If we created a word cloud for this blog since 2005, the big and bold words would be down and out. I think “nadir” and “darkness” and most of the lyrics to the Edmund Fitzgerald would be there, along with a photo of a young, beautiful and sad eyed Bonnie Raitt. Sometimes in life you spend so much time doing one thing, people tend to typecast you. Can this blog shake the blues? There’s never been a need to find out. Perhaps that will change.
THE ATHLETIC!
The Athletic Edmonton is going to bring it all season long. Proud to be part of a lineup that is ready to cover the coming year. Outstanding coverage from a large group, including Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Jonathan Willis, Lowetide, Minnia Feng and Pat McLean. If you haven’t subscribed yet, now’s your chance. Special offer is here, less than $3.50 a month!
- New Lowetide: Everything’s coming up Oilers as young AHL hopefuls in Bakersfield hammer Flames’ farmhands.
- New Dan Robson: Bringing a commitment to telling untold stories to The Athletic.
- Lowetide: Jesse Puljujarvi gets scratched, so what’s next for Edmonton’s lottery winger?
- Tyler Dellow: Oilers treading water despite tough schedule, but still struggle to score without Connor McDavid.
- Jonathan Willis: Connor McDavid finds another gear, but Oilers still lack scoring on the wing.
- Cat Silverman: How Laurent Brossoit found his way back to NHL form.
- Lowetide: Todd McLellan finds a suitable spot in the order for Milan Lucic.
- Jonathan Willis: Four reasons why the Oilers should return Evan Bouchard to junior.
- Lowetide: Drake Caggiula might be hearing footsteps as the Oilers look for offence to replace injured Ty Rattie.
- Lowetide: Kirill Maksimov is tearing up the OHL, three Condors fly high.
- Lowetide: Peter Chiarelli’s race against time.
- Daniel Nugent-Hopkins: Asking McDavid to take on Bergeron line at home shows what Oilers are missing.
- New Daniel Nugent-Hopkins: Remembering Ron Chipperfield’s brief and hellish time as captain of the Edmonton Oilers.
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Q&A: Grant Fuhr talks about his journey, drug use and the state of goaltending.
- Lowetide: Math offers a surprising option for Leon Draisaitl’s struggling No. 2 line
OILERS IN OCTOBER
- Oilers in October 2015: 3-7-0, six points; goal differential -7
- Oilers in October 2016: 7-2-1, 15 points; goal differential +9
- Oilers in October 2017: 3-6-1, seven points; goal differential -11
- Oilers in October 2018: 6-3-1, 13 points; goal differential -1
I picked the Oilers to finish with 90-94 points, that would mean 11 points in the first 10 games. This year’s team has 13 points and stand secord in the Pacific Division (one point behind the Sharks with a game in hand). The early panic of the two opening games is a seemingly distant bell, the gnashing of teeth over youngsters in the pressbox is an conversation most fans are less angry about this morning. If you’re a glass half empty sort, it’s probably easy to overcome these last eight games and find a downbeat. Breathe deep, the gathering gloom. If you’re a glass half full type, here comes the sun. Seems like years since it’s been here.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN OCTOBER
- On the road to: Sweden to play NJD (Expected: 0-0-1) (Actual: 0-1-0)
- On the road to: Boston, NYR, Winnipeg (Expected 1-2-0) (Actual 2-1-0)
- At home to: Boston, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Washington (Expected 1-3-0) (Actual 2-1-1)
- On the road to: Nashville, Chicago (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 2-0-0)
- At home to: Minnesota (Expected 0-0-1) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 3-6-2, 8 points in 11 games
- Current results: 6-3-1, 13 points after 10 games
One game left in a month we discussed at length over the summer. In my wildest dreams it never occurred to me this Oilers team would drill this level of competition this badly. Music! The final game of the month is against the Wild, who are 6-2-2 on the year. There are hits and there are misses, I was nowhere near actual factual.
DEFENSE, LAST NIGHT
- Nurse-Russell went 16-14 in 15:42, 8-8 and 1-0 in goals. The duo was 3-1 in scoring chances, Russell was sending strong outlet passes and Nurse skated the puck to safety several times. Duo got caught out of position briefly a few times due to good sticks by Chicago forechecking, but recovered well. Both men lack offensive flair, but as Adam Larsson has shown, passing the puck up smartly can gather assists. Were 5-6 in 6:40 against Ladd-Anisimov-Kane. Went 5-8 in 6:58 with McDavid, you’d like a more creative pairing out there with the captain but this duo has settled down a problem area from early in the season.
