David Tomášek played in the OHL for the Belleville Bulls from 2013 to 2015, and in his final junior season, his team was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs by Andrew Mangiapane’s Barrie Colts. Mangiapane scored twice in the series-clinching game, sending Tomášek and his teammates packing. For Tomášek, it meant literally packing his bags and spending the next decade playing hockey in Europe.
Fast forward almost a decade, and the story comes full circle. Now teammates with Mangiapane on the Edmonton Oilers, Tomášek made his NHL debut last game against the Calgary Flames, recording his first NHL point, which was a huge achievement for the 29-year-old who grinded his way through Europe and is finally getting his shot on the big stage.
Tomášek has also been given a golden opportunity on the Oilers, playing the net-front role on one of the NHL’s most lethal power-play units over the last few years, and it seems that, for the near future, that spot is his to lose. With that in mind, let’s explore a potential point projection for the 29-year-old rookie.
A Look at Tomášek’s Recent Games and PP Chances
Tomášek played in five preseason games, tallying two assists, and while he wasn’t necessarily lights out, the upside was there. He’s big, rangy, and skilled, and one aspect that stood out to me throughout training camp was his soft, veteran touches to keep plays alive. An example of that was his play to bat down the puck and set up Josh Samanski against the Winnipeg Jets.
Just a disgusting play by David Tomasek and Josh Samanski.
: @EdmontonOilers via Oilers+ pic.twitter.com/er1Xz3WHDK
— Woz (@itsWozzz) September 27, 2025
It seems the Oilers’ coaching staff noticed the upside as well. In the last preseason game against the Vancouver Canucks, we saw him take reps with Connor McDavid and company on the first-unit PP, filling the net-front role usually occupied by Zach Hyman, who remains out of the lineup. That said, he makes sense as Hyman’s replacement there — he has size, he’s a right-handed shot, and, as the SHL’s leading scorer last season, he has the instincts and know-how to put the puck in the back of the net.
In that last preseason game, his hard work paid off on the man advantage. He created a disturbance in front of the net, and on one play, just his presence while hanging out in the slot drew a defender to him, opening up a scoring chance that Leon Draisaitl capitalized on.
Fast forward to his first NHL game against the Flames. He mainly played on a line with Isaac Howard and Adam Henrique at 5v5. While that trio didn’t score, according to Natural Stat Trick, Tomášek put up some solid advanced metrics, posting a 76.92% Corsi, 100% shots-for percentage (3-0), and a 91.29% expected goals-for (xGF%).
On top of that, the former Belleville Bull played 3:37 minutes on the man advantage with the big unit, and once again, he didn’t look out of place. Sporting Nikita Nikitin’s old #86 on the back of his jersey, he was a menace in front of the net again, setting up plays, and nearly scored a couple of times off of tips in front.
Another thing that stood out is that, once again, his presence in the slot posed a threat. On Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ opening goal, he drew Flames’ defenders to him, opening the lane for ‘Nuge’ to receive the puck and bury it.
And to top it off, he cemented his name in future Oilers trivia for the question, “Who got the primary assist on Leon Draisaitl’s 400th NHL goal?” It was Tomášek, of course, who made a nice backhand play to Draisaitl on the man advantage, allowing him to bury his milestone goal, which was also the Prague native’s first NHL point.
burgers flipped
#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/2wdDKD0WOU
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 9, 2025
Moreover, what was also intriguing was that on the Oilers’ PP opportunity in OT against the Flames, instead of Nugent-Hopkins going out on the ice with the three offensive studs, McDavid, Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard, Tomášek was given the big chance and nearly ended the game with a nice backhand attempt in front.
Overall, the fact that Tomášek has been given the PP opportunity, especially in OT, speaks volumes about the confidence the coaches have in him. Having said that, when Hyman is set to return, if Tomášek is performing well on the unit, I’d imagine they wouldn’t remove him entirely. He and Hyman could alternate net-front duties, much like Hyman and Corey Perry did last season.
Tomášek’s Power-Play Usage Reminds Me of Former Oiler Alex Chiasson
The way the 29-year-old is currently being used on the PP, due to his size, offensive instincts, good shot, and a knack for the net, reminds me of the attributes of former Oiler Alex Chiasson, who played with the team from 2018–2021, also spent time on the first unit in the net-front presence role with the big guns during that period, and was the same age that Tomášek is now. Additionally, the Oilers, specifically McDavid, have been looking to Tomášek in front for a re-direct, much like the way Chiasson scored below nearly six years ago.
