Oilers Defense In Store For Big Challenge

EDMONTON -- When it rains, it pours.

Such is the case for the Edmonton Oilers defense situation. Unfortunately for the team, Darnell Nurse will miss five to 10 days recovering.

What does this mean for the Oilers defense? Saddle up, cowboys and cowgirls. This could get bumpy.

The defense pairings are going to be interesting to observe. Bob Stauffer reported the pairings of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard, Brett Kulak and Ty Emberson, and Travis Dermott and Troy Stecher, with Josh Brown being the extra.

Heavy Workload Incoming

Kris Knoblauch has shown an aversion to playing Stecher and Dermott, but playing with seven defensemen has made it worse.

Stecher has played 13:30, 8:15, and 15:04 in the last three games, respectively. Alternatively, Dermott has skated for 5:44 and 8:13 in his last two starts against the Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Kulak has played at least 20 minutes a night for seven of the Oilers' last eight games, over 21 minutes in three of their last five.

With Nurse out, don't be surprised to see Kulak play in the neighborhood of 25 minutes right away. The Oilers coaching staff is about to discover just how durable Kulak is.

Who Will Knoblauch Trust?

Who will Knoblauch lean on the most out of Stecher, Brown, Dermott, and Emberson?

In the Oilers first game without Nurse, here is how the ice time was dished out for all seven defensemen:

• Bouchard 22:35

• Ekholm 21:16

• Dermott 12:37

• Kulak 18:10

• Brown 11:58

• Emberson 13:02

• Stecher 15:27

The Ice time information from Last Game Lines shows that the Kulak pairing featured a rotating cast. Knoblauch cycled between Stecher and Emberson with Kulak and kept Brown and Dermott unchanged.

This explains why Dermott and Brown have the least ice time of the seven defenders.

Additionally, we see an interesting split between Emberson and Stecher. According to the Event Summary from NHL.com, Stecher played more at even strength (14:23 vs. 10:50), but Emberson played more on the penalty kill (2:12 vs. 1:04).

It was just one game, but there is no denying that the Oilers' depth on defense will be tested in this next stretch.

Nurse means a lot to this team, and that is clear with the volume of players needed to make up for his loss.

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