GDB Game Notes: Edmonton Oilers @ Los Angeles Kings

With the NHL’s trade deadline around the corner, the Oilers will travel to Los Angeles to kick off a three-game road trip through the Pacific Division.

1. No matter what Ken Holland does before tomorrow’s deadline, the biggest and most significant addition the team will make will be @Connor McDavid returning from injury. After sitting out for Friday’s loss to the Minnesota Wild, it seems McDavid will be ready to go tonight against the Kings. It’ll be a huge boost for the team as they push through the final quarter of the season.

2. The Oilers fared admirably with their captain out of the lineup. They went 3-2-1 over the two-week span, picking up impressive back-to-back wins in Florida and Carolina and earning an overtime point against the top team in the league, the Bruins. As well as the team had done without McDavid, getting him back will obviously be a game-changer down the stretch. Having @Leon Draisaitl, @Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and @Kailer Yamamoto to carry the team for any longer is a hefty task.

3. Circling back to Holland, it’ll be interesting to see how the general manager approaches the deadline for the Oilers. The team undoubtedly has proved they deserve an investment from the GM, but how big Holland will go is totally up in the air. We know that his top prerogative is the long-term health of the organization, but Holland sitting on his hands after how well the team has played through the first three-quarters of the season would be difficult to justify.

4. Right now, it seems Edmonton’s three biggest needs are a scoring winger to play alongside McDavid, a third-line centre, and some veteran depth on the blueline. The scoring winger for McDavid is the one we’ve been hearing about most recently because it’s probably the most obvious and glaring need. The name being thrown around out there is local product @Tyler Ennis, a speedy, tenacious, and skilled winger who has enjoyed a solid season on a terrible @Ottawa Senators team.

5. Ennis would represent Holland taking the more conservative route at the deadline. He’s far from a big splash, so he wouldn’t cost much to acquire, but he would still provide a decent upgrade to the winger depth on the team. Ennis has 33 points this season, which would rank fourth among Oilers forwards, behind only Draisaitl, McDavid, and Nugent-Hopkins. He’s also produced at that level playing on a bad Sens team, so you could expect Ennis to get a bump in production playing alongside McDavid.

6. Ennis also produced at a decent clip last year while playing up and down the lineup for the Maple Leafs. He spent the majority of his time on an offensively-capable fourth-line but could move up the lineup to play with the big guns in a pinch. Though he isn’t a star player in his own right, I would rather see Ennis playing with McDavid than just about anybody in Edmonton’s bottom-six right now.

7. If Holland does go big, don’t expect it to be for a rental. I did a deep dive into Holland’s deadline moves as general manager of the Red Wings and only once in the salary cap era did he deal the team’s first-round pick and it was for defenceman Kyle Quincey who became a restricted free agent at the end of the season. If Holland were to pony up Edmonton’s first-rounder, expect somebody under control coming back.

8. This week’s swing through California will be massive for the Oilers. They have two winnable games against bottom-feeders in Los Angeles and Anaheim and then they play the current Pacific Division leaders in Vegas. Obviously, no wins are easy in this league, but the Oilers are set up nicely with seven of their final 21 games coming against basement teams (Anaheim, L.A., San Jose, and Ottawa). You have to capitalize on these teams while you can to make life easier for yourself.

9. Courtesy of Gregor, here is the Oilers’ scoring last year compared to this season, though61 games, as well as the Kings’ scoring.

10. Gregor added, the Oilers offence should get a big boost with the return of Connor McDavid. He practiced on the top unit PP yesterday and the Oilers re-assigned Colby Cave and Evan Bouchard to the minors. Edmonton currently only has 17 skaters on the active roster, so all the arrows point to McDavid returning. The Kings are not an easy out for the Oilers. Their last three visits to LA have resulted in losses, and none were close with LA winning 5-1, 4-0 and 5-2. Edmonton needs to match their competitiveness tonight and if they do, their skill should be the difference.

The boys are in the mix and we’re looking ahead to April. Please, Hockey Gords, make it so. Competitive games in February! Exclusively at NationGear.ca.