Tonight marks the final game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers in this unique season. The Oilers record (2-5-1, 5 points compared to Toronto’s 6-1-1, 13 points) leaves no room for argument: Edmonton is not the equal of the TML.
Oilers have solid records against Ottawa (7-0), Winnipeg and Calgary (4-2-0), even Vancouver (3-2-0). Toronto (2-5-1) and Montreal (1-2-0) have been the trouble for the westerners so far this year. Much of the Canadiens story is yet to come. Tonight? The final chance against Toronto before the playoffs. It’s starting to get interesting up north.
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: Lowetide’s Oilers trade deadline quiz: Test your knowledge
- Lowetide: Scouring the hockey world for a left winger for the Oilers’ skill line
- Lowetide: How the Oilers could benefit at the trade deadline from relaxed quarantine rules
- Lowetide: Every major transaction Ken Holland has made as Oilers GM
- Jonathan Willis: Five questions the Oilers need to answer by the NHL trade deadline
- Lowetide: Carter Savoie’s college season suggests Oilers could have a real goal scoring prospect
- Lowetide: Has Oilers goalie prospect Stuart Skinner turned a corner?
- Lowetide: Where does Zack Kassian fit on the Oilers, now and in the future?
- Lowetide: Oilers’ midseason depth chart informs their needs for trade deadline and beyond
- Jonathan Willis: A position-by-position look at the Oilers after 30 games
- Lowetide: How will Oilers GM Ken Holland make room in the lineup for Evan Bouchard?
- Lowetide: Are the Oilers and Elvis Merzlikins a trade match?
- Lowetide: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Dominik Kahun, Dylan Holloway and a perfect storm on the Oilers’ left side
- Lowetide: Why Oilers GM Ken Holland shouldn’t wait for the deadline to make a trade
- Lowetide: Three Oilers prospects form hottest line in the AHL
- Lowetide: Oilers’ top 20 prospects, trade deadline edition
- Lowetide: Why are some Oilers fans hesitant to give Darnell Nurse his due?
- Jonathan Willis: Can Oilers improve enough to beat TML it in May?
- Lowetide: Top trade targets for the Oilers at the 2021 deadline
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers 2021 trade value rankings
- Lowetide: Is this peak Connor McDavid?
OILERS AFTER 36 GAMES
- Oilers in 2015-16: 15-18-3, 33 points; goal differential -16
- Oilers in 2016-17: 18-12-6, 42 points; goal differential +5
- Oilers in 2017-18: 17-17-2, 36 points; goal differential -5
- Oilers in 2018-19: 18-15-3, 39 points; goal differential -1
- Oilers in 2019-20: 19-13-4, 42 points; goal differential -1
- Oilers in 2020-21: 21-13-1, 43 points; goal differential +16
This is a sweet ride really, after years and years of poor performances the Oilers have been rock solid two years in a row. If you include 2016-17, that’s three of the last five where the team had some promise. Humble, humble beginnings. The turn north is in these numbers, lads.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN MARCH
- At home to: Toronto, Toronto, Calgary (Expected: 1-1-1) (Actual 1-2-0)
- At home to: Ottawa, Ottawa, Ottawa (Expected: 2-1-0) (Actual 3-0-0)
- On the road to: Vancouver, Calgary, Calgary (Expected: 2-1-0) (Actual 1-2-0)
- At home to Winnipeg, Winnipeg (Expected: 1-1-0) (Actual 2-0-0)
On the road to: Montreal, Montreal, Montreal (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)- On the road to: Toronto, Toronto, Montreal (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 0-0-1)
- Overall expected result: 8-5-1, 17 points in 14 games
- Current results: 7-4-1, 15 points in 12 games
No matter the result tonight, the bet has been covered. If Edmonton does win, it sets up the month as a slight over-achievement. One more thing: There’s an extra game against the Habs Tuesday. So, there are extra points dangling at the end of March.
