NHL debut a definite high for Lowe
Son of former Oilers’ great had jitters, but impressed brass with ‘aggressiveness’
Keegan Lowe got burned once in his baptism by fire, playing his first game with the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights, but once he waved away his butterflies, he was just fine.
The puck squeezed by him in a battle with Alex Tuch and Brandon Pirri scored on a hard wrister in the second period, but he was hard on the puck carriers all night.
“That’s the spot in the game I’m least proud of. We got tangled up and I’ll take the blame for sure,” said Lowe, who knew a lot of eyes were on him, understandably, being former Edmonton Oilers star Kevin Lowe’s son. “I was pretty nervous. I know some guys say they aren’t, but it’s hard not to be. I lived up to it.
“I appreciate their faith in me (coaches). That’s what I take pride in, that’s when I feel most comfortable because if you do, there’s not a lot of moving parts,” he said. “Then at the end of the game (during a six-on-four penalty kill), I just heard my name and hopped over the boards.”
The pace of the NHL game caught Lowe a few times, but that’s understandable.
“I don’t know if the players in the NHL skate faster but the way they anticipate and execute with the puck, that’s why it’s the best league in the world,” said Oilers coach Todd McLellan.
“One thing about Keegan, he’s a competitor who leaves it out there every shift. That aggressiveness is part of his makeup. He wasn’t afraid or shy. He wasn’t hesitant.”
SEDINS SURE CAN CYCLE
McLellan hated trying to match wits with Daniel and Henrik Sedin when he was an assistant in Detroit, head coach in San Jose and now with the Oilers. They were unstoppable for the large part on the cycle.
“There is no complete stopping or stalling of it. They’re so good on their backhands and always have release points. They know when one is in trouble, the other one is going somewhere and they release the puck to them and your problems start all over with the other twin,” he said.
“They’re not fast but it depends how you define fast. I don’t think they’d win a race against Connor (McDavid) but the way they think, read and react, sometimes slowing the game down makes you fast, too. Finding the right holes and arriving on time.”
ABERG MISSING FIRE
Winger Pontus Aberg, who was scratched two games last month for missing a practice, was a healthy sitter against Vegas on Thursday, not a good sign for a young player trying to prove he’s an everyday NHLer.
While Ty Rattie is making the most of his shot playing on the right wing with Connor McDavid, Aberg is treading water with the coaches, who definitely want to see more commitment.
“I didn’t think that Pontus was playing with a lot of emotion or fire and that’s been the knock on him a little bit. We’re trying to get that out of him,” said McLellan. “When you’re in, you have to bring it. I thought his two best games were after his mistake on the road and he had something to prove and respond to and he played tremendously, but it has to come out every game. He’s got a pretty unique skill-set and he has to show up every night with it.”
One thing about Keegan, he’s a competitor who leaves it out there every shift. That aggressiveness is part of his makeup
THIS ’N’ THAT
The Oilers are sending juniors Tyler Benson ( Vancouver Giants) and defenceman Dmitri Samorukov (Guelph Storm) to AHL Bakersfield on amateur tryouts with their junior seasons over. Kailer Yamamoto was injured late in Spokane’s season and played in the playoffs, but he’s not going to the AHL farm team ... Canada’s world championship roster should come together early next week for the tournament in Copenhagen, Denmark. McDavid’s likely going, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said yes, but there is no word on defenceman Darnell Nurse, who is a possibility.