Dave Tippett has talked about bringing this team’s road game home, and last night it looked just that way. The Edmonton Oilers played a strong game against the Nashville Predators and won two big points last night at Rogers. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl led the way, but there were impressive contributions across the roster on the evening.
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 Daniel Nugent-Bowman: A defiant Zack Kassian issues his latest salvo against Matthew Tkachuk: ‘He messed with the wrong guy’
- New Lowetide: Dave Tippett’s deployment of Oilers defencemen indicates Kris Russell is vulnerable to trade
- New Jonathan Willis: Oilers Notebook: Jujhar Khaira’s future, Caleb Jones’ adaptation to NHL speed
- Lowetide: Oilers prospect pipeline could deliver below-average group in 2020-21
- Jonathan Willis: Several factors led to Oilers’ Zack Kassian’s inevitable hearing with NHL Player Safety
- Jonathan Willis: Zack Kassian calls Matthew Tkachuk a ‘p****,’ says he’d go after him again despite Oilers’ loss
- Lowetide: Projecting William Lagesson’s future with the Edmonton Oilers
- Jonathan Willis: Kailer Yamamoto has impressed the Oilers and especially star linemate Leon Draisaitl
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: 10 bold predictions for the Edmonton Oilers in 2020
- Jonathan Willis: Mike Smith stars in Oilers victory, but others’ struggles could prompt changes
- Jonathan Willis: Inside a coach’s impact: How Dave Tippett gets the most out of the Oilers’ players
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Deciding what to do with Darnell Nurse, Mike Smith, Tyler Benson and Evan Bouchard
- Lowetide: Ken Holland’s targets for his first trade deadline with the Oilers.
- Minnia Feng: Zamboni Ursula: What if Oilers fans could change something in the team’s past?
- Lowetide: Ken Holland’s trade deadline options for the Oilers
- Jonathan Willis: ‘That’s the nicest goal I’ve ever seen’: Connor McDavid’s teammates amazed by his latest effort
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers notebook: James Neal’s resurgence, Matt Benning’s injury and the Tyler Benson recall temptation
- Lowetide: Oilers farmhands are pushing hard for NHL jobs
- Jonathan Willis: Zack Kassian’s breakout performance presents Oilers GM Ken Holland with a familiar dilemma
- Lowetide: Ken Holland, the Oilers amateur procurement department and the 2020 draft
- Lowetide: Complete Oilers top 20 prospects list, winter 2019
OILERS AFTER 48 GAMES
- Oilers in 2015-16: 19-24-5, 43 points; goal differential -23
- Oilers in 2016-17: 25-15-8, 58 points; goal differential +7
- Oilers in 2017-18: 21-24-3, 45 points; goal differential -29
- Oilers in 2018-19: 23-22-3, 49 points; goal differential -10
- Oilers in 2019-20: 25-18-5, 55 points; goal differential -2
The team reaches 25 wins at Game 48, another little plateau that only one other team in the McDavid era has managed. Edmonton is on pace to finish with 94 points on the season. That’s playoff territory.
ON THE TENS
- First 10 games: 7-2-1
- Second 10 games: 5-4-1
- Third 10 games: 5-4-1
- Fourth 10 games: 3-6-1
- Current 10 games: 5-2-1
OILERS IN JANUARY
- Oilers in January 2016: 2-2-2, six points; goal differential -2
- Oilers in January 2017: 3-3-0, six points; goal differential -2
- Oilers in January 2018: 2-4-0, four points; goal differential -11
- Oilers in January 2019: 3-3-0, six points; goal differential -5
- Oilers in January 2020: 4-1-1, nine points; goal differential +4
A frustrating December is followed by a quality January. Rest, practice, recall of Yamamoto, Nuge scoring, and Mike Smith recovering. Just as we all predicted.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN JANUARY
- On the road to: BUF, BOS, TOR, MTL, CAL (Expected 2-2-1) (Actual 3-1-1)
- At home to: NAS, ARI, CAL, STL (Expected 1-2-1) (1-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 3-4-2, eight points in nine games
- Current results: 4-1-1, nine points in six games
This is so impressive, considering the things this team doesn’t have yet. The Arizona game on Saturday looms large, which is incredible. I’m not even sure I like this team! There’s a lot of flaws.
