2019-20 Game 28: Canucks at Oilers

by Lowetide

The Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks met for the first time on October 14, 1979. It was a Sunday, Oilers tied the Detroit Red Wings on Tabernac Saturday on a late goal by Mark Messier, his first in the NHL.

The Sunday game was also close, goals by (for VAN) Don Lever, Curt Fraser, Lars Lindgren and Jere Gillis giving the Canucks a 4-3 lead late (Edmonton goals by Stan Weir and a couple by Risto Siltanen). Alas, at 18:51 on the power play, assists from linemates Blair MacDonald and Brett Callighen, Wayne Gretzky scored his first NHL goal to earn the tie.

The Oilers and Canucks have precious few shared playoff memories. Edmonton boxed Vancouver’s ears in 1986, winning three straight before the Calgary Flames won in seven games against the Oilers. Edmonton won the 1992 division finals 4-2 against the Canucks, that was the last hammer from the great team (it had been stripped for parts but kept going on spit, blood and muscle memory). That’s all from 40 years of competition. Suspect these two teams are due for a playoff series.

THE ATHLETIC!

The Athletic Edmonton features a fabulous cluster of stories (some linked below, some on the site). Great perspective from a ridiculous group of writers and analysts. Proud to be part of The Athletic, less than two coffees a month offer here.

  • New Lowetide: Oilers deployment shuffle will continue with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins still sidelined
  • New Daniel Nugent-Bowman: One-on-one with Ken Holland, who is facing his first deadline in the Jesse Puljujarvi saga
  • Jonathan Willis: Should the Oilers go short or long term on Ethan Bear’s next contract?
  • Lowetide: The 2010s: Revisiting the Connor McDavid draft lottery — the day the earth stood still in Edmonton
  • Jonathan Willis: The 2010s: Unveiling the Oilers all-decade team
  • Daniel Nugent-Bowman: The 2010s: What went wrong with Nail Yakupov? How the No. 1 pick became the decade’s biggest NHL draft bust
  • Jonathan Willis: The 2010s: Ranking a decade’s worth of Oilers coaches
  • Lowetide: Tyler Benson posting a strong November in hopes of an Oilers recall
  • Daniel Nugent-Bowman: A superstar shines, a goaltender stands tall and a ‘road hockey’ power play helps the Oilers return to form
  • Lowetide: Why Dave Tippett’s deployment is a sign the Oilers need a No. 3 centre
  • Jonathan Willis: A Jesse Puljujarvi trade is an opportunity of which only one NHL team gets to take advantage
  • Daniel Nugent-BowmanLeon Draisaitl takes the blame as the Oilers’ struggles against lowly foes continues
  • Jonathan Willis: A list of which Oilers are most likely to be traded in 2019-20
  • Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Q&A: Woodcroft on Benson’s ‘gift,’ the next step for Bouchard and acting like a proud parent watching the Oilers
  • Lowetide: Oilers’ No. 2 prospect winter 2019: Philip Broberg
  • Lowetide: Joel Persson’s demotion highlights difficult adjustment for Oilers’ ‘European showtime’ trio
  • Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Jonathan Willis: Evaluating the Oilers’ readiness for the 2021 Seattle expansion draft
  • Lowetide: Oilers’ No. 1 prospect winter 2019: Evan Bouchard

OILERS AFTER 28 GAMES

  • Oilers in 2015: 11-15-2, 24 points; goal differential -11
  • Oilers in 2016: 14-10-4, 32 points; goal differential +6
  • Oilers in 2017: 11-15-2, 24 points; goal differential -14
  • Oilers in 2018: 14-12-2, 30 points; goal differential -6
  • Oilers in 2019: 16-8-3, 35 points; goal differential +10

Edmonton remains in a very good spot relative to previous editions of the McDavid Oilers. A win tonight would give this year’s model considerable clearance compared to all that came before.

OILERS IN NOVEMBER

  • Oilers in November 2015: 4-7-2, 10 points; goal differential -9
  • Oilers in November 2016: 5-6-3, 13 points; goal differential 0
  • Oilers in November 2017: 5-8-1, 11 points; goal differential -6
  • Oilers in November 2018: 6-7-1, 13 points; goal differential -8
  • Oilers in November 2019: 7-4-2, 16 points, goal differential +5

Man this represents real progress compared to previous seasons. I don’t know what tomorrow brings, but Dave Tippett’s first two months have been stellar. Look at the point total! And that’s coming after a 19-point October. Music!

WHAT TO EXPECT IN NOVEMBER

  • On the road to: PIT (Expected 0-1-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
  • At home to: ARI, STL, NJD (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 1-1-1)
  • On the road to: ANA, SJS (Expected 1-0-1) (Actual 1-1-0)
  • At home to: COL, DAL (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 1-0-1)
  • On the road to: SJS, LAK, VEG, ARI, COL (Expected 2-3-0) (Actual 3-2-0)
  • At home to: VAN (Expected 1-0-0)
  • Overall expected result: 7-6-1, 15 points in 14 games
  • Current results: 7-4-2, 16 points in 13 games

This is it. A win tonight would mean 8-4-2 (18 points) in a month I predicted 7-6-1 (15 points). In October, I predicted 7-6-1 (15 points) and the Oilers delivered 9-4-1 (19 points). Good times.

