The message sent by Hitchcock here should be loud and clear; currently the Oilers are a three man team; RNH, McDavid, and Draisaitl are not the problem and are in fact the only players showing up every night.
Edmonton has been out-shot in 8 of their last 9 games and have scored a total of 30 goals in their last 10 games. Averaging 3 goals a game is fine, but it is the usual suspects who are dragging the rest of the team along.
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Take a look at this graph below. This shows the total amount of goals scored for each team by every players not in the top four for scoring.
Saw this pop up and it's easy enough to do. Goals by forwards who aren't in top four in team goal scoring. pic.twitter.com/stNlqcZcpW
The Oilers are not just last; they are last by a wide margin. Not including McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, or Chiasson, the rest of the Oilers team have combined for 28 goals. To put that into perspective, the Arizona Coyotes who have scored 11 less goals in total than Edmonton; their combined goals outside of their top four scorers is 57.
Chiarelli has said on multiple occasions that he does not believe forward depth is an issue with this team; either he is simply providing lip service and lying through his teeth, or he is delusional in believing the Oilers have NHL qualified forwards.
Drake Caggiula was not a perfect player by any means, nor was Jordan Eberle, but both players had the ability to produce offense. Chiarelli continues to remove from a near bare cabinet of wingers and has yet to provide a replacement.
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JESSE PULJUJARVI ON THE BLOCK?
Elliot Friedman is a professional and an insider so when he mentions things in his 31 Thoughts, it pays to take note. He made a couple of comments on Edmonton, the recent trades they had made, but it was his last sentence that is ominous.
"I’m also not convinced the Oilers are finished making moves. There’s a lot at stake. Jesse Puljujarvi’s future is uncertain.”
Chiarelli is in the hot seat, his team cannot score outside of three players and his options for assets to offer to other teams to improve the abomination he has created are running thin. Jesse Puljujarvi, the 4th overall pick from the 2016 draft is likely his best asset.
The idea of giving up on Puljujarvi who has not yet hit his 21st birthday is a ridiculous notion. Despite his lack of production, young Jesse is finally playing with some confidence. He does not look lost in his own end, he is skating with the puck, and (though not often enough) he is driving to the net to make plays.
If the Oilers can get a long term solution up front in return for Jesse Puljujarvi than fine, I am all for it. But Chiarelli doesn't seem to have the foresight and much more likely we are going to see Puljujarvi get traded for one more year of Tyler Toffoli.
4 KEYS TO VICTORY
1) Seth Who? Maybe it's because of how poor the rest of the backend is right now but Caleb Jones is looking like a real NHL player. Last game he played nearly 24 minutes and did not look out of place. It is a very small sample size but when Jones and McDavid are on the ice they have a shared CF% of 65%. McDavid without Jones has 51.11%. I would continue to have Jones on the ice whenever Connor is.
2) A New Year. 2018 did not go so well for Milan Lucic...nor did the latter part of 2017. It is a new year so we are going to wipe the slate clean, Lucic scores tonight.
3) Another Exciting Game. Coyotes and Oilers games have always been notoriously dull affairs. This season Arizona has managed to remain one of the stingiest teams to play against, allowing the 9th fewest goals and spotting the best PK in the league. Edmonton needs to find some way...for literally anyone to score.
4) Don't Go Streaking. Not a key to win...just pointing out again that if Edmonton loses tonight they will be on a seven game losing streak...I don't know many playoff teams that do that.
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FILM OF THE DAY
As I mentioned, Coyote games are boring, but if Edmonton can find a way to get any of it's players going things could still be fun to watch. The bar started out as an absolute mess but when Violet gets on stage she stops a brawl and the patrons start having fun. That is what you will see anyways from this scene from Coyote Ugly.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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