The game last night had more heavy metal than Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest combined. Post and crossbars were playing tunes all night, the Oilers hit hard and often, Edmonton was the fastest team on the ice and won the five-on-five and special teams battles.
Connor McDavid set his jaw, threw on his superhero cape and tamed the Lightning. Two goals, several dangerous sorties and the game featured 97 throwing more than one defender out of the way in order to get to the puck. This was a team effort, a statement game and confirmation that giants walk among us. What a Saturday night!
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Revisiting the Oilers’ choice of Evan Bouchard in the 2018 draft
- Lowetide: Why Stuart Skinner should be starting games for the Oilers right now
- Lowetide: How much do the Oilers miss Jesse Puljujarvi?
- DNB and Lowetide: Who says no? Evaluating 25 Oilers trades
- Lowetide: Could Philip Broberg be Oilers’ answer for problem defence?
- DNB: Leon Draisaitl postgame Q&A
- Lowetide: Markus Niemelainen is Oilers’ unlikely overnight sensation
- DNB: How did Brad Malone make his way back to Oilers?
- Lowetide: Oilers sign two Condors as procurement window opens.
- Lowetide: Oilers fans still adjusting to Ken Holland’s management style
- DNB: Ken Holland Q&A
- Lowetide: February tests Oilers’ mettle but playoffs are still in sight
- Lowetide: Positive early returns on Oilers’ 2021 draft class, but there are miles to go
- Jonathan Willis: Salary cap limits Oilers’ options, no excuse not to look for a goalie today
- Lowetide: 3 trade targets that could help Oilers this season and beyond
- DNB: Oilers trade deadline expectations? Mailbag
- Lowetide: Evan Bouchard’s new role with Oilers and the promising early results
- Jonathan Willis: With easy upgrades done, hard work remains for Oilers as trade deadline nears
- DNB: Oilers setting their sights on challenging trip ahead
- Lowetide: Oilers’ Raphael Lavoie has turned the corner as an NHL prospect
- Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects, winter 2021
WHAT TO EXPECT IN MARCH
- On the road to: PHI, CHI (Expected 1-0-1) (Actual 1-0-1)
- At home to: MON (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-1-0)
- On the road to: CAL (Expected 0-1-0) (Actual 0-1-0)
- At home to: WAS, TBAY, DET, BUF, NJD (Expected 3-1-1) (Actual 2-0-0)
- On the road to: COL, DAL (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: SJS (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: CAL (Expected 0-1-0) Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: ARI, LAK (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 8-5-2, 18 points from 15 games
- Actual March results: 3-2-1, 7 points in 6 games
- Oilers in 2021-22: 32-23-4, 68 points in 59 games
Oilers are on pace for 95 points, and the team is third place in the Pacific. The next three games are winnable, and the projected record for this month looks far more possible after the last two wins. Edmonton’s competition appear to be in a collective downbeat. Music!
GOALTENDER
Mikko Koskinen had a solid outing, stopping 30 of 31 (.968) and all four HDSC. The goal he did allow was not dangerous, and for a time it looked like Tampa Bay would push back like the champions they are. Solid play by Koskinen under pressure was one of the keys to victory. The save he made just before the Kailer Yamamoto goal was the best to my eye, your mileage may vary.
DEFENSE
Darnell Nurse had an assist, picked up a penalty and two giveaways. Edmonton was 2-0 at five-on-five with Nurse on the ice, incredible considering the big man played 14:10 in the discipline against the Brayden Point line. Cody Ceci had a similar line, this pairing is looking good against quality competition.
Duncan Keith took a penalty that was of the “I barely touched him” variety, had two shots, three giveaways and four PP minutes with no crooked lines. Evan Bouchard had four shots, two giveaways, created some chaos with his shots on net and went 1-0 in seven minutes against the Stamkos line. I wrote about him for The Athletic, such a fine young player.
Philip Broberg had two blocked shots and a takeaway. He had three shots on goal, got himself in good positions to take passes and is clearly more confident with the puck on his stick. His shot isn’t dangerous enough to be a power-play weapon, but he’s going to post some numbers in his career when he realizes he has more time. Tyson Barrie had a great night, two assists, six shot attempts but also three giveaways. His weak throw up the wall that was turned over before the blue line led directly to the only goal given up, but Koskinen should have had it in my opinion.
FORWARDS
Zach Hyman had six shots, three HDSC’s and continues to deliver exactly what the Oilers signed him to do every night. I love his entire game. Leon Draisaitl was the best player on the ice (and that’s saying something) for long stretches last night, playing 200 feet and doing meticulous work on puck retrieval. Scored a stunning and vital goal, sent cherry passes to linemates often and generally looked like peak Draisaitl against the Lightning. Ryan McLeod is just so good now, I can’t quit believe it. Fast yes, and willing to go to the tough part of town, but it’s more than that. He’s dictating how plays roll out by holding on to the puck and waiting for opportunity to develop. McLeod is going to be a second-round pick we talk about for a long time.
Evander Kane had four shots, three takeaways and a late assist in what was (by eye) a quieter game for the big man. Not being critical, he was productive, sometimes the puck doesn’t go in the net. Connor McDavid was a man possessed last night, I honestly think he gets up for the Lightning games more than any aside from Calgary. Maybe it’s Stamkos. His first goal was patented 97, a romp through electric avenue with future HOFer Victor Hedman playing the role of a house on the side of the road. Jesus, Mary and Joseph what a player. Kailer Yamamoto made the exact play Jesse Puljujarvi usually makes on that McDavid goal, he found the puck in the neutral zone, set it up for the captain, and got the hell out of the way. Also scored an empty netter on a night when even his critics saw him good.
