This in from Tony Brar of Oilers TV, the line-up for the Edmonton Oilers in tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, with news that d-man Troy Stecher is checking back in for Josh Brown, who played against Boston on Monday.
RNH – McDavid – C.Brown
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Arvidsson
J.Skinner – Henrique – Hyman
Perry – Janmark – Kapanen
Ryan
Nurse – Bouchard
Ekholm – Stecher
Kulak – Emberson
J.Brown
S.Skinner
Pickard
My take
1. It’s been many years since the Edmonton Oilers had six regular d-men who could move the puck as well as the current group of Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse, Brett Kulak, Ty Emberson and Troy Stecher.
All six of them can dodge forecheckers, take and make a pass, and find breaking forwards with long bomb stretch passes. The Oilers employ a deadly six-shooter on the blueline now, which is a vast improvement from the Decade of Darkness-plus era when Edmonton was plagued by d-men who struggled to move the puck. It was a time when many in the fanbase cried out for the team to focus on bringing in smart and skilled d-men who could control a game with their passing. That is finally now happening.
2. Remember the 2006-07 Oilers, which lost puck-movers like Chris Pronger and Jaroslav Spacek, and could only score 195 goals? The top puck mover that year was Marc-Andre Bergeron, who could only muster 25 points.
The 2010-11 Oilers scored just 193 goals, with the top puck movers being Tom Gilbert, 26 points and Kurtis Foster, 22 points, though things picked up once the team acquired Ryan Whitney, who had 27 points in 35 games.
The 2014-15 Oilers scored just 198 goals, with Justin Schultz leading the way with 31 points.
Those teams regularly had three or four d-men who struggled to move the puck. Now the Oilers don’t have one such d-men, not even on the bottom-pairing, so little wonder the Oilers are on track to score about 270 to 280 goals.
3. Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch has said the best way to limit goals against is with solid puck possession, and this current group of d-men excels at that, starting with the top pairing of Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm, a pairing that has few equals when it comes to moving the puck.
Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak, the next biggest minute munchers, are also strong puck-movers.
On the third pairing Troy Stecher and Ty Emberson aren’t exactly Bobby Orr or Paul Coffey, but they can both take and make a pass. Emberson hasn’t put up many points, but I’m seeing under Coffey’s guidance that his ability to rip a stretch pass is picking up.
4. The Oilers have three d-men, Bouchard, Nurse and Kulak, who are putting up even strength points at a first-pairing level (in the Top 64 ranking for NHL d-men) and another in Ekholm at a second-pairing level. Stecher ranks 140th overall, which puts him just outside a second-pairing level.
5. When Paul Coffey came in, he talked about the need to make plays, to not throw away the puck. It turns out that message was more than just talk. The Oilers d-men are doing it, they’re getting better at it, and it’s a key part of Edmonton’s winning ways under Knoblauch and Coffey.
6. One key will be for the Oilers to add another d-man this year for the 2025 playoff run who can bring more size and aggression, but also move the puck well. It’s not always easy to find such d-men, but it’s not impossible, especially if management and the coaching staff make it a priority, something that is now happening.
At the Cult of Hockey
McCURDY: Edmonton’s new formula for winning
STAPLES: Once again, insiders connect Oilers to Pittsburgh d-man