It seems like yesterday the Oilers won the 2015 lottery and the other Canadian fanbases melted with rage. These years later the McDavid Advantage is still there but the Oilers have had a tough time using that edge to further the cause. This year, the McDavid line and the Draisaitl line are perhaps a different look for opponents and maybe there will be better days ahead. One thing the club could do to help themselves enormously: Beat Calgary. Like a drum. Especially on Saturday nights.
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: Oilers rookie Evan Bouchard’s 2021 NHL debut — a shift-by-shift review
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers report card for January
- Lowetide: Oilers’ line chemistry finally coming into view
- Lowetide: Some of the Oilers’ Russian prospects less than a year from the NHL
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers need misfiring elements to come together — and fast
- 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?
- 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?
OILERS AFTER 13 GAMES
- Oilers in 2015-16: 5-8-0, 10 points; goal differential -5
- Oilers in 2016-17: 9-3-1, 19 points; goal differential +8
- Oilers in 2017-18: 4-8-1, nine points; goal differential -13
- Oilers in 2018-19: 8-4-1, 17 points; goal differential +3
- Oilers in 2019-20: 8-4-1, 17 points, goal differential +4
- Oilers in 2020-21: 6-6-0, 12 points, goal differential 0
A win tonight puts the team on a four-game winning streak and sets up the week beautifully. This time last week the team was 3-6-0 and looked wasted on the way. How the turn tables.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM FEBRUARY
- At home to: Ottawa (Expected: 1-0-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
- On the road to: Calgary, Ottawa, Ottawa, Montreal (Expected: 2-1-1) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: Winnipeg, Winnipeg (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: Calgary (Expected 0-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: Calgary (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: Vancouver, Vancouver (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: Toronto (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 7-4-1, 15 points in 12 games
- Current results: 1-0-0, 2 points in 1 game
My projection is fairly aggressive based on what we’ve seen from this team so far, but then again the two top scorers in the league are on the Edmonton roster. I thought the club would have more answers by now, that’s the truth. Badly need Kahun, Barrie, Turris and the goaltending to snap into place like 1960’s Lego.
BEATING CALGARY
On October 3, 2001 the Calgary Flames defeated the Edmonton Oilers 1-0. Marc Savard scored the goal early third, Roman Turek winning over Tommy Salo. Boxscore is here. I remember that game because it seems to me Edmonton has been the underdog since. Even in seasons when the Oilers have a good team, it’s difficult to find rhymes against Mohkínstsis. Here are the game scores and summaries for the 2005-06 season, a year Edmonton would go to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final:
- October 15, 2005: Calgary wins 3-0, Miikka Kiprusoff has a 33-save shutout, Jarome Iginla scores.
- October 20, 2005: Calgary wins 3-1, Chuck Kobasew scores 2, Kiprusoff over Markkanen
- November 25, 2005: Edmonton wins 2-1, in a shootout Mike Morrison over Kiprusoff
- December 19, 2005: Edmonton 5-4, two goals each for Shawn Horcoff and Igor Ulanov
- December 31, 2005: Calgary 6-5, Kristian Huselius scores at 18:45 of the third period
- January 23, 2006: Calgary 3-1, Jarome Iginla scored twice
- March 16, 2006: Edmonton 3-2, Shawn Horcoff scores in overtime
- April 1, 2006: Calgary 4-1, Kristian Huselius scores twice.
In those best season of the century for Edmonton, Calgary won the season series 5-1-0-2, grabbing points from all but one game. I don’t know how Edmonton wins the season series (last year Edmonton went 1-2-0-1, three of a possible eight points, the Flames getting six of eight points). Terrible.
TALE OF THE TAPE
- Five on five shot share: Calgary 49.31; Edmonton 48.70
- Five on five goal share: Calgary 50.00; Edmonton 47.17
- Five on five expected goal share: Calgary 53.90; Edmonton 50.79
- Five on five HD chances for: Edmonton 51.68; Calgary 50.93
- Five on five shooting percentage: Edmonton 8.9; Calgary 6.54
- Five on five save percentage: Calgary .936; Edmonton .905
- Power Play: Edmonton 12-2 goals in 74 minutes; Calgary 10-3 goals in 69 minutes
- Penalty Kill: Calgary 0-7 in 59 minutes; Edmonton 2-11 in 75 minutes
BAKERSFIELD CONDORS
I watched last night’s game and was impressed by Devin Brosseau, Ryan McLeod, Cooper Marody and Joe Gambardella up front. Markus Niemelainen and Theodor Lennstrom were probably the Condors best players, Niemelainen has good speed, can defend and has a great wingspan. He even joined the rush and got a good shot away. Olivier Rodrigue made his pro debut and looked like a young Gilles Meloche: Spectacular saves, solid positioning and betrayed by his defensemen. Vincent Desharnais had an especially poor evening but he wasn’t alone. In fact, the only three defenders I saw good were Niemelainen, Lennstrom and Kevin Gravel. Need to tighten up.
COLLEGE MEN
Dylan Holloway scored a great goal and added an assist last night for Wisconsin and Carter Savoie also went 1-1-2 for Denver. When you draft for skill, each new day brings rewards.
Really good PK shift by the Drai line to start….
You know it’s bad, real bad, when the fan base is pining for Mike Smith
Dirty desperate play by Tanev jamming his stick into McDavid’s feet. The NHL then gives McDavid a penalty on a similar play to an injury that could have cost him his career.
Embarrassing. I get they are trying to call any sticks to the hands, but protect your stars.
McDavid doesn’t fall into goalies, he’s too good.
other than that, I thought they played decent. Some bad goaltending for sure. I know people freak out but in the Covid season, it is still early. 4-6 in the first ten, 2-1 in the next set so far. The team has been improving. On to the next game…
McDavid > Gaudreau . . . . Yes. Even in the Town of Cows
Draisaitl > Monahan . . . . Everywhere HH isn’t. In other words, everywhere.
Puljujarvi > Tkachuk . . . This is the one we’ve been waiting 3 yrs on and it looks like it’s about to cash.
Have to match them in net. That was a super astute move by the Snot Horses in the off-season, their only real hope of matching us long term. Holland chasing Markstrom was a defensive move as much as anything — stop Calgary from getting him. But we didn’t and they did… and obviously from Dutchie’s attempts to acquire Markstrom he’s aware too that this is a big effin deal. Long term.
Have to match them in net. Or at least get close.
It’s impossible to do it this season now, but ‘tending has to be priority number one next off-season even if it requires a painful choice to make it happen. We can’t wait for prospects any longer.
Yup
It’s goalie, then 3C
If there’s money left over another top 6 winger wouldn’t be a bad idea either
Milan Lucic scored?
Wow
Good grief.
The Oilers are 25th in a league with 31 teams.
And you’re all excited?
Whos excited HH?
Apparently a bunch of fanboys who are all google eyed.
I ordinarily don’t mind your contributions as I feel they promote debate at the very least. But do you really have nothing better to do with your time? Is this where you’re at in life? That you derive a sense of joy in antagonises fans on a fan forum after a tough loss?
as usual you show up when the Oilers are losing… seems you’re the one who’s excited
Ya, pretty obvious when he shows up and when he doesn’t. His motives are on full display.
Where are the Canucks and are you excited?
LT always talks about skill. And drafting for skill.
We dont know what JP & Bouchard will become Bit they clearly have plenty of skill
Rob Brown:
“The Oilers are lucky to be where they are in the standings, with the goaltending they’ve had this year.”
93-29-56
Oh. I already said that
That goalie int penalty against McD was super annoying…the problem is the ref can’t see shit at 37kph…
The NHL has admitted the game is too fast to properly officiate in real time…how long until they allow the refs to review any infraction they choose, instead of just the two or three that match a certain criteria…bush league
Big time. That and the Pujo penalty were the turning points (five act play not three).
I can’t actually blame the refs for getting it wrong. We got slow mo and iso. They didn’t.
Man Bouchard is gonna be money! SO MUCH MONEY! I thought his scouting report said he was slow? He’s way quicker and more agile than Barrie, Bear, and Larsson…. The only flaw I see in his game (despite lack of exp) is a lack of urgency and that could be a blessing in disguise for a dman to have ice in his veins. Tipp gave Ethan Bear top pairing minutes last year…Bouch could be our 1RD by season’s end…maybe by month’s end…Once Bouch has some confidence and experience and familiarity with his teammates look-out!
Turris is garbage…you can see flashes of a smart cerebral player but he can’t physically compete anymore…need to bury this player ASAP.
Barrie has value but oh man does he have warts…3rd pairing please.
JP has earned the trust of his teammates…they’re looking for him on the regular…he looked very good in the last few minutes with the game on the line…Sky is the limit for this giant kid.