- Klefbom-Larsson were 18-17 in 18:06, 8-12 shots and no goals, 2-1 in HDSC. Went 7-13 against Kohun-Toews-Debrincat who were a handful. Shots were even more severe (3-9) but the Toews line was effective all night long. Larsson made some impressive outlet passes, Yawney is having success. All six defensemen looked a little ragged from so much hockey in 24 hours but managed to win the day. If I had a vote, Oscar Klefbom would be going to the All-Star game. Seriously.
- Garrison-Benning were 8-18 in 9:40, 5-9 shots, no goals and 2-2 HDSC. Duo played the most minutes for a third pairing in a few games, mostly because of the back-to-back. Were 4-6 against the Kane line and I would say this was the best effort by Benning this year. Not a difficult bar, but he seems to be coming out of it.
- Cam Talbot was the Oilers best player, stopping 31 of 32, .969.
- NaturalStatTrick and NHL.com.
FORWARDS, LAST NIGHT
- Khaira-Brodziak-Kassian were the No. 1 line according to the captain, scoring a massive goal in regulation and winning the possession battle. Were 11-6 in 8:07, 6-6 shots and 1-0 in goals. There’s an old saw about winning if your fourth line scores and it held true for Edmonton last night. 3-1 HDSC. Were 6-3 in 3:49 against Gustafsson.
- Lucic-Strome-Caggiula went 12-9 in 10:45, 5-4 shots, no goals and 2-1 HDSC. I like the line but they have to score at some point or they’re headed for the glue factory as a trio. Went 11-7 against Manning-Davidson, it felt like the line could easily grab possession at times. Strome had a nice look in front, Lucic has been goalmouth several times lately but can’t seem to get his fingers on the frets.
- Rieder-Draisaitl-Chiasson posted 6-8 in 7:15, 3-4 shots, no goals and 0-1 HDSC. Leon set up Rieder on a slow developing two-on-one, just couldn’t get it done. It was a Doug Weight style dish though and then LD did it again in overtime. I would give my left nut to be able to pass as beautifully. It’s an art form.
- Nuge-McDavid-Yamamoto delivered 11-17 in 14:21, the entire line looked tired most of the game. 97 went 6-8 shots and 2-0 HDSC with 97, McLellan dropped Yamamoto at times (Leon 1-4 with the captain in less than three minutes) and of course McDavid drilled the puck home in overtime on the only chance he’d need to make a difference. Ty Rattie is missed, pretty clear. McDavid went 9-20 against Jokiharju, 11-17 against Keith and 4-5 against Seabrook. He and Jokiharju appear to have flipped at some point.
IMPORTANT WINS
I used to love reading Rolling Stone album reviews, partly because they took country albums seriously and partly because there were no others doing it. I kind of gave up when Dave Marsh started changing Beach Boys lyrics to make Brian Wilson look like a genius (he didn’t need to) but the magazine gave fabulous album reviews from 1974 to 1984. I kind of drifted away when the phrase “important album” became a common term.
I think it’s fair to call these recent victories important to the Oilers organization, and to Todd McLellan. I have always felt the head coach is only as strong as his roster and 3+ years in there’s nothing close to balance for your Edmonton Oilers. That’s not to gloss over several curios, but you can’t (in my opinion) fire the coach for failing to win with mad dogs and Englishmen.
Anyway, these recent wins were massive for McLellan, any fool can see it. An October record such as the one I projected could have been the final weeks of his coaching career in Edmonton. Now? I expect we may see a roster tweak here or there, but as long as this team is in contention for a playoff spot, the coach and general manager will survive.
Are there any pressure points? Yes. Peter Chiarelli is going to have to send Jesse Puljujarvi to Bakersfield, that might happen this week. I don’t believe they’ll trade the young man, and I don’t think he’s been poor, but circumstances have conspired against him. Send him to California, let him hammer goalies and score goals, give him a feel for success.
