There are sporting moments that rise above the normal and emerge, immediately, as something else again. Yesterday in Boston, the Oilers took advantage of a wayward Bruins team that looked more Pit Martin than Phil Esposito. Mike Smith, whose photo is in the dictionary under ‘maligned’ had a great game. Darnell Nurse, whose next contract is the subject of great derision, played his best game of the year. Leon Draisaitl had a terrific game, he was on the edge and at times beyond it. As a Bruins fans since the 1960’s, I can tell you many Boston citizens left that rink yesterday imagining the big man in a Bruins uniform. Connor McDavid? Immortal as always.
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 Jonathan Willis: Zack Kassian’s breakout performance presents Oilers GM Ken Holland with a familiar dilemma
- New Lowetide: Ken Holland, the Oilers amateur procurement department and the 2020 draft
- Jonathan Willis: It would be a mistake to write off the Oilers after their December slump
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: From Leon Draisaitl to the penalty kill, the things the Oilers need to improve to get back to the playoffs
- Lowetide: A shift-by-shift analysis of Kailer Yamamoto’s 2019-20 debut in the Oilers’ New Year’s Eve game.
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: James Neal puts on New Year’s Eve show to remember in Oilers’ thriller
- Lowetide: Midseason review of ‘reasonable expectations’ shows Oilers are on track with preseason targets
- Jonathan Willis and Daniel Nugent-Bowman: How are our Oilers predictions holding up at the midseason mark? We decided to find out
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers midseason report card shows an unbalanced team with a lot of replaceable parts
- Lowetide: Complete Oilers top 20 prospects list, winter 2019
OILERS AFTER 44 GAMES
- Oilers in 2015: 17-23-4, 38 points; goal differential -24
- Oilers in 2016: 22-15-7, 51 points; goal differential +4
- Oilers in 2017: 18-23-3, 39 points; goal differential -25
- Oilers in 2018: 21-20-3, 45 points; goal differential -11
- Oilers in 2019-20: 22-17-5, 49 points; goal differential -5
That handsome victory yesterday gives the season record a little extra shine. This year’s Oilers have victories over Washington, Boston, Vegas, NY Islanders and Colorado. I’d say yesterday’s win might have been the most satisfying, especially considering what the team went through in December. Oilers are on pace for 91 points.
OILERS IN JANUARY
- Oilers in January 2016: 2-0-0, four points; goal differential +1
- Oilers in January 2017: 1-1-0, two points; goal differential -1
- Oilers in January 2018: 1-1-0, two points; goal differential -4
- Oilers in January 2019: 1-1-0, two points; goal differential -3
- Oilers in January 2020: 1-0-1, three points; goal differential +1
All of a sudden this year’s team loves January after a difficult win against a monumental foe. Somehow Toronto, Montreal and Calgary don’t seem as difficult. We’ll see how that works out. TML are on a run.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM JANUARY
- On the road to: BUF, BOS, TOR, MTL, CAL (Expected 2-2-1) (Actual 1-0-1)
- At home to: NAS, ARI, CAL, STL (Expected 1-2-1)
- Overall expected result: 3-4-2, eight points in nine games
- Current results: 1-0-1, three points in two games
I had this game as a loss, the Buffalo (and Montreal) game as a win. Toronto will be tough. Once back in the west, Edmonton will want to exact some kind of revenge for that Saturday disaster after Christmas.
OILERS 2019-20
Oilers have benefited from former Condors like Bear, Russell, Jones, Yamamoto and Lagesson, one wonders if and when we’ll see the next man (likely Benson). One thing is clear: Edmonton enters deadline discussions with all of Bear, Jones and Lagesson on the roster and just months from being waiver eligible. Something’s gotta give. All numbers five on five unless noted, and via NST.
LINE 1 James Neal-Connor McDavid-Zack Kassian played 12:00, going 17-9 Corsi, 9-7 shots, 1-0 goals and 2-1 HDSC. McDavid 5:57, 7-2 Corsi and no goals against Patrice Bergeron.