Alex Chiasson =#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/9c8z90HGE6
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 14, 2019
Chiasson scored a career-high 22 goals and 38 points (15 points on the PP) back in 2018–19 in 73 games, and followed it up with 24 points (13 points on the PP) in 65 games the next season. Realistically, I don’t think Tomášek is cracking the 20-goal plateau (though I’d love to be proven wrong), but I feel he can put up similar points on the PP if he stays in that spot throughout the season. Given that, in the hypothetical situation Tomášek plays in all 82 games and maintains his spot on the PP, I’d feel he’s capable — based on Chiasson as the net-front comparable — of putting up at least 14 points on the man advantage.
Now, what about his 5v5 point production? I feel he’s capable of putting up points at 5v5 similar to what Adam Henrique (17 points at 5v5 last season) and Mattias Janmark (14 points at 5v5 last season) did in 2024–25, which was based on playing in the middle six, and that total could be bigger if Tomášek proves capable of playing higher in the lineup.
If he puts up, say, 15 points at 5v5 and you add 15 power-play points to the equation, I’d feel a 30-point season (15G, 15A) is attainable for the Prague native, which would replace Corey Perry’s point production from last season.
That said, the NHL season is long and unpredictable. Tomášek could go through a slump or even risk not sticking with the big club. Still, the opportunity in front of him is huge. If he can reach around the 30-point mark and continue posting positive analytics, driving play, and contributing effectively at both ends, the 29-year-old’s signing could turn out to be a real home-run signing.
The Edmonton Oilers have won their first game of the season.
On Saturday evening, the Oilers dominated the Vancouver Canucks, defeating their Pacific Division rival 3-1 to move to 1-0-1 this season. Let’s take a look at what went on in this one!
With just under eight minutes in the second period, Vasily Podkolzin intercepted a puck in the defensive zone and started a rush. After a give-and-go with Kasperi Kapanen, Noah Philp received the puck in a high-danger scoring area, making no mistake in scoring his first career goal.
NOAH DOUBT ABOUT IT#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/RcAUqqhziR
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 12, 2025
The Oilers extended their lead to two in the final minute of the second period, as Andrew Mangiapane intercepted the puck in a high-danger area. He out-waited Thatcher Demko, zipping it blocker side for a 2-0 lead.
Now we’re c̶o̶o̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ baking#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/esw1iHMfKu
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 12, 2025
It was a good thing he scored, as the Canucks scored in the opening minute of the third period, their lone goal of the game. Thankfully, the Oilers alleviated the pressure as Leon Draisaitl scored an empty-netter to clinch the victory.
Takeaways…
The only reason this game was close was because of Canucks’ netminder Thatcher Demko, who made numerous big saves. That included one in the late stages of the third period, robbing Leon Draisaitl from his office with the glove.
However, the Oilers missed numerous clear-cut scoring opportunities, especially on their five power plays. On top of Demko’s robbery of Draisaitl, he stoned David Tomášek a handful of times, as well as Trent Frederic.
Speaking of Frederic, it’s becoming increasingly clear that his role on the Oilers is not on the first line. Draisaitl and Connor McDavid need a player with more skill on that line, and expect Jack Roslovic to be there when he begins his Oilers’ career.
Alec Regula had a tough game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, but played better against the Canucks. It wasn’t all good for the 25-year-old right-shot defenceman, as he was laid out twice by former Oiler Evander Kane.
Matthew Savoie was noticeable in this game, getting stoned by Demko early in the first period and getting a few more chances over the course of the game. Ike Howard had a quiet game, and it won’t be surprising if he finds his way down to the American Hockey League when the Oilers become fully healthy.
Calvin Pickard had a solid game, stopping 14 of the 15 shots he faced. The goal he allowed wasn’t great, but he stopped the other shots he had to in the Oilers’ victory. It would not be surprising if the Oilers return to Stuart Skinner in their next game.
Speaking of that next game, the Oilers return to action on Tuesday, beginning a five-game road trip out east. Their first opponent is the New York Rangers, with a 5:00 PM MT start time on Tuesday.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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After dropping the season opener to the Flames on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers had a chance to rebound against another Pacific Division rival, the Vancouver Canucks. If they could shake off the rust and clean up some of the early mistakes, I felt pretty good about the boys’ chances of picking up their first win of the season. And the good news? It sure did look like the Oilers got the message.