The other issue is Kailer Yamamoto. In my opinion he earned the NHL job but hasn’t been able to click with 97 and 93. Moving him down when Rattie returns will hopefully solve it, but sending both young wingers down is an option. I wonder if we see the general manager reach out and acquire a veteran.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
We’re back with a fun and busy Monday, trying to catch up to the happy train known as Oilers nation. At 10 this morning, TSN1260. Scheduled to appear:
- Gabe Lacques, USA Today. The Boston Red Sox might be the best baseball team of this century, and possibly a few decades before. We’ll chat with Gabe.
- Andy McNamara, TSN4Downs. A crazy NFL weekend makes some things clearer, leaves others in a London fog.
- Jason Gregor, TSN1260. The Eskimos are out, how deep will the changes be? Despite that fact, the Grey Cup is coming to Edmonton and will be a blast! We’ll also chat Oilers.
10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. Talk soon!
Maybe the coach has a plan like:
Let Jesse watch a ton of video of the McD line at work with the assistant coaches in order to try to see where his go areas are on that line as I guess Jami might sit a couple of games next.
If they can get Jesse to work a bit better on that line he might survive and get back to the Strome line once Rattle is fit.
The plan could be having Jesse and Jamo auditin on the first line and if both fail they go to Bakes together once Rattle is back. Doing it that way they might actually not kill Jesse’s confidence any further as it is pretty “dead” already.
I suppose it’s as good a guess on what’s going on as any. Kind of make sense in my head but that doesn’t mean squat?
Richard Roma,
Maybe the coach has a plan like:
Let Jesse watch a ton of video of the McD line at work with the assistant coaches in order to try to see where his go areas are on that line as I guess Jami might sit a couple of games next.
If they can get Jesse to work a bit better on that line he might survive and get back to the Strome line once Rattle is fit.
The plan could be having Jesse and Jamo auditin on the first line and if both fail they go to Bakes together once Rattle is back. Doing it that way they might actually not kill Jesse’s confidence any further as it is pretty “dead” already.
I suppose it’s as good a guess on what’s going on as any. Kind of make sense in my head but that doesn’t mean squat?
Glovjuice,
I think Glovejuice are pretty much right on when it comes to Pulju but Jesse dosen’t seem to be able to adjust and when your self confidence goes and your “social support” and network is not there it becomes even harder to restore it. I do not think there is a issue with his team mates it mainly with in himself and partly the lack of confidnce the coach shows in him.
On top I do think he put a lot of pressure on himself as he want to play to a high standard.
Looking at his past he has always been “the big guy” and he got a ton of skill on top + he has been playing with top notch guys and have had lots of ice time and success.
He seem to be an induvidual that do best when he get ice time and I do not think he has any experiance in “failing” and therfore he is “totally out to lunch” with what’s happening to him right now and can’t seem to find a way to “please” nor find his game.
The guy is out of self confidence and he “hang with his head” which will not help. I understand the coach as well as he needs to look at the teams best so both are in a kind of bad spot but for diffrent reasons.
I hope t when they decided on sitting him that the already had a plan together with the assitant coachs what to and how to work with him on during this “sitting” time.
If they can’t get him going in the next few days I do think he will end up in AHL and I do not think he will re-sign with Edmonton if that dosen’t work out. Even if he do half decant but have to stay down there for the reminder of the season he should not re-sign here even if they offer him to as that would be suecide for his future, in NHL that is.
At the end of the day is it very much up to Jesse to get that self confidence back and he is the one that have to turn it around (yes, some help is good and neeed) and that might be very hard if you are not at a “good place” and even more so if you are in a environment with high pressure and a coach that clearly do not trust your game or abilities. Finally his language head seems not to be the best and that hampers him further, mostly in the soical life, and that is where your “good place” is.
I do not know Jesse but I have the impression he is a guy that love a joke and in his “right element” he is most probaly a “leader and social guy” in the locker room. If you do not speak the language
it’s hard to be that guiy that you really are. He mentioned this in a inteview in his native language last summer but it seems like he still have issues.
It’s not the coach job to sort that part of Jesse out, he needs to see it yes, but he also need to concentarte on the team and what’s best for them. There should be a a “support” team around for the players when they come in new, and I am sure there is some, but I am sure they could do a better job there. Yes, the main thing is: They are here to play hockey not to get baby sat, hey come on a guy 18-20 years old coming from a small village up north in a totally diffrent country and culture need some support of the ice. That is part of player development, especially for players coming from Europe. maybe that’s soemthing Edmonton is not that good at asd I do not think the coaches should be tasked with sorting that out, once again, they have to recon it and address as such.
