The Edmonton Oilers left home last Monday after the NHL’s trade deadline and embarked on a four game road trip. As the worst road team in the NHL, it was easy to think that these Oilers would falter big time and be lucky to win a single game on the road. After all, some of this club’s worst games on the year have come on the road.
The Oilers return home with a mixed bag of games, two strong efforts in Buffalo and Philadelphia, a stinker in Columbus, and a game stolen for them by their goalie in Winnipeg. Overall, the club comes back with a 3-1-0 record and an impressive four wins in their last five games. Are things starting to turn? I’m not sure about that, but this has been a nice little stretch.
Connor McDavid and Cam Talbot were the best players for Edmonton on this road trip. McDavid scored three goals in the four games and was mainly responsible for the goal Nail Yakupov scored in Philadelphia. Talbot, on the other hand, was sensational this week. He stole Edmonton a win in Winnipeg and stood tall during tough stretches in both Buffalo and Philadelphia.
This road trip taught us a few things about the Oilers. The first is that they are working on getting their identity back. I saw a lot of physical play during this trip and I saw a lot of effort from this team. There is a sense of pride in that locker room right now and these guys are playing a hard style. It’s refreshing to see, seriously. Yes, they still need work and the shot metrics could be better, but the Oilers are not a soft team right now.
Fits Like A Glove:
One thing that has become apparent to me? That both Adam Pardy and Patrick Maroon fit in perfectly with the Edmonton Oilers. Maroon has scored two goals in three games with his new club and has brought a physical element to the table that the Oilers have been sorely lacking for years. Watching him play the game is actually quite fun, with his size, skill and physical play combination. His ability to play with skill is quite a nice touch too.
As for Pardy, he’s filled in quite nicely on the blue line for the Oilers. He’s handling third pairing minutes and he’s doing it with some snarl. His combination of size and physical play from the back end has made it tougher for teams to go to the hard areas in Edmonton’s zone, something that has been easy pickings in recent years. I like him a lot as a shut-down defender in a depth role moving forward, his value has been quite apparent in his first few games.
Adam Cracknell has been a decent depth forward too since coming over, but he’s been a lot less noticeable than the other two players.
Maroon is a lock for next years team if you ask me. At this point, I’d consider bringing back Adam Pardy as well as a depth defender if I were the Oilers. The fit just seems right for him.
Yakupov:
Nail Yakupov was taken off the McDavid line on Sunday night in Winnipeg, replaced by Lauri Korpikoski. Korpikoski ended up scoring the game winning goal and Yakupov was rather quiet the rest of the night. I like this player, he has skill and he’s on a value contract through next season. That said, I think the decision has been made on him, and I don’t think it is a favorable one.
Yakupov, to my eyes, was solid on this line throughout the trip and even made some good plays in Winnipeg before being moved off the line. For whatever reason, the coaches elected to change things up and again Nail was the one moving down the depth chart.
I don’t think the Oilers view him as a key piece and I believe they view him as someone who can be shipped out and replaced with a bigger forward this summer. That may be the right call for the sake of the “mix”, but I can’t help but think that Edmonton is making a mistake on this player.
The handling of Nail Yakupov sure suggests that the team views him as a trade chip more than anything. If they move out Eberle for defensive help this summer, then Yakupov should be considered for a skilled line.
Davidson Out, Now What?:
Brandon Davidson’s injury did not look good last night, and honestly I’d be stunned if he came back this season. Even if his injury keeps him out for a month, that takes us right to the final days of the season. It’s not worth risking further injury with a player who will be a major part of the 2016-17 Edmonton Oilers.
In his place, we’re likely to see an emergency recall for the time being. I highly doubt that the Oilers want to put Nikitin out there much more, so we could see the return of a guy like Jordan Oesterle. It’s also not out of the realm of possibility that we see David Musil or Griffin Reinhart get a bit of a look here late.
In the long run, however, we’ll see the return of Oscar Klefbom, who has been out of the lineup for Edmonton since the middle of December. Klefbom’s return will be a very welcomed sight.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
