Oilers barely brush Leafs aside

Edmonton Oilers vs Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 SO (2-2, 1-1, 1-1, 1-o SO)

The Oilers started their last (ordinary) pre-season game with Khabibulin in net. Media speculated that this might be the last chance to impress for players like Axelsson, Skille and Brule, all of whom are subject to waivers should they fail to 'make the team'.

Another entertaining pre-season matchup saw the Oilers end up in a shootout, which they managed to win this time around. The top line of Tangradi-Karamnov-Hemsky were the most dangerous offensive combination for the Oilers, whereas the Van Riemsdyk-Malhotra-Stempniak line of the Leafs absolutely dominated throughout the contest. That line alone put up 18 shots against Khabibulin and Edmonton struggled to find a cure for them all night long. Defenseman Anton Babchuk received a game misconduct for boarding late in the game, effectively ending his contribution there and then. Perhaps most impressively, the Oilers kept the Kovalchuk-Marleau-Kessel line pointless, much to the credit of the Smid-Babchuk pairing.

Post game: "We have work to do defensively, but I like the way our forwards get into position to receive breakout passes and how we work the puck around in the offensive zone" said GM Kowalski after the shootout. Gilbert Brule looked lost out there, unfortunately, as did Jack Skille. Anton Axelsson's performances in a 4th line role has been quite solid, likely earning him a starting role in the opening game of the season. Before that, though, the Oilers are to meet their affiliate from Springfield in an intra-squad match of sorts.

Scoreboard
1st Period:
TOR -Ericsson (Van Riemsdyk)
EDM - Axelsson (Falardeau)
TOR - Stempniak (Van Riemsdyk, Malhotra)
EDM - Tangradi (Karamnov, Hemsky)

2nd Period:
TOR - Malhotra (Stempniak, Van Riemsdyk)
EDM - Hemsky (Karamnov, Tangradi)

3rd Period:
EDM - Hemsky (Tangradi, Smid)
TOR - Dallman (Van Riemsdyk, Stålberg) PP


Lines:
Tangradi - Karamnov - Hemsky
Hartikainen - Brule - Cogliano
Moore - Krysanov - Skille
Axelsson - Falardeau - Vande Velde

Smid - Babchuk
Fowler - Gilbert
Peckham - Plante

Khabibulin
(Hiller)