Ahead of Saturday's Hockey Night in Canada matchup with the Anaheim Ducks, the Oilers announced that, 2013 7th overall pick, Darnell Nurse will be out long-term with a lower body injury sustained against the Winnipeg Jets this past Thursday. The news came as a surprise to many fans who follow the team, as nothing had been said about Nurse in the days leading up to tonight's game. Losing Darnell Nurse for the long-term is a huge blow to this team, as he had been making significant strides on the team's 3rd defensive pair, providing some much-needed stability. The announcement was coupled with the team also stating that Dillon Simpson had been recalled from AHL's Bakersfield, and that Mark Fayne will draw into the lineup for the first time since recovering from injury.
Soooooo.....what does this all mean?
Well, as I had just previously said, losing Darnell Nurse is going to be a tough pill for this team to swallow as they will look to continue to push for a playoff spot in the month of December. Darnell had been progressing extremely well, considering his lacklustre rookie season last year. He had been playing third pairing minutes, but has been nothing short of excellent in this role. Being a young defender in an unforgiving NHL, the sheltered role had been paying off dividends for the hulking 6'4" sophomore. Todd McLellan was quoted in saying that they do not have a concrete timeline for his return, but (GM) Peter Chiarelli will give the media an update when they know for sure.
It's a terrible loss for this group, but the focus must be shifted to how the team will be dealing with this t void. The Oilers were running a completely reshuffled defensive group at this morning's pregame skate that looked a little like this:
Sekera - Benning
Klefbom - Fayne
Russell - Larsson
Yea....so the Oilers decided to completely revamp all three pairings to cope with the loss of Darnell Nurse and, I must admit, there are a few headscratchers in the projected pairings for tonight. First and foremost is the splitting up of the Sekera-Russell pairing, which has arguably been one of the best pairings in the Pacific Division of late. Splitting those two up could end being a mistake. We also see the emergence of Benning on that top pairing with Sekera, a farcry from the third pair role he had been playing with Nurse prior to the injury. It will be interesting to see how he responds to the increased responsibility, as well as seeing if Sekera can prove to be a calming presence with the young Benning by his side. The last glaring question that stands out in these pairings is the slotting in of Adam Larsson on the third line with Russell. I have faith in the pairing, two hard-hitting and dependable defenders, but I am kind of baffled on the role that they are being deployed in. I have no real issue with Klefbom-Fayne other than the fact that Fayne could be a bit rusty coming back from injury.
It seems like a patchwork fix for the Oilers but, if deployed correctly, it should give the team a decent chance to take home the 2 points. It should also be known that Brandon Davidson and Eric Gryba should be coming back from injury any game now, so help is on the way Oiler fans.
The Oilers forward group was clicking last game, so we can expect the same lineup tonight:
Lucic - McDavid - Draisaitl
Pouliot - Nugent-Hopkins - Eberle
Pitlick - Caggiula - Slepyshev
Maroon - Letestu - Kassian
The team lost their only other game against the Ducks on November 15th at the Honda Center to a score of 4-1. The Oilers currently place 3rd in the Pacific Division, tied with Anaheim with 28pts. A win tonight would move them into sole possession of 2nd place. Also worth mentioning that the Flames are just a measly two points behind Edmonton, so 4 points this weekend would be HUGE!
Gametime is 8pm MTN and can be seen on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada!
Follow me on Twitter @PrestonKixFM
Thanks For Reading!
Go Oilers Go!
Soooooo.....what does this all mean?
Well, as I had just previously said, losing Darnell Nurse is going to be a tough pill for this team to swallow as they will look to continue to push for a playoff spot in the month of December. Darnell had been progressing extremely well, considering his lacklustre rookie season last year. He had been playing third pairing minutes, but has been nothing short of excellent in this role. Being a young defender in an unforgiving NHL, the sheltered role had been paying off dividends for the hulking 6'4" sophomore. Todd McLellan was quoted in saying that they do not have a concrete timeline for his return, but (GM) Peter Chiarelli will give the media an update when they know for sure.
It's a terrible loss for this group, but the focus must be shifted to how the team will be dealing with this t void. The Oilers were running a completely reshuffled defensive group at this morning's pregame skate that looked a little like this:
Sekera - Benning
Klefbom - Fayne
Russell - Larsson
Yea....so the Oilers decided to completely revamp all three pairings to cope with the loss of Darnell Nurse and, I must admit, there are a few headscratchers in the projected pairings for tonight. First and foremost is the splitting up of the Sekera-Russell pairing, which has arguably been one of the best pairings in the Pacific Division of late. Splitting those two up could end being a mistake. We also see the emergence of Benning on that top pairing with Sekera, a farcry from the third pair role he had been playing with Nurse prior to the injury. It will be interesting to see how he responds to the increased responsibility, as well as seeing if Sekera can prove to be a calming presence with the young Benning by his side. The last glaring question that stands out in these pairings is the slotting in of Adam Larsson on the third line with Russell. I have faith in the pairing, two hard-hitting and dependable defenders, but I am kind of baffled on the role that they are being deployed in. I have no real issue with Klefbom-Fayne other than the fact that Fayne could be a bit rusty coming back from injury.
It seems like a patchwork fix for the Oilers but, if deployed correctly, it should give the team a decent chance to take home the 2 points. It should also be known that Brandon Davidson and Eric Gryba should be coming back from injury any game now, so help is on the way Oiler fans.
The Oilers forward group was clicking last game, so we can expect the same lineup tonight:
Lucic - McDavid - Draisaitl
Pouliot - Nugent-Hopkins - Eberle
Pitlick - Caggiula - Slepyshev
Maroon - Letestu - Kassian
The team lost their only other game against the Ducks on November 15th at the Honda Center to a score of 4-1. The Oilers currently place 3rd in the Pacific Division, tied with Anaheim with 28pts. A win tonight would move them into sole possession of 2nd place. Also worth mentioning that the Flames are just a measly two points behind Edmonton, so 4 points this weekend would be HUGE!
Gametime is 8pm MTN and can be seen on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada!
Follow me on Twitter @PrestonKixFM
Thanks For Reading!
Go Oilers Go!