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 Oilers’ goaltending rotation, NHL stars getting younger, Andrew Mangiapane trade returns, 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.

It illustrates a larger problem: not being able to play consistently for more than a few games. The main issue is that it will eliminate any chance of winning the division. I keep hearing people claim they win two of three, so that is good enough. That is complete and utter BS, since Edmonton has only won 25 of 52 games played, not even 50%. Edmonton is four points back of Vegas, but Vegas has two games in hand. If the Oilers can’t go on a winning streak of at least five games, and probably a few 3+ game winning streaks down the stretch, their odds of catching Vegas are the same as me sprouting a full head of hair.

It’s not a massive problem, but it’s a concerning sign. The fact that they can seem to keep their level of play at a high level for more than just two games isn’t good. Pretty much every time they’ve had a chance to extend a streak to three games, they play incredibly flat. It’s probably a comment on their depth not being able to win them games. Having your stars carry the mail can only work for so many games.

They start games sluggish and then can’t gain the lead. It’s obvious when the Oilers are going to have a bad game from the start, and it always seems to be that third win game.

It’s a concern, for sure. As Gregor noted above, it highlights the lack of consistency this team has played with right from the get-go this season. They’ve had stretches, in a larger sample of games, where they’ve strung wins together, but I don’t like the fact they can’t put three together.

It’s definitely annoying, but I don’t know how big a problem it is if they can win two of three more often than not. That said, still very frustrating.

It should be a rotation until Jarry proves he’s worthy of being the clear starter. Right now, Ingram has played better, so at the very least, he should play 50% of the games.

If the way they’ve handled things this past week is a true indication of how they feel, then I think it’s fair to say that they want Tristan Jarry to be their starter. They gave him two straight starts during the week and then were quick to pull Ingram against Washington. I think they are prioritizing getting Jarry into a groove.

Tristan Jarry will play as the starter until he makes mistakes to push him out of the spot. He was brought in to be the starter, so he will be the starter.

Hockey Reference has two stats I’ve started to look at lots this year: quality starts and really bad starts. Quality starts are when a goalie has a start with a save percentage above league average, and a really bad start is when they have a save percentage of .850 or less.

Ingram has eight quality starts and two really bad starts in 10 games. He also has a .909 save percentage and a 2.40 goals against average. Jarry has two quality starts and one really bad start in eight games. He has a .880 save percentage and a 3.12 goals against average.

The numbers are in Ingram’s favour right now, and the Oilers should be riding him as the hot hand.

I think Jarry has the job until he loses it. As for the splits, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jarry plays two games and Ingram plays one, and the cycle repeats itself.

There have been no takers thus far, so don’t expect much. Edmonton might have to toss in something to make it work.

The best case scenario is that someone just agrees to take him. Maybe you get a late-round pick but the goal for the Oilers should be to get some financial flexibility for the deadline and to have his contract off the books for next season.

The Oilers might need to take a contract back or get a late-round pick. With that being said, look out for the Columbus Blue Jackets. They’ve got a couple of centres that could be of interest.

Come on down, future considerations.

I’m guessing it would be a similar unwanted contract coming back. I can’t imagine anyone is going to give the Oilers a free pass on that cap space by sending over a draft pick or something.

I’ve said for weeks it should. I know for a fact the plan was to play Point on McDavid’s RW, so if Point can’t go no other player has more experience playing RW with McDavid than Hyman. Management might not care about that, and if Hyman doesn’t go, it benefits the Oilers as he gets to rest, but as a pure RW for McDavid, Hyman gives you the best option to have instant chemistry with McDavid in Milan.

I think he should absolutely be in the conversation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they went with a guy like Seth Jarvis over him considering he made the 4Nations team. On merit, it should be Hyman and the added bonus of him being able to work well with Connor McDavid should have made him a lock in the first place. I guess I’m just hesitant because they’ve overlooked him twice now and I wouldn’t be surprised if they did it again.

The fact that he wasn’t on the team initially is criminal, but I’ll choose to believe his recent form hasn’t gone unnoticed. I do think it’s between him and Sam Bennett for that injury replacement spot.

Hyman should’ve been there in the first place, but his case is strong. He is one of five players in the NHL this season with a goals per game rate above .59 and a point per game rate above .97, joining Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Brad Marchand and Mark Stone. His output has been tremendous.

He should have been named from the jump. The guy plays so well with Connor McDavid that you think it would be a layup to include that proven chemistry on the team for a short tournament. To be fair, I’m incredibly biased… he still should have been on the team though.

The NHL has always had a few special young players make immediate impacts going back decades. Brian Leetch had 23 goals and 73 points as a rookie D-man in 1989, in 68 games. Phil Housley had 19 goals and 66 points as an 18-year old D-man in 1983. Sidney Crosby had 120 points in his second season in 2007, not to mention Gretzky, Lemieux, McDavid, Ovechkin and many others who scored 100+ points in their first and/or second seasons.

Today’s NHL is less physical and more freewheeling, allowing skill to shine a bit more, but the league has always had special players shine in their first or second seasons.

I think it’s both. Teams are fine with having young players develop on the fly and living with some mistakes. Also, kids these days have all had skills coaches since they were 10-years-old and they have been playing hockey year round their whole lives. That probably has an effect.

It’s more of a skilled league, and there’s no denying that. That has opened up the ice more for these young players to come through and flourish.

There’s always been great young players in the league, but as the NHL has developed, so too has the raw talent of younger players. This might be something I dig into a little bit more.

I think having the NHL get rid of the clutching and grabbing that used to happen in the 90s really paved the way for more skill to be mixed into the lineups. You don’t have spots taken up by guys who can’t skate and were only there to fight, which opens the door for more guys to get a chance… I think.

Take $20 off your first Vivid Seats order of $200+ using promo code OILERSNATION (new customers only, $200 USD minimum before taxes & fees).