Edmonton played an excellent game against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. Both teams fought hard in their own zones and didn't give up many chances. The Oilers need to be able to play that style of game if they want to succeed in the post-season and they did just that.
Speaking of playoffs I think it's about time we discuss them and what to expect from the Oilers organization. Edmonton has shown they have the ability to beat any team in this division and when this team is on they have as much of a chance to come out on top of the division as the Leafs or Jets do.
I don't expect Holland to be active at all leading up to the trade deadline. Edmonton has essentially zero cap space right now and not much in the way of draft picks to spend. The two biggest needs on this roster; a scoring left winger and a second pairing veteran left shot defenseman I don't see being addressed until the off season.
What is the Oilers best roster they can ice right now? If I was setting up my starting lineup in Game 1 of the playoffs it would probably look like this:
RNH-McDavid-Puljujarvi Kahun-Draisaitl-Yamamoto Ennis-Khaira-Kassian Neal-Haas-Archibald
Nurse-Barrie Lagesson-Larsson Jones-Bear
Smith
But there is plenty of time to focus and like the Edmonton Oilers our focus should be on the game tonight.
OILERS LINE COMBINATIONS RNH-McDavid-Puljujarvi Kahun-Draisaitl-Archibald Ennis-Haas-Kassian Shore-Khaira-Chiasson
Nurse-Barrie Lagesson-Larsson Russell-Bear
Smith
JETS LINE COMBINATIONS Statsny-Scheifele-Wheeler Connor-Dubois-Ehlers Copp-Lowry-Appleton Perrault-Thompson-Lewis
Morrissey-Demelo Forbort-Pionk Stanley-Poolman
Hellebuyck
4 GAME THOUGHTS
1.) Back To The Favorite - Tonight Mike Smith gets the start instead of Mikko Koskinen. Koskinen had a great game against the Jets and I thought Tippett would go back to him but Smith is clearly the sole starter in Tip's eyes. Twitter will be fun to watch implode if Smith comes out flat.
2.) Draisaitl Dominant - Connor McDavid once again is getting all the hype for his Hart worthy season (as he should) but Leon Draisaitl should once again be getting some notice. Leon is second in the league in scoring behind Connor and while I don't condone the stat it is at least worth pointing out Draisaitl has the best +/- among all forwards this season. It was fun to watch Draisaitl and McDavid run on the same line for a few games but it's so much better for this team when they are apart.
3.) Bearing Down - Ethan Bear has had a mixed season. Early in the year he was sat by his coach and just as he was regaining his confidence he went down with a concussion. I thought Bear played one of his better games of the season in the last game and hopefully he continues to trend up. This player should not be considered to be traded at all by the organization.
4.) Khaira Returns - Jujhar went down in an ugly scrap against Ritchie during the bout with the Flames. I'm surprised to see him back this early but it's great to see. Khaira has been a key piece of the Oilers bottom six over the past month. His physicality should be an asset against this Jets team.