The Edmonton Oilers played fast and loose with a 4-2 lead at the start of the third period, then exchanged high-danger chances with the St. Louis Blues (this is also the plot for the classic western The Quick and the Dead) before Kailer Yamamoto scored very late to win the day for the visitors. Highly entertaining game unless you have issues with startling developments several times a minute.
Edmonton is 2-2-0 on the road trip, with big wins against the Bruins and Blues, and disappointing results against the Red Wings and Sabres. It’s my opinion this team is 2-0 against the best two teams on the road trip. Hockey.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New DNB and Max Bultman: How Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Holland helped create ‘the Harvard of hockey management’
- Lowetide: How good is Matvey Petrov and is he on an NHL trajectory?
- Lowetide: Will Ken Holland make an early-season trade to bolster the Oilers?
- New DNB: Oilers lament Connor McDavid not drawing penalties
- New Jonathan Willis: How the Decade of Darkness did — and didn’t — set up the current success
- New Lowetide: Why can’t the Oilers put together an effective third line?
- DNB: Oilers’ Stuart Skinner on the right track after second NHL start
- DNB: What I believe and what I know about the Oilers after 10 games
- Lowetide: How close to balanced are the 2021-22 Oilers?
- DNB: Connor McDavid’s otherworldly goal
- DNB: Kevin Lowe Q&A
- Lowetide: Is this Connor McDavid’s peak season, and how good could it be?
- Lowetide: Who is the Oilers’ top prospect now that Evan Bouchard has graduated?
- DNB: Oilers’ Tyson Barrie says what needs to be said as NHL faces reckoning
- Lowetide: Did Oilers general manager Ken Holland win the offseason?
- DNB: The Duncan Keith-Cody Ceci pair have helped to overcome a notable loss
- Jonathan Willis: Seven Oilers surprises so far in 2021-22
WHAT TO EXPECT IN NOVEMBER
- At home to: SEA, NAS, NYR (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 3-0-0)
- On the road to: DET, BOS, BUF, STL, WPG (Expected 3-2-0) (Actual 2-2-0)
- At home to: WPG, CHI (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: DAL, ARI, VEG (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 8-5-0, 16 points in 13 games
- Actual November results: 5-2-0, 10 points in seven games
- Oilers in 2021-22: 11-3-0, 22 points in 14 games
Oilers have a great record, are almost through a tough road trip, are two goals over 50 percent at even strength, have delivered 18 power-play goals (leads the league) and a 17.55 goals-per-60 rate (leads the league). The Edmonton penalty kill is allowing 4.0 goals-per-60, second best in the NHL. Leon Draisaitl has 15 goals and 15 assists through 14 games, he’s the first NHL player to post those numbers in his first 15 games since Ben Hur. The first 10 games were 9-1-0, the second set of 10 games has started 2-2-0 and that’s the biggest downside to the season through 14 games.
GOALTENDER
Mikko Koskinen was brilliant, honestly that was an outstanding game from the big man. The numbers (35 of 39 stops, .897) don’t sound impressive until you find out he stopped 13 of 14 high-danger chances. He is now 9-1-0 and .915SP, .274 GAA. Those numbers are a match for his fine 2019-20 season by the way.
DEFENSE
Darnell Nurse-Evan Bouchard played 16:08, going 10-15 shots, 1-1 goals and a ghastly 3-11 HDSC. My goodness that’s a stunning total, lots of chasing from both men. This pairing got caved when playing with both of the feature lines! That’s not good. Both defenders had a chance but were unable to stop the pass to Jordan Kyrou on the first goal, and both men could have done a better job on the 4-4 tying goal by Tarasenko. After Turris was unable to move the puck to safety in the high slot, Nurse guided the puck closer to the net while also allowing a clear lane, and Bouchard failed to block Tarasenko out. Need better play from both men. Nurse had an assist, two shots and a takeaway. Bouchard was quiet offensively but did make some good passes and was solid on the PK.
Duncan Keith-Cody Ceci played 15:58, going 12-8 shots, 1-1 goals, 2-3 HDSC. A much better performance than last game, there were still coverage issues and Keith specifically was part of some loose play that resulted in breakdowns. The GA was the Bortozzo goal and it was a screen after the puck caused crosstown traffic in the high slot. Nuge might have screened, maybe Keith, but it wasn’t a clean defensive segment. Keith had a block, Ceci a fine pass to Hyman on the late-period McDavid goal that was quality.
Kris Russell-Tyson Barrie played 12:39, going 5-5 shots, 1-1 goals and 1-0 HDSC. It was a low-event pairing and that’s what you want from a third pairing. On the goal Barrie allowed the cross ice pass from Thomas, who shouldn’t have been allowed to come out from behind the net without being contested. Soft defending there. Russell didn’t stop the pass to Barbashev, helluva goal. Russell isn’t getting PK minutes, his role on the team is fading.
LINES
Zach Hyman-Connor McDavid-Jesse Puljujarvi played 14:16, 8-10 shots, 1-0 goals, 3-4 HDSC. Hyman had two assists and a takeaway, his work on the McDavid goal was terrific. He’s a skilled MacGyver, the play is never over. McDavid’s late first-period goal gave Edmonton a lift that led to a second period that impacted the entire game. McDavid was 1-1-2 (600 NHL points), took a frustration penalty (the league’s referees are basically trolling now) and had three HDSC at five on five. Puljujarvi turned over pucks, dug in for the puck along with wall countless times, three shots and one HDSC. This line is building chemistry.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Leon Draisaitl-Kailer Yamamoto played 13:27, 8-4 shots, 2-1 goals and 2-2 HDSC. Nuge scored! plus had eight shots on goal and a takeaway. The No. 1 pick in 2011 was all over the ice, passing and checking. Splendid player. He is 1-17-18 in 14 games. What a country! Draisaitl was 1-2-3 with three shots, I still get a kick out of his hammer of the Gods shot from the right side. Yamamoto continues to climb back to reasonable range of output, he scored the winner late and was 1-1-2 on the night. He is 3-1-4 in his most recent seven games.
Warren Foegele-Ryan McLeod-Kyle Turris played 7:54, going 4-7 shots, 1-1 goals and 1-4 HDSC. The line scored a big goal late in the second period, Foegele forechecking, Turris retrieving and passing while McLeod finished it all off. The third line breaking even hasn’t happened since the first week of the season, suspect we’ll see them again in Winnipeg.
Tyler Benson-Derek Ryan-Colton Sceviour played 3:40, going 2-2 shots and 0-1 goals. Not much from this line, the goal was the Barbashev effort. Sceviour was in the right spot not doing the right thing twice. I expect he’ll sit when Zack Kassian returns. Perlini may draw in for the Winnipeg game.
