OILERS GAME POSTPONED
Habs players on COVID protocol
Well, that's one way to stop 'em.
At the morning skate it was obvious the Edmonton Oilers — a team that has gone 8-1-1 in their previous 10 games in Montreal — was going to return to starting the Dynamic Duo back together again.
Connor Mcdavid and Leon Draisaitl, 1-2 in league point production with 60 and 50 respectively, have combined to score 24 goals for while giving up only two against.
An hour before what was supposed to be game time, the current hottest act in the NHL was shut down and the Oilers were prevented from climbing into sole possession of first place in the division. It was believed the problem involved the health of Montreal players, not the Oilers.
It was the first game in the Canadian division to be postponed during this coronavirus pandemic shortened 56-game season.
It was to be the first of a threegame Monday, Wednesday and Friday series between the Oilers and Canadiens to be followed by a game in Toronto against the Maple Leafs on Saturday on Hockey Night In Canada.
There is no wiggle room in there and the NHL, in postponing the game an hour before faceoff, did not indicate when the game might be made up.
The Oilers are already in the middle of a 12-game-in-21 days stretch of the schedule.
But an extra day of rest for Mcdavid and Draisaitl is probably not welcomed by the fourth place Canadiens.
It comes at a time when the Oilers' use of the prolific pair is evolving.
It used to be one way or the other for long stretches at a time. Weeks. Months. Even a full season.
Connor Mcdavid and Leon Draisaitl as the Dynamic Duo.
Or Mcdavid at centre running one line and Draisaitl at centre running the other.
Now it's totally situational. Now it's game to game, period to period or shift to shift.
If they're not beating you one way, wait a moment and they'll beat you another.
It's evolved into this business of `To Duo or Not To Duo.'
They'll always be together on the power play, of course.
But it's become a regular feature now to send them out together as the opposition's top players leave the ice at the end of their power play.
If they're down a goal in the third period and they've been playing apart, expect them to be together again, munching major minutes together until the final buzzer.
After a reunion as the Dynamic Duo was briefly broken up, it was put back together again to sweep a two-game series against the Winnipeg Jets. They were going to be back together again for a Duo Do-over Monday in Montreal against the Canadiens, had the game been played.
Prior to the postponed game, I asked head coach Dave Tippett about the evolution that appears to be happening here.
Watching Mcdavid become more of a complete defensive player is resulting in his becoming more of an even more productive offensive player.
Call it Rocket science.
“They go hand in hand, if you defend well, especially a guy like him,” said Tippett. “He gets a lot going off transition because he defends so hard in the other end and the neutral zone.
“His defensive game has been outstanding all year. He has a real conscience to make sure he's doing things right in the D zone, supporting our defencemen.
He's doing some little things that have elevated his game, not just points-wise but his whole allaround game.
“Early in the year he was getting some minuses that I don't think he deserved, unlucky ones. But lately his plus-minus has just rocketed up.
“He's just playing a real solid two-way game and he just has the offensive capabilities to put up the numbers he's been putting up.
“The numbers speak for themselves but if you ask Connor, the only number he cares about is the w of wins we get right now.
“That's the greatest thing about him. His play has been outstanding and he's racking up numbers but his focus is helping the team get to where we can win every night.
“You can use it as an alternative. Games go different ways. There's times when there are certain matchups and about trying the maximize each player's ability and to put them in positions where you can get the most out of them. Sometimes there's a certain matchup with Draisaitl where I need him at centre and other times you can put them together and they can get something going. Ultimately, it's about finding different ways to win.
“It gives us different looks and different matchups at different times to be able to accomplish that.”
It helps that the development of the rest of the roster is evolving now as well.
“Depending on different times in a game you can switch it up,” said Tippett. “Part of it is that I really like Ryan Nugent-hopkins, Josh Archibald and Dominik Kahun. They had a really good third period against Winnipeg, played with a lot of energy and were a good line for us.
“They're easy switches to make with Nugent-hopkins and Draisaitl switching places. We can change momentum in games whichever direction we want to go.”