![]() There’s a reason why Gagner is in his 17 th NHL season. And if they don’t look within, then they should look to their new/old teammate for an example. Again, maybe some players need to look within. ![]() Gagner scored his goals by going to the net and not being afraid to get his jersey dirty. Skill helps a lot offensively, but so does hustle. That’s a matter of the defenceman in question looking within. So many of Edmonton’s defensive issues are related to effort and focus that should be able to be addressed, at least to some degree. Even superheroes need help: Iron Man and Captain America don’t save the world without Hawkeye and Vision, just like Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier don’t win all those Stanley Cups without Charlie Huddy and Esa Tikkanen.Īnd that’s where the real concern is, because while their spectacular track records tell us that Draisaitl and McDavid will get back to their business of being the greatest offensive players on the planet, what evidence can we find to suggest that the rest of this team is going to turn into a championship ensemble? Oilers Need to Look in the Mirror That’s the same Sam Gagner who, at age 34, is a decade-plus older and theoretically that much slower than Oilers bottom-six regulars Dylan Holloway (zero points in 10 games) and Ryan McLeod (one assist in 10 games).Ī Stanley Cup-calibre team – which the Oilers thought themselves to be – has depth players that will carry the load on the rare occasion their leaders can’t. That’s the same Sam Gagner who’s coming back from double hip surgery. That’s the same Sam Gagner who was playing his first NHL game of 2023-24 after starting the season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Bakersfield Condors. ![]() Related: 3 Takeaways From Oilers’ 4-3 Loss to the Stars Through 10 games, the only goals from Edmonton’s third or fourth forward lines were scored within 3:01 of each other by veteran center Sam Gagner in Edmonton’s 4-3 home loss to the Dallas Stars last Thursday (Nov. It has more to do with certain other players in orange and blue that have not picked up the slack. The mess the Oilers find themselves in isn’t so much to do with Draisaitl and McDavid. ![]() That’s unprecedented in the dynamic duo’s eight-plus years as Oilers teammates. Neither has a goal since both scored in Edmonton’s 6-1 victory at the Nashville Predators on Oct. McDavid, who missed a pair of games with an upper-body injury, hasn’t scored in his last five outings. Draisaitl & McDavid in Scoring Slumpĭraisaitl has gone seven games without a goal. Meanwhile, the Oilers are only averaging 2.70 goals per game, down significantly from an average of 3.96 goals per game last season, when Edmonton led the league in scoring.Īn emerging concern is the lack of offensive production from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who were first and second, respectively, on the NHL points leaderboard in 2022-23 and have combined to win the Art Ross Trophy six times in the last seven years. They’ve hung their goalies out to dry just about every way possible, and the result is an average of 4.10 goals against per game, third highest in the NHL. ![]() All rights reserved.Īll brand names are protected trademarks of their registered owners and no claim is made otherwise.Defensively, the Oilers have been a dumpster fire: giveaways, breakdowns, mental lapses, and an utter lack of resistance. This site is copyright 2023 by GameTimeUSA.Com. and we usually ship the next business day and all orders receive free ground shipping. No matter what you are looking for we have some of the lowest prices on Under Armour, Adidas, Champion, Majestic, Nike & Reebok officially licensed gear at GametimeUSA.Com. Also visit our closeout section for great deals and sale items on items such as College Sweatshirts, MLB jerseys, NBA shorts, & NFL Shirts. We have a 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed Policy and one of the cheapest freight programs around. Our Yahoo secure shopping cart makes sure the information given to us for your order is protected. GametimeUSA.Com is your store online for Texas Longhorns Apparel, College Clothing, MLS Merchandise, and Dallas Cowboys Merchandise, team merchandise, & gear which includes College T Shirts on Sale, College Boxer Shorts, USC Trojans Clothing, Sweatshirts, Under Armour College HeatGear Shirts, Jackets, Caps, and Gifts. ![]()
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