It's always a good thing in evaluation, to see how your team performs in various types of games. In Game 1 the Oiler rookies made the Canuck rookies look just plain bad. Lander impressed, RNH highlighted some of his sick skills. Marincin stood tall, Musil showed his poise as a 18 year old rearguard, Roy steadied the net and Teubert took one for the team.
Tonight the Jets were grounded by Bunz! That's right, Tyler Bunz to be more precise. The stock of this young goaltender is rising. I really didn't think I would be taking time again to cover some on a goaltender but c'mon. This guy stood on his head Tuesday night. Good on you Tyler, you did well and Oiler fans are proud of you.
Early on, Tyler had a few saves he stood steady and poised on and allowed the Oilers to start getting some chemistry on their forward lines. But as the night carried on, it was Bunz who was making this game look more dominate for the Oilers then it was. Granted, the Oiler forwards were getting their chances but the Oiler defence was caught time and time again out of position or with sloppy passing. I really don't need to say much more on Tyler Bunz then.Wow! Good job. Looking forward to seeing his performance as he begins to face elite level players.
I was slightly disappointed in the defence tonight. For the most part, our defence was not able to move the puck up the ice like we saw the first game. Two players who did stand out in that regard were Taylor Fedun and Martin Gernat. Fedun on one play looked like he was Paul Coffey. It was the way he took off down the ice with speed and grace and stick handled his way through the offensive zone. He was a strong defender tonight and his age and maturity showed. Gernat made a few great plays tonight breaking up potential scoring opportunities for the Jets. I am excited to see the growth in Martin Gernat's game this year.
Up front, the forward lines took a beating tonight. With some injuries that have occurred (and continue to occur) Coach Nelson was doing some line juggling. RNH once again played a great game tonight. Again he shows he is a incredibly mature player who already thinks the game like a elite level player. He easily could have had 2 or 3 more points had his line mates be able to finish slightly better. RNH did impress me with his physical game tonight. He took a couple hits and dished out a couple hits. Nice to see him getting right into the action and not shying away. Just like the first game, RNH was at it again tonight, where he was relentless on the forecheck causing turnovers.
Too bad Martindale was not back for the last two periods. He went off the ice after the first with the assistance of coach's. In that first period, he was responsible for the plays leading up to both goals I believe. He was hitting (nice hip check, but may be reason he didn't return) and was like a bull in a china shop when crossing the offensive blue line. Hopefully he was only out for precaution reasons, cause I really would like to see him continue to have a opportunity to impress the Oiler staff.
In limited time, Colin Smith was again impressive and surprisingly quick out on the ice. Liking his game more and more I see him. Pitlick was struggling to stay on his feet this game, but in all fairness he has not been in game mode for quite some time due to injury. He should be playing in last game against Calgary. I expect we will see a much more relaxed and poised player out there. Great player who has had to fight the injury bug. All in all, the Oil is rising in "Oil Country".
TIDBITS: (No not Timbits!)
-Jason Gregor is reporting tonight on Team 1260am that RNH will not be playing in third game.
-Jason Gregor also reported that Abney was supposedly a last minute scratch due to upper body injury (from fighting?)
-Would expect third Goalie to get at least some action in game against Calgary.
(no, I don't know his name. Was too tired to go look it up, sue me)
-suspect following tomorrow night's game, some player's name will be released for re-assignment. Tambo mentioned on "Oilers Now" that only some of the players are going to Main Training Camp this year. (last year everyone was invited)
-Sounds like unless something major happens, Kytner won't be game ready to get into tourney. Too bad, cause this really is a bubble year for him. He needs all the chances he can get, to impress the coach's and management.
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