OILERS 2019-20
The Oilers have two impact players, some genuine NHL players and a bunch of guys who are pushing to make it in the NHL, stay in the NHL, or make it to the end of the season in the NHL. How many guys who played last night will be in the NHL after the Seattle expansion? All numbers NST and five on five unless noted.
LINE 1 RNH-Leon Draisaitl-Kailer Yamamoto played 10:51, going 11-13 Corsi, 7-6 shots, 1-0 goals and 1-2 HDSC.
Nuge continued a recent scoring streak with a fabulous goal off the faceoff. It came during a game where it was clear the two teams were relatively close. A big goal. Leon Draisaitl had an assist five on five (plus two goals in other game states) and was a lion for the Oilers. He almost scored on an early third-period breakaway as well. Any time you’re the best player in a game that includes Connor McDavid you’ve delivered and then some. Kailer Yamamoto didn’t get any points, but was constantly in game moments, moving pucks along, had four takeaways. He’s such a useful player.
LINE 2 James Neal-Connor McDavid-Josh Archibald played 9:22, going 9-9 Corsi, 3-7 shots, 1-1 goals and 3-3 HDSC.
James Neal had a takeaway, took a penalty (on a power play) and didn’t have much of an impact. Connor McDavid had an assist, two HDSC and three points overall. His pass to Sam Gagner in the third should have put it all to rest. Josh Archibald scored the winning goal and had a couple of HDSC. He isn’t a match for McDavid but he played well enough to get another game. He got caught on the Forsberg goal going the wrong way, but it looked like a set play (McDavid was trying to push the puck up the wall) gone bad.
LINE 3 Joakim Nygard-Riley Sheahan-Patrick Russell played 7:55, going 6-7 Corsi, 3-5 shots, 0-0 goals and 3-1 HDSC.
Joakim Nygard had a HDSC, drew a penalty and had a takeaway. His speed is very effective in all areas. Riley Sheahan was part of the miscommunication on the second goal against, but he did try to cover during a disaster of a line change. Patrick Russell missed a month of Sundays and then played exactly the same game as when he left. I love this guy’s work.
LINE 4 Sam Gagner-Gaetan Haas-Alex Chiasson played 6:42, going 6-9 Corsi, 3-3 shots, no goals and no HDSC.
Sam Gagner had two HDSC’s including a 10-bell chance in the third period. He points a lot in the defensive zone, that might be a newer wrinkle in his game. Gaetan Haas had one shot on goal, not a lot happening. Alex Chiasson was a major player in the Draisaitl PP goal, his net front presence and repeated attempts to score helped create the chaos for the goal.
PAIRING ONE Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson played 17:28, going 18-19 Corsi, 9-7 shots, 1-0 goals and 4-0 HDSC.
Oscar Klefbom’s pass to start the Archibald goal was a thing of beauty. He played huge minutes on the evening, including over three on each special team. Larsson had a tough time with the Nashville speed but recovered well enough to keep the opposition at bay. This tandem, to my eye, is finding their way. If Klefbom’s speed were at 100 percent, this pairing would be music.
PAIRING TWO Darnell Nurse and Ethan Bear played 17:13, going 17-17 Corsi, 7-10 shots, 0-1 goals and 3-3 HDSC.
Darnell Nurse had four shots, three blocked shots and transported the puck effectively. He had some issues in coverage but did not break, and took a strange penalty. His errant pass to nowhere after the PK led directly to the second goal, although he had left the ice when the puck went in. Ethan Bear had two shots and a takeaway, he’s more physical at defending than earlier in the season. His passing remains a strong tool but he seems to be using it less. Need to get back to that passing.
