Depth Scoring and Good Goaltending
3 years ago
The Oilers have now racked up four wins over the Ottawa Senators this season and when you compare the first two to the last two, there is a clear contrast.
In the first set of wins, the Oilers overcame poor goaltending and were largely carried by their dynamic duo. They scored 12 goals and got a total of 14 points from just Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. They also allowed a total of 7 goals on 63 shots. That’s a SV% of around .889. The goaltending wasn’t great but their top-six and powerplay were and it was enough for them to grab all four points that were up for grabs.
In the most recent victories, they didn’t get that same production from the top of their lineup. McDavid and Draisaitl combined for just three points on the Oilers’ six goals. They did get a total of three points from Jujhar Khaira, three goals from defenseman, and an even-strength goal from Tyler Ennis, who has been in and out of the lineup all season.
On top of the depth scoring, they got some great goaltending. Mike Smith stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced in the first game and the only shot that beat him actually came off the stick of Adam Larsson. In night two, they got 38 saves from Mikko Koskinen including 15 in the third period alone. If you look at just the save percentages, those were the two best goaltending performances that the Oilers have gotten all season.
In the last few days, the Oilers got better depth scoring and better goaltending than they did in the first three weeks of the season. Now, they’ll need to keep it rolling as they start to face tougher competition.
Now, don’t take this as me discounting the wins over Ottawa. I’m not. That team is not very good but if you don’t take them seriously, they will steal two points from you. They literally just did it to Montreal last week. In fact, they almost did it twice. The wins count and the Oilers deserve credit for getting all eight points out of their games against the Sens. At the same time, nobody should be saying that there now ready to push for the top spot in the division because they’re won five of their last six.
There’s a middle ground. They deserve credit for some of the good things that they’ve done recently but it’s fair to say that absolutely need to prove that they can continue to do those same things against better competition.
You can look at the good signs that came out of those two wins against Ottawa and feel optimistic about this team. If Khaira-Archibald-Ennis can use this as a launching pad or a confidence boost and continue to be a good source of depth scoring for them, that will be huge for this group.
That trio has now spent 18 minutes on the ice together at 5v5 and in that span, they have outscored the opposition 3-0. Now, they have been outshot and they haven’t won the Corsi battle but their xGF% is still above 50%. Numbers aside, I have noticed more good shifts from them than bad shifts. If they can continue to forecheck hard, force turnovers, and create offense or at least offensive zone faceoffs, they will be a very valuable trio to Dave Tippett.
I’m very excited to see if they can carry over their strong play into Thursday’s game against Montreal.
Jan 20, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Edmonton Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen (19) makes a glove save on a shot from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) in the second period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
As for the goaltending, the number of saves was great but what was even more important was the timing of the saves. Mike Smith made a huge breakaway save when the Oilers were down by one goal on Monday night and had he not made that stop, I’m not sure if the Oilers win that hockey game. I already mentioned that Koskinen stopped 15 shots in the third period on Tuesday night but it’s also worth noting that he allowed a goal 26 seconds into the game and then was rock solid for the remainder of the game and gave the Oilers a chance to get back into that hockey game, before slamming the door shut in the final minutes when the team in front of him had nothing left in the tank.
I’m not sure who Dave Tippett will go with between the pipes tomorrow but I don’t think there’s a bad choice for him to make. Smith was great in his season debut and Koskinen is coming off his best performance of the season. Either choice would be fine by me and hopefully, the return of Smith allows the Oilers goaltending to get back to where it was at the start of 2020.
In the next ten days, the Oilers will play one game against the Habs and then two against each of the Jets and Flames, who they will likely be fighting for a playoff spot with right up until the end of the season.
This is a big stretch of hockey and yes I know they “just beat the Senators” this week, but if they can continue to get good goaltending and they get a few goals from their bottom six, you have to optimistic about their chances to come out of a crucial stretch of games with a winning record.
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