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Game 24: Wild @ Oilers: Edmonton Is A Good Team Playing Bad Hockey

December 7, 2021, 3:36 PM ET [15 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
I almost feel as if I could simply walk away and leave the blog as is with that title because that simply sums things up. The Edmonton Oilers are a good team. They're special teams is dominant, they are an above average team at scoring goals at even strength but they are a below average team in preventing goals against at 5 on 5. Add in above average goaltending and the top 2 players in the NHL and the Oilers are a playoff team that has some holes that can be covered if everyone is performing their jobs.

The problem lately is that hasn't been the case. While there have been injuries on the blue line that doesn't account for the likes of Russell or Barrie being brutal or any of the other cases of players missing their assignments. The bottom six have been absolutely atrocious and are getting scored against at a higher rate than any of the past 5 seasons. Warren Foegele brings some needed elements to this team but he hasn't done it on a consistent basis and right now I would far rather have Ethan Bear helping to solidify the backend like he is doing in Carolina (and was doing here for the record).

Holland had a chance to bring in Riley Nash on waivers but declined to. The player was picked up by Tampa instead. Let that sink in for a moment; a team that is not getting any help from their bottom six defensively passes on a right shot centre who doesn't allow much at 5 on 5 but the two in a row winning Stanley Cup team with more depth than most teams in the league picks him up. One of these management groups is doing the right thing.

The likely reason why is because Holland and Tippett still have faith in Derek Ryan. That faith is dwindling with every passing game. Ryan was brought in because of his defensive acument and ability to protect his own end but this year he has been one of the worst Oilers players in that regard. In 177 minutes at 5 on 5, Ryan has been on the ice for 3 even strength goals and 16 against. He has already been demoted to a fourth line role and with Devin Shore returning it might only be a matter of time before he is out of the lineup completely. Ryan has one more year on his contract at 1.25 million.

No matter what personnel the Oilers seem to employ in their bottom six they seem to be regularly outmatched. At some point the fingers need to be pointed at the coaching staff. Whether it is because they aren't playing enough to get comfortable because of how Tippett rolls out the top six in every situation or simply how he tries to match his lines things have not looked good in the bottom six since Tippett was hired.

Tonight the Oilers will play a Minnesota Wild team that is a very strong 5 on 5 team that plays well in all zones. Edmonton needs to start the game on time; that means every line and go back to playing the structured game that earned them wins through October and November.

Edmonton is a good team. If they want to be a great team they need to find a way to do this every night against any opponent.

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Quick thoughts on William Lagesson's agent. For those not familiar, after being scratched last game against the Kings, Lagesson's agent Allan Walsh tweeted this out:


Ultimately I don't think this helps out anyone. I get that Walsh is trying to stand up for and promote his guy but publicly shaming an NHL coach isn't going to make him or any other team line up to take on your player if they are worried they will need to deal with these kinds of shenanigans any time they make a decision the agent or player don't like.
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