OILERS FWDS FIVE ON FIVE
The top three offensive forwards are humming along fine five-on-five, and the second group (Hyman, Nuge, Yamamoto) is rising as well. Among the depth crew, Kassian (injured), Foegele and Turris are posting passing scoring numbers but not delivering close to 50 percent at five-on-five. I have an article in the chute for The Athletic about one way to solve the issue, that will be up later today or tomorrow.
OILERS DEFENSE FIVE ON FIVE
Lots of doomsday about the Oilers five on five goal differential. I prefer to wail when Adam Larsson hits 37 percent goal differential, as he did in 2018-19, or when a not healthy Andrej Sekera hit 25 percent goal differential in half a season 2017-18.
Much of the verbal you’ll read today from Oilers observers is about what the Oilers aren’t doing well, and that’s fine. However, the goal differential for the five regular defensemen is either 50 percent or above, the team save percentage (.914) is No. 14 across the league and the special teams are absolute fire.
So. Are the Oilers good? Yes. Are they competitive in the Pacific Division? Yes. Is the Pacific Division better than expected?
One of the problems with the Oilers having an analytics-driven fanbase is that the expectation is perfection. Have you ever wasted an hour talking to someone who graduated from the U. of Alberta engineering? Chemical to Petroleum, the mind pierces every argument not laser-focused on perfection and leaves it a pile of rubble. Which is great, but tends to end conversations about things like hockey before the real heart of the issue has been examined.
Are the Oilers flawed? Of course. Is this team successful? Depends on if you graduated from the U. of Alberta engineering programs. Arguing for the sake of arguing. It’s a thing.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
A busy and fun show begins at 10 this morning, TSN 1260. Jason Gregor will pop in at 11, Matthew Iwanyk at 11:40 and we’ll discuss NFL, Oilers-Jets, NBA and the big Canada-Mexico soccer game (why do Edmontonians show up 45,000 at a time for soccer and just 10,000 at a time for football?) tomorrow night. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. Talk soon!
NEW for The Athletic: Should the Oilers move Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to the 3rd line?
https://theathletic.com/2954838/2021/11/15/lowetide-should-the-oilers-move-ryan-nugent-hopkins-to-the-3rd-line/
HELL YA !
Strap a horn on that horse!
But it won’t happen.
I don’t see Tippett as the type of Coach who is willing to sacrifice some/any wins for the sake of building a stronger foundation.
Can’t say I blame him. It’s risky.
Stronger foundation only works when you have sufficient funds for the rest of the house!
Interesting point in there LT that I’m not sure has been really delved into: why doesn’t Tippett line match? What’s the benefit?
He does not know how.
The ability to get your better offensive players away from the defensive specialists! More clear air so to speak for McDavid.
He does zone match though. He typically (less so this year) has a line that gets fed Dzone starts. I assume he’s prioritizing that over line matching.
Line matching also lets the other team dictate who you put on the ice and when.
Sees the 3rd line getting 8 mins, sees the Nuggy with more points then games played..
Having watched Nuggy have to drag around the likes of Lucic, survive Eakins turning him into oatmeal, someone posting numbers with men that would be out of the league 34 mins after being moved off of his line.
3rd line and Nuggy, that’s abuse imo.
I’ll put you down as “undecided”.
We’ll give him a safe word. 🙂
No we just got the DRY line back!
It’s a tantalizing idea.
Problem is we lack winger depth moving RNH to 3C and out of the top-6.
When Kassian comes back it’s easier to see a clear path. Still, Benson needs to show more because as soon as we populate the RW with JP, Hyman and KY the left wing is weak.
Other problem is Nuge can’t win faceoffs.
He’s to nice of a guy to cheat like every other successful face-off man in the history of the game.
Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins are magical together. It would be foolish to break them up.
Nugent-Hopkins makes Draisaitl fully dimensional on a line, just like McDavid does. There are but a handful of wingers in the world capable of doing that.
To maximize Draisaitl as a centre, to fully weaponize his shot, simultaneously with maximizing the playmaking, one must keep the duo together.
The sample size is getting larger. When one of McDavid or Nugent-Hopkins is with Draisaitl, Draisaitl is likely to lead the league in both goals and points.
For me if maximizing Leo is the goal the point is missed
The DRY line is finally showing the chemistry that they had 2 seasons ago … right now is not the time to break them up.
This team is going to be a top 10, even perhaps top 5 team even with a leaky third line. Right now you see what you have in McLeod … early returns are promising, especially considering they were dragging around the slow boots of Kyle Turris. Once Kassian is back, then give Foegle-McLeod-Kassian a 10 game audition. If McLeod doesn’t settle into the role of 3C who can saw off the competition, then maybe Holloway gets an audition there next (if he’s healed up) or you spend some assets to get a 3C.
It’s early still.
And Ryan too.
I’m not convinced he’s dead yet, though everyone else seems to be.
It’s a team game, but players from the Edmonton Oilers are currently top of W (Koski tied with Andersson), P, G and A. I haven’t seen this since maybe Colorado in the Forsberg / Sakic / Roy days? And before that, well…
Thought experiment…what would happen if Connor was moved to LD and played 30 minutes a night? Imagine the breakout success rates, imagine a winger trying to cover a pass back to the point? He would walk into the slot for a HDSC every time the puck cycled back to his point…obviously the risks of corner battles and shot blocking are too high for this to ever happen but it sure would be interesting.
This is what Broberg must strive for. We already know he can skate like the wind, but can he put up the offensive numbers while still being on the right side of the ledger?
Wow. I had though the arena looked empty in Buffalo.
surprised by these numbers.
https://theathletic.com/2956621/2021/11/15/shapiro-nhl-attendance-after-one-month-shows-more-concern-but-some-decent-signs/
Just read a rumour that Phil Kessel may (likely) become available for trade. Is he a reasonable target, can we afford him, how would we use a scoring RW, what would it cost (prospect wise)… thoughts?
He’s still got some game left, but is he the vet we need?
No.
There is no doubt he’s available – he’s at the very top of the “for sure getting traded” lists.
The Oilers’ biggest issues is preventing 5 on 5 goals…. I don’t see how this, now, PP specialist can help.
He’s $6.8 million this season, so even at the deadline it’ll be most of $2 million. He isn’t scoring at five on five and Edmonton doesn’t need PP help.
The Oilers are over the cap using LTIR reserves and would need to fit the entire $6.8M into their higher cap.
Yes, but moving Klefbom’s contract and (say) Turris would get the close. It isn’t worth it, but you could do it, right?
Moving the Klefbom contract would reduce our cap hit by $4.1M but would also decrease out upper cap limit by $4.1M and they’d still be using LTIR reserves. Oilers are almost $6M over the cap with Archie and Stalock on LTIR as well.