James Neal had a good look, two takeaways and was close to making some connections. Connor McDavid scored a breathtaking goal, he is so fast! Four shots, HDSC, 1-2 takeaway-giveaway and he was a going concern all night. Zack Kassian made a lovely blind pass to send 97 away, he’s got real talent and is going to get paid.
LINE 2 Nuge-Leon Draisaitl-Kailer Yamamoto played 13:15, going 13-21 Corsi, 6-10 shots, 1-0 goals and 2-1 HDSC. Draisaitl 5:06 against Bergeron (7-10 Corsi, 1-0 goals).
RNH was quiet offensively after a nice run in the last four games. He’s a fine two-way forward and that’s part of the reason why this makeshift line is having success. Leon Draisaitl was dirt mean, that’s a compliment. He played with an edge, had an assist (and an ENG), a giveaway, took a penalty and won 17 of 25 faceoffs. Kailer Yamamoto had some looks, two HDSC, a giveaway and a takeaway and made smart plays all over the ice. He belongs.
LINE 3 Joakim Nygard-Gaetan Haas-Alex Chiasson played 6:39, going 4-5 Corsi, 2-1 shots, 1-0 goals, 2-1 HDSC.
Joakim Nygard had an early breakaway and missed the net, causing a large donation to the LT swear jar. He also had a takeaway and drew a penalty. Gaetan Haas scored a goal, absolute giveaway by Jake DeBrusk who is in a bit of a funk. He also drew a penalty. Alex Chiasson had a HDSC and a good look on the PP but was mostly quiet again.
LINE 4 Jujhar Khaira-Riley Sheahan-Josh Archibald played 6:34, going 5-4 Corsi, 2-3 shots, no goals and 0-1 HDSC.
Jujhar Khaira had two shots and a blocked shot, he looked more confident than in recent games but the results were shy. Riley Sheahan had a shot on goal and won six of seven on the dot. Josh Archibald missed an empty net late, he and Sheahan were on for the PP GA but not much they could do (tipped off Russell). Line had a solid game.
PAIRING ONE Darnell Nurse and Ethan Bear played 16:49, going 16-16 Corsi, 8-9 shots, 1-0 goals and 3-1 HDSC, 4-6 offensive-defensive zone faceoffs. Played 6:54 against Bergeron, 8-7 Corsi, 1-0 goals.
Darnell Nurse had a fine game, even without the goal (GWG). Three shots, good coverage, recognition. I ran the tape back again and didn’t see much that would raise an eyebrow, the Bruins coaxed Nurse into a pass from deep in his one zone (bank play) and somehow managed to stop it, but Nurse recovered and helped suppress. He was excellent. Ethan Bear passed well, only a couple of errant ones. Took a penalty, had a takeaway and an assist. He had some wobble around Christmas but has settled in again. A fine, fine rookie.
PAIRING TWO Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson played 17:16, going 18-15 Corsi, 10-8 shots, 1-0 goals and 2-3 HDSC. Played 6:36, 5-10 Corsi, 2-5 shots and no goals against Patrice Bergeron.
Oscar Klefbom had two shots, one HDSC, a giveaway and blocked some more shots. He’s an insane value contract. He has the complete range of skills, so can pass, carry, skate well and defend. It’s my belief he’s best with the other veteran Swede alongside. Adam Larsson had three shots, rushed the puck exactly the same way Bob Baun used to, and calmed the waters. A bruiser of a shutdown blue. I love when they put the band back together.
PAIRING THREE Kris Russell and Caleb Jones played 7:12, going 3-10 Corsi, 1-4 shots, no goals and 0-1 HDSC.
Kris Russell had two shots, took three hits including a shot from behind courtesy Brad Marchand that should have been a penalty. He played almost 12 minutes, including time on the PK. Tipped Pastrnak’s shot. Caleb Jones played eight minutes total, and along with William Lagesson’s small TOI total recently I wonder if the Oilers are getting close to bringing in Matt Benning from the injured list.
GOALIE Mike Smith was brilliant, easily his best performance since October. Stopped 35 of 36, .972.
