Hockey players are creatures of habit.

Look no further than their pre-game routines. Some do visualization exercises, others have to tape their stick in a certain way, but one routine that all share is a game of sewer ball.

While many have wondered over the years why hockey players kick around a soccer ball, look no further than the Edmonton Oilers’ 3-1 win over the Seattle Kraken. With the game tied up at 1 with less than three minutes left in the third period, the Oilers were cycling the puck in the offensive zone.

It found its way to defenceman Ryan Shea at the point, who tried to throw the puck back down low, only for it to head right to Connor McDavid. The Oilers captain was standing on the half-wall and brought up his knee, just like he would when trying to keep a soccer ball up. All of a sudden, the puck changed course, across the ice and right to Leon Draisaitl in his office, who swiftly gave the Oilers the lead.

That was ultimately the catalyst in the Oilers’ win, but it’s the work the team put in for the preceding 57 minutes that set them up for success - beyond a sloppy second period, Oilers head coach Mike Babcock said during his post-game press conference, which began with him walking into the media room, pumping his fist, saying, “We didn’t give up a touchdown.”

“How about that second again?” he said. “We got a little roadblock with the second here. We can turn over the puck like I’ve never seen before.

“But I actually liked our third, I liked our first. The second, we’re getting in our own way, so we got to figure that out.”

The sloppy second saw the Kraken tie the game on a power play snipe by Bobby McMann, but the whole game got started off on the right foot for the Oilers when Owen Michaels, in his second NHL game, gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead.

Just minutes into the game and with the Oilers’ third line on the ice, Mathieu Joseph rimmed a puck around the boards that was stopped, bobbled, and corralled by Alex Formenton, who slid the puck down to Michaels below the left faceoff dot. Seemingly as quickly as it was on the rookie’s stick, it was off and into the back of the net.

“The goals are great, that’s the cherry on top… but it’s all the little things around the game that he does really well,” said Draisaitl after the game. “It’s the reason why he’s still here, and he made our team. I’ve been very impressed with his game.”

“It’s just something I’ve always taken a lot of pride in, trying to play the game the right way, play a hard 200-foot game and try to be consistent in that regard,” said Michaels.

Those details in his game are paying off, and so too are the details for Devon Levi, who turned aside 19 of 20 shots for a .950 save percentage, including one in which he robbed Jordan Eberle with eight minutes left in the third period.

“I personally walk away from that Vancouver game with just the win - that’s all I took from that game,” said Levi. “Turn the page and get to work the next day.”

And, credit where it’s due, he did, having found out he would get the start last night against Seattle after that win in Vancouver.

Part of that work he put in was with another one of the newest Oilers, Frederik Andersen, who is still working his way back from a knee injury suffered in the Stanley Cup final. Babcock said the two talked about tightness, sharing some of the experiences Andersen has had throughout his 13-year NHL career.

It was a unique experience for Levi.

“Freddie’s been awesome so far, a lot of support from him,” said Levi. “I’ve never really had a veteran goalie on my team. He’s been through so much, and just hearing what he has to say, his leadership has been super helpful.”

And after such a strong performance, it might be hard for the Oilers to take him out of the net Wednesday night when they begin a three-game Southern California road trip against the Anaheim Ducks.

Zach Laing is the managing editor at Daily Faceoff Edmonton and news director at The Nation Network. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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