Sam Gagner is expected to return to the Edmonton Oilers lineup.
Days after I wrote on Sam Gagner’s status as a healthy scratch and what it would take for him to return to the Edmonton Oilers lineup, it appears the team is set to put him back in the mix.
After Oilers practice at Rogers Place Monday morning, Gagner led the team’s post-practice stretch, which team reporter Tony Brar described as a “clear indication he’s back in the lineup.”
His comeback, scheduled for Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, will place him on the Oilers’ fourth line with Derek Ryan and Connor Brown.
In Sunday’s The Day After, I discussed how the Oilers might benefit from removing Mattias Janmark or Connor Brown from the lineup in favour of Gagner. The latter two have had no offensive contribution this season, while Gagner, who has appeared in over half of the games, has one fewer 5v5 points than Janmark and Brown combined.
Furthermore, Gagner’s 2.58 5v5 points per hour rank second among all Oilers forwards, trailing only Connor McDavid, and his 1.44 5v5 goals per hour rank second only to Zach Hyman.
Gagner has nine 5v5 points this season, more than Derek Ryan (48 GP: 3-3—6), Mattias Janmark (38 GP: 1-5—6), Connor Brown (41 GP: 0-4—4), Dylan Holloway (21 GP: 2-1—3), James Hamblin (31 GP: 2-1—3), and Adam Erne (23 GP: 1-1—2).
Gagner’s return to the Oilers’ roster should be permanent. While Janmark and Brown are both effective penalty-killers, their inability to generate attack or drive play at 5v5 is a major concern.
Producing offence when McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are not on the ice remains a huge challenge for this Oilers club. The Oilers average 4.34 goals per hour when they play 5v5 together under Knoblauch. That rate drops to 4 goals per hour when McDavid is not on the ice, and to 3.04 goals per hour when Draisaitl is.
However, when neither of them is on the ice, the Oilers have scored a mere 1.73 goals per hour, which is nearly as poor as the whole Chicago Blackhawks, who have scored only 1.68 goals per hour at 5v5, the lowest rate in the NHL since Nov. 13.
What is noteworthy, however, is that when Gagner is on the ice at 5v5 while McDavid and Draisaitl are not, the Oilers have averaged 3.41 goals per hour. That’s a crazily impressive figure, and it should inspire the Oilers to keep Gagner in the lineup, even if he can only score 2.5 goals per hour on average.
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