Edmonton just had its worst 10 game segment of the season, with four wins and six losses, but in that time there were a number of promising developments, none more so than the post-Olympic play of Trent Frederic.
In the last two games, Frederic skated fast and hit hard. He won numerous board battles and was involved in setting a multitude of Grade A shots.
He’s throwing his weight around. He’s making plays. He’s defending well. He’s looked exactly like a player who it makes sense to have on a long-term contract.
Yes, it’s just a few games, and, yes, it was always a super aggressive bet to sign Frederic to an eight-year deal, but at least now there’s hope that the bet will pay off in the short term, and maybe for the rest of this year.
And while the two games stand out, the fact is that Frederic has played consistently solid hockey in Edmonton’s last 20 games, even as he’s been benched a few times. He’s earned a promotion to the third line and at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if he sticks and does a good job the rest of the season.
Grade A shots 51 to 60
Matt Savoie also played by far the best hockey of his Oilers career in this last 10 game segment, and the same goes for Kasperi Kapanen, not to mention Josh Samanski.
I keep saying Edmonton needs to recall Samanski as soon as possible. He could well play a big role in the playoffs, so the more NHL experience he has, the better.
Meanwhile Vasily Podkolzin has trended up the entire year and was as effective a two-way player this past segment as Zach Hyman, which is saying a lot.
On defence, Ty Emberson has also taken a huge step up these last two segments.
Podkolzin, Samanski, Savoie, Kapanen, Emberson and, now, Frederic. All younger Oilers, all brought in by Stan Bowman, and all bringing some hope they can continue to step up and help lead the Oilers to Stanley Cup success this spring.
Too many 5-alarm shots against
Why was Edmonton so poor this past quarter, with just the four wins. Well, if we set aside goaltending for a moment, the problem starts and ends with team defence. Edmonton gave up way too many of the most dangerous shots against, the 5-alarm shots that go in about 33 per cent of the time.
6th segment
In this most recent 10-game run, the Oilers gave up 8.9 per game, this after giving up just 5.0 per game in the previous 10-game segment.
Their defensive play was characterized by forwards who turned over the puck at the o-zone blueline, forwards who failed to cover for their pinching d-men, forwards who failed to backcheck hard and smart, d-men who lost battles on pinches, d-men who gave away the puck, d-men who failed to cover off the defensive slot, and goalies who let in iffy goals.
It’s a mess right now and needs correcting fast.
Player grades
At the Cult of Hockey
Oilers target top Toronto d-man, just as there’s a glut in d-man market, NHL insider says
Edmonton Oilers bounce back, thump Kings 8-1 in L.A.: Cult of Hockey Player Grades