Oilers Notebook: Nugent-Hopkins looks to regain offensive touch

By Anthony On May 6, 2023

LAS VEGAS — Through seven playoff games this spring, plenty of different Edmonton Oilers have had their moments.

Kailer Yamamoto notched a series-winner. Zach Hyman and Evander Kane had two key goals each. Nick Bjugstad and Klim Kostin have each had a two-goal game. Evan Bouchard has been extremely productive. Leon Draisaitl had a four-goal game, and 11 so far in these playoffs.

Then there’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, whose career-best 104-point season (37 goals) has so far not carried over to the post-season. He’s got just four assists, one even-strength point, and zero goals heading into Game 2 versus the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

Pitter patter…

“I’ve got to shoot the puck a bit more and try to create a little more, personally,” said Nugent-Hopkins, whose team lost 6-4 in Game 1. “I’ve tried to round out my game as my career’s gone on here, to be a 200-foot player and be able to contribute in different areas of the game.

“When I say that, I still want to be able to help out on the offensive side of things. Sometimes, you need an extra goal. I’ve got to find a way to contribute to that, too.”

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If Vegas is said to have more effective depth players on their third and fourth lines than Edmonton — and that will still have to be borne out as this series goes along — then the Oilers likely have more potency in their Top 6. Behind Draisaitl and Connor McDavid reside some elite scorers in Hyman, Kane and Nugent-Hopkins.

If they’re all going, it’s hard to keep Edmonton under four goals a night.

In the meantime, the longest-serving Oiler will continue with his work — mostly on the wing and in these playoffs — as a key member of both special teams units.

“It hasn’t gone in for (Nugent-Hopkins) in these playoffs through seven games at the rate it went in for him during the regular season,” said his coach, Jay Woodcroft. “But you would be remiss if you just measured his contribution solely in offensive production.”

You’ll see a different Oilers team in Game 2, promised Edmonton’s captain.

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“Our sense of urgency has got to go up,” McDavid said. “It’s a big game — you never want to go down 2-0 in a series. But that being said, we’ve lost Game 1s a bunch (seven straight series). It’s unfortunate, but it’s a situation that we’ve been in before, and one that we’ve learned from.

Shots Fired!

Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy flew a trial balloon on the “Oilers are targeting Mark Stone’s back” topic Thursday, but it was all he could do to push the meter to indignant. By playoff metrics, Cassidy didn’t come close to ‘sour,’ and is more than one press conference removed from ‘outraged.’

Stone has missed big parts of the past two seasons with a pair of back surgeries, and appears to be playing in pain. But he’s a big guy who takes up residence in the slot, and anyone who stands there come playoff time is bound to catch the odd cross-check below the numbers.

“It’s playoffs, right? You can start to see them target Mark Stone, maybe, a little bit more than in the regular season,” Cassidy said. “At the end of the day we have to keep an eye on that.

“Maybe we’ll get the call to go our way on some of their undisciplined stuff, specifically against Mark Stone.”

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Of course, Woodcroft could not allow that pitch go by without taking a swing heading into Game 2, labelling the topic “a narrative.”

“Hockey is a contact sport,” began the Oilers coach. “Their coaching staff has enough experience and pedigree to know that.

“I don’t always believe in or like every call that gets made. But I believe that NHL officials call ‘em as they see ‘em. And the one thing I don’t think they abide by is lobbying or trying to influence … through press conferences or media.”

The referees for Game 2 are Kelly Sutherland and Trevor Hanson.

Line Dance?

In the days and hours prior to Game 1, Woodcroft went quite some distance in trying to create some confusion about his line combos. They practised with McDavid and Draisaitl together while in Los Angeles, and even did so in the pregame warmup of Game 1 at Vegas.

Then when the game started, the Oilers trotted out completely different lines — even making sure the lines on the in-house lineup sheets handed out in the press box did not have the true Oilers lineup. That’s rare.

We asked Draisaitl if it’s hard to build a rhythm through the forward lines when they don’t even play together until the game begins.

“You’d have to you’d have to ask the other guys, but for me personally no, it doesn’t (matter),” he said. “But I’m sure for some guys it’s a little harder.”

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You’ve got to be on your toes when you’re on Woodcroft’s bench. Between the fact he likes to go with just 11 forwards more than most other coaches, and then juggles his lines through the week the way he does, you can see why he has played so many line combinations all season long in preparation for this playoff subterfuge.

The Golden Knights, meanwhile, come as advertised. They’re four lines deep and come in waves, forechecking far harder than the Los Angeles Kings did in Round 1.

“It’s definitely a different looking team, a different system,” Draisaitl said. “But overall, we just weren’t good enough (in Game 1. That’s not even close to how we play, how we successfully play. We’ll be better.”

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