December 10, 2019 /

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM33: Hurricanes @ Oilers – Three Players to Watch

The Jerks are in town tonight and the Edmonton Oilers will be looking to bounce back from a subpar performance vs. the Buffalo Sabres. I think this is going to be a really fun hockey game to watch as the Carolina Hurricanes have one of the most exciting set of forwards in the league. Most notably 19-year-old Andrei Svechnikov who is tearing up the league in his second season as a pro.

What do you think about the Oilers goaltending right now? My feeling is that it’s obviously Koskinen’s net at the moment but not because Mike Smith is posting sub .900 save percentages on a regular basis but more because I believe Smith is dealing with an injury. You have to wonder, if he was 100% healthy, could he have saved that OT goal the other night vs. Buffalo?

Now, going the rest of the way, if Coach Tippett were to play Koskinen three out of every four games, could he handle that workload? Say he could and he’s the starter going into the playoffs. We know that teams don’t rotate goalies in the post-season, they ride one or the other unless injury or horrid performance dictates otherwise. Is the answer to the workload question still the same knowing that he basically was relied upon in that manner after Ken Hitchcock took over last season and the results weren’t good. To add to that, Mike Smith had a stellar playoff for Calgary last year after going through a trying regular season with the Flames…

The Next Ten Games (31-40)

  • vs. LA Kings (11-16-2) – A pissed off Oilers team will make short order of the Kings in this rubber match. (WIN) WIN
  • vs. Buffalo Sabres (13-10-5) – No Dahlin for Buffalo but Jack Eichel is on a tear. Captain Jack will get his points but his team will not. (WIN) OT LOSS
  • vs. Carolina Hurricanes (16-11-1) – Carolina is too deep for this Oilers team plus Andrei Svechnikov is making a mockery of the NHL as a 19-year-old. (LOSS)
  • @ Minnesota Wild (13-11-4) – The Oilers seem to have trouble against teams like this for whatever reason. Immaturity in the club maybe? (LOSS)
  • vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (13-13-4) – The Leafs defense is soft like a Wendy’s Frosty but they’ve got the kind of offense that could really tear open the Oilers. It’s a toss-up for me but I’ll say Edmonton takes it. (WIN)
  • @ Dallas Stars (15-11-3) – Tough match-up for Edmonton here. Dallas already beat them once this year but that was when they were struggling. Now that they’re playing well, will the Oilers’ mindset going into this one be different? (WIN)
  • @ St. Louis Blues (18-6-6) – Edmonton’s been performing very well against the league’s top teams. I don’t expect that to stop in St. Louis. (WIN)
  • vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (15-9-4) – The first game of a back-to-back at home and the Oilers are one up on Crosby’s Pens. Pittsburgh is going through one hell of an injury crisis mind you but as we’ve seen, the Oilers have failed to take advantage of these situations in the past. (LOSS)
  • vs. Montreal Canadiens (12-10-6) – I feel like the Habs usually give Edmonton a hard time when they come to town and their team is a lot better than their record tells us. (LOSS)
  • @ Vancouver Canucks (14-11-4) – I like the Oilers chances against Vancouver here and it’s the last game before the Christmas break. (WIN)

(Standings as of December 5th, 2019)

The Oilers are still looking good to start this ten-game chunk as they’ve received three points out of a possible four. The final seven games will be very interesting and there’s potential for the sort of collapse that could find the Oilers right out of the playoff picture if they go on an extended losing streak. Luckily, they’ve found a way not to lose more than two games in a row this year though. Let’s hope they can keep that up.

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Three Players to Watch for the Hurricanes

  • #37 Andrei Svechnikov – What a fantastic talent this guy is. He’s such a predator on the ice and he knows exactly where to go and exactly how to finish. Edmonton best not let him have any time or space this evening or they could regret it.
  • #21 Nino Niederreiter – Such a great power forward in today’s game. He’s a tank out there that can annoy you and goat you into taking penalties as well as score highlight real goals. He’s fast and strong and he can shoot really good. Also, his linemates are The Wonder Finns, Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. So good luck figuring out who to cover.
  • #19 Doug Hamilton – He’s one of the league’s best goal-scoring defensemen and Edmonton will have to keep a close eye on him when Carolina is in their zone. They’ve been having some issues with tipped shots this year and Hamilton can really rip it.

It’s too bad Erik Haula and Martin Necas are out. I would’ve liked to have watched those guys.

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers\

The new line combinations below are really intriguing. I feel like the coaching staff wasn’t happy at all with Edmonton’s stars after the Buffalo game and are letting them know. McDavid and Draisaitl haven’t been their usual selves lately and this little kick in the pants might get them back into gear.

  • #18 James Neal – Down to the third line with Gaetan Haas and Patrick Russell for this one. Sounds like the coach might be trying to send a message here. Hopefully, he takes this a bit better than he did in Calgary.
  • #10 Joakim Nygard – Up to the first line with McDavid and Kassian, he’s going to provide the kind of speed that will back off the Canes defense a bit. He’s an “off the rush” player, so McDavid and Kassian might have to make adjustments to how they operate in Carolina’s zone. They usually dominate the boards with Leon, right?
  • #82 Caleb Jones – Coach Tippett said he liked Jones better than Joel Persson for a few of the upcoming games and I can’t disagree with that. I think Klefbom has had some better luck playing with Jones too. No disrespect to Larsson, but he’s actually looking good with Kris Russell as his partner at the moment. Who knows? If a trade doesn’t actually go down, maybe it’s Matt Benning that finds himself on the outs.

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CategoriesBeer League Hero Edmonton Oilers NHL

TagsCarolina Hurricanes Edmonton Oilers NHL

Beer League Hero Written by:

I'm the Beer League Hero! I am from Camrose, Alberta but I make my home in Taipei City, Taiwan. I've been through the ups and downs and the highs and the Lowes, the Bonsignores and the McDavids, the Sathers and the Eakins but I'll never leave my Oilers, no matter what! They're with me until the end and then some. GO OILERS GO!