Well that must have been embarrassing for the Devils.
The Oilers bounced back from a couple really poor efforts with really a quite dominating performance despite the close score. At the opening puck drop the Oilers took control of the game and it was an opening shift from the Gordon line that kept the puck in the New Jersey end the entire time. The 1st period was as close as it got from a possession standpoint because in the 2nd period the Oilers took over. Just in the middle frame the Oilers out-shot the Devils 12-3 and out-attempted them 21-11. Even in the 3rd with the lead the Oilers didn’t ease off the gas and let them back in the game.
In total, it was the kind of game the team needed to help forget the painful 2 before it. Yakupov scored, Klefbom scored, and RNH lead the way in possession with a 71% Corsi For. I have absolutely no complaints about the game aside from saying I wish the Oilers played in New Jersey more times a year.
Oscar Klefbom was a pleasant surprise when he started playing up with the Oilers fulltime but now he’s gone above and beyond that. As Bob Stauffer noted today on Twitter, Klefbom went 0-2-2 in his first 24 games played but has ramped it up going 2-4-6 in his last 8 games played. He also has 18 shots in his last 6 games, and it has been almost a month since he was held without at least one shot on net in a game.
This kid looks like the real deal. The GM has falsely claimed he is on the top pair right now (he really isn’t) but he is tracking upwards. The Oilers should be doing everything in their power to keep Klefbom playing the minutes and in the situations he is right now. They need to avoid doing to him what they did to Petry, which was force him into a spot on the depth chart he isn’t ready for.
When Petry started to find his legs in the NHL the Oilers depth on the blueline was so abysmal that he effectively started playing top pairing assignments. That hasn’t happened yet for Klefbom but when Petry gets moved the temptation will be great to let Klef take on tougher opponents. Here’s an example of what the Oilers are doing with him right now.
TOI vs. Jagr (1st NJD pts) Ference 8:30, Petry 7:56, Marincin 5:52, Fayne 5:11, Jultz 2:33, Dreamy 1:15. The Great Sheltering continues..
— Woodguy (@Woodguy55) February 10, 2015If you haven’t figured out, Klefbom is “Dreamy… in that tweet. Nelson is feeding Klefbom and Schultz minutes, but against the 2nd tier offensive players (who are still quite good) and in great spots whenever possible. The formula is a working one.
Klefbom is 21 years old, 6’3…, and 210 pounds with great skating ability. He has pedigree and has been playing against men for a long time, but his offense was never his calling card. What we’ve seen here is that Nelson has him playing in a comfortable spot where he is developing that side of his game. In his 4 years of professional hockey before this one (did I mention he’s only 21?) his previous high in points was 10 for a whole season.
This year he had 8 in 9 AHL games and now has 8 in 32 NHL games. And that’s with him only coming on in the last month or so.
It would behoove the Oilers to do their best not to tinker with the way Nelson is handling this kid. I’m most definitely concerned about what will happen post-Trade Deadline, but right now they might be tapping into the potential that made him the 19th Overall pick in the 2011 Draft. Right now it feels like the sky’s the limit but it has also looked that way through shrewd time management. Let him grow in that environment.
The more I watch Klefbom play the more I'm convinced he was sent from the future to let us know the human race gets better
— Matt Henderson (@Archaeologuy) February 10, 2015LINEUP
I cant see too many lineup changes outside of Fasth likely playing tonight in the back to back situation. He needs to bounce back after a shaky performance in Toronto and the numbers just don’t lie about goalies playing in consecutive nights. They are significantly worse in game 2. Pouliot took to the ice yesterday but after the win you wonder if Nelson wouldn’t like to reward his lineup by not messing with it. Scrivens tweaked something and the Oilers recalled Bachman on an emergency basis and placed both Hall and Pouliot on IR. They recalled Ryan Hamilton. As per Gene Principe Hall has a "Bone Injury" that may take up to 6 weeks to heal.
Purcell RNH Eberle Fraser Roy Yak Hendricks Gordon Klinkhammer Gazdic Lander Pakarinen
Ference Petry Klefbom Schultz Marincin Fayne
Scrivens
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Purcell Finishes. I mentioned this the other day, but Teddy Purcell is a round peg trying to fit into a square hole on this team and it seems more pronounced on the top line in Hall’s spot. The main issue I have is that Purcell just isn’t a finisher. He has a good pass and gets himself into good scoring opportunities, but he doesn’t possess the shot to get the job done. He must have blown 4 Grade A scoring chances in the last 2 games just by missing the net with his shot. Those have to start going in the back of the net.
2) Tavares Shines. The only place Jonathan Tavares is a Super Star is in the Eastern Conference. He’s a pretty good player, but Eastern media raves about him as if he were in the upper echelon of elite NHL players. He’s darn good, but let’s not get too carried away. At Even Strength he scores at just slightly above the rate of a slumping Taylor Hall this year, but on the PP he is significantly more dangerous. If he gets time and space he has the skill to make goalies and defensemen look stupid.
3) Stay Out Of The Box. The Islanders would do well to try and take advantage of an Oiler team that played the night before. A few lazy hooking calls could be the whole game. The NYI power play is ranked 9th in the NHL and it isn’t just Tavares cleaning up. Brock Nelson has 14 of his 32 points on the 5v4 Power Play. He’s quickly followed by Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo who have 12 points each on the man-advantage.
Puck drops at 5:08 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Tank On!
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