Ok. It’s time to start questioning what the Oilers have and what they’re going to do about it.

Since June when the Oilers first started making major changes to their lineup, I have been openly and actively questioning their choices. I have taken a lot of heat for that perceived negativity and I get it. Everyone wants to believe the people in charge know what they’re doing. Sometimes that’s the case and sometimes Donald Trump is elected President. Nothing is guaranteed.

However, it’s mid-November and after a hot start the Oilers are free falling back to the middle of the pack. The problems we identified in June are problems today.

The downgrade in secondary scoring is finally hurting the team. The lack of offensive defensemen is still as prevalent as ever. Eberle isn’t turning into a 40 goal scorer on Connor’s wing. Lucic hasn’t found real chemistry with anybody yet. Puljujarvi is still struggling to be an offensive contributor as he has since day 1 of the preseason. Draisaitl is still lost without Hall. Not grabbing PA Parenteau on the waiver wire still looks like a big mistake for a team desperate to find capable right shot wingers.

All of the things we outlined as big gambles are hurting the club today. Edmonton needs to find a way to get Eberle more productive, energize Lucic, unlock Puljujarvi, and kickstart offense from the blueline. That’s what it is going to take to get the Oilers moving back towards the playoffs. Yes, these things can happen. No, I don’t think all of them will. Not without some changes.

The recent struggles have given McLellan reason to scramble the lines. As soon as I know them I will update them below, but I have no problem getting desperate in these situations. I would probably try something like:

Maroon McDavid Puljujarvi
Lucic RNH Pitlick
Pouliot Draisaitl Eberle
Lander Letestu Kassian

I’m tired of Puljujarvi’s shot going wasted in games and Eberle’s production is not being elevated by the play of McDavid. Eberle sort of is what he is. If Puljujarvi can receive even a couple McDavid passes a game I think he will be more dangerous than he has been since his NHL career began.

We’ve tried Lucic with McDavid to some OK results. We’ve tried him with Draisaitl and he’s been quiet. Third time’s the charm with RNH. And since Pouliot is MIA right now it’s as good a time as any to make the changes.

I don’t know if the changes will help Draisaitl, to be honest. At this time I’m wondering if he just wouldn’t be better as a winger. We wont be able to test that out until Caggiula is healthy and ready to play NHL games. Until then the kid needs his feet moving.

This team is better than it was a year ago. That is still true. There is still massive potential to be even better than it has been so far. I’m hopeful that this group can figure things out quickly. Because if Draisaitl and Pouliot can find their scoring touch and Puljujarvi can start contributing regularly then the Oilers are going to start winning games again.

This season is Playoffs or bust for me. Every major move they made will be a failure if the Oilers miss the post-season in 2016-2017. Can they overcome the deficiencies that Chiarelli left on the roster? Will the gambles pay off in the end? We wait and see.

LINEUP

The trio of Hendricks, Fayne, and Caggiula joined the club on this road trip, but we don’t know when they will be ready to play. I assume Caggiula will get a conditioning stint when he’s ready but I don’t know that for certain.

Maroon McDavid Eberle
Lucic RNH Pitlick
Pouliot Draisaitl Kassian
Lander Letestu Slepyshev

Klefbom Larsson
Sekera Benning
Nurse Gryba

Talbot
Gustavsson

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

1) Pacific Rivals. Edmonton has been dropping games to out of division opponents for the last two weeks, but now the team starts playing clubs that matter again. This is a playoff race and the two points up for grabs are going to be used to strangle the hopes of the other team. The way things are shaping up, only three teams from the Pacific are going to make the post-season. Edmonton still leads with 19 points but it has been a downward trend lately. The Ducks are 2 points back and starting to figure things out again. Edmonton can drop games to outside division teams but wins have to come against Pacific rivals.

2) Pou, Where Are You? Benoit Pouliot hasn’t had a single point in 9 games. This is a player that has performed at roughly a 50 point per season pace over his two seasons in an Oiler uniform, but right now has just 4 points in 16 games. Edmonton is dying for secondary scoring and I regularly criticize players like Draisaitl and Lucic, but where on earth is Benoit Pouliot right now? I’ll tell you where he isn’t. You wont find him shooting the puck in the offensive zone. He’s had just 10 shots on goal in this 9 game pointless stretch. I get it if the pucks arent going in because the goalies are making stops, but an average shooter could only expect 1 goal on 10 shots. He needs to step this up. He can do it. He’s been an excellent 5v5 scorer his entire career. Time to get the giddy-up going.

3) Banking On Cam. The Edmonton Oilers are a team very much dependent on Connor McDavid and their goaltender Cam Talbot. Here’s one of the problems with this ugly stretch: Talbot has allowed 3 or more goals in every game played this month. That’s 6 straight of either 3 or 4 goals. I’m not saying the goals were his fault, just that if he can’t find a way to keep the number at 2 or under then the Oilers are going to find it extremely difficult to win. That’s going to mean some superhuman performances are needed. The team is settling back down to the middle of the pack. They need McDavid to keep driving the offense and they need Talbot to shut the door. That’s how this ship is going to stay afloat.

Puck drops tonight at 8:00 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet Oilers. Game On!

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

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