EDMONTON — So what does the coach do after his team lays an 8-1 egg on in its season opener?
Jay Woodcroft gave his Edmonton Oilers a day off the ice on Thursday, then ran a hard practice Friday with plenty of battle drills, in preparation for their rematch with the Vancouver Canucks on Hockey Night in Canada.
“The big meeting for us came (Thursday). We were very direct and open in our communication,” Woodcroft said after Friday’s practice. “That's how we got better (Thursday). Today, I thought it was a quick, succinct, direct practice. We got done what we needed. It was a good day.”
Battle drills are the new bag skates, as coaches have moved on from the old punishment of running practices that featured no pucks, skating their players into the ice. Today they meet, watch video and then raise their work ethic with drills meant to get the players battling at a regular-season pace.
Some teams talk about “burning the tape” after a beatdown like the one the Canucks administered Wednesday night, but it is quite the opposite for Woodcroft.
“I think it would be negligent not to use some video from that game,” he said Friday. “Our players are a proud group of players. No one was happy with that (loss).
“We addressed it — we used video to do it. It's not to rub anybody's nose in it. It's about us getting better and playing towards the standard that we know is there.”
Leon Draisaitl didn’t require film to know what was missing in Vancouver.
“It's just not our standard,” he said. “It's not the way we approach the game and certainly not the way that we play or the culture that we've created over the last couple of years. We’ll learn from it and be better tomorrow.”
There is some value in not just getting beat by a goal or two, but being thoroughly embarrassed, the way the Oilers were Wednesday.
“Sometimes you need those moments,” Draisaitl allowed. “Obviously, we didn't want that to happen, no doubt about it. But it did. We'll learn from it and we'll move on. Sometimes it's good to get smacked a little bit, and get back to work and do the little things.”
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Grumpy Leon
Draisaitl has been testy through the pre-season and Game 1. He whacked Canucks prospect Nils Aman in a pre-season game, and slashed another Canuck on Wednesday, drawing minors both times.
Is this Draisaitl just making some room for himself?
“No, I don’t need to make room for myself,” he said. “Obviously frustration kicked in last game a little bit. I took a couple of unnecessary penalties. I'm a human being — I don't like losing. (But) it's not like that was the first time I've ever smacked someone.”
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Niemo Down, Ekholm In?
Defenceman Markus Niemelainen was placed on waivers Friday. If he clears Saturday at noon MT, as expected, the Oilers will assign Niemelainen to Bakersfield and likely activate a 12th forward.
They can reach down to the AHL club and call up a Raphael Lavoie or Lane Pedersen. However, they also announced a one-year, two-way contract for Adam Erne, with the veteran left winger likely to slip into the lineup on a line with Derek Ryan and Mattias Janmark at centre.
Meanwhile, it sounds very much like defenceman Mattias Ekholm will make his season debut on Saturday night. He missed the pre-season with a hip injury.
“I think he's had really good days,” Woodcroft said of Ekholm’s rehab. “Part of us holding him back from the last game was more just us trying to get Mattias what he needs in order to feel ready to play. He looks good out there to me.”
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Holler-way
It was a scary moment when Dylan Holloway left Wednesday’s game in the third period after blocking a shot with his wrist. He missed a ton of time to injury last season and has had wrist issues, so folks were nervous when he walked down the tunnel cradling his arm in the season opener.
“It was my bad wrist — I’ve had two surgeries on that wrist before,” he said. “It caught me right on the bone and it hurt a lot, so I thought I’d messed it up again. But thankfully the X-rays showed no break. It's a little sore, but it's nothing that will keep me out.”
One of the rare bright lights in Vancouver was Edmonton’s third line, with Holloway and Warren Foegele flanking speedy centre Ryan McLeod. It’s a big trio that can really skate, a unit that could become very valuable this season for the Oilers.
“Our overall team game wasn't our best, obviously,” began Holloway. “But as a line I thought we buzzed around a little bit. It's something we can build on and make our identity as a line that plays fast and forechecks hard.”
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