October 26, 2019 /

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM12: Panthers @ Oilers – Three Players to Watch

Undefeated at home this season, Mikko Koskinen and the Oilers are looking to extend that streak as the 4-2-4 Florida Panthers roll into Edmonton for a Sunday matinee game. Edmonton is 3-1-1 in their last five games but the Panthers are 3-0-2 in their previous five. It will be an interesting matchup to say the least.

This offseason, the Panthers brought in future hall-of-fame coach Joel Quenneville and signed one of the best goalies in the NHL, Sergei Bobrovsky. Well, Quenneville is keeping his head afloat but Bobrovsky has had a tough start to his career with the Panthers going 3-2-3 so far and lobbing up a 3.88 goals-against average and .869 save percentage. He’s going to have to do MUCH much better than that if he’s going to live up to that massive albatross of a contract he signed.

The Battles

Leon vs. Sasha – Draisaitl is emerging as one of the NHL’s premier two-way players but he’s still got a ways to go before he hits Barkov-level. One thing you’ll notice with both players is that they’re not the sexiest skaters in the world but they get the job done. The other thing you’ll find with them is their insane hockey IQ and vision.

Neal vs. Hoffman – I don’t think that Hoffman is on the same level as a player overall as Neal. Offensively, he finds the soft spaces well and his shot is absolute gold. Neal, on the other hand, is going to offer some more physicality and a bit more sandpaper.

FLA’s Bottom-six vs. EDM’s Bottom-Six – If the top-two lines of each team in this game find a way to cancel each other out, this is going to be the real battle. I like Florida’s speed, quickness, and assertiveness over Edmonton’s here, but that said, the Oilers have the size and, dare I say, the cleverness to take this one.

McDavid vs. the Panther’s Defense – Connor made a mockery of the Capitals defense in the previous game. I have to wonder if Florida’s d-corps. has any idea what they’re walking into. In the past, teams have had a modicum of success sending out a defender who could skate with Connor in an attempt to stop him and admittedly, I haven’t seen many Panthers games lately, but I do remember Keith Yandle being a good skater… I just can’t see Quenneville sending out his 3rd pairing to defender McDavid, Draisaitl, and Kassian… This could be another massacre.

Archibald Gone 2-4 Weeks with Broken Foot

On one hand, the Oilers probably won’t feel his absence 5×5. He’s been alright so far but nothing mind-blowing. He’s thrown a couple of really nice hits but apart from that, he’s been more miss than hit. My feeling is that Patrick Russell will take his (rightful) place on the Sheahan line and Tomas Jurco will probably get reinserted into the lineup.

As for the recall option, I read one website that had three separate articles mentioning Kailer Yamamoto as the player that should be recalled and I’m happy the Oilers went with someone else. It’s so typical of the Oilers fanbase to agree whole-heartedly with the new GM’s team-building philosophy and then at the first sign of trouble scream for the best prospect on the farm team to be called up despite that going against what the GM believes is best for the team.

Now, I didn’t expect it to be Gaetan Haas, but he was killing it in the two games he played for Bakersfield. His speed and tenacity were on a Yamamoto-like level and he’s an older player, so it makes sense that he’d be the guy who comes up. What might concern me is if Holland has used that card up with Haas now though and it reminds me of what the Oilers did with Puljujarvi a bit. I suspect if Haas struggles to gain traction with the coaching staff after this that he’ll be heading back to Europe.

The Next Ten Games

The first ten games of the 2019/20 season went quite well for the Oilers, more so at the start than the end, mind you. I predicted they’d go 6-4-0 and they ended up going 7-2-1. It’s not going to be as easy in these ten games, but it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility if they did better than anticipated.

10/24 Washington: 7-2-2 (h) – I like Washington here. Too much depth and firepower (LOSS) WIN
10/27 Florida: 4-2-3 (h) – If Barkov is still out, I’ll take the Oilers. (WIN)
10/28 Detroit: 3-7-0 (a) – It was a tough go in their first meeting, but I reckon Edmonton turns it up in Detroit for their GM. The first game in a B2B for the Oilers. (WIN)
10/29 Columbus: 4-3-2 (a) – Edmonton has had trouble with tough-checking teams so far but Columbus’ goaltending doesn’t impress me. The second game of the B2B for Edmonton. (WIN)
11/2 Pittsburgh: 6-5-0 (a) – Crosby and co. are an intimidating bunch. I’ll go with a shootout loss here. (S/O LOSS)
11/4 Arizona: 5-2-1 (h) – Coyotes are a lot deeper than years previous. (LOSS)
11/6 St. Louis: 4-2-3 (h) – The champs will give the Oilers are really hard time. However, the Blues will be on the latter half of a B2B. (LOSS)
11/8 New Jersey: 2-4-2 (h) – New Jersey’s defense and goaltending just isn’t coming together. The Devils will be playing the 2nd game of a B2B as well. (WIN)
11/10 Anaheim: 6-4-0 (a) – John Gibson has been amazing and this team is rallying behind Dallas Eakins. These games are usually very intense and this one shouldn’t be any different. (WIN)
11/12 San Jose: 3-5-1 (a)  – Martin Jones has completely lost the plot and Vlasic is coming up in trade rumors now? (WIN)

*Records as of October 24th, 2019.

Three Players to Watch for the Panthers

  • Evgenii Dadonov – I really like this player. He’s electrifying and always a threat in the offensive zone. Panarin-lite if you will.
  • Jonathan Huberdeau – Was rumored to be on the trade block just last season. Probably a good move not to have traded him.  He’s one of the best LWs in the NHL today and in his last five games, he has seven points.
  • Alexander Barkov – The man that Leon Draisaitl is chasing for the best two-way forward in hockey. Nine assists in his last five games.

It looks like the only change to the forwards will be Jayce Hawryluk replacing Mark Pysyk on the third line right-wing.

 

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • Connor McDavid – What is he going to do for an encore after the performance vs. Washington?
  • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Only 1 even-strength goal this year…
  • Riley Sheahan – Poor outing against the Caps. Looking for a bounceback here.

Paul Gazzola, who does the pre-game reports on Edmontonoilers.com, said that Mike Smith was taking shots in the starter’s net. So, Edmonton’s starting goalie is still up in the air.

In my predictions above I took the Oilers IF Barkov was out of the lineup. I still feel good about that prediction despite Florida’s best player playing. That said, the Panthers have some players who can really fly and their bottom-six is chalked full of piss and vinegar. Denis Malgin and Frank Vatrano, more specifically, have been playing really well with five and four points respectively in their last five.

Who do you like? Let us know in the comments below! Let’s Go Oilers!

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CategoriesBeer League Hero Edmonton Oilers NHL

TagsEdmonton Oilers Florida Panthers NHL

Beer League Hero Written by:

I'm the Beer League Hero! I am from Camrose, Alberta but I make my home in Taipei City, Taiwan. I've been through the ups and downs and the highs and the Lowes, the Bonsignores and the McDavids, the Sathers and the Eakins but I'll never leave my Oilers, no matter what! They're with me until the end and then some. GO OILERS GO!