Tonight many Oilers fans will get their first taste of watching Connor Bedard play. The next young phenom, like McDavid, has been hyped up well before he played an NHL game, was drafted and even when he was as young as 12 years old. So far the 18 year old has lived up to his hype.
These Hawks are a very poor team. They have the second fewest wins in the NHL and sit 31st in the league. Taylor Hall is on the IR as is Andreas Athanasiou. Corey Perry is no longer with the team, and Seth Jones is also currently injured and not with the Hawks on this road trip. With all those issues, Bedard still has 11 goals and 23 points in 27 games. Can't wait to see what this player can do with a capable roster around him.
The Oilers have finally pulled themselves to .500 and a win tonight will have them above for the first time all season. In order to do that they must win tonight and not look past a team that sits below them in the standings. You can bet Bedard is going to be fired up to play against McDavid. If Edmonton isn't prepared they could quickly find themselves behind.
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One quick thought which I have stated before. At some point this team is going to need to make a decision on Connor Brown. The Oilers are going to go with the same lineup that has been winning them games; no surprises there. The team has won despite Brown playing in the top six and not providing any type of offensive capability.
Right now Edmonton doesn't really have an internal option to fill that second line RW position. Foegele is probably the best option but he and McLeod are a strong duo on the third line. Sam Gagner is another option but perhaps only on a game by game basis.
I keep coming back to the idea of calling up Raphael Lavoie and giving him a legitimate chance on a skill line. Lavoie once again leads the Condors in goals and really does not look like he has much left to prove in the AHL. This is a kid that was drafted with the intent to become a skilled volume shooter. He isn't going to be able to highlight those abilities playing in the bottom six.
Play him with Draisaitl and Kane for at least a 7 game stretch. If he doesn't perform than you send him down and know that you need to address the top six in a different way. If Lavoie does produce than it's one less position that needs to be addressed at the deadline and beyond.
Right now the team is intent on digging themselves out of a hole so I don't see a coach making such a move right away. Perhaps by the end of December, if the team is in a playoff position and can take a slight exhale, we could see this occur.
Thanks for reading.