Yes, the answer to the question asked in the title is yes. Ryan Smyth is a healthy scratch for tonight’s Oilers game against the New jersey Devils, which for all intents and purposes is an early season must win before the team goes on a lengthy east coast road trip this weekend.
Smyth has really struggled to this point, chipping in on just one scoring chance through two games. I know most of you will say it’s a small sample size, but one chance in two games isn’t NHL level production from a first line. Smyth has seen his line give up almost double the chances to this point, and he is a -5 through two games.
He hasn’t been able to keep up with Hemsky and Hall, and looks totally out of gas. A night off tonight is no doubt the best thing for him at this point, and sadly is the best thing for the team as well.
Ryan Hamilton, who was recalled on Friday, will get the go tonight. Hamilton is a bigger body and brings a high compete level to the table. He was decent in training camp, and I thought earned a spot on the opening night roster. Tonight, we get to see Hamilton for the first time on the young season.
Hamilton will skate on the third line with Marc Arcobello, who has actually held his own to this point, and dynamic scorer Nail Yakupov. It’s an odd line, because you honestly have no idea what to expect. There’s talent there, but that talent hasn’t shown itself in the first two games. We’ll see if they can have a better night tonight.
The kid line will be back in action too this evening, while Jesse Joensuu, who has played pretty well to this point, is a scratch due to a back injury he has been suffering from.
Andrew Ference is a bit banged up too, and there is some speculation that he will not play tonight and that Brandon Davidson will make his NHL debut after being recalled yesterday. That said, there hasn’t been anything concrete said on that and I’m sure Jeremy Thompson will have more on this later when puts up the Oilers Rig game preview. Stay tuned for that!
Looks like the new lines are as follows for tonight:
Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
David Perron – Boyd Gordon – Ales Hemsky
Ryan Hamilton – Marc Arcobello – Nail Yakupov
Mike Brown – Will Acton – Luke Gazdic
Ladislav Smid – Jeff Petry
Andrew Ference/Brandon Davidson -Justin Schultz
Nick Schultz – Anton Belov
Look, Ryan Smyth was a huge part of why I became an Oilers fan over a Bruins fan out here in Boston. That being said, even though Ryan Smyth is my favorite all time Oiler, it’s time to move on for both sides. Smyth was brutal in the first two games, and deserves to be a healthy scratch tonight.
It’s nothing against him personally. The heart is still there, you can tell, but the legs and the body have shut down and are no longer able to keep up at an NHL level. It’s sad, but it’s part of the game. No one ever wins the battle with father time, ever.
This was the right decision, and I applaud Eakins for making the call. Hopefully Ryan Hamilton, who has a chance to impress here, takes the bull by the horns and earns a spot in Edmonton’s bottom six. Lord knows the Oilers could use the extra help down there.
Stay tuned for the game preview of tonight’s game. Jeremy Thompson will be back with that later in the afternoon. In the meantime, follow me on twitter @Alex_Thomas14.
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