Oilers’ patchwork lineup continues to come through in win vs. Jets
It was a semi-meaningless game between Edmonton and Winnipeg, with scads of regulars out of both lineups. But the Oilers have gotten pretty good at playing with a patchwork lineup, and that showed once again in Sunday’s win.
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It was a semi-meaningless game, with scads of regulars out of the two lineups. Which meant that the Edmonton Oilers had a clear advantage over the Winnipeg Jets.
You see, the Oilers have been playing with a patchwork lineup for a few weeks now, and they’re getting pretty good at it, with six wins in their past eight games.
Edmonton took the ice on Sunday, minus injured players Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (illness), Trent Frederic, Jake Walman, and Mattias Ekholm, whose season is possibly over.
Meanwhile, the Jets clinched the Central Division only the day before in Chicago. So, they rested players like Josh Morrissey, Connor Hellebuyck, Adam Lowry, Neal Pionk, and still managed to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy Sunday when the Washington Capitals lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
On the ice at the Canada Life Centre, however, one team looked hungry and the other a tad disinterested, as the Oilers outshot the Jets 39-18 and outscored them 4-1 in a one-sided game that meant absolutely nothing in comparison to the next time they should meet this season.
“Everybody contributed. Everybody played well tonight,” said centre Adam Henrique, who has five points in his last four games. “We played stingy when we had to, and we knew they had the tough schedule — the back to back travel — so we just tried to keep that high tempo.”
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With a combined age of 112 years, the line of Henrique (35) between Corey Perry (39) and Derek Ryan (38) is the oldest collection of forwards to form a line in the National Hockey League this season. Likely, the oldest line in Oilers history.
That they put together two of the team’s four goals in the win is a testimony to how the Oilers have to win these days, with so many key players not even on the trip.
“The good teams just plug guys in and continue to roll. If there’s more asked from guys, the guys always step up,” Henrique said. “Maybe it’s a different role or different position guys are playing, but guys do a great job there as well.
“I thought from Stu (Skinner) on out tonight, it was a full team effort.”
Again, the Jets were disinterested, to be sure.
But with all their injuries, the Oilers’ depth players have put together a substantial run here, with the kind of play they’ll need to get past the Los Angeles Kings in Rd. 1.
“When we get our full lineup, we’re such a deep club. It complements the best two players in the world,” said Connor Brown, who has four goals in his past three games. “The sense of belief in this group is very high. A couple more games here before the dance, so keep our habits up and keep playing well.”
The only concern: defenceman Troy Stecher took a hard hit with 15 minutes left in the third period and did not play another shift.
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So you’re saying there’s a chance…
Edmonton will wake up Monday just two points back of Los Angeles with two games to play — one of them Monday night against the Kings. L.A. has three games left.
So an Oilers win in regulation at home on Monday, and a win at San Jose in game No. 82 on Wednesday, would give Edmonton 103 points. The Kings currently have 101 points and win the tie-breaker over Edmonton.
Should they lose to Edmonton, the Kings would require just two points in any fashion in their final two games — Tuesday in Seattle, Thursday at home to Calgary — to secure second place in the Pacific and host Edmonton in a series we’re hearing will start on Sunday, with Game 2 going on Wednesday.
Skinner returns
Another regular returned to the lineup when Stuart Skinner made his first start in goal since taking a knee to the head nine games ago from Dallas Stars’ Mikko Rantanen.
And he was nearly perfect, allowing only one rebound goal on the 18 shots he faced. The Oilers’ defensive effort was immaculate, the perfect way to break in a guy who hasn’t played since March 26.
“He looked so poised out there,” marvelled Brown. “He just really looked calm, square to everything, wasn’t scrambling at all. He kind of made it look easy.”
Calvin Pickard will almost certainly get the start versus L.A. on Monday, and we’d wager that Skinner starts the season finale in San Jose. If he plays well again, he’ll almost certainly get the nod for Game 1 against the Kings.
“We defended really well in front of him,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “The goal that he led in — absolutely no chance, The rest of the night he kept everything out, so I was very happy with his performance.”
