NHL Game Preview: Edmonton Oilers vs. Arizona Coyotes | 04/12/2024

When I wrote about the Oilers playing the Golden Knights on February 6th, Adin Hill had a save percentage of .936. He was the (still wait and see) front-runner for the Vezina trophy. After Wednesday night, he now has a .911 SV%. He’s been in a massive slump and had just come back from an injury that kept him out for nearly a month. Even the best goalies will show some fatigue during the season, but that drop-off is pretty astounding. Despite the 5-1 final score, Hill did make some pretty good saves. The only goal he would absolutely take back was Dylan Holloway’s wrap-around goal that happened after he turned the puck over. The first goal was deflected off a defenseman’s leg. Not having Alex Pietrangelo in the line-up plays a decent part in this, too.

But when you’re in his team’s situation, that’s still nowhere near good enough. It’s possible that Edmonton matches up against Vegas in Round 1. It’s also possible that Vegas won’t make the Playoffs at all; they’re not totally safe and sound in the standings yet. Three of their remaining four games are against non-playoff teams, and they only need three points to clinch, but they recently lost to Arizona in regulation. They’ll still be a dangerous team if they do clinch and their injury list is emptied out. They’ll just need to step it up at the most crucial time. If our team does play them in the first round, don’t let Wednesday night dictate your feelings about them.

Holloway played a strong game in his return to the big leagues, with the aforementioned goal he scored and 3 hits. He needs more opportunities in the line-up to produce more than he already does. I’m all for depth on the forward group, but I don’t believe he was drafted to be a bottom six-er. A second-line winger seems like a reasonable expectation for him down the road if he can keep up consistent play.

The Oilers start a back-to-back tonight. First against a team missing the Playoffs by nearly 20 points and tomorrow against the best team in Canada. The keys to the game are…

Good Pinches: Remember that deflected goal from Wednesday I brought up earlier? Cody Ceci made a timely pinch to shoot a lose puck towards the net and was rewarded with his 4th of the season. This happened a week after Darnell Nurse made an untimely pinch while a powerplay was expiring and that led to his opposition going the other way and scoring. Paul Coffey has made this team’s defense more comfortable with looking for offense since his hiring, just so long as they pick their spots responsibly.

Keep Up Good Discipline: I didn’t realize while watching Wednesday night’s game that the Oilers didn’t take a single penalty. No minors, no fighting majors, nothing. Differences in opponents might play a part tonight, but Edmonton has had a tendency in recent memory to let their emotions draw a needless penalty. You can’t predict how any game will go in the moment and it’s a fast game to play. But not allowing Vegas to go on the man advantage once might make the Oilers more aware of how to stay out of the box come Playoff time.

The Almost Inevitable: Though not official yet, news broke out the other day that there may be a deal finalized in moving the Coyotes to Salt Lake City. It’s heartbreaking for any fanbase to lose their team, especially when the league has tried endlessly to keep them. But it’s a results-driven business, and all the Yotes players can do is give the fans who’ve stuck with them a good, proud effort in their three remaining games.