Three games into the season, Edmonton Oilers fans have already felt just about every emotion a person can feel.

Oilers fans have felt excitement about the new season, anger over all the goals the team has surrendered, disappointment with the odd-man rushes they’ve given up, and joy that they’ve put together two wins in three games despite not playing at their best… Oilers hockey in a nutshell, baby.

With all that in mind, let’s dive into three big takeaways from the Oilers’ first three games.

Levi is making his case for the crease

The Oilers’ first two games of the season felt a little too familiar, with their netminders letting in a combined 13 goals.

Tristan Jarry gave up six goals and posted a .739 save percentage (SV%) in a loss, while Devon Levi surrendered seven goals and finished with a .682 SV%. That said, Levi may have let in more goals and posted a worse save percentage, but for the glass-half-full crew, one positive is that he won the game.

Perhaps banking two points was the reason the coaching staff turned to Levi for the start against the Seattle Kraken, or maybe they, like many others, see the upside in the young goalie. Either way, he bounced back tremendously in his start against the Kraken.

The netminder stopped 19 of 20 shots, posting a .950 SV%, and the only goal he gave up against Seattle came off a laser of a shot on the power play by Bobby McMann.

Just as important is that Levi kept his team in the fight, coming up big when his team needed him the most. The Oilers took their foot off the gas pedal in the second period, but the netminder weathered the storm and came up with some big saves to keep the game tied.

Then, Levi came up with his biggest save of the game when McMann centred the puck to Jordan Eberle, and Levi got across just in time to make a huge glove save. Moreover, it was the type of acrobatic, side-to-side save that former Oilers’ netminder Stuart Skinner couldn’t come up with on many occasions in years prior.

[Dr. Evil voice]: "You know, I have one simple request, and that is to have technology that tells us when a fricken puck crosses the line."

That said, insane save by Devon Levi. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/ClzvsGInto

- Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 4, 2026

That said, a spectacular save like that can do wonders for a goaltender’s confidence.

And what can add even more confidence is getting praise from your superstar teammate, with Leon Draisaitl showing his support for his netminder, saying, “I thought he was fantastic. He made a couple of major big-time stops. Great timing on those stops, too, to keep us in it. He was unreal tonight.”

Overall, the 24-year-old’s solid play against the Kraken was a statement, and Mike Babcock recently said that Levi gets the start against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. In my opinion, he’s earned it, and it’ll be a big-time test.

Oilers’ defensive structure is still a work in progress

Babcock has been trying to implement a new defensive system since the start of training camp, and, in short, it involves aggressive pressure and relentless attention to detail in the defensive zone. Naturally, there are going to be some growing pains, but the system has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride through the first three games.

The first couple of games against the Canucks were a reminder that we shouldn’t expect a Picasso out of the gate, as the Oilers’ leaky defensive structure at times played a role in the team giving up 13 goals over those two games.

In the second game of the season, despite a 9-7 win, Babcock explained some of the mistakes he saw his team making: “We turned some pucks over, and we drifted in D-zone coverage with our low guy, our low forward, and in the end it just ended up in the net.”

However, there was much better structure against the Kraken. The Oilers were better defensively, despite a sloppy second period, allowing just five high-danger chances against compared to 12 in the game prior. Babcock’s cheeky remarks after the game that “we didn’t give up a touchdown” reflected that improvement.

Another thing Babcock mentioned in his postgame interview was the Oilers’ second-period woes against the Kraken. The coach said, “How was that second, again? I don’t know what’s going on with the second.” He added, “The second, we’re getting in our own way, so we gotta figure that out.”

On that note, the Oilers’ tendency to take their foot off the gas pedal in the middle frame is something that has haunted this team for years. Many coaches before Babcock have tried to iron out that wrinkle and get the Oilers to play a full 60 minutes consistently. Yet, if the current head coach can solve that problem… watch out.

Oilers’ big guns came ready to play, and certain bottom-six guys are standing out from the rest

If the first three games are any indication, the longer offseason did the Oilers’ big guns some good, with the top dogs producing early on.

Connor McDavid’s nine points lead the league, Evan Bouchard is second with eight, and Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin have five points apiece, giving the Oilers four players in the top 15 in league scoring to start the season.

Also, one of Babcock’s mottos since he signed on is that he wants to give the bottom-six guys bigger roles, and we’re starting to see some players from the pack stand out from the rest.

I’ve already mentioned how Kasperi Kapanen has been flying, but given the injury circumstances, I’d say he’s more of a top-six guy at this point.

Colton Dach, while I’m not sold on him as a centreman and could see him moving out of the middle when bodies return, has held his own in the role he’s been given. He’s winning close to 55% of his draws, his three penalty-drawn leads the team, and he’s throwing some heavy hits while showing he has nice hands for a big man.

Owen Michaels has gotten off to a good start, seemingly coming out of nowhere and scoring two goals in the first three games, his latest against the Kraken being a top-shelf laser. He’s also been good defensively, and last game I appreciated a shoving match he had in front of the net with Matty Beniers. He’s taken the third-most draws on the Oilers and is now exactly 50% in the faceoff circle.

Whoever scouted Owen Michaels for the Edmonton Oilers deserves a raise. pic.twitter.com/B4a9lVaenJ

- Daily Faceoff Edmonton (@dfoedmonton) October 3, 2026

Mathieu Joseph has impressed through three games, averaging 15:03 of ice time. He’s third on the team in hits (11), leads the forwards in blocked shots (four), and set up Michaels for his first NHL goal while tallying his 100th NHL assist in the process. Then, with seven minutes to go and the game tied against Seattle, Joseph used his speed to force a turnover and create a breakaway chance, almost scoring the go-ahead goal in the process.

That takeaway ability is something to keep an eye on more often from Joseph. I’ve mentioned this before, but among forwards since 2023 who’ve played a minimum of 200 minutes, Joseph ranks 12th among all NHL forwards in takeaways per 60 minutes at 2.36.

Then there’s Trent Frederic, who deserves credit where credit is due.

After a tough first season in Edmonton, he needed a good start to the 2026-27 campaign, both for himself and to silence some of his critics, and so far, he’s done exactly that.

The elements he’s shown in the first three games are exactly what’s expected of him and what will make him successful. He batted in a rebound goal, and he’s used his big body to flatten opponents, sitting second on the Oilers with 12 hits.

Ryan Lindgren vs Trent Frederic from the Seattle Kraken at Edmonton Oilers game on Oct 3, 2026 www.​hockeyfights.​com/fights/n274341 pic.twitter.com/Cy58OiBtyX

- HockeyFights.com (@hockeyfights) October 4, 2026

He also got into a tussle with Ryan Lindgren, the one who delivered a heavy hit to Evan Bouchard at the World Championships that knocked out the Oilers’ blueliner.

Oilers fans would’ve loved more of Frederic’s fists connecting with Lindgren’s face during their tango, but Frederic, from what it appears, was settling the score and standing up for his teammate, a move that can further build a bond in that locker room. It’s still very early, but the arrows are pointing upward for Frederic so far, and he needs to keep building on that.

Maybe this is the Babcock effect, or maybe the Oilers simply have more quality depth than they’ve had in recent years. That said, the bottom six, for the most part, has been a pleasant surprise early on, and when players start to return from injury, there won’t be enough spots for everyone. That healthy competition is a pretty good problem to have.

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