Good morning, everyone, and a happy Monday to you all. As per tradition, I’ve got a brand new mailbag set to go after taking your questions and sending them to the crew for their takes. This week, we’re discussing the bottom six, Matt Savoie’s season so far, Vasily Podkolzin, and more. If you’ve got a question you’d like to ask, email it to me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com or on Twitter at @jsbmbaggedmilk, and I’ll get to you as soon as I can.

Edmonton had decent production last year compared to other teams. Not sure what else they can do to fix it, they just need to produce more and the past two games they’ve scored three goals, so that is good. I think when Roslovic and Kapanen return it will create some healthy competition and the third line should become more productive. But overall the Oilers offence hasn’t been much of a concern. When you have guys who score as much as McDavid and Draisaitl do, I don’t think the bottom six will ever produce that much.

I think deployment is an interesting part of the conversation. A little bit of the old “chicken or the egg”. Are the Oilers depth players not scoring because they aren’t getting opportunities? Or are they not getting opportunities because they aren’t playing well? The answer is probably somewhere in the middle, but I would be interested in seeing if Jack Roslovic could be a spark to the 3rd line once he’s healthy.

You’re right, it’s been a long-standing issue that really was only fixed for one year — the 2022-23 season, where the Oilers’ bottom-six outscored the opposition 74-60. That year, the Oilers did a great job of suppressing opposing offence, while chipping in a fair amount of their own. I think it’s largely a personnel issue, with guys like Warren Foegele, Klim Kostin, Ryan McLeod and Mattias Janmark having strong.

Some bottom-six production would be lovely for the Oilers. It’s been inconsistent for sure over the past five years. In 22/23 under Jay Woodcraft, every forward who played regular minutes managed to score 10 or more goals that season, other than Jesse Puljujarvi, who was traded in February 2023. I think it comes down to deployment. The Oilers seemingly have more trust in their top-six forwards to produce, hence why they play so many minutes. In the same breath, I feel the bottom six is more utilized to help maintain leads rather than produce.

The bottom six’s ability to score has been an issue for so long that I don’t even remember when it started. The good news, though, is that the Oilers have gotten goals in their last two games from the third and fourth lines. Maybe that’s the start of something?

He is consistent. He’s solid in all three zones. He works a lot on his shot in practice, shooting from different areas. If he can be a 15-18 goal scorer and remain solid defensively, that would be good production.

I’ve seen some progression. He looks more confident with the puck on his stick. I would still like to see him shoot the puck more, his 5v5 SF/60 is down this year compared to last, but I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from him this season.

He’s looked as good as he did last year and has become a top-six staple alongside Leon Draisaitl. His play away from the puck has remained solid, but there’s been some more offence coming his way. Some of that is puck luck, with him shooting 11.9 percent, but the work he put in this offseason has him more confident with the puck.

Vasily Podkolzin has been a treat to watch this season. His work ethic is undeniable, he doesn’t stop working. While the offense isn’t quite there with him yet, he makes up for it with sound defensive work, disrupting opponents transition game and always using his stick effectively to battle for the puck. His physical presence doesn’t go unnoticed as he leads the Oilers with 86 hits. I’d say we’ve seen progress, he looks more confident this season for sure.

I think he’s scoring more skillful goals this year than last year. Right now, Podz is on pace for a 15-goal season, which would be his best since his rookie year. I think there’s more there, and even if we don’t get it from him this season, he’s still 24 years old with plenty of room left to grow.

Good question. He is starting to score more lately as he gets more comfortable and learns how to produce in the league. I think he could be a 20 goal, 50 point player. He doesn’t get a lot of PP time, so it will be difficult to put up more points. I think down the road, he could be a 70-point guy when he gets more consistent PP time.

I think he will finish with 18 goals and maybe 25 assists. Considering the bulk of that will come at 5v5, that is a very impressive rookie season. If he can get to 20-goals, then this season should be considered a smashing success.

His 82-game pace right now: 17 goals, 11 assists, 28 points. He’s got three goals in the last two games in the top-six — a pace he won’t keep up all year — but if he can score 20 goals and 40 points, that would be a huge win for the team.

Matt Savoie is looking like a player who now has a better understanding of the NHL’s speed. He currently has 10 points but it looks like he’s found his offensive footing. To be safe, I’ll say he reaches 41 points.

He’s on pace for 17 goals, but I still think he pushes for 20. I’ll be thrilled if he gets anywhere near 35 points.

When you have positive momentum it helps, and teams can ride it for weeks, even longer, but winning is the most important aspect of making playoffs and if you are playing well and not winning, it is rare you maintain momentum long. I’d take wins over momentum, if I had to pick, but usually they are intertwined.

I think it does. You want to give a consistent effort night in and night out and even if there are games, like the ones against Minnesota and Tampa Bay recently, where you play well but don’t get the result, you can at least view those as building blocks.

I think it’s largely a confidence thing. This seven-game stretch dating back to the 2-1 OT loss to the Lightning has seen them play some of their best hockey of the season. Now that the offence is coming, we could see them go on a run.

Momentum for sure can play a factor especially during a home stand. I think momentum carries over when the team feels confident in their play. However, overconfidence can create complacency and that can catch teams off guard. There will be nights where they play fantastic but the win escapes them, what matters is how they respond in the next game and who the next opponent will be.

Confidence = Execution. The Oilers had to work to get some of their mojo back, but now that it appears to be returning, we’re seeing much better results on the ice. Look good, feel good, ya know?

I’d take him because of his overall skills, but I wouldn’t pick him solely to counter about the Tkachuks. The IIHF rules will limit fighting and overall physical play, so I don’t expect the Tkachuks to be much of a physical concern.

No. They should only pick him if they think he’s one of the 12 forwards that gives them the best chance at winning a gold medal. Do not just pick a player because you’re worried about the Tkachuks being mean to you.

What allowed the Tkachucks to be “cute” during the 4-Nations Faceoff was that the tournament was played under NHL rules. Fighting isn’t allowed under IIHF rules, and as we all know, the physical side of the game is less liberal, too. I don’t see much of those kinds of antics coming.

Tom Wilson can bring the offense, he also brings a bit of bite as we’ve seen. Team Canada will have a plethora of offense and I don’t think it would hurt them to bring in Wilson, someone who can wear down opponents and get inside the heads of players, like the Tkachuks.

Meh. At the end of the day, Canada won gold at 4 Nations. Let them run around. It won’t matter. That is, of course, assuming NHLers go to the Olympics in the first place.

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