Not sure if anyone has asked yet.
What does St. Louis Trickle mean?
My best guess:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfecAGt_c0c
Probably like a Cleveland Steamer
What a few guys who know something think about the modern defensemen.
https://www.nhl.com/news/hockey-hall-of-fame-roundtable-young-defensemen/c-327961500
great for regular season. Get tossed around in playoffs. That’s why all d in top 4 teams were 6’1 210 or bigger
You need the proper big , stay at home D to pair with them.
Bodes well for the Oilers given the size of all the d-men in Bakersfield – all massive and lots of pedigree, skill, skating, development and up arrows among them – all being taught by Dave Manson – a wonderful situation.
But not one modern defenseman in the system.
Factually incorrect.
Who would you suggest is in the class of Makar, Fox, Heiskanen, Hughes et al?
Broberg perhaps but he is not knocking it out of the park in the AHL compared to someone like Scott Perunovich who I referenced earlier today.
Perunovich got called up by the Blues today after posting 20 points in 12 AHL games.
Broberg has 9 points in 12 AHL games.
Might want to keep your pants on
Perunovich is 23.
And scored 11G and 36PTS in 42 games in the NCAA as a freshman at 20.
The NCAA path always takes a little longer.
There is always some concern how these players adapt to pro hockey but leading the entire AHL in scoring is a pretty good indication that he’s on his way.
Isn’t this your Brogan Rafferty? HH, Broberg is three years younger. That’s a tremendous amount of development time. You know this. I’ve seen you make this post maybe 10 times. Bouchard was never a good target for you, and it’s getting worse by the day.
A 20 year old Freshman does not scream future NHL star.
Yes, Broberg is in that mold and Scott Pernovich has nothing to do with him – Broberg turned 20 in the summer, Pernovich is a full 3 years older than him and a full year older than Bouchard.
Sean Durzi, top d-propsect of the deepest prospect in NHL history was 0.5 P/G in the AHL as a 22 year old in a “watered down” AHL.
But why get a small modern defenseman when you can get a big modern defensemen in Bouchard.
then you can get your small modern defensemen when they get Barrie’d out of the system.
league is getting over saturated with them
It seems Bouchard is NOT a modern defenseman based on early results.
He’s currently 45th in PPG by defensemen despite playing on the highest scoring team in the league.
Bouchard doesn’t have the wheels or mobility to keep up with the most advanced young D.
And not all modern defensemen are small…that’s just an erroneous assumption on your part.
Drew Doughty 6’1″ 210
Roman Josi 6’1″ 210
Devon Toews 6’1″ 195
Charlie McAvoy 6’1″ 206
Miro Heiskanen 6’1″ 190
Dougie Hamilton 6’6″ 230
To name just a few.
These are the type of defenseman referenced in the article I posted, ones who impact the game at BOTH ends of the ice.
Darnell Nurse has his moments but he is not the epitome of a modern defenseman but more of a throwback who ideally would be paired with a dynamic offensive defenseman who, unlike Barrie, aren’t a liability in their own end.
Yet there Darnell Nurse is: 3rd among all NHL defensemen in 5v5 points over the last 3 seasons. Behind only Josi among your ‘modern’ defensemen.
I’ll take the modern/throwback hybrid myself.
You got him.
Scoring on the PP also counts you know.
Here are the current top 10 point leaders among defensemen this season with modern defensemen underlined.
Josi 16
Fox 16
Hughes 14
Shattenkirk 13
DeAngelo 13
Seth Jones 13
McAvoy 12
Cam Fowler 12
Shane Gotisbehere 12
Mo Seider 12
Bouchard would have impressive numbers if not for Barrie. This season, Bouchard has two PP points in six minutes, a tidy 19.15 points-per-60. These are soft toss arguments. I hope you’re safe on the island, terrible weather on the coast (and island) today.
It’s beyond obvious Nurse would be near the top of this list if he wasn’t spending 26 minutes a night doing more important things. But carry on.
Somehow I already forgot how pointless it was to engage.
This whole “modern defenceman” argument is kind of pointless to me. There are multiple ways to build a blueline these days. Guys like Barrie, Hughes, et al are fun to watch with the puck, and hide-your-eyes-behind-your-trapper (like the backup tendy in Slap Shot) trying to defend in their own zone. Given the firepower that the Oilers can throw over the boards up front, having a D-corps that can play in their own zone and separate attackers from the puck, transitioning quickly, would seem to be a better bet that going full “modern d”.
Personally, I’d rather focus on what we have in Bouchard, a lanky defender with good puck skills, some size, and a bomb for a shot than what he isn’t. Honestly, I thought he’d still be working on the 3rd pairing at this point in the season, so he’s already ahead of the curve. I like what I’m seeing so far.
Tied for 23rd among d-men at 5 on 5 points, one point behind the likes of Quinn Hughes. A more honest comparative stat given Bouchard get minimal PP time and none with the first unit. Given PP acumen is a top skill of his (which is evident in his success in small samples), its hard not to see him being at the top of the scoring race yearly.
I guess getting the most PK minutes on the 3rd best PK team in the league isn’t impacting the game at the other end of the rink?
Wild statement.
The Oilers have only two D who meet your standard.
Are they hooped?
Typical NHL fluff
Nobody really gave an honest opinion
Hughes Makar Heiskanen, Holland being smart doesn’t mention Bouch
Because Bouch isn’t one of them.
He is, it’s your assessment which is flawed like usual. Carry on.
Nurse on pace for 58pts
Barrie and Bouchard 47pts
Ceci & Keith 23pts
These are the on pace for points over 82 games for the main 5 defenders.
Bouchard in his first full season is on pace for near 50pts, Nurse is flirting with 60.
Oilers have all sorts of support from the backend, while also having the 2 most dominate players in the game.
Those are all nice defensemen you’ve mentioned that are all on losing teams for the most part.
You predicted the Canucks to finish 2nd in the division, with that horrendous Dcore.
Your assessment and constant attempted burial of Bouchard is comical.
So everyone is lying because their opinions don’t mesh with your agenda?
I would suggest Scott Niedermayer, who along with players like Coffey and Orr pioneered the player type, might have something we can all learn from.
“Scott Niedermayer said he looks at the crop of young NHL defensemen like Adam Fox of the New York Rangers, Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche and Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars and is wowed by what he sees.
A Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman himself, the 48-year-old said the offensive skills of some of these defensemen in the NHL right now is as high as it’s ever been.
“The defensemen you mentioned, they can all handle the puck now,” Niedermayer said after participating in the adidas Hockey Hall of Fame Legends Classic at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday. “When I started, I was kind of one of maybe a couple of guys on the back end that could do it.”