It will eventually boil down to money and results to run any kind of sports outfit and the “human element” do not always get looked into:-)
Anyway we can speculate until we are “blue” I just hope the guy get’s it going becuse its impossible not to like the guy and his skill set, he just need to find a way of get it going in a NHL size rink.
He do have hockey IQ but might lack in the one neeed for the faster NHL game and if he can figure that out I think he will be fine.
Have a great day.
Richard Roma,
Haven’t had a free moment all day.
Here’s one.
Nate MacKinnon Relative GF%
Season Team GF% Rel
20132014 COL 6.8
20142015 COL 3.62
20152016 COL 6.31
20162017 COL 13.55
20172018 COL 7.98
MacKinnon’s GF%
Season Team GF%
20132014 COL 57.7
20142015 COL 52.2
20152016 COL 52.3
20162017 COL 45.9
20172018 COL 57.7
COL’s GF% without MacKinnon on the ice:
Season Team GF% MacKinnon Off
20132014 COL 50.9
20142015 COL 48.6
20152016 COL 46.0
20162017 COL 32.3
20172018 COL 49.7
Puhljarvi is useless
Trade him and Lucic tomorrow
No rationalizations
Kinger_Oil.redux,
– how do we do searches for posters comments over different time periods, then reply to them into current comments?
Find the comment (google, check posts around relevant dates etc)
Right click copy the comment
Reply to the poster in the current thread
Paste in the comment
Ah, got it.
Will put some “good players on bad teams” info in this thread later.
Don’t want to muck up the GDT
Perfect, his IQ is not low. I agree. That narrative is groupthink.
Rattie will skate today with team for the first time.
Won’t play tonight but should be ready at some point on the upcoming road trip.
For The Athletic: The market for Zack Kassian
https://theathletic.com/618592/2018/10/30/lowetide-the-market-for-zack-kassian/
– how do we do searches for posters comments over different time periods, then reply to them into current comments?
– We’d all rather have Taylor Hall AND a RHD D as effective as Larsson
– Chia brought in Sek, Larsson, Benning, Russel, while Nurse and Klef developed under his tenure (and dumped the rest: he kept the good ones).
– This was his optimal D when he came in (based on most games played, Aulie had 31 games):
Ferrance-Fayne
Klef-Jultz
Marincin-Nikitin
Aulie
For me this adds value to gain perspective on how much hall pushed the river.
Just some context.
Comparing Hall to other star players in similar circumstances (stars on garbage teams) like Eichel in your post below.
Anyone else that would be good to use?
Richard Roma,
Eichel’s GF% so far:
Season Team GF%
20152016 BUF 43.8
20162017 BUF 45.7
20172018 BUF 45.9
Relative GF%
Season Team GF% Rel
20152016 BUF -1.94
20162017 BUF 0.85
20172018 BUF 8.87
BUF’s GF% with Eichel not on the ice:
Season Team GF%
20152016 BUF 45.8
20162017 BUF 44.8
20172018 BUF 37.0
I don’t understand what you’re after.
I think the context of “same team with the player on or off the ice” is pretty clear.
Can you flesh out what you’re after?
Truth.
If TMac can get the team winning I don’t care what he does with the lineup. McDavid’s the new Bobby Orr remember where you read it first. McDavid’s going to win a few cups if it kills everyone else. Nothing but nothing is going to be allowed to stand in the way of his vision.
Woodguy v2.0,
These numbers would really benefit from some context.
It’s one thing to compare Hall to teams with deep blue lines, solid goaltending, that are 3 lines deep…
But it would be interesting to look at your Jack Eichel in Buffalo etc.
Taylor Hall was one of the best left wingers in the league when he was traded and only 23 (I believe, maybe 24). To see him become one of the top players in the league is not surprising at all.
I don’t agree with any of the verbal that “he needed to go” or that “he wouldn’t become the type of player he has” in Edmonton – he was well on his way.
With that said, Adam Larsson is an integral part of this hockey team and we are better for having him.
There should have been a second piece coming back in the trade but it is what it is.
The current version of the Oilers can regain sole possession of first place in the Pacific tonight with games in hand – I focus on that team.
Woodguy v2.0,
Anyone but a human gonad could tell Hall was the driver of any Oiler success back in those heady days of “Oil Change”
Hall at 5v5 for NJD was pretty much exactly the guy Edmonton had.
