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GDB 77.0: DUCKS’ DEPTH
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Jason Gregor
Apr 2, 2014, 16:17 EDTUpdated:
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The Oilers might likely need a few distractions to keep tonight’s tilt
close. The Ducks will be shooting to win 50 games for the first time in
franchise history, and they will be fired up after their stunning
comeback victory vs. the Jets on Monday. The Ducks trailed 4-0 with 23
minutes remaining, then they managed to tie the game with 23 seconds
left in the third before winning 16 seconds into OT. 
The Ducks won’t take the Oilers lightly this evening.
Last
night’s 5-4 loss was one of the more entertaining games of the season.
The Oilers top line kept them in the game. Taylor Hall, Ryan
Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle were flying as they combined for four
goals and ten points. Part of me understands why Renney, Krueger and
Eakins have split those three up at times, to get balanced scoring, but
considering how well the play together maybe Eakins should just keep
them together all year next year and see what happens.
Hall has 72 points and needs 8 points in the last 6 games to be the first Oiler to score 80 since Doug
Weight had 90 in 2001. Those three were very strong last night,
especially Hall and RNH. The big difference you see between the Sharks
and Ducks compared to the Oilers is their depth.
After David
Perron, the Oilers scoring takes a big dip and the blueline play is
significantly different at this stage. When you watch the Ducks tonight
pay attention to their secondary scoring and how much those players contribute.
The
Ducks have 12 players with 25+ points, while the Oilers have six.
Yakupov would likely have one more point if he was healthy and sit at
25, but you can say the same about Silverberg for the Ducks. The point
is the Ducks produce offence from more than just one line.
Ryan
Getzlaf and Corey Perry have 83 and 75 points respectively, but then it
drops to Nick Bonino’s 47. Their top guys score a lot, but they have solid secondary scoring from both forwards and blueliners.
Player 
GP 
G 
A 
P
+/- 
ESP 
SHP 
PPP 
Ryan Getzlaf
71
31
52
83
27
61
0
22
Corey Perry
75
39
36
75
30
58
0
17
Nick Bonino
70
20
27
47
11
27
0
20
Mathieu Perreault
62
18
22
40
14
31
0
9
Andrew Cogliano
75
21
18
39
16
35
4
0
Cam Fowler
67
6
30
36
15
20
1
15
Kyle Palmieri
64
12
17
29
10
29
0
0
Saku Koivu
60
10
18
28
5
24
4
0
Hampus Lindholm
71
6
21
27
27
24
0
3
Daniel Winnik
70
4
23
27
3
24
3
0
Teemu Selanne
59
9
16
25
6
17
0
8
Patrick Maroon
55
8
17
25
10
21
0
4
And now look at the Oilers’ scoring:
Player 
GP 
G 
A 
P
+/- 
ESP 
SHP 
PPP 
Taylor Hall
69
26
46
72
-16
56
1
15
Jordan Eberle
74
25
34
59
-11
39
1
19
David Perron
72
26
28
54
-14
43
0
11
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
74
18
34
52
-14
33
0
19
Sam Gagner
62
9
25
34
-28
28
0
6
Justin Schultz
68
9
20
29
-19
19
0
10
Nail Yakupov
63
11
13
24
-33
18
0
6
Ryan Smyth
66
10
13
23
-15
16
0
7
Boyd Gordon
70
8
13
21
-13
15
2
4
Mark Arcobello
41
4
14
18
-7
15
0
3
Andrew Ference
71
3
15
18
-18
16
0
2
Jeff Petry
74
6
10
16
-20
14
0
2
The Oilers have 104 PPP points amongst their group while the Ducks have 98, however, the Ducks have 373 ES points compared to the Oilers 312. The Ducks thrive at ES scoring and you see that in the glaring difference in +/-. 
The Ducks lead the league in 5-on-5 goals with 175, but they’ve only allowed 124 (+51) while the Oilers have scored 122 at 5-on-5, but they’ve allowed the most in the league at 170 (-48). The Oilers need more balanced scoring, but mainly they have to improve their defensive play 5-on-5.

PUCK WATCHING…

This is a classic case of what plagues the Oilers. I don’t care which new players they bring in, if their young guys don’t cut down on their puck watching at critical times in the game, it won’t matter which veteran D-men or forwards they trade for.
This Sharks goal was scored by their fourth line, not their first, so it wasn’t a bad matchup. Petry can’t watch the puck into his goalie, because he doesn’t have enough time to react to the rebound. He is in the right position, but he needs to tie up Desjardins’ stick. These types of plays are the responsibility of the individual player. Petry isn’t the only one who suffers from puckwatchitis, but the younger players have to be aware of this virus and try to eliminate it from their games.
The coaches can harp on it all day long, but until the players decide to stop doing it, these types of goals will keep happening.