Yawn
“The defenseman YOU mentioned…”
Someone mentioned those defenseman to him l
You are losing your mind HH please continue.
Clearly you are right and the Oilers are completely fucked. If only we had a modern defenseman we might not be so shit! I’ve decided to go on hunger strike until we either trade or develop a true modern defenseman. My sacrifice will be hard but noble.
Lol … this thread is just so dumb.
“Modern defensemen” … and he underlined Ghostbear, a guy who Philly had to pay Arizona in assets to get rid of. DeAngelo … a d-man who doesn’t even know where is own end is, and was also bought out.
We have a our own version of a “modern defensemen” … Tyson Barrie … led the NHL in points by a D-man last year. Is useful at some aspects of the game but limited defensively. He’s a placeholder on the PP for a “complete defensemen” in Evan Bouchard, who is doing an amazing job on our PK in his first full NHL season, and doesn’t need the extra minutes on the PP right now, though he’s perfectly capable of running the PP as well as Barrie is, and has 8 points with no time on the PP with the first unit.
Fox, Heiskenen, Makar, Hughes … one of those things just doesn’t belong. Hughes belongs in the group with Ghostbear, Barrie and DeAngelo … good on offence, bad in their own zone.
Adam Fox, Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar, Miro Heiskanen.
One of those things is not like the others.
Of all the ridiculous, disingenuous threads I’ve read on this blog, this might take the cake. Wow
He couldn’t possibly believe this, right? I mean this is so off the rails. He must simply be inciting us….?
But seriously, who honestly would frequent a partisan blog multiple times a day to naysay the team of the blog and then attempt endless post hoc rationalization combined with an ever-expanding tautology for his silly claims.
You’re never wrong if you never admit defeat and constantly change goalposts. It’s like Jan.6th denialism.
This behaviour really requires a special case.
Melvis, you there? Any surgery date yet brother?
Wow. I’m kinda surprised someone would ask. I really appreciate it. How to put it…heart warming;-)
Unfortunately no. I was originally told five weeks…which was end of Oct.
I spoke to the heart surgeons asst. who intimated (the head of the cardiac unit was actually “away” at the end of Oct.), informal triage now included critical cases being put on hold. That means cancer, heart, major organ surgeries, standard endoscopies are all postponed – now joining the ranks of 35,000 plus “electives”.
are
Squeaky wheel and all I was gonna get on the phone all day and really start pushing, even if it meant including regular and social media. You know…enough already. Until….
I started with the dizzy spells late afternoon, worsening into evening. At some point (don’t remember) I was watching a podcast down in the man cave, stood up to take a whizz. Knees caved in, slammed the table edge with left brow on the way down…knocked out cold. Given the swollen cheek bone, seemed to have hit the floor face first as well.
Came to not knowing where I was. F–king paralyzed. Can’t move. Can’t talk. Can’t reach the phone on the table.
I’m supposed to be here looking after an arthritically incapacitated parent. Hah!
After awhile I could croak out “help”. I managed to build the volume over time – moms two floors up, tv blaring.
Now yelling…call 911…over and over. Finally…because I’m determined not to die here…they come flying in.
“Mel, how are doing?”
“We’ve met before:-) Matt is it?…not so hot. Alister, my cat lay down on my shoulder and kneaded away purring while I was waiting. I’ve got to hand to him. Best nurse ever.”
Anyway, I was starting to feel a bit better. At one point they picked me and set me in a chair and we went over symptoms, 6 meds, side effects, etc. Then they brought in the stretcher. I resisted. I sweated through my clothes. I was soaking wet. Then with the two females paramedics in attendance, I realized the original journey to the john was in vain.
“Hmmm…looks like I pissed myself. But you’ve seen this before”.
So more banter.
” Matt, I’m out of these clothes and in a hot shower. The hospital can wait. You know I’ve been there about 6 times since April. I’ve had enough. Now give me the form. (Imdemntity) First hint of trouble, I’ll call you back.”
So nothing. Today I feel like I was in a stick swinging incident. Tomorrow I’m seeing my doctor about more testing, because this wasn’t another heart attack. Something else. Felt a bit like what I’ve read about strokes.
Such a long story, but I’m getting to the bottom of this, while harping about a specific surgery date. Enough already with the 70% unvaxed covid priorities. If I’m still in the dark by weeks end, I’m booking for Toronto and one of the better heart facilities in the world. As for the politicians and bureaucrats, ALL of them little more than dog shit stuck to my shoe.
And that’s my story for now. And one more thing. I love you guys.
Wow. That’s a tough read, Melvis, can’t imagine actually going through it. You’re a tough guy. I hope you get some answers and some surgery and man did everyone let you down. Keep pushing.
Thanks Lt. You’re a good man.
Best of luck sir.
Wow that’s not a good story. Hope you get the treatment you need as soon as possible. If it was my call the unvaxed covid patients would be in a tent in the parking lot!!!!
Wow. What a story.
You lived and you fought for a reason. Don’t forget that when the drudgery of modifying learned behaviours pulls you back to old habits. Modern cardiology is a marvel but it needs your buyin.
Be well, bud.
The next 3 Ottawa games postponed.
10 players in Covid protocol.
But why?
it’s not like the situation was any better last two games and they forced them to play
The NHL doesn’t tell the truth
Its probably bigger
Lose comments again?
I don’t think so. LT has pinned his comment at the top which makes it look like it’s not updating.
Who is the hard target search for 3c?
Don’t know if you’ve watched any Ducks games but Getzlaf is playing like he’s 25.
Cant imagine Anaheim moves him unless they fall right out of the race.
Yeah, Anaheim is second in the WC, they’d have to fall out of the race to consider trading him. He’s currently just over a PPG ala Nuge. Lots of people had mentioned Getzlaf as a trade option before the season started.
I went to check Getzlaf’s stats yesterday. That’s when I asked myself, “who’s Troy Terry?|”
My hope is that answer number 1 can be good enough. I don’t want us wasting assets so let’s hold off til the deadline and then reassess. Hopefully by then Mcleod is looking like a fit and is bringing some offense.
That 3rd line is going to need help to stop the bleeding one way or the other. Maybe you could run McLeod with Fogele if there was an upgraded two-way 3RW.
Jason Strudwick has been touting the idea of Jeff Carter. If the Pens are sellers then that would be a tidy bit of business.
Shoot for the moon. My vote is Forsberg, Hertl, or Rakell.
Have the other team retain 50% and take back Turris. Throw in some juicy assets. Boom Stanley Cup!
Eric Staal is looking for a job.
Apparently insisting on playing in the US or so the rumour goes…
That thought did run through my head – thanks.
I thought I remember him raving about Montreal and how much he loved his time as a Hab….