PAIRING THREE Kris Russell and Caleb Jones played 9:40, going 8-10 Corsi, 5-6 shots, 1-0 goals and 3-3 HDSC. That’s a good line for a third pair.
Kris Russell defended well, and had a sequence of legit offensive quality riffing with 97. Caleb Jones is starting to gain some confidence with the puck and is showing his ability.
GOALIE Mike Smith stopped 30 of 32, .938 save percentage. Hockey’s Rasputin is back from death’s door and playing some of his best hockey of the season. Catherine Silverman foretold this in July.
CONDORS 2019-20
Oilers lost last night, Evan Bouchard scored a gorgeous goal and his boxcars are beginning to shine. Corey Pronman has him ranked in his latest article 2019-20 midseason NHL prospects ranking and two other Oilers prospects show well.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
At 10 this morning, TSN1260, we’ll drill down on a satisfying Oilers win last night with Bruce McCurdy from the Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal. Joe Osborne from OddsShark will pop in to talk NFL weekend and Super Bowl odds, plus the strange bets people put down Super Bowl week. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. Talk soon.
kgo,
I do not recall ever seeing this in 45 yrs of watching hockey, so I have no concerns with a player taking advantage of a situation.
Hell Lindgren should have thrown off his mask, but they were already short-handed, so it would be a tough thing for an inexperienced NHL goalie to push off the net and put his team down 2 men (the PP had basically just started, so that would be like 90-100 seconds at 5 v 3).
Seemed to me that Kane hooked into Lindgren’s blocker and pulled it off.
1. I see this as the same as chopping a stick out of someone’s hands
2. Isn’t this dangerous enough on it’s own, with goalie’s hand potentially exposed to contact with a skate blade during this scramble
3. How is it AT ALL seen as okay for him to be standing in the net without his blocker a. Because it is a serious safety risk b. He is put at an unfair position without a standard piece of equipment not available.
How is this fair or safe in any way this is looked at. At minimum the play should have been whistled dead because a player is in immediate risk for injury, just like a goalie mask or helmet coming off. IMO this is a penalty to Kane.
Straight-up piss-poor judgement by the refs here.
I think the same of the broken skate blade that wasn’t called for on Tukka Rask that happened relatively recently 2 seasons ago?). It is a straight-up dangerous situation and it also puts a goalie at an unfair disadvantage. How is this good for the game at any level?
It doesn’t happen often, so it isn’t “a detriment to the integrity of the game” or whatever other bullshit reasoning might be out there.
I agree it looked terrible, but it would set a bad precedent that goalies could take advantage of. Goalie should have pushed his own net off and taken the 2min penalty
New for The Athletic: Central Scouting’s midseason list offers Oilers some strong draft options
https://theathletic.com/1534324/2020/01/16/lowetide-central-scoutings-midseason-list-offers-oilers-some-strong-draft-options/
tcho,
I believe turtles are hatched……
Coming late but didn’t want to be the reason this keeps this going into next day’s post. Regarding Turtle Check. I noticed in the Calgary game that his strength on his feet is pretty good, he wore a few checks by our guys in the earlier part of the game and they rarely put him off his stride. What was interesting was how often he left himself vulnerable (contrary to what you’d think) and how our guys didn’t put him through the perspex. Good on our guys for this, but the sprog needs to be brought down. There’ll be plenty of chances and they won’t need to be manufactured.
In other words, concentrate on the game and he’ll cross the sights eventually.
I don’t know whether Merkley (who was part of the return in the Taylor Hall trade) will ever have an NHL career. His AHL career has been derailed by injuries, but it is interesting to note that he is just 1 year older than Tyler Benson and their career production numbers are fairly similar.
Merkley, 118 games, 34 goals, 61 assists, 95 points
Benson, 109 games, 23 goals, 78 assists, 101 points.
What about the Central teams?
Is the 3C replacing Haas or Sheahan you figure?
Holland added Tyler Wright but he did also keep Keith Gretzky and Bob Green.
Marchment – disgrace to the uniform and game.
