The phrase "playoff-like" hockey gets thrown around too much for my liking but it would be hard to not describe the Oilers 2-1 win in the shootout last night as anything but a playoff-like game. The Jets and Oilers got in each others faces all night, big hits were thrown, both goaltenders were stellar (more on that in a bit) and neither team had an inch of space on the ice. It was by far the Oilers most complete defensive game of the season and while I don't expect every game to look like that one, in terms of their defensive zone play that needs to be the new standard. Edmonton battled hard for pucks, prevented most grade A chances from reaching the net and then were able to turn on their horses and move the other way.

First, let's talk about something positive; the play of Stuart Skinner. The 23 year old netminder had an absolutely stellar performance, stopping 46 of 47 shots and going perfect on the PK, including the lengthy 4 on 3 the Jets had at the end of the game and well into overtime. Skinner has played in 4 games this season and has a 0.940SV% and a 2.10 GAA. Those are Vezina winning numbers but obviously we aren't going to herald him as the starter for the next decade in Edmonton yet. Skinner has looked more confident with every game he has played and his 6'4 frame and athleticism are doing the rest. His rebound control and decision making when he leaves the net to collect the puck are still questionable but there is plenty of time for that to improve.

Right now the Oilers have another netminder that is giving them the opportunity to stay in games. He should deservedly get the start on Saturday against the Blackhawks. Thinking longer term, Skinner may give the Oilers a legitimate cheap backup option next season and moving forward which will allow the team to relocate cap to other areas of need. For now that is enough.

Now onto the bad stuff.

It was announced earlier today that Philip Broberg was getting called up and at first I thought it was because Slater Koekkoek got shaken up in the third period. We now have more details. Edmonton has recalled both Philip Broberg and William Lagesson and placed Koekkoek and Darnell Nurse on the IR. Nurse reportedly suffered a broken finger in OT and will be out 2-3 weeks while Koekkoek could be out 3-4 weeks.

As Samuel L. Jackson said once in some dinosaur movie, "hold onto your butts."

Losing Nurse is a huge blow for this team. Darnell averages over 26 minutes a game for the Oilers, is used in all situations and plays the toughest minutes of any defender. The next guy up on the left side to replace what Nurse brings would be... let's see here... Duncan Keith.

@#@$!

By the numbers, Keith and Ceci have been fine if unspectacular. The underlying numbers are hovering at about 50% but to say the duo is eventful would be an understatement. Keith coughs up the puck in dangerous areas at least two or three times a game, playing second pairing minutes. Asking Keith and Ceci to be the new top pairing is going to mean a bunch more turnovers and Keith is going to look even older and slower out on the ice if that's possible.

The alternatives to Keith on the top pairing are not any more favorable. You could play Broberg with Ceci and then have Keith with Bouchard and maybe Lagesson or Russell with Barrie. I do think Oiler fans are going to like what Broberg brings to this team but even with my optimism on the player I think throwing him to the wolves to play top pairing minutes in his first few games would be a disastrous move.

Regardless of what the new line pairs will be, the best option is to spread out Nurse's minutes among the three pairings instead of lumping them all onto one. If Keith and Ceci are indeed going to be the Oilers top pair for the next couple weeks, don't let them average more than 22-23 minutes a game. Then, perhaps it's Lagesson and Bouchard on a second pairing at 18-20 minutes and finally Broberg and Barrie at 16-18 minutes of playing time. If you're grimacing at those pairings trust me, you aren't the only one.

The best case scenario here is that Nurse ends up needing just a hair under two weeks of recovery time. Over the next twelve days, the Oilers play only 4 games against the Hawks, Stars, Coyotes, and Golden Knights. The Stars, Hawks, and Coyotes are 6th, 7th, and 8th respectively in the Central Division and the Golden Knights are 4th in the Pacific but are 7-3-0 in their last 10 and gaining ground. With maybe the exception of Vegas, these are games where the Oilers should be the better team and come out ahead. That being said, the Oilers lost two of those games to the Red Wings and Sabres earlier in the month. They will need to be extra sharp.

Things become more worrisome if Nurse needs the full three week recovery time. Three weeks from today would be December 10th. In addition to the November games I listed above, the Oilers play the Penguins, Kraken, Kings, Wild, and Bruins. If Nurse is out for all of those games, he would miss a total of 10 games.

An injury at this stage of the season isn't nearly as bad as one near the end of the season, leading into playoffs but no matter which way you look at this, the Oilers are going to have a harder time winning games with Nurse out of the lineup. The Oilers are going to need to commit to defense like they did last night against the Jets, play as a team and hope that the injection of young talent in guys like Skinner and Broberg will keep this team riding high.

Thanks for reading.

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