2021-22 NHL PLAYOFFS GAME TWO: KINGS AT OILERS

The Edmonton Oilers play a big game tonight. A win, and things are back to even. A loss? Well, tomorrow’s post will have at least a hint of summer, but you could also feel a draft. We’ll call it “cloudy with a good chance of offseason discussions” to take our minds off the liquid drano.

Oilers off-seasons are often ponderous, but I don’t see that happening this summer no matter how long the playoffs linger. I don’t think things will be the same after this year, there’s no going back. Jay Woodcroft is progress, these five rookies are progress, surely an analytics department can’t be too far away? Anything but ponderous. It’s been 15 years.

THE ATHLETIC!

• New Lowetide: 5 biggest Bakersfield Condors stories from 2021-22 AHL season
• New DNB: How Dave Manson is making the Oilers blue line better
• Pierre Lebrun: Can Jay Woodcroft’s message help the Oilers move past recent playoff failures?
• DNB: Should Oilers play Jesse Puljujarvi and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on same line?
• DNB: Connor McDavid produces magic, Mike Smith mistake proves costly: 5 Oilers observations
• Lowetide: Oilers regular season report card for 2021-22
• DNB: Mike Smith never stopped fighting. A playoff run would be his ultimate redemption
• Lisa Dillman and Lowetide: Oilers vs. Kings position by position: Who has the edge?
• Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Shayna Goldman: Inside Oilers’ adjustments that saved their season
• Lowetide: Oilers’ exceptional April saves a turbulent regular season
• Lowetide: Why Oilers star Leon Draisaitl’s value peaks in the playoffs
• DNB: How Connor McDavid’s season is so stellar and why it’s not getting enough attention
• Lowetide: 5 reasons Zach Hyman was a quality free-agent signing for Oilers
• DNB: Evander Kane’s banner Oilers performance was fitting. And there could be more
• Lowetide: Should Oilers re-sign Brett Kulak based on early results?
• DNB: How Oilers’ Matvey Petrov mastered English and became a promising NHL prospect
• DNB: Connor McDavid’s Hart case
• Lowetide: Stock up or down for every prospect in the Oilers system
• Lowetide: Early look at Oilers free-agent targets for 2022 offseason
• Lowetide: 7 Condors who could impact Oilers’ fortunes in the playoffs

THE FIVE ROOKIES

Maybe people don’t even think about the 2021-22 rookies, since so many of them are currently injured or in Bakersfield. Edmonton’s NHL rookies this season are:

• LC Ryan McLeod, who looks like he’ll be an NHL regular for years.
• G Stuart Skinner, building a strong case to be on an NHL roster this fall.
• LD Philip Broberg, speed/size and he’s adapted quickly to North America.
• LD Markus Niemelainen, hits like a truck and has more mobility than expected.
• LD Dmitri Samorukov, rugged defenseman who plays with an edge.

This is a strong crop of rookies. The boxcars aren’t there, this isn’t a group who delivered as rookies, but they showed their skills in the AHL and NHL this season. There’s some impressive futures there. Edmonton didn’t invest NHL time on the defensemen, because they weren’t completely ready, but you can see it coming. Do you remember the quote I used to use from Punch Imlach in his book Hockey is a Battle from time to time?

“I moved in a lot of guys, especially on defence. I knew I was going to give Mike Pelyk a lot of work, Jim Dorey was a real tough egg from Tulsa and he was going to get a shot at it. Another tough guy was Pat Quinn, and a real surprise in camp was Rickey Ley, a junior from Niagra Falls with no pro experience. So we had all those guys, plus Tim Horton, Marcel Pronovost and Pierre Pilote. I knew that with all these young guys there were going to be mistakes. They were going to cost us goals. But I was going to have a team that would try and would play entertaining hockey. I knew we would be life and death to make the playoffs.”

Edmonton didn’t invest NHL time in these men, and that was the wise choice. That said, if Broberg gets 40 games next season, Samorukov somewhere close (he is waiver eligible) and Niemelainen is first recall, that’s some fine talent pushing up behind Evan Bouchard, who played his first full-time role this season. What does that mean for summer? Maybe we get to that subject tomorrow.

THE CONDORS

What a win last night in Bakersfield. The lead story among players remains Dylan Holloway, who I swear gets chances at Taylor Hall volume but cashes at Todd Marchant rates. He had five shots last night, maybe six or seven 10-bell looks, and came out with an assist. Edmonton has never produced a Calder Trophy winner, but I’m telling you Holloway could be a strong contender next season in the right situation.

JESSE

I’ve been surprised in the last 24 hours by the number of people who have thrown haymakers at Jesse Puljujarvi without also acknowledging that he’s clearly not 100 percent. Teams don’t reveal Jack Diddly about injuries, but if you use the brain God gave you, it’s clear something isn’t right. I’m worried it’s the hips again, wouldn’t it be the most JP thing if he actually had tragically hips? I hope not. Anyway, if you hear someone pointing out Jesse’s performance on Monday without mentioning his clear issue with getting around in a normal way, know this: They’ve missed a major point, and might be missing other things, too. Just slamming a guy is being a bully. That’s not fair.

LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE

At 10 this morning, TSN1260, we gear up for the big game between the Oilers and Kings, plus Jays and Elks draft. Bruce McCurdy from the Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal will pop by to talk about the game, and offer an historical perspective on these two teams. We’ll also get updates from the rink, and have a blast! 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!