I can see why the leafs didn’t make Matthews their captain after watching him in a love fest interview about what a great guy Tkachuk is. The leafs play Calgary tomorrow your not suppose to have a crush on your opponents. First we need to take care of the Yotes then the real fun begins with the back to backs with the sleazy Flames I sure hope JJ is dressed and is engaged for these two important games. Also somebody needs to lay out Gio repeatedly.
I just watched the hilights of MTL vs Chi and I am disgusted by the Hawks 3rd goal.
Chi is on a PP and there is a scramble at the left side of Mtl’s goal. Kane is digging in for the puck and then Lindgren’s stick and blocker go flying. The puck ends up behind the net, but Lindgren is able to grab his stick with his bare hand. The puck eventually ends up in the slot on DeBrincat’s stick and Lindgren basically falls down and AB scores fairly easily.
I am not even remotely a Hab’s fan, but I was so pissed (still am) when I saw this.
Why the Hell wouldn’t this be blown dead. NHL player safety my ass. What a friggin joke!
Am I alone on this?
What about their -12 goal differential? 8th worse in the NHL.
It’s recovering quickly.
Corrected. Def meant 1979 & 1980 Drafts.
2015 had that potential ……. oh well.
Credit to MacGregor & Green on the late 2015 picks. Unreal.
Ah. Some late redemption for The Magnificent Bastard.
It’s wide open that’s why Holland has to grab a 3C before the prices go up. There won’t be many sellers at the deadline.
The 1979 and 1980 drafts were the killers for Edmonton, although 1981 was also terrific. The Oilers 2015 draft list would have been compiled by Stu MacGregor’s/Bob Green’s staff.
Might be a good idea for the Pacific teams to keep an eye on the rear view mirror.
Chicago is 7-3-0 in their last 10 and only 4 points of a wildcard spot.
OriginalPouzar,
Red Herring.
If Tacuck wants to traipse all across the line with “legal” but “predatory” hits, then he will be called to account for his actions from time to time. Kassian tried last year and Matt turtled then too.
It was Lucic who should have thumped Gio last year, and he knew it but did nothing. Lucic’s relevance fades by the game.
Marchand answers the bell when he gets held to task. He’s a rat who at least acknowledges, if not respects, the code.
Fans hoping for fireworks in the next BoA are going to be sorely disappointed I suspect.
Post suspension Kass will be on good behaviour and Tkachuk likely knows the refs will be watching him closely as well, because the NHL is just smart enough to realize when they missed a clear headshot after the fact, and this game has spotlighted some poor optics on the officiating.
Win the games will be job one. Hopfeully hitting Tkafuk whenever he has the puck will be job two.
If memory serves, the latter is what Slats had the team do when Sheehy had been targeting Gretzky with rat tactics. It’s actually pretty effective when an entire team commits to making every legal hit they can on a single player. Do that and Tkachuk will be beaten and exhausted by the end. If the Oil did that, it might provide the attitude adjustment this young punk needs.
100% he’s been better. Given the Top 10 in 2015, I think everyone was hoping for more.
MCDAVID
EICHEL
D STROME
…. tough Act to Follow
And this is why I’m pissed that Holland is messing with amateur scouting
That’s the only good thing Chia did
And don’t bring over Detroit scouts
Chia takes a lot heat for his trades and the job done by his pro scouts.
With good reason.
He doesn’t get enough credit for the fine job done on the amateur side here under his watch.
I’ve tried to say the same before and was lambasted.
Probably because I wasn’t as succinct as you.
Dylan Strome has lived up to draft pedigree since the trade to Chicago, no?
I didn’t follow this closely at the time and wasn’t clear on the $13M either (that number had been mentioned earlier). I had a look and I think I understand it now.
Lucic was owed $6M, $4M, $5M and $4M for this year and the next 3. This years salary was $3M signing bonus and $3M salary though, so his is owed 3+4+5+4=$16M following his bonus being paid (reported to have been paid by the Oilers before the trade). So Looch makes $16M post trade.
