Oilers give Puljujarvi chance to prove himself on top line

Jesse Puljujarvi left the Edmonton Oilers two years ago due to a perceived lack of opportunity.

Well, opportunity came knocking for Puljujarvi on Sunday as the Edmonton Oilers winger started on the top line alongside Ryan Nugent-hopkins and Connor Mcdavid against the Winnipeg Jets.

Puljujarvi returned to Edmonton a smarter, more mature player than the one who left following the 2018-19 season for his hometown club Karpat in Finland. On Sunday, he had a chance to prove how much he's grown.

“We like what Jesse's being doing in games, he's around the puck a lot, he goes to the front of the net hard, he's creating loose pucks,” said Oilers head coach Dave Tippett prior to the game. “We're just trying to find a different look to see if we can find something. We've kept a pretty close eye on him since the start of camp, he's come in with a great attitude. He wanted to just get comfortable with everything we're trying to do and you look at the game he's playing, he's playing a real North American game, a hard game along the boards and so we'll see.”

Puljujarvi's opportunity had a lot to do with Zack Kassian's early struggles on the top line. Puljujarvi has been more noticeable this season, but had just one assist going into the contest against the Jets, an assist which came on a pass off his skate.

Selected fourth overall in the 2016 NHL Draft, Puljujarvi, 22, has 17 goals and 38 points in

145 NHL games. Compare that to Patrik Laine and Pierre-luc Dubois — who were selected second and third and were traded for each other Saturday — boasting 250 and 159 points, respectively.

Puljujarvi hasn't exactly worked out as hoped when the Oilers tripped over themselves to select him after the Columbus Blue Jackets' Finnish general manager Jarmo Kekalainen passed on him to take Dubois.

Now Puljujarvi is on his second life with the Oilers, while Dubois and Laine are getting fresh starts.

How long Puljujarvi stays on the top line will depend on how well he can jell with Mcdavid and Nugent-hopkins.

“What Jesse needs to do is to play like Jesse can,” Tippett said.

“He shouldn't be worrying about the other two guys. When you put a player on a line you put him for the reason that he's going to do his part on the line. The thing that I like about him, he's creating a lot of loose pucks in the offensive zone off good forechecks and one-on-one battles. He'll keep a lot of pucks alive and create chances.

“If he can do his part to keep pucks alive and Connor and Nuge do their part, hopefully, they can get some stuff done between the three of them. But we don't need Jesse to change his game because he's going to play with Connor and Nuge, we need him to keep doing what he's been doing in order to help the line get a little more productive.”

SLOW START FOR KASSIAN

Mcdavid went into the first of two games against the Jets with four goals and seven points in six games this season. Nugent-hopkins had two goals and five points.

Kassian had one assist in five games, which is why he was moved down to the third line with Tyler Ennis and Kyle Turris.

“I've had a lot of chats with Kass, we're trying to get him more engaged in the game and involved in the game, whether that be physically or different parts of the game,” Tippett said. “His last couple of games have been not bad, but I still think there is some more growth in there to have more of an impact.”

Kassian, 30, is in the first year of a four-year, Us$12.8-million contract extension, paying him $3.2 million per season. He had 15 goals and 34 points in 59 games last season before the

NHL pause due to concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic. Kassian did not collect a point in the four-game play-in series against the Chicago Blackhawks when the NHL returned to play.