In the time after 1967 expansion, the Montreal Canadiens gathered Stanley Cups with breathtaking speed. The modern perception of the Habs is a dominant franchise from the 1920’s through 1993. That was not the case.
For those of us on this side of the expansion, the championships won in the 40 years previous to 1967 (1927-67) may come as a shock:
- Montreal Canadiens 12
- Toronto Maple Leafs 11
- Detroit Red Wings 7
- Boston Bruins 3
- New York Rangers 3
- Chicago Blackhawks 3
Not what you thought, right? The Maple Leafs were a power in the original six, alternating with the Habs and Red Wings through 1955 and then sharing the silver with the Habs each summer. Toronto’s hockey team has a fantastic history. It’s been an epic gap between drinks. When Stanley heads down by the Henry Moore next time, Canada will see the vast Leafs nation for the first time in over 50 years. I can tell you with authority Leafs fans exist in every city and town in the nation. Even towns that no longer exist, if there’s a heartbeat accelerating in this country chances are Dave Keon is held dear. I don’t know if they win again in my lifetime, though.
THE ATHLETIC!
I’m proud to be writing for The Athletic, and pleased to be part of a great team with Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Jonathan Willis. Here is our recent work.
- New Lowetide: 3 auditioning Oilers who should be given time to find their groove
- Lowetide: It’s time for the Oilers to play prospect Evan Bouchard in NHL games
- Lowetide: Jesse Puljujarvi is ready for his No. 1 line audition
- Lowetide: Oilers’ scoring wing prospects having an impact.
- Lowetide: Oilers Kailer Yamamoto is the real deal.
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers risers and fallers: Ethan Bear, Caleb Jones among those stumbling early
- Lowetide: Oilers goaltending depth in a state of flux.
- Lowetide: Oilers’ No. 3 line has been a source of anxiety early this season
- Lowetide: Is this peak Connor McDavid?
- Lowetide: First impressions of Oilers after opener against the Canucks
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers opening night roster: A player-by-player breakdown
- Lowetide: Oilers risers and fallers and how they impact the opening night roster
- Lowetide: Will Ken Holland let it ride in goal for the Oilers this season?
- Lowetide: Oilers rookies with a chance to stick after one week of training camp
- Lowetide: 9 bold predictions for the Oilers’ season
- Lowetide: Early roster rumblings as Oilers open training camp
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers training camp: Forecasting the big roster battles
- Lowetide: Dylan Holloway’s world juniors work offers clues about Oilers future
THE OILERS IN MONTH NO. 1
- 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
- Oilers in October 2019: 7-2-1, 15 points, goal differential +7
- Oilers in Month 1 2021: 3-6-0, goal differential -6
This is a different year, so it’s important to mention the Oilers are playing a universe of six diabolicals, not 30. After tonight, eight of the Oilers 10 games will be versus the class of the division (TML, Habs, Jets). Does that mean one damn thing? No. Is it possible the Oilers are making everyone look like the class of the division? Yes.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM MONTH NO. 1
- At home to: Vancouver, Vancouver (Expected: 1-1-0) (Actual 1-1-0)
- At home to: Montreal, Montreal (Expected: 1-1-0) (Actual 0-2-0)
- On the road to: Toronto, Toronto, Winnipeg, Winnipeg (Expected 1-2-1) (Actual 2-2-0)
- At home to: Toronto, Toronto, Ottawa (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 0-1-0)
- Overall expected result: 5-5-1, 11 points in 11 games
- Current results: 3-6-0, 6 points after nine games
Not much to say, this is the final weekend of the month and the Oilers could finish anywhere from 5-6-0 to 3-8-0. It’s a better team than 3-8-0 and I do think the’re better than 5-6-0 but you’re only as good as your record.
