GDB 8.0: Can Draisaitl kickstart the offence? (5pm MST, SN1)

Photo credit:Walter Tychnowicz-USA TODAY Sports

6 years ago

To say the Edmonton Oilers offence is struggling would be an understatement. They have scored a paltry 14 goals in seven games. Only the Montreal Canadiens are worse, with 13 goals in eight games.

Leon Draisaitl returns to the lineup after missing four games with a concussion. Draisaitl had 77 points last year and has three in three games this season. The Oilers are hoping his appearance in the lineup, and to a lesser extent Drake Caggiula’s return after missing five games, will ignite an offensive group that can’t score.

The Oilers lead the NHL in shots per game at 38.9, but they only have 14 goals. They are shooting from the outside and when the are in tight, they can’t finish. Draisaitl is one of the few Oilers who can score from 15+ feet away from the net, as he did versus Winnipeg, and they desperately need him to spark a dormant offence.

Draisaitl is without question the Oilers second-best offensive player. He has smarts, size, speed and is one of the best passers in the NHL, and arguably the best on his backhand. He and Connor McDavid are one of the most dangerous duos in the NHL, and were the most productive last season.

Yet, head coach Todd McLellan has elected to play Draisaitl at centre tonight between Caggiula and Mark Letestu. It is an interesting trio. Draisaitl played a total of 70 5×5 minutes with Caggiula last year and 34 with Letestu. Letestu is usually a centre, but they moved him to the wing and will play Jujhar Khaira on the fourth line.

If it was up to me, I would have put Draisaitl with McDavid in hopes of getting McDavid back to last year’s level. McDavid does have eight points in seven games, but outside of opening night versus Calgary, it has been a quiet eight points. He hasn’t scored since opening night and the “Holy sheet, did you see that?!” plays from #97 have been infrequent (for him).

He and Draisaitl work incredibly well together, and while many believe the Oilers need to get scoring depth, I’d rather get one dominant line going first, pick up some wins and then split them up. Ultimately, it will benefit the Oilers to have McDavid and Draisaitl as their top-two centres, but it doesn’t have to happen on October 24th, when the team is 2-5.

Maybe McLellan wants to ease Draisaitl in and see how he looks before moving him up with McDavid, but at the very least we should see them reunited on the first unit powerplay. The PP has shown signs of life lately, but it still isn’t running as smoothly or looking as dangerous as it did last year. Draisaitl’s return should help. He tied McDavid for the team lead in powerplay points last season with 27, including ten goals.

Regardless of where he plays, Draisaitl should help the Oilers and his return couldn’t come at a better time. They have scored two goals or fewer in five of their seven games. They’ve yet to score more than three in a game.

The good news for Edmonton is that as bad as their offence has been, the Penguins defence has been equally unproductive. The Penguins have allowed a league-high 39 goals in nine games. Even if you eliminate the ugly 10-1 loss to Chicago, they’ve still surrendered 29 goals in their other eight games for an ugly 3.625 goals against average.

Antti Niemi struggled in his three starts, and was put on waivers yesterday and claimed by Florida. Niemi has been brutal for a few years and while his .797sv% and 7.49 GAA are horrific, they aren’t a complete shock.

However, two-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Murray’s struggles are a surprise. He has a .896sv% and 3.35 GAA in six starts. It won’t be easy, but the Oilers must get to him early. Don’t take too many easy, long shots and give him some confidence. Take the puck to the net and force him to make the difficult save.

LINEUP

Oilers

Maroon-McDavid-Yamamoto
Lucic-Nuge-Strome
Caggiula-Draisaitl-Letestu
Pakarinen-Khaira-Kassian

Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Russell
Auvitu-Benning

Talbot

Jujhar Khaira returns to the lineup as well, and he needs to play with some desperation. Brad Malone comes out and could be reassigned to Bakersfield to make room for Draisaitl and Caggiula on the roster. It isn’t fair to Malone. He has played better than others who are still here, but he doesn’t require waivers, so he gets the short straw. This is Khaira’s opportunity to get noticed, and if he doesn’t I suspect he’ll find himself back in the press box on Thursday versus Dallas.

Jussi Jokinen has had a tough start. A night in the press box might help him. At the very least it will get his attention. Anton Slepyshev missed training camp and all preseason, and while he’s shown well in spurts, he hasn’t looked as effective as last year. It is difficult to play catch up in the NHL. Not training for a month, right before the season begins, is the worst case scenario for most players and Slepyshev hasn’t looked comfortable yet. He also doesn’t require waivers and could get sent down, but I suspect it will be Malone.

I like putting Nurse and Russell back together. They have looked better as a duo than Russell-Benning thus far.

Pens

Guentzel-Crosby-Sheary
Rust-Malkin-Kessel
Hagelin-Sheahan-Hornqvist
Kuhnhackl-McKegg-Reaves

Dumoulin-Letang
Maatta-Schultz
Cole-Ruhwedel

Murray

Crosby and Malkin lead the Penguins with ten points each. The Pens top lines and top defence pairs have been getting crushed at EV strength early this year. Letang is -9, Dumoulin -8, Crosby and Guentzel are -6, while Malkin and Sheary are -5. It is early and those numbers will change, but those lines have struggled against Tampa Bay and Chicago.

Lineups (subject to change) are courtesy of DailyFaceoff.com

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

From the Pens Blog:

Call me a homer, tell me I have my Eastern Conference glasses on, tell me all about the points total last season, tell me what you wish. The truth is we have too many sources being labeled as fake news today, and the hockey world doesn’t need to be one of them, so once and for all, Sidney Crosby is still the king of this league.
Yes, McDavid is very, very good. But Crosby is also very, very good and 10 years older. He’s been dominating the league for a decade, and just because there are new toys to choose from doesn’t mean the old ones are no longer good. There will be a time when this league is McDavid’s league, there is no doubt about it, but there is a guy in Pittsburgh that just took his team to back-to-back championships that isn’t ready to pass the torch just yet.

TONIGHT…

Photoshop: @TomKostiuk

GAME DAY PREDICTION: The Oilers score four goals for the first time this season and pull off an upset in Pittsburgh with a 4-3 victory.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: The pre- and mid-game TV broadcast will have numerous statistic boards outlining McDavid versus Crosby. It is rare the two undisputed best players in the game go head-to-head, so it will be a hot topic all game.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Caggiula scores his first goal against Pittsburgh in his first game against the Penguins.