Mike Babcock had plenty of good things to say after the Edmonton Oilers beat the Seattle Kraken 3–1 on Saturday at Rogers Place. He also had one thing he is not going to let slide.
The Oilers won their third game of the young season behind a strong goaltending performance from Devon Levi and a third period that put the result away. Leon Draisaitl broke a 1–1 tie at 17:33 of the third when a Ryan Shea point shot caromed off Connor McDavid and right onto Draisaitl’s stick, and he did not miss. McDavid added an empty-netter shortly after.
Following the win, Head Coach Mike Babcock acknowledged the bright sides from the night though the second period did not get a pass. This could be the year for the Oilers, and Babcock seems determined to fix what needs fixing, one period at a time.
Mike Babcock explains why he went with Levi
Babcock put Levi back in net ahead of veteran Tristan Jarry. He said after the game the decision came down to where he thought the young goaltender was mentally heading into the night.
“He seems like a confident kid,” Babcock said. He also pointed to the work veteran Frederik Andersen has been putting in with Levi behind the scenes. Andersen, 37 and a Stanley Cup champion, has not suited up yet this season due to injury but has been working closely with Levi in the lead-up to each start
Babcock pointed out that this kind of experience in a goaltender’s ear can be a difference maker. “To have a guy like that in your organization that can share his experience with young guys, I think helps him,” Babcock said.
Levi rewarded the decision. His biggest moment came in the third period with the score tied 1–1, when he came across the crease to make a glove save on Jordan Eberle. The call was reviewed but stood. Leo Draisaitl said the saves came at the right times all night.
“He was fantastic,” Draisaitl said. “Made a couple of major, big-time stops. Great timing on those stops, too.”
Babcock was clear about what Levi’s night meant for a team that had been leaking goals in its first two outings.
“We got good goaltending tonight,” Babcock said. “You have to give him credit because we haven’t had that. That was really positive tonight.”
Babcock stresses second period has to stop looking like that
Levi had to be good in part because the Oilers kept finding ways to hurt themselves in the second period. Babcock was direct about it.
“We can turn the puck over like I have never seen before,” he said. “We got to fix the second.”
He said he liked the first period and he liked the third. The middle 20 minutes is where the Oilers are getting in their own way, and Babcock made clear he is not going to let it become a habit.
Draisaitl acknowledged the game got tighter than it needed to be but said the group stuck with it.
“Those games are games where you just kind of have to stick with it,” Draisaitl said. “It was bound to happen to string one together where we have a quite low event.”
Owen Michaels has “swagger”
One of the names that came up most in Babcock’s postgame laurels was rookie Owen Michaels, who opened the scoring in the first period with his second NHL goal on just his second NHL shot.
Babcock was asked about the player after Draisaitl had praised him on the way in, and the coach said: “He has confidence, he has swagger, but he wasn’t a scorer like a big-time scorer. He was a player. He’s out there winning face-offs and cross-checking people and he’s always in the video in the right spots.”
“I don’t know how we got them, but we’re lucky to have them,” he added.
Draisaitl backed that up. With five regular forwards out of the lineup, Michaels is doing more than filling a spot, and Draisaitl said the goals are almost beside the point.
“The goals are great, that’s the cherry on top,” Draisaitl said. “It’s all the little things around the game that he does really well and it’s the reason why he’s still here and he made our team.”
Depth lines earned their minutes per Babcock
The way the first period unfolded, with power plays stacking up early, meant Babcock’s bottom lines did not get much ice time until the second period arrived. But when they did get their shifts he said they delivered.
“I thought those guys were effective,” Babcock said. “The more players you can find, the better off you are.”
He also noted that Andersen, despite not being in the lineup, has been a genuine presence in the room and praised the veteran for the role he is playing while he works his way back.
Edmonton is now 2–0–1 on the season and heads to Anaheim next.
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