BLOG: Foegele finding his form

EDMONTON, AB - It was just one of those plays for Warren Foegele where everything went right.
With the Oilers up on the Vegas Golden Knights by a pair of goals in the third period of Saturday's shutout victory, the 26-year-old rapidly pursued a pass up to the point just over five minutes into the final frame before intercepting the ensuing feed from defenceman Alec Martinez and taking off up ice.
"I think I'm just trying to prevent the pass," Foegele said. "I don't want that other defenceman to beat me because that's my guy, so first instinct is to stop the play. I got a fortunate bounce and the wheels went off there."
Foegele had all the speed he needed to look off his trailing linemate Derek Ryan, burn the Vegas blueliner wide, and fly up the ice uncontested to tuck home his 12th of the season with a backhand over the left pad of Logan Thompson.
"I've had a few that go in and a few that don't go in, so it was nice that one went in," he added. "I read the play and just had so much speed that I kind of just went in alone."

A lot for the Markham, Ont. product has gone right in the last several weeks since he became part of a line assembled by Head Coach Jay Woodcroft with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Derek Ryan, including three goals in his last five games after only being able to find the back of the net three times in the previous 24 contests.
The first-year Oiler who arrived following an off-season trade from the Carolina Hurricanes has been playing some of his best hockey as of late after adjusting to his new surroundings and teammates over the course of this 82-game regular season that's seen plenty of ups and downs, anomalies and forced adjustments.
"Obviously I wish it would've happened a bit earlier than it did. It's been a weird year," Foegele said. "We've had a coaching change and that horrible slump at that one point of the season. It's just about finding ways to somehow contribute, whether that's scoring or anything like that.
"I think for myself, I play my best when I'm playing simple and north trying to generate chances playing that way."
Foegele's hard and fast style of hockey has meshed well alongside Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan -- two players who channel similar hard-working attitudes while having the hockey IQ and experience to round out the line into a formidable trio. As of late, the chemistry and the results have just been clicking in the right ways.

"It's got the element of a pretty good line," Woodcroft said. "You have the size and speed of Foegele, someone who gets in on the forecheck and he's got a good shot. Nugent-Hopkins is a very cerebral, 200-foot player that makes people better. I like Derek Ryan who brings experience. I think he brings a dogged work ethic, he brings a level of hockey intelligence that compliments the other two.
Woodcroft continued: "For whatever reason, this was something that we went to right off the bat when (Assistant Coach Dave Manson) and I came up from Bakersfield and we've had good results with them. I'm happy for them, they feel like a big part of the team, and that's a result of the work they're putting in."
Foegele believes his success can grow beyond the regular season and into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where a post-season style of hockey can fit in nicely with the strong suits of his game.
"It's more north, there are fewer penalties in the playoffs, so there's more 5-on-5 ice that gets to be spread throughout the whole lineup and more rhythm in that sense because you're not sitting on the bench for so long with all the penalties during the game," he said. "I think playoff hockey, there's a lot of grinding and that's something I enjoy doing."