Struggling Oilers shooting blanks
Lack of scoring from all but a handful of players at the heart of Edmonton’s woeful start
EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers’ big horses are doing their job through a woeful early stretch, but others haven’t left the barn.
Connor McDavid, Patrick Maroon and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have scored 14 of the team’s 24 goals through 11 games. And Leon Draisaitl has two goals and eight points in seven games since his concussion issues.
So all’s good on that front, although McDavid, Maroon and Draisaitl play together, so it’s looking like the Oilers are a one-trick pony on a lot of nights, which is a problem.
“The guys we projected to score are scoring, so we can’t throw everybody into the envelope,” said Oilers coach Todd McLellan. “Connor is at the exact same rate as he was last year, Leon is ahead of the game, Nuge, too. Maroon is, too, when you compare last year to this year.”
Top-six winger Milan Lucic has one goal on 23 shots. Ryan Strome has one goal on 22 shots, and that was on the power play.
Zack Kassian. Drake Caggiula, Jussi Jokinen, Jujhar Khaira, Anton Slepyshev, Iiro Pakarinen and teenager Kailer Yamamoto have yet to score on a combined 81 shots.
Throw in Lucic and Strome’s 45 total shots and that’s nine forwards with two goals on 126 shots through the Oilers’ 3-7-1 start.
“It’s the bottom six that haven’t got anything done. Some of the wingers haven’t gotten anything done offensively, and that’s concerning,” McLellan said.
Kassian and Slepyshev, who sprained his ankle before camp, were both terrific in the playoffs last spring. But they can’t get anything done, just like the other support players.
“We have to look at their skill sets. Some are very good forecheckers, others have the ability to get tipins, goals in tight. There are ways of manufacturing offence,” said McLellan. “Some of the players are creating chances themselves or for others, but they haven’t been able to finish.”
This is the public face of McLellan. Behind closed doors, his hair is getting greyer by the minute.
When asked for an analysis of Lucic’s play, McLellan talked plural and singular.
“We need more from a lot of players. To single out individuals is a tough thing, but if you’re asking about him specifically, yes we need more,” he said. “He knows it. His physicality and tenacity around the net are important to our team. We see it on the power play, where he gets opportunities with shots in tight and on scrambles, but five-on-five, it has to happen more.
“But collectively, we have to get more consistent.”
For sure, there are other reasons why the Oilers have three wins in 11 games: poor penalty-killing, an ineffective power play, a struggling top defence pairing of Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson — who are now broken up — and average goaltending numbers from Cam Talbot, who saved them night after night last season.
But you can’t win if your forwards are shooting blanks.
Kassian may be the poster boy for what ails the bottom six. When he’s on his game, he’s skating, banging, getting in people’s faces, making players mad at him. He has one assist in 11 games this season, but maybe more importantly, his hardcharging style hasn’t been there. The Oilers badly need his energy. “Zack is a very important player for our team. His speed, his pace, his ability to be tenacious on the forecheck, to play rugged when needed,” said McLellan. “When he’s doing those on any given night, he can be effective.”
Kassian knows he’s not part of the solution right now.
“When your team is, I don’t even know what our record is, just that we’re losing a lot of games, everyone needs to be better, including myself,” said Kassian. “The only way we’ll start winning is if everyone gets better.”