October 21, 2014

steve laidlaw

2014-10-21

Recapping a light Monday night of NHL action, talking Drouin's debut, Hedman's replacement and more…

The Oilers played a pretty good game last night securing their first win of the season. They weren't dominant by any means but they played well, generated chances and got a win. It was refreshing to see. They did a bunch of little things like back-checking, moving men from out in front of the net, clearing rebounds, those sorts of things. The types of things that help avoid the puck winding up in the back of the net.

It still did, twice. Once was 100% on Ben Scrivens. A random shot from the corner by Brian Boyle bounced off the defenseman and Scrivens didn't hold his post. Weak sauce.

The other was on a good one-timer from Brett Connolly who played a really good game. He was buzzing the net the whole night and even had a goal disallowed in the first period due to goaltender interference.

The two big questions for the Lightning going into this match were: where would Jonathan Drouin play and who would fill in for the injured Victor Hedman?

Drouin lined up on the second line and second power play unit, directly replacing Alex Killorn. That was good news for owners of Vladimir Namestnikov and Nikita Kucherov who had both certainly earned their spots in the lineup but were at risk all the same.

I wouldn't say that Drouin played a particularly strong game. I probably wouldn't have really noticed him if I wasn't looking for him, to be honest. It's one game though, so I'm not passing judgement.

As for replacing Hedman, it was Anton Stralman who took Hedman's spot on the top power play unit. The power play went 0/2 so you couldn't necessarily call it a success but I felt like Stralman played fine.

It is worth mentioning that Jason Garrison looked a lot more dangerous skating on the second unit but he isn't anywhere near as intuitive a player as Stralman, which is why I figured it would be the latter to replace Hedman. Garrison did manage an assist in the contest though.

Hedman, by the way, is out four-six weeks following surgery on a broken finger.

More injury news for the Lightning. Ryan Callahan went down in this one with a lower-body injury and did not return. No word on the specifics as I'm writing this but it's looking doubtful that he'll suit up tonight.

I wouldn't be shocked to see Connolly rewarded for his strong play with a promotion to the top line as he offers some similar qualities to Callahan but I really think that Tyler Johnson is the one who deserves the top line role as he was easily one of the best Lightning players last night. He notched an assist and had four SOG. Just a very creative player. Give him a shot with Steven Stamkos.

Jeff Petry skated the most minutes of any Oiler and suddenly they win a game. Not a shocker. He did go minus-one in this game so he wasn't perfect but he is the Oilers' best defenseman. He needs to be skating 22+ minutes a night.

There are lots of trade rumours swirling about Petry but I seriously cannot understand why the Oilers would move him unless somehow a top-six centerman is coming back and even then it's just patching one whole while creating another.

Nail Yakupov played very well despite seeing only 10:47 of ice time. He notched an assist but was generally a dangerous player while on the ice. I'm not sure what the Oilers are doing with Teddy Purcell skating over 14 minutes and Yakupov under 11 but it needs to stop, for all of our sakes.

injury news</a> out of Detroit. First thing, <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=531&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Pavel Datsyuk</a> might go tonight, which is exciting. I don't even know where to begin to speculate on the lines if Datsyuk returns.   I'm going to take a guess that they'll start Datsyuk on <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=533&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Henrik Zetterberg</a>'s wing to give him an easier go early on and to maintain continuity in the rest of the lineup. He'll fill in for the injured <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=541&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Johan Franzen</a> who goes on IR.   It's also possible that <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=546&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Jimmy Howard</a> will be back in the lineup, which would be a quick return for a groin injury. Those have a habit of lingering and I thought we'd be back at the injury game with Howard again. That would be disappointing since he's had such a strong start.   *   <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=2529&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Brandon Kozun</a> had been marginalized by the addition of <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=2124&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Richard Panik</a> and now he's <a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=735353&navid=nhl:topheads">out for six weeks</a> with an ankle sprain. Too bad, you never know when Kozun will get another shot at a top-six roster spot again.   *   <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=1045&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Dan Girardi</a> <a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=735357&navid=nhl:topheads">might not go tonight</a>, which doesn't bode well for the Rangers' goaltending.   *   If you were hoping for a PIM boost you'll have to look elsewhere than <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=3836&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Tom Wilson</a>. The Capitals have <a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=735379&navid=nhl:topheads">sent him down to the AHL</a>.   I actually like this move a lot for Wilson's future. He wasn't learning much skating on the fourth line being used ostensibly as an enforcer, which is where he played last season. He's better off in the AHL where he can play a bigger role and develop the offensive side of his game.   *   He wasn't really a factor in fantasy but Patrik Nemeth is <a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=735378&navid=nhl:topheads">out for the year</a> with a serious cut in the wrist. There’s video of it but I’m not linking too it. Gross. I don’t even want to think about the damage done there.   *   Another big contract for a young defenseman. This time it's Calgary's <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=2301&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">TJ Brodie</a> who is enjoying a breakout season. He gets a <a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=735281&navid=nhl:topheads">five-year $23.5 million deal</a>. At first blush it seems a little on the high side considering guys like <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=3536&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Jonas Brodin</a> and <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=2530&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Jake Muzzin</a> got less but remember this is Brodie's third deal so this deal buys more UFA years, which come at a higher price.   *   The Chicago Blackhawks Make a Wish come true:   <iframe src="http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/embed?playlist=649075&site=blackhawks" frameborder="0″ width="640″ height="395″>

Follow me @SteveLaidlaw.

UPCOMING GAMES

Apr 13 - 13:04	N.J	vs	NYI
Apr 13 - 13:04	OTT	vs	PHI
Apr 13 - 15:04	PIT	vs	BOS
Apr 13 - 17:04	CAR	vs	TOR
Apr 13 - 18:04	T.B	vs	BUF
Apr 13 - 18:04	WSH	vs	CBJ
Apr 13 - 19:04	WPG	vs	EDM
Apr 13 - 20:04	CGY	vs	S.J
Apr 13 - 22:04	ANA	vs	COL