STANLEY CUP WINNERS (1979-2020)
- Edmonton Oilers 5
- Pittsburgh Penguins 5
- New York Islanders 4
- Detroit Red Wings 4
- Chicago Blackhawks 3
- New Jersey Devils 3
- Colorado Avalanche 2
- Montreal Canadiens 2
- Los Angeles Kings 2
- Tampa Bay Lightning 2
- Boston Bruins 1
- Calgary Flames 1
- New York Rangers 1
- Dallas Stars 1
- Carolina Hurricanes 1
- Anaheim Ducks 1
- Washington Capitals 1
- St. Louis Blues 1
In historic terms, the Oilers remain one of the most successful “modern” NHL teams due to the five Stanley Cups won 1984-1990. It’s doesn’t count for a hill of beans tonight, but if we’re counting what is important, tonight’s game between Edmonton and Toronto is between two organizations who have enjoyed past glory that becomes more of a distant bell every season. Both have hopes of landing Stanley soon and we’ll see how that works out.
NHLE’S
Dylan Holloway is rolling in the Big-10 now, he scored 2-2-4 last night for Wisconsin and has been on fire since returning to college. Here are the latest scoring numbers and NHLE’s for Edmonton’s feature prospects:
- Dylan Holloway: 9, 5-9-14 (Big-10) [42.5]
- Carter Savoie: 16, 9-5-14 (NCHC) [31.5]
- Matej Blumel: 36, 13-11-24 (Czech) [23.8]
- Raphael Lavoie: 36, 14-12-26 (Allsv) [21.3]
- Maxim Berezhkin: 13, 8-10-18 (MHL) [20.5]
- Maxim Denezhkin: 34, 7-15-22 (VHL) [20.2]
- Philip Broberg: 29, 2-8-10 (SHL) [16.9]
- Dmitri Samorukov: 46, 2-6-8 (KHL) [11.5]
- Filip Engaras: 12, 3-1-4 (H-East) [10.7]
Chatter about Holloway turning pro in the offseason, he’s physically ready and if he dominates the Big-10 there’s logic to the idea. Combined with Lavoie and Broberg, Holloway could be a part of the best rookie crop heading to Bakersfield since Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse in the fall of 2015.
TONIGHT
The Oilers have played well enough to grab a point (or two) in the last couple of games, but have nothing to show for it. These things tend to even out, perhaps tonight will have a different result. One thing that should hearten Oilers fans is the numbers by the top three lines on Thursday evening:
- Kahun-Draisaitl-Yamamoto: 9:43, 4-2 shots, no goals, 9-7 Corsi five on five
- Nuge-McDavid-Puljujarvi: 8:16, 3-2 shots, no goals, 9-3 Corsi five on five
- Neal-Turris-Kassian: 7:09, 9-4 shots, no goals, 13-8 Corsi five on five
That has been the goal, and those numbers were accomplished against a strong team. Toronto dominated the Oilers at times during five on five play Thursday, Edmonton outscored 2-1 in the discipline. That happens at times, and the goalie gave up an easy tally, that was part of the story, too.
Bottom line: There were some positives in the Thursday loss, lots to build on for this Edmonton team. Saturdays have been most unkind to the Oilers over the years and there’s a chance Edmonton asks a relative unknown to play goal this evening.
How does this day end, in sweet victory or another Saturday night of misery? We wait.
Quick question before today’s thread pops up, but why did Ennius take the penalty shot?
I believe the coach has to choose among the players on the ice. Ennis, Shore, Archibald…Barrie and Koekkoek. Bringing back memories of when MacT picked Pronger to take the PS against the Hurricanes in game 1.
In my opinion, they have to go with Mikko tonight – there was no travel between games and the 5pm to 8pm start times do help (a few extra hours).
They need this game tonight and Grosenick is just such an unknown, not having played since March and like a few days removed from quarantine.
They have tomorrow off and then a full 3-day break.
I know its a lot to ask of Mikko but he can gut it out for a few more games.
