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Oilers vs Red Wings - Thoughts on Offsides, Gagner, Kane, Perry |
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Edmonton continues their road trip tonight in Detroit against the Red Wings. The Wings have won three straight and are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games. They are one of many teams in the East that are all pushing to stay in the Wild Card race and will be highly motivated to win in front of their home crowd. If the Oilers play at all like they did against the Hawks, they will lose this game.
The Oilers were brutal against Chicago and almost handed their opponent a win (and making me look stupid in the process after my last blog). Luckily Stuart Skinner was the one Oiler who decided to show up and stole a win for an Edmonton team that managed only 15 shots on net.
They say a team typically wins a game they should have lost and the end of a winning streak; we will see if that is the case or if this team got a wakeup call and are ready to commit to their systems once more.
Some random thoughts to throw out:
OFFSIDE CHALLENGES
The offside challenge that occurred against the Hawks was a ridiculous call that simply looks bad for the NHL as a whole. Honestly, I don't care whether it was or was not offside. Personally I felt like Draisaitl had control of the puck (just like Makar did in the playoffs a couple years ago) and that it should have counted. My issue is not that a goal was taken off the boards for the Oilers and ultimately that play did not impact the result of the game as Edmonton still won.
The play in question for those who haven't seen it.
My bigger issue is the length of time that the play was reviewed. For over 6 minutes, they were showing the same 5 angles and the commentators were discussing it on the broadcast until finally the new call was announced. This isn't about whining or one team getting screwed over; I honestly don't believe the refs or the NHL have it out for anyone.
This is about whether fans want to watch drawn out games where officials are measuring fractions of an inch to see if a mistake was made. In this case, the call was made on the ice that it was on-side. If the league couldn't decide within 2 minutes that it was off-side, the call on the ice should stand.
I don't care if it happens to the Oilers, the Flames, the Wild, or whoever. I personally don't want to see hockey games to devolve into lengthy pauses for calls like this. What say you?
GAGNER
It looks like Sam Gagner will sit once again tonight in a move that baffles me. An issue that continues to plague this roster is the bottom six. There are some solid 4th liners on this roster but not enough third liners and a couple guys who should not be playing every night.
Gagner had 2 points in the game against Jersey before going down with an injury. He has now been cleared for play but continues to sit out while guys like Derek Ryan, Connor Brown, and Adam Erne get playing time. Brown may play on the PK but that has been the only bright spot of his game as offense dies on his stick. Adam Erne does not play on the PK at all and Derek Ryan is a steady defensive player but also is starting to show his age.
This whole bottom six needs some kind of shakeup and Gagner is an easy option to plug into the lineup today.
EVANDER KANE
At some point soon we need to be talking about how the Oilers can move Evander Kane. All of Kane's fans will point out how he plays tough and physical and has a great shot and that you need players like him in the playoffs. I can respect those arguments while at the same time pointing out that has not been Evander Kane's play this season.
Kane is on the third line and has been a net negative impact on the lineup. He is hitting but not in any way that's really impacting the lineup in an impactful way. He is shooting far less and his zone work is just not good. Kane makes 5 million a year for two more seasons and also has a NMC meaning the team can't trade him unless he agrees.
Maybe Kane can flip a switch and go back to playoff mode in April but right now he simply has not been good enough and is hurting this roster whenever he is out on the ice.
COREY PERRY
Speaking of disgruntled players who got their second chance on the Edmonton Oilers, lots of talk about how the Oilers should pursue Corey Perry now that the forward has been cleared to play once again.
The 38 year old right winger is a tough to play against, gritty forward that was still showing in Chicago that he could score prior to the culmination of events that led to his contract being terminated. At league minimum he could bring to the third and fourth lines what Evander Kane is kind of doing at 5 million.
We still don't have all the facts on why Perry was terminated but we know it is not a criminal case. I would not disagree with Holland at least doing the due diligence to speak with the player and see if a possible fit could be found.
Thanks for reading!
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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