Follow @SMaloughney The Oilers have had three days to rest and tomorrow they play the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the meantime, I have thoughts on some of the other goings on.
NEW LINES A couple of unmotivated loses, usually means a lineup change:
RNH-McDavid-Puljujarvi Rieder-Draisaitl-Chiasson Caggiula-Brodziak-Kassian Lucic-Spooner-Rattie Khaira (susp), Zykov
Nurse-Larsson Gravel-Jones Garrison-Benning
There was some panic, when Adam Larsson was not on the ice for the last practice but Hitchcock says he expects him in the lineup. In more good news, Hitchcock expects Russell could return to the lineup as early as December 27th, when the Oil face the Canucks.
The Connor-Leon connection has been broken up once more and that's for the best. Against Vancouver and St.Louis, two of the worst teams in the league, that duo managed only a single point, an assist by McDavid; not that the recent loses fall of their shoulders.
Even if the Oilers do make the playoffs this spring, the single greatest thing Hitch may accomplish with this team is rebuilding the confidence of Jesse Puljujarvi. Since being called up on the request of his new coach, Puljujarvi has taken massive strides forward. His overall defensive game has been much more sound, earning him a look with Khaira and RNH and while he might not have been on the scoresheet as much as those two, he has not looked out of place on that line.
On a line with McDavid, Puljujarvi will get the opportunity to be what fans have been clamoring for from him since he first entered the league; the chance to be Connor's shooter. In order to do that, the Oilers need to see him shoot the puck far more. In Jesse's last 5 games he has only 4 shots on net and only registered shots in two of those games.
Meanwhile Draisaitl gets the chance to produce on his own line with two players he has shown chemistry with this year in Rieder and Chiasson who is back playing on the right wing. Hitch is banking that the new top 6 will provide them with more offense and at a first glance I like the new combos.
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WORLD JUNIORS AND CAPTAIN BOUCHARD? Arguably one of my favourite holiday traditions is sitting in my pajama pants on Boxing Day, not even thinking of stepping out my front door for shopping and instead watching the World Juniors while drinking rum and eggnog. As always, Canada has a skilled roster and will be in the conversation for the Gold. A few injuries to some notable names like Gabe Vilardi and Alex Formenton will make things more difficult, but there are plenty of other names to watch.
Edmonton Oilers fans will be keeping a careful eye on Evan Bouchard who will almost certainly be quarterbacking the powerplay for Canada and will have a prominent spot on Team Canada's back end.
Bouchard was notably snubbed last year from Team Canada, despite leading the London Knights in scoring. Bouchard, the 35 year old 19 year old was beaming when asked how he felt about playing. “Everyone dreams of playing in it. You think of it as a kid and watch the event for years growing up.…
As always, there are a number of captains from various teams who are playing for team Canada, and Evan Bouchard is no exception as he is the captain of the London Knights. Being 19, Bouchard is one of the older players coming into this tournament and even if he is not announced as the captain, I would be shocked if he is not at least wearing an A.
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KHAIRA SUSPENDED 2 GAMES
I have no issue with Khaira being suspended two games for his cross-check on Vince Dunn. Khaira brought his stick across the back of Dunn's neck; it is a dangerous play and absolutely worthy of suspension.
The inconsistency lies in the fact that Dunn, was merely fined $1,942 for administering nearly the exact same cross-check. Khaira seconds earlier, delivered a clean check to Dunn, who in response delivered a hit to the head, causing Khaira to retaliate. One can argue overall that Khaira hit Dunn slightly harder, or a bit higher but both men delivered dangerous hits. The fact that one player received barely a slap on the wrist, while the other got 2 games is another example of the inconsistencies of the NHL.
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SEKERA TO RETURN IN JANUARY? Andrej Sekera is no longer wearing a No Contact jersey, making it likely his return to the lineup will be sooner rather than later. Sekera himself has said he hopes to get some games in the AHL before returning to the NHL, and once he is confident his conditioning is where he needs it to be, he will be ready for the big club.
Andrej Sekera was not a useful player for Edmonton last year. When he returned to the lineup after a different potentially career ending injury, he was relegated to the third pairing and managed only 8 points in 35 games.
Klefbom will be out until likely after the All-Star break and Edmonton is teetering on the edge of maintaining a playoff position. There is clearly going to be temptation to rush Sekera back, but the player and the General Manager need to be patient, and only allow him to return when he is 100%.
Once Sekera is removed from the LTIR, the Oilers are going to need to figure out how to make his 5.5 million dollar cap fit. Edmonton has a few albatross contracts and it will prove difficult to move on from them, especially in the middle of the season.
It will likely mean another black mark against Chiarelli, but Ryan Spooner is the easiest name to move on from. Edmonton is currently paying Spooner 3.1 million to play less than 10 minutes a night. Hitchcock clearly would rather play Khaira in that spot over Spooner and it is unlikley Spooner will get much opportunity as a winger in the top 6.
A middle pick or a prospect from a team that thinks they can take Spooner as a reclamation would help give Edmonton more space. It would also mean that Jordan Eberle was traded for a third line centre, for a 4th line centre, for magic beans. Chiarelli is not good at his job.
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