NHL HITS ICE IN SASKATOON
McDavid pots pair in Oilers victory
Connor McDavid tallied a pair of goals during a span of 1:32 and Laurent Brossoit stopped 30 shots as the Edmonton Oilers blanked the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 in NHL pre-season action Wednesday at Sasktel Centre.
McDavid finished with a threepoint night before a crowd of 10,387 fans, most of them decked in the blue, orange and white colours of the Oilers.
John Graham, president of On-Ice Management which once again put on the NHL game in Saskatoon, promised he would be back next year.
“Definitely planning on coming back,” Graham said. “The problem is, now, how you match teams up.”
Graham said game-day ticket sales “were amazing” once it was revealed McDavid would play.
THE GAME
Goals by Zach Kassian and Milan Lucic gave Edmonton an early 2-0 lead in the opening frame.
Kassian opened the scoring with a backhander just 1:49 into the game. Lucic added a power play goal at 13:16.
Brossoit was sharp throughout, stopping a tic-tac-toe power play shot from in close during the first period. He later stopped Sebastian Aho on a breakaway in the second period and denied Valentin Zykov on a re-direct deflection.
Carolina went 0-for-6 on the power play. Edmonton was 1-for4.
MCDAVID WATCH
McDavid scored his goals in the final 10 minutes of Wednesday’s game to salt away the win.
McDavid also assisted on the Oilers’ second goal with a slick cross-ice feed to linemate Leon Draisaitl, who set up Lucic during Edmonton’s first power play.
McDavid continued to be dangerous in the offensive zone, setting up a number of quality scoring chances. Perhaps the prettiest attempt was a cycle through the top slot and a backdoor pass to Kailer Yamamoto, who just missed on his onetimer.
WHO PLAYED
McDavid, Draisaitl, Ryan Strome, Patrick Maroon, Lucic, Kassian, Darnell Nurse, Adam Larsson, Kris Russell, Chris Kelly, Eric Gryba, Brad Malone, Iiro Pakarinen, Yamamoto, Drake Caggiula, Jujhar Khaira, Yohann Auvitu, Matt Benning, Jesse Puljujarvi, Cam Talbot and Brossoit were in the Oilers’ lineup.
Carolina’s lineup included Cam Ward, Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Marcus Kruger, Elias Lindholm, Hayden Fleury, Noah Hanifin, Klas Dahlbeck, Derek Ryan, Josh Jooris, Aho, Brock McGinn, Jake Bean, Phil Di Giuseppe, Joakim Nordstrom, Trevor Carrick, Nicolas Roy, Zykov, Jake Chelios, Martin Necas and Scott Darling.
FAMILY HOCKEY TREE
The hockey pucks don’t fall far from the hockey stick-limbed tree for Carolina. The Hurricanes’ training camp roster has included a pair of NHL sons.
Jake Chelios is the son of former Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings star defenceman Chris Chelios.
Josh Wesley, who was sent down to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers on Sept. 23, is the son of former Boston Bruin and Carolina D-man Glen Wesley.
BACK IN SASKATOON
Carolina head coach Bill Peters is among those lucky (?) enough to coach inside the 80-something-year-old Rutherford Rink on the University of Saskatchewan campus.
Peters is no stranger to Saskatoon, having coached both the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs and the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.
Hurricanes forward Derek Ryan played a number of games inside Rutherford Rink, against the U of S Huskies, as a member of the rival University of Alberta Golden Bears.
Ryan also played for Peters in Spokane, leading the Chiefs in scoring for both of those years.
BATTLEFORDS REUNION
For the second year in a row at training camp, Oilers head coach Todd McLellan was reunited with former North Battleford North Stars player Tony Borgford.
Borgford, a former video coach for the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, works for the Oilers’ farm team, the Bakersfield Condors.
McLellan’s dad, Bill, is a former North Stars scout and now does a bit of amateur scouting for the Oilers organization. He’s also a cancer survivor.
“It’s keeping him alive and healthy,” Todd McLellan says of his dad’s part-time scouting gig, “so that’s a good thing.”
McLellan has two sons. His oldest, Tyson, plays hockey at the University of Denver. His younger son, Cale, is a Grade 12 student in California and a promising golfer.