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At the same time, Oilers coach Dave Tippett came out with some interesting and unique line combinations at practice:
Perlini-McDavid-Yamamoto
Hyman-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi
Foegele-McLeod-Kassian
Shore-Ryan-Sceviour
Nurse-Ceci
Keith-Barrie
Russell-Bouchard
Koekkoek-Lagesson
Also: Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner has been placed in COVID protocol.
My take
1. I agree that Holland should do something, even as the GM made clear at his press conference he wasn’t planning to do a whole lot. The answer to what troubles the Oilers is inside the Edmonton dressing room, Holland insisted. In part, this is because Holland’s options are so limited. He could fire the coach but Tippet’s record with the Oilers is good if you’re willing to overlook the past 14 games, where Edmonton has just two wins and 12 losses. Holland could also trade a draft pick or two, or a player or two, to bring in a goalie. That’s what I would prefer, especially if Holland can make a trade without giving up his first round pick this year.
3. You could argue that Tippet has finally done something rather big with his new line combos. I love the trio of Zach Hyman, Leon Draisaitl and Jesse Puljujarvi, three big and skilled puck protecting forwards who should be able to create all kinds of offensive zone time with their forechecking and passing. They could well be a nightmare for opposing teams.
4. As for Brendan Perlini and Kailer Yamamoto with McDavid, why not? Perlini’s main asset is his shot, and he’ll be getting at least a few good looks playing with McD. It just might work. Yamamoto is a decent glue player on the line, as he can forecheck, make a play and defend. Tippett’s blenderizing of the top lines might just have come up with something that will work here.
6. One way to rate Edmonton’s process, as opposed to their results, is to look at Grade A shots. In their first 21 games, Edmonton created 13.9 Grade A shots per game and gave up 12.3. In their last 14 games, Edmonton has created 12.9 per game and given up 12.1. While their goals differential and won-loss have fallen off a cliff, their process is still OK. This team has played better than two wins in 14 games. If they’d had decent goaltending and sawed it off on special teams, they would have won half those games. But not to be.
7. Edmonton can fix special teams internally. One thing I’d like to see is more of Jesse Puljujarvi on the PK. He’s big, fast, smart enough on defence and his long arms and quick stick should be able to block off passing lanes. Why not give it a shot? Kris Russell’s return should also help on the PK. He might have blocked the shot that ended up as Ottawa’s winning goal, for instance.
8. The loss of Skinner to COVID protocol? Yeah, just what you’d expect.
Source: EdmontonJournal
