Ramblings April 19, 2015

Ian Gooding

2015-04-19

Oilers win McEichel sweepstakes, minor scare for Crosby, and more playoff stuff.

For the fourth time in six seasons, the Edmonton Oilers win the first overall pick in the NHL's Draft Lottery. With that first overall pick likely to be Connor McDavid, the Oilers should finally get back on the winning track. Right? If not, we'll meet at the same time and same place next season.

In his interview with Sportsnet following the draft lottery, Craig MacTavish suggested that the Oilers haven't decided who they will choose, in fairness to the interview process of each player and his family prior to the draft itself. However, when posed a later question about Taylor Hall’s tweet to McDavid suggesting where he likes his passes, MacT suggested that McDavid would need to compete with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at training camp for the number one center job. So yeah, MacT has his mind made up, even if that was a loaded question.

Even if McDavid wins that top-line center job out of training camp (and assuming the Oilers draft him, of course), don't etch that Hall-McDavid-Jordan Eberle top line in stone yet. In order to make room for McDavid, the Oils might have to trade one of their previous first overall picks for some defense and/or goaltending help. Just call it the rebuild of the rebuild.

If you need a few ideas about what the Oilers could do, or want to contribute some of your own, check out this thread on the Forums about some possible moves. The Oilers are looking at a trio of McDavid, RNH, and Leon Draisaitl centering their top three lines. So in my opinion, it might be wise for the Oils to find out what kind of bites they can get for the Nuge, even if he was their top-scoring center last season.

Regardless, it seems strange that the Oilers could be in this position again this time next season with Auston Matthews on the table and an embarrassment of riches of young forwards in tow. What do you think will happen with the Oilers? Tell me what you think in the comments below.

On a side note, the general consensus from the people I follow on Twitter is that most didn't want to see the Oilers win the draft lottery yet again. Fine. But the Sabres sure made it look like obtaining the first overall pick was the focal point of their season. Tim Murray was enamored with McDavid, and he sure sounded disappointed in not winning the lottery. Playing to lose destroys the competitive spirit of league, and Murray's tactics this season are why the draft lottery was instituted in the first place.

Speaking of the Sabres, my prophecy of them holding the number two pick to draft Jack Eichel just came true. Actually, it was just simple math. Run the draft lottery five times, and the Sabres get the number two pick four times. There isn't an easier bet out there.

I didn't get to watch a ton of hockey on Saturday, thanks to the nice weather and kids and birthday parties. However, I did catch this minor scare of Sidney Crosby getting hit in the jaw by Carl Hagelin.

Of course, every time we see a hit to Crosby's head, even if it looks mild, we cringe because of Crosby's concussion history. But Crosby not only returned to the game, but the Penguins earned a split in New York heading to Game 3 in Pittsburgh. It is way early, but almost no one in the Dobber Experts Panel predicted a Penguins' series win. Okay, I said the Rangers would win in five. But I now get the feeling that the Penguins won't just roll over and die.

Want a couple of potential players to avoid in playoff pools? Try Jiri Hudler, who has 33 playoff points in 68 games and has been held without a point in two games so far. Another is Radim Vrbata, who has 15 playoff points and a -15 in 38 career playoff games. Vrbata has a goal in the series, albeit an empty-netter. But neither player has made his presence felt in the playoffs thus far.

So did the Canucks win Game 2 convincingly because Willie Desjardins increased the Sedins' icetime? Nope. Daniel Sedin played a second shy of 18 minutes, while Henrik Sedin played 16 minutes plus a second. It looks like Desjardins will continue to roll all four lines no matter what, as he did in the regular season. But the Sedins didn't see a lot of icetime in the third period, thanks to the shenanigans throughout the period.

Speaking of which, is Bob Hartley the league's top coach when it comes to gooning it up? It's an age-old tradition for a trailing team to stir the pot when a win seems unlikely, but he seems to be especially proficient in this area. All that Friday's Game 2 needed was John Tortorella to fly into the ring in the middle of the brawls and start whacking Hartley with a chair.

But if I'm the Flames, I'm not resorting to any of that in Game 3. One of the Flames' keys to defying Corsi logic this season was avoiding the penalty box (255 team PIM – the second-lowest total in the league). The Flames were 20^th with a penalty kill rate of 80.6 percent, yet they were fourth in the NHL in allowing just 36 power-play goals all season.

📢 advertisement:

Vladimir Tarasenko. No shots on goal in Game 1. A hat trick in Game 2. If you picked him in your playoff pool (which many appeared to do), you've got a big grin of relief. All in all, Tarasenko has seven career playoff goals in nine career playoff games. Not bad, and there will be a lot more to come.

Some injury and goalie quick hits:

Sam Bennett will be back in the Flames' lineup for Game 3 on Sunday, even though he missed much of the third period in Game 2 (NHL.com). I'll admit that I ignored him in playoff pools based on the fact that he'd barely seen any NHL action prior to the playoffs. But this season's fourth overall pick has looked impressive thus far, not being afraid to get in front of the net.

In spite of being pulled on Saturday after allowing four goals on 18 shots, Petr Mrazek will start Game 3 (NHL.com). Does Mrazek's emergence turn the Red Wings' goaltending situation into a timeshare next season? Jimmy Howard is signed long term, so it's not as simple as replacing him with the younger goalie.

Yet another Cinderella story in net this season, Scott Darling will start Game 3 against Nashville (NHL.com). In four periods of action, Corey Crawford has allowed nine goals. Fortunately, Blackhawks' goalies won't have to face Shea Weber's slapshot for at least the next two games (NHL.com).

Braden Holtby should be back in net for Game 3 despite missing Game 2 due to illness (NHL.com).

If I'm a Jets' fan, I'd be choked. The Jets lost 2-1 in a Game 2 that clearly favored Anaheim as far as officiating goes. But if I'm a Ducks fan, I have to be happy about the play of Jakob Silfverberg, who scored the game-winner with less than a minute to play. Ryan Kesler struggled to find a winger that could click with him in Vancouver, but he may have found that winger in Silfverberg.

Check out more on the draft lottery and CHL prospects with some DobberProspects ramblings.

Finally, what could the implications be of the Jarret Stoll drug possession arrest? For starters, the Kings could hold off on a Mike Richards buyout, knowing that Stoll is a UFA and they don't want any part of his legal troubles (remember that they had to deal with Slava Voynov this season). Also, the fact that it happened in Las Vegas doesn't help it establish credibility as a future NHL market if it provides too many temptations for players to get into trouble (although players can get into trouble just about anywhere).

But dude, you're a 32-year-old checking line center who is dating Erin Andrews. What good will it do your career to mess around with the nose candy?

UPCOMING GAMES

Nov 14 - 19:11	NYR	vs	S.J
Nov 14 - 19:11	T.B	vs	WPG
Nov 14 - 19:11	OTT	vs	PHI
Nov 14 - 19:11	FLA	vs	N.J
Nov 14 - 19:11	BUF	vs	STL
Nov 14 - 20:11	DAL	vs	BOS
Nov 14 - 20:11	MIN	vs	MTL
Nov 14 - 21:11	EDM	vs	NSH
Nov 14 - 22:11	VAN	vs	NYI
Nov 14 - 22:11	SEA	vs	CHI