While watching the Edmonton Oilers game tonight I couldn't help but ask myself how a team can be so dependant on 3 players under the age of 22 and what about getting offense from other sources.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (18) is second in points on the club and this is only his first season in the NHL. Out with a left shoulder injury, the Oilers desperately need him to get healthy and back in the lineup so he can quarterback the power play. (A lot to ask of a "kid" playing against men who, for some, have been in the "show" longer than he has been alive).
Jordan Eberle (21) is the highest point getter on the active Oilers squad. Again, they need him healthy and back in the lineup as soon as possible to quarterback, well, everything! He puts pucks in the net and dishes the puck so others can score, which Edmonton desperately needs.
Taylor Hall (19) has been the saving grace lately purely based on the fact that he is on the ice and doing what he can to help keep them in the game. Watching the game vs. the New Jersey Devils tonight, he is by far and away been the best Oiler on the ice. Creating chances with his speed and his dangling ability has had me on the edge of my seat on more than one occasion.
The management have to notice that all the years of "rebuilding" are working, but they are only working when all 3 of these guys are healthy and playing hockey night in and night out. The rest of the Oilers have got to be better or they will be consistently in the running for the first overall draft pick.
I heard a stat tonight that Eric Belanger only has 1 goal and 10 points in 41 games. I'm sorry, but your 3rd line centre needs to produce more than 0.24 points a game.
Magnus Paajarvi is having an identity crisis. He isn't sure if he is a playmaker or a scorer. I would wager that if he is paired with some other guys that already have their roles figured out, he would be much more productive.
Ales Hemsky. I find it hard to watch him play hockey. It appears that he couldn't care less if he got another shot on net, another goal, assist or shift for that matter. I'm sure that he has the "A" on his sweater because he is a good teammate and maybe a good leader in the dressing room, but if they base any of it on the play on the ice, then he should get an "F".
I was so frustrated by the lack of offensive production that I went on the Oklahoma City Barons website and searched for Linus Omark. Surely he would be able to provide some offensive production. Nope! Broken ankle. Coupled on top of the fact that he isn`t happy being in the minors and threatens to opt out of his contract and head back to Europe where he can play professional hockey in the Swedish Elite League or KHL.
Do the Oilers have a hate on for Omark because of the celebrity brought on by his shootout creativity or do they just not see that he can be an NHLer? They obviously know more than I do about the ins and outs, but when he gets healthy they should at least give him a shot.
Hell, they only had 23 tonight!
DH
No comments:
Post a Comment