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Avalanche Dominate Oilers - Changes Are Needed

June 3, 2022, 6:25 PM ET [33 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
There are multiple issues that occurred in last night's 4-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche and while I could spend an entire blog discussing them, I think much of this can be summed up with a simple statement:

The Colorado Avalanche are a far superior team to the Edmonton Oilers.

This isn't saying that the Oilers should throw in the towel now or that they are doomed to be swept or even that they cannot end up coming back and winning this series.

Edmonton has played against teams that are better defensively, or have a stronger goaltender, or any other number of things... but one thing that has rarely ever happened is playing against a team that has more skill than them but that is exactly what we are seeing here. The Oilers are usually fine to play a run and gun game where they capitalize on their opponents mistakes and score on the ensuing rush. What we saw on full display in Game 2 is a team that is quite simply better at doing that.

If Ken Holland is trying to build a Cup contender and wants to figure out how, he needs to look no further than how the Avs are designed. There is skill and speed on every line. Spots are not wasted on players like Archibald and Kassian. Colorado isn't worried about "imposing their will physically." They can finish checks if they need to but Sakic and Bednar get it... the modern NHL is a possession based game and the Avs lineup is designed to make sure they always have the puck.

Overall I remain of the belief that Jay Woodcroft is the right coach for this team moving forward. Woodcroft ended up earning a second place and two third place votes for the Jack Adams Award; not bad for a guy that started coaching the team in February. That being said he is not without fault and right now he is getting outcoached in this series.

Somehow the Oilers need a spark and as great as the fans in this city are, I don't think the roar of the crowd in Edmonton is going to suddenly stop the Avalanche from entering the zone with ease. It's time to inject some other players into this lineup and shuffle things up. Here is Coach Maloughney's plan for Game 3 (this is assuming Kailer Yamamoto is ready to play):

Kane-McDavid-Draisaitl
Hyman-McLeod-Yamamoto
Holloway-RNH-Puljujarvi
Foegele-Ryan-Shore

Kulak-Ceci
Keith-Bouchard
Nurse-Barrie
Broberg

Smith

Here is the thought process:

Let's start on the backend. Darnell Nurse finished -3 on the night but more important than that is I would argue he was directly responsible for at least two of the goals. Nurse is playing very hurt and while it's nice to talk about him being such a warrior and a fighter for the team the fact remains that he is not capable of playing the minutes he regularly plays. Kulak meanwhile continues to impress with his strong two way game and right now he can handle top pairing minutes far better than anyone else in this lineup. Move Kulak to the top pairing, drop Nurse to the third pairing and bring in Broberg or even Kris Russell and run 11/7 to further alleviate minutes off of some guys.

As for the big change; bringing in Dylan Holloway. I think it is time for several reasons. For starters, the kid can play and with 22 points in 33 games in his first professional season with the AHL he has shown his skillset can translate. More importantly than that is that Holloway has speed and a scoring touch, something that is still missing from the Oilers bottom six. Playing Holloway as a puck transporter alongside two very good defensive players in RNH and Puljujarvi might unlock something for the Oilers away from the Avs highly dangerous top six.

We will see what the lines look like tomorrow but juggling chairs isn't enough right now. Woodcroft needs to find something new to find a way to earn some wins at home.
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