After another lengthy four day break, the Oilers are finally back into it with a game tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. Hopefully the Oilers got the most out of this four day break because it will be their last break until after the playoffs. Edmonton has no more than one day off between games between now and their second last game of the season, followed by two days off before playing the Canucks for the final regular season game. Throw in two sets of back to back games and things are going to be busy.

Tonight we will see two new players enter the lineup that could both be crucial pieces for what Ken Holland and the Edmonton Oilers hope is a long playoff run. Dmitry Kulikov will play on the left side tonight with Adam Larsson. Personally I prefer a combination of puck movers alongside shut down players but Tippett is going all in on a pair he hopes will play low event hockey and limit chances against. As long as this duo can make the simple pass out for the forwards this duo could be great. Kulikov also plays a ton on the PK and should certainly help to lower Nurse's minutes, something Holland specifically discussed after making the deal.

Kulikov, if he is playing well isn't a player who should get noticed much when he is on the ice, the young Ryan Mcleod meanwhile could be a far more dynamic addition. First let's flashback to December 31st, 2019. The Oilers had played 41 games at that point in the season and were still in the playoff hunt but had struggled mightily in December. Kailer Yamamoto was called up after going 8-8-16 in 23 games with the Condors and never looked back. Yamamoto gave the Oilers another real top six option on the wing and alongside Draisaitl and RNH created a dominant line that helped push the Oilers into second in their division.

Here we are today, the Oilers have played 45 games this season and have just called up the 21 year old centre who has gone 14-14-28 in 28 games with the Condors this season. Edmonton needs more dynamic options in their bottom six and if McLeod can add even half of what Yamamoto did in his first season than it will be a huge boost to the team.

OILERS LINE COMBINATIONS

Kahun-McDavid-Puljujarvi
RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Ennis-Mcleod-Archibald
Neal-Haas-Chiasson

Nurse-Barrie
Kulikov-Larsson
Jones-Bear

Koskinen

- Not official lineups. Mike Smith got banged up a bit at practice but coach said he was fine. Will be interesting to see if he does get the start.

JETS LINE COMBINATIONS

Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler
Stasny-Dubois-_______
Perrault-Copp-Appleton
Harkins-Thompson-Lewis

Morrissey-Poolman
Forbort-Pionk
Stanley-DeMelo

Hellebuyck


UPDATE: It looks like the Jets are shutting Ehlers down for the rest of the regular season, due to a hit from Muzzin on Saturday night. The hope is that he will be ready come the playoffs. Rough news for the Jets.

4 GAME THOUGHTS

1.) Into The Fire Ryan McLeod will make his NHL debut tonight. Under normal circumstances a young player like this would get eased into the game and have time to get up to speed but the Oiler are in a playoff spot and want to do everything in their power to improve their position. McLeod will need to come out sharp and use his impressive skating and playmaking that earned him this callup.

2.) Home Ice - The Oilers are fighting most likely now for second position, as the Leafs look to have a good hold on the top spot. In the remaining season games Edmonton faces Winnipeg twice (including tonight), Montreal two more times, then the remaining games are against Vancouver and Calgary. Edmonton has a good opportunity to earn some ground in these games.

3.) Waking Up The Nuge - We've gone over it many times but it needs to be stressed; the Oilers desperately need RNH to get out of whatever funk he is in. I could list any number; his primary assists, goals for, EV goals, shots, etc, everything is down this year. RNH doesn't need to be the best player on his line but Edmonton cannot afford to have him be an anchor either.

4.) Setting The Playoff Roster - In the last practice Caleb Jones was in the lineup with Bear while Russell was the one taking the extra reps. That likely means Jones has a spot over Russell right now which is music to my ears. There are a number of spots, both in the bottom six and the defense that could get snatched up by a hungry player. Look for some of these guys to play with a bit more fire down the stretch so they can be a regular in the playoffs.

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