The Oilers also retained $575k per season, on a cap hit of $6M per season (his cap hit is $6M per year since his deal was front loaded 8, 8, 7, 6, 4, 5, 4 by year). I assume the actual money Edmonton pays Calgary is pro-rated to remaining salary, so just shy of 10% of the $16M he is owed. Rounding off to $1.5M.
So Edmonton pays about $1.5M of Lucic’s remaining salary and Calgary pays $14.5M of the $16M.
Neal is simpler. He makes $5.75M per year for 4 years. So $23M total. And if you add Lucic’s retained money to what Neal will be paid that’s $24.5M the Oilers will pay out vs $14.5M the Flames will pay (assuming no buyouts).
So that brings us to $10M more the Oilers are paying for Neal vs Lucic over 4 seasons. But the Oilers also paid out (reportedly) Lucic’s $3M bonus for 2019-20 before the trade. So the gap in actual money for the 4 seasons of these 2 players becomes $13M.
Clear as mud?
Thank you, that clarifies it.
2015 DRAFT REVISIT.
OILER PICKS ENTERING 2015:
#1
#16
#33
#57
#79
#117
#124
#154
#208
#209
This is such an Interesting point in Oilers history. Yes I was and am Mad at PC; but this is not about that …. not entirely.
The Oilers ’80 & ’81 Drafts laid the foundation for a Dynasty. Edmonton nauoed their top picks and landed some Great Players (HHOF) in later rounds.
i always felt 2015 had that chance. Good be my own revisionist history.
TEAMS with Multiple 1st Round Picks in 2015.
FLYERS #9  – PROVOROV & KONECNY. nailed it.
ISLES – #16 & #28 BARZAL & BEAVUELIIER. nailed it
ARIZONA – #3 €)& #30D STROME & MERKLEY. bombed.
BOSTON – #13,#14,#15 ZBORIL, DEBRUSK, SENYSHEN. not good.
PC traded away the heart of the draft for Can Talbot & Griffin Reinhart.
Now 4.5 years later, the 2015 draft still looks Great for PC’s crew.
How many drafts ever had any team had their 4th, 5th & 6th Round picks in the NHL by draft +5? Amazing.
My final thoughts are that PC and his crew had an Excellent drsft on the pucks they made. Beyond Excellent.
The Tragedy is that had picks #16,#33,#57 & #79 been chosen by Edmonton; this could have been the Greatest Oilers draft ever.
That is all.
Seriously. It could have been 1/3 of a great team in 1 year of drafting
?
leadfarmer,
Depends if it’s hockey or MMA he’s talking about. Great deal for Jones and the Oilers today by the way.
Have you ever had to dealings with a sociopath or a psychopath?
Best not to at if possible. But treating them the way you would others in my experience is a fools errand.
Lucic has about $15 million remaining on his contract
Neal has about $22 million remaining on his contract.
And, of course the Oilers are picking up $3 million of Lucic dollars.
I did the math above
And your numbers aren’t that far off
2 x $850k is indeed an excellent deal.
Instant value contract if Jones plays every day, that becomes absurd if he moves up from the 3rd pair.
An excellent deal all around
From oilers perspective it sets a very nice bar for other rfa d men that are similar level and need new contracts…Lagesson, Persson and even Benning and Bear to a degree, although bear is likely running closer to the Ellis contract numbers armchair gm mentions.
Getting all these guys who are 4-7 D nhl players signed on decent contracts provides depth and great trade bait as an option. Think F heavy D weak teams like the leafs…
For the player, as long as he keeps playing as well as he has been he will be on an nhl lineup for the next 2 years either here or elsewhere through trade or waiver pick up. No way he clears waivers next year with that contract, unless his performance significantly declines…
Lots of options for KH and the oilers…
This is a billion times classier than a billboard. Amazing!
