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Oilers @ Leafs - Jan. 22nd, 7:00pm - TSN4, TSN 1050

herman said:
CarltonTheBear said:
I'd probably go:

Vesey-Tavares-Nylander
Hyman-Kerfoot-Marner
Mikheyev-Engvall-Spezza
Barabanov-Brooks-Simmonds

L1 has already been together all season and been mostly successful although now they'll be tasked with tougher match-ups. There was a planned change to have Hyman there but for now that can be postponed. If Vesey can't keep up with those you can swap him with Mikheyev but for now I'd like to keep the depth spread out a little more.

L2 is the checking line but with Marner now. I think that probably makes the most sense.

L3/L4 is whatever. I think L3 had some minutes as a trio last season, or at the very least Engvall and Spezza played together a fair bit, so there will at least be some familiarity there. But you could swap Barabanov or Simmonds for Spezza or Engvall if preferred.
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I think that's a thoughtful build, albeit a waste of Marner's offense at 5v5 (not that there has been much this season). That said, Marner is an 11M guy and now is the time to show he is as on par with Matthews as he believes he is.

PP1 is getting stacked by default now
Hyman/Simmonds
Nylander - Tavares - Marner
Rielly
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Assuming PP 1 is Hyman - Nylander - Tavares - Marner - Rielly and we are going back to 6 defensemen tonight because of forward depth
PP2 is going to be something like Kerfoot - Spezza - Mikheyev - Simmonds - Brodie

I think I would rather have Hyman in front of the net over Simmonds at this point in the season.  I haven't not liked how Simmonds has played but he isn't really doing that much for the team outside of his fight against Montreal.
 
Bullfrog said:
Frank E said:
Yeah, I don't think we need to try this anymore.
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Ya. He's an awesome winger. Let's keep him winging.
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I mean I'm not saying that he should be a centre permanently, just that he's capable of moving into the position when injuries hit. Is the alternative of playing Kerfoot, who many people also think is better as a winger, at 2C really more appealing?
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Bullfrog said:
Frank E said:
Yeah, I don't think we need to try this anymore.
Click to expand...

Ya. He's an awesome winger. Let's keep him winging.
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I mean I'm not saying that he should be a centre permanently, just that he's capable of moving into the position when injuries hit. Is the alternative of playing Kerfoot, who many people also think is better as a winger, at 2C really more appealing?
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Sure, but you're deleting winger Nylander, and in that case I'd rather have Kerfoot at C and winger Nylander doing his thing.
 
herman said:
Let's try again

Hyman - Tavares - Nylander
Mikheyev - Kerfoot - Marner
Vesey - Brooks - Spezza
Barabanov - Engvall - Simmonds

eh...

Mikheyev - Tavares - Hyman
Vesey - Nylander - Marner
Engvall - Kerfoot - Barabanov
Brooks - Spezza - Simmonds

I don't hate this that much
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I really don't know what I'd do in terms of line combos. Definitely an opportunity for some fringe players to step up and make a statement.

Mikheyev - Tavares - Marner
Hyman - Kerfoot - Nylander 
Vesey - Engvall -  - Barabanov
Brooks - Spezza - Simmonds

Why...first line, Tavares and Marner have worked well together. Tavares is a shooter, Mikheyev also and is fast enough to get in on the forecheck.

Second line, give Kerfoot a chance to see if he can make a consistent impact in a more offensive role. Nylander is the shooter here, all 3 are quick and Hyman does the board work.

Third line, Engvall is a good skater. This is where Vesey belongs IMO even when everyone is healthy. Barabanov - who knows. I wouldn't mind seeing him given a shot higher  up in the lineup but I don't think anyone has a clue what he might be able to provide. Maybe switch him and Hyman to even out the 2nd/3rd lines a bit,

Fourth line, probably won't play much so meh. The slow line. Spezza could be subbed in on other lines when offense is needed. Brooks might be a "safer" bet to play a bigger role on line 3 if Barabanov isn't up to the job.
 
Sportsnet says James Neal will likely slot in for his debut tonight.  I see he had covid-19 IR protocol since Jan. 12. How long is the required time off, assuming he was negative?
 
I would vote Nylander to C. I like the Kerfoot shutdown line concept and performance thus far. I think the team really needs that defensive first match up line. Let's stick to the game plan and not throw anything out the window so early.
 
hap_leaf said:
Sportsnet says James Neal will likely slot in for his debut tonight.  I see he had covid-19 IR protocol since Jan. 12. How long is the required time off, assuming he was negative?
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He was actually technically removed from the NHL's Covid protocol list on the 15th, so I'm assuming that's when he finally tested negative. He's been out since then because of conditioning reasons as he missed all of camp:

There's a story here if you're interested in his experience with it: https://oilersnation.com/2021/01/22/edmonton-oilers-game-notes-neal-discusses-covid-and-hes-ready-to-return/
 
we cant be getting swept at home by division rivals.. hoping the three younger  guys  all inject some spark... grind this out...
 
I was wondering what you meant by three younger guys...
Engvall is 30 days younger than Nylander
Brooks is 5 days younger than Nylander
Barabanov is 26
 
herman said:
I was wondering what you meant by three younger guys...
Engvall is 30 days younger than Nylander
Brooks is 5 days younger than Nylander
Barabanov is 26
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I saw someone refer to Lehtonen as "the kid" the other day. He's 27 years old.
 
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