NOAH PHILP GETS HIS FIRST NHL GOAL
It’s no secret around here how much I love Noah Philp. Despite being 27 years old and only now starting his NHL career, it’s hard to ignore the raw tools he brings to the table. He’s big, skates well, is a right-handed centre, and has some offensive touch in his game, as we saw last night. At 12:21 of the second period, Philp scored his first NHL goal, and it was impossible not to feel good for the kid after the work he’s put in just to get here in the first place. The goal wasn’t flashy — just a clean give-and-go with Kasperi Kapanen that ended with a wrister sneaking past Demko’s glove — but it was the kind of depth goal that will be critical to the Oilers’ success. After the road he’s taken, including a year away from hockey, finding the back of the net in front of a home crowd for his first NHL goal is a moment he’ll remember forever.
From my side of the laptop screen, everything I wrote about him in the pre-season still holds up. If you missed it, I’m very bullish on Philp’s opportunity to lock down that 4C spot and do more with the chance than many of his predecessors. Frankly, I think he’s got the tools to fight above that weight class with a little luck. At $775K, a player like that becoming an everyday contributor would be a huge organizational win — especially if Edmonton is going to legitimately keep its Stanley Cup window open. Nights like this don’t guarantee anything, but showing the staff he can score should move the needle in the right direction. I’m not saying it’s going to be a smooth ride by any means, but you can see Philp’s confidence growing, and it’s starting to feel like he won’t be going back to Bako anytime soon.
ALEC REGULA A REGULAR?
I’ll admit it: when the Oilers claimed Alec Regula off waivers from Boston back on December 11, 2024, I didn’t think much of it. Depth defenceman, probably Bakersfield-bound, end of story. If anything, I thought he’d be another one of those guys who came and went about as quickly as he arrived, never thinking he’d actually factor into the Oilers’ defence. Fast-forward to October, and Regula’s forcing everyone to pay attention. After a solid pre-season and with Jake Walman on the shelf short-term, Regula cracked the opening-night roster and has now played back-to-back games to start the year — both over Troy Stecher. Considering Stecher earned the coach’s trust through three rounds of last year’s playoff run, that says a lot about how Kris Knoblauch must feel about the kid right now.
What’s next is where things get interesting. When Walman returns, the Oilers will need to make a roster move, and Regula would have to clear waivers to head back to Bakersfield. Based on how they’ve used him early, that doesn’t feel like a risk they’ll want to take. So does that mean someone like Curtis Lazar gets squeezed instead? Do the Oilers even want to carry an extra defenceman for a while? I know he’s a forward, but what happens when Jack Roslovic is ready to go? Between Regula, Stecher, and Ty Emberson all battling for that 3RD spot, there’s a roster crunch coming as soon as Tuesday’s game against New York, and it’s shaping up to be one of the first interesting lineup decisions of the season. And regardless of how this plays out, you’ve got to like having some healthy competition on the roster.
GOALIE ENVY IS REAL
There’s a special kind of pain that comes from watching a goalie on the other side do things we’ve been dreaming about for so long. We’ve been arguing about the position ever since Cam Talbot set the franchise win record back in 2017, and these last five years have felt like an eternity without having our answer locked in between the pipes. So it wasn’t exactly surprising to see Oilers Twitter/X littered with envy every time Vancouver’s Vezina-calibre goalie stood on his head. And it’s moments like that when the goalie envy kicks in. Calvin Pickard was solid in his first start of the year — he gave the Oilers what they needed to win — but that didn’t stop me from being slightly annoyed watching Demko slam the door the way he did.
With all the noise surrounding Edmonton’s crease lately, seeing a goaltender at the other end steal momentum and frustrate an offence that was buzzing only adds to the headache. Nights like this remind you just how much a true number one can change everything. Thatcher Demko was the only reason the Canucks were even close. It was one of those nights where every cross-crease pass, every deflection, every backdoor chance just seemed to stick to him, and I found myself daydreaming about what it must be like to have a guy routinely covering up so many mistakes. I know it’s a weird thing to admit on a night when the Oilers dominated a division rival, but it won’t be the last time those thoughts pop up until the situation in Edmonton’s crease finally gets resolved once and for all.