Kenny’s a Grinder
pts2pndr,
I think OP is referring to the ~6m signing bonus paid to lucid for the 2019-20 season. So they have him for well under the 5.25m cap hit this season due to signing bonus etc.
Lordy, that’s a bit over the top.
Yeah I’ve a got a bit of that in me.
I’m at least somewhat aware of of some of my character flaws.
Full credit for them. It is what it is. I am what I am.
Raffi Torres and Bryan Marchment are the two more recent examples that come to my mind (still going back 10+ yrs).
I liked both players but they also made me feel queasy sometimes.
As OP said Kassian was also that player, though I don’t recall anything he’s done as an Oiler at that level (I may be forgetting).
How about Zack Kassian – he has throw hits just as vicious, dirty and predatory as Tkachuk’s, even as an Oiler – he even admitted it yesterday. The difference is, he hasn’t backed down from fights after throwing those hits.
Raffi Torres
Chris Pronger was pretty dirty.
I’ve heard people advocate sinking to his level.
If it were me I’d show him a different level. Run from behind push his head down into the boards. Last second forearm shiver to the face.
Try and end him. If he actually is an antisocial personality disorder type this is the only language he’ll understand.
~ Easier when you do ~
I thought this deserved highlighting too.
14:43
Not this guy.
The cap hit of a contract is the average yearly payout (salary plus signing bonuses) and is the same every year of the contract – both players had a $6M cap hit.
At the same time, Lucic’s contract was front loaded where he was paid more money in the first few years of his contract. Neal’s contract is structured for even payments per year. After the date of the trade, Neal receives more compensation from ownership than Lucic.
Thank you!
You forget it’s their largely when one of your own. Its ingrained inside us. A defense mechanism. Like the mothers of serial killers.
I don’t know, when was the last time the Oilers had a player like that? One who is outright dangerous dirty? They tended to move them on once a rep was established, other than Messier and Anderson, but that was also 35 years ago.
Semenko, Brown and Laraque weren’t dirty, just outrageously tough.
I’m sure the Turtles love Tkachuk. I’m sure he’s a great teammate, he grew up around NHL hockey.
That Giordano supports him is to be a expected. The guy who knees players and also is a dangerous ‘oops another accident that seriously hurt someone’.
Calgary has become like they were years ago, let’s hope the oilers also end up there.
Let’s also hope a lesson can be learned from the past. Ignore the Turtles, worry about your own game and win it. If Tkachuk leaves an opening hammer him, but he won’t because players like him are good at not exposing themselves to retribution.
If they can do that they will be in the Turtles’ heads big time, shades of second fiddle again. It would be hilarious if MT was looking to fight to regain honour and nobody would, or Yama kicked his ass.
Ignore the troll.
Pacific parity party.
Better than Edmonton’s usual fate.
Puddles pity party.
I Kass does to Tkachuk what Tkachuk did to him, you can guarantee five games. The best thing he can do is take a dive if Tkachuk hits him again. Then the kid gets suspended. Fight fire with fire.
I bet Looch and Tkachuk haven’t spent five minutes on the ice together 5 x 5.
Certainly the fans at Flames Nation love the kid. I suspect most of us would be thrilled if he was an Oiler too.
The mental gymnastics is stunning.
What an excellent, creative and timely way to raise money. Superb.
This is a great story, I hope the MSM pick up on it, she deserves recognition for this and a great high road response to a Flames troll.
Of course it was a great trade by Holland – that is neither here nor there.
I am talking about the $8M of real money that Flames ownership saved via the trade – Neal makes $8M more than Lucic post trade.
Please don’t think I am rude but could you help me understand the 8 million real dollar savings for the Flames.
One way vs. two way contract have zero to do with waivers and if a player is exempt from clearing them.
Caleb Jones is subject to waivers next season with a one-way or with a two-way contract.
Whether a player is subject to waivers or not is a calculation based on their age at signing their ELC and their games/years accrued.
P. Russell is on a two-way contract but would need to clear waivers to be re-assigned.
Joel Persson is on a one-way contract but is exempt from waivers.