Things are starting to heat up.
The Edmonton Oilers are on a roll, the 4 Nations Face-Off rosters are about to be announced and the most revealing test of the season is up next on the schedule.
With the heart of the NHL season upon us, here are eight things to think about:
What happens in Vegas
Vegas is a first place team that’s running hot, 6-3-1 in the last 10, and are viewing Tuesday’s game the same way the Oilers are — a measuring stick between a pair of heavyweight contenders who plan on emerging from the Pacific Division playoffs. Edmonton is the second hottest team in the NHL right now behind 8-2-0 Toronto but their record against winning teams hasn’t been great. If you’re wondering where the Oilers really stand 25 games into the season, Tuesday evening will provide all the clarity you need.
The start of something?
Two goals in the last two games, even if one of them was an empty-netter, are a welcome sight for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The veteran forward is off to a horrible start offensively with just four goals and 12 points in 24 games despite first line ice time and a steady spot on the power play. He’s a loyal soldier who is beloved in Edmonton, but the production numbers are in a black hole, especially with the power play running at just 17 per cent. Maybe the two-game scoring streak is the start of something. Oilers fans are hoping so with the Stanley Cup window open and four and a half years left on his contract.
Unsung hero
You gotta love Mattias Janmark. He does everything right, plays hard minutes, works the penalty kill and still finds time to help generate offence from his third-line spot. He’s second in scoring among Oilers forwards after Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl with 10 points in 24 games. That’s just two points off his total for all of last season and well ahead of a pace to break his career high of 34 points set seven years ago in Dallas. This isn’t coming out of nowhere, either. It’s a continuation of last year’s playoff run when he was sixth in scoring among Oilers forwards with eight points in 25 games.
Down again
The concern when the Oilers acquired Viktor Arvidsson is that he has a hard time staying healthy. He played just 18 games last season after back surgery and was held to 58 or fewer in four of the last six years. And now, after five points in his first 16 games as an Oiler he is back on the shelf, having missed eight games and counting with an undisclosed injury. It’s a risk Oilers management accepted when they signed him to a two-year deal at $4 million a year. They’re hoping it pays off down the road but right now it’s not helping a bit.
Winning on the dot
Don’t look now but the Oilers are third in the NHL in face-off winning percentage (53.9 per cent). Leon Draisaitl is the workhorse on this front, taking 435 of Edmonton’s 1,324 draws this season and winning 56.8 per cent of them. In 159 trips to the dot, Derek Ryan is an outstanding 61.6 per cent while Adam Henrique is 51.6 on 256 faceoffs. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is 55.7 on 140 draws. The only player among their top five face-off guys below 50 per cent is Connor McDavid (47.5 on 219 draws).
4 Nations stock
Edmonton’s slow start is probably going to keep a couple of Oilers off the 4 Nations Face-Off roster, which was finalized Sunday and will be released on Wednesday. Zach Hyman looked like a lock to be on a line with Connor McDavid, but going from 54 goals last season to three in the first 20 games of this year, and then getting injured right as the roster is being selected, cost him a spot. And goaltender Stuart Skinner was also on the radar after taking Edmonton to the Cup final last year. He’s been much better in recent games but he might have run himself out of time.
What about Bouchard?
Evan Bouchard was another lock after a career year last season, but a slow start to the season put him on the bubble. His best work comes on the power play, but Edmonton is just 17.7 per cent on the man advantage this year and his own totals are suffering for it. He’s making a late charge, 11 points in the last nine games (after seven in the first 15). He is also prone to the big mistake, which can be very costly in a short tournament, but he is state of the art offensively and if used in situations that play to his strengths he would be a valuable weapon.
Come back Zach
Team Canada aside, Hyman, like Nugent-Hopkins, is another player who needs to find his groove if the Oilers are going to pull off another deep playoff run. His shooting percentage fell from 18.6 last year to 5.9 this year, leaving him on pace for 12 goals. If that doesn’t change (he’s a career 13.4 per cent shooter) it’s going to be a long season for him and a short one for the Oilers. He’s too important to fall off the edge of the world offensively.
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