I’d do a combo of 1/2.
1) Continue with McLeod/Ryan (dare I include Shore) for the foreseeable future. Holloway also being a longer shot possibility by Feb/March. And depending how that goes,
2) Getzlaf or other at the deadline.
Basically ride it out with the internal options, understanding an addition at the deadline could well be needed.
Edit: can the Ducks keep this up? maybe…
Yeah, it’s too bad about the Holloway injury. I agree, might as well wait until there’s more sellers once teams start dropping out.
And also to give the internal options 50-60 more games to fully show themselves and inform what’s really needed.
Is Getzlaf worth the assets for a one year deal? I’d want to think him being willing to stick around for a year at a reasonable rate would have to be part of the deal, provided he can add value.
Strudwick proposed Jeff Carter the other week and I think that’s a pretty good target. He can still skate well enough, has hands, wins face-offs, shoots right, and knows how to grind in the playoffs. He’s a good candidate to score a timely goal. Plus intangibles.
Bozak didn’t look done last night, either. His cap hit is so low I don’t see STL moving him, and it’s unlikely they miss the playoffs and sell anyways.
ArmchairGM talked about Kappo Kakko a few times, as a buy low situation from NYR. Would be worth divesting of a few assets if they think they could rehab the player. Definitely more upside than a guy like Nolan Patrick. Thomas Nosek might be more attainable, assets and cap wise. I’d want to inquire about Filip Chytil as well, he stood out to me in the barnburner the other week (big, quick, nice hands/noggin).
What would Kadri cost? Warts and all, that man can play hockey. If it were possible to exchange Kassian in the deal I’d be all ears. Tyson Jost can skate, might be worth a look.
PE Bellemare has always been a favourite since I saw him in the last World Cup.
Not really an ideal player in the bunch, but could be some good fits out there on the market.
There were rumours about Getzlaf signing here in the summer, but something about his new $6m house in California
Agreed, Carter could be a useful rental.
I’m not sure what Kappo would cost or if he’s available.
I don’t expect Colorado to be selling.
Carter Savoie was named NCHC player of the week.
LOL, love engineers! But I once had a patient whose dad was an engineer, and every appointment I left feeling like we had a mild conflict when we ultimately had agreed, so your final 2 paragraphs made me chuckle
Drai has more points then 2 teams have goals, with another 6 teams very close to being toppled as well.
Jordal Kyrou sure looks like a player. Painful to think he was drafted four spots after Tyler Benson.
https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl2016e.html
That 2016 second round is loaded with talent. It hurts to look at that list at the Hockey db.
Was he linked to a Benson trade, or JP?
I remember there was a reasonable amount of talk about a change of scenery type trade for him before he popped this year. Him and Tage Thompson both ring a bell as candidates.
I only remember the JP for Lias Andersson rumour.
Also Puljujarvi – Gauthier.
My goodness did that non-move pay off?!
I don’t recall Kyrou linked to the Oilers either, though it makes sense the Blues were open to moving him (he did only arrive in D+5 after all, a perfect illustration of LTs line in the sand).
I don’t recall any Kyrou links but Eeli Tolaven….
Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins are magical together. It would be foolish to break them up.
Nugent-Hopkins makes Draisaitl fully dimensional on a line, just like McDavid does. There are but a handful of wingers in the world capable of doing that.
To maximize Draisaitl as a centre, to fully weaponize his shot, simultaneously with maximizing the playmaking, one must keep the duo together.
The sample size is getting larger. When one of McDavid or Nugent-Hopkins is with Draisaitl, Draisaitl is likely to lead the league in both goals and points.
Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling a pig in the mud. After a bit, you realize the pig likes it.
Assuming Smith isn’t ready, does Skinner get the Jets on the road, the last game of a 5-game road trip, or does Mikko get that game and Skinner gets the Jets at home on Thurday?
Unless one of them isn’t feeling good on gameday, I’d say it’s tomayto, tomahto.
The Oilers might have the best top 6 in the NHL but that is one bear of a top-9 over their in Saint Loo.
Missing Brayden Schenn but rolling out;
Buchnevich- O’Reilly- Kyrou
Tarasenko- Thomas-Barbashev
Perron-Bozak (Schenn?)-Saad
I don’t want to play these guys in the playoffs
They were also missing Tory Krug on D who is a difference maker.
Interesting that STL waited until after the Oiler game to call up defenseman Scott Perunovich.
The Hobey Baker winner was leading the AHL in scoring with 20 points in 12 games.
Looking like another fantastic modern defenseman.
Probably didn’t want him to be demoralized by McDavid in his first game
They definitely didn’t want to unveil their shiny new toy against the best team in the west.
yup, a quick look at their schedule shows the Yotes and Sharks are the next two up.
Bouch has had a couple tough games defending at 5 on 5.
Ceci has been fairly solid and consistent, to my eye. Is there any thought of:
Nurse/Ceci
Keith/Bouch
OR
Nurse/Ceci
Keith/Barrie (who have killed it in about 10 minutes together)
Of note on Ryan McLeod, he’s killed it in the faceoff circle the last two games.
IIRC he was strong in the faceoff circle in his call up last season.
From a poster C-Tron in a Sportsnet comments section:
C-Tron
Western Conference
1 Edmonton
2 Anaheim (Beat them)
3 Minnesota (Never Played yet)
4 Calgary (Beat them)
5 Winnipeg (Never Played Yet)
6 Nashville (Beat them)
7 St Louis (Beat them)
8 Vegas (Beat them)
But sure, people says the Oilers never beat a good team… lol…
There’s only one person that says this yet humorously he owns more than a few posters mortgage in their heads.
Not nearly as much real estate that the Oilers own his head.
The shames play at least 2 teams that has had multiple players in Covid protocol.
It’s the internet, man. If we win every Cup for the next million years there will still be jerks trying to get our goats. For me, the lesson is that we need to invent etiquette for the internet. At some point in time behaving on the internet will be like behaving in a restaurant – we all know and accept the rules willingly (most of the time) because we know it is better for all of us. FWIW, I think LT makes a tiny but important contribution by trying to emphasize respectful dialogue in the comments.
The issue is you never actually have to look anyone in the face, so there’s very little real recourse if you’re an a’hole on the internet.
Agree that certain space, like Lowetide, can enforce a higher standard among those who want to be there (here).
Who the hell is Troy Terry?
I was wondering that too yesterday.
Never trust a man with two first names.
I thought it was never trust a man that can’t drink.
I think maybe he plays the role of an actor on The Simpsons.
Love the McLeod kid. If he can find a groove this team will be a problem.
The fact he overcame Kyle Turris is remarkable.