Larsson and Laggeson should not be paired together, they both need a partner who doesn’t try to stuff the puck under the dasher board in their own defensive zone. They both bring value with proper deployment.
Yamo has regressed slightly over the last few games…we wait…
Very good post.
I have a little more leash for Barrie. Bouch is coming, but we have to be patient. It looks like he’s going to make the choice obvious for the coach and GM once he gets enough reps. I myself need to see him play tougher minutes against more teams before I’d commit to kicking out the training wheels.
_____
Comment on teammates trusting JP is dead on, No doubt he’s earned it, he’s freelancing far less and handing out great looks to other players now every game.
______
Lagesson doesn’t play in the playoffs if the team is healthy. I know he has fans here, but he’s the number 7 if not an 8 on a Cup contender. So yeah I wouldn’t play them together either. Question right now… is Billy Lag better than Cuckoo? But yeah, not with Larsson regardless.
______
Yamo only got touches where he likes them a couple of times tonight. Drai was not at his most effective.
I always track losses as an indicator:
MOST LOSSES IN NHL:
OTT-9
VAN-9
DET-8
EDM-7
Just took a peek in ‘It’s early crowd’ room…..not many guys left there.
It’s painful watching Laurant Brossoit giving Winnipeg decent starts now. Why did we give up on him? Did we think we had too much depth?
If memory serves, he had backers in the organization and got off to a good start, both in the AHL and then as a backup. His last season with the Oil, McLellan just didn’t trust him. Never played him, and when he got in he had some rough outings.
Promptly traded.
It didn’t make any sense, but around that time lots of strange, inexplicable things were happening.
yay, TMac.
McLellan is excellent at coaching a team to reach the bottom of the standings and at mismanaging the development of young hockey players. But it was more than one bad coach. A few horrible coaches in a row is akin to burning draft picks, and messing with the team’s psychology. Add to that a few horrible trades–the Petry deal comes to mind–and you can see why an organization takes years to recover from idiocy.
Michael Parkatti
@mparkatti
·
47s
Darnell Nurse has xGF% of 62% with Ethan Bear this year, but 38% with both Barrie and Larsson. Bear being out is a huge loss for this team. Remember when we sat him?
Ethan Bear is an excellent defensemen, and we very much do miss him.
He is the best we have at making those little plays in tight to create an outlet. He is also a ferocious competitor defensively. Does not give an inch. Complements Nurse well. Tremendous player.
Agree.
Bear is the Oilers best overall D.
How close is Bouchard to being there?hopefully they are both strong options soon!
Not close..at all.
you mean like Colborne not close at all ?
Have to admit, I had much higher expectstions for Turris.
For me, the expectations were framed by Tippett being his former coach and knowing the player. But maybe Tipp himself was framing that with a healthy Haas or effective Khaira, who knows? Because saying it has been a success would be a lie. This would not have been their plan, the way they thought it would work out.
Agreed.
Still do.
Another news…Kahun is NOT a top 6 player.
Who could have seen that coming?
How is Toffoli doing btw ?
On the balance, I thought the team played well tonight. Some defensive mistakes of course, but that happens to every team every game. I was quite impressed with the transition game tonight. But goaltending was the difference. Three goals on eight shots is unacceptable. Koskinnen kept the Flames in the game and gave them life. He was the second best goalie yet again and Markstrom wasn’t particularly good either.
Thats true. Never gonna win with that Goaltending
It’s not Darnell Nurse’s fault he is our best defenseman. But if we are to win a Cup he sbould be our 3rd best
Tippett says Haas, “unfit to play, day-to-day…”
I thought our passing was quality for a change tonight and I thought we had our feet moving, This isn’t to say there weren’t some stupid passes. Every team makes them every game. But there are games where we can’t string more than two passes in a row and that itself is rare. This was not one of those games.
If your defense has to play perfect for you to win, not even able to make mstakes 180 feet away, you’re not going to win many. Koskinen didn’t even look good on his saves. Makes me wonder if he wasn’t feeling well. At the other end of the rink, Markstrom was probably the best player on the ice tonight. That’s the simple narrative, but not the whole story.
And yes, Russell especially was caught looking tonight, and that is on the D. I doubt it was missed by the coaches and we shall see. I do like the idea of dressing 7 D and having as much control of Bouchard’s minutes & matchups as possible, but it seemed to me that by the 3rd, Tipp was getting him out there as much as he could, regardless. So we will see how the D situation pans out going forward.
