One of the biggest disappointments to start the year has really turned his game around. Teddy Purcell is the 4th highest paid Oiler forward at 4.5 million per season and had 2 points in his first 11 games of the season. Needless to say I have been exceptionally hard on Purcell this season and in the past.
Purcell has some obvious warts in his game. He is not fleet of foot and he is not particularly physical. If he isn’t scoring then his contributions are limited. If he finds himself outside of the top 6 then it’s even more so. What Purcell does best is move the puck. That’s his bread and butter.
Jason Gregor wrote about this first here, but Purcell hired Adam Oates as his personal skills coach this summer. The most drastic change they made came during this season when Oates convinced him to take 4 inches off of his stick.
When I first read that, I almost didn’t believe it. For most top end athletes (and anyone in the NHL qualifies) even the smallest change in gear can be felt. For runners the weight of shoes is measured in units normally reserved for contraband. Even Purcell admitted that he previously didn’t feel right if his sticks were even half an inch off in length.
That makes 4 inches a colossal change.
Has it made a difference?
Well, in his last 6 games Purcell has picked up 7 points and worked his way back up to the status of a contributing member of the top 6. His best moment was on an inspired pass to Klefbom for a goal, but he is making things happen again.
From a Corsi perspective he is excelling with Taylor Hall on that top line as well. They have a recorded 54.7% CF when together, and that could be higher but the last game wasn’t recorded by the stat sites due to a hiccup with the NHL.
The long term future for Purcell might still not be in Edmonton and if it is then it definitely wont be at 4.5 million per season, but if he continues to play and produce then he might find suitors at the trade deadline. With the two players on his line (Hall and Draisaitl) playing the best hockey of their lives, all Purcell needs to do is keep facilitating their success. Find them the puck. Stay on the right side of the play and the opportunities will keep coming.
LINEUP
Schultz has been skating with the club for a little while and sometime on this 5 game road trip he should play, but I expect it later. Lander is out and Korpikoski is playing C tonight. Gazdic should be there as 4LW.
Hall Draisaitl Purcell Pouliot RNH Eberle Hendricks Letestu Yak Gazdic Korpikoski Pakarinen
Nurse Sekera Klefbom Fayne Davidson Gryba
Nilsson
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) From Russia With Love. Alex Ovechkin became the highest scoring Russian born player of all time the other day, but he isn’t the highest scoring Russian on the Capitals. No, Ovie is number 2 behind Kuznetsov. I imagine that wont last the whole year, but Kuznetsov buried the Oilers the last time these clubs met. He had an incredible 5 point night (3-2-5) and looked thoroughly unstoppable. There’s no reason to let him catch the club off guard today.
2) Kingston Cannonball. All the talk in Edmonton has been about Leon Draisaitl but Taylor Hall is in sole possession of 4th in NHL scoring this morning with 24 points in 20 games. Hall has rebounded significantly from what was a tough year for him in 2014-2015. He is back to being a driver and given the talent that surrounds him it is very likely he stays in the top 5 of league scoring all year. Top 10 for sure. Although, that’s probably the kiss of death. He came into the NHL with a reputation as a goal scorer, but I’ve always seen him as more of a playmaker at this level. His speed draws defenders towards him and out of their proper position. It just opens up a lot of space.
3) Nilsson Takes 1A. This will be Nilsson’s 3rd game in a row and I think we can safely say he’s taken the 1A job away from Talbot. I don’t think he’s been particularly exceptional, but 19 saves on 20 shots in his last one was definitely going to earn him the next start. He has a .901 save percentage this season and this number has to rise. Edmonton is a middle of the road team in shots against so far on the year. Some help from the goaltending is going to take the Oilers out from the bottom of the standings.
Puck drops tonight at 5PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet. Get Better, Connor!
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