The Edmonton Oilers have had another wonderful opportunity to separate themselves from the pack in the Pacific Division placed on a platter in front of them as the Tampa Bay Lightning have punched right in the ear by the hockey gods. The Lightning will be without FIVE of their best players tonight (Stamkos, Kucherov, Cirelli, McDonagh, and Rutta). To add to the pressure on Edmonton, Tampa hasn’t lost in eight games…
The Oilers have to find a way to get it done tonight because Calgary last to the Kings last night and Vancouver won on the Sedin’s jersey retirement night. The Coyotes are taking on the Senators and Vegas will be trying to overcome the Blues this evening. Both of those clubs are sitting on 64pts and behind the Oilers by only two if Edmonton loses this one.
No Tyler Benson tonight if you’re wondering.
Latest Oilers Trade Rumblings
According to one of my sources, the Edmonton Oilers had a scout in Los Angeles watching the Kings beat the Calgary Flames. The focus was on a winger for Connor McDavid and I’m sure you’ve guessed who the scout was viewing… TYLER TOFFOLI!!!
Now, I’ve been told (I’ve also read this but forgive me, I can’t remember where) that the Kings would be very lucky to get a 2nd round pick for Toffoli and that he’s not a first or second choice option for a lot of teams in the buyer’s market which makes him a very realistic target for the Oilers.
The Oilers probably could’ve had the Kings winger last year but they were unwilling to trade within the division under Gretzky’s interim guidance. Now we know that isn’t much of a factor with Ken Holland driving this bus.
FWIW, Dreger made it sound like an Alex Keefoot/Matt Benning trade (not necessarily 1for1) is the sort of thing that's possible this morning on TSN1260.
— Ross Creek Nasty (@akaRCN) February 13, 2020
“Sometimes it takes a year to make a trade.” This is what I was told last evening when talking to my sources about a possible Maple Leafs/Oilers trade I was asked not to say much about but I can speak to the tweet above. Fact is, if you go back in this blog almost one year ago you’ll find me saying the following,
“Matt Benning – Toronto, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Dallas, and Arizona are teams I’ve heard with interest in the rugged defender. He’s on the IR right now though.” – Feb.18/2019 (source)
“I’m still hearing that Pittsburgh has interest in Alex Petrovic, but teams like Toronto and Tampa Bay are also looking for depth right-hand shots. Matt Benning also fits the description there and in all honesty is probably who the Oilers would prefer to move given he’s got an extra year left on his deal.” – Feb.20th/2019 (source)
“Mark Spector said that a Kassian to Toronto for Connor Brown deal never went through. I’d heard a Matt Benning for Brown trade was on the table and I think that Stauffer was saying the Maple Leafs wanted Jujhar Khaira because he was making a bit less. Probably the same reason that Edmonton wanted to keep him.” – Feb.26th/2019 (source)
Alex Kerfoot isn’t Connor Brown and to be honest, I haven’t watched a lot of him aside from the Oilers/Leafs games this year, but from what I remember; this player is similar to ex-Oiler Drake Caggiula in how he plays the game, no? Fast, quick, fearless, good IQ, great hands, good passer, goes to the dirty areas, has some real zip on his snapper… If the Oilers could get this player for Matt Benning, I think that would be a clear win for Edmonton.
“If he’s put in the right situations with the right linemates, he’s a guy that can have an impact on the game.” – Jean-Michael Liles
Kerfoot has 109pts (42g 67a) in 209 games. This season he’s off his regular 40pt pace a bit with the Leafs (8g 16a in 52gp), so his price might’ve dropped given the Leafs just re-upped Pierre Engvall for another two years for a million dollars cheaper. A straight swap of Benning for Kerfoot might be wishful thinking though as the former Av isn’t an RFA this summer. He’s signed for another three years after this at $3.5M AAV.
I think I may have talked myself into really liking this player…
Three Players to Watch for the Lightning
- #79 Alexandre Volkov – For the majority of us, this will be our first in-game viewing of the man whose name has been connected to Jesse Puljujarvi in trade rumors for half-a-year. He’s a skilled goal-scoring winger who, if he’s in the lineup, will be starting on the 4th line, left-wing.
- #18 Ondrej Palat – I’ve always liked Palat’s game. He’s just a very solid two-way winger. Not flashy at all. He goes about his game in a very clinical manner and really is all business. Tends to make life tough for the other team’s forwards AND defenders given how well he is defensively.