2019-20 five on five scorers (forwards)
You know, I’ve been staring at this year’s five on five pts-60 for Oilers forwards and trying to remember where I saw them. And suddenly, BAM! I remembered. Last season. Oilers. Nuge struggling, not much shaking but the top line of Draisaitl-McDavid-Kassian. Seriously. Here are the numbers after 35 games for Edmonton’s forwards, and their rank among NHL regulars at that time. It’s uncanny.
- No. 6 Leon Draisaitl [3.12]
- No. 12 Connor McDavid [3.04]
- No. 28 Zack Kassian [2.54]
That’s a complete No. 1 line, and contains two of the best offensive forwards in the game, plus a solid complementary forward having a career year. No room at the Inn for any minor leaguer here. Now, let’s look at the second line forwards (94-186):
- No. 104 Sam Gagner [1.98]
That was it. Just one player qualified as an offensive second line forward. Now, No. 187-279, the third liners:
- No. 272 Gaetan Haas [1.24]
The Oilers followed up having just one second line player with just one third liner (by average). And that means (you guessed it) a large group who provide fourth line offense (279-372):
- No. 294 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins [1.11]
- No. 314 Joakim Nygard [1.00]
- No. 319 Jujhar Khaira [0.98]
- No. 336 Markus Granlund [0.88]
- No. 343 Patrick Russell [0.83]
- No. 346 James Neal [0.81]
- No. 355 Alex Chiasson [0.73]
- No. 366 Riley Sheahan [0.41]
- No. 373 Josh Archibald [0.23]
That’s 14 NHL forwards in 2019-20, nine of them scoring at a fourth-line level after 35 games. Huh. Let’s see if this year’s Oilers are better than one year ago.
2020-21 five on five scorers (forwards)
There are 372 forwards who have played 200+ minutes five on five this season. Not all Oilers forwards will make this list (14 a year ago, but the taxi squad has taken minutes away from the fourth liners) so it’s not a perfect comparison. Let’s start with the first-line forwards, 1-93 across the NHL. Here are the top Oilers ranked in 2020-21:
- No. 1 Connor McDavid [3.46]
- No. 6 Leon Draisaitl [3.13]
- No. 68 Jujhar Khaira [2.12]
McDavid is the No. 1 player in the NHL at five on five pts-60, and Draisaitl has duplicated his first half, it’s almost a perfect match. A third player joins the dance this year, Jujhar Khaira posting 2.00+ per 60 from the bottom-six (3-5-8 in 24 games). Now the second line forwards (94-186):
- No. 114 Tyler Ennis [1.83]
- No. 141 Kailer Yamamoto [1.74]
Well, it’s a start. Ennis has been a fantastic addition, if the Oilers had some bigger wingers who could PK, I think he could slide up and down the depth chart at will. As it is, he’s a valuable part-time player. Yamamoto is finding his way as an NHL regular and this is a solid spot for him (33 games, 7-9-16). On to the third line, numbers 187-279:
- No. 214 Zack Kassian [1.46]
- No. 239 Jesse Puljujarvi [1.39]
- No. 245 Dominik Kahun [1.32]
- No. 254 Alex Chiasson [1.28]
- No. 273 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins [1.21]
Well, the fourth-line guys moved up to third-line performance, so that’s an improvement. Nuge is actually better than he was a year ago at this time. Puljujarvi’s total is his best since he was a rookie (1.45-60) and he’s such a better player now that’ I think we’ll count him as encouraging full stop. Kahun needs to be about 1.50-60 to be productive by my estimate, he’s not far away. Now, fourth-line forwards (279-372):
- No. 290 Kyle Turris [1.14]
- No. 332 Josh Archibald [0.90]
The fourth line is missing two names (12 instead of 14 from a year ago) and the contents of the fourth line is a disappointing free agent and a main penalty killer.
I would say that two things are clear: First, the forwards are more productive than a year ago (understanding the universe of opponents is different). Second, Nuge needs the band (Leon, KY) to get back together pretty damn quick.
