Call it a pre-season reminder that the Edmonton Oilers top line — no matter now nuclear it’s stacked — shouldn’t be relied upon to always do it all itself.
Sure, it worked Sunday. When the recently assembled line of Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Trent Frederic went off, combining for four goals and nine points as the Oilers were barely able to hold onto a 3-0 lead after two periods, for a 4-3 final.
Against a skeleton crew Vancouver Canucks roster, no less, that left its entire top six and top defensive pairing back on the west coast.
Over on this side of the Rockies, you could hear a collective sigh of relief emanate from the Alberta capital. Not for the pre-season win (which is still better than a pre-season loss), but for the top line clicking in just their second game tog