"Excellent": High praise for three embattled Edmonton Oilers from ...

The best commentator in hockey? It used to be astute Ray Ferraro, but I don’t see his work for ESPN and on Canucks broadcasts. I’ll go then with Kevin Bieksa, the sharp, cool and critical Sportsnet commentator. Bieksa, it’s worth noting, has always been sparing in his praise of the Edmonton Oilers.

Parsimonious.

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Even damning with faint praise.

He’s hardly ever singled out any Oilers player for high praise, save for the obvious when it comes to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the attack. He’s made a few wry comments about Edmonton’s lack of defensive focus and technique.

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But rightly so, yes?

Until this season — if we’re completely honest — the Oilers have failed to consistently play the shut-down defensive game it takes to win the Stanley Cup. The McDavid/Draisaitl Oilers have always had plenty of run-and-gun, but not so much in the way of sound, disciplined and fundamental defence. It’s why the Oilers lost to the Avalanche in 2022 and it’s why they lost to Las Vegas in 2023.

Just now, however, in three out of four games against the Los Angeles Kings, the Oilers are — almost to a man and to a play — starting to play sound defensive hockey.

Whether the Oilers can keep up the defensive intensity is in doubt. For a team drunk too long on their own offensive brilliance, they’ll have to take it day-to-day, game-to-game.

But it seems Bieksa, an outstanding defensive specialist himself in his long NHL career, is taking notice of their improvement. During intermissions in Edmonton’s bend-but-don’t-break 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night, Bieksa singled out three Edmonton Oilers for extended praise, Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

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All three players have faced criticism this playoff season, especially Bouchard and Nurse, the two getting regularly blasted during the regular season when they made major defensive mistakes leading to Grade A shots and goals against. They’ve had their iffy moments in the playoffs as well, as has RNH. The Nuge has yet to find his “A” game against Los Angles and went through a long goal-scoring drought during the season.

But Bieksa is seeing plenty of good from these three and he let rip with the high praise on Sunday.

On Bouchard: “We know he can get points. We know he’s good on the power play. But sometimes part of his game kind of has me a little bit worried. But tonight he’s been excellent. The defending, the break outs… You can tell from his first shift that he was engaged, that he was sharp. He can be a little bit sleepy at times, but watch him hold this red line (referring to a video replay). He knows he has back pressure, he knows he has help, he’s going to make that redline hard so it can’t be a dump in… He’s been very, very sharp… He’s been really good tonight. You know the points are going to come. You know he’s going to Bouch bomb it from the point, but I like that stuff.”

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On Nugent-Hopkins. “He’s list at 6-1, 192. He’s not 6-1 and he’s not 192. He’s like 180 to 183 and he’s a little bit shorter. But he’s really good on the corners. He’s sneaky. He’s slippery. And watch him protect the puck. You think of guys like Draisaitl and Dubois and all these big forwards who protect it. But it’s his cutbacks, it’s his feeling pressure on one side, it’s protecting it. It’s always moving his feet…If you want to be an offensive guy in the NHL you have to protect the puck… He’s not big, he’s not strong, but he’s just an excellent hockey player.”

On Darnell Nurse: “He’s an interesting player for them. He’s not quite as good offensively as Evan Bouchard. He’s not quite as good defensively as Ekholm. But at his best he’s the perfect blend. He’s the perfect mix of an offensive guy and a defender. And tonight you’re seeing him give that offensive flair. He joins at the right times… But this is what he does best (referencing a replay). The good stick in front of his net. He’s a very big guy. He defends very, very well at his best. And when he keeps the game simple and he doesn’t over-handle it, he’s an excellent defenceman for them… The best parts of his game are his big size and the way he defends and he’s got some leadership from him too… I think he’s found his game. He’s very rounded right now.”

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So with excellent focused defence from the Oilers, even a hardcore defender like Bieksa is impressed.

Funny that.

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