It’s time to get concerned about Edmonton’s production down the middle of the ice. With McDavid out the hope was someone would step up, but that just hasn’t happened.
That’s not to say that others haven’t picked up their game. Leon Draisaitl is obviously playing lights out hockey right now. And, while he’s listed as a C, he has been playing the wing on the top line. Edmonton’s top 4 Centers right now are Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mark Letestu, Anton Lander, and Andrew Miller. The points for those 4 are as follows:
RNH: 17GP, 6-8-14 Letestu: 17GP, 1-2-3 Lander: 17GP, 0-0-0 Miller: 5GP, 0-0-0
Granted, I’m not a full-time NHL analyst, but 3 points combined between your 2-3-4 centers after 17 games is not ideal.
Former Oilers Head Coach Tom Renney once said that playing hockey without a quality center was like playing scrabble without any vowels. Edmonton’s top line has a quality center in RNH. He’s defensively responsible and offensively gifted. He is 2nd in team scoring and the player you want out against the top lines of the opposition. In fact, that saying by Tom Renney was about Nugent-Hopkins.
A good center facilitates the plays happening around him. Edmonton’s 2nd, 3rd, and 4th lines don’t have anyone who can facilitate those plays – at least not in the offensive zone. I see people getting critical of Yakupov, Pouliot, and the other wingers who are struggling, but part of me is left asking “Who is getting them the puck?…
At this point the team has tried Lander and Letestu in the 2C spot and there’s nothing left to lose in trying Miller in the role. The argument for Miller in that role isn’t without its merits.
Miller had 60 points in 63 games with the Barons and 6 points in 9 games with the Oilers last year. This year he was leading the Condors offensively before being recalled. I don’t expect that he will become an offensive powerhouse, but this is a player who should be able to make some plays out there. In fact, I think he has done that on a few occasions, but with limited ice and lower quality teammates it’s tough to show up on the scoreboard.
Miller is also crushing it with his Corsi For percentage. When he’s on the ice the Oilers are almost getting a 60% share of the shot attempts. That’s an incredible number even though it has been built up in a very small sample size.
Considering the other 2 centers have failed to provide any secondary scoring, I think it’s time to give Miller a shot. He has some history providing offense, by eye he’s making some plays out there, and by number he’s keeping the puck moving in the right direction. And if not him, then who?
The only other option is to split up Draisaitl from RNH, which breaks up the only line the team could actually count on. It looks like they're going to try that again tonight but mark me down on team "Miller" if Draisaitl struggles between Pouliot and Yak.
LINEUP
The Oilers are going to start the game by trying Draisaitl down the middle. Talbot gets the start and Ference is going to get a turn on Defense by the sounds of things early. I have Hendricks in the lineup but that's questionable. I will update this section as more information comes to light.
Hall RNH Eberle Pouliot Draisaitl Yakupov Hendricks Lander Purcell Miller Letestu Pakarinen
Nurse Sekera Klefbom Fayne Ference Gryba
Talbot
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) What’s Old Is New Again. The Oilers are right back to getting garbage fire goaltending. Now, maybe you fall on the side of the apologists who don’t ever think it’s the goaltender’s fault for the goals he lets in. If that’s you then please ignore me saying that Talbot’s .893 and Nilsson’s .902 is simply not good enough. The team is partially to blame for that poor effort Nilsson put forward in the last game because they ignored an already established fact that goaltenders perform poorly in back to back scenarios, but on the whole the Oilers need better. We are right back to where we were last year. Carolina, Columbus, and Calgary are the only teams getting worse 5v5 goaltending than Edmonton.
2) Powered Play. The Oilers right now have the 7th ranked PP in the NHL based on efficiency. They are clipping along at 22.2% on the season as a whole. That top 10 ranking is also supported by shots per 60 minutes and shot attempts per 60 minutes. They are creating opportunities right now on the man advantage, even with McDavid out of the lineup. It’s something the LA Kings should be worrying about even though they have the 5th ranked PK.
3) Bounce Back. The game against the Coyotes felt lifeless at the start and I would hope they could chalk that up to fatigue, illness, and injury. However, those excuses aren’t accepted by winning teams. The reality is that the Oilers need to have a significantly better showing tonight. The Kings play the kind of game that will wear the life out of you. They make every puck battle difficult when they’re on top of their game. Edmonton hasn’t exactly gained a reputation as a team that rises to the occasion under those conditions.
Puck drops tonight at 8PM Mountain Time on Hockey Night in Canada. Get Better, Connor!
Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy