Hello everyone and welcome back! I hope everyone had a great Christmas/holiday break. For myself it felt great to push the ol' reset button but now I'm ready to come back and give you as much Oilers related content as I possibly can.
Over the past few days we have watched as numerous more COVID cases are announced, games are postponed and new rules are incorporated. We are now seeing the return of taxi squads for NHL teams. Today the Oilers added a couple players to this taxi squad in netminder Konovalov and defenseman Philip Broberg.
The reason Konovalov has been added to the taxi squad is due to Mike Smith finally being taken off of IR and Stuart Skinner being sent back down to the AHL. Mike Smith has not played a game since he was injured October 19th against the Anaheim Ducks. Smith was originally believed to only miss a handful of games but the injury continued to nag him for months. He will start tonight against the Blues.
Stuart Skinner has certainly proved himself to at the very least be a capable backup in the NHL. In 10 games this season Skinner has posted a 0.916SV% and a 2.70GAA. The 23 year old has looked calm in net and only gotten better with each game he has started. That all being said I do think it's the correct decision to send him back to the AHL as opposed to the taxi squad. Edmonton has a legit goalie prospect in Skinner and the best thing for him right now is to play as many games as possible and not just sit on the sidelines. I would not be surprised to see him back with the club after the trade deadline, assuming the Oilers find a way to move Mikko Koskinen.
COVID continues to spell disaster for the NHL and these new rules suggest the league will simply push forward with the season. Some Canadian games have been postponed due to fans not currently being allowed in the arena. The NHL has just put out a notice that they are moving to reduce the quarantine period for COVID for 5 days as long as they test negative.
As I was writing this the World Juniors has been cancelled. Things are rapidly spinning out of control and it seems almost inevitable that we are going to once again have a shortened NHL season. I just don't see a way that an 82 game season happens under these circumstances.
Everyone is going to have their own opinion on how this should be handled and unfortunately there is no one correct answer right now. Whether you are in the camps of "let them play" or "shut it down" there are massive hurdles to overcome.
The good news is that we will have an NHL game to watch tonight and the Oilers should be almost entirely healthy. Smith is back, RNH is off of protocol as is Duncan Keith, and Zach Hyman will be in the lineup after an upper body injury. Here are the current projected lines.
Foegele-McDavid-Hyman RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto Perlini-McLeod-Turris Shore-Ryan-Sceviour
Keith-Ceci Koekkoek-Barrie Samorukov-Bouchard
Smith
The new name to keep an eye on tonight will be Dmitri Samorukov who will play in his first NHL game. The 22 year old defenseman is a jack of all trades blueliner who was one of the top OHL defenders when he played back in 18/19. The offense has not come as easily for him yet in the AHL (66GP 3-12-15) but he remains a strong player at both ends of the ice and is counted on in most situations by the coaching staff down there. The left side for prospects remains strong for the Oilers blueline with Samorukov and Broberg both with top four potential. I will be paying close attention to his shifts tonight.
Foegele remains in the top six alongside Connor McDavid who will be flanked on the opposite side by Zach Hyman. The Blues aren't as much the wrecking ball force they were in the past but they still have a healthy supply of grit but this line should be a force for the Oilers at 5 on 5.