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Now with real-life games to blow through, the NHL is back. Fans are angry.
This is the good stuff again…
McLellan carves Red Wings, but they respond
I’ve had a fun time questioning the Yzerplan over the last couple of years, as the Red Wings flirt with the postseason but can never close the deal. Inconsistent goaltending, inconsistent scoring, inconsistent defending…they’re inconsistent. Bottom line.
The pipeline is fully stocked, and we understand Steve Yzerman’s acumen for the draft. Axel Sandin-Pellinka, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Nate Danielson. Goalies Trey Augustine and Sebastien Cossa. Never mind the youthful insurgence of the more well-known commodities in Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson et al.
We get it – the future is seemingly bright.
But when does the future become the present for the most successful franchise from 1990 to 2015? It’s been a long time since the Wings were good. Some may even call in a Decade of Darkness.
Cue up the season of renewal and excitement…splat!
The Red Wings got buried by the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 on home opener night. Newcomer goalie John Gibson was yanked after five goals against on 13 shots. Travis Hamonic’s career rehabilitation was hammered upon.
Questions surrounding the franchise were amplified, particularly after these hot comments from head coach Todd McLellan.
Game one and Todd reads the riot act. You don’t think there’s pressure?
Steve Yzerman has been at the helm since April 2019. This team must make the playoffs or any remaining good faith from fandom towards management will strike midnight.
At some point, your hockey team has to win games in the here & now.
A poor start chasing the dog’s tail and Red Wings ownership is going to consider a devastating proposition: Axe one of the greatest players in franchise history.
By the way, I get it. It’s one game. They play 82. But a bad start will not settle the questions.
Fast forward to Saturday night – Hockey Night in Canada – and the Wings offence outscores the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3.
The players are saying the right things. Just a shaky first night?
When the Detroit Red Wings are good, whenever that occurs, it will be in part because of Yzerman’s work. But will he be employed when that happens? I grow skeptical.
Free Agency class a non-story
All the sudden the electric free agency class of Summer 2026 has gotten real boring. Jack Eichel signs. Kyle Connor signs.
The names are not so sexy, but one of them is Alex Kempe (a little rhyme-time boys and girls).
As the AAVs come millions less than Kirill Kaprizov’s $17-million behemoth contract, I found this quote from Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin instructive .
There’s been a collective dunking on the Wild this week, and it makes sense. Your guy guns for the biggest bag while other stars take less.
I’ll take some credit here and repeat my point from before. The Wild are not talked about as being one of the most disappointing franchises of the past 15 years because it’s not a flashy market. But after seven consecutive playoff rounds lost – it’s high time.
They need to win a round, and Kirill gets to benefit most of all.
Who schedules this stuff?
The National Hockey League scheduling department is a gong show of the highest order. Somewhere these guys with their spreadsheets and their forty thousand monitors in Toronto and New York, can’t figure out that Day 4 of the regular season should not be vacant.
No games?!
Saturday night is hockey night. Everyone wants to go to a game on Saturday. But where is your momentum as you completely shut down your league – an alleged major professional sports league in North America that thrives on the volume of content throughout October to June – on the fourth day of the regular season.
It doesn’t help that the NHL app is just a bad app. The thing hardly works. How?!
Good news hockey fans, if you wanna watch some puck this Sunday, there’s just the one game.
A quick scroll through the October schedule and there’s no complete skip over dates remaining, and just a couple with one or two games… Hey Bettman! Figure it out.
(As a brief aside, Sunday hockey does suck. As Bonnyville Pontiacs management knows, I don’t complain about much (seriously) but Sunday games are at the top of the list. Friday and Saturdays please. Sunday, no thanks.)
Rapidfire
Sabres struggles
Doom and gloom for the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo deserves so much better. That’s a good hockey city. The NHL is better when the Buffalo Sabres are a good team. It’s so painful to watch how this franchise has relegated in a tier of their own.
A pair of ugly losses. Shutout in the home opener. Just one goal in 120 minutes. Head coach Lindy Ruff after the 3-1 loss to Boston:
Mix in a brutal injury to Josh Norris, and as a Sabres fan, you’d have to wonder who smashed all the mirrors? What type of curse is this? Fourteen years without playoffs.
Chaos in San Jose
San Jose Sharks are profiling as the Fun & Sadness team. Boy, have the first two games been enthralling and comical.