OILERS FORWARD PIPELINE CONDORS FORWARDS
Eric Rodgers has been so kind in tracking stats for Oilers fans, from Oklahoma City to Bakersfield. His tracking allows us to see progress, not just over one year, but over each year. Here’s the 2018-19 forwards from the Condors and their numbers:
This isn’t over yet, Marody and Benson could still emerge as NHL players, but as of now it’s Patrick Russell and Kailer Yamamoto who have made that next step. So often, we (I) focus on points, but for AHL players it’s mostly about grinding their games down to get rid of the chaos and mistakes. Let’s look at 2019-20:
This was a down year, mostly (imo) due to Marody’s injury as he is the most talented offensive forward among the group on the outside. Yamamoto did not rock the AHL in either year, but (as is the case with all AHL players who graduate) he brought more than one element with him to the NHL. I’ve been curious for some time about Benson and the rest, where they are headed. Rodgers’ latest numbers (he kindly sent them to me) through 17 games:
The first three names here look like strong contenders for NHL work, that may come next year and it might not be with the Oilers (Marody specifically may want a second opinion). There is value here. Note: McLeod’s numbers from his 20-year old season don’t appear on the previous graph, but they are: 56 games, 5-18-23, 11:29 TOI estimate, 27-27 EV GF-GA, 16.4 NHLE. McLeod’s numbers are up drastically across the board. He is the bright new star on this list.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
At 10 on TSN1260 this morning, we hit the ground running on a miserable Monday in the city. Mike Stephens from the Staff & Graff Podcast will talk Maple Leafs versus Oilers from a Toronto perspective. Paul Sir from The Basketball Show will break down March Madness and talk some NBA down the stretch. At 11, Jason Gregor from the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260 will help us tee up the big game tonight.10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!!
Barrie looks like he could use a break. He took a licking but kept on tickin again tonight. Sit the poor lad. Bouchard’s legs could use a stretch regardless.
Jones for Laggy, I think most are in agreement with that. And if it needs to be said, leave Ennis in the line-up. Koski is also a no-brainer.
I guess we might as well give Tourettes another look at wing.
That was pretty close to our best line-up though. And that is concerning.
I don’t see how Holland is going to be able to make a deadline deal but he needs to make a deadline deal if they have any hope of a run.. Two deals really. LW and PK face-off. But one will be tough enough.
I’m going to guess Kassian for deBrusk.
They still need another top four defenseman that can defend and also headman the puck. A tall order. I don’t think it can be done at the deadline. If Klebom isn’t a shell of his former self now that would be a godsend.
Well, ideally I trade Barrie for Ekholm, and Jones+ for Glendenning.
But yeah pipe dream and that ain’t tobacco in the bowl.
2 penalties in that whole game hey? Ol’ Coli Campbell must be proud.
There were 2 penalties every shift of the 3rd. Ridiculous. I’m curious in others thoughts: What would have to happen for the manage the game mandate to disappear?
Muzzin closed his hand on the puck and made a play before dropping it battling with Yammer before the Marner goal. That’s certainly not ‘letting them play’ when a goal results from the non-call. It was pretty obvi imo.
Anyone else look at the player portraits for the Jets on the NHL site? Looking at who scored on the Flames tonight and the Jets either look like they had their mugshots taken after committing a violent crime or caught illegally selling moonshine. Not sure which one.
They’re just trying to blend into their surroundings.
That’s just the way a bunch of scumbag plugs look normally.
Flames have only allowed 25 shots on net with 10 minutes left.
Sutter hockey!
Anyone else almost barf when it looked like Barrie was about to have his eye popped and face sliced in half from Matthews skate?
Yah me neither…
That was scary as hell. But did you see Barrie lay out in desperation to try to block the pass and shot right before! I Loved that effort!!!
Glad he wasn’t hurt…
I am amazed he came out of it with as little damage as he did. Could have been verrryy bad
Unfortunately Barrie was also the culprit on the giveaway that started the whole offensive sortie for the Leefs
Ya but that effort, though! Literally almost cost him an eye. lol
Does Matthew’s effort defensively in OT take him out of Selke consideration or will he still be the unanimous winner?
Almost a full period left for Gio to try and dig out from under the 0-3 goals at 5 on 5.