CONDORS 2019-20
I’m going to be writing about him later today for The Athletic, but one of the major recent spikes in Bakersfield is Stuart Skinner. In his last five games, he is 4-0-1, 2.95 and .911 save percentage. Outstanding turnaround and perhaps confirmation the Oilers did in fact have it right when running Skinner over Wells early in the season. By the way, Brandon Manning has made a world of difference based on my spy reports from Bakersfield.
Smart Lowetide. Way to let that 70 year old troll retard back. How daft do you have to be to let this simpleton back onto the boards under some laughable concept that a few people wanted him back?
London Jon,
Hi London Jon,
No, we are currently wandering around the Natural History Museum. Would love your suggestions, non-spicy
Twinkle Mo' Fo' Toes,
Sorry, I only just saw this as we were flying back to London.
Would have loved to give some restaurant tips – the restaurant scene is amazing here these days.
Am I too late?
Except for me?
For those planning a London trip in the future, what an amazing vibrant city, and we have barely scratched the surface. Leicester Square is really cool.
We went on a Windsor Castle-Stonehenge-Bath tour last night. Close to 12 hr trip, don’t recommend it. Depending on your interests, I would recommend setting aside 5-6 hrs for just Windsor castle, we didn’t have 2 hrs there and only got half-way thru when I realized I had 15 minutes to get back to the bus….
London Jon,
Wow! That is awesome (I am not sure exactly where in your thread I am commenting).
Our last night in London tonight; we were at Flat Iron Steak with a “long-lost acquaintance” 2 nights ago) the food was meh. Not our choice, but I try not to eat steak outside of Alberta if possible, but had amazing steaks (Brazilian, highly recommended) in Dallas and San Fran.
Best food I’ve had was in Edinburgh, haggis is actually delicious, FWIW.
Worst fish and chips, London (last night at pub here in Westminster) smelled and tasted like ammonia (closest comparable, I guess). Had fish and chips in Paris and it was surprisingly amazing.
Still looking for something delicious in London, I am open to anything for tonight’s supper…
Lol gonna quadruple check this but last year’s Benson-Marody-Currie line CF-to-GF is absolutely absurd:
339CF-243CA
58.25 CF%
18GF-4GA
81.82 GF%
…
Woodcroft’s put that line back together lately, and that’s synchronised with upticks in Benson and Marody’s games (Currie’s a professional) but there’s no way it’s anything like this.
It’s your right to organize the comments any way you wish LT, but I don’t think you should change it just because some people are annoyed. If someone doesn’t like a particular poster, don’t read their comments. Not sure why people want to aggravate themselves.
I don’t think it’s that they’re “aggravating themselves” reading comments they don’t want to read, it’s that these comments (and commenters) are dominating the threads.
On the final page of yesterday’s post, there were 75 posts when I did a count and 20 belonged to HH responding to others, 14 were OP updating about the AHL (all fine and dandy), 13 were OP responding to HH or Reja iirc, 4 belonged to Wilde detailing Condors stuff and the most of the rest were two or three individuals responding to HH.
If I’m told to just avoid those comments associated with HH, I’m being told to avoid almost all of an entire page. If that happens often enough (as I’d argue it’s closing in on), my enjoyment of the site and some of the value it brings as a forum for hockey discussion is degraded.
Further, responses and interesting conversations get lost in the shuffle and perhaps even die out as a result. I’d say it’s absolutely reasonable for posters to raise their concerns if their enjoyment of the threads is being impacted by the commenting behaviours of a few.\
There’s a reason I haven’t said anything about it, though; I agree with you in principle. I don’t like levying my own displeasure into the change of something others may be enjoying.
Like
Broberg was pretty unimpressive through the elimination games and looked shaky in the bronze medal game. Not an inspiring performance but being forced onto your offside in a defensive role can make mountains out of molehills so we’ll see.
If one was expecting offensive production from Philip then, yes, I would say not inspiring, however, given he is an 18 year old, the youngest d-man on arguably the deepest defensive group in the tournament, then expecting offence was likely unreasonable, in my opinion.
Solid minutes and PK1 time while playing his offside as a youngster – I’ll take it.
I assume he’ll be focal point of the defense next season.
