EDMONTON – Cliches are cliches for a reason.
You hear them every once in a while when an Edmonton Oilers player is interviewed before or after a game. Often they’ll start by saying, “I know it’s a cliche, but…”
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Cliches are rooted in some kind of truth. However, when someone doesn’t know what to say, they often revert to a cliche instead of thinking of a new way to say it that adds a personal spin.
However, one hockey cliche holds the key to the Oilers' gaining a short-term (and long-term) advantage over the Dallas Stars.
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“We Just Gotta Get Pucks In Deep”
One of the best cliches in hockey is the old saying, " We just gotta get pucks in deep.” The Oilers need to do this for several reasons.
Reason one, they have great forecheckers. Zach Hyman, Evander Kane, Vasily Podkolzin, Connor Brown, and Trent Frederic are good forecheckers.
By getting pucks in deep, these players could lay the body on the opposition and come away with the puck in the offensive zone. This would help the team establish offensive zone time and allow more creative players to work their magic.
Reason two: the Stars are primarily relying on four defenders. Lian Bichsel and Ilya Lyubushkin played 12:40 and 11:41 in Game 1. All the remaining defenders played over 20 minutes, with Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley playing over 24 minutes.
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By dumping the puck into the Stars' zone, forcing the defenders to skate more, and then having the forecheckers finish their checks, the Oilers gain a physical edge. The Oilers will utilize their physicality in a more productive way, a way that will more easily help them generate zone time and physically wear down their defenders, especially the minute-munching ones.
More reasons could be listed for why this change is needed for the Oilers. However, physically wearing down the Stars’ defenders and generating zone time should reduce turnovers and odd-man rushes coming the other way.
And that will only help the Oilers win Game 2 (and potentially more).
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