this is a very winnable series for us.
*we have much more depth - the best option will be to have miller match mcdavid, lindholm against the draisaitl line, and petey against derek ryan lol. if we tie those first two matchups at es - which is a very tall order - the series can be ours. where it becomes much more possible is if we can stay away from ekholm. pettersson is the x factor and needs to be able to feast on the kulak-desharnais and nurse-ceci pairings.
*keep things at even strength as much as possible - the oilers pp is lethal and they've figured things out on the pk (although la has a feeble powerplay) - with where our pp has been, if this becomes a special teams series we're f***ed
*need to get to skinner early. he doesn't have the mental fortitude of silovs. it's like getting to desmith. skinner is capable of a steady 25 save win if things go right, but if they don't, he will let in 4 weak goals on 20 shots. we have to win/close out the games where that happens
*not even joking, i think this can be a big series for ilya mikheyev as a defensive winger matching against hyman. hoglander will drive draisaitl insane.
*haven't been hugely impressed with tocchet in the playoffs so far, but i think he's a tier or two above knoblauch
*ian cole will be massive, as will soucy. i'm a bit worried about zadarov getting overzealous and we know what happens when myers is in chaos mode. those two i'm worried about.
*final hot take: i think hughes can have more impact in this series than mcdavid. not necessarily on the scoresheet, but if he's on the ice for 25+ minutes, that's tilted in our favour. we need him to be a norris level, future hhof'er in this series and i think he's more than up to the task.
