Goaltending not Edmonton's big issue, it's lack of hitting, desperation and hunger, NHL commentator argues – Edmonton Journal

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Game Day 37: Oilers vs Flames

Update: Today’s line-up as per Jack Michaels of the Oilers:

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Expected lineup vs CGY:

Perlini-McDavid-Yamamoto
Foegele-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi
Benson-McLeod-Turris
Shore-Ryan-Sceviour

Nurse-Bouchard
Keith-Ceci
Russell-Koekkoek

Koskinen

—Kassian not on ice

My take

1. That means Kassian and Tyson Barrie are likely out, with Mike Smith, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins already out. That’s a lot of core players out.

2. This in from former NHL grinder Alan May, now a commentator on the Washington Capitals, speaking to Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now in regards to the Oilers: “”I’m seeing a team that doesn’t play with any physicality. I look last night at the players who got the hits up top, Tyler Benson and I think Devin Shore. You need to have more beef out there. Right now they look smallish. They look like a team that is sweep checking, poke checking, only checking the puck. It’s like they’re playing now to lose and therefore they are losing.

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“I just think you’ve got to add some grit. … I’m not biased against small guys, but small guys to me have to the most noticeable, dominate players on the ice… I just think that those players have to be hungrier, faster, and I just don’t see enough right now out of the supporting cast.”

May had a kinder word for the Oilers goalie situation than you’ll hear in Edmonton, noting that when you don’t have a team playing hard in front of you, that puts immense pressure on the goalie. “If they let in one iffy goal, they’re done. That’s what is happening right now there. It doesn’t matter who is in net. If you got (ace Tampa goalie Andrei) Vasilevskiy, eventually he will lose his confidence.”

There are simply too many two-on-ones and high danger chances against Edmonton, May said.

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“The depth guys have to be more desperate. Right now they look small, they look fragile, they’re not physical, they’re not checking the puck well.”

My take

1. Hmmm. I think May has identified a major issue here but I don’t think he hit the nail on the head, especially with his comment on Edmonton’s goaltending. If Mike Smith this year was the Mike Smith of last year, Edmonton would be winning now.

2. It strikes me — and this is strictly from observation here, not from knowing anything about team dynamics — that Smith is the straw that stirs Edmonton’s drink. When he’s healthy and in the line-up, he dominates the game with his fiery mood, brilliant puckhandling and strong goaltending. The Oilers simply look like a different team when he’s playing, each guy growing a few inches and gaining ten pounds of muscle, each guy ready to hit harder, hustle harder and try to match Smith’s unmatchable intensity. Smith’s presence on the ice — at least if he can bring something close to his “A” game — helps immediately to solve the problem May references, the lack of physicality and forceful play. He can’t get back in the line-up soon enough, but it’s starting to look like his health really isn’t going to allow that this season. Hate to say it, but that’s how I size things.

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3. As for the lack of hard-hitting and intense forwards, especially some with some size, yes, that’s a hole on the team, one of a number of holes, especially with big, tough Zach Hyman out of the line-up right now. When it comes to Oilers forwards who play a hard game, he’s at the top of that list, with Leon Draisaitl, Jesse Puljujarvi and Warren Foegele having their moments, and Tyler Benson, Colton Sceviour and Kailer Yamamoto doing OK for smaller players. But Devin Shore, Brendan Perlini, and Zack Kassian need to bring more. Ryan McLeod needs to mix it up more. Kyle Turris has already played his way out of the line-up in large part through lack of physical play and defensive intensity, but Shore, Kassian, Perlini, Derek Ryan and McLeod have got to bring more fire. If not, they’re on their way out too.

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4. On defence, Duncan Keith has been playing better, but this is not a hard-hitting group. Tyson Barrie and Evan Bouchard aren’t hitters, nor is Slater Koekkoek. Darnell Nurse is, but hitting too much will wear him out. William Lagesson needed to play a more physical game, but failed to do so. Kris Russell brings grit but keeps getting hurt and in too many games isn’t the player he used to be. This group can move the puck OK, but it’s short on Big Bobby Clobbers.

5. The Oilers now rank seventh out of eight teams in the Pacific Division, ahead of only woeful Seattle. But due to Edmonton’s blistering start, the team is still at real .500, 18 wins and 18 losses in all situations. It hasn’t dipped into hopeless territory. It’s still got a chance to sort out this season and at least make the playoffs. It’s hard to imagine how that happens just now, but it’s almost impossible to fathom how a team that was the best in the NHL for the first 21 games has been the worst for the next 15. Who knows where this goes net?

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