December 12, 2019 /

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM34: Oilers @ Wild – Three Players to Watch

In Edmonton’s last five games, its top-six forwards (McDavid, Draisaitl, RNH, Neal, Kassian, and Khaira) is a combined -17. Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson together are also a -17. Say what you will about +/- but when the heart of your team is all in the sh*t and said team is not performing up to par, you don’t have to search long when you’re looking for answers.

But if you’re not convinced with that, what about the goal share and the shot share at 5×5 for those eight players? Wouldn’t those metrics give us a bit clearer picture in our hunt to place blame on somebody’s head for the team’s results since the beginning of December?

Name SF% GF%
McDavid 48.94 50
Draisaitl 32.18 12.5
Kassian 62.16 66.67
Nugent-Hopkins 33.33 0
Khaira 43.75 14.29
Neal 40.30 25
Klefbom 46.34 0
Larsson 43.66 11.11

I bet you didn’t expect to see Zack Kassian leading both categories. To put it bluntly, everyone in that group is drowning 5×5 aside from McDavid and Kassian and that’s no bueno folks.

The team’s best three players in terms of goal share 5×5 are Darnell Nurse (83.33), “Dwight” Joakim Nygard (75), and Ethan Bear ( 75). As for the shot share 5×5, Markus Granlund (65.63), Zack Kassian (62.16), and our boy “Dwight” Joakim Nygard (58.14) find themselves 1-2-3 in that category.

So what I’m gathering here is that the roster has flip-flopped a bit. Don’t you remember at the beginning of the season all of the hullabaloo regarding Edmonton’s lack of scoring outside of Neal, Draisaitl, and McDavid? Well the scoring, for the most part, is still being done by McDavid and Draisaitl, but not at the same pace as before and the bottom-six is finding a way to contribute.

Things are balancing out in my opinion. It’s an uncomfortable feeling but it’s understandable. I’m not going to call for the coach or GM to be fired nor am I going to bitch and moan about Ken Holland sitting on his hands while the team flounders back down the standings.

People, the Oilers are playing with house money. Sure it’d be nice to have a record like the Bruins, but nobody expected that and yet, here we are a couple of weeks from Xmas seven games over .500.

What this team needs to do is get back to basics and stop with the all-star game passing and keep things simple like Kassian did in Edmonton’s last game. I mean, how many times did those boys attempt the tic-tac-toe but failed to complete the toe only to turn it over?

The other thing Edmonton’s top-six need to do is stop cheating for offense and get back and help the defense out. More specifically Leon Draisaitl. Six points in his last five games played aside (which is hard to ignore because someone needs to score), his 200ft game has been in that absolute shitter recently. We’re supposed to be projecting him as this great two-way forward in the vein of Alexander Barkov or Anze Kopitar with the way he’s playing? No way. Plus when you toss in the pouty demeanor when the team was down the other night? (as soon as Kass scored, he sure became more involved in the game though… Convenient.)

No doubt about it, the big German can score, but Leon’s got a ways to go before he’ll be in that Selke conversation and he can start tonight vs. the Wild.

Jason Gregor made a couple more observations in his pre-gamer over at Oilersnation that I find important as well.

8. The Oilers have sprung a leak defensively allowing 26 goals during their 2-4-1 slide. They need to tighten up defensively, and their top gunners need to produce a bit more at 5-on-5. The Oilers have scored 15 goals in the past seven games, but only eight at 5×5. Zack Kassian has three goals, in only four games, while Jujhar Khaira has two, and Riley Sheahan, JOSH ARCHIBALD and Connor Mcdavid have one.

9. Leon Draisaitl, James Neal, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins need to finish more. Draisaitl still leads the NHL in 5×5 points with 30, but he only has one point at 5×5 in his last seven games, and he’s been getting scored on too much. He can play better, and I fully expect he will soon. RNH and Neal haven’t done nearly enough at 5×5 all season, and if the new Draisaitl-RNH combination can produce some points the Oilers’ skid will likely stop.

The Next Ten Games (31-40)

  • vs. LA Kings (11-16-2) – A pissed off Oilers team will make short order of the Kings in this rubber match. (WIN) WIN
  • vs. Buffalo Sabres (13-10-5) – No Dahlin for Buffalo but Jack Eichel is on a tear. Captain Jack will get his points but his team will not. (WIN) OT LOSS
  • vs. Carolina Hurricanes (16-11-1) – Carolina is too deep for this Oilers team plus Andrei Svechnikov is making a mockery of the NHL as a 19-year-old. (LOSS) LOSS
  • @ Minnesota Wild (13-11-4) – The Oilers seem to have trouble against teams like this for whatever reason. Immaturity in the club maybe? (LOSS)
  • vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (13-13-4) – The Leafs defense is soft like a Wendy’s Frosty but they’ve got the kind of offense that could really tear open the Oilers. It’s a toss-up for me but I’ll say Edmonton takes it. (WIN)
  • @ Dallas Stars (15-11-3) – Tough match-up for Edmonton here. Dallas already beat them once this year but that was when they were struggling. Now that they’re playing well, will the Oilers’ mindset going into this one be different? (WIN)
  • @ St. Louis Blues (18-6-6) – Edmonton’s been performing very well against the league’s top teams. I don’t expect that to stop in St. Louis. (WIN)
  • vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (15-9-4) – The first game of a back-to-back at home and the Oilers are one up on Crosby’s Pens. Pittsburgh is going through one hell of an injury crisis mind you but as we’ve seen, the Oilers have failed to take advantage of these situations in the past. (LOSS)
  • vs. Montreal Canadiens (12-10-6) – I feel like the Habs usually give Edmonton a hard time when they come to town and their team is a lot better than their record tells us. (LOSS)
  • @ Vancouver Canucks (14-11-4) – I like the Oilers chances against Vancouver here and it’s the last game before the Christmas break. (WIN)

(Standings as of December 5th, 2019)

Three Players to Watch for the Wild

  • #36 Mats Zuccarello – His contract is questionable but his play hasn’t been. Five of his seventeen points on the year have come in his last five games. He’s dangerous at all times and the Oilers should keep a close eye on him when he’s on the ice. He’s slippery and will find a way to take advantage of a sleepy defense. Nine points in his last ten games.
  • #22 Kevin Fiala – This guy was almost traded earlier in the season surely. If I recall correctly, he spent a few nights in the press box watching, but he’s really turned it on for Minnesota recently with a goal and three assists in his last five. Another little guy who can really move around the ice and is quite difficult to check.
  • #17 Ryan Donato – Four goals in his last ten games for the Wild. His season started off a bit rocky but as the team improved, so did he. He’s a very solid two-way forward with excellent speed, skating, and hockey smarts. Son of former NHLer Ted Donato.

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • #29 Leon Draisaitl – I will be watching him to see how he behaves if he’s not playing with McDavid. I’d love to see him get back to his power-forward self and bulldoze a couple of defenders on his way to the net for a goal tonight.
  • #25 Darnell Nurse – He’s had a fantastic go lately. Ethan Bear and Doc have been a revelation for the Oilers this season. If he keeps it up, he might find himself to be a very rich guy this summer.
  • #93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – We need a sign of life from Nuge. He was doing so well before the injury break.

Markus Granlund and Patrick Russell are out tonight as Coach Tippett is going with a more veteran-laden lineup bringing Alex Chiasson and Sam Gagner back. Let’s see if that sparks some offense and fortifies the defense!

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CategoriesBeer League Hero Edmonton Oilers NHL

TagsEdmonton Oilers Minnesota Wild 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!