The Cult of Hockey's "Oilers newcomers make statement in preseason" podcast

And in the meantime, we will go line by line like we've been doing for the last few preseason games.

Top line, McDavid, Dreisaitl, and Pod Colson.

Utterly dominant.

It was pretty much the Harlem Globetrotters every time they were out there.

They pinned the Calgary Flames deep in their own end for most shifts on the night.

If you look at high danger scoring chances from natural hat trick, both...

Both McDavid and Dreisaitl were 7-2, 5-on-5.

And Podkolzin was 6-2.

So that first line was excellent.

The one thing that I really want to point out is the 2-0 goal.

Because we've been talking a lot in this through the summer and in the preseason about how the Oilers' best players really have to bring more of a two-way game in order to win.

lead the Oilers to a better brand of hockey.

And I thought the 2-0 goal exemplified that because it was a defensive play by Leon Dreisaitl in his own zone against the wall that sprung the break on the 2-0 goal.

The puck squirted over to Ekholm, then to Pod Coles, and then that just sweet pass in the slot from Dreisaitl, who had been deep in his own zone, came up the middle and shuttled it over to McDavid, who didn't miss and made it 2-0.

But the defensive play, quite deep in the Oilers' own end, turning into a goal at the other end has to be music to the ears of the coaching staff because that's surely what they've been preaching and promoting all training camp long.

Paulson made a really nice pass there.

He did.

You know, If as a rookie or even a rookie with the Oilers, he might have tried to make the more difficult pass to McDavid right away.

But instead, he took his time.

And as players get more experienced and more confidence, they start to realize, oh, I have a moment here.

He looked, he saw Drysaddle trading.

Maybe Drysaddle yelled at him and put the pass right to Drysaddle and over to McDavid and in.

So

Podkosin sure looks like a veteran player now, doesn't he?

He does, and he fits right in on that line.