Story by
Oilers Discuss Defence Ahead Of Seattle
- Story by
- Oilers Discuss Defence Ahead Of Seattle
The Edmonton Oilers have allowed 13 goals in two games, so naturally, there are plenty of people to blame.
"I think it's coaching, I think it's coaching," Mike Babcock said when asked.
Advertisement
He was having a little fun with the question, but there isn't much funny about 13 goals against on 45 shots. Edmonton has three of four possible points heading into Saturday's game against the Seattle Kraken, mostly because they've managed to score 14 themselves.
"Do I want to give up all these goals?" Babcock said. "Not really interested in that."
Neither Tristan Jarry nor Devon Levi has given Edmonton a great night in net yet. Jarry allowed six goals on 23 shots in the 6-5 overtime loss, then Levi allowed seven on 22 shots when Edmonton went to Vancouver and somehow won 9-7.
The Oilers gave Vancouver three or four breakaways in the opener, along with a couple of two-on-ones and several other odd-man chances. Thursday wasn't exactly clean either, considering an 8-2 lead eventually became 8-6 and required Leon Draisaitl to score a ninth.
Advertisement
"Goals against is a team stat," Jake Walman said. "The percentages aren't looking good right off the bat. Obviously, we can score goals. The next step is in front of the net."
Walman happens to be one of the guys who needs to help with that. He was minus-three on Thursday with 13:02 of ice time after sitting for stretches of the game. Associate coach D.J. Smith manages Edmonton's defence, and Babcock didn't have much trouble explaining why the minutes went where they did.
Can Anyone Play Defense Anymore?
Edmonton Oilers have played two games this season, scored 14 goals, allowed 13 and walked away with three of four points.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;" data-yga="{"yLinkText":"Can Anyone Play Defense Anymore?The Edmonton Oilers have played two games this season, scored 14 goals, allowed 13 and walked away with three of four points.","yLinkElement":"context_link","yModuleName":"content-canvas","yHasCommerce":false}" href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/can-anyone-play-defense-anymore" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Can Anyone Play Defense Anymore?The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers#google_vignette">Edmonton Oilers</a> have played two games this season, scored 14 goals, allowed 13 and walked away with three of four points.
Advertisement
"Bottom line is we need him to be a real good player, he's a real good man and he's worked real hard on his conditioning," Babcock said. "He needs to be good, and on any night, the guys playing the best play the most."
"Sometimes it happens … you have to get back to your game as quickly as possible," Walman said. "Nobody wants to correct their mistakes more than the guy who's on the ice, and that's me."
"We had a chat the other day about his approach, what has to happen," Babcock said. "He's too good a player to not be at the top of his game. That's the challenge."
Shakir Mukhamadullin also had a rough night in Vancouver. He was down four in 10 minutes, all at five-on-five, after a decent preseason.
Advertisement
"He didn't play well," Babcock said. "We had a talk with him and Podsy (Vasily Podkolzin), making sure the message was received. It's a process that goes on all the time. The more guys you have in your lineup, it's going to get competitive. You want players hungry for jobs, so there's changes."
Is Jake Walman Becoming Edmonton's New Lightning Rod on the Blue Line?
At this point, Ty Emberson could find his way into the lineup tonight because of it.
Advertisement
Perhaps this is what accountability under Babcock actually means because Walman's losing ice team, Mukhamadullin could sit in the press box, and nobody is going to wait for the defensive game to sort itself out.
"For sure. When you have that many goals, it's a team thing for sure," Walman said. "The entire defence, we have a lot of new stuff going on, trying to get it all together."
They do have a new coaching staff and changes to how they're being asked to defend. Two games isn't much time to get all of that working exactly as intended.
Thirteen goals is still 13 goals though.
Advertisement
Edmonton can get away with some of this when Connor McDavid has five points, Evan Bouchard has eight through two games and the offence is scoring seven, eight or nine.
The Oilers don't need another nine goals to leave Babcock happy this time. Judging by everything he's said since Thursday, he'd probably be quite happy if the other number stopped getting so much attention.
See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source . Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here . And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
