Hockey is back which thankfully means I can go back to ignoring my family and avoiding all my duties at work. I can still live-tweet Jeopardy but now it isn't the only thing I'm looking forward too. Unfortunately, my team is still the Oilers so "Looking forward to" usually isn't included in my sentences about the team. Still, after all these years of losing and falling short of my basic expectations I can't stop watching the Oilers.
But not everybody feels the same. This year more than any other I've noticed empty seats in the building. And not just a few, a lot of empty seats. Losing over and over, year in and year out, is taking its toll on the fan base. And I can't blame people for staying home, especially early on, when it looked like the Oilers were incapable of winning games. It isn't entertaining to watch the thing you love get beat down and brutalized consistently.
It's a little bit about the goaltending, but there's a trust between the customer and the entertainment provider that they are doing everything in their power to provide the most entertainment. I thoroughly question if the Oilers have done everything in their power to be better. And I know that's a jaded statement.
Craig MacTavish started the year without enough NHL players down the middle. He signed Nikitin to big salary, and I'm not sure we've ever seen the best possible lineup played once this year. Those things were miscalculations more than malicious attempts to submarine the team, but those are moves that turn people away.
Now that the All-Star game is behind us we are on a bullet train to the Trade Deadline. I would suggest that Petry being traded is a given at this point and getting nothing for him would be extremely bad for the team. I would rather they re-sign him but I am not under the impression that is most likely right now.
We've heard other names like Matt Hendricks get mentioned on trade rumours, but I wonder how many bodies the Oilers can conceivably trade and still maintain the confidence of their customers. At some point all this tanking is going to be too much. At some point the team needs to add veteran bodies and keep them, unlike what they did with David Perron.
In a vacuum the Oilers should absolutely be doing their best to get McDavid or Eichel. In context of their 9 year struggle to get back into the Playoffs and lacklustre attendance numbers this season I think going full rebuild yet again would be a risky gamble. How much more can the Oilers expect their fans to take?
Being poised to draft a Generational Talent has Edmonton in a strange position. Nobody likes watching Losses but after the fact there's sometimes a feeling of regret associated with Wins too. McDavid has me all turned around when it comes to what I want this team to do.
Generally I'm confused, and I think a lot of people (maybe even people in Oilers management) feel the same way.
LINEUP
Taylor Hall took a puck in practice that hit him just above the Achilles tendon and he is not going to play tonight because of that. The coach said that it wasn't reacting the way they want (whatever that means) and so they are juggling lines. Viktor Fasth will play again tonight which is interesting in that they are either showcasing him or Ben Scrivens is running into trouble gaining the confidence of this coaching staff.
Pouliot RNH Eberle Yak Roy Purcell Hendricks Gordon Klinkhammer Fraser Lander Gazdic
Ference Petry Klefbom Schultz Nikitin Fayne
Fasth
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Tweaking the Power Play. The Power Play has shown a little life under Nelson but now he's had a week off to think about changes. Bob Stauffer suggested that we should see RNH back on the right half boards. The Nuge has had serious problems generating Offense on the PP. When he was a rookie it looked like he could create all kinds of time and space for himself. His coach needs to help him get back to that.
2) That Other Goalie. Devan Dubnyk is apparently an Oiler killer. He killed them when he was employed by the team and he's killing them now. Somehow the Oil need to find a way to beat the tall goalie that the Wild acquired to help salvage their season. At even strength save percentage Dubnyk is 12th in the NHL for Goalies who have played at least 750 minutes with a .928 split between Arizona and Minnesota. Luckily, overall, he has had a rough start with the Wild so now might be the time to get a Win against him.
3) Rust. With a week off and only 1 player taking part in anything that remotely looked like Hockey the team that shakes off the rust first will be the one with the big advantage. Under Nelson the starts have been better, perhaps because of the way the team practices. The Wild are not nearly as bad as their record, so a fast start will be the key to getting points in this one. If Edmonton gives the Wild time to find their rhythm this could go sideways.
Puck drops tonight at 7:38 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Game On!
Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy