The Edmonton Oilers do their best B.T.O., Looking Out For Number One: 9 Things

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Good morning, Oilers fans.

You’re waking up this Sunday tied with the Leafs for points atop the Canadian division, after sweeping a series with the highly entertaining Winnipeg Jets.

The victory also leaves the Oilers 7 points up on 5^th place Vancouver, Edmonton with a game in hand on the Canucks.

Lots to chat about in this week’s edition of…

9 Things

9. Darnell Nurse continues to push for a 2021 Norris nomination. Nurse is +21 which is 2^nd among NHL D-men. He is 1^st in Defensive Point Shares (2.9), and 10-15-25 for 6^th among NHL D-men. Nurse is also 4^th in the league in Time-On-Ice at 25:34. Finally, he is the fastest Oilers D to 10G since Sheldon Souray in 2009.

8. The biggest change in Connor McDavid’s game this season? He’s shooting more. McDavid is 2^nd in the NHL in shots on net with 131. In fact, he is shooting more now than at any point in his career. So far in 2021 he’s at 4.0/game. McDavid was 3.31 last year. 3.08 in 2018-19. 3.34 in 2017-18. Connor has 60 points in 34 games, on a 99-point pace. Phenomenal.

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7. If there’s one thing I hope sticks, post-COVID, it is the frequency with which the Canadian teams play one another. Due to time zones I expect the league to go back to the traditional divisions and I get the logic behind that. But who wouldn’t sooner see the Oilers play the Jets, Leafs, Flames and Habs one or two more times than Arizona, Buffalo or bleedin’ New Jersey?

6. Tyler Benson is having an excellent AHL season (5-14-19 in 14 GP). He’s 2^nd in AHL scoring. Problem is, where does the prospect project into the Oilers lineup? Benson is a Top-6 type of player. His vision and passing ability are at that level. However his foot speed isn’t. And if Benson can’t crack the Top-6, his defence isn’t enough to handle Bottom-6 duties. That narrows the scope of his NHL future. We’ll see.

5. Jesse Puljujarvi’s ascension to the Top-6 and his 8 goals this season are a big step forward for the young man. But it is his over-all game that is more impressive. I thought Puljujarvi arrived in the NHL with a relatively high defensive hockey IQ. So, Jesse’s steadiness there doesn’t surprise me. But not all big players are willing to “play big”. And relatively few have the potential to match Puljujarvi’s combined speed, skill and physicality. Boy, was he good Saturday, in all 3 of those areas. Arrows up.

4. Leon Draisaitl should be a Top-3 vote getter for this year’s Selke Trophy. After Saturday’s action, Draisaitl was +23, which is 1^st among all NHL forwards. He’s 2^nd in the league in take-aways with 30. And Draisaitl is 4^th in FO% among all NHL Centers who have taken at least 500 draws (only Bergeron, O’Reilly and Staal are better) at 57.4%. He averages :34 per game SH. And while the Selke isn’t a point-driven award, when you are this good defensively AND 2^nd in league scoring it says something powerful and meaningful.

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3. Play by play announcers across the NHL have developed the habit of telling stories and reciting stats when top-tier players are attacking the net. Foreground content is important but not paramount. We saw and heard this again Saturday night with McDavid swooping in on goal in the 1^st Period. In those situations, call the damn game. Chris Cuthbert remains among the best TV guys in this respect. On Radio, the Oilers Jack Michaels also has a strong sense of impending moments. Evidence his terrific call on Mike Smith’s 2^nd Period save Saturday. Related but not, I wish TV Directors would stop 1) Only cutting back to the play after face-offs (possession is kind of important), and 2) Cutting to players on the bench while then puck is in an attacking zone.

2. I have a few other complaints: Connor McDavid wins the damn game on Thursday night but some instead focus on a give-away late that had no bearing on the outcome. Leon Draisaitl is 2^nd in league scoring, won the Art Ross last year yet we bitch about the odd errant back-hand pass. Tyson Barrie produces points at a rate we haven’t seen consistently from an Oilers D in 3 decades, yet we’re worried he’ll get too big of a raise as a result. When exactly did the Fun Police take over? When did we stop being fans and start sending in resumes for NHL General Manager jobs? What has happened to just be having joy in watching a game? We’ve lost something along the way, and in my opinion not for the better. Hopefully on this Sunday morning most fans have found a way to be positive. There’s a lot to be happy about…if we choose to be.

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1. It was good to see Jujhar Khaira back on the ice Saturday. NHL Department of Player Safety took a second look at the hit Khaira had doled out on Oliver Kylington on Monday night. This was prior to his fight with the Flames Brett Ritchie. In the end, they decided that no further discipline was required. I thought that the official missed the call on Khaira. When you re-watch the video carefully its abundantly clear that Khaira did “everything right”: He glided into the player, didn’t leave his feet, tucked his shoulder and kept his elbow down. The fact that Kylington got his bell run on the play was accidental. But…there was clearly contact to the head and the rules are clear. There should have been a penalty, maybe a major.

But has anyone considered the irony that Player Safety didn’t have a second take on the Brett Ritchie punch that apparently knocked Khaira out cold? Look, I’m no shrinking violet. In fact, I’m actually a proponent of keeping fighting in the game. I think it’s helps the players police the game when the officials fail to…like this example, as a matter of fact.

Khaira faced a possible suspension for putting another player’s health at risk. And you know what? That’s fair enough. Yet the guy that punched Khaira’s lights out “on purpose” didn’t face the same disciplinary process? Also, no instigator call, or a subsequent misconduct for the the predatory nature with which Brett Ritchie sought out the scrap?

Does the NHL really protect the safety of their players? Or don’t they?

Find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins

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