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Hyman-McDavid-Puljujarvi
RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Foegele-McLeod-Kassian
Perlini-Ryan-Turris
Benson-Sceviour
Keith-Bouchard
Broberg-Ceci
Russell-Barrie
Lagesson
Skinner
Koskinen
My take
1. Stuart Skinner has been excellent in his five games and Ryan McLeod had likely his best game as an NHLer against Chicago, so it’s no surprise to see Skinner still in the starter’s net and to see McLeod slotted in as third line centre, ahead of Derek Ryan who is coming back from injury and was struggling before he went out. But it’s a bit of a surprise to see Colton Sceviour out of the line-up. He, too, had his best game as an Oiler against Chicago.
2. My Cult colleague Bruce McCurdy had this to say about Sceviour’s play against the Blackhawks, in rating his performance as seven out of ten: “His second game as an emergency fill-in at the centre position and once again he delivered the goods, including on the faceoff dot where he was a perfect 3/3=100%. Held his own for 5+ even-strength minutes on a line between Benson and Turris, but like a few of his teammates his best work came on the penalty kill, where he led all forwards with 3:04 of ice time. After previously seeing his first point as an Oiler taken off the board due to an official scoring change, he finally broke the ice on a play in which he was initially uncredited, then correctly added in after it was determined his dogged shadowing of Seth Jones resulted in a deflection off his skate and directly to Yamamoto.”
3. When it comes to creating Grade A shots and defending against them — the beating heart of two-way play in hockey — Sceviour has added a bit on the attack but been extremely stingy on defence. If the bottom line for fourth line players is that they don’t give up much in their own end, Sceviour is so far passing that test, while Ryan and Kyle Turris have both struggled.
4. Sceviour has made must one major mistake on a Grade A shot against in 58 even strength minutes. Ryan has made 13 such mistakes in 146 minutes and Turris nine such mistakes in 104 minutes. It’s also the case that Sceviour helps out on the penalty kill, while Turris does not. In Turris’ favour, he has slammed home two critical shoot-out goals for the Oilers this year.
5. Of course, Tippett does not always go with his practice lines in a game so maybe we’ll see Sceviour slot in. He’s certainly earned that opportunity. I have to admit it’s taken my some time to warm up to Sceviour’s game, as it’s mainly marked by what he prevents as opposed to what he creates. He’s not a fast. He’s not a dynamic playmaker. He’s not a big hitter. But he works hard and smart on defence and that goes a long way for a fourth line player.
6. Some folks will wonder why the quibble over a fourth line winger. I’ll suggest those folks are grossly under-estimating just how much a “weak link” game that hockey is. A great player like Connor McDavid can help his team score one or two or three goals per game, but all that good work can quickly go for naught when he’s not on the ice. When fourth line players are on the ice, one mistake by one of them can cause a goal against, and that goal against can easily cost his team a goal. When fourth line players are out against top line players on the other team, as often happens in road games, it’s crucial that those fourth liners are able to play safe and smart hockey, something that Sceviour has demonstrated.
Source: EdmontonJournal