The difference was the team behind him was better and the difference in Hall’s points was Power Play, where he was turned into the QB on the half boards and had an amazing year 5v4.
Here’s Hall’s Relative GF% for his career. This is the difference between the team’s goal share when he’s on the ice and when he’s off the ice:
Season Team GF% Rel
20102011 EDM 1.7
20112012 EDM 9.7
20122013 EDM 10.6
20132014 EDM 8.8
20142015 EDM 15.1
20152016 EDM 12.9
20162017 N.J 10.7
20172018 N.J 13.7
Not a different player in NJD, same guy.
Here’s his team’s 5v5 Goal Share with him off the ice:
Season Team Hall off GF%
20102011 EDM 44.0
20112012 EDM 42.9
20122013 EDM 43.3
20132014 EDM 39.0
20142015 EDM 36.3
20152016 EDM 39.4
20162017 N.J 41.3
20172018 N.J 44.9
Now here’s Hall’s GF%
Season Team GF%
20102011 EDM 45.68
20112012 EDM 52.56
20122013 EDM 53.85
20132014 EDM 47.79
20142015 EDM 51.43
20152016 EDM 52.25
20162017 N.J 52.05
20172018 N.J 58.56
For Hall’s last 3 years in Edmonton the team couldn’t get north of 40%(!!!) goal share when he wasn’t on the ice.
That’s really incredible.
Its even more incredible that he was north of 50% in 2 of those 3 years on those sad sack teams.
That’s what we mean by “driving play”. Crazy good.
He finally plays for a team that reaches 45% GF with him off the ice and they get to the playoffs.
Also,
I mentioned Hall’s PP points:
Here’s his PP pts/60 for his career:
Season Team Pts/60
20102011 EDM 3.69
20112012 EDM 6.75
20122013 EDM 5.74
20132014 EDM 4.28
20142015 EDM 2.71
20152016 EDM 3.12
20162017 N.J 4.55
20172018 N.J 10.05
So for his first year in NJD they didn’t have him running the PP, but last year Geoff Ward (their PP coach, who left after last year) changed it up to have Hall running it and it worked very well.
Summary:
-Hall was the same player here as in NJD 5v5
-The team wasn’t a disaster behind him (still weren’t good, but got to 45% GF without him)
-His career high point totals were due to the PP running through him and having great success
Woodguy v2.0,
Apologies once again WG. I couldn’t resist.
I do appreciate the insight you provide.
My last word, if you will, sir.
w
You could make the Condors a lot better very quickly with some D-man swap outs.
Berglund, Persson or both will be great there.
A llittle twinge on that.
I objected a bit more to Rem Murray wearing 17.
Edmonton was never getting the recent version of Hall.
Nobody has won anything yet.
SwedishPoster,
Thanks for taking the time to comment-always look forward to your posts
Agree on Jesse and draft +1 in Europe
I hope the kid finds his way
Yeah I had similar doubts during the great Hanifin Werenski debate. He looks to have been right about DeBrincat too.
Maybe when math screams at us we should all start listening.
I can like Vancouver a bit more than in years past when they had Bieska and Burrows and Kessler. But I still don’t like them.
With that said, they are going to be a team loaded with skill in a couple of years.
Pettersson is going to be a superstar. I remember LTs NHLE had Pettersson somewhere around 65 in his draft year. I argued that NHLE must be off and that there must be something wrong in the calculation.
It’s early. But the calculation might be low.
LT was wrong. Ha ha.
It is most likely a result of motivated reasoning. In simple terms motivated reasoning is when one thing you want infects your thinking about something else you want. In a general sense the Oilers desire to win now conflicts with their decision making about how to win later.
Am i the only one who really doesn’t like Chaisson wearing 39?
My big worry with Sekera, much like any employee in any field, is that his prolonged absence is really going to be tough to overcome.
I sure hope I’m wrong, but a 32 year old with 36 games played over a two season period is going to have a hard time adjusting when he comes back, especially with the nature of his injuries. Not necessarily easy or minor injuries to recover from.
100% agree that the Strome line is the right hole for this peg. Either that or AHL time to prepare that fit. Top 6 is for later.
At least Spector knows when to drop the drum. One day he even discovered that he could stop trying to find a new home for Nuge.
Outstanding post and bang on with your opinions on Jesse.