The double skip on Alex Nedeljkovic to tie the game vs Vegas on Thursday, followed up by a 7-6 heartbreaker in OT to Anaheim – the kids can score. They can’t defend a lick, either. Not a surprise, obviously, but if they can have super seasons for Celebrini and Smith, and maybe, just maybe Askarov shows signs, then general manager Mike Grier can smile.
Parity arrives?
How about this for parity by the way? The league has been through five days, and only six teams are winless: San Jose and Chicago in the west; Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and the New York Islanders in the east. Which one of these teams is not like the other?
In local news…
Edmonton Oil Kings off to a pretty darn good start. 6-2 near the top of the WHL’s East Division.
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Just as many expected. The Edmonton Oilers are winning early on this season on the strength of good defensive play and sound goaltending.
Through the first week of the season, the Oilers lead the NHL with a 1.33 GAA (goals against average), while ranking 25th in goals per game at 2.67.
The Oilers have three 5×5 goals, the fewest in the league, but they’ve allowed the third fewest (also three), and so far, their defensive play has carried the offence. Kasperi Kapanen leads the Oilers with two 5×5 points. The third line of Kapanen, Vasily Podkozlin, with either Noah Philp or Trent Frederic at centre, has scored two of the team’s three 5×5 goals. That line, and specifically Kapanen, have been their most consistent line 5×5.
The great news for the Oilers is they haven’t needed their superstars to carry them, which illustrates how good the Oilers actually are. I was perplexed by how many pre-season prognostications from fans and pundits questioned the depth of the Oilers. Their core remains the same, and they’ve added more speed to the lineup. Not to mention head coach Kris Knoblauch has improved their defensive play significantly since he was hired in November of 2023.
The Oilers can defend, and now they just need their offence to wake up. They’ve outshot teams 68-47 at 5×5 and have the second-best shots for percentage in the NHL at 59.1 percent, but like last season, they are struggling to finish. Their net front offence is last in the NHL through three games. They miss Zach Hyman’s presence around the net, but even when he returns, the Oilers need more players around the net. That’s where the majority of goals are scored. The Oilers have to score a goal with anyone in front of the net. Look at their goals thus far.
Their first goal came on a nifty three-way passing play on the power play. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins finished it off nicely.
Nuge season starts now#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/hi3u0rfyjc
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 9, 2025
Andrew Mangiapane ripped a wrister top-shelf from the top of the circle and beat Dustin Wolf over the glove.
Fresh Bread#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/qZePCRsh09
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 9, 2025
Leon Draisaitl scored on the power play on a great no-look-behind-the-back pass from David Tomášek.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 9, 2025
Noah Philp scored off the rush against Thatcher Demko.
NOAH DOUBT ABOUT IT
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 12, 2025
Mangipane picked off a pass and waited patiently before beating Demko.
Now we’re c̶o̶o̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ baking
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 12, 2025
Trent Frederic scored his first as an Oilers on a breakaway against Igor Shesterkin.
In one hole and out through the other, Trent Frederic opens the scoring! #LetsGoOilers
— Oilersnation.com, Oily Since ‘07 (@OilersNation) October 15, 2025
They’ve also scored two empty net goals.
The good news is the Oilers have shown they have the skill to make great plays, and finish chances off the rush. But eventually they will need to score some gritty/ugly/deflection goals as well. It hasn’t been an issue yet, because of how well they’ve played defensively, or in the case of Tuesday’s game, how well their goaltender played. Good teams find different ways to win, and the fact their superstars haven’t taken over a game, and they’ve still picked up five of six points is a positive. However, the lack of 5×5 scoring and ranking 31st in SH% is a concern, considering that was an issue last year as well.
Their opponent tonight, the New York Islanders, could be the perfect cure for their offensive woes. The Islanders rank 30th in GAA at 4.33 and have allowed 13 goals in three games. I recognize the Oilers will start to score more, because they have enough skill to do it, but considering how many shots and scoring chances they create, they should have scored more than they did last year, and it is only three games, but the trend of lacking a net-front offence has continued.
One of the main differences in the Stanley Cup Final, was Florida’s net-front game compared to Edmonton. I don’t think it is incorrect to point out, it is an area of their offensive game they can improve.
