This in from Paige Martin of Oilers TV, news that Top 6 winger Kasperi Kapanen is now out.
“Kris Knoblauch says Kasperi Kapanen is expected to miss the first two games of this road trip. Adam Henrique is expected to be good to go. When asked about Kapanen, Knoblauch referred to it as ‘a little ailment, different injury’ referring to what Kapanen was battling earlier in the year.”
58 games
My take
1. Hard to know what to make of this without knowing exactly why Kapanen is missing. He’s already had an injury marred season missing more than two months of play. When he came back to the line-up, however, he was a beast on the wing with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin, scoring 10 points in 13 games.
2. Henrique has struggled with the speed of the game as a third line centre, but he’s still a valuable role player, especially on the penalty kill. Can Henrique help a failing Oilers PK? Help is much needed.
3. The Oilers also have to find a way to get third-line centre Josh Samanski back into the line-up. Samanski is back in Bakersfield after playing a big role for Germany at the Olympics. Samanski played five good games for the Oilers in January and the team needs him in NHL games pronto to see if he’s the answer at third-line centre.
P.S. Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper on 3-on-3 Overtime in Olympics: “You take four players off the ice, now hockey’s not hockey anymore. There’s a reason overtime and shootouts are in play — it’s all TV-driven to end games, so it’s not a long time. There’s a reason why it’s not in the Stanley Cup final or playoffs.”
At the Cult of Hockey
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