Matt Hendricks comes back from suspension today against the Panthers, who still don’t have Ekblad back.
Hendricks leveled Ekblad from behind in retaliation for Hall getting blown up in an open-ice hit. The game against Florida was maybe the most passionate game the Oilers played all year, but they have to maintain control. The team has been behind in the penalty game the last two matches.
Calgary had a 5-1 margin of Power Plays. San Jose had a 4-1 margin of the man-advantage. Having the calls go the other way on you 9 to 2 over two games is enormous. There’s no wonder the team has had a problem scoring goals. This club needs to reel in the discipline again. The Panthers are not happy about losing Ekblad to a concussion, but Edmonton cannot be goaded into some sort of royal rumble.
As far as I’m concerned, the Oiler/Panther blood feud should be settled. They smashed Hall. Hendricks smashed Ekblad. There were multiple fights and Hendricks took a 3 game suspension. There really shouldn’t be more to it than that. If things start to get out of hand the referees have likely been instructed to put an end to it quickly.
As for the return of Hendricks, the Oilers can always use a Matt Hendricks on their team. I happen to like the things that he brings to the team. He’s a physical player. He leads the Oilers in hits this season with 98 of them. He blocks more shots than all of the other forwards at 37 this year. He plays in his own zone a lot, drawing the 3rd highest percentage of defensive zone starts at 41.3% this year. He also is an adept faceoff man, often acting as the team’s 5th center. He’s taken 228 draws and won 60.1% of them.
He brings a lot of value on the ice, by my estimation, but he’s also lauded as a leader off the ice. To that I cant speak to other than to say he seems well liked by his teammates based on everything that’s been reported. As far as players in the bottom 6 go, he has to be one of the most consistent that the Oilers employ. He’s a hard working guy playing for a GM who loves blue-collar hockey.
LINEUP
Hendricks returns from suspension tonight. Lander was out in practice and Korpikoski wasn’t skating. I’m going to put Lander back in the lineup but Korpikoski blocked a shot and might not be ready until Thursday. There is the possibility that the Oilers go with 7 defensemen and Lander sits.
Hall-Draisaitl-Purcell Pouliot-RNH-Eberle Kassian-Letestu-Yakupov Hendricks-Lander-Pakarinen
Sekera-Fayne Nurse-Gryba Davidson-Schultz
Talbot
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Gryba Gets In A Groove. Against the Flames Eric Gryba played 24:19 including 6:21 shorthanded. While my (and many other people’s) first reaction to that was that Gryba needs to play less minutes, the fact is that he played well. He looked good against the Flames. The Oilers won a low scoring game with Gryba playing a lot of minutes and that’s something he can hang his hat on. The most impressive stat for me was his Corsi For percentage on the night. He finished the night with a 71.4% CF going 25-10 while 5v5. He played a damned fine game and the Oilers could stand to play him more every night if he’s going to keep up that kind of work. Was it a one-off or does he have more to give?
2) New Contract Pressure. The last thing the Oilers need is for Talbot to feel the pressure of his new contract. That deal represents a new economic reality for Talbot as well as a new status. It’s official now, he’s the guy. With goaltending being such a mental position he needs to find a way to not let those new realities affect his game. He is dialed in right now and the Oilers cant afford for him to stumble. Given the scoring slump the whole team is in, Talbot has probably been the best Oiler this January. He’s the one keeping them in games. It would be nice if the team eased the pressure off of him by scoring a couple, but they wouldn’t be the Oilers if they made the goalie’s job easy.
3) Familiar Faces. McLellan has gone back to the old top 6 configuration, based on practice this morning. Part of the way through the game against Calgary he did the same thing. That was putting Draisaitl back with Hall and Purcell as well as reuniting Poiliot, Eberle, and Nuge. The Oilers need scoring desperately from their top 6. Until he registered an assist against the Flames, Hall went 5 games without a point. Nuge has gone 4 games without a point. No team can survive with their top two lines going cold at the same time. Draisaitl still looks dangerous. Purcell scored in the shootout. Let’s hope putting them back together sparks some offence.
Puck drops tonight at 5:30PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Get Better, Connor! Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy