Edmonton Oilers Playoff Talk: Will Woodcroft Sit Puljujarvi for Foegele or Holloway?

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Oilersnation

Can the Oilers Regroup?

The six goals Edmonton scored shouldn’t be seen as anything more than an odd distraction.
The Flames controlled the game whenever they wanted…
The team had another bad start. That is five of eight games in which the Oilers weren’t ready to play at the opening whistle.
The Oilers didn’t match the physical determination of the Flames.
…the Oilers do struggle against teams who forecheck aggressively. The Oilers will need to get back to pucks quicker, and move the puck much faster, and more accurately. They also have to tighten up their defensive zone coverage.
I could see Woodcroft re-inserting Warren Foegele in the lineup.
…if the Oilers have another rough outing in game two, I could see Woodcroft putting Dylan Holloway in the lineup for game three or four.

BLH’s Thoughts: Never at any point should six goals being scoring in an NHL playoff game against one of the best goalies in the world be viewed as “an odd distraction.” Man, is that ever one of the biggest lines of bullshit I’ve ever read but I guess I should consider the source.

Even though the Oilers lost, they were down 6-2 to a Darryl Sutter team that prides itself on suffocating the other team’s offense once they are ahead by one or two goals. I can almost guarantee you that no pundit alive or dead would’ve said they could’ve seen Edmonton coming back to tie that game. Calgary should be the ones that are worried because not only did they NOT control the game whenever they wanted (giving up a three and four goal lead doesn’t exactly spell out control) but they were forced to score nine goals (one an empty-netter) in order to put the game away.

I think one other thing that nobody is talking about is how the Oilers had to open things up so as to be able to mount their comeback to tie it up. Did everybody expect the team to batten down the hatches down two nil? They had to take risks and it bit them in the ass, then Calgary let their foot off the pedal and Yamo tied it up. From my point of view, the Oilers smelled blood at 6-6 but the Flames caught them getting greedy and closed the deal.

What’s not helping is Nurse and Draisaitl being at 60% and if they end up being a liability, I can’t see this series going more than five games.

So what can Jay Woodcroft do to go back to Edmonton with a split? I’m going to say that his soldiers have to go out and break some eggs and by that I mean that the Oilers need to start laying down the hammer right from the get-go. Start Connor with Kane and Archibald and let Evander and Archie smoke a couple of Flames on the first shift. Then send Nuge with Hyman and Kassian and let the wingers do the same thing. Third line up is Foegele (if he’s in) with McDavid and Kassian… Yup. You get it. McLovin’ and Kass line up some Flames and wallpaper them.

Start the game in the right mindset but obviously try to avoid taking a penalty.

No doubt Calgary would send out Lucic and Ritchie at some point there and the trick to dulling their impact is when they’re on the forecheck, get somebody in their lane to slow them down just for a fraction of a second. Looch never gets called for boarding but he’s always taking massive run-ups on dmen, so just get in his lane momentarily I say.

Bob Stauffer and Jason Gregor said on their shows that they could see Warren Foegele getting re-inserted into the lineup tonight and reverting to a 12-6 roster format. Stauffer went as far as to say that if it were him, he’d bring in Dylan Holloway and sit one of Jesse Puljujarvi or Zack Kassian but be felt the Oilers need Kassian’s big body. So read between the lines there.

The Flames top6 forwards were hit ONCE all game. Tkachuk had ONE hit registered against him.

Conversely, The Oilers top6 forwards were hit TEN times.

10:1

'nuf said?

— Dash (@dashinthepark) May 19, 2022

Look, I get that Jesse might not be smashing guys on the forecheck and his shots aren’t much to brag about, but his job as a disruptor is still on par. His size gives defenders fits and I’m seeing a bit of his natural skills coming out as a playmaker recently. If Woodcroft wants to take him out for Foegele, I don’t know if I see that as an even trade off. If he wants to swap JP for Holloway, Dylan is as skilled as Jess, he shoots a ton, he hits, and he’s a carbon copy of Taylor Hall when it comes to skating… But I get it, Pulju isn’t getting out of his comfort zone enough for the old guard in Edmonton, meaning he’s not hitting and blocking shots to their liking. So if he sits, I won’t be surprised. I just hope said old guard and Edmonton’s coaching staff looks and sees that Jesse has scored more goals against Calgary than any other team in his career before they make any roster decisions.

