For the first time all season, the Edmonton Oilers won their second game in a row in regulation, last night against the Sharks. It was a well-deserved victory, with Edmonton being the better team from buzzer to buzzer. Despite Talbot letting in more than 1 or 2, and McDavid being held pointless, Edmonton was supported by strong performances from a number of their supporting cast. As a result, there is a lot to unpack after the victory, so let’s get to it.
1. Nuge’s Season Is Only Getting Better. There have been a couple areas of shine in this dull season so far that have been impossible to ignore. One of them is the play of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. I’m not sure why, but for whatever reason, I keep on expecting his play to cool down for a bit. It hasn’t, and really, it shouldn’t. There is a reason why this player was selected 1st overall, and he showed it yesterday. The prettiest of the plays was his gorgeous cross-ice feed to Caggiula, which ultimately never made it to Caggiula’s stick, but resulted in a goal no less.
The night ended with his line completely dominating in possession, Nuge totaling 2 points, and a combined total of 5 points for his trio. The fact that Nuge has done this all season, with no time played with McDavid, and a relatively open door of wingers, is even more impressive. He is on track to best his career high in both goals (24) and points (56).
NUUUUUUGE! Ryan Nugent-Hopkins extends the Oilers lead! pic.twitter.com/3ZPIIDStl5
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 19, 2017
2. It’s Amazing What 3 Centremen Can Do. The Oilers’ fortunes have started to turn as of late, with the team registering more good games than not over the past few weeks. There are a couple of arguments that one could make as to why, but the most obvious one at this point is the decision to run McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins all on separate lines. The temptation to keep Draisaitl and McDavid together was still tingling from last year, based off of their tremendous success; however, it had become clear by November that team’s had adapted, and that a new strategy would be needed.
Say hello to the three-headed monster. Edmonton is a different team with 3 lines pivoted by rockstar players, and it was evident last night. Despite both McDavid and Draisaitl’s lines losing the possession battle, Nuge’s trio was able to emerge and thoroughly dominate the affair. It took some time for chemistry to form, but now that it is here, it is hard to ignore. That characteristic, that on any given night at least one of these lines should be able to take over the game, is something that should give this team a chance down the stretch.
3. Nice Jujhar Khaira. After scoring 2 goals in Montreal 10 days ago, Jujhar had gone a little quiet in the games since, following up a string of 6 points in 6 games with no points in 4. Khaira was able to reignite the spark last night though, with a very impressive performance. The possession number won’t look pretty this morning, but Khaira had more than a couple shifts last night where he looked physically dominant in the offensive zone.
One of those shifts, as shown below, resulted in a gorgeous passing play to set up the Oilers 10,000th franchise goal. Great work.
The 10,000th @EdmontonOilers goal couldn't have been drawn up any better.
Tic-tac-toe. All @strome18 – @Drat_29 – @jujhar94. https://t.co/YRlJBUa9Y4
— NHL (@NHL) December 19, 2017
4. A Return to Form for Draisaitl. Since his concussion earlier in the season, it’s safe to say that Draisaitl hasn’t quite played up to the level of expectations that were built from last season. Despite the struggles, we are starting to see a return to form for the big German. With 2 assists against San Jose, and a performance that was only bested by that of Nugent-Hopkins, Leon has put together 4 points in for games. He now sits at 25 points on the year, in 30 games.
If Leon can continue this trend and stick around a bit closer to a point per game pace, that will go a long way into pushing this team into the playoffs.
Letestu ties it up, 1-1 #SJSvsEDM #Oilers #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/zt4XBfZtjl
— abirdofparadise (@ubirdofparadise) December 19, 2017
5. That Damned Penalty Kill. The woes of the penalty kill continue to persist, with the Oilers giving up an early first period goal while down a man last night. The culprit was once again an over-aggression of pressure to the blue line, which opened up plenty of space n front of the net. It’s an issue that has been persistent all season long, yet doesn’t look to be going away any time soon.
Thankfully, Edmonton was able to recover last night, but far too many times the PK has put the Oilers to bed just as the game gets going. Improving the special teams remains item #1 on the list of tasks for this squad.
6. The Defence: It’s Complicated. Adam Larsson returned to the blue line and performed as one would expect: a rock. In his 22 minutes of ice time (most of any Oiler not named McDavid), it was quite clear that the situation on the blue-line is only going to bcome more complicated… in a good way. Brandon Davidson stood beside Larsson for much of those 22 minutes, and in doing so, looked damned impressive.
Gryba had been placed out prior to Larsson’s addition, which most would agree is the smart move, but with Adam returning, that meant Auvitu had to ride the pine. Again, despite Auvitu bringing a game that I actually quite like (he is chaotic – but dangerous), it was the best move for the team. Sekera will now be returning soon though, and the decisions will only get more difficult.
For example, who comes out after last night? Arguably, Kris Russell had the poorest night on D but does anyone really think Todd McLellan is going to pull him from the lineup? What about Benning? He hasn’t been quite as strong as one would hope in his own end, but he is getting the puck moving in a good direction, as attested by his assist last night. But after 6 strong games, how does a person take out Davidson? And who is to say that Sekera returns immediately to his old form?
These are tough decisions that need to be made and will likely flex from game to game. Ultimately, it may mean Chiarelli has an added piece to trade for some additional help up front.
7. Do the Oilers Really Need Help Up Front? Probably. They still have a tendency to get shutout a little to often, but it is nice to see the secondary scoring coming on strong now. Puljujarvi could’ve scored twice last night, Lucic has been much better at 5 on 5 this season, Caggiula looked possessed last night, Khaira was previously mentioned for good work, and even Strome scored 2 goals last night. Over the past couple of weeks, the Oilers are starting to hit the mesh a lot more consistently.
It’s a good sign, but the safe bet is to probably make a play for some more help. Would anyone really be complaining if this team was able to add a Mike Hoffman type? Well, of course they would, but would it be a bad idea? Depending on the price, not at all.
8. Cam Talbot is a Difference Maker. Talbot has only been back for 2 games now, but the difference has already been felt. In both the Minnesota game on Saturday, and the Sharks game last night, there were a series of dangerous chances that Talbot was able to survive and not give up a goal against. In Minnesota, it was late in the 3rd with the Wild pushing where Talbot was able to stand strong. Last night, it was in the middle frame, with the Oilers up by 1 on the PK, where Cam was able to string together multiple good saves.
In both situations, it could be argued that Brossoit wouldn’t have been able to deliver. We’ll never know for sure, but at this point, Cam’s presence and ability to make the save when the team needs it, is quite clear.
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