We are at the end of October with the Edmonton Oilers sitting second in the Division after a well earned victory against the Calgary Flames. With no games to discuss until tomorrow when the Oil return home to face the Nashville Predators, now seemed like a good time to give a quick thought on every Oilers player, how they've faired thus far and maybe what to expect moving forward.
Connor McDavid - Every year McDavid seems to add one more aspect to his already impressive game; playing more physical, being more defensively aware... now it is looking as though McDavid wants to be known as an elite goal scorer. Connor leads the Oilers and the NHL with 9 goals through 9 games. He probably won't continue to score at a goal per game pace but he already well on his way of breaking his previous career high of 44 goals last season.
Leon Draisaitl - Draisaitl sits third in the NHL in points with 16 and continues looking like the best passer in the NHL. No surprises here; just consistent elite play from one of the best in the NHL.
Zach Hyman - Hyman is second on the Oilers in goals scored with 6 so far this season and has been integral to the early season wins. You never see Hyman take a shift off but right now he is playing fearless, going into the corners against two or three other players and still coming away with the puck. Continues to be one of the best free agent signings the Oilers have ever had.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - RNH is having a what could be the start of a career year. 5 goals and 11 points through the first 9 games is impressive enough as the former 1st overall is once again finding great chemistry alongside Connor McDavid. For the past two years, RNH has managed only 7 EV goals... he already has 4.
Evander Kane: The SH% gods giveth and taketh away. Kane was on an absolute heater last season when he put up 22 goals in 43 games and now we are seeing regression the opposite way. Only 2 goals on 34 shots. The good news is we should expect that to start trending in the opposite direction. Aside from that, Kane still brings swagger and an edge to the lineup every night and drives his opponents crazy. Might need to stay out of the box a smidge more though.
Darnell Nurse: People can hate the contract but Darnell Nurse is a #1 defenseman in this league and after a couple more adventurous games he has settled in and is playing some steady hockey. The Oilers out-chance their opposition 89-64 at 5 on 5 when Nurse is on the ice. Aside from a few plays (which will happen to any player who logs as many minutes as he does) he is giving this team everything they have asked from him. The biggest area he (and the team) need to improve is on the PK.
Tyson Barrie: Ahh, I've been too nice through these first few names and finally I can flex my negative muscles. Barrie has been bad... like really bad. Almost every player on this team right now has been on the ice for more scoring chances for than they have against.... except for Barrie. At 5 on 5, Barrie has been on the ice for 52 chances for versus 70 against and 18-29 in HDCF. He is putting up some points on the PP but even then that doesn't make up for the issues he has caused (the shorthanded Backlund goal was on him). Overall, Edmonton needs to improve their defending on the blueline and right now moving Tyson Barrie and his 4.5 million dollar deal looks like the best way to do that. Evan Bouchard: Bouch also struggled in the first couple of games but looking back that may be more due to being paired with Ryan Murray than his own fault. No one on the Oilers blueline can thread a pass like Bouchard can. Scoring chances are 84-48 in his favor at 5 on 5. I would like to see him shoot even more as his shot can cause some real damage and break up an opponents formation.
Ryan McLeod: It is looking like the Oilers finally have found a third line centre, capable of outscoring the opposition when they are on the ice. Three goals on the season for McLeod, 50% on the faceoff dot, and great at 5 on 5 as well as the PK. At 23 years of age McLeod looks like he is settling in perfectly. The only thing he needs now is for his linemates to bury some of his passes so he can earn a couple A's.
Cody Ceci: One of my worries before the season started was that Ceci would regress and not be able to handle playing top pairing minutes. Thankfully that has not been the case. Steady is the name of the game with Ceci and he continues to be a great compliment to Darnell Nurse.
Brett Kulak: Kulak is the poster boy right now for "good player, playing too high up." Kulak is still showing off the skills (jack-of-all-trades, makes the smart easy play) that earned him a four year contract that many even outside of Edmonton called a steal of a deal. That being said On an elite defense roster Kulak is a great third pairing option. I'm glad he is getting more reps right now with Bouchard as opposed to Barrie but as the games get tougher and the minutes start adding up, Kulak will be a player to keep an eye on and see how he is fairing.
Kailer Yamamoto: Still waiting to see anything from this player. The closest we have gotten was against the Hawks when Chicago basically handed the puck over to Yamamoto who was then able to get it over to Kane then to Drai for the game winner. Every other player who is regularly in the top six has at least 28 shots so far this season... Yamamoto has 11. Not nearly good enough for a player getting the minutes that he is.