SNAPSHOTS…
— Stuart Skinner is looking for his 100th career win as an Oiler tonight. His next win will make him the third quickest goalie to 100 wins in franchise history trailing Grant Fuhr (168 starts) and Andy Moog (149 starts). Tonight is Skinner’s 171st NHL start. If you go by games played, Moog did it in his 168th game, Fuhr in his 174th game and Skinner in his 177th, if he wins tonight.
— Skinner has a record of 2-1 v. the Islanders with a .908Sv% and 2.34 GAA. He has a win against every NHL team, except New Jersey. He’s 0-3 against the Devils, and I wonder if that plays into Kris Knoblauch’s decision on which game his goalie starts this upcoming weekend. Calvin Pickard is 4-1 v. the Devils in his career. The Oilers play in New Jersey on Saturday afternoon and in Detroit on Sunday.
— Odd fact. As of right now Skinner and Pickard have both made 176 NHL appearances. Pickard’s first game came in 2013/14, while Skinner debuted in 2020/21. Skinner has made 170 starts, while Pickard’s made 145. I always enjoy being reminded of Pickard’s perseverance. He spent three years in the AHL, then over the next three seasons he played 86 NHL games, including 50 in 2017. Over the next six seasons he played 30 NHL games and 129 in the NHL, and in the past three years he’s played 60 NHL games and four in the AHL. He kept grinding.
— The Oilers could benefit from drawing a few penalties tonight. The Oilers had no PP chances v. the Rangers. Their PP is a respectable 22.2% going 2-for-9, while the Islanders PK is very leaky at 70%.
— Brett Kulak has played 267 consecutive games since joining the Oilers on March 24th, 2022. His 267 consecutive games played is the 11th longest active streak in the NHL. Only 64 active players have even played 100 consecutive games. The Oilers franchise record is 518 consecutive games set by Craig MacTavish between 1986 and 1993.
— Matthew Schaefer was the #1 pick this past June, ten years after Connor McDavid went #1 overall. Both played for the Erie Otters when drafted. Schaefer has had quite the introduction to the NHL. Tonight is his fourth NHL game, and he’s already faced Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin and tonight he gets to play against McDavid and Draisaitl. Not a bad opening week. Schaefer is averaging 23:18/game, and he’s produced three points (1-2-3) in three games. He’s the only D-man on the Islanders to outscore the opposition at 5×5. He’s been paired with veteran Scott Mayfield and when they are on the ice together the Islanders have outshot teams 24-17 and without them together, they’ve outshot teams 46-44.
— The Islanders are 0-3 this season, yet they’ve outshot teams 70-61 at 5×5, but they’ve been outscored 9-5. On special teams they’ve scored two power play goals and have allowed three while penalty killing. They haven’t been awful, but they’ve allowed nine goals on 61 shots 5×5. They have the second lowest 5×5 sv% at .852%.
— Ilya Sorokin is 0-3 with a .854Sv% and 4.18 GAA. He will get the night off tonight and David Rittich will start his first game as an Islander. In 10 career starts vs. the Oilers, Rittich is 5-4-1 with a .920Sv% and 2.49 GAA. The Oilers didn’t play very well, except Stuart Skinner, against the Rangers on Tuesday and I expect a better effort from the skaters tonight.
LINEUPS…
Oilers…
Mangiapane-McDavid-Tomášek
RNH-Draisaitl-Roslovic
Podkolzin-Frederic-Kapanen
Howard-Henrique-Savoie
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Stecher
Kulak-Emberson
Skinner
Knoblauch split up Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl halfway through Tuesday’s game looking to find more offence and they will centre their own lines tonight. Tomášek played well with McDavid, and I’m interested to see how he does over a few games. He’s a big body, with good hands who sees the ice very well. He’s excellent at protecting the puck, and he and Andrew Mangiapane offer different skillsets to complement McDavid.
Jack Roslovic showed signs of his offensive acumen in his first game and playing him with either McDavid or Draisaitl makes sense. He’s quicker than I thought and showed some creativity in his first game, but both he and Tomášek will need to play well before Hyman returns to remain in the top six.
Islanders…
Drouin-Horvat-Heineman
Duclair-Barzal-Palmieri
Lee-Pageau-Shabanov
MacLean-Cizikas-Holmstrom
Schaefer-Mayfield
Pelech-Pulock
Romanov-DeAngelo
Rittich
The Islanders are hoping for more from Mat Barzal, who has one assist in three games. He only played 30 games last season and didn’t play after February 1st, so it might take him some time to get back up to speed, and they are hopeful he can produce similar to the 80 points he had in 2024.
