Big Lineup Changes Tonight vs Jets
The Oilers are back in action tonight, finishing a two game set against the Jets. A crazy last second finish to the game on Sunday, as Leon Draisaitl scored with .7 seconds left! It was a sweet feed from McDavid that made the play happen. Connor McDavid also had a great game dishing 3 assists, 5 shots and was a +3! Also speaking of +- numbers, did you know that Darnell Nurse not only leads the team in that department at a +7 but is also 3rd in the league? CRAZY STATS!!!
JP 1L:
Jesse Puljujarvi looked at home on the top line on Sunday vs the Jets. Putting up 1 assist, 6 SHOTS and all in all was engaged. Which is something you couldn't say about Kassian up on that line or 4 out of the 6 defensemen.
FANCY STATS TIME!
Jesse was 23-12 CF and was a 65% Corsi percentage! Those are some mighty fine numbers! Compare those to a couple certain d-men.
Larsson 9-24 27%
K. Russell 12-21 36%
A couple of big yikes! However, Tippett must have seen those numbers and changed things right? Well to a certain extent, yes he did. Placing Tyler Ennis, who has been very bad, on waivers. I still think he has something left to give. He ultimately cleared and will be watching from the taxi squad tonight. Then we get to what Tippett did wrong...
Oilers Lines (3-4):
RNH - McDavid - Puljujarvi
Kahun - Draisaitl - Yamamoto
Neal- Turris - Kassian
Archibald - Khaira - P. Russell
Nurse - Bear
K. Russell - Barrie
Jones - Larsson
Koskinen
Skinner
First time I had to use the first initials on the Russell's. Now, can we realistically look at that lineup and say it is as good or better than the lineup on Sunday? NO WE CANNOT. Khaira being back in the lineup makes zero sense to me. Patrick Russell being slotted in makes less sense than that. Devin Shore has been a good 4th line center/PK guy. Khaira's PK numbers are solid, yes, his 5v5 numbers are awful. The moves just don't make any sense. Also moving in Jones I think is a good thing, gotta get him in. The fact that KoekKoek was the guy to move out boggles my mind a bit. He played a solid 16 minutes on Sunday. Fancy stats say tha he did not play well but he was also being dragged under by his partner, Larsson. If you move anybody out, you gotta move Him or Russell, OR BOTH! You cannot say that Bouchard, at this point, would be any better than Adam Larsson. They have to be showing him off for a trade at this point or something. Although putting him in the pressbox would do more for a trade right now. I just do not understand the moves being made here but we will have to wait and see when the puck drops.
Jets (4-2):
Connor - Scheifele - Wheeler
Copp - Stastny - Ehlers
Perreault - Lowry - Applton
Harkins - Gustafsson - Lewis
Morrissey - Demelo
Forbort - Pionk
Stanley - Beaulieu
Hellebuyck
Brossoit
This was the lineup that the Jets iced on Sunday. I am expecting some changes but nothing drastic. Something to watch for is that top line of Connor - Scheifele - Wheeler. Wheeler and Scheifele both are on 4 game point streaks. Adam Lowry, Nik Ehlers and Andrew Copp also are on 4 game heaters. Connor Hellebuyck is expected to start so it will be much more difficult to score this time around.
3 Oil Drops for Victory:
Special team have to be special. The Oilers are 75% on the PK and 11% on the PP. That is good for 22nd & 25th respectively in the NHL. Penalties are inevitable, so when you are on the Power play, capitalize on them! Also when taking a penalty, make sure to kill it off! Simple words but effective.
Koskinen to stay the course. In the last 3 games, Mikko Koskinen has been very solid! Not costing the Oilers a game really and making the saves when needed. Over the last 3 games he has a 2.30 GAA and a .925 sv%.
Keep the top guys in check. I stated it up top. 5 players for the Jets are on 4 game point streaks and 3 of the top 10 scorers in the league play for the Jets. Clamp down on them and you have a chance to win!
What does Evan Bouchard have to do to get in the lineup?
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