Gadreau & Monahan don’t seem to be playing the coaches new system very well
Looks perfect to me! 🙂
Not a lot to comment on, other than… YAY, WE BEAT THE LEAFS! We truly needed to win this final game in the series, otherwise our next meeting (in the playoffs) could devolve into another string of losses due to utter lack of confidence.
This was a confidence builder. Lookout Montreal, we’re coming for you.
Best new Oilers 2021 feature is how the defence handles the puck from over 3/4 of the passes it gets, no matter how desperately made.
The forwards will routinely(even blindly) pass the puck back along the boards, and the defence get those 90% of the time. Then the defence wacks the puck to their partner and the play develops faster than a speeding bullet.
It’s a treat to watch. Bad teams dream about this level of defence play.
PS: Nurse was great tonight. Maybe the best game he ever played lol
March 29, 2021 7:45 pm
“What a great game to watch. Started a bit late and needed a few goals against to jump start the effort but, boy, what an effort it was after that! Grind, grind, grind. Bend but don’t break. I actually thought the top line was our worst! lol Until overtime, that is. Brilliant finish.
Full credit to Smith. I still can’t get over how well he’s playing. I hope we start to platoon til the playoffs to keep him rested and sharp. Anyone else getting excited for the second season? This GUY Is!!!”
****
I gotta hand it to you Knightrider,
You (correctly) called us all out earlier for being a bunch of negative Nellys.
I credit you for your positive outlook
I am ridiculously optimistic until the final whistle becomes a death knell. I rarely miss a game and have never turned off the tv mid game. I am in the stratosphere when we win and deep as the molten core when we lose. Both a blessing and a curse, eh? Nice to be right tonight…GO OILERS!!!
GO KNIGHTRAIDER!!!
I Love this guy
Lol. What a loser move by Tkachuk in the Calgary game. Reaches in on Scheilfele and then dives to try and get a call. Scheifele scores 2 seconds later. Instant karma.
Typical turtle tactic. Wonder what team mates think of it??
If he would have just kept skating his man was covered. He would prefer to cheat than play it straight. It must be painful to have to cheer for him
HUNTER1909’s Death March™
Update:
With Oilers now on pace for a 70 point finish, here are the current leaders in the Death March game which might pay out to all winners at the end of the season.
They are:
Boil-in-the-Oil;
Cowboy
Z Mac
Crazy Pedestrian
They will replace previous(various) leaders:
Yeti; TOML; agent_sid ; BONE207; PerryK; Indy; hunter9
Boil-in-the-Oil; Cowboy; Z Mac; Crazy Pedestrian
JRizzer25; Hazwasted; KGB; Oilnc79; Unjustenrichment; Whale
Kudos to the Oilers for grabbing 3 out of 4 points in two games that they got significantly outplayed and out-chanced.
Yeah Holland’s got some work to do to turn this team into a true cup contender
leaves got 3 out of 4 points too.
Haha, yes they did!
Except that is a lie… because the reality of it is that they both got 3 points out of 6.
Bettman math is way cooler than New math.
2(+1) out of 4(+2). To really make it work you have to factor in the odds ratio of the likelihood of a tie game. But I don’t have an advanced Maths degree so I’m going to have to leave that one out….
Lol, good catch ?…the NHL math
Ethan Bear is really starting to come on now, I thought he did a very good job retrieving and outletting pucks.
I thought Devin Shore had a lot of jump today. He’s starting to develop some confidence, starting to hold on to the puck a little longer.
Tippett with the master stroke putting Turris on the second line. I didn’t see that move working out the way it did.
He really showed his high level skill on that goal!
He showed some nice battle behind the net that led to the goal.
Of course he did. That was an attempt at humour.
Ah Ha!
Sarcasm
You fixed it
Working on it!!
Really worked his ass off….
haha, or worked it off his ass?
Yeah, that’s the ticket!
Wow, That Grab on 97 in ot is ridiculous,
All game long. The McDavid interference tactic.
The goal combination was:
The 2013 1st round pick, assisted by the 2015 1st round pick, and 2015 first round pick.
We have our core surrounded.
*2014
Agreed, we shouldn’t trade our first round pick.
John, I don’t say this lightly:
But you sir are a fucking genius!
Thanks LT for putting Doc in the photo.
Leon did not have a good game. I second that OP. Not good at all.
When he gets frustrated he becomes even less tolerant of linemates who seem to not be doing what he thinks they should be doing.
His body language suggested he was not happy with Jessie P was my takeaway.
Tippet needs to see this for crying out loud. Leon works with Yamamoto. There are to many big guns s on that super line all trying to do thier thing, they are not maximized
Tipprt really should have made moves to shut down super line that wasn’t working and boost the other lines.
The fact that that line was not just ineffective, but awful, until the last shift of regulation and the team still one is boggling.
I have been, and clearly remain, 100% against start any games with McDavid and Drai together – putting them together, 5-6 time per game (after PKs, on icings, etc.) makes them even more effective and, of course, there is the option of loading them up when down a goal in close games.
Kudos to the other three lines, in particular Khaira/Archie and Nuge/Turris/Kailer – they carried the team tonight.
Oh ya, Ethan Bear as well – he was great tonight.
Geez Dubois just buries Hannifin behind the net. Kind of a cheap hit and Hannifin ends up with only penalty. Yikes. Sutter steaming
Well that was fortunate.
Nice win, but I think it’s pretty obvious the Leafs are the better team right now.
Goalies – pretty even, maybe a slight edge to the Leafs.
Defense – again, pretty even. The Leafs don’t have anyone as good as Nurse right now. But they don’t have anyone as bad as Lagesson either.
Forwards – massive advantage to Leafs. Oilers have their 2 superstars, but Matthews and Marner aren’t exactly chopped liver either. The big difference is the Oilers don’t have a Tavares or Nylander. And 3 thru 12 the Leafs are bigger, faster, and more skilled. They just are.
Yep agree with this. Was obviously their game plan was to hit, hook, hold and pick 97 + 29 at every chance knowing that most (all) would go uncalled.
Wow… sabres were up 3-0 on philly going into the third, but still lost 4-3 in OT. Apparently that is their 18th straight loss.
that is bad on some epic proportions.
feel bad for the fans and that team. Especially as there is so much talk that they blow it all up (again) and start over another rebuild. The oiler DOD was bad, but Buffalo is going to take it to a whole new level.
on lighter news…
OILERS WIN BABY!!!
Ugly win but it’s much better than any of the pretty losses. My guess is that most wins against Toronto are going to be of the ugly variety. That is a very good team.
Anybody have a guess how much it’s going to cost to sign Nurse after he wins the Norris? Asking for a friend who would like to remain anonymous (his initials are Ken Holland).
So do you make any line up changes for tomorrow? Obviously Koski. Would like Jones back in. Not sure who else?????
Definitely think its time to give Lags a break and a view from the press box. He’s panicking with the puck right now and could use a reset, IMO. I would actually rest Barrie for a game too but can’t imagine it happening
I guess the rubber hits the road on the next street.
You better believe it
Tweet from Jonathan Willis. October 12 2020 – “This (signing Smith) might be the worse signing of free agency.”
To be fair I think a lot of us were not happy with that signing ( I wasn’t) Good thing Kenny is the GM and not us fan boys!
When the Montreal game was cancelled I filled a few minutes looking at the free agency deadline thread to see what Lowetiders thought of the Barry signing – very little as it turned out. But man, the Smith signing was piled on. I have the names of those responsible in the database for use at the appropriate time ?.
Still buzzing from our slightly fortunate win.
This is the internet, I don’t have to fair, honest or nice to anyone.
That’s why I’m here
HH is that you 😉 ?
Didn’t everyone hate the signing? Smith had what .903 sv% last season?
Seemed like a terrible signing at the time.
I certainly hated it … especially with all the rumors leading up to it that Markstrom was heading our way.
He had a lot of company.
I’ve been a fan for Smith for many years and have like him a lot more than most people but I hated the signing as 39 yo G are just too risky
but he clearly is much more athletic at 39 then Koskinen
Now back to trying to eat this rubbery crow
That was one of the worst games I’ve seen Drai play since before the 2019/20 season – he was awful. Drai was not just ineffective through 60 minutes but awful, McDavid was ineffective, Tyson Barrie was struggling and yet the Oilers still won on the road against a top team.
Gutsy performance.
Darnell Nurse is a sensational d-man now. He just is.
Kudos to Tip for inserting Turris and in to the top 6…… he wasn’t “amazing” or anything but that line played quite well overall and Turris was a big part of that.
Don’t look now, but that’s three games in a row for Turris (the 1st of the three he played well but made a terrible defensive play that ruined his night).
If anyone needs evidence of how awful Drai was, watch him singlehandedly kill the single Leafs penalty for them.
I thought Drai was trying his patented moves and passes but it just wasn’t working out for him. An off night I suppose. He was still hustling out there but I did notice some of his bad body language a few times. I get annoyed when he does that but I guess that’s just how he is. I have no doubt he’ll bounce back quickly. Probably best that he gets right back in the horse tomorrow. No time to dwell on it, ya know?
How’s this for an impressive stat: Nurse has 12 even strength goals in 36 games. He’s on pace for a 27 goal season if it was a normal year with 82 games. Here are the most even strength goals by a D in 1 season:
1. Coffey 30
2. Orr 29
3. Orr 28
4. Coffey 25
He’s quietly on a pretty historic pace. He also scores at a pretty high pace on the powerplay even though his PP minutes are mostly 2nd unit or back half tired 1st unit. Maybe he should be 1st unit powerplay.
I am glacially slowly coming to believe that Darnell Nurse may indeed be a #1 all-situations D-man. His play this year has placed him above the ceiling I had previously seen for him. I was wrong about him, and admit my error.
I would seriously consider extending him before trying to re-sign Nuge or Larsson. Nurse is going to get paid more the longer his track of playing like this continues. Is it still possible to sign him 7M x 8 years? Son is the goods now. Lock him up.
Nurse is signed through next season – can’t re-sign him until this year’s “July 1” which, I believe, is July 24.
Orr never and Coffey for awhile didn’t have OT and even when OT was brought in it was tight checking 4 on 4.
Really!? Come on. Give the man his due. You also realize that goalies let in a lot more back then. This was the high scoring late 70s and 80s. Actually, if you want to compare eras, I bet it actually moves Nurse up the list not down it. I’ll look up the era adjustment numbers of you like.
Nurse has taken a huge step and is becoming a beast but you do realize that Orr was the best D ever and Coffey was arguably number 2 they both would be absolutely killing it in the no touch league that is being played now.
Sure, but they were also playing in an era that had tonnes of scoring. I used hockey references era adjusted stats. This is the era adjusted totals. Today’s stats are relatively untouched, with past eras being adjusted. If you go to Hockey Reference’s site, they have a detailed explanation of how the adjust by era. Here is what happens when you adjust the even strength goals by era.
You can say this is a no touch league, but it is absolutely harder to score in. Maybe their (Coffey & Orr) fitness levels would be better than they were. But also, the whole NHL is way better from top to bottom (in skill, in coaching, and in fitness levels). The shitty, smoking, heavy drinking enforcers that used to get regular shifts in the 70s & 80s provided lots of opportunity for scoring along with skinny pads on the goalies and less expertise in goalie coaching.Watching old footage, it looks slow and sloppy and the goalies hopelessly flop around.
Further to that, his even strength points pro-rated to 82 games would give him 52 points.
That would tie him for 22nd best ever with Dennis Potvin (83-84), and Larry Murphy (86-87). The only names in the 21 above him: 1. Paul Coffey, 2. Bobby Orr, 3. Larry Robinson, 4. Ray Bourque, 5. Mark Howe, 6. Erik Karlsson, 7. Brian Leetch, 8. Borje Salming, 9. Reed Larson, 10. Brad Park.
5 season above him belong to Coffey, 6 to Orr and 2 to Bourque. Robinson had the highest non Coffey/Orr season in 8th with 67 es pts.
2nd in the modern era to Erik Karlsson’s 56 in 2015-16.