———————–
Anxious for an update on Bear this morning. If he’s out, I’ve got to assume that Barrie slides back up to partner with Bear and Bouchard comes in. An issue is the PK and I have a feeling that Russell may re-enter the lineup in the name of PK. If that does happen, it better not be straight up for Bear and it better not be for Jones – the Jones/Larsson pairing is now playing well. Sorry Slater, you were on for 3 goals against yesterday – Rusty in the name of the PK may take your spot.
On that note, Shore has been just as ineffective as Khaira for a number of games now. I wouldn’t be adverse to JJ back in over Shore in the name of the PK. I mean, if the position is a black hole at evens, might as well have the better killer out there, no?
Konovalov getting the start for Yaroslav today and, so far, he’s stopped all 16 shots he’s faced (in the first period).
Koskinen passed fellow Finn Markkanen and is now 10th all time in GP for Oiler goalies
Just to go full MacBlender and see what it does for McDavid, I’d like to see:
21 – 97 – 56
10 – 29 – 13
18 – 93 – 44
63 – 14 – 15
That looks like a balance photo up front, if you could just upgrade #10 and shift the LW down a slot.
Bear out is a big deal if it’s any length of time. He’s their best puckmover. Nice to see some signs of life from Barrie. I bet Tipp moves him up with Nurse tomorrow if Bear can’t go. Russell should play too on the B2B
nurse – Barrie
Jones – Larsson
rusty – Bouch
I’d be excited to see that, I don’t mind pairing Bouchard with their most veteran Dman.
If Bear is out, I can see the coaches putting Rusty in for the PK – just hope its not a straight switch and they do make an additional substitution (and I think Kokkoek is the right guy – he was on for all three goals against last night).
I wasn’t able to watch but sounds like a quality game from the team.
Really happy/relieved they pulled out the win!
Best game of the year for the Oilers. Toronto was lucky to get the point. 2 of their goals came off lucky bounces on broken plays.
Oilers could have easily had 5 or 6 in regulation. They controlled the flow of play for most of the game.
Barries best game of the year. JPs as well.
I thought Koskiinen was fantastic
.897
Context is important
I hope the Bear is OK and, if he is out, that its only for a very short term.
At the same time, Tyson Barrie looks like he’s settling in and getting more confident with the puck and looked good with Nurse in the 3rd (mainly). Given how well Nurse is playing, I’m very much looking forward to that pairing and seeing what Bouch can do in the lineup.
If Barrie can play well for a game or two with Nurse and Bouchard shows he’s an NHL player, this could give Tip/Playfair options.
If the coaches put Rusty on his off-side in for Bear…….
Also, Koekkoek is struggling – on far all three goals against today. Would like to see Lagesson get worked in a bit (obviously won’t happen, in particular if Bouch is playing).
Tomorrow will tell you everything about what Tippet thinks about Bouchard.
Wow… the Stars only had 11 shots in their loss against the canes. Don’t know if that’s a testament to the canes’ defence or the Stars’ missing its 2 main forwards (Seguin and Benn)
No update from Tip on Bear – Matty asked about him and Tip said he hadn’t been back there yet so doesn’t know what’s up.
Alright everybody.
Small sample but I’ve crunched the numbers: at the precise moment of this evening’s Oil Victory (OV), my open invitation to funnel all negativity onto one post – mine, which I’m now calling an LT Spitening Rod™ – resulted in a +01.00 goal differential per 22 downvotes. Getting out the calc app…that’s only 154 downvotes to secure an OV by seven goals. The model is untested, but let’s test it. I promise to post another rod next GDB.
Aside: The usual joy I’d take at an OT win against ‘the east’ is replaced by the usual ‘well they’re top of the div so who cares’ consolation glow. Nice. ?
You need to post earlier so more peeps can rack it up… ha ha
Promised. ?
So Toronto has only lost three games so far, and two of them are from Edmonton. (we did play them 4 of those ten times, but who cares).
We do have to admit though, that so far they are the class of this division. (Spits)
I don’t think it matters how many times we played them to call that an impressive record.
