One thing is clear about these Oilers: they know it’s over. This is a team that looks like the realities of the season have finally broken them. Georges Laraque said they needed a heart transplant. They don’t usually do procedures like that on cadavers.

Edmonton has a lot of concerns moving forward. The most pressing issue is how to get Cam Talbot his game back. Right now he looks lost. At least 2, probably 3, goals against by the Knights should have been routine stops. The puck is going by him during the most mundane “chances” around the net. He’s leaking goals like crazy.

Talbot has a .900 save percentage, which ranks him 33/34 goalies who have played at least 25 games. By strength, there’s no question that his save percentage on the PK is what’s dragging him down. That doesn’t mean his performance is completely on the PK in front of him. He owns a lot of that failure, but there should be ways to help him.

I’ve been around long enough to remember seeing an otherwise very good, not strongly established, goaltender lose his game completely for the Oilers under similar circumstances (new child, poor team I n front). Devan Dubnyk could not stop a beach ball for Edmonton and he was traded to the Predators. That change wasn’t enough. He was sent to Montreal. He was so broken they told him to just stay home.

He simply needed time. I believe that Cam Talbot has shown he has all the tools to be a very good NHL goalie. I’m prepared to see him come back to the job next Fall and my expectation is he can at least provide league-average goaltending. I gave up on Dubnyk too quickly. Goaltending is all between the ears and I think that space will settle for him eventually.

Darren Dreger noted that the Oilers were looking for a winger to play with McDavid, a defender who can move the puck, and a goalie to push Talbot. That’s a frustrating reality for Oiler fans since the first problem is one that was created by Chiarelli, the second has existed since MacTavish traded Petry, and the 3rd is one that Chia traded a pick for to address earlier this season.

The issue of the backup goaltender is a strange one since Montoya has another year left on his contract. The Oil are bound to this guy and he has a very poor .895 save percentage as the backup this year. Now I’m not saying that this contract is a boat anchor, but it did come with a price. If he plays in 2 more games then the pick goes from a 5th to a 4th, which for Edmonton likely means its in the top 100 of the draft. It’s not an insignificant pick.

Can the Oilers keep running Talbot or do they need to give him a break? It’s not quite so easy to just say the team should recall Brossoit, either. Through 11 AHL games, Brossoit has a .901 save percentage with the Condors. He’s dropping the ball. There’s nobody knocking the door down at the pro level. At least not yet. They have Swift Current goaltender Stuart Skinner in the WHL, but he’s probably a few years away and a jump to the professional leagues away from even having a chance. It does look like Chia will have to take a second swing at fixing the backup/depth goaltending here in Edmonton.

LINEUP

Adam Larsson returned to practice after missing a little more then 3 weeks due to the death of his father.

Maroon McDavid Strome
Lucic Draisiatl Cammalleri
Caggiula Khaira Slepyshev
Pakarinen Letestu Kassian

Klefbom Larsson
Nurse Benning
Russell Davidson

Talbot

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

1) Eight Two Six. The Edmonton Oilers are 8 points removed from the bottom spot in the NHL, which is currently held down by the Arizona Coyotes. While the Oil have lost 5 in a row, the Yotes have won 3 in a row and are playing some of their best hockey this year. They have gone through the bitter disappointment and come out on the other side. Edmonton can get within 6 points of 31st place in the NHL tonight with a regulation loss. This is what we do.

2) Green Jacket. This year Oliver Ekman-Larsson is wearing the Green Jacket in the NHL. That’s the “prize” for having the worst +/- in the league. As I’ve probably mentioned, +/- is the worst stat in the NHL because it mixes game states and counts empty net goals against. It punishes good players on bad teams. OEL is a great player on a brutal team. That -37 is ridiculous because the Coyotes have nobody up front for him to move the puck to, he’s playing the toughest minutes, and he’s logging 24 minutes a night. 5v5 he has a better goal differential than Brent Burns and Kris Letang. He’s fine. In fact, with 1 year remaining after this, Arizona may be forced to trade him in the next 12 months. So keep an eye out.

3) Min Max. When Max Domi broke into the league he had a fantastic 18-34-52 performance. His follow up season was less than that. This, his 3rd, is marred with problems. He just scored his 4th goal recently and has a brutal .984 PDO. There are lots of rumblings about the Coyotes being willing to move him along for the right price. He’s shooting 3.6% this year. If the Oilers (or any team) can pry him loose, they may be buying low and setting themselves up for a big bounce back.

Puck drops this afternoon at 2PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Tank On!

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

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