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GDB 61.0: HOME ICE ADVANTAGE – The Home stretch

By Jason Gregor

Feb 23, 2016, 19:05 ESTUpdated:

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The Oilers enter the final quarter of the season desperately needing some wins. Oscar Klefbom has resumed skating, albeit on his own, but he is finally showing some progress. I’ve read some suggest it might be best to just shut him down because the Oilers aren’t making the playoffs, but for me that is a losing mentality.

You can’t create a winning atmosphere with more losses. The Oilers need to finish the season strong and manufacture some victories. They can’t throw in the towel and hope for a better draft position. It is a loser mentality and it must change.

They went 7-12-3 down the stretch last year.
In 2014 they finished 8-11-3.
In the lockout shortened season the final 25% of the year saw them go 3-9-0.
In 2012 they were 8-10-4 and in 2011 they limped home 6-12-4.

The cycle of losing has to stop.

Hoping next year will be better without showing any actual on-ice improvement now is a losing proposition. The majority of these players will be here next year, and no one should expect the arrival of one or two top-four defenceman to magically change the fortunes of the team. Of course those additions would help, but this group needs to realize what it takes to win consistently.

They have to be willing to put in the work necessary to win. They have to eliminate allowing easy goals by committing major gaffes. Mistakes happen every game, that’s what makes hockey exciting, but if these players don’t start cutting down the five-star errors they will never win regardless of who Peter Chiarelli acquires in the summer.

Progress needs to start now, not next season. Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Brandon Davidson, Darnell Nurse, Nail Yakupov, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Klefbom when they return, need to experience winning in the NHL. They need to realize the sacrifice it takes to win regularly, and just because the playoffs are out of reach is not a valid excuse to mail in the season.

This group needs to win, and putting it off until next season will only delay their learning curve. No one should want to start another season with a group that still lacks the knowledge of how to win in the NHL.

You don’t build a winning culture by losing more. If this group wants to win, they need to start now rather than waiting for new recruits to magically improve their team.

LINEUPS…

Jordan Oesterle will play his first game this year (funny enough his first NHL game occurred in the Oilers 61st game of the year last season) alongside Brandon Davidson. Oesterle skates well and is a quick puck mover. He needs to show Todd McLellan and Peter Chiarelli he can defend despite his lack of size, and if he does he could be part of the future.

Oilers lineup courtesy of DailyFaceoff.com

Senators lineup courtesy of DailyFaceoff.com

QUICK HITS…

Peter Chiarelli spoke today and here is what I took from his presser.
A trade involving a “core” forward will occur in the summer. This isn’t a surprise to me, because teams don’t have the cap space to take on a $6 million player now, and the trading pool is shallow at the deadline. More teams will be interested in the summer.
He wants his team to get bigger and heavier, and not just on his fourth line. The Oilers are still too easy to play against and need more players, regardless of size, who are tough to play against.
The final 22 games are a good time to evaluate his players. He has not been impressed with their recent play, and said he was concerned with their energy level and work ethic has waned recently. “It went south in a hurry my first year in Boston and it was very telling on a lot of levels. It (watching the effort level in bad times) is a good evaluation tool,” Chiarelli said.
He was asked about Schultz and Yakupov specifically and he said he wouldn’t discuss individual players, but then followed it up with this, “We have some players who have underachieved. We have some players who made need a new venue, those are the determinations we will make before the trade deadline. If certain players are still around it is because the deal wasn’t right or we felt there is a future for them with us, but then we will also revisit stuff in the summer.”
Regarding trying to acquire that much needed top-two or top-four D-man. “They are hard to find and the cost is quite high and there aren’t many available right now. I think they will be available in the summer though,” Chiarelli said.
And lastly on the perception of trading away a good player or possibly ‘losing the trade on the surface’: “If we feel it is the right deal you can’t be worried about what the other side is getting.”
When Chiarelli inevitably trades one of his forwards or possibly young D-men there will be much debate. It will be enjoyable to see which side people land on, but a GM can’t be controlled by fear that the player you trade away has success. You want to ensure the player or players you acquire will be effective, and if they are then the success of the player sent away won’t be as worrisome.
The Senators are 5-1-1 in their last seven visits to Edmonton, but after the Oilers spanked them 7-2 in Ottawa on February 4th, the Senators mentioned they’ll be motivated to play a much better game after being embarrassed on home ice by the Oilers.
Andrej “The shin pad assassin” Sekera needs to improve getting shots through. Far too often his shots from the point are hitting the high forward. He had four attempts blocked versus Colorado on Saturday and he needs to work on ensuring his shot gets past the high forward. It is happening far too frequently, and it has been an ongoing issue all season.
Klefbom did have surgery on his staph infection in his ankle. They removed some of the infected area a few weeks ago and that finally solved the problem. Expect Klefbom to return to the lineup in early March.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is getting closer to returning, but he still has a brace/cast protecting his hand. He has two of his fingers “casted” so he doesn’t hit them when doing every day activity. His original diagnosis said four to six weeks. Today is five weeks. He is about a week away from returning, so he is right on time.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING…

From HockeyBuzz.com

With time winding down on the season and the Senators trying to climb back into the playoff chase with 3 straight wins, there is no time like the present to head on a Western Canadian road trip where they will face 3 of the bottom 4 teams in the Western Conference.
There will be no excuses if the Senators come home without at least 5 of 6 points, because all 3 of Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary are at least 8 points out of a playoff spot and none are playing particularly well.
Up first is Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall and the Oilers, who embarassed Ottawa at CTC 19 days ago to the tune of 7-2. That was one of the lone bright spots for Edmonton of late, as they are 1-6-1 since that game and come in having lost 3 straight and are tied with Toronto for the fewest points in the NHL.
Edmonton has given up 13 goals in those 3 losses, allowing 5 in back to back losses to Anaheim and Minnesota before holding Colorado to just 3 on Saturday night.

TONIGHT….

GAME DAY PREDICTION: They have to win some games. They end a dreadful home stand with a 4-2 victory.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Sekera has had 14 shots blocked in the last four games. He adds to that gaudy total with another two attempts blocked tonight.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: McDavid picks up three points and now has 20 points in 11 games versus the Eastern conference.