OILERS 2019-20

Matt Benning returns to active duty and that may impact Caleb Jones or (less likely) a veteran like Kris Russell or Adam Larsson. The Nuge is on IR, but the Oilers didn’t call anyone up so we can expect Sam Gagner to fill the role this weekend. Gagner is filling the classic ‘utility role’ of the early 1970s in that he’s here to fill a specific role as opposed to next man up. Samwise has been solid in the role.

BAKERSFIELD CONDORS 2019-20

A big night for William Lagesson (1-2-3) and a solid goaltending performance from Stuart Skinner (stopped 34 of 37, .919) allowed the Condors to win 4-3 over San Jose Barracuda. Evan Bouchard had an assist and six shots, Cooper Marody scored, Tyler Benson had an assist, Dmitri Samorukov scored and Kirill Maksimov had an assist. A good night for the prospects, Bakersfield plays again at home tonight against Ontario Reign. Lines and pairings via Wilde, who has some impressive game notes in the previous thread.

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russ99

We just flat git outworked in the first.

Did much better in the second but was undone by some poor goaltending, I wonder if Smith was hurt on that leg pad save that trickled in but stayed out to keep Koskinen fresh for tomorrow.

We had our chances, even with the way we know the Canucks are going to fight us for every puck and every inch of ice. Their goalie was just way better than ours, hope that’s flipped tonight.

Time to send Jones down and bring up or bring in a forward.

Admiral Ackbar

verdad2.0:
Just gut these scum
But the idiot Holland loves garbage
Smith should be waived tomorrow
And virtually all of the forwards
The season is lost
Mark my words
No team can be competitive with pure shit for talent
That is the reality of the Oilers

You should stay compliant with your medication regimen.

The Oilers, despite DSFs prediction about them not holding the division lead, are holding the division lead. This despite a 2-game losing streak, no less. You may want to listen more in order get a take on the nature of our reality. For some reason, you seem to be suffering from a distorted view of things.

If you’re just a troll. In which case I’ll suggest: look at the standings, genius.

jzed

Tabernac Saturday. When is our team going to play good when they are expected to? Do they enjoy chatting with the after hours boys after an embarrassing loss? Do we have a bunch of masochists on this team? Would be better to let Inga hurt you at home than play like this.

who

Tough game to watch.
The team is playing some dumb hockey right now and Smith didn’t look very good tonight.
Was happy to see Larrson with Klefbom for the 3rd period. Hope that continues going forward.
Russell or Benning can babysit Jones on the 3rd pairing going forward. You can see the physical tools, but he’s a long way from a finished product. Just doesn’t seem to have the composure, vision or anticipation that Bear has demonstrated early in his career.

Younger Oil

Really tough to win with three 4th lines (and that’s honestly being generous).

If Holland is serious about this team making the playoffs, he needs to make a move yesterday.

Unfortunately, I think he still sees it as a growth/buffer year, no matter how well they’ve started.

Gerta Rauss

Fun interview with Kenny but no real news…re: Jesse…”we’ll deal with it next summer”

Munny

verdad2.0: The season is lost

No truer words have ever been spoken.

Might as well pack the season in, right friggin now.

Take our puck and the two boots we’re using for goalposts and just go home.

OriginalPouzar

rickithebear:
Any game of greater than 2GA is shite!
That is the standard if you want to be a final 4
Rather than the 27 org who are not championship competative.

There are exactly zero teams in the NHL anywhere near giving up only 2GA per game.

Munny

hunter1909: This is the type of game I’m glad I’ve still maintained my “Find other things to do when your team is getting slaughtered” service.

Izzokay… You don’t have to justify keeping the interns happy to us,

Munny

rickithebear,

I don’t think Coach Tipp will be praising this game

BONE207

Gerta Rauss:
verdad2.0,

Merry Christmas..!

Did Verdad & Ricki show up at the same time? Coincidence???

Gerta Rauss

tough night, but we can make things right with a win tomorrow

go Koski

BornInAGretzkyJersey

With Nuge out, what does the lineup look like with 97 & 29 split?

hunter1909

Just checked the score. Turned the thing off at 3-2 lol

This is the type of game I’m glad I’ve still maintained my “Find other things to do when your team is getting slaughtered” service.

rickithebear

Any game of greater than 2GA is shite!
That is the standard if you want to be a final 4
Rather than the 27 org who are not championship competative.

Munny

StixMalone:
This better not be the start of a slide……

Remember what losing KBomb and KRusty did to us last year?

About the same point In the sked.

I will be terrified of every opponent till Nuge is back.

Gerta Rauss

verdad2.0,

Merry Christmas..!

Gerta Rauss

Munny:

Thought it was Dreamy?

They just announced both of them, but qualified it by saying “time permitting” cause both teams have to fly to Van shortly after the game

verdad2.0

Just gut these scum
But the idiot Holland loves garbage
Smith should be waived tomorrow
And virtually all of the forwards
The season is lost
Mark my words
No team can be competitive with pure shit for talent
That is the reality of the Oilers

rickithebear

Interesting to see the evga/60 from are Dpairs after tonight.

