OILERS NOTES: Woodcroft severely challenged with his attacking group

Woodcroft had no choice but to dress 11 forwards and seven defenders for the ninth consecutive game since replacing former coach Dave Tippett

Content of the article

With Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kailer Yamamoto both injured in Saturday’s win at Florida, Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft had to throw his lines into a mixer Sunday in Carolina with just 11 healthy players remaining on the five-game trip.

Advertising

Content of the article

No definitive news on Nugent-Hopkins, who appeared to injure his shoulder when he was hit by Ryan Lomberg on his third shift in Florida. It wasn’t a resounding blow, but Nugent-Hopkins didn’t come back.

“They took a picture and we’re still waiting for the results,” said Woodcroft, who still has it on the trip but likely won’t have it for games in Philadelphia or Chicago.

Nugent-Hopkins has been injured twice this season, both times on the road. He had a leg problem in New Jersey on New Year’s Eve when he got stuck with a Devils player along the boards. He missed nearly a month on the schedule but only six games as six ended up being postponed due to COVID-19 concerns around the league and reduced rink attendance in Canadian cities.

Advertising

Content of the article

Yamamoto took a foot shot during a Florida penalty and as he finished the game it was suspected the foot might swell afterwards. This is obviously the case or there is something more serious in there. It was his first missed injury of the season.

“Yamo was hit. Nothing major for the future, so it’s day to day. Just bumps and bruises,” said Woodcroft, who is now seeing another Bakersfield rookie, Condors captain Brad Malone, recalled due to the shortage of forwards.

With both forwards out, Woodcroft had no choice but to outfit 11 forwards and seven defensemen for a ninth straight game since replacing former coach Dave Tippett. He moved former Carolina winger Warren Foegele (200 games) from third-line left wing to first with Connor McDavid to start the game. He had Devin Shore in the center of the third line in place of Nugent-Hopkins. He had Colton Sceviour, scratched in Florida, in place of Yamamoto with Leon Draisaitl, and Sceviour almost scored on an angled shot on the leg of Freddie Andersen in the third.

Advertising

Content of the article

Woodcroft mounted four attackers before putting them back in the barn.

Draisaitl was allowed to be exhausted late in the game, playing almost half the game (28:08). He had an ongoing physical battle with Andrei Svechnivov.

“It looked like Leon was on the ice the whole game,” said Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, who also saw McDavid for 22 minutes and might have seen him for the same 28 minutes if the Oilers captain had not been cringed. a Brady Skjei high stick.

“I would play a lot with those guys too, pretty special players.”

For one of his few games, however, Draisaitl could not earn a draw, losing 15 out of 19.

Woodcroft went to the pit with Zach Hyman for a season-high 26:39 (6:22 on the power play, 1:22 shorthanded and 18:55 at even strength). His best time before Sunday was 10:40 p.m. on Dec. 3 against Seattle, so four minutes longer. Evander Kane played eight seconds before 24 minutes. McDavid played 20 of the final 40 minutes after missing nearly 15 minutes in the first half.

Advertising

Content of the article

KEEP THE BALL ON

Derek Ryan scored his fifth goal in nine games Woodcroft has coached since. On the weekends in Florida and Raleigh, North Carolina, he scored four goals on six shots. Ryan, who scored his first of 63 NHL goals for the Hurricanes after starting his career with them, also hit Freddie Andersen early in the Carolina game.

“Derek is a subtle player, high level of hockey intelligence and I like that he can play center or wing and I can move him around, but DR was refreshed by the move to wing “Woodcroft said. “I feel good when he’s on the ice because he gives us a right handed face-off option for his line and if he gets low in the D zone he has a clear understanding of what he needs to do. make.

Advertising

Content of the article

This and that : Connor McDavid’s need for dental care reminded Oilers fans of Ryan Smyth, who never encountered a novocaine he didn’t like. Sunday marked the 15th anniversary of Smyth being traded to the New York Islanders for Robert Nilsson, Ryan O’Marra and a first-round pick… Brind’Amour played in 1,484 league games with 1,184 points and recognizes talent when he sees it. “McDavid is exploding like I’ve never seen before.” … Defender Kris Russell (undisclosed injury) was moved from injured reserve to a long-term injury for cap reasons … Hurricanes frontline winger Teuvo Teravainen’s goal extended his points streak to nine games … Sunday linesmen Ryan Daisy and Kyle Flemington missed two offsides on goals – McDavid’s first on his first shift of the game and Brett Pesce’s, which would have made it 3-0 Secondly. Six-foot-seven rookie Flemington, 27, was a defensive player in the Ontario Hockey League in Saginaw, Sarnia and London, Ont. He was part of the Knights team with Bo Horvat in his senior year as a junior. Daisy only worked five playoff games too, so not a veteran pair at all… For Game 3 on the road, Philip Broberg didn’t have much work in the game of musical chairs on defense. He played 6:23 at Raleigh, 7:12 against Florida and 9:45 at Tampa. He likely belongs to Bakersfield, Calif. on their best pairing…Oilers defenseman Duncan Keith (suspected concussion and possible shoulder problem) is not on the trip, now missing nine straight games, but what are the odds? that he’s trying to find a way to join the team so he can play in Chicago on Thursday? It would be his first game there since the trade last summer… There was an 11-minute stoppage seven-and-a-half minutes into the middle frame where Raleigh’s maintenance crew were trying to repair a piece broken plexiglass. It worked well until the removed post got stuck in the end zone net, which protected the fans from flying pucks.

Email: [email protected]

On Twitter: @jimmathesonnhl

Advertising

comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively yet civil discussion forum and encourages all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments can take up to an hour to be moderated before appearing on the site. We ask that you keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications. You will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, if there is an update to a comment thread you follow, or if a user follows you comments. See our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Comments are closed.