Oilers prepare to give Yamamoto another look
Desperate times call for desperate measures, but Dave Tippett says Kailer Yamamoto’s promotion to the Edmonton Oilers is more about the flourishing player than it is about the struggling team.
“He earned the right to be up here because of what he did down there,” said the Oilers head coach, who needs a serious jolt of offensive help. “If the last game is any indication, he played 23 minutes, had a goal and an assist and drew three penalties. He’s been a good player down there for us.
“We’re looking for a little more tenacity, some people who can make some plays up here.”
This will be Yamamoto’s third attempt to keep a spot on the big club. He played nine games to start the season as a rookie and 17 more last season, totalling one goal and four assists. He’s also wrestled with some injury problems but said he’s 100 per cent now and much better equipped to be a full-time NHLER.
“I’m just more comfortable, I’ve been here before,” he said, adding spending parts of two seasons in Bakersfield helped the process.
“These last couple of years have definitely taught me a lot, how to play against bigger guys. I’m learning new things every day.”
Yamamoto only has 16 points in 23 games this season, but he also has first-round (22nd overall) skill, which can sometimes explode when surrounded by elite players. He skated on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Joakim Nygard on Monday in practice.
“We want him to play to his strengths, and his strengths are tenacity and getting around the puck,” said Tippett.
HOME SPUN
They spent a lot of money on a place to lose in. Nobody is sure how it happened after that 5-0 start at home, but Rogers Place remains one of the primary reasons for the recent Oilers decline.
They have just four wins in their last 15 games there (4-8-3), and one in their last six. They are 5-50 in their last 10 on the road.
“I don’t know if we feel more comfortable at home, maybe a little more at ease, but we can’t be that way,” said Ryan Nugent-hopkins. “It should be the opposite. We have to have the mentality that we’re going to simplify things, we’re going to get our feet going and we’re going to put the screws to them right away.”
It’s an area the Oilers have addressed in meetings, but as of yet, they haven’t really been able to transfer the lessons to the ice.
“You can watch the film and kind of see how our game is at home and on the road,” said defenceman Darnell Nurse. “I don’t know if it’s a different approach, but when you’re in the other team’s building you know they’re not going to make it easy on you so you have to combat that right off the hop. That’s how we have to be here at home, too.”
They haven’t been like that at Rogers Place at all. The Oilers have fallen behind 2-0 in six of their last nine home games and the slow starts have thrown everything out of whack.
“You can get away with it sometimes, and we got away with it a few times early,” said Tippett. “But when you’re chasing games you don’t look like a structured team. You don’t play as well defensively. You’re trying to win. You can’t be down 4-2 in a game and (say), ‘Hey, let’s play good defence!’ It doesn’t work that way.”
As the losses mount, so does the angst and impatience in the stands, which can add to the pressure.
“Sometimes you hear the fans getting on you, which doesn’t help, but at the same time we try not to let it affect us,” said Nugent-hopkins. “We just try to go out and play our game.”
A LOOK FOR LAGESSON
With Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones already up with the big team, another prospect is about to get his first look on the Oilers blue-line.
William Lagesson, who’s been waiting for this day since Edmonton drafted him 91st overall in 2014, won’t have to wait much longer. If he isn’t in Tuesday against the New York Rangers it won’t be long after that.
“We want to get him in the lineup,” Tippett said of the six-foottwo, 207-pound Swede.