“After Turris was unable to move the puck to safety in the high slot”
Seen that quite a few times…plus, a couple of soft margarine plays along the wall in the
D zone allowing extended time for the opposition.
Would Kyle sail through waivers again like last year?
Yep.
Does this mean he should be playing 3rd line?
Apparently so.
Yes, injuries …but Kyle Turris is the last forward that should be promoted to
3rd line duty.
The speed of Perlini, McLeod and Foegle would be tough to handle…
Perlini doesn’t do anything, he doesn’t hit, he doesn’t drive to the net, he floats in between the action without ever getting into it. He makes Teddy Purcell look like a physical player.
His asset is his shot he needs a line mate to put it on a platter for him.
I think that’s a preseason myth. Shot seems to have vanished once October rolled in.
Watch his career 45 goals.
He isn’t that fella anymore, was a flash in the pan.
That sounds like a description of Turris as well.
Not going to pound the table on Perlini because you say about him is very true.
This is a choice between bad and not as bad.
However, one of the two flawed players ( Perlini) is really fast and can at least keep up with McLeod.
One of them has no chance of keeping up with McLeod
That is true, they just both stink imo.
Turris has his weaknesses, but in fairness one could also mention the fine play he made on McLeod’s first NHL goal to keep the puck in with his skate, then chip it to Foegele in dangerous position.
Quoth LT: The numbers (35 of 39 stops, .897) don’t sound impressive until you find out he stopped 13 of 14 high-danger chances.
I’ve largely given up on trying to convince people Koskinen is underrated.
Consistency is his main issue.
If he could play to his ability even 2/3 or 3/5 games he’d be a quality starter.
As it is he’s paid like a mid tier starter and usually plays like a great back up.
I am hoping this run of quality starts continues. He’s a big part of the team’s success this season.
The only times Koskinen has played poorly in Edmonton is when he has been overplayed or underplayed.
Except the odd game, anyway. Patrick Roy and Marty Brodeur also dropped a few turds in their crease in spite of being generally acclaimed as the best of their generation. Being a good goalie doesn’t mean you’ll never concede bad goals.
I think that speaks more toward the coaching staffs and the starting goaltenders than Koskinen. He is who he is, at some point it’s up to the coach and GM to put him in a position to succeed.
Definitely keeping Benson in over Perlini for the Jets. Not much will happen either way but Benson definitely will piss someone off.
It’ll piss off whatever poster was calling him “Schremp” in the offseason. That’s worth something.
Good enough 👌
Schremp was a little generous. The center played 114 games and had 54 points before washing out of the league. Will Benson play 100 games?😄
Yah, I think he will pass the 100 game mark. Maybe 54 points is asking a little much from the 4th line though.
Baby steps though, he’s almost caught Mike Bishai. Anything can happen after that..
I like his physicality especially with Kassian and Archie out. I miss Archie and what he brings.
We all know if Arch was currently on the squad Tipps wouldn’t be able to resist stealing shifts from Bison Lord to give Arch some run.
Perlini has scored 46 goals in the big league. Benson made one nice pass back in the 2019-2020 season. One of these players is not like the other lol😉
Perlini has not scored a single goal for the Oilers in the regular season, while Benson has a real nice goal mouth pass just the other evening.
Goal mouth pass? You don’t say😄
3.84 Pts/60 5 on 5 is just insanity.
Ryan McLeod has a narrative that he’s not “engaged enough” in the forecheck. I’m seeing something different, I’m seeing a player who refuses to be caught below the play. If there’s two forecheckers in deep McLeod refuses to drop below the hash marks…I think as he gains confidence, and his coaches lengthen his leash, and he begins to trust his F1 and F2 to cycle back into better position he will start to engage deeper in the O-zone. McLeod has the wheels, the smarts, and the defensive commitment to be an excellent 3C for a long time.
I certainly agree with your last sentence.
I haven’t seen not “engaged enough”. However, I have seen not physically engaged enough. When he is F1, if he can’t use his speed to get the puck, he’s not getting the puck. His speed and smarts make him a good forechecker, but if he was using his body more effectively he could be another Foegele as far as turning pucks over in the offensive end.
I’ve also seen that criticism applied to him not taking the puck to dangerous areas. Hopefully since his goal was from slot, he’ll learn that is often a good place to spend his time. But that’s not really what your post is about.
Maybe I’ve missed some posts or tweets, but I haven’t seen people suggesting he should abandon his position when he is F3.
You’re right, nobody has explicitly suggest he abandon his position, I just think he’s uber committed to being responsible defensively and people perceive that as being hesitant…which it kind of is….he doesn’t throw big hits in the corner because throwing big hits generally puts you out of position.
Jesse did the same thing in his first run in the NHL, before learning how to leverage his size and speed more effectively to win the board battles.
McLeod will go through the same growing pains … but the talent is there, and by all accounts he’s bring the right attitude to rink every day. He needs to stapled on a line with Foegele, given a consistent role and some patience.
One thing about Mikko that doesn’t show up in the stats (or does it?) is, he made at least 4 or 5 High Danger saves last night where the shooter missed the net.
DO these show up in the High Danger Shot Chances as High Danger Saves? Because they are every bit as much a save as a flashy glove or double pad stack.
He was very much in the shooters heads which is weird to say for a g that have up 4 goals
#Big
#Positioning
#BlockOutTheSun
A shot isn’t a save if it’s not going on net.
Posts and cross bar shots aren’t counted, for example.
Whether a shot played by the goalie would have entered the net and therefore be an official shot on net is up to the subjectivity of the local scorekeeper(s). Tippett has said he thinks the reliability of some NHL official data is suspect and relies on the data he and his staff collect.
I would argue that, for purposes of tracking scoring chances, it ought to be. Consider – NHL shooters don’t need a lot of net to be able to score. If they are shooting wide, it could be argued that the reason they missed is because the goalie left them very little to shoot at, so they missed. Some goalies are better at this than others. Refusing to track this data means that the data becomes less valuable IMO.
Also, I would argue that whether a shot is a scoring chance ought to be measured before the shot was taken, not after.
Keeper of the truth !
The other thing that doesn’t make stats is when a shooter has a shooting attempt from a high danger location and he elects not to take the shot because the goalie is taking everything away. As a goalie, I see this as more valuable than a save – if they shoot, they have a greater than 0% chance of scoring, and if they do not shoot, they have a 0% chance of scoring. This doesn’t show up in statlines.
This is interesting and true – big, positional goalies pre-empt direct shots – would be an intriguing metric to delve into (‘missed shots’) but might require debriefing with the shooter as to their intention – not all ‘shots’ are meant to be goals – sometimes looking for a bounce off the boards or deflection off bodies or are actually a rim to the opposite half boards .
File this under X.
The Truth is Out There.
Post more often please.
