How long will the Edmonton Oilers endure Kailer Yamamoto’s scoring drought? 9 things

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After a 6-1-1 preseason, the Edmonton Oilers are off to a 6-1 regular season start after a resounding 2-1 victory in Vancouver on Saturday.

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A lot is going well with this team right now, which is exciting for Oilers fans. But there is one particularly troubling exception.

That and more in this edition of …

9 things

9. After a slow start to the campaign, Cooper marody has 5 points in his last 3 games. Marody will struggle to make the Oilers team this year, but will only do so if he continues to produce consistently.

8. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins leads the NHL with 10 assists in 7 games, after his assistant in Leon Draisaitl’s Power Play goal on Saturday. Nuge touches so many aspects of the game that it has the ability to improve the club practically every turn. But if he also continues to produce like this …

7. Election of the first round of Oilers 2021 Xavier Bourgault he went 1-4-5 in a Shawinigan win on Saturday. Bourgault is 3-7-3 in his last 3 CHL games. It makes me understand that Oilers Assistant GM Keith gretzky he was at the Quebec games assimilating it all in person. Surely the child chose a good time to level up.

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6. I expected Craig MacTavish would take his game up a notch in his 2 ^{North Dakota} on the SportsNet regional panel during the Flyers game on Wednesday and was not disappointed. I thought the MacT comfort level was 50% higher. As a programmer, I think that opens the door wide for an entertaining ‘argy-bargy’ between him and Bob stauffer . Panels are always best when there is some personable conflict.

5. Perspective of the greasers D Dmitry Samorukov scored the winning goal in the Condors’ 3-2 win on Friday. Samorukov suffered a broken jaw on training ground and barely returned to AHL action. People who have seen it so far are impressed with the amount of chip on the shoulder that the young Russian plays with. Oilers would love for Samorukov to be their 3LD in 2 years, behind Nurse Darnell and Phillip broberg .

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4. Tyler Benson made a little more happen on Saturday than Brendan perlini has during their games so far. But can this 4 ^th Cut the long-term line? I do not see Devin Shore , Kyle turris and Perlini or Benson as “slow”. But can they ever hope to be as fast as Ryan McLeod , Dylan holloway and Josh archibald would? I do not believe it. I wonder what the chances are that we will see my alternate 3 ^rd line by the olympic break. That’s assuming McLeod continues to make progress and both Holloway and Archibald regain both health and fitness.

3. I am not at all pleased to rate a player with difficulty for our Cult of Hockey game grades. But the 3 of us call it what we see it. Mikko koskinen He “won” his 4 from me on Wednesday. But many fans subsequently lobbied for Stuart skinner to play on Saturday, with Mike Smith still on the shelf. But let’s remember what kind of coach Koskinen plays for. Dave tippett he is a veteran who shows his preference for veteran players. And he is also in his contract year. As a result, Dave will go with what he knows, 9 times out of 10. But Tippett is also a player coach. And he knows that if he loses Koskinen’s trust, it would be a very expensive contract to barely carry in return.

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2. Ethan bear he had a lot of fans in Edmonton. Tell me among them. But you have to give to receive. And the acquisition of Warren foegele it has changed the attack of the Oilers in a real and substantial way. Not only that 3 ^rd foegele line, Derek Ryan and Zack Kassian bring a sharp check. His zone schedule softens opposition defenders as the Oilers’ larger guns are catching his wind. Because they have the ability to preserve momentum in a game, the Top-6 don’t have the constant task of getting it back. And finally, the 3 ^rd The line is very good defensively … without giving up much at all. The trio only allowed 5 scoring chances between them on Saturday. So you’re not just better when the Foegele-Ryan-Kassian trio are on ice. Your top 2 lines are even better once they hit the ice due to the depth. A revolutionary acquisition.

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1. Kailer yamamoto he’s really fighting it. He didn’t even get a shot on goal Saturday night at 4:25 pm work and has only 10 in 7 games. I don’t see that your problem is lack of effort. And it sounds defensive. But Yamamoto is not producing a lick. Yammo has 1 goal in his last 32 games and it doesn’t make sense this season. If he had only been bitten by a snake, he would be a little less concerned. Players can have streaks. But he’s not even getting his look. And that’s in line with a former league MVP and a high-quality NHL-er / former # 1 overall.

So how long do the Oilers stay with Yamamoto in the Top 6? Edmonton is almost halfway to the quarter post. If you haven’t come out of this by the 20 game mark at the latest, I think a change will be made. But what do you do? Mess with it 3 ^rd line? I would not do it. Move Zach Hyman to the right side and out By Connor McDavid line? That doesn’t sound attractive either. I’m not sure I see any of the current 4 ^th lines in the Top 6. And Yamamoto himself is not the prototype of 4 ^th transatlantic. That does not leave the child in an enviable place.

Yes, there is a way to go before we get to that point. And as long as the Edmonton Oilers keep winning, Kailer Yamamoto will have some time to rediscover his offensive mojo.

But time is not an infinite resource, not for Dave tippett nor his young wing.

Find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins

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