There's still one last game before we hit the new year so I'll keep the "Year on Review" post for later, but it has been an interesting ride so far.

I hope you all got what you wanted for Christmas. I know a couple things on the Oilers wish-list that haven't yet made their way to the club. There's still hope that maybe Santa forgot a Power Play quarterback right-handed defender and a top 6 right winger somewhere in that bag of his.

This is a team that has more strength down the middle and more top 4 defensemen than it has in years. It's almost certainly the best Oiler team since the 2006 team that made a Cup run once it filled the 1G position with a deadline deal that landed them Dwayne Roloson. Of course, this Oilers team doesn't have Pronger in his prime, but it does have Connor McDavid.

One has to wonder how desperate the Avalanche are to make changes to their core as they wander the desert seemingly unaware that NHL forwards need NHL defensemen in order to be effective attacking. Every day there seems to be another report that Sakic and Avs management are ready to move on from Landeskog/Barrie/Duchene. When there's this much smoke there has to be at least a little fire somewhere.

I've been on team Barrie for a while as a RHD option on the Oilers. This year he is playing quite poorly so if the team wants to take a chance that a new environment and lower responsibility will unlock that offense then he might be worth targeting. Hey, it's working for Schultz!

The problem with addressing the defense right now is that pesky expansion draft. It's just not a good time to try to add to the blueline with a long term solution. Since the Oilers will need to protect Larsson, Klefbom, and Sekera, if they add someone else then the team will have to expose a player like Maroon or Nugent-Hopkins to Las Vegas and risk losing an important asset for absolutely nothing.

We have to keep an eye on the right handed wingers who might be available or whose teams might need to part with them before expansion or before the next season because of financial pressures. Lots of clubs will be asking for favors. For example, the Hawks might be desperate to free up money with Panarin's new deal kicking in next year. They might even try to make Hosea available but he's 37 and has 4 more years on his deal. Even though he's still a hell of a player, his cap hit will be restrictive.

Where are the Oilers going to find these players they need if no internal solutions can be found? That's going to be the big question question over the 3rd quarter of the Oiler season.

LINEUP

Hey, Puljujarvi is still in the lineup and Maroon isn't on McDavid's wing. Gotta give the Kings a chance, I guess. Sekera didn't skate this morning and was sick yesterday.

Lucic McDavid Eberle
Maroon RNH Draisaitl
Pouliot Caggiula Puljujarvi
Hendricks Letestu Kassian

Klefbom Larsson
Russell Benning
Davidson Gryba

Talbot

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

1) Comfortable Surroundings. The Oilers have notably kept Jesse Puljujarvi in the lineup despite the fact that he hasn't scored since opening night. Pitlick's injury is allowing Chiarelli and company to lie to themselves about what's best for the kid. What they've done tonight, which I don't mind at all, is place the Finn (who should be representing his country at the WJC) on a line with Drake Caggiula and Benoit Pouliot. The last time Puljujarvi was making an impact it was on a line with Caggiula (playing against children). If this revives any offensive confidence for the Oiler rookie then we should all rejoice. He shouldn't be in the lineup, but if he's going to be there then he should be as comfortable as possible.

2) Power Outage. The Kings are being lead by Jeff Carter's 30 points in 35 games. After him it's a significant drop to Tyler Toffoli's 20 points in 32 games. I imagine the most distressing lack of production for the Kings comes from Kopitar. The big center who LA depends on has just 16 points in 30 games. The good news for LA is that all their players, and Carter especially, have feasted on the Oilers their whole careers. The bad news is that Toffoli suffered an injury and shouldn't be playing tonight. Edmonton has more firepower, but the Kings have always done a good job limiting chances. It's low event hockey played by big men who know how to play the game that way.

3) Welcome Back. I hope you all enjoyed the Christmas Break. I know I'm having a good time still. I'm not ready to go back to work and I don't blame you if you aren't either. The Oilers don't have much of a choice but to get back to the grindstone tonight and they don't exactly have an easy re-entry to work by facing the Kings. This team needed an extended break considering the compressed schedule they had to start the year. McDavid played more consecutive NHL games than he did all last year. Klefbom played more games (period) than he did last year. Talbot has faced more shots than anyone in the NHL so far this year. This group needed the time with family and friends to recharge. Let's hope it was enough and they're ready to go right out of the gates.

Puck drops tonight at 7PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Game On!

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

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