The Edmonton Oilers Are Prepared For The Playoffs
from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,
A year ago this team waltzed into a playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets after handling the Jets all season long. Then they were rudely swept, and left to ponder what it was they lacked in the playoffs, when the regular season had gone so swimmingly.
This year the regular season was more of a slog. But when you look at what this team is today, it is infinitely superior to the one that became Winnipeg’s doormat last spring.
Kane has been a menace on McDavid’s left side, a conglomeration of speed, power and snipe, with an on-ice attitude that is infectious, bringing his teammates into the proverbial fight.
Zach Hyman is new, a solid, professional 25-goal man who makes his linemates better and is dogged on the forecheck.
Duncan Keith is an upgrade on the back end, a big one who might be tapped if Darnell Nurse – who let Friday’s game in the second period — is hurt for any length of time. Smith is back, and if anything playing even better today than a year ago.
Connor McDavid is today twice the 200-foot player he was a year ago, and Draisaitl has improved as well, from a starting point that was ahead of the captain’s. With Ryan Nugent-Hopkins centering the third line, and young Ryan McLeod the fourth, the Oilers are uber strong down the middle, a pivotal feature of any decent playoff club.
And now, for the first time in three years, they’ll roll it all out in front of a hockey mad city that’s ready to once again assume its role in all of this.
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