In case some of my other blogs haven't made it clear. I vehemetly dislike the subjective nature of a number of NHL awards. Last week I focused on the Hart and today I'm going to talk a bit about the Jack Adams award for best coach in the NHL, an award that Dave Tippett should absolutely be in the conversation for.
For those unaware, the Jack Adams goes to the coach who had a bad team the year before, get's a hot goaltender for a year, then goes back to their old ways, promptly resulting in the firing of said coach.
Coaches such as Bob Hartley with the Flames, Patrick Roy with the Avalanche, and even Dave Tippett himself years ago with the Coyotes are all recipients of this award. Look for Paul Maurice to win the award this year with the stellar play of Connor Hellebuyck. It was really stellar of his coach to tell him to stop all those pucks.
Am I being glib? Of course I am, it's second nature to me. Regardless if he does not win, or even receive a nomination, Dave Tippett has been fundamental to the Oilers turn around this season.
When Tippett was announced as coach, many whined and bemoaned how the Oilers were going to become a boring defensive team and he was going to stifle the Oilers creative players. Instead he has unleashed them with Draisaitl leading the league in points, McDavid right behind, and Ryan Nugent Hopkins having a shot at passing his own career high.
Last season Edmonton had the second worst PK (74.80%) in the league and the 9th best powerplay (21.17%). This year the special teams has been their bread and butter with a PK that is second in the league (84.54%) and a powerplay leading the league at (29.80%). Combined, Edmonton has a chance to have the best combined special teams in the history of the NHL.
Big credit has gone this year to the number of young players that have been developed in the AHL and have had success with the Oilers. Kailer Yamamoto, Ethan Bear, and Caleb Jones. While Jay Woodcroft and his AHL staff deserve massive credit, Tippett also needs a round of applause for putting these players in positions to succeed and helping them adapt to the NHL.
Here is the lineup for today's game:
LINEUP
OILERS
RNH-McDavid-Kassian Ennis-Draisaitl-Yamamoto Athanasiou-Sheahan-Archibald Neal-Khaira-Chiasson
Klefbom-Larsson Nurse-Bear Jones-Russell
Koskinen
First thing first, Oscar Klefbom is back! How many injuries does this guy need to have for fans to understand how critical he is to the Oilers lineup? Klefbom can eat big minutes far better than Darnell Nurse and with him back in the lineup, Darnell can go back to doing what he does best, playing solid 5 on 5 minutes as a second pairing defenseman.
Also these new lines are once again proof that all the Oilers coaches and higher ups read my blog and take my advice seriously. No need to thank me all at once.
The RNH, Draisaitl, and Yamamoto line had become the Oilers top line and it was an absolute joy to watch every time it stepped out on the ice. Getting lost during that time was that Connor McDavid was getting absolutely zero support and getting crushed in terms of 5 on 5 deployment.
As of right now, Edmonton has four players that I would categorize as top six forwards; Kailer Yamamoto, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent Hopkins. Having two of them paired, leaving the third spot for a complimentary player makes sense and can provide balance to the lineup.
RNH and McDavid have been successful together in the past and Yamamoto who is still new to the NHL keeps some familiarity by playing with the same centre he has all season. Kassian gets reunited with McDavid and Tyler Ennis takes the spot that RNH had on that line.
Dave Tippett has made smart decisions with his lineup throughout the season and I trust this will be another example.
BLUE JACKETS
Wennberg-Dubois-Bemstrom Foligno-Jenner-Nyquist Stenlund-Nash-Robinson Lilja-Shore-Matteau
Werenski-Nutivaara Gavrikov-Savard Harrington-Peeke
Korpisalo
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3 KEYS TO VICTORY
1.) Driving 5 on 5 - Edmonton sits 19th in the league in even-strength scoring while the Blue Jackets sit 23rd. These new line combinations Tippett expects will help push the ice in the Oilers favour. Edmonton needs to find better ways to generate at 5 on 5 if they want to be a threat moving forward.
2.) Home Cooked Meals - On paper the team should be happy with securing 4 of 6 points on their recent road trip but in reality it should be a wakeup call. Edmonton got shellacked against the Stars and Koskinen bailed them out and despite coming on strong in the third, two weak periods against the Hawks was enough to do them in. Now Edmonton will spend the next week at home playing four home games. Practicing on home ice and getting back to the system will go a long way to racking up points.
3.) Your 2019/2020 Oilers - Finally after a couple months of suspensions, shoulder, quad, ankle, and other injuries we will witness tonight Edmonton's (essentially) complete roster envisioned by the GM. All the key players for Edmonton are back in the lineup and fans should witness a team that can compete with the best in the league on any given night.
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FILM OF THE DAY
Many of us at some point in our lives have had a coach that has inspired us in some way. In film there are dozens of examples of great portrayals of coaches. I know I've used it before as a scene but The Replacements remains one of my all-time favourite sports movies.