Hey y’all! Welcome back for another season of Edmonton Oilers hockey! I’m BLH and I’ll be giving you the skinny on today’s game!
If you’re new here and are wondering what 3P2W means, well, it stands for Three Players to Watch and seeing I’m as lazy as I am, I figured we’d shorten it to 3P2W.
So with that out of the way, let’s talk a little bit about what’s been going on lately in the Oilogospehere and then get into the player’s I’ve put under the spotlight for today’s matchup!
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Random Pontifications
- So… The Oilers are back in a playoff spot. Does anybody know the name of the guy who’s responsible for building the roster that’s accomplished this incredible feat? I feel like he deserves some credit.
I ultimately expect Ryan McLeod back at 3C. And while I really admire how James Hamblin has battled his way to the NHL, a bigger, more experienced, ideally right-shot Center who can PK would be an upgrade. Think the 2023-24 version of Nick Bjugstad. – Kurt Leavins, Cult of Hockey
- There ya go folks, now all you have to do is wait for somebody like Bob Stauffer to start using that Bjugstad comparison and you’ll know who Edmonton’s targeting for their upgrade at 3/4C.
- I think it’s Nic Dowd out of Washington that they’ll ultimately acquire, but who knows? It might be somebody we’ve not even thought of. I mean, did you see the Gauthier/Drysdale trade coming?
- Pretty shit deal for James Hamblin eh? Busts his ass for a season only to get replaced via trade.
- Now, I ask, is moving McLeod back to 3C the smartest idea? I think it’s pretty plain to see that McLeod is very comfortable on Leon’s wing and aside from that, he’s gone through his “Cogliano” phase. Meaning he might’ve just realized where his worth truly lies and has the post impact.
- So that begs the question, what of Warren Foegele seeing as he’s cooled off considerably? Is it too early to try Rafa Lavoie there? Are the Oilers holding that spot for a guy like Anthony Duclair? Personally, I think they should target Vladdy Tarasenko out of Ottawa for Leon’s wing.
- Could the Oilers turf McLovin’ in a deal for Tarasenko?
- In my mind, I envision the Oilers starting next season with Lavoie on their 3rd line and if they found a way to acquire Tarasenko and get him to re-sign they’d have Hyman, Tank, and Lavoie down their right flank and I like the sounds of that.
The Edmonton Oilers announced Monday night that they have recalled defenceman Philip Kemp from the Bakersfield Condors. The 24-year-old right-shot defenceman clocks in at 6’3″ and 212 pounds. – The Oil Rig
- I figured he’d get a recall this year. I’ve spoken about him before and to my eye what you’re getting with Kemp is a very old-school glue guy. Don’t expect any offense out of him and probably don’t expect a lot of playmaking either. He’ll block shots, clear creases, and keep the other team accountable should they try anything.
- I like Kemp, he’s incredibly unspectacular. Just goes about his job. Nothin more, nothing less.
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Three Players to Watch for the Bad Guys
- #16 Jason Dickonson (13g 7a 20pts) – He’s usually Chicago’s third line center but injuries have taken out most of his team’s best players. So he’s up on the first line. I like him because he can skate, shoot, and he’s a pretty responsible two-way player. He’ll play it physical too if the game deems it.
- #27 Lukas Reichel (3g 5a 8pts) – A speed demon. Reichel’s got the wheels to make any defender look foolish should they give the Czech forward even the slightest sliver of daylight. Production’s down this year but there’s a player here and Chicago is so bad. Watch this young guy, he’s a very intriguing winger.
- #55 Kevin Korchinski (2g 6a 8pts) – At 19 years of age, this young man is setting himself up nicely to be one of the Blackhawks defensive linchpins for years to come. Him and Alex Vlasic should have the left side of Chicago’s defense locked up long-term. To me, it looks like he’ll be a good zone exit specialist for Chicago. His playmaking and skating are quite good. We’ll see how he does vs. McDavid and Draisaitl though…
Three Players to Watch for the Good Guys
- #91 Evander Kane (14g 10a 24pts) – If there’s any game where Kane is going to break out of this slump he’s in, it’s this one. Chicago is icing an AHL lineup. That said, they did beat Calgary the other night with it…
- #28 Connor Brown 0g 3a 3pts) – I think this is one of those games where you tinker with the lines a bit to get some guys going. Maybe Brown and Kane both get promoted to see if they can spark their games a bit. Although, we’ve seen that Knoblauch is kinda risk averse to that sort of game plan…
- #2 Evan Bouchard (9g 30a 39pts) – Remember when everybody wanted to trade Bouchard and there were some out there that thought he wouldn’t get the Oilers anything in return?… Good times, eh?
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