Tonight the Oilers (1-4-1) look to get off the schneid as they host the 4-2-0 New York Rangers. The Oilers have lost their last 3 games and have lost 5 out of 6 games overall to start the season. They currently sit 31st overall in the league and are only ahead of the winless San Jose Sharks. Tough start might be an understatement here for the Stanley Cup favorites going into the season. Today is game two without superstar Connor McDavid. Honestly, the Oilers looked okay for a team missing its star player against the Wild on Tuesday… until the third period when they completely imploded. The Oilers looked like a team that could create a lot of offensive chances and limit chances against. If they had been able to capitalize on one of their four first-period power plays, this game would have quickly gotten out of reach for the Wild and gone another way. That’s all in the past, however, and the Oilers have a new challenger tonight. Let’s take a look at the Oilers’ starting lineup for tonight.
Line up
Kane-Draisaitl-Janmark
Foegele-RNH-Hyman
Holloway-McLeod-Brown
Erne/Ryan
Nurse-Ceci
Ekholm-Broberg
Kulak-Bouchard
Desharnais
Stuart Skinner in goal tonight
Game Day Notes
Kane had a goal, an assist, and a fight – the complete Gordie Howe hat trick against the Wild and showed some signs of life for the Oilers, which is a positive sign. He still needs to get going at 5 on 5 if he hopes to make a meaningful impact on this club and help them get back on track.
Janmark on the first line is still confounding to most, the coach must like something in his game, but he is not a first line player. In an ideal world for fans, Dylan Holloway who has arguably been one of the Oilers best players should get the call to skate with Draisaitl to see if he can make something happen.
The second line had a tough night against the Wild, Hyman was -2, Foegele -3, and RNH -4. A very tough stat line for a line that was being banked on to produce for the Oilers. These numbers are with the fact Foegele scored two even strength goals, meaning he was on for 5 goals against. This line needs to sep up tonight as well should they hope to win.
The third line needs to catch, it’s that simple. They all have zero goals on the season despite the eye test seeming like they spent almost every minute of every shift forechecking hard and cycling the puck well, getting the puck towards the net. They are doing everything right but nothing’s going in. It needs to change in a hurry for the Oilers to get back on track.
On defense, the coach is doing what the eye test seems to be pointing out. Nurse-Ceci, despite the occasional huge blunder that leads to a goal, seems to be happening every game. Their advanced metrics are actually looking really good as a pair. They are sending the puck in the right direction a majority of the time.
Ekholm-Broberg is a pairing we were looking forward to during the preseason, but Ekholm never had the chance to get into a game because of injury. Broberg has looked solid in limited minutes so far this season. He seems to be improving, playing up on the second pair against a good Rangers team will be another test for him to pass. If Broberg can show he can defend responsibly and continue to put up good metrics in a 2nd pair role, that would be music to Oilers fans.
The specific relevant content for this request, if necessary, delimited with characters:
The third pair will be Kulak-Bouchard, Bouchard has been racking up the points so far this season but has also been conceding goals at an alarming rate. Putting Bouchard down for a game or two to reset seems like the smart move. He can still go out and excel in his PP1 duties and get some time against softer opponents to regain his composure. Taking a breather and gradually building back up again seems like a wise decision from the coach’s perspective.
As far as the goalie goes, Skinner needs to produce at least a 0.900 save percentage (sv%) tonight. The Oilers haven’t won a game with a save percentage below that. They aren’t outscoring their problems on the back end yet because their problems on the back end have been too big. We dove into who was to blame the other night, and a majority of the goals seem to lay at the hands of the defense, leaving the goalie in a vulnerable position. They need to figure that out ASAP, but the goalie might need to make some big saves to help the Oilers figure this thing out. A big night from Skinner is crucial here tonight — get a few nice saves in early, don’t give up an early goal, and start rolling.
Here’s to hoping Kane and Janmark are the secret ingredient on the first line tonight, and to the second line rebounding defensively, and the third line cashing in finally!
Prospect watch out tomorrow.
Rig City Sports 