Edmonton played a pretty good first period last night but followed that up with sluggish 2nd and 3rd periods. It wasn’t good enough to win, despite Talbot’s best effort. That’s not the kind of game the Oilers needed, though getting a point wasn’t the worst outcome they could have had.
Overall, it just wasn’t enough. By my eye the Hall-Draisaitl line looked dangerous and the Hendricks-Letestu line had some very good moments, but the RNH-Eberle line was not getting the job done. Their job is to take on some tough matchups, but that’s not an excuse. Pouliot was invisible, Eberle lost way too many puck battles, and RNH wasn’t involved enough at the attacking end. There’s more they can do for sure.
That’s not to say the loss can be pinned on that trio up front. In many ways their struggles are linked to the struggles of the blueline. And the 6 men patrolling the blue had a tough night. Some of that was inevitable. Some of that was avoidable.
Starting with the inevitable, with Davidson and Klefbom out due to injury there isn’t enough talent to spread around. And that’s damned scary considering the duo of Klefbom & Davidson don’t even have 150 combined NHL games under their belt. That’s how fragile this team’s defense is. It’s not very comforting that Fayne, Nikitin, and Ference are without a doubt the worst 3 options available to them and they represent the older, veteran presence in the roster.
So when the Oilers are forced to use 2 of the 3 defensemen it genuinely makes them weaker. Klefbom is the teams best all-around defender right now (Sekera making a late push for the title). He has size, skating, and a burgeoning offensive component to his game. Losing him is huge. Davidson is the surprise player of the year. He’s been as high as the 4th best Oiler defender on my list (Klef, Nurse, Sekera ahead of him) and I’m sure I’ll have to write an “I was wrong… article about him very soon. So that’s 2 of Edmonton’s top 4 defenders gone.
So what was the avoidable pain that the Oilers inflicted on themselves? Justin Schultz played a little more than 27 minutes last night and that’s on Todd McLellan and his staff. There is absolutely no reason he should be playing that many minutes. No reason at all.
Again he continues to glue up the Power Play when there are easily better options available, even with the two injuries noted above. At one point he was stuck out on the ice for a monster 2+ minute shift then had just a TV Timeout to be rested to play another 1:20 on the PP immediately after. It had very predictable results.
In almost every measurable category Schultz lags behind other options on the PP. If we limit the list to only Oiler defenders who have played 50+ minutes on the PP then its just 3 names: Schultz, Klefbom, Sekera.
Points/60: 1) Sekera 2) Klefbom 3) Schultz Shots/60: 1) Sekera 2) Klefbom 3) Schultz Corsi For %: 1) Klefbom 2) Sekera 3) Schultz Shots Against/60: 1) Schultz 2) Sekera 3) Klefbom
The only time I can make the numbers say Schultz is the best at anything is when I ask “Who lets the opposition shoot against the Oilers the most?… That’s not ideal.
Todd McLellan cannot complain that the PP isn’t generating enough and then put his absolute worst available defender to man the point on the top unit. It’s ridiculous.
LINEUP
Let’s assume the same lineup except Talbot rests and Nilsson gets the start.
Hall-Draisaitl-Purcell Pouliot-RNH-Eberle Hendricks-Letestu-Korpikoski Gazdic-Lander-Pakarinen
Nurse-Sekera Fayne-Schultz Nikitin-Gryba
Nilsson OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) 2nd Line Woes. I mentioned it above, but the Oilers need more from RNH, Eberle, and Pouliot. The Nuge drew a penalty with some strong skating and had a couple chances around the net. He can do more. He has another gear he can get to out there. I sometimes worry the Oilers heaped way too much defensive pressure on the kid when he arrived and instead of focusing his attention on building his offensive skills he’s put it towards being a complete player. He is the team’s best 2-way player, so mission accomplished. However, he hasn’t exactly been unlocked offensively. Eberle can give more than he did the last game too. He was wobbly on the ice and not at all effective along the boards. Those guys need to step it up tonight against the Flames.
2) Johnny Hockey. Johnny Gaudreau, it pains me to say, is one hell of a hockey player. He looks like he could be one of the player’s teenage kids but make no mistake he is Calgary’s most dangerous player. He leads the Flames in goal scoring, assists, and obviously points. The most impressive part is that it isn’t actually a close race within the Flames either. Gaudreau has 15 goals and the next closest Flame has 12, after him the next only has 7. Gaudreau has 22 assists and the next 2 closest Flames have 14. Gaudreau has 37 points and the next closest Flame has 26. He’s head and shoulders above the rest of the team. Not bad for a kid drafted 104th Overall in 2011.
3) Battle Of Alberta. The Oilers can Leapfrog the Flames in the standings with a Win tonight. There would be nothing more pleasant to me than seeing Calgary in Edmonton’s rearview mirror (to steal an often mocked phrase). The longstanding wisdom is that you cant hope to make the playoffs if you cant beat the Flames. Well, it’s time to start beating the Flames. The season series is tied 1-1 with the Flames taking the victory in the last match. Including this one the Oilers play Calgary 3 more times this season. There’s a lot of hockey to be played between these clubs yet.
Puck drops tonight at 7PM Mountain time on Sportsnet. Get Better, Connor!
Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy