Mike Babcock got his first live look at the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, and the preseason opener against the Winnipeg Jets gave him plenty to work with in a 5-2 win.
The head coach made it clear before the game that he needed to see the group on the ice before drawing conclusions. After one night, a few things stood out immediately.
Alex Formenton scored in his first game, Ryan Shea piled up three points next to Evan Bouchard, and Colton Dach handled a center role between Formenton and Mathieu Joseph. Babcock said that line was the one he liked most.
“Pretty good, eh?” Babcock said of Formenton.
“I mean, what a difference maker he's going to be for us. An elite penalty killer, puts pressure on the other team.
I thought him, (Mathieu Joseph and Colton Dach) were unreal. That was my favourite line tonight by far.”
Formenton’s night had plenty of flash. He scored on a breakaway, had another breakaway denied and also drew a penalty on another rush. Babcock pointed to the penalty-killing element too, something that was expected from the start.
Dach’s work in the middle was a bit of a surprise, even to Babcock. He admitted he wasn’t sure how the move would look before the game, but the results were encouraging.
“I was hoping for Dachker big time today,” Babcock said. “We need him to be a player, and for him to play the way he did in his first exhibition game this year, playing in the middle… I didn't know if I had put him in a bad spot, to be honest with you. But I was so happy with that line.”
Shea logged 22:31 alongside Bouchard and finished with one goal and two assists. For a first preseason game, that was close to an ideal night for the Oilers.
Not everything clicked. Babcock wasn’t pleased with the line of Isaac Howard, Josh Samanski and Max Jones, and Howard didn’t deliver the kind of night Babcock was looking for after a strong start to camp. Still, Babcock made sure to keep it in perspective, stressing that it was only one game.
The bigger picture for Babcock also includes Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Asked after the game whether the preseason opener was mostly about fringe players trying to win jobs, Babcock went straight to his top stars.
“One hundred percent the opposite,” Babcock said. “Those guys have got to do things right, and if they do things right, everyone else will do things right.”
That theme has been constant since camp opened. Babcock wants McDavid and Draisaitl to play with detail away from the puck, and he wants that standard to carry through the season. He also wants enough depth so the Oilers don’t have to lean too hard on their biggest names now that the two are expected to play together.
“They're the most important people to do things without the puck that we need,” Babcock said. “Now, they're going to play their game.
But they have to play with detail without the puck. Then the second part is to find depth.
We need depth in the organization, so we don't have to play those guys too much.
“So that's my job: find it.”
There was also a brief early test of that message. Draisaitl turned the puck over in the offensive zone on the opening shift, and Winnipeg quickly came back for a scoring chance. When the whistle went, Babcock pulled them off the ice, then sent the line back out for its third shift.
Babcock has been consistent throughout camp about the standards he wants: care for the puck, play with detail and work. That message carried straight into the preseason opener.
“I want us to take care of the puck. I want us to play with detail.
I want us to work,” Babcock said. “Is that a reasonable expectation for your first exhibition game?
I don't know, but that's what we're gonna try to do.”
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