Thanks! If I ever get myself organized I’d like to start a youtube channel teaching goaltending. I’d also like to do a “Judas Keeper” series where I give people tips for scoring on goalies. There is basically nothing on the internet for ‘how to play goal’ or ‘how to know whether a goalie is any good or not.’
In my opinion Leon is the best backhanded passers this game has every seen and that’s including the CCCP old guard. At this moment he’s the best passer period, his line mates Yamo and RNH have 4 goals between them. how many assists would Leon have if he was playing with a trigger man. It’s to bad Lavoie isn’t panning out, this is exactly where I envisioned Lavoie being on Leon’s flank scoring in bunches.
Leon has 15 goals, Nuggy has 17 assists.
Looks like his backhand passes are sent directly back to him for goals.
Mostly on the PP as Nuge has 11 assists there. It’s been bugging me all morning what player does Leon’s style mirror. Is it Malkin, Getzlaf, Jagr maybe Frank Mahovlich. I finally figured it out that Peter Stastny one of the most underrated superstars ever mirrors Leon’s play and his demeanour. If Shastny is in the league at 19-20 instead of 24 he would of racked up another 400 points plus adding on to his Career total of 1238 points in 977 games.
Mario Lemieux.
I don’t agree with you often, but when I do….I hold my nose and hit +
Yet his post is still at 0!
Are you sure your not forgetting how dominant Mario was when healthy?
Mario was a better skater but his puck protection and passing skills are very similar.
The guy going in HHOF today, Marion Hossa is closest fit, big strong bull at both ends of the ice.
Not a bad comp. Stastny was fantastic.
Another comp for me is Peter Forsberg. Bull moose, great puck protector, great passer. Leon is a better shooter by ome margin.
Reminds me (Stasny)….This weekend I watched the 1984 habs vs Nordiques good Friday massacre. I don’t have words for it. It’s a must watch for anyone unaware. My brain explodes when I see the non calls. It’s unbelievable. Savage. Kinda resembles the McDavid reffing!
The brawl to end all brawls my favourite rivalries in Hockey all time.
1.Edmonton and Calgary
2.Montreal and Quebec
3.Islanders and Rangers
4.Boston and Hartford
5.St.Louis and Chicago
Anyone know where to find totals for who assists on who’s goals?
The Bettman .500 Leaderboard is sneaking up on US Thanksgiving:
+8 EDMONTON
+6 minnesota
+5 winnipeg, CALGARY, ANAHEIM
+4 st louis, nashville
+3 VEGAS, LOS ANGELES
+1 colorado, SAN JOSE
-1 dallas
-4 VANCOUVER
-5 chicago
-6 SEATTLE
-12 arizona
Woooot
The injuries in Vegas have had an outside impact.
They’re coming.
In second place.
To which Leon replies…. “Hold on; It’s coming”
.
Which by the way was exactly what I said to my girlfriend a couple of nights ago.
Thanks for doing this, I like this format!
Basically WG’s format. Added upper case for our division. For teams with same +- the list is in order of pts% then the nhl.com order.
To be honest, we should go a week or so past US Thanksgiving this season given the later start……
Yep
Mikko Koskinen
2021-22 Edmonton Oilers NHL 2.74 9 1 0 915 Sv %
Thatcher Demko
2021-22Vancouver Canucks NHL 3.33 5 6 1 0.898 Sv %
If Benning calls and offers you Demko for Koskinen, do you make the trade right now?
Is it a buy low sell high situation?
I love Mikko; So I personally drive him to the airport and make sure he gets on the plane.
I even send a bag of money with him and maybe a prospect or two to carry his luggage.
Absolutely, and would never happen
Canucks are showing what happens when they don’t get top 10 level goaltending
Demko is a very good goalie
Canucks, as a franchise, really seemed to have learned their lesson about being a goalie graveyard. I would be beyond gobsmacked if this deal was offered, but would laugh all the way to the bank. A proper villain laugh, too… MWA HAHA HA HA HAAAAAAA!
Gawd who knows what Chiarelli-level stunt Bening will pull to save his job but unloading Demko would be franchise suicide – he’s their MVP by far despite some ugly stats lately.
If they’re going to improve it starts with him. Hughes might be a better trade chip.
We shouldn’t be shocked about the performance of this team.
Pretty sure I suggested we were going to see many 4-3 and 5-4 games with this lineup so I don’t know why I’m complaining. Oh right, I’m a lawyer.
Most of us on here in the offseason and preseason seemed to think the forwards would be fine, the PP would be fine, and much would depend on the goaltending and G.
I’d actually suggest the D has been outperforming at least my expectations, I don’t think it’s the strongest D corpse.
Keith is going to get burned now, that’s just the way it is, he’s not the player he used to be.
Part of the start was the red-hot play of Smith and Koskinen defending the HDSC, seems like most of the teams we’ve played have had their share of wide-open looks but the goalies have been up to the task.
Not sure what Tippett and Playfair can do to lock down the D a bit tighter but it needs to happen pretty soon.
Anyway, nice to have the best hockey player on the planet right now. McDavid has been playing well too.
“Anyway, nice to have the best hockey player on the planet right now. McDavid has been playing well too.”
Slow Clap.
#WittyandTrue
Yamo’s celly is the best on the team. Pure joy.
And McLeod’s wasn’t? Ear to fckn ear!!
Or in McLeod’s case, tooth to tooth.
Bison King joy is infectious.
I prefer RHN’s confused hesitation. “I hold my stick up, right? Maybe a little higher. Uhh.. too high.”
What do expect with he’s had a piano on his back for a year and a half.
I preferred to hang out with the Eng students who decided to take a leisurely 7 years to get their degree rather than the standard 4. 😉
Is that why all these construction projects take so damn long?!
They all meet the revised schedule, right?
hahahahha “Is this team successful? Depends on if you graduated from the U. of Alberta engineering programs”, I’ve never been called out harder. My university group chat is always so critical. Although I am still low key upset by the Bear trade :'(
I was so happy for McLeod getting his first NHL goal last night, great effort!
On that note, wasn’t it 5 on 5? Shouldn’t he be off his 0 in the Oilers FWDs 5 on 5 table?
1.38 pts/60.
The Quick and the Dead.
We have “The Kid” Decaprio/McDavid
We have “Cort” Crowe/Draisaitl
We just need to find us a Herod /Gene Hackman*
I’m torn between wanting to see a tighter brand of hockey and just giving in to the fact that this team, as constructed, is built to run and gun.
Where’s Clint Eastwood when you need him? 🙂
And not “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, but Pale Rider style; Calculated and Methodical.
.
.
*a mean ornery SOB who doesn’t play by rules
There are a few pale riders just over the ridge but it’s not yet dusk – Getzlaf, Carter, heck maybe even Toews… Kessel on a donkey?
