Oilers notes: Stecher, Perry step up to provide bite to Oilers game

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While there’s been much praise for Troy Stecher, and rightfully so, stepping up about three weight classes to drop the mitts with Sean Couturier Tuesday in the third period of the Philadelphia game after Couturier bumped Stuart Skinner behind the Oilers net, we shouldn’t forget that Corey Perry also fought Joel Farrabee off a faceoff shortly afterwards.

Perry, who’ll be on the fourth line in Nashville Thursday as the Oilers kick off their first road trip, is the ultimate know-the-pulse-of-the-game player. He’s had about 50 NHL fights, including nine in 2022-23, and they run the career gamut of Pavel Datsyuk (what?) to Daniel Carcillo to Logan Stanley — heavyweights and middleweights.

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A true heavyweight, Ryan Reaves, has dimissed him in the past, though.

“He kind of acts tough, but he’s not tough,” said Reaves, sounding a tad catty.

Maybe not in Reaves fistic class — not many are — but Perry, who has played 1,530 NHL games, always shows up.

As for Stecher, he fights about once a season. His first career punch-up was with Matt Martin, when Martin was with Maple Leafs. Stepped way up in fight class in that one, too.

Coming to Skinner’s defence was warranted, but, to take a side road, somebody on the Oilers should have done the same when Calgary captain Mikael Backlund whacked Skinner on the back of the leg behind the Oilers net on Sunday, too. They didn’t try for a pound of flesh then, or when Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were drilled along the boards, cleanly, but a tad too aggressively.

Back in the day — OK, many days ago — Lee Fogolin watched his young teammate Jari Kurri being run, and he went over to either the captain or one of the other stars on the opposing team, if memory serves, and intimated that he might, uh, break an offensive player’s hand if it didn’t stop. It stopped.

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NEW TOP-SIX LINE

While Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was centering newcomer Viktor Arvidsson against the Flyers, the real Oilers second line might be the one with Adam Henrique, Connor Brown and Jeff Skinner right now. Remember when we were worrying about the left-winger Skinner’s lukewarm play in pre-season and how the pace of his game might need an uptick? No more, he’s been the best Oilers forward through the first four games.

“Our left-wingers have fluctuated (game to game),” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. “We’ve manoeuvred them, up and down (lineup) while the centres and right-wingers have been more consistent.

“Brownie and Rico have been together a long time, the first time was at a world championship many years ago. Last year they were on a line with (Mattias) Janmark. He was a big part of that,” said Knoblauch.

“I’m not sure what the chemistry is but obviously there’s some. And Skinner has been up and down and after an outstanding game against Calgary Sunday, I thought he was good again against the Flyers. Unfortunately with all the penalties it reduced his ice time, but his game is building to what we expect from him.”

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Skinner set up Brown for the Oilers second goal with a no-look backhand feed, banged a shot off the post, and worked the trifecta when he drew a third-period Flyers penalty when he drove the net. He has three points, all even-strength, and 15 shots.

As for the versatile Nugent-Hopkins, he’s had a very quiet start with just one assist, on the power play, with seven shots and he’s minus-4. He centered his own line against Philly, with Draisaitl on the wing with McDavid.

THERE’S MORE TO MICHKOV’S GAME THAN JUST OFFENCE

After Flyers’ teenager Matvei Michkov had his first two NHL goals against Oilers, Philadelphia coach John Tortorella praised his talent in traffic but “what I think goes a long way with his teammates is he’s out here also blocking shots and doing all the other stuff that creates that team camaraderie, that team concept. That’s really important.”

In one scrum, Michkov, 19, waded in and grabbed an Oilers player around the neck to try and pull him away, as well.

This ‘n that: While Utah has been romancing former Oilers GM Ken Holland with a management position, the Hall of Famer Holland would also be a homerun for the league if he joins the NHL’s hockey ops department. The department works closely with the 32 team GMs and the competition committee … The Predators, who have been a punching bag for the Oilers the last several years, are 0-3 on this season. Not a good start, obviously, after signing Steve Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and defenceman Brady Skjei as summer free agents. Stamkos doesn’t have a point, Marchessault two assists. “There’s a lot of summer hockey in our game, trying to be cute. We’ve kind of lost our identity,” said Nashville coach Andrew Brunette … That Evan Bouchard bomb that nailed teammate Zach Hyman Tuesday as he bravely stood in front of the Flyers’ net reportedly got him in the, uh, nether region. He hustled to the dressing room but returned … Ex Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto, who got a camp tryout in Utah, then a one-year, two-way contract, still hasn’t played yet, four games into Utah’s season. They’ve alternated a 13th forward, either Liam O’Brien or Michael Carcone … Onetime Oilers forward Riley Sheahan has officially retired and is going to be coaching youth hockey … One other very noticeable Flyers rookie Tuesday in the Oilers game was Jett Luchanko, Philly’s 13th-overall pick in the 2024 draft. He’s got tremendous speed and had shifts against McDavid. “He was only a month away from not even being eligible for this past draft. He just turned 18 (on Aug. 21). If he was too young for this past draft, I think he’d he go in the top five in the next one,” said Flyers’ team president Keith Jones. Luchanko could be going back to his junior Guelph team in a few weeks, unless he starts lighting it up offensively.

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