The Edmonton Oilers decided to bring Paul Coffey back to the bench. This decision was taken because the defense group hasn’t been good enoughand hopefully Coffey can provide a boost. They have struggled with the penalty and they have given up too many quality chances at 5-on-5. Therefore, a change was necessary. However, they need more than just a new face behind the bench.
The Oilers rank 25th in the league in both penalties and goals conceded. They are only on 76.9 percent of penalties and have allowed 3.29 goals per game. Edmonton has also allowed the sixth-highest danger shots at 123. For perspective, the Los Angeles Kings have allowed the fewest shots at just 76. If they want to succeed later, those numbers have to improve.
Related: Oilers coaching staff reportedly unhappy with Coffey’s hiring
The Oilers need to do something different because what they are doing is clearly not working. The coaching staff has not hesitated to change the forwards, but for whatever reason the defensive combinations have remained largely intact, especially in the top four. Evan Bouchard has been stapled next to Mattias Ekholm, and Darnell Nurse has played primarily with Jake Walman when he was healthy. But it might be time to make some changes and mix up the combinations.
Nurse has to play with Bouchard
While Nurse doesn’t necessarily deserve a promotion to the top pair, playing him with the team’s best defenseman could improve his game and make the team better. The veteran blueliner has had the most success alongside Bouchard this season, so the team should explore that option.
In 85:23 of ice time at 5-on-5 with Bouchard, that duo was eight goals up and only three against for a 72.73 goals-for percentage. That duo has a 30-16 advantage on high-risk chances on the ice, which is 65.22 percent of risky chances.
To put that in perspective, Bouchard has 56.27 percent of the risky opportunities when paired with Ekholm, and Nurse has a disappointing 43.18 percent of the risky opportunities when paired with Walman. The numbers speak for themselves, so Nurse should take a look with Bouchard after the break.
Ekholm has to move to the third pair
Ekholm is struggling with injuries and his age seems to be catching up with him. So it might be time to limit his minutes and shelter his matchups down the road. He is still a capable blueliner and could find success in a lesser role. He can be a true shutdown defender on the third pair, and that’s what the team needs.
A pairing of Ekholm and Ty Emberson could work. They only played 14:19 together in 5-on-5, but they showed potential. They have outscored their opponents 3-1, including 60 percent of high-risk chances in their limited ice time. They also have an expected goals percentage of 61.21. Those are positive numbers, so it would be interesting to see if they could maintain that over a larger sample size.
Experiment Spencer Stastney with Walman
This pairing would carry the most uncertainty, but why not try Walman with Spencer Stastney, especially if the other two pairs are effective? Of these three proposed combinations, this one was the worst, but that has a lot to do with Walman’s lackluster play. They played 70:01 together in 5-on-5 and it didn’t look great. That’s why they have one right-wing blueliner at the trade deadline is absolutely necessary.
They have only created 35 percent of the risky chances and have been beaten 3-1, but have not allowed a dangerous goal. Edmonton only has four games left before the trade deadline, so hopefully this tie-up will be temporary. If they add a right-shooting defenseman, they can finally move Walman to the left side, where he is more comfortable, instead of playing him on the right side. Ultimately, the Oilers need a lot more from Walman because he hasn’t been nearly good enough.
How should the Oilers deploy their blueline after the break? Stay tuned as the NHL resumes this week The hockey writers for all your content throughout the season.
Statistics are courtesy of Natural statistical trick And MoneyPuck.
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