|
G24 Oilers vs Penguins: Reinhart Sent Down |
|
|
|
Edmonton sent Griffin Reinhart back to the AHL this morning. For some, that’s going to be a sign the team made a huge mistake trading for him at the Draft.
I am not one of those people, but naturally I’m disappointed Reinhart couldn’t establish himself in the NHL immediately.
The Oilers traded a 1st and 2nd Round pick in a deep draft for Griffin Reinhart. They were hoping to get a player further along in his development for those assets. Even if he isn’t a fulltime NHLer, I think they got that. Where I can agree with those who are disappointed in the trade is that it was full price for a player who isn’t a sure thing.
Still, there are parts of Reinhart’s game that are to like. Notably, he has calm feet and a developing physicality. When he does play I haven’t seen him called away on dog whistles only he can hear to get sucked out of position.
Reinhart has been paired pretty much exclusively with either Gryba or Davidson. So his partner is either the 6th or 7th best defender on the team only. Neither of those two players has much in the way of experience, so it’s not exactly a mentorship either.
His most common partner has been Gryba. The physical defender the Oilers got from Ottawa has looked (visually) better with Reinhart, but the on-ice metrics point to a different story. The reality of the situation is that the team has had much better results in possession when Reinhart plays away from Gryba.
REINHART WITH GRYBA
123 min, 48.6 CF/60, 68.1 CA/60, 42.4 CF%
REINHART WITHOUT GRYBA
55 min, 65.7 CF/60, 49.6 CA/60, 57.0 CF%
His shot attempts for and against almost get completely flipped when he’s away from Gryba. That’s not insignificant! I still have Reinhart in the plans for Edmonton’s defense. In fact, I don’t think he’ll be gone all that long.
Sending Reinhart back to the AHL was necessary because Schultz is back from injury and they cant move Ference. Mix in Brandon Davidson playing really solid hockey and a desire to make Gryba look somewhat attractive to a potential suitor, what you get is Reinhart drawing the short stick.
In his presser today Chiarelli expressed to the media that he was not happy about sending Reinhart to the AHL but there were 9 defensemen. He believes he’s seen good progress from Reinhart but it’s a numbers game. The Oilers need to make changes to their Defense. When they do make those changes or more injuries hit, Reinhart will be back.
LINEUP
Justin Schultz was activated from the IR this morning and should be returning to the lineup tonight. Griffin Reinhart was sent to Bakersfield. The Oilers practices with Hall and Ebs together but for much of the game they were back in their previous line combinations. I’ve put the old ones down. Also, I have Schultz on the 3rd pairing but that’s only until we hear for certain who he’ll play with.
Hall Draisaitl Purcell
Pouliot RNH Eberle
Korpikoski Letestu Hendricks
Gazdic Lander Pakarinen
Klefbom Fayne
Nurse Sekera
Davidson Schultz
Nilsson
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Schultz Returns. I’m hoping for a little bit of adrenaline from Schultz. He needs more of it in his game on the whole, but in the 2nd half of a back to back it will be nice to have him pushing the play. I hope for his sake the Oilers don’t plan on running him 24 minutes tonight but McLellan makes 4 coaches that have chosen to play him huge minutes. At his best he’s a puck mover who jumps into the action offensively and creates havoc. I’ll be happy with just a capable puck mover.
2) Maybe Don’t Play Ference. The former Captain of the Oilers played just 4:24 last night and somehow managed to be on the ice for 2 goals against. At least 1 wasn’t completely his fault, but this is the end for Ference as an NHL player. The game is past him. It’s not his fault. He isn’t lazy or out of shape. He isn’t a cancer in the room. He just can’t hold off Father Time any longer than he already has.
3) Crosby Back. Sid the Kid started the year slowly enough that people started writing about his demise. He has since started a 4 game point streak in which he’s picked up 5 points. Last night he took a vicious crosscheck and had to leave the game for a while, but he did indeed return. Tonight the Oilers can count on him terrorizing their zone. It just doesn’t take long for players with his kind of talent to start piling up the points.
Puck drops tonight at 5PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet. Get Better, Connor!
Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy