Edmonton is having such a bizarre and generally awful season that it is really hard to point to any one place as it’s central problem. I mean, ultimately everything falls back to Chiarelli’s total incompetence, but on the ice it’s more than that. I find that with almost every player we can dig down on, there is something wonky going on.
Take for example, Milan Lucic. He’s been terrible. He hasn’t scored or even had a primary assist in 27 games. The last time he scored was December 23rd, 2017. So it’s been 2 full months of failure for him. And yet, Lucic has almost as many 5v5 points now as he did all of last year. He had 23 a year ago and has 22 today.
Draisaitl is suffering the same interesting phenomenon. Leon Draisaitl had 40 5v5 points a year ago. He has 37 already this season. These two players could match their 82 game output from last season in almost 20 fewer games during this campaign. And yet, they are coming up snake eyes on the power play.
It’s hard to come to any other conclusion but that if the Oilers had a functioning man-advantage, both of these players would be regarded very differently right now. When it comes to statements like that, though, it’s a chicken and egg problem. Are the players struggling because the special teams or are the special teams struggling because of the players.
For me, I put a lot of onus on the coaching staff for the efficiency of the power play. We are told many times that it is the game state where they have the most influence. Connor McDavid and Draisaitl are dynamite 5v5 and killers 3v3, so why the hell are they dying 5v4? None of it makes sense.
So when I see that Milan Lucic, Leon Draisaitl, Letestu, and Klefbom (4 of the 5 members of PP1) all have just 6 power play points each through 63 games, I am hard pressed to believe that 4 players all had 60+ games of slumping all at the same time. It is much more plausible that the point of failure is with the coaching staff than an entire roster. I just doubt that Draisaitl, Klefbom, and even Milan Lucic ALL forgot how to play in the offensive zone while outnumbering the opposition at the exact same time.
That Power Play is rated 31st in efficiency this season at just 13.8%. It a full 1.6% worse than the 30th ranked team and 13.2% worse than the top ranked team. Minus Jordan Eberle, the same group that logged the top minutes for the Oil a year ago, were here this season. Last year, the Oilers were 5th in PP efficiency with a 22.9% efficiency. Now, 31st! What kind of gypsy curse is this?
With the power play as bad as it is, it is really difficult to properly assess players. Should Milan Lucic be shot out of a cannon when he’s way ahead of last year’s 5v5 pace? Should Leon Draisaitl be regarded as one of the best players in the NHL even though he can’t squeeze a drop 5v4? It makes for troubled analysis.
What I am certain of, whoever is in charge of this PP should get his walking papers. It’s killing the Oilers.
LINEUP
Larsson has returned to Sweden for the next 2 games for his father’s funeral.
Lucic McDavid Slepyshev Rattie Draisaitl Cammalleri Puljujarvi Strome Aberg Caggiula Khaira Pakarinen
Klefbom Benning Nurse Russell (?) Sekera Bear
Talbot
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) The Bear. Ethan will make his NHL debut, according to the coach. Ethan Bear is Edmonton’s top defensive prospect. He has a history of offense from the WHL that has come with him to the professional level. He has 6-10-16 in 34 AHL games as a rookie professional defender and the Bakersfield blueline is the deepest with Oiler prospects at defense. SO he’s had to beat a number of older prospects for PP time. He had 47-88-135 in his final 136 WHL games. I first saw him as a recent 5th round pick doing rookie camp drills against McDavid. He was the only player there who was even close to defending 97. No pressure, but a RHD with offensive instincts is EXACTLY what the Oilers need.
2) Pontus Plays Preds. Pontus Aberg played almost 13 minutes in his Oiler debut. For a while he looked exactly what you would expect of a player who has spent almost no time whatsoever with his linemates. However, as the game progressed he started to look more comfortable. Ultimately, he made a fantastic pass to Jesse Puljujarvi who raised the puck over a sprawling Jones. Tonight he plays the team that drafted him, that gave him his start in the NHL, and that gave him away for what would be flipped immediately for a 4th round pick. Aberg played just 11 minutes a night for the Preds and he had his struggles. In Edmonton he should find a few more minutes, especially over the next 18 games.
3) Total Eclipse of the Hartman. Ryan Hartman made an immediate impact in his first game with the Predators after they traded a 1st and a 4th for the 23 year old whose career high is 31 NHL points. Hartman scored the game winner in a wild 6-5 game against the Winnipeg Jets. He also had a team-high (tied) 4 shots on net despite only playing 13:29. The new Predator winger was clearly geeked up in that game. We see how well he continues to adapt to his new teammates. Nashville is all-in to win and their management was motivated to add this player to their roster. Edmonton is potentially playing the 2018 Stanley Cup champs tonight.
Puck drops tonight at 7PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Tank On!
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