from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

The Edmonton Oilers proved last season that you can have the Art Ross Trophy winner, yet still miss the playoffs by a mile. This season is about the other 19 players having fans walking out of the rink talking about them more often, rather than the conversation always centring on Connor McDavid.

Well, one game in, the evidence was clear: Edmonton simply did not have enough puck possession when McDavid wasn’t on the ice. McDavid was a force, but the rest of the troops? For most of them, not enough on this night.

For a team that has harped all September on “having a strong start,” Saturday’s season-opening 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils in Gothenburg was terribly disappointing. Not just because of the loss, but because of the number of passengers wearing Oilers whites on a Swedish Saturday night.

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Watch the game highlights below.