The Edmonton Oilers are already in a bit of a crisis when it comes to their blueline. See, the issue is that Andrej Sekera blew his knee out in the playoffs and the recovery time is estimated to be until Christmas. Since he was really the Oilers’ 2nd best defender and 1 of only 3 who would be considered “Top 4… on any decent team, that leaves Edmonton with just Klefbom and Larsson to handle Top 4 duties.
That’s old news. We knew this was a major problem from the minute Sekera went down. Even while the playoffs were still on-going, the series changed without Sekera. What’s happening now is that our fears are being realized in front of us and not in our imaginations. I’ve been dreading the 2nd pair all summer long, but it’s been in my head up until now.
The problem with a Russell – X combination is that X will be forced to carry the pairing. It was actually LESS painful with Russell back to his natural left side, but the pressure is on Russell’s partner to be the primary puck distributor and defensive conscience. Russell’s partner will also be placed in a greater volume of defensive scenarios because of number 4’s well documented inability to prevent entries. Whoever that person is, if they cannot break cycles and move the puck at an above average level, there’s a pretty good chance they will be exposed. That’s before we factor in a higher quality of competition or ice time.
Here are the facts of playing with Kris Russell. It has been established for years that he will spend a greater volume of his time in the defensive zone. I’ve written about it many times over. Even in this season, as green as it is, the Russell pairing is hemmed in their zone getting shot on. Benning and Russell have played fewer 5v5 minutes than others (they get PP and PK time too) and yet have been on the ice for significantly more unblocked shot attempts against.
In just under 39 minutes 5v5, Russell has been on for 45 unblocked shot attempts against. The next highest in total is Larsson who has been on for 32 such attempts in almost 53 minutes. As a percentage of these events, Benning and Russell are at 43.6% and 42.3% respectively. Klefbom is at 67.4%, Larsson is 65.2%, Gryba is 63.8%, and Nurse is 61.1%. One of these pairings is not like the other.
Matt Benning was penciled into that 2nd pairing as the natural fit from this current roster. He played pretty well all year (great early, less effective later) last season. He’s tougher than he looks and he can move the puck pretty well. However, he’s a 2nd year player with only 77 pro games under his belt (AHL, NHL, Regular Season, and Playoffs). He doesn’t have a lot of experience and when Sekera is healthy he will almost certainly be placed back on the 3rd pairing and allowed to develop there.
Through three games so far – and all of preseason – Matt Benning has looked brutal. He is getting beat to the outside, he isn’t as physical, he hasn’t moved the puck particularly well. Just as bad as Russell has been over the course of his career, Matt Benning so far has looked equally poor or maybe even worse. Yeah, it’s just three games, but the coaching staff is already moving him out of that pairing during practice this week. It looks like he could be a healthy scratch on Saturday. It will likely be him or Gryba. The problem here is that we know whoever is going to play with Russell is going to see a major increase in those defensive situations. They will happen more frequently and probably with better players getting those opportunities.
No matter who they put in there, it’s going to be a lot for any young or incomplete defender to handle.
Today, Mark Streit was put on waivers by the Canadiens. He’s a 39 year old left shooting defender whose own history in the NHL suggests he might be able to handle the pressures that will be thrown at Russell’s partner. The Edmonton Oilers need a babysitter, but it’s not for the kids that are struggling. It’s for the guy they committed $4 million times 4 years to this past summer. Streit might be the guy. We know Benning isn’t.
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