Hey y’all! Welcome back for another season of Edmonton Oilers hockey! I’m BLH and I’ll be giving you the skinny on today’s game!
If you’re new here and are wondering what 3P2W means, well, it stands for Three Players to Watch and seeing I’m as lazy as I am, I figured we’d shorten it to 3P2W.
So with that out of the way, let’s talk a little bit about what’s been going on lately in the Oilogospehere and then get into the player’s I’ve put under the spotlight for today’s matchup!
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Random Pontifications
- Are the Oilers really going to win their 12th game in a row on Mark Messier’s birthday?
- I’m lead to believe the plan for Philip Broberg is NOT to trade him this year unless the deal is massively in Edmonton’s favor. They want to pair him with Ekholm next season and see what the old Swede can do with the young one.
- Now, if that isn’t writing on the wall for Cody Ceci and Brett Kulak, I don’t know what is. One or both probably won’t be with the Oilers next season if the plan is to set up Broholm (Bro Hymn?!!!).
- But what does it mean for Nurse and Bouchard? Will they be reunited next year? What if it doesn’t work? Does Broberg go with Nurse?
- It’s a weird scenario to think about, right? Is it a good strategy to give Broberg top-4 minutes like that? Wouldn’t you want to ease him in as opposed to firing him into the lion’s den from the get-go?
- Speaking of scenarios, Edmonton’s got their eyes on Nashville Predators center Colton Sissons still. I’ve been saying this for years it seems. You see, they want somebody who drags his teammates into the fight and has had post-season success to which Sissons has both (to a degree). On top of that, he’s got an easy ticket to absorb.
- It’s really going to come down to how well Dylan Holloway does before the deadline because he’s got all of the tools required. He’s fast, tough, loves getting his nose dirty, a smart playmaker, and his contract is very ideal for where the Oilers are cap-wise. The problem is, he’s started his career spending a lot of time on the IR and Edmonton’s in win-now mode.
- I’d hate to see it, but I could. A Holloway for Sissons trade with Nashville retaining and possibly sending a pick back.
- There are a lot of 3C targets for the Oilers where they could use Holloway. Sean Monahan is on their list, Nic Dowd out in Washington, Kevin Hayes in STL, would Edmonton go after Elias Lindholm? There are probably some in the organization that’d love to bring Nick Bjugstad back. Boone Jenner’s name is quietly floating about.
- Surprisingly, Claude Giroux might be a wild card trade target.
- How does the Habs’ Jake Evans float your boat?
- It’s fun to throw all those names around and think about all the different trades Edmonton could make but at the end of the day, they need their bottom-six shored up something fierce and I think those trades could be easier to sort because I reckon third line centers are going to be a premium at this year’s deadline.
- Last name… Marc-Andre Fleury. If Minny falls out of it, this is a guy Edmonton should pay well to bring in.
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Three Players to Watch for the Bad Guys
- #19 Jared McCann (17g 11a 28pts) – Boy, has this guy ever turned into a player. How many teams gave up on him before Seattle benefitted? He’s fast, strong, and has quite the shot. Has six points in his last five games (3g/3a).
- #22 Oliver Bjorkstrand (12g 23a 35pts) – Only two goals in his last ten games but he’s still firing the puck at around three shots per game in that time. At the moment, the Kraken have him lining up alongside Yanni Gourde and Eeli Tolvanen. It’s a weird line dynamic but for whatever reason it find a way to be effective.
- #7 Jordan Eberle (6g 15a 21pts) – Ebs is having a season to forget but even with that said he’s still a dangerous winger and we all know what happens when those ex-Oilers return to town. I do wonder however if he’s a target for the Oilers at the deadline. I mean how much could the acquisition cost be for a winger who’s struggling to score and is in his mid-30s? You could flip that the other way around and ask why the Oilers would want that player but I think he’d get a bump from playing back in Edmonton with good centers and why wouldn’t the Oilers want that scoring depth? It’d be a very Holland-esque transaction.
Three Players to Watch for the Good Guys
- #93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (11g 27a 38pts) – He’s very quietly playing at a near point-per-game pace this year as a complimentary winger for Leon and Connor. He’s due for a goal though as he’s fired 21 shots in his last five games with nothing to show.
- #29 Leon Draisaitl (21g 25a 46pts) – I’m tellin’ ya, January is Leon’s month. He’s potted three in the last five games for Edmonton, seven in their last ten. His biggest challenge though is finding a way to get his wingers to score. Evander Kane and Warren Foegele are struggling to put it politely but at least with Kane it’s health related. Lucky for Leon, Edmonton is going to bring in a top-six winger for him to round out the year with.
- #14 Mattias Ekholm (4g 14a 18pts) – Man, it didn’t take long for Bob Stauffer to forget about Darnell Nurse, eh? Ekholm is the new defense whisperer. What is it with the Oilers and Swedish defensemen? They’ve had some real good ones come through over the years. This one has three assists in his last half dozen minus one to go along with ten shots and six blocks.
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