This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!
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Lowetide.ca
ROAD FOOD
- One thing to watch for as the team hits the road is a line/pairing shuffle. Dave Tippett has plenty of options either way, but with both Barrie and Yamamoto struggling this is maybe a good time to hit refresh.
- Yamamoto’s sins include taking penalties and not scoring, but I think his wild pass to nowhere on the rush that immediately resulted in a jailbreak the other way probably didn’t sit well with the coach. A lot of things needed to happen in order for the Ducks to score after the pass, but taking care of the puck is always in fashion.
- I would move Draisaitl back to the No. 2 line and bet on a spark with Yamamoto. The third line works, fourth line looked okay, move Bouchard up to the top pair.
- Hyman-McDavid-Puljujarvi
- Nuge-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
- Foegele-Ryan-Kassian
- Perlini-Shore-Turris
- Nurse-Bouchard
- Keith-Ceci
- Russell-Barrie
- Koskinen (Skinner)
BLH’s Thoughts: I would not keep Yamo with Draisaitl, I would entertain moving Perlini up and seeing what he could accomplish with two elite playmakers feeding him the puck. Killer might just need some time to reflect on the 4th line for a bit and you can’t scratch him because when he’s not scoring, he’s still a very good defensive player (for the most part). If his game should signs of improvement and he’s creating chances in his limited TOI, then up he goes! No biggie!
In the 80s and 90s, it wasn’t at all uncommon to get some time in the press box to watch a game or two to see where a player might be able to improve. Betcha Tyler Benson is licking his chops to get into a game…
I don’t mind LT’s D pairs and his goaltending tandem looks on par.
Daily Faceoff
Three Up, Three Down — Reacting To The NHL’s First Week
They’ve only played a pair of middling opponents, Vancouver and Calgary, so far, but the Oilers are undefeated a week into the season with a 2-0-0 record. That’s a good sign for a team with a lot of new faces in the mix.
Mike Smith seems to have carried over the magic he found last year, as the grizzled veteran has stopped 81 of the 85 shots he’s faced thus far. Also, Jesse Puljujarvi’s breakout season is off to a great start, as the young Finn has two goals and four points through two games. I would guess that he’s going to shatter his career-high of 25 points.
Finally, we have an early look at last year’s Art Ross, Hart, and Pearson winner: Connor McDavid. He has five points thus far, putting him on pace to score 205 over 82 games. He scored at a 154-point pace last season and I don’t think two points per game is out of the question here.
BLH’s Thoughts: Shocking that a member of Oilersnation has the Oilers as one of the three “Ups”. I mean Buffalo and San Jose are having very good starts to their seasons too, ya know…
The Daily Goal Horn
- The San Jose Sharks were trying to move Evander Kane in the summer before all the allegations and issues surfaced. According to reports, several of his teammates went to GM Doug Wilson to ask that he be traded.
- According to a new report by Arthur Staple in The Athletic, while Kravtsov was saying his goodbyes to teammates, Chris Drury called him out and said he “quit” on the team.
- Two teams are starting to emerge as possible trade destinations for Blackhawks unused center Dylan Strome. The Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers are likely interested in acquiring the 24 year-old.