LINEUP

Hall-RNH-Eberle
Lander-Gagner-Perron
Smyth-Gordon-Hendricks
Pinizzotto-Acton-Larsen
Marincin-Petry
Klefbom-Schultz
Fraser-Belov
Fasth
Tyler Pitlick didn’t step on the ice last night. He was dressed, but not healthy enough to play. The Oilers have recalled Steve Pinizotto on an emergency basis from OKC. Pinizotto was acquired from Florida earlier this season. Pinizotto played 12 games for the Canucks in 2012/2013. He is a crash and bang type of player similar to Hendricks.
You have to keep the top line together and Eakins has to hope they can carry the game for a second straight night. Viktor Fasth will get ample opportunities to shut down his former teammates.

QUICK HITS….

  • I realize there is more to the game than just points, but you need players who can produce if you want to win. Hall has been one of the best point producers in the NHL the past two seasons, and as he rounds out his overall game he’ll become even more dominant. I’m floored by fans who suggest trading Hall would be a good idea. Hall has scored the 8th most points the past two years, and he is tied for 5th in points-per-game.
Rk
Player
GP
G
A
PTS ▾
S
S%
PTS
1
Sidney Crosby
112
51
105
156
375
14
1.39
2
Ryan Getzlaf
115
46
86
132
293
16
1.15
3
Phil Kessel
125
56
73
129
447
13
1.03
4
Alex Ovechkin
120
80
48
128
590
14
1.07
5
Claude Giroux
123
38
88
126
333
11
1.02
6
Martin St. Louis
125
47
78
125
308
15
1
7
Patrick Kane
116
52
72
124
365
14
1.07
8
Taylor Hall
114
42
80
122
388
11
1.07
9
Nicklas Backstrom
124
22
99
121
257
8.6
0.98
10
Chris Kunitz
122
57
62
119
319
18
0.98
11
Jonathan Toews
123
51
65
116
336
15
0.94
12
Joe Thornton
125
18
96
114
196
9.2
0.91
13
John Tavares
107
52
61
113
350
15
1.06
14
Matt Duchene
118
40
73
113
349
12
0.96
15
Corey Perry
119
54
57
111
391
14
0.93
16
Eric Staal
121
36
74
110
357
10
0.91
17
Tyler Seguin
121
49
60
109
416
12
0.9
18
Evgeni Malkin
91
32
73
105
290
11
1.15
19
Thomas Vanek
111
47
58
105
354
13
0.95
20
Anze Kopitar
123
34
71
105
288
12
0.85
21
Joe Pavelski
125
54
51
105
337
16
0.84
22
Blake Wheeler
125
46
59
105
339
14
0.84
23
Jamie Benn
116
42
62
104
361
12
0.9
24
Jakub Voracek
123
43
59
102
338
13
0.83
25
Jaromir Jagr
121
40
59
99
322
12
0.82
26
Andrew Ladd
124
41
57
98
308
13
0.79
27
Patrick Marleau
125
49
48
97
420
12
0.78
28
Derek Stepan
125
33
64
97
291
11
0.78
29
Henrik Zetterberg
91
27
69
96
324
8.3
1.05
30
Jordan Eberle
122
41
55
96
323
13
0.79
31
David Krejci
122
26
70
96
255
10
0.79
32
Jarome Iginla
119
44
50
94
331
13
0.79
33
Mike Ribeiro
122
28
66
94
167
17
0.77
34
Bryan Little
125
29
65
94
246
12
0.75
35
Steven Stamkos
79
52
41
93
264
20
1.18
  • Hall is in pretty good company and as his overall game improves he will only become more dangerous. The biggest improvement I’ve seen in Hall’s game the past month is his back pressure and creating turnovers. If he demands more from himself defensively and challenges his teammates to do the same, the Oilers might eventually win more than they lose.
  • Eberle is 30th in points the past two seasons. He doesn’t dominate games like Hall, but when he’s playing well he is extremely dangerous offensively. Like Hall, his two-way game needs to improve.
  • Frederik Andersen starts for the Ducks. This will be his third straight start. Jonas Hiller hasn’t played since his shaky outing against the Oilers on Friday. It will be interesting to see who the Ducks start in the playoffs.
  • I love how hard and greasy Perron plays, but he needs to cut down on bad penalties. He has to be smarter when he retaliates or tries to get in a cheap shot. I expect he will take a few over the course of a season, just because of how he plays, but he can’t take one every second game.
  • The more I watch Klefbom the more I see him as the steady blueliner this team desperately needs. I’m not saying he’s ready to be a top-pair guy next year, but in a few years I think he’ll be a very reliable defender.

TONIGHT….

800PX-~1
GAME DAY PREDICTION: It is a major stretch to expect the Oilers to win tonight. The first line keeps it close, but Oilers lose 5-3.
OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Mean Gene Principe rattles off four or five beauty puns referencing Fasth.
NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: RNH scores a pair of goals to give the Oilers four 20-goal scorers for the first time since 2006. What isn’t obvious is that RNH scores in his 2nd straight game en route to scoring again on Friday for his first ever three-game goal scoring streak.
RECENTLY BY JASON GREGOR:
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