"I feel confident": Sam Gagner ready to help jumpstart Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers will have some help from fan-favourite Sam Gagner tonight.
After missing the last four games as a healthy scratch, the 34-year-old veteran will get back into the lineup in favour of Mattias Janmark.
It has been a good season for Gagner as he has taken advantage of his limited opportunities in the lineup. Despite playing in just 22 games so far this year, the former first-rounder has been able to score five goals and five points, which is equal to or more than Derek Ryan, Connor Brown, Dylan Holloway, and Janmark. This makes him one of the more productive bottom-six players the team has deployed this season.
“It’s always nice to get back into the lineup and I feel confident,” Gagner told reporters after practice at Rogers Place. “Even when I’m out, I continue to work on my game so that when I am called upon, I’m ready to go.”
"You just want to find a way to create value any way you can."
Sam Gagner speaks ahead of tonight’s matchup vs. the Red Wings. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/yn6i7GIMr4
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 13, 2024
The hope is that Gagner will be able to jumpstart an Oilers bottom-six that has dried up offensively of late. Though the third line of Dylan Holloway, Ryan McLeod, and Warren Foegele has looked good, they have been unable to capitalize on their chances over the team’s latest three-game road trip on the West Coast.
Edmonton is riding a bit of a mini-slump after the NHL All-Star break, dropping two of the three games they’ve played since returning to action.
“We’ve dealt with our fair share of adversity this year,” said Gagner. “It’s just another test for us and you want tests going into the playoffs… you never want to lose games, but there is always learning experiences within them and we just have to continue to grow here.”
Tonight’s game will hold some added emotion for Gagner as he will play against the Detroit Red Wings, a team he spent three seasons with between 2020 and 2022. Though he is happy to return to his old stomping grounds in Edmonton, he acknowledges that he enjoyed his time with Detroit.
“[The Red Wings] treat you really well, it’s a really underrated place to live, and my family had a great time there so I think playing for that organization, an original six team, there was a lot to like about it and still have a lot of good friends over there… hoping to get a win against them tonight.”
Gagner will be playing on the team’s fourth line tonight alongside Ryan and Brown. He has just one goal over the last four games he appeared in, but that goal wound up being the game-winner against the Calgary Flames on January 20, earning him the nickname “Papa Clutch” among his teammates.
Papa Oiler gives us the lead đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/RFDPqUeelU
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 21, 2024
We’ll see if Gagner can bring more of that clutch style of play when the Oilers look to get their 31st win of the season tonight. Puck drop is set for 7 pm MT on Sportsnet West.