Whether or not the Oilers remain in the playoff race could depend on this next 11 game stretch. This afternoon the Oilers play the San Jose Sharks which is one of eight Pacific games that Edmonton will play in the next eleven.
This homestand should have been a chance for Edmonton to gain ground in the standings; instead it has been disastrous. The Oilers are proving they do not have the horses to compete regularly in the NHL.
A big part of their recent failures has been the top pairing of Nurse and Larsson. Last year this duo managed to provide some stabilization when Klefbom was out with injury… this year the two have been horrendous.
In the 156 minutes the two have played together this year they have a CF% of 43.37%. Both men have performed better when they are apart from each other. Looking at scoring chances we can really see their failure:
At 5 on 5 the duo have produced 55 scoring chance while allowing 93. Natural Stat Trick also gives high danger chances; described as shots that have a high chance of producing goals. Nurse and Larsson have produced 21 HDCF while giving up 48 HDCA.
The coach should be swapping this pair but the options at his disposal aren't world class. Russell is still not ready to return but when he is I would move Darnell Nurse away from Larsson and pair Adam with Kris… things are that bad.
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FAREWELL ZYKOV
Vegas claims Zykov
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 29, 2018
That didn't last long... Yesterday the Oilers placed Valentin Zykov on waivers for the purpose of reassignment and was inevitably claimed by the Golden Knights. There isn't much to say about Zykov and the six games he played but overall I felt he played the role he was given well. Despite not registering a point, he produced chances and was never a defensive liability.
One of the big reasons it was a mistake to lose him to waivers is the fact that he has one more year on his contract worth 675,000. Edmonton needs low cost contracts moving forward and I am curious as to why he was never given a chance with Draisaitl or McDavid in the top 6.
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LINEUP
OILERS
Draisaitl-McDavid-Rattie Caggiula-RNH-Puljujarvi Lucic-Khaira-Spooner Rieder-Brodziak-Kassian
Nurse-Larsson Gravel-Jones Benning-Wideman
Talbot
Khaira returns from his 2 game suspension for his hit on Vince Dunn.
SHARKS
Kane – Pavelski – Donskoi Hertl – Couture – Meier Sorensen – Thornton – LaBanc Radil – Goodrow – Karlsson
Simek – Burns Dillon – Heed Vlasic – Braun
Jones
4 KEYS TO VICTORY
1) Win At Home. The recent 4 game losing streak on home ice has dropped the Oilers to 10-7-1 at home. Nothing else to say here, the Oilers need to play better on home ice.
2) Too Little Too Late. Edmonton outplayed the Canucks for most of the second and third period during their last game, but because they dug themselves into such a deep hole in the first, they lost. Too many blatant giveaways and boneheaded decisions resulted in the four first period goals and Edmonton needs to smarten up.
3) Opposite Ends Of The Spectrum. The San Jose Sharks have a goal differential of +11 and the Oilers have a differential of -11. Edmonton's hot streak of goaltending has passed and once again the team needs to find a way to win that isn't just relying on their netminder. The Sharks have actually overall allowed more goals than Edmonton but have outscored the Oil by 24 goals. 4) Khaira's Back. Jujhar was on a solid scoring streak before his suspension with 8 points in 10 games. Most of that production was with RNH and Puljujarvi but tonight Khaira will be counted on to centre the third line with Spooner and Lucic. No one else has been able to get those two to produce. If Khaira can find a way to accomplish that he should be given his own parade.
FILM OF THE DAY
Still working my way back from a great holiday of eating and drinking too much so the creative juices are lacking. Watch this clip from Jaws.