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This in from Tony Brar of the Edmonton Oilers, news of a small line-up change at practice, with Sam Carrick in for Derek Ryan at fourth line centre.
RNH – McDavid – Hyman
McLeod – Draisaitl – Foegele
Kane – Henrique – Brown
Janmark – Carrick – Perry
Ryan
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Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Desharnais
Kulak – Ceci
Stecher
Skinner
Pickard
My take
1. This was a small roster move but is it not time for a major shake-up? Yes, I know Troy Stecher has just joined the team, but the right side of Edmonton’s defence could use some help, in particular when it comes to finding a partner who works well with Darnell Nurse. Playing Stecher with Nurse would represent a major shake-up given how stable Edmonton’s defence pairings have been this season. But is it not worth a look see?
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2. Cody Ceci and Nurse were OK together this year until February, when Ceci, Nurse and fellow d-man Vincent Desharnais all saw a major drop in performance for the month, each leaking Grade A shots against while creating little on the attack. In March, coach Kris Knoblauch has tended go with Nurse and Desharnais as a pairing, putting Ceci with Brett Kulak. Kulak and Ceci have done fine. But Nurse and Desharnais? Not so much.
3. When we look at Edmonton’s d-man pairings, the gold standard is the combo of Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm, one of the best d-man pairings in the NHL. They both outshoot and outscore opponents, with 57 goals for and 37 goals against in 936 5-on-5 minutes this season, a brilliant 60.6 goals for percentage. Desharnais and Kulak have had a 56.8 GF%, with Ceci and Kulak at 54.6%.
Brett Kulak is having an outstanding season.
4. Nurse and Ceci did well enough until their play crashed in February. Nurse and Desharnais have not done much better, with a 47.1 shots for percentage 5-on-5 and a 37.5 GF%, three goals for, five against. Indeed, the numbers say they’ve done worse than Nurse and Ceci. This is not hopeful.
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They’ve only been together 129 minutes so it’s possible that Desharnais will yet find his stride playing more minutes and more difficult minutes. He’s defied odds all along in his hockey career and may do so again. But the clock is ticking fast here. There are just 19 games left in the season with a critical Stanley Cup playoffs ahead.
5. At the trade deadline, TSN’s Mike Johnson, a former NHL player, noted the need for change on the Oil blueline.
“The last two playoffs that pairing of Nurse and Ceci went up against (Nate) MacKinnon, they lost badly in that match up. Last year they went up against (Jack) Eichel, they lost badly in that match up. Now I don’t know if Desharnais and Nurse is the answer. Ceci and Nurse. But I’m worried about if they get Eichel and Stone again, if they lose that match up badly against a team as good as Vegas, that’s going to be trouble for them… As good as their overall numbers are, that second pair defence against a really good team can be an issue.”
5. One option would be to try Kulak with Nurse on the second pairing, but that would mean going with two right shot d-men, likely Ceci and Desharnais, on the third pairing. That does not sound at all promising, does it? Edmonton could also recall left shot Philip Broberg and relace one of Ceci and Desharnais with him, but such a move seems unlikely.
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6. Edmonton’s most obvious plan is to play the new guy Stecher with Nurse. Is that too much to ask of Stecher? Maybe. Maybe not. He’s 29 years old and has played 487 regular season and 21 playoff games. He’s at that age when d-men often bring their best, as we’re seeing just now with Kulak. There’s little harm in giving him a run of games with Nurse.
7. It’s not like Ceci and Nurse have been horrible this year, even as they had a bad month in February. If Stecher and Nurse don’t work out, they can always go back to Ceci and Nurse. Yes, they struggled in the past two playoff seasons but Edmonton is now playing zone defence, not man-to-man or a hybrid system. This system brings better structure to a team, putting less pressure on the defencemen.
The coach is no longer asking Ceci and Nurse to stick with fast and tricky attackers as they move around the offensive zone. Instead, their job is to guard the slot, guard the slot, and guard the slot. They’re also expected to win battles in their own corner and to move the puck skillfully. It’s not an easy job against tough competition but the two players may well be up to the task, even in the playoffs.
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