Langway
In den Wolken
- Jul 7, 2006
- 32,432
- 9,150
Maybe so. Other underlying stats don't suggest much of a drop-off aside from primary points/60. To me he doesn't pass the eye test compared to past seasons and it's not just some nights playing a position he shouldn't be playing. The defense and jam remain but he doesn't seem to get himself into position for as many dangerous chances or forecheck as effectively. I don't know that I trust high danger/iG stats to truly measure quality of chances. It doesn't seem like he's getting them nearly as often and doesn't flash his typical offensive determination 5-on-5. I'm not comparing Oshie to Hagelin...just that there are limits to hustle.TJ Oshie is not going to continue shooting 4.5% at 5v5. He’s doing well, and the points at 5v5 will indeed come (assuming he moves back to the wing when Eller is back).
Though I’m not going to predict he’s going to score at the clip Kuznetsov is scoring, because Kuznetsov has been a legit force at 5v5 all season while Oshie has been merely very good.
Historically he's been a deadly finisher but not much of a volume guy and you wonder how that ages. It doesn't take much of a step lost for that delicate timing to fall off. He's still a battler and I'm not saying trade him at the deadline but IMO those two wingers are huge keys that need to be better on most nights. I consider them the two biggest unknowns now. Samsonov looks very good. Team defense is coming along. They're fourth in goals per game but I think the offense can still be a fair bit better. Those two on most nights are the ones that seem most off form. Again, it's very wise to put them in softer roles to gain confidence but there does seem to be some inconsistency or lost confidence between the two. Maybe some luck helps them regain it but I think there's some reason to be concerned about certain weaknesses in both of their games and whether or not they're strong ~$5.5M level wingers going forward. Of course, unlocking those two now becomes a pretty manageable top priority all things considered. Do that and they could become a real machine.
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