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P7 Oilers vs Canucks: The Final Laps |
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CUT TWO
The Oilers cut goaltender Brossoit from camp along with defenseman David Musil in a bit of a surprise move. It was surprising in that there weren’t more bodies going to the farm with them. Eakins must have been really saying what he meant when he said the team had 2 NHL centermen and then a bunch of mud because I don’t really know how or why Khaira is still at camp. So for some reason the Oilers have failed to come to any kind of decision with this player and several others.
I wont hammer the organization for their inability to determine which of these guys is the best fit too much though because nobody among them has found a way to step ahead of the pack. If one played poorly or was invisible then they were all invisible. If one plays well then they all play well. Last night, for example, I thought Pitlick was the best player in the 1st Period out of himself, Pinizzotto, and Joensuu. By the end of the game Joensuu has 2 goals that were set up beautifully on smart plays by Pinizzottto and all 3 were laying the body. So who was the best?
No matter how difficult it may be, the Oilers need to get down from the 35 players they still have at Camp so they can talk shop. This isn’t an Edmonton team that knows how to play winning hockey and can turn it on. This squad was one of the worst teams (systematically) last season and the coaching staff needs to lock this down. Perhaps that point was the one that I’ve omitted while railing against the number of people at Training Camp. The Oilers are not the Blues or the Blackhawks. They don’t have a wealth of experience playing winning hockey to fall back on and the NHL is not a league with a lot of practice time during the season.
2 today, a lot more tomorrow I imagine.
DRAISAITL
He finished -2 on the night but was incredible throughout the entire game. It just goes to show what kind of a useless number traditional +/- is when Draisaitl can get slapped with that on him even though his line dominated at evens going +17 -8 in Corsi (as per Hockeystats.ca), or more simply put he had a 68% CF in the game. It was a dominating performance that showed off his slick passing ability and puck protection skills. He is difficult to move off of the puck when he has it and he is so good at using his big frame to shield the puck from defenders.
Perhaps the highlight of the night was when he displayed some stick handling skills that I didn’t know he possessed. To describe the play, Draisaitl came in with the puck against 2 defenders, pulled the puck back, performed a series of card tricks that he taught David Blaine, sawed his assistant in half, correctly predicted the number he asked Devan Dubnyk to write down and place into a sealed envelope, pulled the puck forward again, and had transported through time and space 4 feet past the defense.
If you hadn’t have seen it you wouldn’t have believed it.
LINEUP
The fabled 3x1 Line is getting its shot tonight. Based on the way the Draisaitl line performed last night, if this trio can bust some heads against the Canucks then Eberle might move down to the 2nd Line. It’s not a move most people expect but it remains a possibility. Crazy. Outside of that line this is going to be a short rest test for players like Joensuu, Pitlick, and Pinizzotto. All three are on different lines. There’s really only room for 1 of them.
Hall RNH Yakupov
Joensuu Draisaitl Purcell
Acton Yakimov Pitlick
Westgarth Lander Pinizzotto
Nikitin Fayne
Nurse Hunt
Marincin Aulie
Fasth
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Goalie Controversy? Ok, controversy is pushing it, but to my eye Fasth has had the much better camp than Scrivens. The Oilers rave about Fasth’s athleticism and his skill level is just fine. Scrivens is more of a fighter, plus I have an affinity for smart players (and people in general) so he’s been my favourite since arriving. Eakins refuses to call either a “Number 1” or a “Number 2” preferring to call them Ben and Vik. OK. Sure. If Fasth plays lights out again tonight and Scrivens lets in some weak ones in the final game who is going to get the start on opening night? Fasth should be dialed in tonight.
2) Down To The Wire. The races at training camp are about to close and some are just too close to call yet. We talked already about the forwards, how about the defense? Petry’s shoulder gives the team some more options but Klefbom, Hunt, and Nurse are all outpacing Aulie who had just 1 job. Even Marincin has played just OK which makes the decisions with the blueline murky too. It isn’t easy being Eakins (Eant Easy Being Eakins?™) these days. Lord help Eakins if Nurse plays a whale of a game tonight.
3) True Detective Season 2. Big Yak plays without his sidekick and body guard Vlad Tkachev. Tonight he’s playing with Acton and Pitlick so the skill set of his linemates are drastically different. Can he adapt to their games or drag their offense upwards with him? He can make Lander expendable via the Waiver Wire if he proves that he can play in all kinds of scenarios.
Puck drops tonight at 7:08PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet 360 (TV!). Game On!
Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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