This should be the game that Zack Kassian makes his season debut. His recall from the Bakersfield Condors does feel a bit premature, but Edmonton’s 4th line hasn’t contributed a thing to the team in a long time. Zack Kassian, as a player, has to be able to provide more than Rob Klinkhammer who was placed on waivers this morning.
Kassian’s AHL numbers arent particularly exciting. It’s just 4GP, 1-0-1 with 6 PIMs. There certainly hasn’t been enough shown down there to make you super confident, but his track record is as an NHL player. I think it’s going to take me a couple games to mentally forgive Kassian, unless he’s horrible in which case he gets the Schultz treatment.
This has to be Kassian’s last chance to be an NHL player. Screwing up during this season is going to really hurt his chances at being guaranteed another roster spot somewhere else. For that reason I’m just going to go out on a limb and say that he plays like a beast tonight and against the Flames on HNiC. My concern is where he’s at after that point.
To make room for Kassian there had to be changes. Klinkhammer has been placed on waivers but that wont be effective until tomorrow. It’s most likely that the Oilers make a paper transaction sending Hunt down then perhaps calling him back up after Klink clears or is picked up.
Klinkhammer found a spot last year on the line with Gordon and Hendricks. This year the injuries and the acquisition of Korpikoski pushed Klinkhammer right down to the fringes, and frankly he was already a fringe guy. In 53 games with the Oilers over the last 2 years Klinkhammer has picked up just 4 points. Even for a guy on a shutdown line that just isn’t enough.
Frankly I don’t see Pakarinen or potentially Gazdic surviving the time when the Oilers need a spot for McDavid when he returns. The Oilers are a couple weeks away from making tough choices at a few roster spots.
Yakupov's return to the club adds a young player who was having a rough couple of weeks after the McDavid injury. These next few games before McJesus returns should help Yak get back into game shape, but hopefully also give him a chance to prove he doesn't need McDavid to provide offense. He was fantastic in the last half of the previous season without Connor. There's no reason that he needs him to score.
But confidence is such a delicate thing with pro athletes. It's such a "what have you done for me lately" world they live in that an extended slump can really turn into a tailspin very quickly.
Yak was defensively responsible and posting better underlying numbers than he had been in previous years. Lets hope he keeps making those steps forward.
LINEUP
OK, this time for real Yakupov should be playing and the Oilers have recalled Zack Kassian. He practiced on a line with Lander and Yak. Klinkhammer was placed on waivers. Many lines were switched in practice. McLellan has done this before then kept the old lines together for the game. I will present the practice lines. This could get interesting.
Hall-RNH-Pakarinen Pouliot-Draisaitl-Eberle Korpikoski-Letestu-Purcell Yakupov-Lander-Kassian
Nurse-Schultz Sekera-Fayne Davidson-Gryba
Talbot
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Kassian’s Konditioning. Having heard two separate reports about Kassian yesterday, the common theme has been that his conditioning is not where it needs to be right now. This isn’t terribly surprising given he had an incredibly long time between games then only appeared in 4 AHL contests. It’s going to be a work in progress for him. I imagine he’ll be running on adrenaline tonight though. He has enough skill to contribute to the team. There’s no question there. The biggest hurdle for him will getting back into shape. If he can get that up to speed he might just luck out and get McDavid as a partner. If he cant hope to keep up then it’s going to be much less fun.
2) Wookie. Brent Burns is, right now, my favourite San Jose Shark. He looks like someone who should be apprenticing to be the next Flute player in the subway station. He’s big, he’s physical, he plays a lot, and he’s highly talented. I know he’s played a hybrid role in the past, but from the blueline he provides an incredible amount of offense. His point totals are impressive enough (41GP, 18-22-40) but his volume shooting is outstanding. He leads the Sharks in shots on net with 177. The next closest 2 Sharks are Pavelski and Marleau with 110 each. You have to combine Edmonton’s top THREE defenders in shots to surpass Burns’ total. Our best “Offensive Defenseman…, Justin Schultz, only has 43 shots on the year. He is such a huge part of San Jose’s success. The hairy guy has to be an Oiler focal point tonight.
3) Penalties Killed. I mentioned it in the last GDB that Hendricks would be a huge loss for the Oilers on the PK. I wasn’t expecting the entire unit to crumble though. Edmonton’s loss to the Coyotes can be attributed almost entirely to the failure of the PK to do its job. The offending players on 2 occasions weren’t the F pulling Hendricks duties, it was a D. Davidson pulled a rookie move gaining control of the puck then weakly going around the boards and not out. Schultz also tried to pressure his man (OEL) but skated directly past him and the puck. Sigh. They need a bounce back game from the PK.
Puck drops tonight at 8:30PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Get Better, Connor!
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