I certainly picked a good week to be swamped with my other job. Edmonton now finds themselves on a four game losing streak and about to face off against a very good Hurricanes team and a very good Leafs team. There is a chance that by the end of this six game homestand the Oilers are winless. This is a team that should have been an obvious playoff team with potential to make some noise and right now there are those with reasonable worries that they might slip out of playoff contention all together.
There concerns that I had before this season began are front and centre right now. The defense hasn't been nearly good enough and the goaltending is average at best. The most pressing concerns though are the line deployments with Tippett firmly on the hot seat. Despite the holes on this roster, the Oilers should look competitive every night. The bottom six has a good mix of players but their deployment has been subpar at best. Tippett rolls out his top six for almost every situation and expects that with the remaining 14 minutes of ice time that the bottom six will be successful. It's a strategy that isn't working and a coaching change could be exactly what this team needs to kick it back into gear.
I would love to see Jay Woodcroft behind this Oilers bench. Woodcroft has been in and around the NHL for years and most recently has been highly successful with the Condors. He knows the Oilers players very well and has been a key cog in the development of the likes of Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto, Evan Bouchard, Stuart Skinner and many others. I don't want to see the Oilers continue to lose games but I believe that Tippett does not have what it takes to bring this team into the post-season and be successful.
Tonight Edmonton will also see Ethan Bear return to Edmonton, in the jersey of a Carolina Hurricane. In Carolina, Bear has continued to grow and develop and has quickly become a fan favorite. I'm incredibly happy for him. Ethan Bear was an excellent young talent in Edmonton who was unfairly benched by Tippett. Tippett shortened his bench down to four defenders in an elimination game because of one bad pinch by Bear. Nurse ended up playing close to 60 minutes in that game. Bear may have made a mistake but we have seen the likes of Tyson Barrie and Duncan Keith make far worse plays only to see them right back out on the next shift. Tippett's trust in his "vets" is another reason why I think his time has run out in Edmonton.
Revisiting the other side of the trade, Warren Foegele has come in and done some of what fans hoped but hasn't produced nearly as much as expected. Foegele is 2-6-8 through his first 25 games as an Oiler. His shooting percentage of 5.6 is well below his career average so there is some puck luck involved there but he also isn't shooting nearly enough. In 53 games with the Canes last season, Foegele had 91 shots in 53 games. This year he has 36 shots in 25 games. Prorate that over the same 53 games and he is still well below his career average. Look for Foegele have a big game tonight against his former team.
If Tippett isn't going to be relieved soon, I would like to see him completely mix up the lines just to try and get something else going. Here is something crazy:
Foegele-McDavid-Puljujarvi McLeod-Draisaitl-Hyman Kassian-RNH-Yamamoto Shore-Sceviour-Ryan
Try something because right now things aren't working.
Kris Russell was checked last game by Erik Haula on a play that was very similar to the 5 minute major McDavid got just a few games earlier. I have no issue with McDavid getting a major on his play but I do take issue with Haula not receiving anything on the play. Consistency is all I ask for. Broberg will be back in the lineup after being sent down just a day earlier. Still no Duncan Keith who has now been day to day for a couple of weeks.