Mike Babcock has a warning for Devon Levi and the Oilers after wild 9-7 win
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Mike Babcock liked three of four points for the Oilers, but he wants more than 30 good minutes after Edmonton survived a wild 9-7 win over the Canucks.
Mike Babcock isn't getting carried away after the first win of his Oilers tenure.
Edmonton edged the Vancouver Canucks 9-7 on Thursday night, and the new head coach spent more time on what went wrong than what went right.
Fair enough. The Oilers have allowed 13 goals in two games against the same opponent.
They dropped the opener 6-5 in overtime on Tuesday, then needed nine goals in Vancouver just to grab the split.
Three out of a possible four points looks solid on paper, but nobody in that room should love how it looked.
Babcock pointed to turnovers and drifting coverage in the defensive zone, mostly the low forward losing his man.
The chances against weren't the real issue this time, but the puck still found its way into the net.
Babcock wants a full 60 minutes
His read was simple. He loved the first period, still liked half of the second, then stopped liking it entirely.
That's a lot of hockey to give away, and playing well for 30 minutes won't cut it.
He also said he was happy for the guys and happy for himself, which feels honest for a coach who hadn't won an NHL game in years.
“We turned some pucks over, and we drifted in D-zone coverage with our low guy, our low forward, and in the end it just ended up in the net.
We didn't give up a ton of odd-man rushes like we did the other night. We didn't give a ton of chances, but the puck ended up in our net.
I'm happy for the guys, happy for myself. We got three out of a possible four points, and we got tons of examples of where we gotta get better.
I really liked our game in the first. I liked it for half the second, and then I didn't like it at all.
We gotta learn to play a whole 60, not just 30.”
- Mike Babcock
We didn't give up a ton of odd-man rushes like we did the other night. We didn't give a ton of chances, but the puck ended up in our net.
I'm happy for the guys, happy for myself. We got three out of a possible four points, and we got tons of examples of where we gotta get better.
I really liked our game in the first. I liked it for half the second, and then I didn't like it at all.
We gotta learn to play a whole 60, not just 30.”
- Mike Babcock
Edmonton hired him on June 23 after firing Kris Knoblauch following a first-round loss to Anaheim.
The offense isn't the problem
Connor McDavid had a goal and four assists, Leon Draisaitl added two goals and an assist, and Evan Bouchard finished with a goal and two assists.
Devon Levi stopped 15 shots in his first regular season game as an Oiler.
The real test is whether this group can defend like it matters, every single night.
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