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In No Particular Order: BoA Win, December Schedule, Oilers are Buyers?!

December 10, 2018, 12:13 PM ET [76 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT

Show of hands, does anyone else still have white knuckles from the Oilers game last night? Mikko Koskinen has the best home record for goaltending in the whole league at .970SV% where he is also undefeated with 6 wins. David Rittich has the best road record for goaltending at .946SV%. Both players put on a clinic last night at were the best player on the ice for both teams.

Also a quick shout-out to the Oilers Organization for doing such a great job commemorating Bob Cole's last game announcing with the Edmonton Oilers. Cole is a legend and though I may not have been around to appreciate is calls in the 80's I still understand the impact he has had on the game we all love.

Th...Thaaa.......Than....Thank you Chiarelli.... yeah that was tough to get out. Clearly whoever the Oilers had in the KHL scouting Koskinen did their due diligence, because Mikko has earned his 2.5 million and it is only December. We all had a chuckle when Ken Hitchcock said goaltending was a strength of this team....we aren't laughing now.

Now to the game; after a couple of minutes of sloppy hockey from both teams, the Oilers dominated the first period. They out Corsi'd the Flames 61.76% to 38.24. Edmonton owned possession for most of the first period, were strong on the forecheck and caused the Flames grief in their own end. There was a sequence in the last couple of minutes of the period where Calgary had by my count 4 opportunities to clear the puck out of the zone, but were unable to due to how aggressive Edmonton was at attacking the puck. It could have been a 2 or 3 nothing lead after the first had it not been for Rittich.

The Chiasson-McDavid-Draisaitl line connected again with the lone goal of the game. What seemed like a botched play, turned into a grade A chance as Draisaitl got a bobbling puck to Chiasson who made a brilliant pass, which McDavid made no mistake on burying. I still think the team could look to other options than Chiasson for that line but right now I can't argue with the results.



Lucic leveled Travis Hamonic with a hit that could have been called interference, as it was slightly late, but the refs weren't blowing the whistle. Anthony Peluso, who was called up that morning from the Stockton Heat, dropped the gloves with Lucic in a quick spirited affair. The refs jumped in the moment Peluso lost his helmet, which both players took offense to.

Side note, kudos the the crowd for chanting the Looooooo's for Milan almost any time he did anything on the ice. The goals are not going in for #27 and he will never fit into his contract but he is at least being an effective player and performing well in his new role.

THE GOAL

Yeah okay, let's talk about that disallowed Calgary goal.



By definition, yes that is goaltender interference but I completely understand Flames fans frustration over that one. There have been plenty more egregious examples of interference that have been overruled. Oilers fans, if that one was overturned your way, you would have been equally as livid.

Probably the Flames fault though for dressing a guy like Peluso.

It was another Hitchcock coached game for the Edmonton Oilers and the team improves to 7-2-1 under him.

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LOOKING AHEAD AT DECEMBER

The Oilers sit one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the last Wild Card spot with two games in hand right now. The Pacific Division remains wide open with the Calgary Flames seemingly the only sure thing right now.

There are 9 more games for the Oilers in the month of December and of the 18 points that are up for grabs there, I would like to see Edmonton grab 11 of them. Philly, Vancouver (twice), and St.Louis are all below the Oilers in the standings and not taking at least 6 of 8 points in those games should be considered a failure.

The other 5 games will be a true test of how far the Oilers defensive game has come; Winnipeg (twice), San Jose, Tampa, and Colorado are all top 10 teams in goals this season. It is unlikely the Oilers will be able to walk away with 1-0 victories in those games... some offense is going to be needed.

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BUYING AT THE DEADLINE

Which brings us to Trade Deadline. Time will tell whether or not the Oilers can continue at the 7-2-1 pace they have set over the past 10 games but as long as the team can keep their head above water, they should be in the playoff conversation in February.

Scoring and help on the second pairing are the two obvious areas that need to be addressed. The Nurse-Russell pairing in particular has the potential to single-handedly tank this season for Edmonton.

Here is a way too early look at a few pending UFA's that might be available for the Oilers, come trade deadline.

RW - Justin Williams - $4,500,000 - Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes may be too close to the cusp of the playoffs to be considered sellers at the deadline, however if they are too far out, Williams is the most likely to go. The 37 year old winger is scoring at a .54 ppg pace right now with 15 points in 28 games. A decent option for a team looking for some depth.

C - Eric Staal - $3,500,000 - Minnesota Wild

Could be one of the big fish this deadline. Again, the Wild are a team that might be fighting for a playoff spot, but if they don't think the 34 year old will re-up with them in the off-season they may want to consider moving him for assets. He has had something of a resurgence in Minnesota with 76 points last year, and with 20 in 28 he will likely end with a similar total. Likely too expensive for the Oilers to pursue.

RW - Wayne Simmonds - $3,975,000 - Philadelphia Flyers

It's safe to say the Flyers will not be playoff candidates this season. The 30 year old Simmonds is certainly a Chiarelli player and is still able to produce. I wouldn't want him for anything more than a deadline acquisition, but he would certainly check some boxes for the Oil.

LD - Alexander Edler - $5,000,000 - Vancouver Canucks

The UFA crop at the deadline for defencemen is quite paltry but Edler is one of the better ones. He has been a staple on the Canucks blue line for more than 12 years and would immediately be one of Edmonton's top four defenders.

LD - Niklas Kronwall - $4,750,000 - Detroit Red Wings

Another player who would look strange in a different jersey. The 37 year old has been making things difficult for the opposition for more than a decade (just ask Ales Hemsky). He may not be the player he once was, but he is still averaging just north of 18 minutes a night. His cap hit makes him the most appealing option here.

A healthy Oilers roster in March could look something like this

Chiasson-McDavid-Rieder
Zykov-Draisaitl-Williams
Khaira-RNH-Puljujarvi
Lucic-Brodziak-Kassian
Rattie, Caggiula, Spooner

Klefbom-Larsson
Kronwall-Russell
Sekera-Nurse
Gravel-Benning

Rieder is close to being healthy, and Sekera has started skating with the team and could make still return to the NHL this season. The roster I have listed above will have some cap issues, as well as too many extra forwards. It will be a conversation for another day as to what to do with the roster as players start to return.

What say you Oilers fans? Who do you hope the team targets at trade deadline?
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