Jeff Petry and the Montreal Canadiens make their way into Edmonton right when Edmonton’s defense has been beat up the most. Isn’t it always the case that you run into your Ex when you look like a slob?
The Oilers had their Head Doctor fly back from Europe to see Justin Schultz. The results have not been made public but he has been placed on Injured Reserve. There’s no telling how serious his issue, whatever it may be, really is. Beyond that Reinhart was also placed on IR not long ago for his problem (the Oilers are now double secret probation level quiet about injuries). The good news for Reinhart is he should draw back in soon, though we have no idea how dinged up he may still be.
Combine the injuries with the general ineffectiveness of Andrew Ference, Brandon Davidson, and remember that Nikitin was so bad that they exiled him to Bakersfield and brought LaLeggia up before him. What you get is a pretty detailed picture of a dilapidated defense. It’s truly a blueline on the edge right now.
I thought Darnell Nurse looked great in his season debut. He’s mobile, he can pass, he thinks the game offensively and defensively. He’s the future. He’s also an NHL rookie and there will be difficult days ahead, without question. The loss of Schultz is a big one in that it applies a lot of pressure on players who might not otherwise be comfortable handling the puck. We saw with Gryba that sometimes it’s a grenade on his stick.
It being his first time back as a member of the opposition, it’s a good time to recall what the Oilers did with Jeff Petry. Why do we do this? Because the Oilers need a Right Handed Defenseman who can handle the puck in both ends more now than ever and we gave one away for peanuts. It’s a story and a lesson worth repeating.
In the summer of 2014 Jeff Petry was a Restricted Free Agent coming off of a season where he ended as the team’s best defenseman but still hadn’t established himself in the eyes of Oiler management. Despite being the best regular Oiler defender by possession metrics and playing 21 minutes a night the Oilers felt the need to “challenge… Petry on a deal.
As Petry told the Montreal media not long ago, the Oilers never offered anything longer than 2 years that summer to Petry who was going to be a UFA in the following summer. This did not sit well with the then Oiler blueliner. Very early in the season Head Coach Dallas Eakins made Petry a healthy scratch against the LA Kings in order to play Brad Hunt. Many people believe this was a spike through the heart of all future hope there could be a deal struck between the two teams.
The truth, though, was that the Oilers would never attempt to sign Petry again. The rules on 1 year deals are that extensions cannot be discussed until part of the way through the season. When the time came to discuss a potential deal Edmonton did nothing. When the Petry camp reached out to the Oiler brass they were told the Oilers were going to work on a trade. At no point was MacTavish working on a new deal to offer Petry.
At the trade deadline, and only on the trade deadline, were there reports of a possible 4M by 4 year deal offered to Jeff Petry. I’ve been told that report was not accurate at all, for what that’s worth. It’s also worth noting that Petry signed a 6 year deal at 5.5M with Montreal just months later. At any rate, Petry was effectively run out of town by management.
Today, Petry leads the Montreal defense in Shots per 60 minutes 5v5, he and his defense partner lead the Habs blue in Corsi For %, and he plays in all situations. He is their primary penalty killer (2:19 per game), plays a similar amount of time on their PP (2:18 per game), and is getting praised by the media for his all around game.
I recognize everybody is sick of hearing about Petry and how the Oilers screwed it up because there’s nothing they can do about it now. It’s true these things are in the past. Chiarelli inherited a team that was already robbed of a mobile puck mover in the prime of his career. That’s not on him.
He just has to fix the problem moving forward and it’s always worth exploring why there was a problem to begin with.
LINEUP
Justin Schultz and Klinkhammer were placed on IR and the Oilers recalled Joey LaLeggia and Tyler Pitlick. Then the Oilers placed Eberle on LTIR, sent LaLeggia and Pitlick BACK to the Condors and recalled Leon Draisaitl. Eberle wasn't set back at all, he was skating on the top unit in practice. Clear? Expect Talbot in net. The Oilers are going with 7 D for the game. Not clear on who is in and who is out right now.
UPDATE: This is what we've got for now
Hall RNH Draisaitl Pouliot McDavid Yakupov Pakarinen Lander Purcell Gazdic Letestu Slepyshev
Nurse Sekera Klefbom Davidson Ference Gryba Fayne
Talbot
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Lander Lost. We are 10 games into the season and Anton Lander has not recorded a single point. This is troublesome. Lander picked up 20 in 38 games last year and looked like he turned a corner. I recognize that in preseason he was playing with Draisaitl and Yak but now he’s playing with Korpikoski & Purcell. However, he has to find a way to contribute so Edmonton isn’t so reliant on the top 2 lines. Lander is still getting 2:41 per game on the PP. He has to produce.
2) Decision Making. On the fourth goal in the last game Eric Gryba made a decision. He made a very, very bad decision. With no pressure at all applied to him while he was standing behind the net and Anton Slepyshev coming back in support (as well as his D-partner standing as an outlet option) Gryba wired the puck around the boards. The play –at best- was going to end Edmonton’s possession of the puck, but perhaps only temporarily. It highlights the topics of “Game Management… that the coaching staff has been talking about and the lack of mobility the blogosphere has been talking about. The Oilers can’t make decisions like this anymore. Full stop.
3) The Price Is Right. Carey Price is once again at the top of the list for Goaltenders in the NHL. He leads the way in Wins, but just as impressively he is killing it in save percentage at .945 through 8 games played. He is the real deal netminder, a dominant force on the ice. If he has a weakness right now then NHL shooters haven’t found a way to exploit it. He’s athletic, he has great positioning, he is calm and collected. It’s infuriating.
BONUS) Dr. Drai. Leon Draisaitl was recalled today and Ryan Rishaug expects him in the lineup. He was fantastic in the preseason but kind of petered off the final couple games. The narrative was starting to build that he had trouble against big tough teams. While he hasn't been producing lots of points in the AHL, those who have been watching say he's been their best forward. He should get the opportunity to play in good situations today.
Puck drops tonight at 7 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet. Game On!
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