When I was in college from time to time I would host some social gatherings. During a couple of these gatherings some things in my apartment were damaged, such as the walls. After a couple of these holes appeared I made a trip to my local hardware store, picked up some patches and got to work fixing them.
The patches covered the holes but it didn’t remove them. With a bit of prodding the hole and the damage would be visible once again.
That is what is currently happening with the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers return home from a road-trip going 1-3. That alone is not cause to panic as losing streaks are not uncommon for even the best teams. However, the Oilers are not one of the best teams and their patches, while they were working for some time are starting to fall apart.
THE SECOND PAIRING
I am not a fan of Kris Russell. He is at best a third pairing defenceman who is a PK specialist. Russell is the player you want on the ice when you want to get the puck out of the zone and don’t care where that puck goes. Darnell Nurse meanwhile is still a young and inconsistent player. He is headstrong and aggressive on attacking the puck, even if that means missing another forward swooping in to the slot.
Here is a breakdown of the last four games when Kris Russell and Darnell Nurse are on the ice.
SCF and SCA are scoring chances for and against for those unsure. Nurse and Russell overall when they are together spend an exuberant amount of time defending. The puck is frequently hemmed in their own end and in many games are among the worst possession players on the team.
Even when they are on the positive side of things as noted in the Detroit and Washington games they are still not a positive force. Note the 0’s on the GF from top to bottom. At best the Oilers second pairing has become a duo that can break even and at worst they are a trainwreck.
LACK OF SCORING
This season the Oilers have opted to keep duos together while the remaining spot has been a revolving door. Rattie, Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, Caggiula, Chiasson, Rieder, and Lucic have all spent time in the top 6 this season. Right now Rieder appears to have the left side on the second line locked in but it is anyone else’s guess as to who will appear on the right side on any given day.
None of the remaining players have been able to grab ahold of these spots. Rattie was robbed twice by Luongo and is likely deserving of more opportunity beside McDavid but the points are not there yet.
Caggiula is well on his way to exceeding his career high of 13 goals with 5 goals on the season but has yet to register an assist. In my opinion this shows a player who is able to cash in on the play of others while not being counted on to produce on his own.
In the spirit of keeping things fair I must also put Alex Chiasson in this conversation. Chiasson has found a spot as Draisaitl’s other winger with 6 goals in 10 games. He is another player who has yet to provide an assist. I brought PDO up a couple of days ago. Chiasson has a PDO of 109.5 and a shooting percentage of 42.9. Both of these are signs that what Chiasson is doing is not sustainable at all which once again will leave the second line without a scoring winger.
Lucic continues to be where offense goes to die and after scoring in the first game of the season now has 2 goals in 65 games dating back to last season. Forget about the contract for a moment (as hard as that may be) if any other player was producing like that they would be demoted or at the very least sat…. McLellan has done neither.
YAMAMOTO AND PULJUJARVI FINALLY SENT DOWN
Well until about 5 minutes ago I was going to dedicate this spot to arguing that Puljujarvi and Yamamoto need to be sent to the AHL but that has been done so…..
This move was a long time in the making. Both Puljujarvi and Yamamoto have shown flashes of their ability this season but neither have shown they consistently belong in the NHL.
Jesse Puljujarvi in particular has been a sore spot for myself. Bottom line he was not given an opportunity to succeed by this coaching staff. He sat multiple games in a row, was not given more than three games with any linemates and played his last game on the fourth line registering less than 11 minutes.
Much of the future of this team banks on Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto turning into top 6 wingers. Regardless of whether or not you agree with his reasons neither player was being given the opportunity by Todd McLellan to use those tools in the NHL. Both Yamamoto and Puljujarvi are 20 years old and anyone who wants to call either player “busts” at this stage clearly know next to nothing about hockey or development.
LASTLY, SOME GOOD NEWS
Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto will join a Condors team that is having some success. More important than that, Oilers fans should be excited at the production they are getting from a number of players who one day soon may crack the NHL roster.
Cameron Hebig has been the best surprise so far coming out of the Oilers prospects this seaosn. The undrafted 21 year old leads the Condors in goals and points. I hope Chiarelli is able to sit on his hands and leave this kid alone for the season and let him play.
Along with Hebig, Malone, Benson, and Marody all are playing at a ppg pace. As far as I am aware the Oilers have not had four prospects all producing like this in the history of the team having an AHL affiliate.
On defence Caleb Jones looks as though he has continued playing with the same fire he brought into training camp as he leads the Condors back end with William Lagesson closely behind.
Both Puljujarvi and Yamamoto will benefit greatly from joining these players and having the ability to play 18+ minutes a game as opposed to 10. This fact was also brought to my attention:
I know Oilers fans are used to seeing players immediately jump to the NHL but maybe a little patience is in order.
Thanks for reading
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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