The Edmonton Oilers have won seven of their last 10 games, continue to maintain a playoff spot, and are in second place in the NHL’s Pacific Division, but head coach Kris Knoblauch continues to stress the importance of the team refining its game as the post-season approaches.
The Oilers will welcome the Montreal Canadiens at Rogers Place on Tuesday. The team’s most recent game was a disappointing 3-2 loss to the impressive Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, a match that many hockey commentators viewed as a good test for the Oilers as they advance toward the post-season with increased expectations from fans.
Following practice at Rogers Place on Monday, Knoblauch spoke to reporters about the overtime loss to the Avalanche and indicated he was satisfied with his team’s overall performance, even though things sometimes didn’t pan out on offense.
“We didn’t have as much time in the offensive zone, just because I don’t think we broke the puck out as well,” he explained. “(Colorado) had a lot of hard forechecks … discipline in their systems.”
Knoblauch also mentioned that he believed the Oilers’ “defensive zone coverage could still be a little tighter,” but noted that since taking over as the team’s coach earlier this season, he’s pleased to see his club’s improved defense, giving credit to defensemen for taking fewer risky “pinches” that lead to odd-man rushes, acknowledging the forwards are backchecking with more urgency, and praising the goaltenders’ performance.
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Knoblauch was asked on Monday about Oilers players who do not play every game. The team acquired more depth players ahead of the NHL trade deadline earlier this month as it sought reinforcements for the playoffs.
“We don’t want a guy sitting for a month,” Knoblauch acknowledged. “We will have a bit of a rotation.
“Who knows when in the post-season we’re going to need these guys, and it would be really unfair and unrealistic to think, ‘Oh, now they can play and now they can perform and play well,’ if they haven’t played a game for weeks.”
However, the coach also suggested he is trying to balance that approach with trying to put the best roster on the ice for every game.
“We are trying to win as many games as possible,” Knoblauch said. “(But) we have to think about when to get those guys in.”
The Oilers (40-21-4) and the Canadiens (25-31-11) are set to face off for Tuesday night’s game at 7 p.m. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED.
Oilers defenceman Vincent Desharnais, who hails from Quebec, said he has fond memories of watching Canadiens games on TV with his family in his childhood home. He said he always looks forward to playing against the Montreal club colloquially known as the Habs.
“To have them come here and play us, it’s going to be lots of fun,” he said.
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