|
But this game can’t be about revenge or making sure Manning finishes with fewer teeth than he started. That would be fine, but the Oilers are trying to re-establish their game after a bumpy return from the bye-week. It didn’t go great in the first 4 periods back, but from the 2nd period against the Coyotes onwards they were back to looking dangerous.
One of the things I’ve been interested in all season (to my detriment) has been the relationship that Kris Russell has had with the team’s ability to carry play 5v5. It wont be the 1st, nor will it be the last time, that I look into the impact that the player has on the Oilers. It’s because there is an incredibly disproportionate amount of praise being heaped on a player that seemingly causes such terrible things to happen on the ice.
There are some basic, basic truths about the Oilers and when Kris Russell is on ice that the Pro-Russell camp cannot weasel out of. I’ll just lay them out here.
-The Oilers are 14th ranked in CF% as a whole at 50.87%
-When Russell is on the ice that drops to 45.88% which would be the equivalent of 29th place
-When Russell is off the ice the Oilers jump to 52.9% which is the equivalent of 3rd in the NHL
-Russell’s most common Forward linemate is Connor McDavid
-Russell has a Goals For percentage of exactly 50%
-Without McDavid that plummets to 41.9%
-Russell has exactly 0 points with McDavid not on the ice
So, we have a problem with the fact that so long as Kris Russell is not playing, the Oilers control play to a significantly better degree. The argument that Russell faces tough opposition is really negated by the fact that Klefbom and Larsson see similar opposition and that Russell has played a lot of time with McDavid. Edmonton, without Russell, is a top 3 club in terms of puck possession. The swings between what they accomplish with him on and off the ice are massive.
He has been missing time to injury and even during losses the Oilers have outshot opponents 5v5. There is, thankfully, growing talk that Russell is pricing himself out of a job in Edmonton. The results speak for themselves. The Oilers would be best suited letting this current lineup play out a bit longer to see what it can do. All indications are that the team is better – on the ice – without Russell.
LINEUP
Let’s assume it’s the same as it was on Tuesday.
Maroon McDavid Eberle
Lucic Draisaitl Slepyshev
Caggiula RNH Kassian
Hendricks Letestu Pakarinen
Klefbom Larsson
Sekera Benning
Davidson Gryba
Talbot
Brossoit
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Claude, Where’d You Go? Claude Giroux has 12 points 5v5 this year. For reference, that’s one less than Mark Letestu has. His Points per 60 minutes has fallen off the earth to 0.89 P/60. That’s Colton Sceviour/Matt Puempel territory. I don’t know what has happened to the Flyer’s top offensive leader but at even strength he has been a non-factor this year. Especially given the minutes he plays. Edmonton cant forget about him, but they are getting a huge boost by staying out of the box. His points per 60 jumps to the top of the pile on the man-advantage. Neutralize Giroux by playing a smart game.
2) Come On, Looch. Milan Lucic’s struggles were the subject of the last game day blog and have since been recognized more. This season is either a blip on the radar or a canary in the coal mine. I hope to god it’s just a weird season where too much expectation met with a player in a new environment and everything went to hell. The power forward has been invisible for a while and he doesn’t have to be. He needs to be a force and with Brandon Manning skating around chirping the best player on the club there is at least one reason to play angry. Lucic has 2 modes: “Also Present” and “Oh God He’s Going To Kill Me”. Playoffs are on the horizon. It’s time to see more OGHGTKM.
3) Confidence. Whatever it is that McLellan told the team in the 1st intermission against the Yotes worked. They came out, went to the greasy areas, and scored goals. This team desperately needed to score in a big bunch like that. The Power Play and the PK needed to perform. And, yes, it happened against one of the worst teams in the NHL. Now they have a chance to test their confidence out against a better opponent. The Flyers are just outside the Playoff bubble, but they are a -23 goal differential on the season. This is a better team, not a good team. Eberle desperately needs a goal tonight. His hands are dead right now but chances were coming.
Puck drops tonight at 7PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Game On!
Today at 7:52 am by Rocky
» utube 3/28/24 MM&C Iraqi Dinar - IQD Update - SWIFT - Purchasing Power - Urban Renaissance - Releas
Today at 7:51 am by Rocky
» Al-Mandalawi: Iraq is witnessing competition between major companies...and the House of Representati
Today at 7:49 am by Rocky
» The President of the Republic stresses the importance of the role of programmers in developing the w
Today at 7:46 am by Rocky
» The Minister of Industry and Minerals follows up on the technical and production performance of the
Today at 7:45 am by Rocky
» The Minister of Finance is following up on the field the progress of the newly implemented ASYCUDA s
Today at 7:44 am by Rocky
» Statistics: There are more than 15 million bank accounts in Iraq
Today at 7:42 am by Rocky
» Representative: One paragraph hinders the passage of a general amnesty within the House of Represent
Today at 7:37 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Finance: “The draft federal budget law will be devoid of new job grades.”