Now why can’t the management and coaching staff figure this out?
I think the initial comments were very inappropriate, basically a personal attack. I won’t to tell you what to do, but some comments aren’t worth responding to.
this never gets old
ever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIhcM2rB36g
If thry read Sweedishposters rant he will be on his way to Finland for the next two years.
Willie Lagesson quietly has 4 points in 6 games and is a plus 2 (no PP time for those points I don’t believe).
OriginalPouzar,
I think the play here is to move Chiasson down to the fourth line for who ever, and JP will get one, two maybe three games to show he has reformed his ways or it is off to the Bake until he can bull his way back to the show.
Hell, given my disposition, I can’t stand up for anyone…
But this bashing of Woodguy is utterly bizarre.
He’s the loud guy at the bar with 2 drinks in his hand & spouting off all he knows, which is quite a bit given his ties to Wood$$$. He puts in the time for the research & he bets on what he believes in. Is he always right? No but he is quite often the first to admit that. If someone has a bone to pick, here I am…LOL.
BTW… the extra drink is probably for you if you simply engage in a mano-a-mano fashion instead of outrageous accusations and beating your chests.
In the short term sitting in the PB because others are playing better might be the key.
It allows watching the game in macro, and if the player has the mojo is a supreme motivator to do everything to avoid the ‘hole’ again when the next shot comes along. It allows time with the team and also more coaching.
Too much PB is not a good thing, at that point go down and play,
I almost hate to say this, but so long as the team wins they get a free pass to do whatever they like. It’s those pesky 7 game losing streaks that grate.
ps: JP should be on a “make it aged 22” strategy. Anyone but a fool can tell he’s got big issues to deal with, language being only one of them.
I think fans should be prepared for Jesse in the press-box again tomorrow.
I’m sure the coaching staff wants to get him in the lineup and I don’t think the plan was to keep him in the pressbox for longer than 2 games, however, who gets sat tomorrow for him? The fourth line had their best game of the year and was likely the most consistent line yesterday. I’d be OK taking out any of them for Kassian at this point (although I don’t want to lose Khaira or Brodz off the PK) but I can see the argument against it. Chiasson would be the guy to sit for me but will it happen?
SwedishPoster,
Wonderful post (and not just the JP part). Thanks.
Respect to Dougie, who did it well with little consistent help.
Thanks. It was a reference to Yakupov speaking highly of Roy helping him learn positioning.
Other than the pop gun offense.
Great in the back end if healthy. Nobody elite proven up front, despite some decent players.
Like Nashville and St Louis were.
To go far, a team needs solid D play at least as a team, and dangerous responsible forwards.
The Oilers toiled through the 90’s with strong team play at times, and no Franks sauce up front. Let alone Congo chilies. You get what I mean.
EADFARMER says:
April 23, 2015 at 4:00 pm
Dashingsilverfox,
And I hope they enjoy his 50 pt seasons at 7 mil. Unless you really think he will shoot 17% last he did 2008, 2010, 2011.
His coach only played him 16 min per game and 2 of those are on the powerplay. Milan Lucic is not the mythical “Lucic” everyone is looking for.
WOODGUY says:
April 23, 2015 at 4:25 pm
leadfarmer:
Dashingsilverfox,
And I hope they enjoy his 50 pt seasons at 7 mil.Unless you really think he will shoot 17% last he did 2008, 2010, 2011.
His coach only played him 16 min per game and 2 of those are on the powerplay.Milan Lucic is not the mythical “Lucic” everyone is looking for.
This is not the Lucic you’re looking for.
Move along.
Dont always agree with Woodguy.
But we both agreed
Lucic is not the Lucic Player we were looking for
As long as JP gets a string of detentions for reading comic books in math class, hopefully he chooses a better diet. Junk food, meh. The Nuge should be mentoring him about sushi.
And maybe a hockey tutor up there as well pointing out the good and bad parts of those games.
Detention for me always meant doing nothing but wasting time. It was bullshit. I could’ve been working the algebra and geo-trig problems. But noooo – it was about a suit exercising power vested in authority.
I loved that nut…so sad.
I noticed something weird going on there as well but couldn’t put my finger on it. Lots of slot area puck handling/hand off going from the defence to certain puck carriers. Couple of stick lifts did occur where the pick pocketer was being the defence but other than that, puck did leave the zone and it a hurry. Great Catch…