Tonight Connor McDavid should be lining up against his former Otter teammate Dylan Strome. The two combined for 249 points last season while dominating the competition in the OHL. I don’t exactly expect Strome to stay in the NHL this year, but the facts are that the Coyotes traded away their most productive forward from last season (Gagner) and their 2nd leading forward was 90 year old Shane Doan.
It might be the case that the Coyotes simply have no choice but to play the youth they have. It’s not an ideal scenario, but Oiler fans can empathize. There comes a point when you just don’t have older, veteran players who are better than the kids you drafted. In fact, the Oilers might find themselves in a similar place with their defense.
As several people have noted (most recently being Mark Spector), Andrew Ference is going to have a difficult time keeping kids like Reinhart and Nurse at bay. At least with the Nurse the Oilers can still use the excuse that he has some yips to his game that a little time in the AHL can help resolve. Reinhart on the other has looked like a calm vet out there since TC started.
It’s really only a matter of time before BOTH of those young players will become mainstays on Edmonton’s blueline. Frankly, I wouldn’t be shocked if both play 40+ games this year. The reality is that Andrew Ference and Nikita Nikitin are likely to remain Oilers because of their contracts more so than because they are better players than the alternatives.
With Nikitin it will be a hit to Howson’s ego and a waste of Cap space, but it would be easier to sit him in the Press Box than it would be to do the same to the Captain of the team. While I do think it’s time to give the C to someone else like a Hall or a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, I think it’s important to acknowledge that Ference is a class act off the ice and has more than lived up to his duties as the Captain of an NHL team in a hockey mad Canadian market.
The SpiderMable stuff that went on yesterday was unendingly cool. It wasn’t my intention to let the story melt my heart, but it did. And Andrew Ference, in the middle of fighting for his job, took a whole day to give to a sick little girl. Tonight she will be dropping the puck at the game. Whatever we might have to say about the way he performs on the ice, Ference knew what to do off of it.
The Oilers have had a couple transitional Captains now. Moreau got the C because of his loyalty to the organization. Horcoff got the C because he was a consummate professional. Ference got the C and showed the team what it means to be a Captain in the community. The young core has had enough time to soak in these lessons. It’s time for one of them to be the next Captain of the Edmonton Oilers.
Of course, officially, the Oilers have not said who the Captain is going to be this year. We assume that if he's part of the top 6 then Ference will remain with a C on his chest. However, the fact that the Captain is currently "TBA" might be a tell that the organization will indeed name a new Captain this fall. We'll see.
LINEUP
We know the Coyotes are playing Strome and Domi but I’m not sure after that. The Oilers are sitting Draisaitl tonight (he’s been fantastic through TC so far) and Slepyshev will play with Hall and McDavid to start. Purcell was back skating with the team but he is not expected to play.
Pouliot RNH Eberle Hall McDavid Slepyshev Korpikoski Lander Yakupov Hendricks Letestu Klinkhammer
Sekera Schultz Reinhart Fayne Davidson Nikitin
Nilsson Scrivens
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Hall & McDavid. So far the player who has shown the most chemistry with McDavid hasn’t been Taylor Hall, it’s been Leon Draisaitl. Hall has been held off the score sheet for all of the preseason so far and with just a few games left he needs to be better. The Oilers need to hit the ground running and Hall is no exception. I’m not overly concerned about the lack of points so much as it just seems he isn’t in sync with McDavid yet. A big game will prevent the nervous tension from rising out of control.
2) Schultz’ Big Opportunity. He has played well against weak competition and shown that he can even get himself physically involved. Now the Oiler defender gets a chance to play with Sekera. The team wanted to see what their new addition looked like playing with a puck mover so they want to give this pairing a try. Justin Schultz is in a dogfight to prove he can be a long term solution on the blueline. This summer the team committed long term to his regular partner Klefbom after just 77 games. Meanwhile it’s been a couple years for Schultz and nobody is sure at all what the future holds for him. He needs to show he can be a good complement to Sekera.
3) Splits. We expect the Oilers to split the game between Nilsson and Scrivens. The Oilers have 1 more goaltender than they really need. I think if Nilsson wants the backup job he has to be near perfect with some big bobbles from Scrivens tonight. I say that because it would be easier to bury Nilsson in the minors, financially. Of course, the other alternative is a trade.
Puck drops at 7 PM Mountain Time on the Oilers Website. Game On!
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