Draisaitl looks over at the Bison King apraisingly.
“Just wait – he’s coming…”
the first NHL player to post those numbers in his first 15 games since Ben Hur
This is hilarious!
Arguing for the sake of arguing. It’s a thing
For the past five yeas, I have had the great pleasure/misfortune of serving as the chair of a respected social science department in a large US university. One of my colleagues (actually, all of them) has a PhD in pedantics. If you ask him to pass the salt (not that I’d ever want to break bread with him), it would turn into a 40 minute discussion. I’ve dubbed this colleague the “Grating Debater”. Reminds me of the kinds of conversations you allude to in this wonderful post.
Oh come on. HH has some redeeming qualities. 🙂
.
.
Pedantic: someone who annoys others by correcting small errors, caring too much about minor details, or emphasizing their own expertise.
You’re describing another poster here, not HH.
Grating Debater is the best nickname, I know the person (he worked in radio) who came to my mind instantly would howl with laughter if I said that to him.
“Arguing for the sake of arguing” – you just summarized Oilers twitter in a sentence!
No he didn’t!
Pfft. You’re just using the eye test to confirm your cognitive bias. If you drilled down on his fancies, they absolutely prove that he’s correct even if it doesn’t yet show up in the mainstream stats.
I told you once…
Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one!
3rd line, same as it always was. Although I believe an argument was made on deployment by a poster here. The most ‘cherry’ minutes after penalty kills and after a heavy zone time shift almost exclusively go to Mcd and Drai. As it should. Just leaves the tough sledding to the bottom 6. Zone starts may tell part of the story. Playing a young d top pairing is so Oilers too.
Why we picking on UofA engineers all the sudden? I resemble that remark!
what a game, this was a barn burner like the old days. People wonder why Coco is in the hall of fame, games just like that stand on your head and still let in 4. But we got one more!! Clap clap!!
Hoping for Darnell that there were no Olympic team scouts in the barn last evening.
No one in particular….just Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong….
Hmmm…I wonder if McDavid will put in a good word for Nurse.
Anyone know who is coaching the team?
Doesn’t 9M guarantee it?
9M in a plain brown paper bag sure does.
“Are the Oilers flawed? Of course.”
So….. Grace’s lips are too thin. 🙂
Just as I am grateful to cheer for this team warts and all this year, I would gladly take Grace and her thin lips and be grateful for her too.
…my wife would understand, right…?
Mikko! He appears to be playing with a bit more fire than i recall in past seasons. Suspect that’s a bit of Mike Smith rubbing off on him (altho please please Mr. Koskinen, when you venture behind your net you still give me the heebee jeebs).
He’s playing for his next contract. He would be a great backup.
I really wonder what other NHL teams think of him. The whole “leaky glove hand thing” was addressed during his first off-season IMO, but the St Louis talking heads referenced it the other night during the broadcast. That said, no competent NHL team would voluntarily disclose any information about their goaltender assessment process, so Imma just gonna have to wonder until I see what his next contract looks like.
Randle’s 3 Stars
1) Mikko Koskinen
2) Dave Tippett
3) Ryan Nugent Hopkins
“I have an article in the chute for The Athletic about one way to solve the issue, that will be up later today or tomorrow.”
I hope it includes Warren Foegele.
“pierces every argument not laser-focused on perfection and leaves it a pile of rubble.”
This has been the primary failing of mathalytics from the outset.
While it’s true that the numbers don’t lie, it’s also true true that they don’t tell the whole story.
Having said that, I do want the Engineers building our bridges and our skyscrapers.
Also impressive that all 5 are at/over 1.0 P/60.
Yeah, I noticed that too. Before the season started I could see that there would be an offensive bump coming just due to the fact that the top 5 defensemen are all decent-to-excellent puck movers. I don’t expect all of them to be over 1.00 P/60 all season, but there’s no denying the fact that this is an offense-oriented D-corps.
Thought Russell had his best game so far. Think they should leave him in the lineup for a few weeks and see if he can get on a roll.
Interesting that they are not using Russell on the PK, but Bouchard has been solid there. 5×5 defending, not so much. On the disallowed goal, and the 4-4 goal, Bouchard basically stood and watched his man shovel the puck into the net. For a guy who anticipates the play so well, he sure gets caught puckwatching a lot. Tie up a stick FFS.
Russell did play well and that pairing didn’t bleed last night. Would be a shame if he misses time (blocked shot) after earning himself a few games with a solid effort.
Even by Russell standards, that was a skilled, timely and heroic block. *rattles stick against boards*
The guy hasn’t played much hockey in the past six months, it is no wonder his game is improving slowly.
Koskinen has been outstanding. So why do I, and even some journalists and hockey pundits still not sold on him?
One line today from LT may shed some light: “He stopped 13 of 14 high danger chances.”
That is a spectacular achievement and greatly contributed to winning the game. Run support was close second.
But I can’t help thinking that we look at goalies the wrong way. I believe we should look at them like Abraham Wald.
https://medium.com/@penguinpress/an-excerpt-from-how-not-to-be-wrong-by-jordan-ellenberg-664e708cfc3d
You don’t put the plane’s armour where you see the bullet holes. You put it where there aren’t any.
The majority of chances in a hockey game aren’t, or shouldn’t be, high danger. Those are the ones that need saving the most. 13 from 14 HDSC means 3 goals were scored off lower quality chances. Not good. No, sir.
My take on a perfect goalie? Save the ones you are supposed to, be better at evens on the ones you aren’t.
There is such a thing as difficult/impossible saves on shots that are not HDSC. For example point shot while screened.
This is true. So is pucks hitting you square on and trickling in. So is getting beat clean. So is getting hung out to dry by a dman not taking away the pass on a 2 on 1.
All things being equal, save all the easy ones.
And at that moment, somewhere, a bear sleeps fitfully. Their dreams troubled by images of open and closed shots.
Hey Mr. The Bear, what’s in the box?
You keep seeing his glove hand.
“I see dead people”
Seeing? Having night sweats, lol.
The Kyrou PP goal and the Barbashev goal aren’t considered HDSC by naturalstattrick because of the shot location, but in reality those cross ice passes when well executed make those much harder stop. Leon scores a lot of goals from a similar spot.
Something about open HD shots and table hockey goalie movement.
The public data is useful but it really needs finely parsed to be accurate.
My concern is puck management skills. I cringe every time he goes behind the net. His rebound control is awful and he continually fumbles the puck. I might watch the game again tonight. I’m sure there were a couple HDSC created by his poor puck handling.
Jimmy knows engineering. 🙂
Consistency is the big fear, just when he looks like he’s settling in, another stinker occurs.