“They played really well in front of me and that's a product of me getting three shots [in the first period], so huge props to those guys,” Skinner said. “My job no matter what, even if I get zero shots until the last two minutes of the game, is to stop the puck. It's my job to make sure that I'm still warm, still ready and still focused, so they did their job tonight and whenever it's time for me to do my job, I'll be there."
Defensively, the Oilers allowed only 11 shots to the Canucks through 40 minutes, which Head Coach Jay Woodcroft says is a direct result of their work on defence and a renewed focus on the forecheck and defensive-zone coverage throughout Training Camp and pre-season.
"I think it's a positive sign because that’s where the majority of our focus through training camp, and we're seeing some positive results. But it's three games into the exhibition season," Woodcroft said. "Just in terms of systematic, five-on-five play, there were lots of positives and lots of things to build on.”
"As we continue to work our way through an eight-game preseason schedule, we're going to add more layers and start concentrating on some things on the offensive side as well."
The emphasis on defending before the start of the regular season is designed to work hand-in-hand with the already-potent offensive repertoire that the Oilers have at their disposal.
"Well, we can't change our game. There are a lot of reasons why we've made it to the Conference Finals and the Second Round because of how good of an offensive team we are," Draisaitl said. "You can't lose that, but there are little things that we need to tweak in our defensive game that we're all willing to do, and we have been and we'll just continue to chip away at that."
To Coach Woodcroft, 'defending' isn't the right word he'd use when describing the success he's seen from his group as they approach the regular season.
"I'd use checking. I want to be us to be a great checking team," the coach said. "I think the best place you can check is in the offensive zone, so we spend a lot of time talking about being good in that area, so you don't have to worry about defending in your own area or in your own zone. We have a lot of things in place in terms of rules and organization back to our own end so that hopefully we turn pucks over and go the other way. If the other team does give up possession of the puck, we have some things in place to try and break out quickly."
