The Oilers lost Hendricks to a foot injury and called up Andrew Miller to replace him.
X-Rays came back negative on the foot, so it isn’t broken, but the extent of time he’ll be out is unknown. He did appear to be in some serious discomfort on the bench when we saw him last. I thought in the limited time we saw Hendricks out with Hall and RNH he looked really good. Maybe he even looked better than he has any right to look for a grinder with limited offense.
From a numbers standpoint the top line performed better with Hendricks at keeping possession and creating shot attempts. They also hadn’t been on the ice for a goal against at even strength. It’s been a successful experiment in the short term.
Miller has had 3 points in 4 games with the Condors this year and had 60 points in 63 games the year before. From my perspective he is a player along the Mark Arcobello line. I think he’s talented enough to play in the NHL but at 5’10… and 180 pounds he will never have the inside track to an NHL job until he proves that AHL offense will translate to the NHL game.
This is a perfect opportunity for Miller to prove what he can do when playing with really talented players. He’s a very good player at the level right below the NHL. What does that mean when he’s bumped up? I have no idea. He had 6 points in 9 games with Edmonton last year so it’s conceivable that he can process the game fast enough and keep up with the play.
What Miller is not is that he is not Leon Draisaitl. The guys over at Cult of Hockey have been watching the AHL games and they rate Draisaitl’s play (despite not getting the points) ahead of Miller. However, the decision to bring Miller in reveals a lot about their plans with Draisaitl. We can probably reasonably assume that the plan is not to have him up and down all year.
The plan for Draisaitl is clearly to let him play and grow in the AHL as much as possible until it is impossible to keep him off the NHl roster. Now, that’s not a decision I necessarily agree with (I think he would be just fine on the team) but it’s a decision I respect. I also have no problem with the team coming up with a plan and sticking with it. If they had caved this early in the year without clear signs of domination from Draisaitl it would have said a lot about the decision making of the group.
Draisaitl will get here. Draisaitl could be here already. Heck, Draisaitl would look great with Hall and RNH tonight. Still, I have no problem with Andrew Miller coming up ahead of him right now. A few more injuries or if everything really starts to click for Draisaitl down in the AHL and I reserve the right to feel differently.
LINEUP
Hendricks has a foot injury and Andrew Miller should be taking his place on the right side of RNH. Reinhart is injured and I’m expecting Ference to rotate in. We expect Talbot in net.
Hall RNH Miller Pouliot McDavid Yakupov Korpikoski Lander Purcell Slepyshev Letestu Klinkhammer
Klefbom Schultz Sekera Fayne Ference Gryba
Talbot
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Hall Then McDavid. The most impressive skaters in the two wins were Hall and McDavid (with Nuge as a close 3rd). They both carry the puck with lots of speed and create chances doing it. This is the first time in a long time that the Oilers have had two lines with that combination of speed and talent. It makes for a one-two punch that should be extremely effective as McDavid’s line becomes more comfortable together.
2) Lander Then Letestu. The top two lines have been very good, however the bottom two are struggling. The quality play we saw out of Lander last year and in preseason hasn’t been prevalent much so far. The Letestu line has been gifted the same kind of Defensive Zone starts as the Gordon line a year ago, and the possession numbers are as bad as you might expect. For the team to stop relying on the star players these lines really need to contribute. So far, Mark Letestu has not been on the ice for a 5v5 goal by the Oilers this season.
3) The Other Rookie. Dylan Larkin has had one hell of a start to his NHL career. He has had at least 1 point in all of his first 5 games. He’s tied for the lead among Detroit’s forwards in Corsi Percentage. He’s also doing his scoring 5v5 so far. 5 of his 6 points come at Even Strength which places him just behind Zetterberg on Detroit. Even though he’s a Rookie it would be a mistake to overlook this kid and focus on the more traditionally dangerous names on the Red Wings roster.
Puck drops tonight at 7:30 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet One. Game On!
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