The Edmonton Oilers are getting some much-needed reinforcements. The Oilers announced they have activated forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from their injured reserve. Having 22 players on the active roster beforehand, Edmonton didn’t need to make a corresponding roster move.
Despite missing the last three weeks with an undisclosed injury, Nugent-Hopkins remains the fourth-highest-scoring forward on the Oilers’ roster. It highlights the Oilers’ challenges in spreading the offense around this year. At the time of writing, 44% of Edmonton’s goals this year have come from three players: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Jack Roslovic.
Still, having Nugent-Hopkins back in the mix will alleviate some of those issues. Throughout his 9-game absence, Edmonton has managed a 4-4-1 record, averaging 3.3 GF/G.
The former first-overall pick’s performance this year has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He’s returned to a point-per-game average, scoring five goals and 16 points in 16 games, averaging 18:49 of ice time. However, his defensive metrics have completely cratered.
Although not perceived as one of the best defensive forwards in the game, Nugent-Hopkins has garnered votes for the Selke Trophy in the past, and he’s averaged a quality 90.3% at even strength throughout his time with the Oilers. However, this season, he’s averaged an 85.3% in that department, which would be the worst of his career by a significant margin.
Furthermore, he appears to have lost some of his mojo in the faceoff dot. He averaged a respectable 48.2% success rate over the past two years, but has seen it crumble to 41.3% this season. That’s likely why the Oilers’ coaching staff has primarily played Nugent-Hopkins on McDavid’s wing this season, rather than have him centering his own line.
Regardless, scoring depth and subpar defensive play from Nugent-Hopkins are hardly Edmonton’s biggest concerns this season. Despite getting off to slow starts over the past few years, the Oilers have struggled to overcome their goaltending woes.
Through American Thanksgiving, the Oilers are 10-10-5, putting them sixth in the Pacific Division and 11th in the Western Conference with the third-worst goal differential in the league. Nearly all of that can be placed on the backs of netminders Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, who have produced a combined .860 SV% on the year.
Hopefully he can stop a puck