Edmonton finally broke their losing streak with a fairly convincing win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The most promising fact from that game was that Edmonton won off the backs of it's supporting cast. Derek Ryan, Brendan Perlini, and a couple PP goals from Puljujarvi along with an empty net goal from Warren Foegele led the Oilers to a 5-2 victory. This doesn't mean the Oilers are out of hot water yet but it was a good step in righting the ship once more.
Today I want to talk about Warren Foegele and Kailer Yamamoto. While Foegele's goal was an empty net goal, I've really liked what I have seen from the Foegele, McDavid, and Pulljujarvi trio and the numbers agree. In 22 minutes of 5 on 5 play this trio has not scored but they also have not been scored on. They have posted a 66.67CF% and 64.17xGF% while outshooting their opposition 26-11. Those are some really positive numbers and eventually they're going to start potting some goals.
Once Zach Hyman is back I would keep this trio together which would lead to some shuffling down the lineup. Here is what Coach Maloughney would run when everyone is healthy:
Foegele-McDavid-Puljujarvi RNH-Draisaitl-Hyman Benson-McLeod-Yamamoto Perline-Ryan-Kassian Sceviour/Shore
While Hyman has played left wing for much of his career he is a right shot and would be able to move to that side with little effort. Leon and Hyman have played very little together (less than 6 minutes at 5 on 5) but again the underlying numbers are solid and I think these two players could play off of each other very well. This would give both lines in the top six real scoring threats, mixed in with a good amount of physicality and players who aren't afraid to take shots.
That last point is the key issue because right now Kailer Yamamoto is simply not working in the top six. Earlier in the year we were talking about Yamamoto as a player who simply could not buy a goal. The different between then and now is before he was at least taking shots. Yamamoto now has not taken a shot in his last 7 games. I don't know what is going on with this player right now but something needs to change.
The best option right now is to move him out of the top six and try and shelter him more in the lineup. The line combination I mentioned above of Benson, McLeod, and Yamamoto brings a good mix of speed, toughness and skill but is a line I would only ice at home in the offensive end when the Oilers have second change. Getting this trio who have experience together from Bakersfield could help spark all these players. It should be mentioned that I thought that Tyler Benson played his best game as an Oiler last night.
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Ultimately we are going to have to wait a bit for this lines to even have a chance at becoming a reality. Zach Hyman is still day to day with no specifics on his return and now Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been placed in COVID Protocol. Currently all Oilers players are being retested so we will see if the game on Saturday does happen.