Edmonton has now lost back to back games for the first time this season and they have a tough task in preventing the 3rd one. The New York Rangers are the highest scoring team in the NHL this season with 40 in 10 games played. Edmonton has also scored many goals, but that has cooled off a lot since they moved on from playing the Flames in games 1 & 2.
The Oilers are a team that desperately needs to get its secondary scoring rolling. Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins, Draisaitl, Maroon, and Puljujarvi are taking turns looking good but nobody is getting results. Eberle has been MIA from the scoresheet for 5 games. RNH hasn’t scored a single goal this season. Draisaitl hasn’t had a point in 6 games. Maroon and Puljujarvi are 11th and 12th in Forward scoring for the team.
These players are due for a break, but the longer they go without success the more likely the back to back losses start to turn into a full blown losing streak. Edmonton needs more from these guys.
Tonight will mark Jesse Puljujarvi’s 9th NHL game. This will be the final game he plays before the 1st year of his ELC gets burned. So far he has 1-1-2 in 8 games played. That’s not for a lack of trying. He actually leads the Oiler forwards in Shots per 60 minutes with 11.4/60, but they still arent going in.
I argued extensively that Puljujarvi should have been in the AHL to start the year to get accustomed to the North American ice surface and play the North American game. He is currently the youngest player in the NHL. Against his peer group at the Young Stars tournament and in the World Junior Hockey Championships he was electric. Against the best players in the world he’s been generally muted.
One of the things we haven’t seen in the NHL that we had at other levels of competition has been Puljujarvi’s speed. He was wheeling against Jr aged played, but he cant seem to find the room out there right now. What we have seen, though, has been very good positional hockey. Puljujarvi fights for the puck and stays on the right side of the disc. There’s a Marian Hossa element to his game, and Oiler fans hope that one day he can impact the game like that.
The last few games have been the best Puljujarvi has looked for the Oilers. His 7 shot performance against the Leafs was really a glimmer of hope that he might have turned the corner a bit. His underlying numbers look pretty good. He’s 2nd on the team in Corsi For percentage with 54.05%. He’s just a fraction of a percent away from the top spot on the club.
The problem with suggesting that he should be in the AHL right now is that the Oilers gutted their RW depth before the season began. If Puljujarvi plays in the AHL then only Slepyshev can likely play in that spot, and I’m not sure he’s better than Puljujarvi. You’d like to have someone you can play more than 11 minutes a night in that spot. Edmonton will likely burn through the 9 game window and the next mark will be the 40 games to determine when he will become a UFA.
Edmonton is banking on this kid progressing to the point where he can impact the game offensively. He’s getting there, but theyre working without a safety net here.
LINEUP
Lucic McDavid Eberle Pouliot RNH Kassian Maroon Draisaitl Puljujarvi Lander Letestu Pitlick
Klefbom Larsson Sekera Russell Nurse Benning
Talbot Gustavsson
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Zook. Mats Zuccarello is one of the Rangers players who has feasted on the Oilers in his career. In 6 games against the Oil, he has 4 goals, 5 assists, and 9 points. There’s something about playing Edmonton that he just seems to relish. He’s off to another good start this season with 5-3-8 in 10 games played. He’s played most significantly 5v5 this season with Zibanejad and Stepan, both are also having strong starts to their seasons. Edmonton needs to keep an eye on this teeny tiny LW, because he’s been murdering them for a while now.
2) Bounce Back. Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle both had very poor games against the Leafs. In a game where the Oilers dominated the shot clock and won the possession battle, these two player were both at or near 33% CF on the night and neither could muster more than a single shot on net in a night where the Oilers as a whole contributed 46 shots on goal. This duo has been gifted the chance to play with McDavid almost exclusively. Eberle is now 5 games without a point. Eberle needs to be more than a passenger.
3) Very Vesey. One of the most anticipated college free agents, probably THE most anticipated college free agent, was Jimmy Vesey. The former Nashville Predator 3rd round pick had just dominated his last 2 seasons at Harvard, scoring 56 goals and 48 points for 104 points in 70 games during that time. So far, the 23 year old left winger has been living up to his billing. He’s tied for 2nd in Ranger scoring with 9 points in 10 games and leads the club in goal scoring with 6. He’s spent significant time with the Rangers’ best offensive players and has performed well with them by traditional and fancy stats. He is in the top 5 of Ranger forwards for CF% with 53.4% and a Scoring Chance percentage of 57.5%. I’m looking forward to seeing this kid play tonight.
Puck drops tonight at 5PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet 360. Game On!
Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy