|
Oilers Tie Series Heading Back To Edmonton: On THE SLASH |
|
|
|
|
|
Once again the Edmonton Oilers were able to control play for two very strong periods in Dallas. This time however the Oilers did not shoot themselves in the foot and held on to a 3-0 victory earning Stuart Skinner his third win of the post season and third shutout. His stat line is wild through these playoffs. His losses average below an 0.830SV%
Skinner is not an elite goalie and isn't the the type of goalie who will hold the team together if they are struggling but when the Oilers are playing their game and committing to their systems, Stu is keeping them in games and so far that has proven to be enough.
The 5 on 5 play through the lineup remains Edmonton's greatest strength the only two Stars players that have been on the ice for more goals for than against at 5 on 5 are Sam Steel and Tyler Seguin. The top line for the Stars, while dominant on the powerplay have not created much of anything at even strength. That is something the Oilers must continue to take advantage of and shut down moving forward.
---
At the time of writing this we don't have confirmation on whether or not Mattias Ekholm is going to play tonight. The coach fully ruled him out for Games 1 and 2 prior to the series starting, leaving the door open for a return at home in Game 3. If Ekholm does play I don't expect to see him logging massive minutes next to Bouchard to start. The Kulak and Bouchard pairing have actually been very strong throughout the playoffs and this series, Stecher inexplicably helps Nurse's underlying numbers and the Walman and Klingberg pairing remain steady. The series is tied and right now there isn't a dire need to slot Ekholm in if he isn't fully prepared for a return.
If Ekholm does play I would run 11/7 with likely Frederic sitting out but in my opinion it should be Henrique. The 11/7 would give the Oilers a few options, first off letting Ekholm ease back into games, similar to what the Stars did with Heiskanen. If Ekholm has to miss some shifts the Oilers still have 6 defenders to run as opposed to only 5. Secondly, if gives Knoblauch the additional ability to throw McDavid or Draisaitl on for a double shift with the 4th line, giving the Oilers even more options to throw at the Stars.
---
THE SLASH
The big controversy after Game 2 was the incident between Roope Hintz and Darnell Nurse. At the time of writing this we don't have confirmation whether or not Roope Hintz will play, or if he even travelled with the team to Edmonton. Hintz and Nurse got into it in front of Stuart Skinner and Hintz crosschecked Nurse who retaliated with a slash at his foot. Hintz had to be helped off the ice and Nurse was given a 5 minute major which was reviewed and changed back to a 2 minute penalty.
Stars fans were livid at seeing their top line centre taken down and I don't blame them but I also think the NHL got it right with a 2 minute penalty and no supplementary discipline. The play by Nurse is 100% a penalty; he slashed Hintz. The resulting injury is unfortunate as Nurse caught him in a tender spot but compare this to Pietrangelo's overhead two hand slash on Draisaitl's wrist, or Trouba's slash to the head of Frederic a couple years ago (which ended up being a fine). This is two players going at each other and while the injury sucks for the Stars, the NHL has repeatedly said when it comes to supplementary discipline that they focus on the act itself, and not the injury in regards to their decision. Because there was an injury they called the 5 minute major, but the resulting review got it right; it's a 2 minute penalty and nothing more.
Also I understand the gamesmanship of the likes of Benn, Peter DeBoar and other Stars players after the game, saying that if it was McDavid the league would have called it a 5 but that's factually just wrong. McDavid despite his speed and ability to break through defenders isn't anywhere close to the top of penalties drawn. He was suspended for 3 games for a crosscheck that many expected 1 or 2 games. He has been heavily injured by Brandon Manning (broken collarbone) and Giordano (knee injury that new therapy was created for in order to heal). Both of those incidents resulted in minor penalties against. McDavid doesn't get special treatment.
There was already some chippiness in this series but you can bet things are going to be notched up another level starting in Game 3. Edmonton needs to come out hard and continue to commit to their full zone game and continue to find ways to score at 5 on 5 while staying out of the box.
Thanks for reading.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»