Devan Dubnyk is not an NHL starter. Last night’s game only cemented what the first month of the season had previously shown, Dubnyk cannot be trusted to play well. It’s a crying shame really because based on last season there was room for optimism concerning Dubnyk’s future. Now, however, not even 50% of the way through this season the pending UFA Goalie has erased any shred of confidence that the organization and his teammates may have had in him.



Seidenberg’s goal in particular is unacceptable and back breaking. An unscreened shot from the blueline, fluttering or not, simply cannot go in against an NHL Goaltender. I’ve watched that one enough times to appreciate that it was up on end a bit, but good grief. The puck was essentially passed into the back of the net at low speed. To suggest that any regular Joe could have stopped that one really isn’t stretching things. Needless to say, sub-Regular Joe netminding isn’t cutting it.

That game against the Bruins was completely winnable if you take away that one terrible goal, even if you believe that the 2-1 and the screened shot from above the circles would have gone in on anybody. The fact is that the Oilers Organization, their players, management, and coaching staff cannot depend on Dubnyk to provide NHL level goaltending. He sports a .890 sv% and a GAA of 3.36 on the season. His apologists will be quick to say that this season isn’t on Dubnyk, and they’re right. But the parts of the season that have cost the Oilers any chance at playoff contention are on Dubnyk. He’s been a sieve and it’s time for the Organization to move on.

In Division trades are the hardest to pull off, but I cant help but wonder how much MacT should offer to the Kings to acquire Scrivens when Quick comes back. He has played remarkably well for the Kings and Leafs in his career to date and like Dubnyk is a pending UFA. The Kings cant offer him a chance to be a fulltime starter but the Oilers can. They can wait until the offseason to trade for negotiating rights or they can make a deal when Quick is healthy to get him in uniform as soon as possible. What is fair? A 3rd that turns into a 2nd if he signs with Edmonton? A lower level prospect like Musil? Or would you guys just wait for the UFA season to begin? As it stands there will be a few Goalies on the market and Edmonton will have the cash and starting opportunities available to be a big player.

LINEUPS

The Oilers face off against the Canucks on short rest and you can be sure that if it was up to me Dubnyk would not be playing another minute of NHL hockey. Marincin was demoted back to OKC. He played well but more seasoning isn’t going to hurt his case. I still think that if they will try to get him in more games later on this season so that he may be better prepared to compete for an NHL spot next year. Part of the way through the game Eakins set the blender to “pulse” and shifted Joensuu to Gagner’s line and Hall to Hemsky’s line. I have the lineups the same as last game, but those combinations might get more play.

UPDATE

Dubnyk will play tonight. I have no words.

Hall Gagner Yak
Perron RNH Eberle
Joensuu Arco Hemsky
Jones Acton Gazdic

Ference Petry
N. Schutz J. Schultz
Belov Larsen

Dubnyk

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

1) Stop Playing Dubnyk. The team cant trust him to play well. He makes every save look like it took every ounce of his energy to stop, he cant handle the puck, and he makes himself smaller than any other big goalie I have ever seen. If the Oilers cant count on him to stop pucks then it undermines the confidence they need to play their game. It’s over. Send him to the AHL.

2) Don’t Get Too Down. The skaters cant let one terrible performance by their ECHL caliber goalie convince them they played a bad game last night. They didn’t. They had a 58% Corsi share, they outshot the opposition, they outhit them, they even won the faceoff battle. They played an all-around solid game against a great team (albeit a sick one) and shouldn’t try to make too many drastic changes to their game plan.

3) Catch Vancouver Off-Guard. The Canucks are a perfect 5-0 in December so far and they take on a lowly Oilers team that just played the night before. It is, hopefully, an excellent time to strike against a team that has really pulled its socks up. The Canucks are fighting for playoff position and while they occupy a Wild Card spot right now their goal is to be inside the top 3 of the Pacific Division. They also play their one time Stanley Cup opponent Boston Bruins tomorrow night. It’s only human to take some eyes off of the bottom feeders and think ahead to the genuinely good team.

Puck drops tonight at 7:10PM Mountain Time on CBC. Game On!

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

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