The only other team to beat them is the Senators.
Montreal looks pretty good too.
We are so damned fortunate to have Connor on our team. After that 1st goal, he tried but failed stopping his smile from forming… that was good to see. Then he gave a Connor-level performance for the rest of the game. Just outstanding.
We will tell our grandchildren about this guy. Im a really blessed guy to have seen Gretz, Mario, Jagr, Sid and now Connor. (too many others to mention) Not sure I have seen a better player ever. Edmonton has been blessed twice over.
McDavid now has 17 points in 10 games to lead the NHL. Draisaitl is second with 15 points.
Man, so much of this team’s performance hinges on those two players to carry them. If our PP didn’t take so long to get going and our PK wasn’t so ordinary in these last 10 games we would probably be right behind TO in the standings…
The PK being vastly inferior to last year isn’t really a surprise. It has been worse than I anticipated but a substantial drop off was expected in my mind.
To start, I don’t think the results of a PK are repeatable year after year quite like a PK and, well, personnel makes a difference.
Tonight we were missing Klefbom, Russell, Khaira and Sheahan from last year’s PK and they were replaced with Koekkoek, Shore, Yamamoto and Drai (out of necessity). Last game Jones was killing penalties.
Shore has been just as ineffective as Khaira but for one game and I’d almost put JJ in over him given he’s a superior PK guy.
This Hoglander is special, HH. His weird and wonderful scoring plays / 60 rate is off the charts.
Yep…his play on his goal was spectacular.
And he just turned 20 last month.
I liked the D tonight. More assertive and a little bit more active jumping in to create odd man situations.
Fourth line with some nice work, even sans McDavid.
97 is tremendous. The two goals were spectacular, but man that pass to Archibald was perfect too.
Draisaitl line was great. Tipp is right to keep them together. Tons of zone time and lots of good chances. On the day Kahun scores, he could’ve had another two.
97 line at evens a bit off. Showing some nice things at times but not clicking like that first Winnipeg game. I wish JP would be a little more assertive and go to the net with it.
Number lucky 13 was fun to watch tonight, especially liked when he carried, lost then retrieved the puck back behind the Leafs goal, before making a half decent pass that 90% of the rest of the team wouldn’t dare try.
I also thought Nurse was really good tonight. Missed on a few outlet passes and iced the puck a few times, but really liked the way he played in his own end. Will be interesting to see his numbers.
Nurse has been good all year, very good for most of it – one bad game but other than that, good to great, in my opinion. He has taken another stop, defensively – better defensive zone awareness and positioning.
He played over 25 minutes at 5 on 5 today – 56% Corsi and 1-0 goals.
Overall he played a hair under 28 minutes (which is actually down from last game).
nice! thx for numbers!
Not sure who is negging all your posts Op, but they are making it seem like its me. Im being framed. Love your work bud….
Haha – thanks man.
I pay zero attention to the “voting”.
I agree, Nurse has been excellent.
Remember those days when he was susceptible to the back door play? Very rare for him to lose track of his man in front of the net.
I also believe his passing has improved. His skating is elite and allows him to join the rush.
The last thing? The shot. He has the size and weight to have an excellent shot.
Yup, I specifically mentioned the back-door play a day or so ago – part of the overall defensive awareness that has been much better this year. He’s identifying the danger area and recognizing the danger play and he’s not going puck chasing and walkabout nearly as much.
He’s not a great outlet passer but I think he takes way too much heat for his passing – its not that bad. He plays a shit ton and is good defensively and has the puck a lot – he makes some passes that are off – so does Ethan Bear, so did Oscar Klefbom. He is the best d-man on the team at zone exits.
He played 29 minutes last game and almost 28 tonight – here is hoping we don’t see a drop off in his mental game tomorrow.
Just 11 days left to register for the most exciting Death March™ ever, as Oilers go to 4-6 and with patsies Ottawa turning up for many games soon they might still be able to right the season!
