After an unfortunate 7 seconds against the Devils where the Oilers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and a listless performance against the Stars, Jay Woodcroft has seen fit to mix up the lines and try something new as the Oilers go on an Eastern road-trip.
RNH-McDavid-Puljujarvi Kane-Draisaitl-Hyman Foegele-McLeod-Ryan Shore-Holloway-Yamamoto
Nurse-Ceci Kulak-Bouchard Murray-Barrie
Skinner
Right now a clear message is being sent by the coach that some players need to step up and do more. No one is hearing that message more than Kailer Yamamoto. In his first 11 games, Yamamoto has 15 shots on net. Averaging less than two shots a game for a player regularly in the top six simply cannot happen but the reality is Yamamoto has never been a volume shooter. One cannot say he is snake bitten because he really has not put himself into a position to have had chances.
Yamamoto's struggles are an opportunity for Jesse Puljujarvi. JP's play this season hasn't warranted a top six promotion based off of production as the Finn really has not produced many chances himself. The one thing JP has done is bring more physical play when he does not have the puck. JP and his camp have always pushed that he should be in the top six on a regular basis. He needs to do more than have good underlying numbers to stay in this spot; he needs to produce real numbers.
Right now Stuart Skinner is the starter for the Edmonton Oilers. Campbell had another bad performance against the Stars on another night where the team in front did little to help bail him out. Regardless, some of those shots need to be stopped and a true starter will bail out the majority of a team's mistakes and keep them in the game. That is not happening right now with Campbell.
Tonight the Oilers are playing against a Capitals team that is just devastated by injuries. No Backstrom, no Carlson, likely no Orlov, no Tom Wilson, no Oshie, no Connor Brown... you could ice a pretty solid lineup with the players that are missing right now from Washington.
The Capitals are on a 4 game losing streak and have to be feeling sour after losing to the Arizona Coyotes; every teams free space on the bingo board. All NHL players are proud and after a performance like that you will bet this team is going to come out hungry and try to get on the board first.
Obviously the one key against the Capitals is to play a disciplined game as Ovechkin is still Ovechkin. The 37 year old already has 4 PP goals on the season and remains a threat every time he is on the ice. The Oilers have been disorganized in their own end and have had huge lapses where they have left players wide open in dangerous areas. Ovi is about as dangerous a player as you can leave alone.
Right now Vegas is the only team that is really running away with the division, sporting an 11-2-0 record. After that you have the Kraken, Kings, Oilers, and Flames all with very similar records and the Canucks who are starting to regain some of the ground they lost with their horrendous start. There is no reason to panic for a two game losing streak, especially when in one of the games the Oilers outplayed one of the best teams in the league for a long stretch. That being said games like tonight would go a long way in separating from the rest of the pack.
After tonight the games only get tougher as the face the Lightning on the second of a back to back, followed by Hurricanes again on Thursday and then the Panthers. This team needs to reset and go back to the things that were making them successful before.
Enjoy the game!