What a great game to watch. Started a bit late and needed a few goals against to jump start the effort but, boy, what an effort it was after that! Grind, grind, grind. Bend but don’t break. I actually thought the top line was our worst! lol Until overtime, that is. Brilliant finish.
Full credit to Smith. I still can’t get over how well he’s playing. I hope we start to platoon til the playoffs to keep him rested and sharp. Anyone else getting excited for the second season? This GUY Is!!!
Forgot to mention Turris. A surprising amount of smart plays out there, tonight. Glad he finally realized the season has started!
Turris played well his line looked confident. Here’s hoping Turris was out of game shape with the long lay-off leading up to his signing and then shit play to start the year. He was pretty jacked up when he finally got a lucky bounce this may kick start him back to his glory days.
Smith…39 years young…just gaming hard. How can you not love that guy!
Both teams take 3/4 points out of these last 2 games….friggin weird.
Not complaining though…3 points from the Leafs is no easy task.
Have no fear a healthy rested Mike Smith is here.
Lots of credit to Smith. Made a lot of big saves and held his team in the game.
Oh wow. Sabres up 3-0 and lose 4-3 in OT. 18 th straight loss
The Charlie Brown Sabres must be tired of Lucy pulling the ball away every time.
Tonight though, they were let down by Linus.
Lost Cozens as well.
Not exactly a Picasso, but I’ll take it! I realize the Oil were guilty of trying to force passes a lot, but the ice has also looked pretty crappy to my eye the past two games – lots of weird, bouncing pucks, hard to handle passes. Did anyone else see that?
The ice was shite.
I expect it will always be shite now right through till we win the Cup in a couple of months. Teams are not going to allow the Oilers’ speed to run free–just ask Colin Campbell. And Rexall Place is too incompetent to have good ice. So we are effed both home and away.
#becauseoilers
Good point on Rogers Place. WTF is the problem with ice making
So, maybe offer that Nuge money to Hyman? He is probably the ideal fit for McD.
Dylan Holloway plays somewhat similar to Hyman (no, not saying he’s McDavid’s left winger next season).
Could be though.
What’s wrong with two Hymans 🙂
You need to ask a female about that sort of stuff.
Thoughts?
I have a thought… Why do you complain when people come at you personally?
Self awareness is a thing, a very important thing.
Lol. Add a smiley OP otherwise the post looks sour.
I giggled so hard when that went in off his leg. We had crow for dinner and it was mmmm delicious.
#worthit
Also, thanks to OP for paying so much attention to lil ‘ol me.
Nurse punches himself on the inside as the clock winds down for missing the net wide open in the slot.
Comes right back in overtime and slays the beast. What a stud.
woot, woot, woot….
Nurse has totally stepped into a leadership role on this team. Just an incredible year.
Leon gets mugged off faceoff but justice is served
Hyman is a ventriloquists dummy. Who knew?
The nintendo wii level avatar for hyman was bizarre as hell. I honestly wasn’t sure if I was just tripping ballz when it first popped up.
~ Amazing Charlie McCarthy getting 2nd star in his nineties ~
1 more game and this really weird road trip is over.
I am Speeeeeechless.
Dr Nurse delivers the McDavid point streak
And his own 4 game streak got extended.
Yea Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Full marks for he win…..
Grinded that out….
Woooot!!!
Norris! Norris! Norris!
BOOM!!! Nurse with the makeup for missing that last shot!!!
Wonder if he rises in the Norris conversation, now? I mean, how much more does he have to do?
Wear a different jersey.
lol Maybe your nickname should be changed to “salty”? Probably true, though. Imagine if he played in TO, eh?
Leafs bring it out of me. I apologize.
Beauty. Great pass and great shot….started by another great save by Smith.
Nurse mends things a little
Psychologically that goal could go a long long way
100%. Gotta hope that there’s no letdown tomorrow against the Habs.
It’s not that, it’s facing the Leafs possibly in the playoffs. Needed to have some success.
McDavid shrugs off the 100th hold and saucers a beauty
Some huge kudos to Mike Smith!
I like this Mike Smith
Payback!!!!