Vancouver Island is amazing, the rain is incredible easy to deal with having drains and all. Green grass 12 months a year inside and out, beautiful looking people corsi is off the charts.
Don’t bring this beautiful place into hockey argument, the island houses a fairly even fanbase for all Canadian teams.
Harper is just a bitter ex that can’t stop Facebook stalking his beautiful Oilers, he boasts his flavor of the week beauty for their singular talent in order to get his ex lovers attention. It’s a nice little love story, he’ll make it back to the friend zone someday.
We lived at Sidney for a summer, my Grandpa rented this gigantic house and my family stayed in it. I would walk down to the ocean everyday with my Mom. I was maybe three. I remember it though. It was beautiful.
This…moved here 25 years ago from Edmonton…truly is god’s country…..trolls aside.
Just read the lead blog. So how do we keep this Leon? I’ll take the elbow to the head penalties if that’s what it takes to get him going.
Not a big fan of the ‘thread’ option , just an opinion, .. I prefer the stream of rapid fire comments as they come, much more fun.
payback time for the leafs.
Harpers Hair,
1) It’s been well documented that offshore investment, predominantly from China, fueled the price escalation in the real estate market in the lower mainland. So, unless it’s now racist to describe people from China as Chinese, you can kindly retract.
2) Clearly there is no excuse for your trollish behaviour then.
He has quite a pathetic and distorted view of the world if he perceives that as racist, but I guess it’s hardly a surprise these days. Such accusations are thrown around all too frequently. I guess we ought to expect that from such a person, though.
When using the thread option (so replies occur right below) would this mean that, if someone wasn’t constantly going back to check if anyone had responded in a certain thread, they’d potentially miss posts?
Yes. And if a poster were engaging another poster on a subject he or she knew had limited appeal with most visitors, it would be a sacrifice I would hope you consider making.
You can tell if there are new comments up the thread by comparing the last comment at the bottom of the thread to the top comment in the “recent comments” box at the top of this page(on the right)
If the posters name(s) are different you can click on the comment in the “recent comments” box and you’ll jump directly to the new posts
More of a gaslight Messiah to me but every one sees things there own way I suppose.
There were a lot of signature hunters out front so guessing it wasn’t hard to find out what hotel the oilers were staying at.
And then nothing to stop anyone sitting at the bar or in the lobby and seeing the players come and go. I’ll remember that for future trips!
Thanks OP! It was a great journey and experience.
Gerta Rauss,
I’m not willing to ban anyone, but am willing to use the items available to help the experience of dropping by. So, I’ve activated the ‘thread’ option and replies will now occur with the comment.
If replies were hidden behind a button that you have to click on to see them, Nirvana!
Neat feature. If people want to digress or disappear down the rabbit hole of a side topic like music, scotch, troll debates, etc., you essentially have this sub thread without derailing the main hockey talk. Seems pretty civilized!
I think so, too. We’ll try it for a few days to make sure everyone hates it. 🙂
Lowetide,
10-4
I think Danny had this enabled the first few days you launched on WordPress
*edit-if you click on the word reply (this is the new item enabled) the comments should appear in the new format you want
if you click on the word (reply) in brackets, it appears to be business as usual
Yes
cheers
an added feature to this is if you are NOT logged in, the option underneath the comment you are reading should now say “login to reply”
*sidenote- this should provide a little relief to anyone that still experiences the caching problem we had a while back ie:when launching the page for the first time the homepage displayed was the previous days page. Now you can login underneath ANY comment, you no longer have to scroll to the bottom of the thread
*sidenote2- I haven’t experienced this caching problem for months, the site has worked seamlessly in this regard for several months now. I’m running Win10 with Chrome on a Surface Pro3
For sure. Not a problem it’s a hockey blog. But that personality type bores and tires me quickly. My one up bin fills very quickly.
LT- changes to the comment section of the site today..?
That is great news. I like them both as players, I like smart skilled tenacious players. I hope they both have a big impact for the team.
test.
London Jon,
Amazing!!
And too damn bad it took Holland and the Red Wings to unlock Danny Cleary’s potential. Would have been nice if he’d been a long term contributor to the Oilers.
