A couple of weeks ago the Oilers faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exciting affair that ended like most affairs do; fun, but ultimately disappointing. Edmonton was the better team for most of the game but Mike Smith let the team down as he has on numerous occasions this season.
Skinner was recently recalled and I thought for a moment that management had an ounce of common sense and were going to play the goalie in the system that has the best save percentage among their goalies. Instead it appears it was nothing more than a paper move as Skinner was once more sent back down to the AHL.
How many more games does Mike Smith have to drop until Holland is forced to send him down and have Skinner playing in games? I guess we will find out if such a number exists sometime later this month.
Thankfully tonight it is Mikko Koskinen who will get the start for the Oilers. If Edmonton can play with the same intensity they played with against the Lightning a couple of weeks ago and they get at least above average netminding than this should be a good game.
Recent losses by other teams in the West have helped the Oilers and right now it might be easier for Edmonton to finish third in the Pacific Division than to secure a wildcard spot in the West. The Vegas Golden Knights are in an absolute tailspin and are only 2 points ahead of the Oilers while Edmonton has two games in hand. Meanwhile the Canucks are 7-2-1 in their last 10 and are a single point behind the Oilers though Edmonton has a game in hand on them too.
I will keep repeating this until it is no longer relevant; it is going to be a close race to make the playoffs that is likely going to come right down to the last couple games of the season.
Tonight Josh Archibald will play his first game of the season. I wonder how much leash Archiblad is going to get considering he can only play in home games and games against other Canadian teams. For argument sake, let's say the Oilers make the playoffs and face off against the Kings in the first round. How useful is a player who can only play in half of those games truly be?
Jesse Puljujarvi is now skating with the team and while he won't play tonight, he could be back as early as Tuesday against the Red Wings. While some of his early scoring touches have disappeared, it should be evident to anyone watching the games that the Oilers miss JP in the lineup. He is one of the best 5 on 5 players the Oilers have in their top six and is a positive possession player whenever he is on the ice.
Just musing now but it would be nice for once to see the Oilers take advantage of the rules as other teams do. I am speaking of placing RNH on LTIR and pulling a Kucherov/Stone and using that 5.5 million dollars of cap space at the deadline. For fans who want that loophole to be closed trust me, nothing would make the NHL and Bettman fix that than a Canadian team bending the rules to their advantage.
Looks like next season the Oilers will finally be bringing back their Royal Blue jerseys as their main home jerseys. Finally. The orange jerseys when they were first introduced back in 2015/2016 were a cool add but have become stale and simply just not that good looking, especially with the new Adidas ones. Looking forward to seeing in my opinion what is the best Oilers jersey.
Or at least that would be the case if it didn't also appear that the Oilers will also be bringing back the 05/06 Cog jerseys as a Reverse Retro next season but with a twist. That remains one of my favorite jerseys and I will certainly be in line to grab one the moment they are released to the public.
Tonight the Oilers might luck out a bit with the Lightning as Vasilevskiy does not get the start but instead Brian Elliot and his 0.907SSV% will get the nod.
Edmonton may have only gone 1/4 on their PP against the Caps but at least the team was able to enter the zone and create chances on all their powerplay opportunities. The 5 on 5 play has been consistent for Edmonton; now they just need to get their special teams online.
Enjoy the Game