Andrej Sekera is set to return tonight for the first time since having his knee destroyed against the Ducks in the playoffs last spring.
Last season Sekera was 2nd on the Oilers in average ice time with 21:28 per game. While everyone was raving about Klefbom’s breakout offensive season, Sekera finished just 3 points behind him. He actually lead the Oilers blueline in 5v5 scoring last year with 21 points, and was tops in primary assists.
His loss to the Oilers was massive. In hindsight it is ridiculous that it was not addressed by management, who knew he was going to miss at least 2 months of work (now almost 3). In the summer the blogger community made some fuss about the Oiler non-plan on defense, but I must admit that even I didn’t anticipate how great an impact his absence would have to start the year.
Here’s the good news. I think that the rest of the blueline has found their stride now as well. Nurse has forced his way onto the top 4. Klefbom was pulling out of his funk and playing really strong hockey before the chance to rest him arrived. Brandon Davidson’s return really added a competent, dependable player to the 3rd pairing. Kris Russell found his offense this year!
Adding Andrej Sekera to this group, especially once Klefbom is healthy, should really stabilize the team’s foundation. He is a Jack-of-all-trades defender who just does everything well. He’s not going to win a Norris trophy or anything crazy, but once he’s up to speed he can be Edmonton’s 2nd best defender. He has played on either side of the ice before. He can handle the game in every state. He was a wizard in OT last season.
Andrej Sekera is a huge addition to the team if he can regain his form from last year. In my always very humble opinion, I think he is probably the best mentor for Darnell Nurse on the team. If there’s a veteran defender on the team whose knowledge I want Nurse to have, it’s Sekera’s. I want Nurse to develop into the kind of Defender who can lead the team in 5v5 minutes and get into the PK or PP. I want Nurse to see how Sekera runs a breakout and hits forwards with his passes.
When the dust settles these two will probably be paired together based on nothing else if not Nurse’s growth. They spent only 19 minutes together 5v5 last year but the results were brutal. I’m willing to see those minutes ignored to check more than a game’s worth of experience in 2017-2018.
Andrej Sekera is back for the Oilers. He should be one of their best blueliners for the rest of the year if that knee doesn’t hold him back. Can it hold up to the weight of expectation?
Points Back: 7 LINEUP
Sekera is back!
Lucic McDavid Puljujarvi Maroon RNH Caggiula Khaira Draisaitl Strome Slepyshev Letestu Kassian
Nurse Russell Davidson Larsson Sekera Benning
Talbot
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Klefless. Edmonton’s leader in TOI/G from the blueline is spending tonight in the pressbox because he’s on IR. Despite playing with an obviously wonky shoulder, he was counted on a lot, especially on the PP. Sekera is stepping in as his replacement on the top unit, but it’s a lot to ask a guy in his first game back to make up 5 minutes of special teams time. The whole defensive group is going to have to play a solid game. We’ll be watching Davidson, Russell, and Benning handle situations that maybe they were sheltered in before. If they can weather the storm then giving Klefbom time to heal now should reap benefits in the coming weeks.
2) Drawing Penalties. As is the case for most of the best teams (but not all) in the NHL, the Blues are a solid team 5v5. They rank 7th in the NHL for unblocked shot attempt percentage when the game is even. They’ve translated that to 3rd in goals for percentage in the same game-state. One of the things they’ve done extremely well is prevent teams from scoring. Clubs have a hard time generating unblocked shots against them. On the penalty kill, however, the Blues allow 80.2 unblocked attempts per 60 minutes, which is ranked 22nd in the NHL. This contributes to them being a very average PK club. It’s up to Edmonton to tip the penalties called to their favor tonight. It’s something they’ve struggled with a lot. Oh, and the Blues draw a lot of penalties (4th most in the NHL).
3) Get Rolling. The Edmonton Oilers have 2 whole wins in a row but more importantly they’ve played at least 5 solid games in a row. This is a team that looks like it finally found its legs. Maybe it’s too late to make the playoffs. Maybe not. They don’t stand a chance if they can’t start putting together winning streaks. The Blues are one hell of a team and it’s a big ask for the Oil to grab 2 points from them, but that’s the challenge presented to the Oilers. They have to be rolling.
Puck drops tonight at 7PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Game On!
Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy