Game Day 22, Oilers vs Rangers
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This in from Tony Brar of Edmonton Oilers media, news that Stuart Skinner will start in net, Evan Bouchard is missing from the morning skate, and the Oilers have taken a blender to their lines, with newcomer Kasperi Kapanen bumped up to play with Connor McDavid, and Connor Brown bumped up to play with Leon Draisaitl:
Oilers lines at Morning Skate:
• No Hyman, Arvidsson
RNH – McDavid – Kapanen
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Brown
Skinner – Henrique – Janmark
Caggiula – Ryan – Perry
• No Bouchard
Six D: Ekholm, Nurse, Kulak, Emberson, Stecher, Dermott
Skinner
Pickard
UPDATE:
And an update from Gene Principe: “Hyman/Arvidsson unavailable. Bouchard ill but hoping he plays. Nurse expected to play, from Edmonton Oilers (coach) Kris Knoblauch.”
My take
1. With this line-up, if the Oil doesn’t commit to and execute a near perfect defensive game, it’s got little chance of winning.
2. Bouchard has been getting a lot of criticism, much of it deserved, for major defensive gaffes in recent games. Perhaps he’s been sick for some time and it’s taken a bite out of his game. But make no mistake, he’s been a solid top-pairing d-man for the Oilers this year, helping to create a great number of Grade A shots, and if he’s out sick that’s a massive blow to the Oilers. Josh Brown and Travis Dermott give it their best, but they’ve not yet played NHL-quality hockey for the Oil this year.
3. It’s interesting to put Draisaitl with two grinders like Brown and Podkolozin. Both of them are solid two-way players. Both work hard. Both forecheck with tenacity and ferocity. Will this line generate a goal or two tonight? It just might. It’s an intriguing experiment.
4. I’m not so sure about the McDavid line. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been struggling all year. He seems a step behind where he was last season. He’s got to up his level of intensity/desperation if he’s going to make a mark tonight. I haven’t seen enough of Kapanen to have a firm opinion yet, but he’s not excelled in the NHL in recent seasons.
5. The line of Jeff Skinner, Adam Henrique and Mattias Janmark has a good mix of players. Skinner’s defensive play has been poor this year. He’s got to crack his own whip there and get that part of his game going. But he remains a dangerous attacker, as is Henrique. Janmark is a solid two-way player.
6. The fourth line? It needs more speed and aggression. I’ve been saying this for some time. Even as Ryan and Perry are smart and sometimes effective players, the Oilers need a fourth line that rocks the rink with hustle, speed and hitting. Caggiula might be able to play on such a line, but the Oilers need to find more pieces for this bottom line trio.
7. As for Skinner in net, well, he’s in the most extended slump of his NHL career, driving his save percentage to the lowest we’ve seen during the McDavid Era in Edmonton. So there’s that.
8. The good news? Great to see that Nurse feels well enough to play. He was crushing it in the two weeks before his injury. Can he get back to that level right away? It’s a lot to ask but it would be a difference maker for the Oilers.
P.S. Staples on Oilers Now. High voltage hockey talk.
At the Cult of Hockey
McCURDY: Oilers struggling on home ice. Why?
STAPLES: You don’t want to know how bad the Oilers goaltending has been
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