Something Needs To Be Done About The Oilers' Second Pair

Almost nothing has worked as the Oilers have cycled players on and off Darnell Nurse's pairing.

Yannick Peterhans-USA TODAY Sports - Something Needs To Be Done About The Oilers' Second Pair

The Oilers came into this season with a major hole on the blueline.

One month into the season and not only has that hole not been filled, it seems to be growing larger by the day. The Oilers' second defence pair has been a trainwreck all season, and it's time to take action.

Heading into the season, there was an open battle for the right spot on the second pair between Ty Emberson, Troy Stecher, and Travis Dermott. Emberson has since settled into a very comfortable partnership with Brett Kulak on the third pair, leaving Stecher and Dermott to swap in and out next to Darnell Nurse.

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After 13 games, it's clear what's not working.

While Nurse has long been a lightning rod for criticism in Edmonton and hasn't done himself any favours with his play this season, he is not the main culprit behind the Oilers' struggles on the second pair.

Nurse has been completely fine in 87 minutes next to Troy Stecher, with the pair garnering an expected goals share of exactly 50%. That's not ideal for a second pair, but it's not a killer. They've simply been unlucky, with a real goals share of just 20%. It's hard to hold that against them too much when the entire team has been plagued by poor goaltending and finishing.

Where the second pair has cratered is in the minutes shared between Nurse and Dermott. They've played 72 minutes together, with a truly awful xG% of 27.4%, second worst in the league among pairs who have played at least 50 minutes together. It's been a debacle, as the pair can't produce any offence or make any stops on defence because they're constantly hemmed in their own zone.

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Nurse and Dermott have been the beneficiaries of incredibly good luck, somehow posting a dead even goals share together, but it's a safe bet that won't continue. Simply put, Dermott can't play next to Nurse.

Now, obviously it's not great that the Oilers' $9.5 million defender needs a babysitter, and his xG of 41.8% still leaves a lot to be desired. The Oilers should still be focused on improving their second pair above all else. But with two excellent pairs in Mattias Ekholm/Evan Bouchard (60.7 xG%) and Kulak/Emberson (62.6%), the Oilers can live with Nurse and Stecher for now.

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There is one more thing the Oilers can do to improve that second pair right now: don't play them so much. Nurse plays more minutes per game than any Oiler other than their top defensive pair. Swapping the bottom pairs, or at least giving them a more equal share of the ice time, could improve the Oilers' defence and lessen the burden on Nurse.

With two pairs rocking expected goals shares over 60%, the Oilers' blueline is generally in pretty good shape. A slight adjustment to their deployment could make it even better.

All stats courtesy of MoneyPuck.

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