- #7 Mathieu Joseph – You might remember this name from last season (?) when he was running around hitting the Oilers skilled players like a chicken with his head cut off until Farmer Lucic caught up to him and tuned him in. He can flat out fly, so he’ll be a scoring threat in addition to a physical one.
Tampa hasn’t released its lineup yet, so I apologize for not posting it here.
Three Players to Watch for the Oilers
- #29 Leon Draisaitl – All eyes will be on Der Panzer to see if he can keep up this superhero-like form. It would be something if he could put up four points on Jon Cooper’s squad.
- #16 Jujhar Khaira – I’ve seen a bit more urgency in his game lately. He’s been more physical and has shown more confidence with the puck. I’m hoping this continues this evening.
- #74 Ethan Bear – Speaking of confidence with the biscuit, Bear has been taking us to Dangle City more and more as of late and I’m a massive fan. Not sure if he’ll want to be doing that against a team like the Lightning, but I respect the cahones for trying.
Oiler lineup tonight (Smith starts in goal)…
RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Gagner-Haas-Chiasson
Archibald-Sheahan-Kassian
Khaira-Cave-P. RussellNurse-Bear
Klefbom-Larsson
Jones-BenningPut another way, exact same lineup as Tuesday. https://t.co/BtoV1EdHko
— Jack Michaels (@EdmontonJack) February 13, 2020
The Next Ten Games (51-60)
- vs. St. Louis Blues (31-12-8) – I’m not 100% sold that the Oilers will be focused on this game seeing as they play Calgary the next night. They have played well against the league’s best this season at times though. Can McDavid and Draisaitl beat the Blues in this one as they did at the All-Star game? (WIN) WIN
- @ Calgary Flames (27-19-6) – If you thought last night’s game was fun with all the fights and cheap shots, this game is going to be bonkers. It always seems to be in Calgary. Losing three times to the Flames and that post-game celly by Rittich will be eating away at the Oilers. They’ll be doing their damnedest to bring home the two points. (WIN) WIN
- @ Arizona Coyotes (26-21-5) – The Oilers put up a touchdown on the Coyotes right before their bye-week and I don’t imagine that sat well with Taylor Hall and co. That said, they’re on a bit of a slump in their last ten (4-5-1) and Edmonton is flying high as of today (6-2-2). On the other hand, just when the opportunity presents itself to the Oilers they usually take the night off. (LOSS) LOSS
- vs. San Jose Sharks (22-26-4) – Man, this Sharks team is bad. With Vlasic, Karlsson, and Burns on the back-end no less… Can you believe the Golden Knights fired Gerard Gallant to hire San Jose’s old coach? I think this will be a scheduled win for McDavid’s boys. Watch out for shenanigans from Evander Kane and Timo Meier. (WIN) LOSS
- vs. Nashville Predators (23-19-7) – Since the Preds hired NJ’s old coach, they haven’t been scoring much and that’s not a good sign when you go into Edmonton. Couple that with Pekka Rinne’s game falling right off of a cliff and the Oilers should be able to walk away with two points. (WIN) WIN
- vs. Chicago Blackhawks (24-21-6) – The Hawks are coming on as of late and I think they could pull this one off in Edmonton. Maybe Drake Caggiula does the ex-Oiler thing and scores. (LOSS) WIN
- @ Tampa Bay Lightning (30-15-5) – This will be a fine test for the Oilers. Tampa has found their stride at the right time and are looking very dominant. Might we see another ex-Oiler in Pat Maroon score or drop the flippers? I expect McDavid to be flying in this one. (LOSS)
- @ Florida Panthers (28-16-5) – This match-up is going to be a fun one. The Panthers have some really fun players to watch like Huberdeau, Barkov, and the very underrated Vincent Trochek. Which Sergei Bobrovsky might we see if he gets the call though? (WIN)
- @ Carolina Hurricanes (29-18-3) – It’s hard not to like what they’ve built in Carolina. Andrei Svechnikov is already a scoring phenom at 19-years-old and it’s hard to overlook the wonder Finns (Aho/Teravainen), right? How will this team be sans Dougie Hamilton though? Can the Oilers sweep back-to-backs again? (WIN)
- vs. Boston Bruins (29-10-12) – Edmonton goes from one team who doesn’t lose in OT to a team that seemingly only loses in OT. The Oilers gave the Bs a pretty sound beating last time they played and we’re close to the trade deadline here so I’m not sure what the rosters will look like. I like Boston for this one though. (LOSS)
(Standings as of January 20th, 2020)