Since you brought it up….
I don’t live in Vancouver and never have it’s not MY city. And I’m not a Canucks fan.
I grew up in Edmonton and lived there for 45 years.
I didn’t watch Gretzky from afar…I was an Oiler season ticket holder from the WHA days and, as the Executive Producer of News and Sports at a TV station, I interacted with “The Boys on the Bus” both professionally and personally many, many times.
Not only did I see Gretzky set ALL his records but the night he broke Gordie Howe’s record…Howe was sitting right behind me at the Coliseum and I had a chance to wish him the best.
I paid my first visit to the new arena last month and found it to be far from amazing.
The Chinese (your comment is racist) are not buying my city although many ethnic groups have found Vancouver Island to be welcoming.
Yes, it does rain here in the winter but it is not a frigid, empty wasteland for six months of the year and the climate in the summer is Mediterranean with endless days of sunshine, sparkling ocean waters and snow capped mountains.
And finally, my daffodils are already 4 inches high in anticipation for their blooming in February.
How is your garden growing?
Thanks OP! It really was!
I was buzzing after the chat to Zach and seeing Adam Larsson in the sauna and then Wayne comes and stands right next to us. After my ‘I’m a big fan and my mom did the flowers for your wedding opener’ Janet did most of the talking. We asked them where they were going for dinner (they didn’t know!) and they asked us where we were flying and we chatted a bit about London.
A guy near us said Pauline was there as well but I didn’t see her. I was just fixated on the Great One
I feel your pain and know exactly how you feel.
Better days ahead. It’s a new decade!
If it was one team, the abusive behavior would be easier for me to put up with. But it’s anything everything all the time.
ref misses a very obvious call. dube running Stalock
Should be asking about Paulina Gretzky
More importantly what did you say to Wayne? Were you checking out Janet, come on!!
Ha! They both looked great. Wayne looks about 50 and they were both friendly and chatty.
My wife is still going on about Kassian checking her out at breakfast!!
Worst possible outcome in that game. Flames do that terrible comeback thing they do to tie it up – 3 point game with the flames winning in a SO.
Blah.
Of course, they continue to fall farther back in the regulation win category – I hope the get effed by the tiebreak
Wow – what a great sounding day – happy for you!
Terrible 4 on 3 OT PP by Minny – stationary and taking open shots with no screen.
I refuse to watch these two teams in a shootout.
Empathy is hard, but the thing you have to consider with HH is he cheers for a truly pathetic hockey franchise. 50 years in and all you have to show for it are the couple times you nearly tore your own city down to the pilings.
From afar you’ve watched Gretzky set every record in the book, the emergence of a dynasty with multiple Hall of Famers, Edmonton builds an amazing new arena district and the Oil win the lottery to get a generational player-again! Meanwhile the Chinese are buying your city out from under you and the rain keeps pouring down.
Trolling is essentially an overcompensation technique for self loathing, and the self loathing is 100% understandable in this case. The Canucks are the Pete Best of the NHL. Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda.
Add to this they once had the ugliest uni’s in the league by a country mile and I’m amazed HH can get out of bed in the morning.
Minny with an OT PP – come on.
Sometimes I think we overrate speed. Of course it’s important, but it’s one of many skills that determine what a player will be. I’ve always felt Lucia’s poor skating has been overstated. The biggest flaw in his game is his stick. The puck is an absolute grenade on his stick and he loses board battles all the time because it’s easy to strip him of the puck.
From my viewings, I would say his “speed” is average to good but he doesn’t have high end straight away speed – he doesn’t have “breakaway speed” and we’ve seen him caught on breaks at the AHL level.
WIth that said, he is still a “good skater” as he as a quickness and good lateral movement. Maybe its a visual trick but he does seem to “get in on players/pucks” very quickly – at both the NHL and AHL level.
Fair enough – good post and thank you.
While I agree that Yama doesn’t have high end producing skills so will need to play a full game to be a contributor, however, I am of the opinion that he does indeed have a broader range of skills to be able to do just that.
