Jake Walman’s season keeps taking an ugly turn on the Edmonton Oilers’ blue line.
The veteran defenceman is set to be a healthy scratch for the sixth time in the team’s last eight games Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Walman also sat out the past two games after briefly returning to the lineup for a two-game stretch last week, following a run of three straight scratches.
It’s been a frustrating pattern for the 30-year-old, who has been in the lineup for losses in each of his past four appearances. The Oilers are 13-3-3 overall, but Walman has been on the ice for a 0-2-2 stretch in his last four games.
His most recent work came in limited minutes. He played 12:18 against the Anaheim Ducks last Thursday, one game after logging a season-low 11:46 against the New Jersey Devils.
“I’m the only guy really that knows what type of player I can be. I just got to do it and believe in myself,” Walman told Janson Duench of The Athletic of his season-to-date.
“Confidence is the biggest thing. Controlling the play, driving the play, using my legs, getting up into the play, eating a lot of minutes, shutting top guys down.
I thought I did that. I know I have that.”
Walman has one assist in 11 games this season and is averaging 14:15 of ice time under new head coach Mike Babcock. That’s a sharp drop from last season, when he posted eight goals and 20 points in 53 games while averaging 18:45 a night.
Leon Draisaitl backed his teammate’s ability to work through the situation.
“You’re there for him,” Draisaitl told Duench. “But at the end of the day, Wally is a veteran, and I think he knows what he needs to do to get back in and impress our coaching staff in a way that they’re not able to take him out anymore.
“Wally’s been in the league, and he knows how to deal with it.”
Babcock also said Matthew Savoie will spend a few games in the minors as he continues rehabbing from the injury that has kept him out all season.
Elsewhere on the roster, Jarry owns a .902 save percentage and a 2.57 goals-against average in eight starts this season.
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