TONIGHT…
Photoshop by Tom Kostiuk
GAME DAY PREDICTION: Oilers win their third game in a row and defeat the Islanders 5-2.
OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Oilers score a PP goal.
NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Tomášek scores his first career NHL goal.
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For the first time this season, the Edmonton Oilers fell in regulation time.
Facing the New York Islanders on the road, the Oilers lost by a score of 4-2, putting Edmonton at 2-1-1 on the early season. Let’s take a look at what went on in this one.
Late in the first period, Evan Bouchard turned the puck over, leading to a breakaway for Mathew Barzal. Bearing down on Stuart Skinner, Barzal held the puck on his backhand before quickly moving it to his forehand and roofing it to make it 1-0 for the Islanders.
It didn’t take long for the Oilers to tie the game, as they received a power play shortly after the opening goal. Off a face off, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid had a nice little give-and-go, with Draisaitl scoring his third of the season.
Give & goal
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 17, 2025
Midway through the second period, the Oilers got their first lead of the game. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins entered the zone, got to the face-off dot, and beat David Rittich far side for a 2-1 lead.
Nuge wrist rocket#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/nJD1dJu7Ms
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 17, 2025
It looked as if the Oilers would head to the second intermission up one, especially since they were on a power play with two minutes left in the second. However, Bo Horvat left the zone early and was found for a breakaway, making no mistake in beating Skinner to make it 2-2.
Late in the third period, Trent Frederic took a horrific penalty, giving the Islanders a power play. Early on that power play with just five minutes left in the game, a pass came Horvat’s way in the slot, with the former Vancouver Canucks ripping it past Skinner to make it 3-2. Horvat sealed the game with an empty net goal, getting the hat trick.
Takeaways…
The Islanders opened the scoring late in the first period. While their lead didn’t last long, it was the first time this season that the Oilers had trailed in a game, as their lone loss came in a shootout. Of course, they took the lead with about five minutes left in the game and never let go.
Stuart Skinner allowed three goals on 24 shots, an .875 save percentage. That doesn’t tell the whole story, as he made numerous big saves early in the game to keep the Oilers in it. Moreover, two of the Mariners’ goals came on a breakaway; it’s always hard to blame the goalie on those types of goals.
One of those breakaways was because of Evan Bouchard, who was a little too casual on a puck in the neutral zone. It’s another one of those giveaways that he shouldn’t be making. It also wasn’t the only bad giveaway he had in this game.
Matthew Savoie had a good game, drawing two penalties and being active on both the penalty kill and forecheck. One of the penalties he drew led to the Oilers first goal, and that was because both he and Ike Howard did well on the forecheck.
Kasperi Kapanen has been buzzing so far this season, generating a good chance thanks to forcing a turnover. He got an assist on Noah Philp’s first goal on Saturday. However, his linemate, Trent Frederic, didn’t have a great game. His penalty late in the third led to the game-winning goal for the Islanders.
Connor McDavid had a rough game, as he was on the ice for three of the Islanders’ four goals, finishing as a -3. It was tied with Bouchard for worst in the game. Sure, he got an assist, but he needs to be better, including on this play below.
McDavid scored 64 goals once in a season.
Why is he passing this? pic.twitter.com/uCVPU40NMQ
— Ryley Delaney(@Ryley__Delaney) October 17, 2025
Next up for the Oilers is a matchup against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at 1:30 PM MT.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
After a pair of mistake-riddled losses to the Islanders and Devils, the Oilers made their way to Detroit to take on the red-hot Red Wings in search of simplicity. When the boys are getting caved in by errors, the best approach to climbing out of the hole is by playing simple hockey instead of trying to pass their way into the net, so that’s what I was looking for on Sunday. Unfortunately, what we got was another tough 60 minutes for the Oilers, as their losing streak hit three games after a painful 4-2 loss in Detroit.