When Kassian couldn’t corral Markstrom’s giveaway in the 1st when he was caught behind the net, I wondered if things were going to go against us. Have to make them pay for those.
Their off-season move of cashing the best available goalie really paid off tonight.
But I will save the best for last. The silver lining tonight was Pujo. Yeah we lost the battle but the play of JP tonight indicates we should win the war. He’s played well since the beginning of the season, he’s played well since moving up to 07’s line but tonight he looked settled in, confident, and a force. He almost reminded me of a younger Draisaitl tonight. And this is the first game he has been the top Oiler force on the ice.
Now that things are starting to go in, who knows…
Koskinen let in 3 bad goals tonight. You can’t expect to win a game at that rate. Markstrom saved the flames with his play in the first. That’s huge. Yeah defense was piss poor too. Well we will see what happens in Ottawa. If they want to try and take some angry revenge with them….
After 2006 Cup run Edm traded Pronger (forced).
They traded Ryan Smyth 6 months later.
Since then they have made the Playoffs once in 14 years …. and year 15 is looking dicey
Could be a Documentary there ..
That trade wasn’t so much forced as it was an unforced error.
Lowe moved the asset too soon.
See: Sakic, Yzerman, Chevy for examples of how to handle a player’s trade request.
And before OP chimes in to say it was a good return… it wasn’t. At all. If Lupul and Smid plus some decent futures are the centrepieces of your return for CFP — a top two, top three at worst, defenseman in the NHL — then you’re overvaluing the wrong players.
Oh, it was a horrible return. No doubt about it.
1st round pick
1st round pick
2nd round pick
Recently drafted top 10 d-man
21 year old 30 goal scorer
That’s a haul.
I think that was Jesse’s best game of his NHL career.
100%. That was the Silver Lining.
He looked liked the player they hoped for @ #3
SwedishPoster’s comment on Jesse’s playmaking being an underrated part of his game was bang on. All kinds of sweet touches in today’s game.
He was excellent.
Loved loved loved that little extra shot he gave to Tkachuk.
I gotta give Tippett some down arrows. I feel like he is missing the boat …..
93-29-56 is one simple change.
Why not?
Captain says…..
(speculation).
If true, then the captain isn’t being very captain-like.
I agree.
It seems more likely to be Drai and Kahun to tell you the truth.
1) Doesn’t fix your top two D pairings making critical mistakes
2) Doesn’t fix your bottom six getting outscored (this is trending in the right direction)
3) Weakens your top line
4) Disrupts chemistry established by the top 6
If each line has a pair that goes together, then I think the pair for McDavid has become McDavid-Puljujarvi. Nugent-Hopkins is the good but movable part. Nugent-Hopkins has a better effect on the collective results when playing on the Draisaitl line. One cannot ignore that chemistry. There is a chance that Kahun would fit better with McDavid and the giant, Puljujarvi. That would rid us of the two hobbits on one line problem.
Wierd. RUSSELL was -2 in 14 minutes.
That’s Good for him
“Haas is day to day, unfit to play.”
— Tippett
lol radio was way behind you.
Ha. YouTube for the win.
Was gonna ask you if Speeds had confirmed on your post but didn’t know if the joke would go over as intended.
Just 3 games has the opposition been held under 3 goals. Everyone knows they are not good in the D zone, but alot of teams could say that. Give up what’s needed to solve the G position for the next 3 years
Powerplay goal against after tying it up in the third is a killer. Slow moving unscreened one timer should be stopped every time. That’s the goalie issue. Of course there are defensive cover issues for every team. Still need a goalie that makes saves consistently. Koskinen has looked shaky all year. Drifting and rotating every time he moves laterally. It is a worry.
Trust me Tippett is going to ride Smith who’s going to have to save the day just like he did last year. I’ve had enough of watching Kosh and I’m sure Tippett has as well. Bring on the Mike Smith era.
Lol… era?
I don’t think you’re allowed to start an era when you’re a 38 yo NHL netminder. For the love of Gord at 38 you just finished an entire era. And it’s past your bedtime.
But if you mean, “Bring on the Mike Smith two game stretch…?”
I’m all for it.
Mikko looks lile Darren Pang in net. How is that possible?
Still a step up from Eddie Mio…
Record sans Ottawa games: 4 -7
Van pumped Ottawa 3 straight and Van is hot trash.
We will most likely get 2 more wins against OTT; but don’t lose sight of what this team really is.
A poor 5×5 on team with weak defence and sub par Goaltending.