Today at 7:36 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary action to resolve the fate of “food security contracts” in 15 governorates
Today at 7:35 am by Rocky
» 300 factories turned into "iron scrap" in Diyala
Today at 7:34 am by Rocky
» A deputy expects the dollar exchange rate to reach 140 Iraqi dinars
Today at 7:32 am by Rocky
» Al-Yasiri: The American administration is working hard to destroy the Iraqi economy
Today at 7:31 am by Rocky
» Infographic: The highest annual salaries of leaders of Arab countries
Today at 7:30 am by Rocky
» Communications announces that the electronic signature project has reached advanced stages
Today at 7:29 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Integrity presents a file related to Kuwaiti violations of Iraqi oil
Today at 7:27 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary move to include amendments to Parliament’s internal regulations on the agenda (documen
Today at 7:25 am by Rocky
» The Iraqi President urges the Minister of Finance to expedite the payment of salaries to the Kurdist
Today at 7:23 am by Rocky
» Central Bank of Iraq sales exceeded $251 million at today’s auction
Today at 7:21 am by Rocky
» The Foreign Minister questions the "Iraqi resistance" attacks against Israel: the other side did not
Today at 7:20 am by Rocky
» The Minister of Labor announces progress in the electronic payment system
Today at 7:17 am by Rocky
» Interior Ministry: For the first time, we controlled the smuggling of petroleum derivatives by 98 pe
Today at 7:16 am by Rocky
» International companies offer offers to invest in the Dhi Qar marshes.. What distinguishes them?
Today at 7:15 am by Rocky
» “Tough” comments on interest rates raise the dollar globally
Today at 7:14 am by Rocky
» Iraq is the fifth largest oil supplier to South Korea in a month
Today at 7:12 am by Rocky
» Recovering more than 100 billion as a result of more than 200,000 employees on social welfare
Today at 7:11 am by Rocky
» The Sudanese consultant announces the completion of Baghdad Metro track designs
Today at 7:08 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani stresses ending the problem of triple-shift schools
Today at 7:07 am by Rocky
» Iraq begins building two new tankers to transport petroleum products
Today at 7:06 am by Rocky
» Forming a council for “competition and preventing monopoly”
Today at 7:04 am by Rocky
» Features of an Iraqi-Turkish agreement regarding the status of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party
Today at 7:02 am by Rocky
» {Al-Buzrajiya} between the hammer of fraud and the power of the owners
Today at 7:01 am by Rocky
» Ministry of Oil: The gas sector is witnessing great development
Today at 6:59 am by Rocky
» An agreement with Britain in the field of securities
Today at 6:58 am by Rocky
» Discussions between Baghdad and Ankara to open a new port
Today at 6:57 am by Rocky
» Trade: About 11 million citizens updated their new card information
Today at 6:56 am by Rocky
» Electronic payment is sustainable growth
Today at 6:55 am by Rocky
» Experts: Iraq qualifies to be an important tourist country
Today at 6:54 am by Rocky
» Amending the Health Professions Law “robs” scientists of the central appointment 3 years after it wa
Today at 5:20 am by Rocky
» Is the “blessings package” that Erbil paid to the citizens of Kurdistan related to the elections?
Today at 5:19 am by Rocky
» Exceeded 5,000 projects.. Allocating 10 trillion dinars to support governorate reconstruction plans
Today at 5:18 am by Rocky
» “His need no longer exists.” Parliamentary Finance confirms the necessity of returning the retiremen
Today at 5:17 am by Rocky
» To communicate with the bases... 12 directives from Al-Sadr, including blocking numbers for non-gove
Today at 5:15 am by Rocky
» In an interview with "Baghdad Today"... an Iranian researcher reveals the importance of Haniyeh's vi
Today at 5:14 am by Rocky
» After it was 63 trillion in 2023... the 2024 budget deficit will rise to 80 trillion dinars
Today at 5:13 am by Rocky
» Parliament reveals the date of the first evaluation of the governors and determines the party respon
Today at 5:11 am by Rocky
» The President of the Republic informs Al-Araji and Al-Basri: Momentum must be mobilized to eliminate
Today at 5:10 am by Rocky
» Can the Federal Court sue others? A legal clarification of its response mechanism to abuse
Today at 5:09 am by Rocky
» Despite promises to soon stop burning gas.. What is the secret behind Iraq renewing the Iranian gas
Today at 5:07 am by Rocky
» Advisor to Al-Sudani: The dollar is on the way to further decline, and 70% of Iraqi traders have ent
Today at 5:06 am by Rocky
» Iraq exported more than 99 million barrels of oil last February
Today at 5:04 am by Rocky
» Barzani “gives good news” to Kurdistan employees: salaries, land, and loan exemptions
Today at 5:03 am by Rocky
» Alia Nassif: Nour Zuhair returned to the port of Umm Qasr to make deals.. An influential Shiite forc
Today at 5:02 am by Rocky
» The Prime Minister announces the movement of nearly 500 stalled projects
Today at 5:00 am by Rocky
» A government strategy to enhance investments.. Iraq is on the verge of a new era of economic develop
Today at 4:59 am by Rocky
» Ranging between 20% and 50%.. The Kurdistan government decides to reduce service fees, customs dutie
Today at 4:58 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: The reform approach in the security services is an integral part of reform in other secto
Today at 4:56 am by Rocky
» Everyone in Iraq wants the Sudanese visit to Washington to be successful, even the factions!
