry says the long summer helped get him in the right space physically and mentally. The hope is the long break and some hard work pays off with a revival season in Edmonton.<\/p>\n

“Working with (goalie coach Pete Aubry) over the summer, it was a big summer for me,” said Jarry. “They wanted me to come in and work hard and I think I was able to do that.<\/p>\n

“Pete and I had a good summer, learning from each other and getting to know each other a lot better. Just being able to do that without the pressure of the season went a long way.”<\/p>\n

So will a revamped Edmonton Oilers<\/a> team. The plan is for the Oilers to become a lockdown defence rather than a team that often has to try and outscore its mistakes.<\/p>\n

If they’re successful, it will be that much easier to be an Oilers goalie.<\/p>\n

“Our job is to make to goalies’ job easier because he’ll know where the puck is coming from all the time,” said Babcock. “That’s our focus.”<\/p>\n

And there is no grey area around this new philosophy. It’s been the focal point of almost every skate. Defence first, or face the wrath.<\/p>\n

“It’s been very direct with a lot of accountability on each guy to play hard and surround the puck and swarm,” said defenceman Connor Murphy. “It really feels like the emphasis is to defend hard first and then go the other way.”<\/p>\n

It is. Whether they are able to make it work remains to be seen. This is a stubborn group, but what we do know for sure is that the old way wasn’t quite good enough. Despite having all the talent in the world, they haven’t been able to get over the final hump.<\/p>\n

“Our playoff series last year, a lot of goals and rush goals and PK goals,” said Murphy. “That hurts. It gives you motivation in this training camp to really hunker down on the details.”<\/p>\n

So does the coach.<\/p>\n

“Babs definitely praises the details and the characteristics of being good defensively,” said Murphy. “That’s being hard and willing, and being dedicated every time you’re out there to make sure that you’re making it as hard as you can against everyone.”<\/p>\n

It’s all happening fast. A new coach and a new system in a short training camp isn’t the ideal formula, but this is the landscape they have to navigate, and they admit they don’t have everything down pat just yet.<\/p>\n

“We’re probably not going to be at 100 per cent,” Leon Draisaitl said of what to expect on opening night. “We have a completely new system, new players, new coaching staff, so it’s going to take a little bit of time.”<\/p>\n

Like, a few weeks or so worth of time. The best players say that if you’re thinking out there, you’re playing slow. You have to play by instinct and muscle memory in a sport this fast.<\/p>\n

They’re not there yet.<\/p>\n

“We’re thinking,” said Draisaitl. “We played the same system for a while. This is completely new. It’s going to take time but we have no choice but to be as dialed-in as we can early on. We have no choice. It’s the same for every team. But it’s going to take a couple of weeks for it to become instinctual.”<\/p>\n

E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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