While Benson is “better on the boards”, I don’t agree that is the be all and end all. Kailer has other skills that, in my opinion, are just as material and beneficial – the ability to get in on defenders quickly and cause them to rush plays and make turnovers and the similar ability in the defensive zone to break up plays, for example. He can play on a skill line but can also play on a middle six energy or shut down line (in due time). He was also firmly PK1 in the AHL recently.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been singing Benson’s praises for a few years now, I’m just not sure I agree that Benson has a more “NHL game” – I think they both lack certain elements but both have skills that can thrive at the NHL level and, at this point, with his PK ability (at least at the AHL level), I think Yama may have the broader range.
Haha. Awesome.
hope he can keep that up for the whole season.
Oh Wow. Just had a 5 minute chat with Wayne and Janet Gretzky while we were both waiting for a taxi in Toronto. I wasn’t going to interrupt them but thought, f*#k it, when will I ever have this chance again. My mom did the flowers for their wedding so i used that as a starter!!
My wife got given three free nights at the Ritz-Carleton so we stopped there on the way home to London. The Islanders were staying there two nights ago and then we realised the Oilers were there today when Zach Kassian sat next to us for breakfast. My wife thinks he was checking her out (!) and then we had a little chat with him over his egg white omelette and giant bowl of fruit. Such a warm, friendly guy. Smiled the whole time!!
Also sat in the Sauna with Chiasson and Larsson and waited for a coffee next to Archibald and, I think, Lagesson. Didn’t have the balls to strike up a conversation with any of them though but almost did in the Sauna!!
Don’t tell my wife but this may have been the best day of my life!!!
Awesome story. Great to hear
It’s been around for some time. There’s a large group of people (here and elsewhere) who see Yamamoto’s foot speed as average or below. Damned if I know why. The scouting reports called him a plus skater and that’s what he is.
Punk out of Russia. One of the members was born in Norilsk – an incredibly interesting industrial city above the arctic circle with a life expectancy 10 years below the Russian average due to pollution. An incredible anti Putin protest band (spent time in jail). And the girl from Norilsk is absolutely stunning.
Rittich with his 3rd straight very bad start
It’s amazing how many teams are being sunk by goalering
Good Bay Robert’s boy, been too long since the NL connection of Teddy.
I hope so. Having dipped my toes in the 2020 draft water, Mercer looks like a nice fit!
When did this start being said? I remember Glov talking about it like a year ago.
Is Yamamoto’s processing time and quickness hiding people’s conception of his speed? As in, his dual decision-making and physical quickness putting him at pucks first gives the appearance that these weren’t ’50/50′ plays, when they were?
David Pelletier is EDM’s skating coach.
https://www.nhl.com/oilers/team/coaches-management
I hear he’s pretty good, especially in teaching edgwork. (yes, I know who he is, but ability doesn’t always mean ability to teach)
Don’t judge a player by their straight away speed.
Judge them by their ability to change direction at speed.
That helps a player waaaay more than straight ahead speed.
One thing Yamamoto said he worked on was his edge work in the corners so he could forecheck more.
Just posted this on twitter:
@Woodguy55
This is the best “beat writer column” that I’ve read read about EDM and I’ve been reading them since 1980.
Glad @mirtle is paying for him to travel with the team.
Great stuff in here about Neal (“he’s real 5v5 !?!?), Benning and Benson.
I’d post some quotes, but in this case I feel that it would be betraying The Athletic’s funding model.
Jon is traveling with the team, and will on future road trips.
What he gets in a couple days is better than what the usual suspects have written in a decade.
Great stuff.
I’m now hesitant to move Neal off of 97-44.
Linky:
https://theathletic.com/1511262/2020/01/05/oilers-notebook-james-neals-resurgence-matt-bennings-injury-and-the-tyler-benson-recall-temptation/?source=rss&redirected=1
Woodguy v2.0,
Jon’s one of us.
Amazingly good news!
#lowetidenation
It’s difficult for him to work on the things most important to his success in the NHL in the AHL because his other attributes allow him to overwhelm AHL players
I’d have to drill down on his NHL time to figure out if he actually bleeds more than his replacements do but the previous point basically makes it so that there’s nothing to wait for