The Edmonton Oilers begin a three-game road trip to California this week. They’ll face the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, and the Los Angeles Kings next Tuesday. After a rollercoaster start to the season, we’ll see how the team performs on their road trip to the United States.

Anaheim defeated the Vegas Golden Knights and then won their home opener against the Florida Panthers in OT. Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier have been impressive, with five and four points, respectively. There will likely be fireworks with animosity carrying over from the Ducks’ playoff victory over the Oilers. Fiery A.J. Greer and Jeff Malott have been added to an already aggressive lineup, and Edmonton has much more sandpaper than before.

The Sharks have won both their games in OT, defeating Florida and Los Angeles. Superstar Macklin Celebrini is off to a flying start with five points. Will Smith and Igor Chernyshov have also looked good with three points each. Darnell Nurse is +1 with no points, four penalty minutes, and a couple of nasty cross-checks to Matthew Tkachuk. This could be the most physical of the three games on the road trip. The Sharks have Darnell Nurse, Jacob Trouba, Mason Marchment, and Kiefer Sherwood in their lineup. Trouba has been sick, but should dress on Saturday. These are probably the two most talented teams in the Pacific and are likely to be rivals for years. I wouldn’t be surprised if both teams try to make a statement.

Los Angeles was blown out 8-4 by the Colorado Avalanche and then lost in OT to the Sharks. It’s well-known that this is the oldest team in the league, and they haven’t looked great. There’s been a fierce rivalry between Edmonton and Los Angeles in recent years, but there’s also been a lot of turnover with both lineups. It will be interesting to see how chippy this contest is. Currently, Artemi Panarin leads the offence with three points in two games. Quinton Byfield is minus-3, the worst plus/minus on the team. Ex-Oiler Corey Perry has been out of the lineup for personal reasons, but is likely to be back to face his old team.

Good Team Defence

After the first two games, the Oilers’ team defence was looking as bad as it did last year. They played well in the first half of games under Babcock’s tighter system, but fell apart in the second half. Giving up 13 goals in the first couple of contests isn’t ideal. Saturday’s win against the Kraken came with a much better defensive effort from the whole team for sixty minutes. They’ll need to continue to check well to have success on this road trip, especially against the Ducks and Sharks.

Solid Goaltending

In order for Edmonton to do well in California, their goaltending will also have to hold up. Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi weren’t good in the first two games, although they didn’t get much support. Babcock went with Levi in the last game against the Kraken, and the young goalie had a great outing. The Oilers have already announced that Levi will be in the net against the Ducks, and Jarry will start against the Sharks. There will be a lot of excitement about Saturday’s game in San Jose, and Jarry will be tested.

Depth Scoring

The Oilers’ top dogs have been flying: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard have had three exceptional games. Vancouver and Seattle couldn’t contain the world class trio. However, Edmonton has also had contributions from up and down the lineup. Vasily Podkolzin, Kasperi Kapanen, Owen Michaels, Trent Frederic, and Ryan Shea have all potted goals. Michaels has been the biggest surprise. When the Oilers signed Michaels, it came without much fanfare. That has changed quickly, and the team might have uncovered a hidden gem. The depth scoring has been especially welcome in light of several key injuries. Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Matt Savoie, Jason Dickinson, and Frederik Andersen are all out of action right now, although Dickinson was back at practice on Monday. Edmonton will need solid contributions from all four lines in California.

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