2021-22 Game 47: Oilers at Kings

Several of the men coached by Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson in Bakersfield performed well for the big club just a few miles down the road (it’s actually four hours, I don’t understand California) from the arena where these men learned the pro game.

It was quite a contribution from former Condors. Skinner with the shutout, between 14 and 15 minutes on defense from each of Evan Bouchard, William Lagesson, Marcus Niemelainen and Philip Broberg and forwards Kailer Yamamoto, Ryan McLeod and Tyler Benson contributed. That’s eight men, eight graduate Condors, all contributing to a win.

You know, this is what it’s supposed to look like.

THE ATHLETIC!

• New DNB: Connor McDavid’s remains a transcendent talent. Here’s why.
• New DNB: Jay Woodcroft’s ascension to Oilers head coach is more than a dream come true: ‘Winning is a skill’
• Lowetide: Dylan Holloway’s first games in Bakersfield and what it could mean for his NHL ETA
• DNB: Six signs of positive change surface for the Oilers in Jay Woodcroft’s victorious coaching debut
• Lowetide: 7 Oilers players poised to benefit most from Jay Woodcroft becoming head coach
• DNB: Oilers coaching change clears the way: Ken Holland’s roster construction will now have to stand up to scrutiny
• Lowetide: Oilers pro forward depth chart about to get overhauled
• DNB: Three Oilers questions that will define stretch run
• Lowetide: Hard-target search to address Oilers roster needs before trade deadline
• Lowetide: Four RH defence prospects looking to impress while pushing for the NHL.
• DNB: Why Oilers prospect Xavier Bourgault is ‘a player that everybody wants to play with’
• Lowetide: Oilers’ bizarre January ended on a high note
• DNB: Oilers’ Zach Hyman is compelled to speak up about antisemitism when he sees it
• Lowetide: Revisiting Oilers’ choice to take Kailer Yamamoto in 2017 NHL Draft
• Lowetide: Why prospects stall in the AHL
• Lowetide: Grading the first 3 years of Ken Holland’s Oilers trades
• DNB: Adam Cracknell is now a Canadian Olympian.
• DNB: Dylan Holloway resumes road to Oilers after frustrating injury interruption
• New DNB: Oilers’ flaws can’t be ignored as losing skid goes from bad to worse
• Lowetide: Why can’t the Oilers win a trade in the Connor McDavid era?
• DNB: ‘We’re finding ways to lose’
• Lowetide: Midseason review of Oilers reasonable predictions for 2021-22
• Lowetide: What to expect from Dylan Holloway in Bakersfield and Edmonton this season
• Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects, winter 2021

WHAT TO EXPECT IN FEBRUARY

• On the road to: WAS (Expected 0-1-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
• At home to: VEG, CHI, NYI (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 1-2-0)
• On the road to: SJS, LAK (Expected 1-0-1) (Actual 1-0-0)
• At home to: ANA (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• On the road to: WPG (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• At home to: MIN (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• On the road to: TBY, FLA, CAR (Expected 0-2-1) (Actual 0-0-0)
• Overall expected result: 6-4-2, 14 points in 12 games
• Actual February results: 3-2-0, 6 points in 5 games
• Oilers in 2021-22: 25-18-3, 53 points in 46 games

The Oilers are currently in a playoff spot, and would finish with 94 points if the current success duplicates over 82 games. That would mean an opening round matchup with the Colorado Avalanche, a must to avoid. The record in the last 10, 7-2-1, is the No. 4 record in the entire NHL. The key for Woodcroft is riding this current wave until the Oilers are well clear of the California three.

GOALTENDERS

Stuart Skinner was strong early, when the Oilers appeared flat as a pancake. The HDSC (nine of 20 shots) added to the degree of difficulty, it was good to see him get his first shutout in the NHL, and he earned another start. He owns a .913 SP and leads the team in the category. You know, he’s waiver eligible next season, and has played in 13 games this season. Is giving him 12 of the last 35 doable? At 25 games we’d know enough about him to project into next season. I’m at a point where risking waivers in the fall isn’t an option. Would you deal him in the right deadline trade? I know he had an uneven junior career, but his last two AHL seasons have been solid to excellent. He’s making things interesting.

DEFENSE

The numbers here are stunning, just outstanding. Nurse-Barrie won the possession, goals and expected goals, Lagesson and Ceci didn’t score but didn’t give up one damned thing, and Broberg-Bouchard plus Niemelainen-Bouchard were also dominant along with getting goals on each unit. This is something. Music! Wow. Not sure what to say. Manson is clearly a witch, and these short passes, controlled breakouts and possession outlets and entries are all terrific. It’s a breath of fresh air.

One of the things we can look for with a new coach is line matching. Nurse played 10:57 at five-on-five against Timo Meier (7-7 shots), Broberg facing the Gadjovich-Pederson-Gregor line most often (4-3 shots against Gadjovich). One of the things seven defensemen does is camouflage weakness. I don’t know if it’s by design, and last night it was difficult to identify the weak link defensively (it was Niemenlainen according to five-on-five Corsi Rel) but everyone was well over 50 percent in possession on the night.

Darnell Nurse scored goal No. 50 for his NHL career last night, among Oilers blue (as Oilers) he trails Paul Coffey (209 goals), Charlie Huddy (81) and Kevin Lowe (74). Nurse was 0-6 in five-on-five goals in the final three games under Dave Tippett, and is 2-0 in the discipline under Woodcroft.

FORWARDS

Everything rhymed in San Jose, but the Nuge trio had a terrific night, scoring twice, all three men getting crooked numbers in the points column. I viewed the Ryan slotting as the weakest decision in Woodcroft’s lineup but last night he looked impressive. I thought everyone looked engaged and many more goals could have been scored (22 HDSC in all game states according to NST).

Connor McDavid was flying last night, could have posted five points if his linemates had better puck luck. He had four HDSC’s at five-on-five, as did Hyman, with Puljujarvi grabbing three. You might look at a line with 11 HDSC’s and one goal as frustrating, I’m just thrilled this trio is back together. Get McDavid the puck, go to the net with your stick on the ice.

A word about Warren Foegele. He’s going to land around 10 goals and 30 points, and maybe that isn’t enough but I think he’s a valuable player. His five-on-five on-ice goal differential is 19-29, but 4-5 in his most recent 10 games. If he can post 30 points on a third line (mostly) and something close to 50 percent goals five-on-five, then he can be effective. Foegele is 4-0 goals with Nuge in 41 minutes. Something brewing there.

LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE

At 10 this morning, TSN 1260. We dissect last night’s brilliant game and talk about tonight. Guests include Tyler Yaremchuk from Daily Faceoff and Oilers Nation, plus another edition of Al vs. Sal in Crossfire! (pew! pew!). I expect we’ll wake someone up in Los Angeles, too. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!