January 9, 2020 /

2019 Edmonton Oilers GM46: Oilers @ Canadiens – 3P2W – Chiarelli’s Plan Finally Coming to Light?

The Montreal Canadiens have lost seven games in a row and their GM’s attempt to plug the leak in his team’s boat is to sign aging Ilya Kovalchuk and trade for Marco Scandella, a bottom-six defender. So doesn’t it make complete sense that the Edmonton Oilers would walk into the Bell Centre and easily hand the Habs their 8th straight “L” and rack up their third win on the trot? If it were only that easy…

Save for the dynasty days, the Oilers have never really done things the easy way, have they? These layups that they’ve been served up to them in the past have found themselves stuck on the rim only to roll out of the basket, grabbed by the opposition, fast broke down the court, and full-on slam-dunked. Not just any old dunk either. The falling back dick in the face fugly oh face posterized kind of dunk.

Basically, if you didn’t get the basketball reference,  the Oilers have had a hard time capitalizing on these kinds of opportunities in the past.

What a win in Montreal could do for the Oilers is keep them in the race for a top-three spot on the Pacific though and offer some separation from the teams that are fighting for the wildcard spots right now (Calgary, Winnipeg, and Vancouver). If by some miracle both Vegas and Arizona lose in regulation and Edmonton wins, that’ll bring the Oilers to within 1pt of 1st place in the Pacific. Not bad for a team with no depth and a GM who’s simply been watching the McDavid’s career waste away in front of his eyes instead of doing something to help him…

Oilers News and Notes

  • It was only a matter of time before the fruits of Peter Chiarelli’s labor would start to make themselves clear. Ethan Bear has been fantastic and surely one of the reasons as to Edmonton’s first-half success so far. Kailer Yamamoto has almost singlehandedly reversed what was looking like a very familiar mid-season slump for the Oilers. Then we have Caleb Jones coming in and providing some temporary relief while Matthew Benning recovers from two successive concussions. After the defenders and Yamamoto, would it be fair to say Mikko Koskinen has had a big part in Edmonton being where they are in the standings? William Lagesson has also made his debut. Evan Brandon Manning played fairly well earlier in the year. Wasn’t it Peter Chiarelli that traded Ben Scrivens for Zack Kassian?That’s only this season too! Next season we’ll see Evan Bouchard and Tyler Benson become larger players for the Oilers I would assume. Dmitri Samorukov soon after them and most likely Kirill Maksimov not far behind. We haven’t even mentioned Ryan McLeod either.

  • We had a pretty good debate going on Twitter last night regarding the worth of Ethan Bear’s next deal after seeing what Rasmus Andersson just re-upped for. My position was that it would be optimal if Bear signed for something between $3M and $4M for up to five years, but I’d understand it if he signed for near what Andersson will be making.Others believed that he should sign for something sub $3M and “earn” his next contract.

    I believe that what we’re seeing with Ethan Bear isn’t some heater. The Oilers rookie is near 160 games into his professional hockey career at this point if you combine his AHL/NHL time and he’s worked his way up the organizational ladder to the point where whoever plays with him immediately benefits. Darnell Nurse has certainly been a benefactor of his partnership with the former WHL defender of the year and we’ve seen it in spurts with Oscar Klefbom too.

    If Edmonton can get him on a “Klefbom-like” contract for 6-7 years, they should be jumping for joy. I mean between him and Nurse, I’d rather overpay Bear by a million and have him work his way onto the 1st unit PP to contribute there.

  • I wanted to wait a while on the McDavid goal in Toronto to see if my feeling would change after watching it a few more times, but it hasn’t. I still feel this goal above is better simply due to the fact that it was McDavid’s return to the lineup from that collarbone injury and one subtle little thing he does right in the middle of that dangle between three guys. He puts the puck into the feet of the defender and then pulls it out WITH ONE HAND!Now, let’s not downplay the significance of the goal against the Maple Leafs. I believe that this goal will change how defenders defend one-on-ones, how they train, where they position their feet/hands/etc. I think it will have kids practicing that goal over and over and we’ll start to see more and more of these sorts of cutbacks and accelerations.

    There’s only one other athlete on the planet that can silence a crowd like that and then get applause from the opposing fans with an individual effort, Lionel Messi. That goal was as close to a Messi-like effort I’ve ever seen on ice.

 

  • It’s been revealed that New York Rangers prospect Lias Andersson left the club to return to his native Sweden due to mental health reasons. I wonder if Jesse Puljujarvi factored his mental health into his decision to go home for the 2019/20 season? You’d have to think there was a myriad of things from depression to anxiety affecting him by the time he’d decided and the fact that he’s so much happier now supports that inference to an extent I believe.
  • Craig Button released his Top-50 NHL Affiliated prospects list and not an Edmonton Oiler could be found on it. I believe we’ll be getting an explanation on that sooner than later but setting aside my fandom for a second and putting on my scout’s cap, I can tell you that at the very least Tyler Benson should be on this list. Button has Owen Tippett on it at #30 and he’s only scored one more point than Benson and has played five more games. For the love of Pete, Ukko-Pekka Lehkonen is playing in the ECHL right now! He’s ranked 34th on the list… And you’re telling me that the impact that Evan Bouchard and Philip Broberg are making at the SHL and AHL levels doesn’t make them better players at this point in time? Shane Pinto shouldn’t even be on the list if you ask me.