Today at 4:55 am by Rocky
» Sources and experts expect the agenda.. in his bag is the Baghdad dollar and the factions’ truce, bu
Today at 4:54 am by Rocky
» The decision to raise gasoline prices arouses the ire of drivers...a reminder of the large demonstra
Today at 4:53 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary services: 3 important hospitals in Baghdad will enter service at the end of the year
Today at 4:52 am by Rocky
» Iraq signs a contract to supply Iranian gas for a period of five years
Today at 4:50 am by Rocky
» Parliament adds a voting paragraph on amending the Penal Code to its agenda
Today at 4:49 am by Rocky
» His political advisor: We are not afraid of Sudanese entering the elections alone
Today at 4:48 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary services explain the reasons for the rise in real estate prices in Baghdad
Today at 4:46 am by Rocky
» Attia, criticizing the government's decisions: "The citizen's feathers will be ruffled without servi
Today at 4:45 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Communications: Zain Iraq and Asiacell did not pay their debts
Today at 4:44 am by Rocky
» The Governor of Karbala announces the imminent establishment of the largest industrial city in the c
Today at 4:43 am by Rocky
» A government determination to end the issue of displaced persons in the middle of this year
Today at 4:42 am by Rocky
» Iraq buys gas from Kurdistan to generate electricity
Today at 4:41 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary signatures to include an amendment to the internal regulations to decide the choice of
Today at 4:40 am by Rocky
» In Basra.. a demonstration against foreign workers in Iraqi companies (video)
Today at 4:38 am by Rocky
» Al-Samarrai: Presidency of Parliament is an entitlement to the constituents, and calling it a “frame
Today at 4:36 am by Rocky
» Electronic food supplies in 6 governorates... covering 11 million Iraqis and “writing off” about 700
Today at 4:34 am by Rocky
» Corruption of the Ministry of Transport.. Representatives express their surprise at the minister’s s
Today at 4:32 am by Rocky
» The biggest supporter of the invasion of Iraq.. The death of former US Senator Joe Lieberman
Today at 4:31 am by Rocky
» Iraq is ranked “late.” A list of the most and least safe Arab countries for women
Today at 4:30 am by Rocky
» The Council of Ministers exempts the Gulf Interconnection Authority from guarantee fees: it is a gov
Yesterday at 7:48 am by Rocky
» The Iraqi government raises the size of the 2024 budget, and Parliament is “surprised”
Yesterday at 7:46 am by Rocky
» Popular Movement: We have many economic options away from American hegemony
Yesterday at 7:42 am by Rocky
» The Oil Parliament stresses the need to transfer part of the revenues to the producing governorates
Yesterday at 7:41 am by Rocky
» It will cover 14 regions in eastern Iraq.. A deputy reveals the “border electricity” project
Yesterday at 7:40 am by Rocky
» Experts Warn Mass Migration Threatens US Food Security
Yesterday at 7:37 am by Bama Diva
» Al-Fateh: America occupies Iraq through agreements
Yesterday at 7:37 am by Rocky
» Anger in Iraq over a "sudden decision"... and a reminder of a "general strike" that paralyzed the co
Yesterday at 7:34 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Committee: Parliament is discussing today a decision that “disturbed” the Iraqis
Yesterday at 7:33 am by Rocky
» Ministry of Electricity: Our production will reach 27 thousand megawatts by May
Yesterday at 7:31 am by Rocky
» Diagnosing the “most important” problems in the oil file between Baghdad and Erbil.. What is the rel
Yesterday at 7:30 am by Rocky
» The Iraqi Fiqh Academy and the Sunni Endowment issue a fatwa to pay Zakat al-Fitr
Yesterday at 7:28 am by Rocky
» The National Bank of Iraq continues its digital transformation by launching its new banking system a
Yesterday at 7:26 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Investment and the Central Bank are discussing the housing initiative
Yesterday at 7:25 am by Rocky
» The Prime Minister announces the restart of 500 suspended projects
Yesterday at 7:23 am by Rocky
» Al-Barti assesses the region's employees: Your salaries are insured and will be paid after resettlem
Yesterday at 7:21 am by Rocky
» Iraqi-American discussions in anticipation of the Sudanese visit
Yesterday at 7:20 am by Rocky
» Iraq and Turkey hold meetings in Ankara to discuss technical issues related to the development road
Yesterday at 7:17 am by Rocky
» A government parliamentary agreement to support budget revenues and governorate allocations for inve
Yesterday at 7:16 am by Rocky
» Oil: The gas sector is witnessing great development
Yesterday at 7:15 am by Rocky
» A Kurdish-French agreement to develop trade and economic relations
Yesterday at 7:13 am by Rocky
» Exchange companies in Mosul demand that they be entered into the currency selling window
Yesterday at 7:12 am by Rocky