SK Oiler Fan

BONE207,

641HP. Not bad

Munny

Gerta Rauss,

Thought it was Dreamy?

Gerta Rauss

Ken Holland on After Hours

StixMalone

This better not be the start of a slide……

Wilde

Condors v. Reign, End of 2nd Totals; 5-on-5

27 CF – 19 CA
19 FF – 8 FA
2 GF – 0 GA

New Lagesson-Bouchard pairing playing fat minutes, 15 CF – 4 CA. Benson also running a pretty insane primary contribution percentage, and Yamamoto 10 CF – 2 CA and managed to eventually draw a penalty (after like nine) by getting high-sticked in the face.

Not tracking the third period bc I need to sleep bye

[ Also Yamamoto just scored on the PP, Bouchard+Lagesson assisted according to Condors Twitter ]

BornInAGretzkyJersey

The way Bear uses that button hook is a thing of beauty.

Munny

Close enough for tone deaf jazz…

#norhymescheme

#blankverse

BONE207

SK Oiler Fan:
Better park the Ferrari and Lambo for the night. Save some gas for tomorrow

That Lambo…it’s the Suv, right?

https://www.google.ca/search?sxsrf=ACYBGNT50ZG2pwAjQyxTOyZDau57Pexhrg%3A1575177544050&source=hp&ei=SE3jXaaPAam50PEP9cWp0A8&q=lambo+suv&oq=lambo+suv&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-hp.3..0l8.1954.5875..6641…1.0..0.395.1037.7j1j0j1……0….1…….8..46i362i39i275j35i362i39j35i39j46i39j0i131j46i131i275j46i131j46.jTKgCC7xpkI#imgrc=Hb5q9w3QC69wNM:

StixMalone

The team misses a 1st and 2nd and 3rd and 4th line once again…

OriginalPouzar

Yamamoto from Benson and Bouchard 30 seconds in to the 3rd to give the Condors a 3-0 lead but Ontario gets that back a minute later and its 3-1 early in the 3rd.

StixMalone

The PP misses Nuge…..

Munny

L2 yet again.

Munny

McDavid covered that Larsson sortie.

BONE207

Gerta Rauss:
You know it’s not your night when the refs call icing against you and you[‘re on the PK

Just another normal call by the same zebras against the Edmonton Whipping Boys

StixMalone

SK Oiler Fan:
Better park the Ferrari and Lambo for the night. Save some gas for tomorrow

Better put some octane booster in em…

Gerta Rauss

You know it’s not your night when the refs call icing against you and you’re on the PK

SayItAin'tSo, Gretz, SayItAin'tSo!

StixMalone,

Meh, Smith ain’t playing well right now and his craptacular goals cost the game. Didn’t help that Archibald gifted the 4-2 goal by doing nothing, absolutely nothing when Smith was reeling on the first three.

This is about 4/5 below awesome games in a row for Leon. Might have been a bit worn down with the workload. Like to see a bounce back game in the next two from him at a minimum.

Edit – loss of Nuge is showing. It would be an interesting twist from Tippett to break up Leon and McDavid for tomorrow nights game.

Munny

Gerta Rauss,

Very good point.

He did on that last powerplay, which is a message.

thelongdark

The entire team looks like complete shit tonight. Just another terrible Saturday outing. Like you know they can compete so this kind of effort is just beyond frustrating to watch. You could tell from puck drop the Canucks were going to play their game.

Gerta Rauss

Munny:
This game is lost barring miracles.

I’d rather save Koski for tomorrow.

yes, for sure

and dial back McD and Drai’s minutes

Munny

Perfect time for puck over the boards penalty.

*begins checking the carpet for a potential Melvis*

SK Oiler Fan

Better park the Ferrari and Lambo for the night. Save some gas for tomorrow

Munny

Munny: miracles.

Yes, plural.

StixMalone

We have been well rested and we play like this???? Wake up !!!”

Munny

This game is lost barring miracles.

I’d rather save Koski for tomorrow.

OriginalPouzar

Didn’t see the second goal either but Currie from Marody and Yamamto.

Marody with two primary assists, here is the first:

https://twitter.com/Condors/status/1200995290443968512

BONE207

2 goals let in by Smith on weak short side plays. It would seem like he doesn’t have positional awareness of his posts. Or I’m just spewing irrelevant bullshit

Munny

Pescador:
Lowetide,

PP looks a shadow without RNH
Is Archibald wearing Toby Rieder’s old number?
Probably not the best choice

I thought the PP had some good looks tonight.

Till that one.

Zelepukin

SK Oiler Fan:
WTF are Smith’s pads inside his net? 3 GA of non NHL quality. All.squeekers on the ice. Won’t be surprised if we hear he’s out with a bad groin again

Ya everyone knows he isn’t 100% and his pride is hurting the team. Give Koski the next 3 and let Smith rest.

SK Oiler Fan

WTF are Smith’s pads inside his net? 3 GA of non NHL quality. All.squeekers on the ice. Won’t be surprised if we hear he’s out with a bad groin again