The Next Ten Games (41-50)

  • vs. Calgary Flames (19-15-5) – The Oilers should be bitter as hell coming back from the Christmas break and looking for retribution. In terms of gf/ga on the year, the Flames are -12 and Edmonton could feast on that. The Oilers have taken two of the past three contests. (WIN) LOSS
  • vs. New York Rangers (17-15-4) – Edmonton will get its first look at 2019 2nd overall pick Kaapo Kakko and welcome back former Oiler, Ryan Strome. This should be a scheduled win for Edmonton as the Rangers aren’t anything special this year. The Oilers have won three on the trot vs. the Rags. (WIN) WIN
  • @ Buffalo Sabres (17-14-7) – Generally, over the years the Oilers have had pretty good luck in Buffalo, but this year Jack Eichel is a man possessed and last time Rasmus Dahlin was out of the lineup. If Dahlin is back in for this game, he’ll add a significant threat. I like Edmonton’s chances here though. (WIN)  OT LOSS
  • @ Boston Bruins (22-7-9) – The Bruins went into the Christmas break on a bit of a slump going 2-4-4 in their previous ten. This is going to be a challenge for the Oilers to win even when Boston is at their worst and there’s no better team to bust a slump against than Edmonton, right? (LOSS) WIN
  • @ Toronto Maple Leafs (20-14-4) – Toronto’s confidence was sky high before baby Jesus’ bday, but guess who comes to play each time he’s back home. That’s right, Connor McDavid. It will take a complete team effort for the Oilers to beat their nemesis, Freddy Andersen, though as he’s really had Edmonton’s number. (OT LOSS) WIN
  • @ Montreal Canadiens (18-13-6) – I really enjoyed Edmonton’s performance against the Habs in their earlier match. If the Oilers can replicate that, I don’t see why a win is out of the question. (WIN)
  • @ Calgary Flames (19-15-5) – Round two! Ding. Ding. In Calgary, I think the Flames might be able to muster up a win here. (LOSS)
  • vs. Nashville Predators (18-12-6) – Is Pekka Rinne in net? If so, I’ll give this one to the Oilers. If it’s Saros, the Preds have a much better chance of success. They’ve been an interesting team to watch this year and are playing in a tough division. Their 42pts at the break had them in 3rd last in the Central… (WIN)
  • vs. Arizona Coyotes (21-14-4) – Hallsy’s back and if the Oilers would like to go that extra mile, they could show him how much of a powerhouse they plan to be next season by wiping the floor with Arizona, but it’ll be a tough game. Arizona is a lot deeper than the Oilers and their netminding has been much better. This needs to be a game where Edmonton’s defense shines. (OT LOSS)
  • vs. Calgary Flames (19-15-5) – Coming off of a 10-day break, Mikko Koskinen and the Oilers will be well-rested. In theory, they should be as ready as they’re ever going to be to take on their inter-province rivals. (WIN)

(Standings as of December 26th, 2019)

Three Players to Watch for the Canadiens

  • #17 Ilya Kovalchuk – Kovie had an excellent debut for the Habs recently and the guy can still fire the puck. He’s not the fastest anymore but I would argue that there’s still some entertainment value to his game.
  • #90 Tomas Tatar – Montreal’s star winger and another guy who can twinkle the twine usually. He’s not lit the red light in his previous five games. Good thing he’s playing the Oilers then, right? “When there’s something strange with your scoring wingers… Who ya gonna call? Slumpbusters!”
  • #62 Artturi Lehkonen – The talented Finn has three goals in his last five games and has been an impact player of late. He’s fast, he’s skilled, and he’s a tenacious forechecker. Look for him to be all up in the faces of the Oilers defense.

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • #29 Leon Draisaitl – It was Connor’s show in Toronto, now it’s time for Leon’s act to begin. What better place than in Montreal? His line with Nuge and Yamo has been a revelation for the Oilers and in theory, they should have a relatively easy night. So here’s to hoping they take advantage.
  • #25 Darnell Nurse – His play has picked up over the last week or so. He’s scoring and hitting and more or less, keeping himself engaged in the game for the entirety of his shifts. I will be curious to see how be plays against Montreal’s top wingers. They’re a shifty bunch.
  • #44 Zack Kassian – Kassian played his role to perfection in Toronto in that he started the game off with a couple of big hits on the Maple Leafs star players knowing full well that Sheldon Keefe’s boys didn’t have anyone that could or would hit back. I wonder if that game plan will continue into Montreal?

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CategoriesBeer League Hero Edmonton Oilers NHL

TagsConnor McDavid Edmonton Oilers Montreal Canadiens 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!