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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Welcome to the Neno's Place!

Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.

Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Many Topics Including The Oldest Dinar Community. Copyright © 2006-2020


    Edmonton Oilers

    jedi17
    jedi17
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    Posts : 10738
    Join date : 2013-02-20
    • Post n°1

    Edmonton Oilers Empty Edmonton Oilers

    Post by jedi17 Sun 05 Feb 2017, 4:01 pm

    G55 Oilers vs Canadiens: Benning and Russell and...Davidson?
    February 5, 2017, 12:13 PM ET [153 Comments]
    Matt Henderson
    Edmonton Oilers Edm Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
    We have a little bit to unpack here so let’s get right to it. After being on the receiving end of an unexpected hit, Matthew Benning has been placed on Injured Reserve. The collision left Benning on the ice for quite some time, bloodied and dazed. I don’t know when he’ll return but the 5 day break is a godsend and hopefully he can recover soon.

    Benning was one of Chiarelli’s best pickups this summer. As a college free agent, my expectations of him were miniscule. I was honestly expecting not to see him until almost this time of year anyway, much the way were are seeing Jordan Oesterle now. All he’s done is walk onto the 3rd pairing in the NHL and look out of place. There are very few nights where he personally struggles with decision making. He moves the puck extremely well for a rookie blueliner. And, he’s a possession positive player. 

    He is number 1 on the Oiler defense in shot attempt percentage at 53.9% and the leader by far in the same metric relative to teammates. The divide between he and the other defenders only gets bigger if we look at unblocked shot attempts. When Benning is on the ice, the Oilers spend more time on the attack and less time in their own end. He’s also the 3rd most productive defender on the team 5v5 and the most offensively minded player on right defense. 

    His loss is going to be felt on that 3rd pairing unless some people really step up. There was mention yesterday that Kris Russell was also dinged up. The language there makes it less likely that he comes out, but at the same time, the Oilers recalled Oesterle and Reinhart. This duo has been effectively the Bakersfield Condors’ top pairing. I have a healthy skepticism about Reinhart and both players are left hand shots, which is a worry when the two hurt Oilers play the right side. 

    The handedness situation really underscores the absence of Fayne among the recalls made by the Oilers. Offensively, Fayne has been significantly more productive in the AHL than Reinhart has. He has loads more NHL experience. And, if we’re being honest with ourselves, he wasn’t playing poorly at all this year. He missed time to an ankle/foot injury and that’s why he was sent down to the AHL this year. I know in a short term situation I would have pulled him up so I can at least have an actual right shot as a replacement, but the fact that he is still in the AHL is telling. 

    Mark Fayne has pissed some people off in the Oiler organization. There’s no doubt about it.

    ***

    Last night on the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, Elliotte Friedman said that the Oilers do not want to lose Davidson for nothing in expansion and that there is a going to be some talk around Davidson’s name. This is something I have mentioned before elsewhere not that long ago. 

    The best player available on the Oilers in expansion is going to be Brandon Davidson. That doesn’t mean the Las Vegas Golden Knights are going to select him, but there are a lot more upsides for Davidson than any other player. He is still young enough to grow as a player. He is already an NHL caliber team. He has done pretty well by the fancies (more last year than this year). He has great character (teams eat that up). And, he’s cheap. Notably, if the Golden Knights select him then they are gaining a real asset. He’s not just some plug who can hold down a spot until they develop better options and IF they want to move him in a year or so he will still have value. 

    I think most people have resigned themselves to the idea that he’ll be taken in expansion. However, if he were NOT available in expansion then there is a significantly higher chance that Las Vegas selects someone like Pouliot or Fayne as part of their necessity to meet Cap requirements, have an actual top 6 forward, and/or have a right handed defender. So without Davidson present, there’s a chance the Oilers might lose a player whose Cap hit they want off the books anyway. 

    Now Vegas might just take Jujhar Khaira and all that hope about losing a contract will be a waste of time, but that’s up to Vegas. All Edmonton can do is take away the temptation of stealing away their best available young defender and hope the rest sorts itself out. Maybe there’s another *wink, wink. nudge, nudge* deal to be made so someone Edmonton desires to lose is taken, but we wont know that until Edmonton trades a 7th rounder for future considerations.

    LINEUP

    Russell is “dinged up”, Benning and Khaira have been placed on IR. Reinhart and Oesterle have been recalled. Word is Russell wont play. Lander in, Hendricks out. 

    Maroon McDavid Draisaitl
    Lucic RNH Eberle
    Pouliot Caggiula Slepyshev
    Lander Letestu Kassian

    Klefbom Larsson
    Sekera Oesterle
    Davidson Gryba

    Talbot
    Brossoit

    OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

    1) Secondary Scoring. The Oilers have scored 3 goals in their last 3 games and against the Hurricanes in was clear that the team only had one line. It was McDavid or it was nothing. For the last couple weeks, even when the team was winning, the possession numbers have not been there. Connor McDavid might be able to score at any given moment (even on shifts where the majority of the time is in the defensive zone), but regular humans tend to score more when their team is attacking more than defending. The Oilers 2nd, 3rd, and 4th lines aren’t scoring and they aren’t creating many chances either. This has to change. The spotlight is on Lucic, Eberle, and Nugent-Hopkins to get something done.

    2) Turning Blue. With what looks like Gryba and Oesterle getting plugged into the blueline, the Oilers will need to change the way they’ve been playing. The first reaction, based on the inexperience of Oesterle and the skillset of Gryba, is going to be to simplify the game. Simple is good. Support from the forwards is going to be a must. The good news is that for the most part, Gryba knows how to play within his limits and Oesterle has shown some promise at the NHL level in the past. I thought he would have been closer to the 7th defenseman spot this year but Benning showed up and reorganized everything. I’m hopeful Oesterle gets a chance to add a much needed puck moving ability to the right side of the defense on that 2nd pairing.

    3) Jeff and The Magic Beans. Once upon a time the Oilers drafted and developed a mobile right handed Knight named Jeff who could play in all situations and lead their army in some key fancy stats. The Wicked King grew jealous that the minstrels wrote songs about Jeff and not about his favorite Knight, Justin. To spite the minstrels, the Wicked King banished Jeff, his best Knight, to a distant kingdom in exchange for magic beans and he laughed at all their liberal tears. The Wicked King choked on those tears and now lives in shame under a bridge with only the beans to console him. Jeff the Knight patrols the kingdom of Montreal and currently leads their Knights in shot attempts, unblocked shot attempts, and even strength scoring. Yes, even more scoring than Sir Shea The Great. The kingdom of Montreal rejoices and thanks the heavens every night that the Wicked King’s jealousy benefitted them so greatly.
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