Edmonton Oilers
Most Important Of Scribe’s 20 Questions Facing the Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have several questions that need answering. What are the most critical of the 20 poised by one scribe?
Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic took a look at 20 questions facing the Edmonton Oilers after a 5-2 win on Tuesday over the Ottawa Senators. Off to a better start than last season, the Oilers have still struggled to find consistency and look anywhere close to as effective as the team that went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Not scoring as much as they’d like, inexplicably low shooting percentages for some of the team’s better scorers, and a brutal penalty kill that seems to be finding a bit of a rhythm are just a few of the issues that have to worry management.
Of the 20 questions listed by Nugent-Bowman, here are the three I believe to be the most important:
What To Do With Jeff Skinner?
The scoring for the Oilers is slowly starting to improve and players like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman — both listed in Nugent-Bowman’s list — will come around. However, Jeff Skinner‘s situation is another story. He’s getting shots, but he’s seemingly in the doghouse with head coach Kris Knoblauch. For every game that Knoblauch puts Skinner in a position to succeed and get going, he sends him back down to the fourth line.
This is a player the Oilers brought in specifically to score. They spent $3 million on him as a year-long rental and his struggles have lasted longer than anyone could have imagined. He has a no-movement clause so trading him is likely out of the question.
Skinner’s lack of pace, physicality, and defensive effort are troubling. He hasn’t exceeded 12:19 of ice time in five of his last six games.
Oilers’ Blue Line Is A Big Concern
Nugent-Bowman suggests that inconsistent goaltending has made the Oilers appear worse defensively than they are, but there has been a significant step back from last season. The struggling penalty kill is a prime example of how much the team misses blueliners who could clear the zone or trouble areas, or defend with urgency.
So too, at five-on-five, they’ve allowed 2.34 goals per 60 minutes, ranking 14th in the NHL. The Oilers are getting production on offense from their top defensemen, but the better trade would be having the forwards score as often as they should and the defenders help keep the goals-against down.
The Oilers will need to add a defenseman, of that there is no doubt. Who they add and where they get that player from remains to be seen.
Next: Montgomery Firing Likely Leads to Bruins Selling Big Names in Trades