Doesn’t matter how Great 97 & 29 are
This.
Vancouver is entirely dysfunctional and the Oilers are tied with them.
Vancouver is 3-9 if you remove Ottawa.
Oilers are 4-7 without Ottawa.
Both bad, but not tied. At all.
Agreed
I see room for optimism.
Secondary scoring is coming. Gotta clean up the D. With all the young guys down there, unfortunately it is the veterans who continue to make critical mistakes, game after game.
The defence is in a state of evolution and flux, as new guys emerge and begin to take more of the ice time. The team as a whole is also in a state of flux, as new players get added to the mix. It could be that we have to see this year as one more development year, but the development has to happen. Only through the good development of young players from within can the organization overcome the decade of darkness. The salary cap constraint does not allow for quick or expensive solutions. The solutions require effective team management over a long period of time.
Tippett went AWAY from Nuge Drai Yam before the play ins and hasn’t gone back…
*insane maniacal laughter*
The mind. boggles.
Ask the captain about this one (speculation).
I’m also fairly certain that goal scoring is not the issue with the team or why they lost tonight.
Its not. Butshowimg your team you habe a pulse on continuity and what works goes a loooong way to installing confidence.
Didnt see Sather pulling Kurri from 99’s wing just because
I’m actually not too upset about that game.
Excellent, excellent transition game. Numerous occasions where you saw 3-4 completed, clean passes in a nice, organized attack. Night and day from game one.
McDavid was tremendous despite getting obstructed all game. Loved JP’s game. I thought Khaira had a stand-out game cycling the puck and of course with the goal.
Need more saves and better coverage.
I was gravely disappointed with Russell and Barrie tonight. Russell with some very basic missed coverage on two GA. Barrie was getting caught wayyyyyy out of position in high risk / low reward situations.
I understand Barrie is an offensive D, but this is beyond walkabout, he was walking on the moon.
Barrie a hot mess this game.
LT:
Goalies only have to stop the Corsi that hit open space in net elevation.
So you are saying you have only based goalie performance on scoreable High danger shot mapping.
You no longer include 0% success shots. (False data)
Dmen dictate how many are High danger and 0% chance of scoring = (blocked + misses + hit goalie)
Source?
what about when the goalie lets in numerous low danger scoring chances?
Frustrating game
Request for every LT post from here on in be about goaltending until the position is solidified.
There’s really no point discussing who plays with who until this problem is adressed
The Oilers were lousy in front of the goaltender tonight.
Agreed, but Mikko left me wanting more from the starting goaltender.
But every post shouldn’t be about the goaltending when Barrie and Russell sh$t the bed, and Nugent-Hopkins and Kahun lose their marks for wide open high danger shots.
I fully agree
Agree 100% with this.
The coverage was just awful from both top pairings, and from those two guys you mentioned in particular.
Barrie should know better. He’s playing top pairing now. This is common sense. You cannot let guys like Gaudreau and Backlund get high quality chances because you’re cheating for offence.
Russell should know better. Lucic’s goal is a nothing play if, instead of swiping for the puck, he lifts Milan’s stick. Similarly, on the Bennett goal, where was he? Rickibox was left completely open for 2 GA.
That is just brutal from your top two pairings, and it is unfortunate because I thought Nurse and Bouchard were very good today.
True, And when that happens they need a better safety.
And reffing
Good grief.
Officiating has ZERO to do with the outcome.
Tell that to VGK.
Hate the loss, but I love how Puljujarvi is emerging before our eyes. He is going to be a tremendous player. If we add Holloway to the left side of that line, McDavid will be very happy for many years to come.
Really great to see him flying and making plays
You are right IF Holloway is NHL Top 6 .. bit we are creeping into McD years 7 & 8 if That occurs
Holloway’s scoring this year suggests a player that could be an NHL top 6 winger next season or the one after. Those are McDavid’s 4th and 5th seasons.
We have to worry about building a team, not about how old McDavid is. There is too much wringing of hands about McDavid. Build the team properly, and put the team before any single player. That ought to be the modus operandi.
Don’t want to see Holloway on the team next year, AHL is the spot
Don’t want to see him on the top line the year after, 3rd line is the spot.
Have we learned nothing from Jesse Puljujarvi?
He is emerging now because prospects need development time in leagues other than the NHL
Jesse spent his draft plus 1 in the NHL (then AHL).
Holloway is spending his draft plus 1 in the NCAA – developing.
