Hot Links: Wednesday, January 20

Morning, folks!

It’s GAMEDAY, so you know what that means: there’s a good chance the day ends poorly.

The Oilers take their talents to South East... Ontario, for a battle against the current North Division leaders: the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Narratives abound heading into this one. Word is that Ethan Bear will draw back in but questions remain about the F groups and whether they’ll remain the same or continue to be shaken up as Dave Tippett looks for something else.

Ryan McLeod’s departure is a bit of a shock to anyone who has watched even one fourth line shift, but perhaps most surprising was seeing Kris Russell slot in for Bear rather than Evan Bouchard. I get the name of the second Montreal game was to prevent goals, but you typically only want that for your opponent, not your team, too. Edmonton’s offense looked disjointed for most of the night and it was in large part due to the forwards being unable to accept exit passes.

Of course, those exit passes were often nipple-high, at minimum, and often along the glass, but whatever.

(Those weren’t exit passes.)

Wheel it back around later this morning for our GAME PREVIEW and then, of course, swing by for our GAME THREAD about an hour before puck drop (5:00 PM MST). We’ve had some beauties so far, and now that we’re down two commenters we’ll need everyone else to chip in to maintain our comments/60. Thanks for stopping by. Stay classy.

And thanks for stopping by.

And stay classy.

And LFG.

Letters To Coach Tippett (Copper and Blue)

A new record! (Copper and Blue)

Hot Links: Tuesday, January 19 (Copper and Blue)

Edmonton Oilers: Dave Tippett Acknowledges The Obvious Main Problem (OOW)

Edmonton Oilers: Do Not Hit The Panic Button Just Yet (OoW)

Matthews Vs. McDavid Rivalry In North Division Ready To Ramp Up (SN)

Effort And Consistency (ON)

31 Thoughts: Why Avalanche Traded Ian Cole To Minnesota (SN)

Edmonton Oilers Coming Apart At Seams Through First Four Games Of Season (ES)

Dave Tippett Believes Oilers Need To “Shoot The Puck More” (TOR)

Holland Wants To See Consistent, Competing Oilers Team On First Road Trip In Forever (ES)

Oilers Goaltending Issues Rest Squarely On Holland’s Shoulders (THW)

Oilers Big Guns Shooting Blanks (ON)

Report: Edmonton Oilers Assign Ryan McLeod To Bakersfield Condors (ON)

Breaking Down The Oilers’ 1-3-0 Start, Whether It’s Time To Panic (SN)

Edmonton Oilers Starting The Season The Same Way Their Last One Ended (ES)

4 Takeaways From The Oilers’ 3-1 Loss To The Canadiens (THW)

Two Weeks From Everywhere! (LT)

DGB weekend power rankings: It’s way too early for these. Or is it? (TA)

Lowetide: Is this peak Connor McDavid? (TA)