Youngsters impress in Edmonton Oilers' win over Tampa Bay Lightning
The Edmonton Oilers’ youngsters impressed in a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night in Edmonton. First overall pick in this year’s draft Taylor Hall was able to pot one for his new team.
However, former 10th overall selection Magnus Paajarvi stole the show as he notched a hat-trick in his first pre-season contest.
The Oilers went with a solid line-up, which looked like what will be the better part of their roster on opening night. The club included two of their most promising prospects in forwards Hall and Paajarvi,
but did not ice youngster Jordan Eberle. The club also went with Jeff Deslauriers and Devin Dubnyk in goal.
The Lightning also iced a veteran line-up, with Mattias Ohlund, Ryan Malone and Steve Downie. Nevertheless, the club left superstars Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier at home. The squad
chose to give possible starter Dan Ellis the entire 60 minutes.
The scoring got started in the first when Randy Jones snapped one past Deslauriers before the five-minute mark to give the Lightning the lead.
The Oilers were able to even it up, when Paajarvi made a dazzling move through the neutral zone, before fanning on a shot, which crawled its way past Ellis.
The Oilers added a second goal just before the 19-minute mark, courtesy of Andrew Cogliano, who tipped a shot from defenseman Kurtis Foster.
The second period saw Paajarvi notch his second goal of the season. The youngster took a beautiful pass from Dustin Penner at the top of the circle, snapping it home for a 3-1 Oilers lead.
In the third period the Oilers kept the pressure on, as Hall gathered up a failed clearing attempted from Ellis and made an easy move past the keeper, who was well out of position.
The Oilers youngsters were flying in their first game in Edmonton, as Paajarvi finished off his hat-trick with a snap shot, after receiving a quick pass from Foster.
The Lightning added a goal late in the third off the stick of Carter Ashton. However, it was not enough as Edmonton entertained the hometown fans with a dynamic 5-2 win.
When asked about his hat-trick Paajarvi replied. “It felt awesome to be able to do what I did out there in my first game. It’s just unbelievable to be here and playing with NHL players. I’m still taking it
all in. I already feel very comfortable. All credit to my line-mates. They are great to play with. Today was a great day for the whole team.”
The Oilers' next game comes against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
Tags: