Oilers’ Babcock Drops Hints, Team Trending in the Right Direction

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Mike Babcock’s Oilers are still unbeaten in regulation, and after a gritty win in San Jose, the coach offered a few clues about where this lineup is headed.

Edmonton moved to 4-0-1 with a 3-1 victory over the Sharks. Tristan Jarry stopped 19 of 20 shots and took player of the game honours, picking up his first win of the year. It was a welcome turnaround for the goalie, who was tagged with all six goals in the team’s 6-5 overtime loss to Vancouver to open the season, according to theScore.

Grinding It Out

Goals were hard to come by early. Mattias Ekholm broke through in the first period, and the game stayed tight until the third, when Alex Formenton and Vasily Podkolzin each added a goal. Podkolzin’s was his fifth of the season. Ekholm and Formenton both found the net for the first time this year.

Babcock said San Jose was well organized and gave his team little space, so the Oilers had to earn their chances. Their lone rush goal, he explained, only came after sustained pressure in the offensive zone.

The Hints

Babcock’s biggest tip involved Zach Hyman, who he said is on track to return Tuesday. That would give Edmonton a boost up front while several forwards remain out.

He also gave a peek at his matchup thinking. The coach said he used two lines against San Jose’s top unit because the Sharks seemed reluctant to send it out against Connor McDavid. He singled out the fourth line of Josh Samanski, Isaac Howard and Trent Frederic for praise too, noting Samanski played his best game so far.

Rookie Owen Michaels may have earned himself a longer look. He won 10 of 12 faceoffs in just over 14 minutes, and went a combined 6-0 in the defensive zone against Macklin Celebrini and Wennberg.

Telling his team that they gutted out a big in on Saturday, “It’s always easy to crack a little bit, but when you believe in who you are and what you do, and you keep doing it, you win night after night after night. And guys, we’re just starting We’re going to get a whole f— heck of a lot better. I promise you that.”

“We’ve worked hard in practice and it’s translated into our games,” Jarry said. If he can contine to find his game, Hyman returns, and the Oilers start slotting guys where they should be in the lineup, their 4-0-1 start might only be the beginning of good things this season.

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