Hunter’s 1909’s 2020-21 Death March™ is back for another season
You can register and vote here:
https://www.oilersdeathmarch.com
Hurry! You will be sorry when you find out what you missed!
Bennett our 3rd line Centre. Dare to dream. Bye Jesse?
Put Bennett with McDavid. Nugent-Hopkins with Draisaitl.
I prefer the upside of Jesse’s game to that of Bennett.
I think Jesse will grow into a Joel Armia type, maybe with a bit more offence.
Both Bennett and Mete requested trades tonight
Now watch them get dealt for each other like the Jets-BJ’s swap.
If Bennett didn’t like his role in Calgary, I don’t know how he’ll like playing on the fourth line in Montreal.
Chiasson for Mete would make sense, no?
As long as the Oilers are sure that Victor will regress to the Mete.
Too bad but Flames win tonight.
Even when the Flames win, they lose.
Perfect in the reverse retros!
Lol, I can’t stand them but I’m willing to run with it.
What? They’re perfect?
Would be even more perfect if they had won playing the trap….
I kinda like them too, especially with the orange pants.
Mikko needs to play tomorrow – he just does, in my opinion.
Gut it out for two more games Mikko and then there are three full days off.
You just have to go home and sleep and the game is 28 hours after this one started – that does help.
Without question. I am sure he will be in unless hes dehydrated or hurting. Tippet hinted at it after first game against Toronto.
The Oilers looked like an Actual NHL Team tonight.
The Legend Of McDavid grows with every game, like Gretz before him.
And talk about his newfound faceoff prowess too. Sweet Baby Jesus let that be a thing.
He really was remarkable tonight.
Memo to McDavid: Congratulations on making sure your team won tonight; it was truly desperate
Remember for next time: Win in regulation time.
Well sucks to give Leafs a point but they’re a playoff team
Koski really battled hard tonight. Deserves a lot of credit!
He sure does.
Well did Koski win us a game tonight?
phew…
It’s about fuuking time!
Woooooo
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Beauty OT goal – Drai to McDavid – just like the good ol days!
Pretty woeful shot by Archibald at the end there to be honest. Shot it straight back into the goalies chest
The kind of player you hope gets no rope from the coaches.
The kind of player you hope they can replace easily.
Point Banked!
Lets get a second please.
Great save by Andersen but not a great shot by Archie – towards the middle of the net – gave Andersen a chance.
That’s why he’s a fourth liner……
OH Anderson with a game saver. Crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG – Archie – Bury That!
Barrie is coming on – his best game of the year.
Hopefully a sign he is coming on.. Oilers need him to be better.
I think he compliments Nurse well
Yup for sure. He played really well tonight. The team needs him to play good with Klef out…
Ethan Bear getting hurt is not quite the way I wanted Bouch to get his shot but it may be so as Ethan hasn’t come back yet….
Of note, Tyson Barrie has been on Nurse’s right side for most of the third:
Nurse/Barrie
Jones/Larsson
Koekkoek/Bouchard
IF Bear can’t go tomorrow.
Don’t get your hopes up. It’s gonna be Russell.
I really hope you are wrong. Bouchard needs to play.
Nice rush by PJ
Wow – that was a 5-bell save by Mikko – at a huge time.
That was needed!
That save may have earned us a point…
Memo to McDavid: Having run the data though, you certainly don’t want to have your team go behind yet another game vs Toronto, you must win tonight at all costs.
Geez lets hope we don’t take any more penalties!
Is it me or does Drai seem a little flat tonight?
Huge save by Mikko off a second bad clear.
You hate to say this, but a team like Boston drafts a defenceman who learns straight away how to play winning defensive Boston Bruin hockey which produces a McAvoy;
Then you get the Oilers with their defence* that cannot even clear it’s own zone – and it’s like this also gets passed down from player to player.
*Nurse aside who knows how to lug the puck from zone to zone.
Bear hurt??
Come on PK. We need a kill