Jesse Puljujarvi: Like Yamamoto, JP needs to find a way to get on the board more. The good news is that if Puljujarvi isn't scoring he is providing useful contributions in other ways. Puljujarvi remains an aggressive forechecker and against the Calgary Flames we saw him play a more physical game than I can remember, laying a neat backhit on Lucic and also getting into it with Looch after he took a cheap shot at McLeod. Right now I think this third line is the best spot for Puljujarvi to be playing in.
Warren Foegele: This third line as a whole has played very well together and has created a number of good chances but rather soon here that isn't going to be good enough. Foegele has had a few good chances come his way that he should have buried but didn't. You can see him working hard on every shift but you can also see some of that frustration in his game as well.
Derek Ryan: The fourth line has not gotten much time at all this season, especially with the 11/7 formation but Ryan has done his best to make the most of his minutes. The one surprising note is that he currently sits at 43% on the dot; rare for a player that is usually well above 50%.
Ryan Murray: Like most of the 2012 NHL Draft, Murray gets a resounding "meh" from me. Has lost his job to Markus Niemelainen and has not looked like he belongs in the NHL at all right now.
Dylan Holloway:Damn you pre-season. After hyping the fans up in the pre-season, Holloway's regular season debut has not gone great. Made a bad turnover in his first game which resulted in a goal against, got demoted, got absolutely leveled after receiving a suicide pass from Foegele and missed a few games, and is now getting minimal minutes on a fourth line. No one should be concerned about this early start from such a young player but at some point the team is either going to need to put him in a position to succeed (I would swap him and Yamamoto for a couple games to send a message) or Holland should start considering sending him down to the AHL to play top line minutes there.
Devin Shore: Has played in games this season and I suppose it's a good thing that there are no memorable bad plays from him... or good ones.
Markus Niemelainen: The big man continues to lay out big hits and gives his opponents pause when they enter the Oilers zone but more than that I have been impressed with his decision making as of late. He is never going to be a brilliant offensive player but as long as he can just make the smart first pass up to the forwards consistently he has a place on my roster.
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Jack Campbell: An 0.888SV% in 6 starts is probably not what Oilers fans wanted from their starter but any panic right now is being way overblown. Campbell has not cost the Oilers a win yet with much of the early struggles being on the team in front of him. These are supposed to be little blurbs but let's quickly break down his six games:
A 0.917SV% in a win against the Canucks where the Oilers didn't show up for the period. Campbell kept the team in it until they realized this was not an exhibition game.
A 0.636SV% where again the team did not come prepared and the Flames dominated early. 4 goals on 11 shots is just plain bad. This is the one really bad game Campbell has had but again the team did him no favors early on.
Campbell made 36 saves on 40 shots and a 0.900SV% against a very good Hurricanes team, including saving a few breakaways.
20 saves on 21 shots and a 0.952SV% in a 2-0 (empty net goal) loss to the Blues in a game where Edmonton just couldn't generate any chances of their own.
A 0.914SV% in a 6-3 win over the Penguins. Pittsburgh absolutely peppered the Oilers early, outshooting them 19-9 in the first period. It could have been a 4-1 game for Pittsburgh early on but Campbell kept the team in it.
A 0.861SV% in a bizarrely officiated game against the Hawks where a total of 17 penalties were called. Both teams traded chances back and forth and in the end, Campbell made one more save than his opponent.
Campbell has not been dominant yet but he has not cost them wins yet. Take away the brutal Calgary game and Campbell is a 0.908SV% goalie. We will see how we feel about Campbell in a month's time.
Stuart Skinner: The good news is that if Campbell does indeed continue to struggle, Stuart Skinner looks early on like he is able to handle the responsibilities. He first came in relief of Campbell against the Flames and stopped 31 of 31 after the team settled down and then registered a second loss against a Buffalo team that once again the Oilers were not ready to face.
Skinner followed those up with a great showing against the Blues where Binnington was brilliant and yet Skinner was better with a 0.974SV%. His next game was no different with a 0.952SV% against the Flames. The 24 year old early on is looking like he is not only a suitable backup on this roster but has the ability to perform like a starter.
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Ultimately the month of October should be seen as a victory for this team. I would say the team really started to find their rhythm as of the second period against the Penguins and since then they have looked much more like the team that went to the Western Conference Finals last season.
The first seven games of November are against the Predators, Devils, Stars at home, followed by the Caps, Lightning, Hurricanes, and Panthers on the road. These are all very good teams, hard fought games, and an excellent early test for this season.