The winning streak ended but I thought the Oilers played OK considering the circumstances. The Hawks are going to be a very difficult test for this team. Let’s see who steps up.
We’ve seen Jordan Eberle turn it on over the last several games. I think he’s going. The same can be said for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. I’m not one to buy in completely to the theory that sometimes players turn things around when they hear their names in trade speculation. It’s always pretty convenient to attribute success to that stuff. These two players are really finding their stride and they’re doing it while playing against some formidable competition.
If the Oilers are able to count on them as well as the Hall-Draisaitl combination that should be enough to stay competitive, but to win consistently they still need the bottom 6 to step up. When Korpikoski scored his hat-Trick nobody was more surprised than I was. I don’t have an overly warm opinion of LK, but I’m happy to eat my words when he contributes.
I’ve been waiting for Pakarinen to get his legs under him as well. There’s something he does every other game or so that makes me believe there’s more to him than what we’ve seen. He came to the NHL as a shooter in the AHL. It was his shot volume in particular that made him most intriguing. I’ve noticed a couple times in recent games that he isn’t just trying to release the puck as quickly as he gets it, but he’s trying to make a play with it first. That’s the kind of action that makes me think he has more to give. He isn’t afraid of the puck. With just 3-2-5 in 24 games though, he needs to contribute in a hurry.
Of course, no conversation about the bottom 6 is complete without mentioning Lander’s complete and total disappearance from the scoresheet. He’s winning faceoffs and he has gamesmanship, but good gravy he needs to score. He hasn’t scored a goal yet this season. When you are 31 games into the year and Luke Gazdic has more goals than you, that’s how you know things have gone off the rails. His 55.8% faceoff winning percentage only covers up so much. Where did the confident player who earned PP time go? (Answer: To coach the Red Wings farm team)
The cavalry isn’t ready to swoop in just yet. Edmonton needs these players to make a difference. They don’t need them all every night, but the top lines need their support if this team is going to make a legitimate push for the playoffs.
Oiler players have a combined 21 points from Forwards averaging less than 15 minutes a night who have played more than 20 games this year. Chicago by comparison has 31 points from players under the same criteria. Montreal has 82 points in that category. The bottom 6 guys need to pull their socks up.
LINEUP
Talbot is getting the start and Khaira is drawing back into the lineup. I personally think Khaira played pretty well early on and I’d like to see him back and rejuvenated. McLellan said that Pouliot had a bit of a setback and Klefbom might be ready for Monday. Just the weekend to get through before help is on the way.
Hall-Draisaitl-Purcell Khaira-RNH-Eberle Hendricks-Letestu-Korpikoski Gazdic-Lander-Pakarinen
Nurse-Sekera Davidson-Gryba Nikitin-Schultz
Talbot OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Reserve Tank. This is going to be the 3rd game in 4 nights for the Oilers and it’s against a team that knows how to hurt you. It’s going to take every ounce of energy to stay in this game for 60 minutes barring some kind of meltdown by the Blackhawks. The Oilers kept it pretty close with the Rangers until the 3rd when I felt the Rangers pulled away. Let’s hope that the team took the off-day well because these are the real tests for conditioning.
2) New Streak. Patrick Kane’s point scoring streak came to an end at 26 games. It was an incredible run for any player in any era, but I think especially so in this century given the NHL’s general lack of scoring. It goes without saying that Kane has never been more dangerous than during this season. He’s already picked up points against the Oilers earlier this year and he no doubt wants to get back at it tonight with Edmonton in town and their goaltending back to earth. Kane is 32GP, 19-27-46 this year. He’s on pace for more than 115 points this year. The Oilers desperately need to stop him from beginning a new streak tonight.
3) Less Schultz On The PP. The last game against the Rangers saw Justin Schultz taken off of the PP for a few outings. I would like to see the Oilers keep that up. By eye and by number Schultz has performed quite poorly despite being a supposed offensive defenseman. As Jim Matheson pointed out, he hasn’t scored a Power Play goal in over 100 games. 100 GAMES! He has soaked up the most PP minutes with the top unit for a century of games with absolutely nothing to show for it??? This is madness. Traditional, fancy, eyeball, pick your test for Schultz and he’ll fail it. Time to move on.
Puck drops tonight at 6:30 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet Oilers. Get Better, Connor! Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy