Outside of draft lotteries, the Edmonton Oilers may very well be a cursed organization. On Monday night, the Oilers lost another key forward when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins went to block a shot. The shot hit his hand and broke it, meaning we won’t see the Nuge for at least six weeks. The official timeline provided by the team is 6-8 weeks.
If we follow that timeline, at best, RNH could return to the Oiler lineup around March 1st. Worst case? The middle of March when the season’s fate will likely be decided anyways. It’s not an ideal situation, and it means we are about two months away from seeing a healthy Oilers roster for the first time all season long.
Last night, the Oilers put Anton Lander back into the lineup and then moved Matt Hendricks up to the second line with Jordan Eberle and Benoit Pouliot. The Oilers, for tomorrow’s game in Dallas and Saturday’s tilt against Nashville, will need to put makeshift center depth charts together.
So, What Now?:
Like I said, the Oilers will have to find a way to get through these next two games. That likely means a larger role for Matt Hendricks and possibly a call-up from Bakersfield. Anton Lander will also get two games to show a little something here.
Luckily, the Oilers will hit the All-Star break and get a lengthy break, almost two weeks, before they return to face the Columbus Blue Jackets. That’s also the night that Connor McDavid is slated to return from the injured reserve, so Edmonton will get some sort of relief.
Essentially, for a lengthy stretch, Edmonton’s center depth chart will be held down by Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. Both players are extremely talented but experience is going to be a major issue. We’ll get a good look at what the Oilers could look like sans RNH should a trade occur this summer.
Stepping Up:
Anton Lander is a guy who really needs to step up here. We know what Leon Draisaitl brings to the table, and after a game or two of shaking off the rust, Connor McDavid should provide some exciting play. That said, the Oilers need more than two centers getting things done.
Mark Letestu is a solid hockey player, but he’s a role player and I wouldn’t expect much more than what you are getting from him now. Lander, on the other hand, has more to give. In 45 games this season, Lander hasn’t scored a single goal and only has two assists. That’s not pissing a single drop offensively, it’s unacceptable for a player at the NHL level.
That said, Lander isn’t this bad offensively, we saw him post 20 points in 38 games last season. He’ll need to regain some of that confidence and start producing something offensively in this next stretch. His defensive ability is strong and he could really help fill RNH’s void with a little offense here.
A Potential Lineup:
The Oilers now have questions with their lineup once McDavid returns to action. The thought process of having three scoring lines should be completely tossed out the window now, it’s all about jamming what you can into the top-six. Here’s what I’m thinking for when McDavid returns to the lineup on February 2nd.
Taylor Hall/Leon Draisaitl/Teddy Purcell
Benoit Pouliot/Connor McDavid/Jordan Eberle
Zack Kassian/Anton Lander/Nail Yakupov
Lauri Korpikoski/Mark Letestu/Matt Hendricks
The wings are pretty strong here, but up the middle could go either way. The talent from Draisaitl and McDavid is exceptional, but their lack of experience could lead to some very, very tough nights for the Oilers. Add in the uncertainty of Anton Lander’s value to this club and you could have some dire games where nothing makes sense up the middle of the ice.
The Oilers will be in tough without Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the lineup, that goes without saying. They’ll need some players to step up and they’ll need other guys to get healthy if they want to get by without the Nuge.
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