I am, in no way, saying that he’s ready for the NHL next year. I don’t know. I do know that players develop at differing paces. Jesse wasn’t ready for the NHL at 18. Holloway will be 20. He might be ready – he is physically mature. He very well may not be ready and will require AHL time (or even another NCAA season if they want to extend when his ELC will start/expire).
I agree with OP. Fuck tons of players don’t need AHL time.
Holloway is shooting the lights out in college this season and he very well could be a top 9 NHLer next season. Or he might need some AHL time first.
There aren’t really any rules for what prospects need to do (and when) to make it to an NHL scoring line (in terms of AHL next season, 3rd line the one after).
It’s a small sample size, but Holloway is scoring like a guy who’ll be a top 6 NHLer (more likely first line) in the next year or two.
That may well not happen, but I wouldn’t rule it out in the name of him needing development time in leagues other than the NHL.
Next up: Bouchard PP1.
Yes please ?
Barrie gets a B+ for work on the power-play, with the potential for an A by the end of the season. But to get that we have to stomach Barrie getting a C or even a D on the rest of his game. Bouchard may also, eventually, be able to get an A on the power-play, and I suspect he will turn into a B in other parts of his game. There will be no money to resign Barrie for what he will want. That money will be better spent on a goaltender, on Nugent-Hopkins and on another winger. But the Barrie experiment has been a good bet for this year, as a stop-gap measure until Bouchard fully emerges.
I’ve been against the premise of re-signing Barrie since day 1 – to the extent he warrants a re-sign, that’s not a contract that I think makes sense for the Oilers going forward given cap structure and organizational skill-sets (Bouchard) – not for Barrie’s regressing 30s.
With that said, I think/hope/expect for more than a C or D from Barrie at 5 on 5. We saw over the last few games how dynamic he can be offensively and in the first period last night he was awesome to my eye. His game became too high risk after that and that needs to be reigned in but he can really help the team at evens – perhaps back down lower in the lineup than top pairing so that the minutes are a bit lower and the high risk isn’t always against top opposition.
Bouchard to PP#1?
That’s a bomb.
What a pathetic effort…..basically gave up after first period. Doesn’t help when your goalie can’t do his job…..
Disagree. I didn’t see a single bit of give-up in this team the whole night.
Even down two late in the the 3rd and a black hole in their own net, they kept coming at the Flams.
That’s a bad beat
Didn’t see that coming after the first 20 min
Darker ale next time?
More bitter.
I think more of everything will suffice
Whatever you do…
Don’t blame the beer!
I did… I had that sinking feeling after seeing the huge shot discrepancy and only being up 2-1 and knowing the 1st flames shot went in. That’s a terrible omen of which we have seen many times in the past.
Spitening Rod™️
“I guess the f*cking thing is broken.”
– Vinny
No excuses for losing this one. Disappointing.
Your not going to win with ECHL goaltending.
Pretty sure Neal has more blocked shots and giveaways on the PP this game than he has had passes and shots.
I think that McDavid shot would’ve been in if it hadn’t hit Neal.
Which would have promptly been given straight back
Sure would be nice to have 2 of last years top 10 def Dmen (Sekera #1 and Benning #8) on our team.
But Holland got rid of them.
but still makes sure we have 4 bottom 40 defensive Dmen.
Continues to prove that Nill was the guy who Knew how to build a championship teams.
Det
Dallas
Benning? He of the healthy scratch and ~10 mins a night against the weakest competition? I’m a fan of Matty but he’s not solving our issues from the bench.
Come to think of it, didn’t Sekera play mostly 3rd pair in DAL last year?
Take Neal off the power play and put on Yammer….
Man what verbal abuse we are taking from this broadcast duo.
Listening to them at all is self abuse
The mute button is an absolute necessity
This must be the Wrath of the hockey gods getting us back for beating up on poor defenceless Ottawa the last two games. I knew something didn’t feel right after the 1st period…
hate that I was right, but man was I right.
at least our next two games are against Ottawa again. But chances are we won’t beat them both times again.
Geezus Jesse – be a player…… wow….. thought that was Connor for a second.
would like to know what the speed is on Jesse… he looks fast when he gets going
Kahun and Nuge need to switch spots
it’s really that simple
I dunno…chemistry is a thing…/s
Chemistry:
Draisaitl is oxygen and Kahun is an inert gas. Nugent-Hopkins is hydrogen.
Lay off the helium, you’re talking funny…
The bench is lacking water? How the F does that happen at this level?