Top ex-Oilers forward killing it in Boston, but won't play tonight against Edmonton

The two best former Edmonton Oilers forwards this year? Viktor Arvidsson and Taylor Hall, both part of strong Eastern Conference teams and both scoring like Top 6 forwards again this season.

Arvidsson, now a member of the resurgent Boston Bruins, is averaging 2.18 points per 60 minutes this year at even strength, second only to Hall among former Oilers forwards at 2.26 points per 60.

This puts Hall and Arvidsson at the same level as Oilers newcomer Jack Roslovic, 2.29 points per 60, Zach Hyman, 2.15 points per 60, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 2.05 points per 60.

Not bad at all so far for the Swedish winger.

But Arvidsson won’t play tonight for the Bruins because he’s out with a lower body injury, this after missing two weeks in November due to injury.

Injury has been the main story of Arvidsson’s career in recent seasons. He missed 15 games last season for the Oilers, and 64 games the season before that for Los Angeles.

For the Oilers, Arvidsson was a solid two-way winger, but he never scored enough to make a great impression on a top line, with just two goals in 15 playoff games, after 15 goals in 67 regular season games. I saw him as a solid two-way player and would have welcomed him back here. But he scored just 1.57 per 60 at even strength, even as he got plenty of chances on Leon Draisaitl’s wing.

In the summer both Arvidsson and the Oilers agreed to part ways and he was traded to Boston for a fifth-round draft pick, opening up cap space for Edmonton to sign Andrew Mangiapane.

Like Arvidsson, Mangiapane has been a solid defender on the wing for Edmonton, but Mangiapane, too, has struggled to score even though he’s played plenty with Connor McDavid and Draisaitl. Mangiapane is at 1.34 points per 60.

Evidently it’s not so easy to succeed on a top line with McDavid and Draisaitl as some might think. The good news is that in players like Zach Hyman, Vasily Podkolzin and newcomer Jack Roslovic, Edmonton has found players who can can do so.

Other former Oilers forwards still in the NHL aren’t doing so well as Arvidsson and Hall this year when it comes to scoring. Warren Foegele is at 1.17 points per 60 ES in Los Angeles, Dylan Holloway (now injured yet again) is at 1.65 points per 60 in St. Louis, and Jeff Skinner at 1.51 per 60 in San Jose.

But Connor Brown is acing it so far in New Jersey, at 2.08 per 60, with Kailer Yamamoto back in the NHL and putting up 2.0 points per 60 for Utah.

Three ex-Oilers forwards who played pro last season, Sam Gagner, Patrick Maroon, and Andreas Athanasiou have retired.

Game Day 35: Oilers vs Bruins

From Bob Stauffer of the Oilers in Boston:
The EdmontonOilers morning skate:

RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Savoie
Mangiapane-Henrique-Janmark
Jones-Frederic-Hutson
Lazar-Tomasek

Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Stastney
Stillman-Emberson

Jarry
Pickard

*Regula (not on ice, been fighting off an illness for a few days)

At the Cult of Hockey

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