ANOTHER ROUGH START FOR THE OILERS
You always worry about how the boys will start the second half of a back-to-back, right? Well… the Oilers hit the ice like they’d just woken up from a nap, and only managed to generate three shots on goal in the first period despite having more than a few opportunities to test John Gibson. For a team gagging for offence, trying to pass your way into the net just isn’t good enough. If anything, I’d much rather they dumb it down a bit. Keep things simple until guys start getting some mojo back. Cram bodies in front of the net, fire pucks from everywhere, and bang away for the greasy ones. Gibson came into Sunday’s matchup with an .867 save percentage and a 3.57 GAA in two starts, so this wasn’t a goalie locked in and stealing games. Even so, the Oilers barely tested him. Everyone knows my motto in games like this is to shoot from the parking lot, but we didn’t get anything close to that.
On the bright side, Stuart Skinner was absolutely ready to go early and was very sharp when he needed to be. Stu cancelled out a couple of mistakes like the early one-on-one with Andrew Copp, but overall, the Oilers did do a better job limiting the kinds of dangerous chances that burned them against the Islanders and Devils. The defensive structure looked cleaner and more intentional, which is encouraging, but the lack of urgency in the offensive zone was still a major problem. I know the wheels fell off defensively in the second period, but the D was cleaner early. At the other end, you can’t expect to win when you’re passing up your best looks for passes to the perimeter, and the Oilers will need to adjust that mindset going forward if they plan to start stringing wins together. I’m not saying shooting for the sake of shooting is always the answer, but it’s certainly a better approach than not putting anything on net at all.
THREE STRAIGHT LOSSES
For the third straight game, the Oilers found a way to beat themselves, this time dropping a 4–2 decision in Detroit that was very tough to watch. The most frustrating part? It wasn’t that Detroit played some world-beating flavour of hockey or anything — don’t get me wrong, the Wings were solid — it’s that the Oilers played with zero sense of urgency. I know the Oilers were in action yesterday in New Jersey, but they just weren’t engaged nearly enough. The slow start I wrote about above seemed to set the tone for what ended up as a lacklustre effort until it was too late. They didn’t shoot nearly enough, and even when lanes did open up, they hesitated or tried to make one pass too many. That lack of a killer instinct bled through the whole game. It wasn’t until the Oilers were down by two goals in the third that they finally started to look alive.
When the give-a-shit meter finally spiked, the boys actually started to control play and hem the Wings in their own end. The problem, of course, is that by the time they realized they were playing, it ended up being too late to matter. Leon Draisaitl’s goal at 7:33 of the third period cut the deficit to one and gave them plenty of time to grin out another one, but it never should’ve taken forty+ minutes and a hole to climb out of to get there. The Oilers finished the night with only 18 shots on goal (18!!!) and somehow still managed to stick John Gibson with a .889 save percentage. Why they didn’t think it was a good idea to test a goalie whose been wobbly more than they did is a mystery. You can’t score if you don’t shoot, and you can’t win if you wait until desperation kicks in. They didn’t lose because the other goalie was unbeatable or the other team was dominant; they lost because they looked like they’re playing as if these games don’t matter until April. And until that changes, we’re going to keep watching the same movie on repeat.
NOAH PHILP SHOULD STAY IN THE LINEUP
If the goal is to find a 4C who can give you a range of skills, play 10–12 minutes effectively, and do it on a cheap contract, then Noah Philp has to be that guy. After scoring his first NHL goal against the Canucks in the second game of the year, he was scratched for three straight, only to jump back into the lineup against the Red Wings and score the Oilers’ lone goal through 40 minutes. Philp is big, he’s quick, he’s right-handed, has solid possession numbers, and shows decent offensive instincts, which is exactly what you want from a player in that position. His goal at 12:25 of the second period came on a slick deflection from the slot off Vasily Podkolzin’s wrister from the point, and that only happens because he went to the greasy area and had the touch to make something of the chance when he got there.
We’re dying for goals around here, and Philp’s second of the year in only his third game puts him third in team scoring. If that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about where this group is at right now, I don’t know what other numbers will. And while I thought he played well against Detroit, the bigger story is that Noah Philp is exactly the type of affordable depth centreman the Oilers need. Sure, the dream scenario would be having someone who can also kill penalties — and Philp hasn’t earned that trust yet — but that doesn’t mean the coaching staff shouldn’t recognize what’s working at even strength. There will be growing pains, no doubt, but right now it feels like there’s a lot more good going on in his game than bad. And for a bottom-six that’s struggled to provide any signs of life, that’s not a player you can afford to keep sitting in the press box.
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