Game Day 25: Oilers vs Stars
This in from Edmonton Oilers ace Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, his take on the how the Oilers can turnaround their season: “I think the farther along we go here, the more it sets in that we’re a defensive team first and that’s how we’re going to win games.”
My take
1. Not every Oilers fan will agree with RNH. And it’s evident from the way they play hockey that still not every Edmonton Oilers play grasps this, from the d-men who pinch when the odds are poor, to the forwards who backcheck to slowly, from the d-men who run around in their own zone to the forwards who fail to cover the points, from all the Oilers who fail to cover dangerous attackers in the defensive slot, to the goalies who fail to make enough saves on saveable shots.
24 games
2. I’ve been pounding on this same message for years now. Why? It’s evident that in the McDavid/Draisaitl era the Oilers are generally able to conjure up tough goals under extreme pressure, that few other teams, if any, are more able to score a goal when a goal is needed. But what’s also evident is that Edmonton can’t always out-score its own defensive blunders and that this is especially so in the biggest games when it’s crucial to prevent the next goal against.
3. This year has been a mess on defence. The play of the two goalies Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard hasn’t helped, but Edmonton is giving up 14.2 Grade A shots against this year as opposed to 12 Grade A shots against last year, and 11.6 Grade A shots against in Kris Knoblauch’s first season. If the team wants to help out its goalies, a good place to start is by focusing harder on defence.
Knolauch says he has the same systems as the two years before, when the Oilers were so much better.
The difference this year has been the execution of the players, that and the coach staffing’s inability to get players to bring their ‘A’ games both on defence and on the attack.
4. The primary culprits on the team? When it comes to making major mistakes on Grade A shots against, Connor McDavid has leaked 1.56 per 15 minutes at even strength, Leon Draisaitl 1.28 per 15, the most of any centres. Trent Frederic has leaked 1.41 per 15, the most of any winger. Jake Walman has leaked 2.42 per 15, Evan Bouchard 2.16 per 15, and Darnell Nurse 2.14 per 15.
In other words, some of team’s very best players are at the heart of its defensive issues this year. Now, some of the issue that these players also face the toughest quality of competition. That make their jobs more difficult. But it’s also the case they’re giving up more Grade A shots than a year ago. They haven’t been as focused, disciplined or fierce on defence.
RNH has never been better on defence, so he’s in a good position to speak out here. He needs the other elite players on the team to follow his lead.
5. When it comes to making major mistakes on goals at even strength, Frederic leads all forwards with nine such mistake and Darnell Nurse leads all d-men with 20.
6. Bottom line: If the leaking don’t stop, the Oilers won’t be top.
P.S. Oilers line-up for tonight
Savoie-McDavid-Roslovic
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Mangiapane
Frederic-Henrique-Hyman
Clattenburg-Tomasek-Janmark
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Regula
Kulak-Emberson
Skinner
Pickard
At the Cult of Hockey
STAPLES: ‘Gonna be a menace’: Nasty rookie brings new grit but can he stick with Oilers?