ALL-STAR
Yesterday the Oilers found out that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins found out that he was going to be an NHL All-Star this year. He will be the lone Oiler representative this season. That, I think, is extremely fair.
RNH has been the best Oiler all year and he's deserving of this honour. As I mentioned in the Mid-Season Grades, the Nuge has been an excellent 5v5 player this season. He has 21 of his 25 points from Even Strength which has him in the top 30 players in the league. This past summer he was able to train, recovered from Shoulder Surgery, and he worked on his shot.
All that hard work payed off this year and his shot was the first thing that was noticeable when the season started. Mixing in a lethal shot with all-world vision and excellent skating is what took him to an All-Star level. To think that he only has 4 PP points in 40 games this season is almost inconceivable given that was his calling card as a Rookie.
The fact that he has so few PP points is disappointing but it also suggests there's another level of Offense that he should unlock with a little luck and the right coaching.
Congratulations to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for making the All-Star team. It's an honour well deserved.
YAK
Imagine that. Playing Nail Yakupov with an experienced Center paid off immediately. Who could ever have guessed that making Nail the LEAST experienced player on his line would give him a chance to learn and develop as an NHL scorer?
Sometimes you just have to wonder what took so long to come to this decision. But then you have to remember that the Oilers didn't have enough Centers until Roy was added to even offer Yak a pivot with more experience than him. As talented as Draisaitl is, neither he nor Nail had the tools to pull him out of his scoring slump.
Up to and including the last broadcasted game the commentators continued to note how "lost" Yakupov looked on the ice. His linemates after all the roster changes were AHL tweeners trying to establish themselves at the NHL level. If he was lost who was there to guide him to safety?
Whether they continue their success from the last game or not, the Oilers owe it to Yakupov to play him with experienced NHL players the rest of the season. He's a former 1st Overall Draft Pick with obviously tools and the willingness to learn and try his heart out. Salvaging his career has to be one of the main priorities in the next 40 games.
LINEUP
The only lineup change the Oilers seriously need to consider is sitting Nikitin. His decision making is cursed. Whatever choice he makes is invariably the wrong one. And holding the puck at the blueline seems to be a skill he never mastered. The puck just moves right by him and he's too slow to catch up to the play once it's going the other way.
Hall RNH Eberle Pouliot Roy Yak Hendricks Gordon Klinkhammer Fraser Lander Purcell
Ference Petry Klefbom Schultz Nikitin Fayne
Scrivens
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Control. The Panthers are 4th in Shots For percentage, 8th in Fenwick For percentage, and 8th in Corsi For percentage. They control the game very well but sit outside of the Playoff picture momentarily. This is largely because they can't score with any regularity.
2) Roy The Teacher. Yak said in the post-game that after every shift Roy and apouliot were talking to him, telling him what he can do to be better. The Oilers won the last game because that line clicked extremely well. They were fast, physical, and offensively creative. More please.
3) Hall Of A Good Time. Slowly Taylor Hall is starting to look like he's having fun again out there. There will be no sustained success in Edmonton if Taylor Hall is playing to 65% of his abilities. Nelson looks like he has the team playing a little looser out there, but that comes with winning too. It really doesn't matter if it's Nelson or just a few good luck games, whatever it was it might have been enough to get Hall playing like the game changing forward he is again.
Puck drops tonight at 5:08PM Mountain Time on City TV. Tank On!
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