I do find it interesting that the Oilers have faced a couple of old Smythe division rivals from back in the 80s these last two playoffs, however it’s a different feeling for me. I reckon there’s a bit of karma coming back to bite Edmonton in the ace. Winnipeg swept them last year and the Flames are in a much better position to send the Oilers packing this year (especially if they win game two tonight)…

Now, that being said, there’s one player who has the power to take on the hockey gods and that’s Connor McDavid. Can he muster up enough magic to send them back to the shadows?

Daily Faceoff

Oilers may not be able to overcome injuries to Nurse, Draisaitl

It’s entirely possible Nurse is the more banged up of the two, as he battles what sources indicate is a core-muscle injury that might require offseason surgery to repair.
Nurse failed to register a hit in Game 1 and appeared to be more tentative than usual, especially in and around his own net, where his physical presence is usually felt most. How could you expect him to be anything but if that is indeed the injury? Everything a player does – from skating, to leverage, to shooting, is generated and stabilized through the core.
Draisaitl, moved out of the middle and to Connor McDavid’s wing, has labored while skating, particularly when turning, though it is less pronounced now than it was in Game 7 against Los Angeles. Draisaitl limped into and out of the Game 1 postgame press conference in Calgary.
Both players have been removed from one of their special teams units. Nurse didn’t skate a single second on the power play, where he averaged 1:09 per game this season. Just the same, Draisaitl didn’t play one second shorthanded, a unit where he averaged 57 seconds this season.
…overcoming these injuries, to these impactful players in particular, will be difficult to overcome.

BLH’s Thoughts: And just as the Maple Leafs lost to the reigning champs, the Oilers might just lose to their biggest rivals because two of their most important players are playing with significant injuries, neither team should be blown up this summer and neither team should hang their heads.

That said, Bob Stauffer said on his radio show that he expects some structural changes to occur to Edmonton’s roster this summer and to me that means adding some more bite. I fear that spells the end of Jesse Puljujarvi’s days as an Oiler as Ken Holland attempts to find a way to bring Evander Kane back and/or bring in a RWer who plays hockey more to the liking of the pundits around town. I’m smelling a Pulju for Lawson Crouse trade…

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Matthew DeFranks reported John Klingberg and Stars general manager Jim Nill have left the door open for his return with the club.
TRIBLIVE.COM: Chris Adamski wondered if the Pittsburgh Penguins will bring back Kaspari Kapanen after he struggled throughout this season.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Dan Kingerski looked at several Penguins who could get shopped this summer if there’s a need to shed salary for other moves or signings. Jason Zucker, Marcus Pettersson and Mike Matheson were among the most notable given their salaries.
THE ATHLETIC: Fluto Shinzawa believes finding a center and holding firm on Jake DeBrusk could be among the priorities of Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney…
SPORTSNET: Wayne Scanlan recently suggested Fiala would check a lot of boxes as a fit with the Senators, though he also pointed out his next contract will be expensive. He also suggested Philadelphia Flyers winger Travis Konecny as another option…

NHLRumors.com

According to Michael Russo, the Wild are likely to trade Matt Dumba to successfully re-sign pending RFA Kevin Fiala
According to Jesse Granger, the Vegas Golden Knights could trade Alec Martinez this offseason to free up cap space.
Curtis Lazar is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but his time with the Boston Bruins may not be coming to a close. While speaking with reporters, the 27-year-old noted that there is mutual interest between both parties to get a deal done.
As per the report, it appears Fenway Sports Group (FSG) who owns the Penguins aren’t thrilled having Hextall as their man in charge… Adding fuel to the fire was Rob Rossi’s report about those low ball offers and how it pissed off Sidney Crosby.