Warren Foegele had a couple of looks, including a crossbar, had a couple of hits and Edmonton was 4-1 shots at five-on-five while he was on the ice. Derek Ryan had one great look, drew a penalty, and MacGyvered his way around some of those big Lightning defenders. He is playing well, getting chances and suppressing opponents. Credit to Ken Holland for a solid bottom-six signing. Devin Shore had a couple of hits, marked his man effectively and chipped in on the penalty kill.
Zack Kassian hits like a truck, and got under the opposition’s skin because of it. Four hits, had at least one look and was on the ice for the GA. Brad Malone was also hitting everything in sight, had one nice look on a two-on-one. Josh Archibald enraged the Lightning with a hit on Corey Perry, helped on the PK and was a factor in his minutes. He caught Perry too late to stop the pass, but as has been mentioned, that wasn’t a dangerous look.
STATEMENT GAME
I’ve been talking about statement games and that was one. Whatever happens this spring, these Edmonton Oilers do not wish to go quietly. That’s good news for Oilers fans.
NEW for The Athletic: Ryan McLeod’s case for a spot on Oilers’ skill lines
https://theathletic.com/3180275/2022/03/14/lowetide-ryan-mcleods-case-for-a-spot-on-oilers-skill-lines/
C’mon LT – why did you delete my poetry? 🙂
I drop by around this time every night and delete all the tomfoolery. I’m not saying you were foolish but you did get caught up in the lint screen.
Missed this earlier today but Safin has been assigned to Wichita.
I don’t imagine he’s qualified this off-season.
Huberdeau just elbowed a defenceless Iafolo in the head with 1:12 to go. Got 2mins for it, plus a roughing from the ensuing business after. Frk just scored on PP.
Anyway, in the first minute of the England v Ireland 6 nations game yesterday there was a high tackle. It is the responsibility of the tackler to ensure the safety of the tacklee. In this instance the tackler was upright when enticing the tackle. It was reviewed by the ref, touch judges and TMO. It was decided a red card was appropriate and England played the rest of the match down a man. This is a sport that wants and is actively taking measures to remove head contact from the game.
Huburdeau upset with a non-call against him and takes a ridiculously selfish penalty, elbowing Iafallo in the head with about a minute left up a goal. Should have been a major but Panthers are going to be down a man for the last minute (hopefully not less).
Frk with an absolute bomb ties it up.
Frk!
Florida 2 – Kings 1, after two.
Period also over in Van, still 2-0 Bolts, now after two.
I wonder if Parros will come up with another lame justification to not suspend when he looks at the Matthews cross check to the side of Dahlin’s head? Two BS reasons not to suspend MacKinnon for slashing a linesman, and throwing his shoulder and upper arm into the head of a guy who didn’t have the puck. Again, if McDavid’s suspension was justified, when he was attempting a legal check and just missed, Parros better show some moxie and give Matthews at least 2 games. If he doesn’t suspend Matthews, then it likely is because he got orders from above, and it will re-enforce the view that not all teams in the league are treated with equal fairness.
Matthews was cross checked 4 times by Dahlin before he responded.
The NHL will take that into account.
They’ll also take in to account that Matthews essentially jumped in order to be able to cross-check Dahlin in the head…..
So, not withstanding the fact that this is not true (Dahlin shoved him twice with his gloves together, no stick/crosscheck)….
Is 4 the magic number where Matthews is allowed to retaliate with a cross check directly to Dahlin’s head? Asking for a friend…
Better get your eyes checked. Dahlin didn’t do anything abnormal prior to the cross check to his head. Certainly didn’t cross check Matthews four times. If anything, Matthews was the instigator.
Hearing scheduled for tomorrow. Has to be more than max fine now I would think
COL beat CAL 3-0.
Flames outshoot the Avalance 46-32.
Kuemper 1.00
Shots after 2 was 24-22…scoring effect yadda yadda doesn’t fit your narratives lol. Either way Flames stink.
Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) Tweeted:
For those wondering, #CBJ had a 9-5-2 record while Tom Brady was retired.
https://twitter.com/JacketsInsider/status/1503179613903724555?s=20&t=5bdYmjrJHK_jrJX0mg1reg
I can guarantee you, no one on this site was wondering. Honestly, it’s completely irrelevant.
Posting about an Eastern team, that isn’t making the playoffs, in a tweet with a useless stat about a player from a different sport altogether? Mind numbing.
Or maybe it’s because Columbus beat the Pacific team you were so high on before the season started, and now you’re grasping at straws?
Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) Tweeted:
#CBJ Sillinger off the rush at 7:26, an amazing saucer pass by Domi to right circle circle.
Sillinger, the youngest player in the #NHL this season (18), has his hat trick. Now has 11 goals on the season.
https://twitter.com/Aportzline/status/1503164323488833538?s=20&t=XfGJO_aOFUNJto1bWqaxrA
What is more relevant is the Canucks down 2 – 0 after the first.
And the Kings down 2-1 after two.
Summarization!
A productive day for the trio of Oilers prospects healthy enough to play this day (The Bourg remains sidelined for the nonce):
Lachance (1+2, PPG)
Tullio (1+1, GTG)
Petrov (0+1)
Tullio picks up a helper as Oshawa ties the game at 3 in the third:
https://mobile.twitter.com/Oshawa_Generals/status/1503166267032842242?cxt=HHwWhMC9ja_wqNwpAAAA
EDIT: Then he ties the game with 12 seconds left in regulation, his 31st tally-o of the season:
https://mobile.twitter.com/Oshawa_Generals/status/1503168931149885442?cxt=HHwWhMC9qbiLqtwpAAAA
Vegas down 5-2
The player I really wanted us to get in this draft Cole Sillinger with first hatty
Outshooting Vegas 24-10
The Athletic (@TheAthletic) Tweeted:
When Tom Brady retired, the Bucs were 25 to 1 odds to win the Super Bowl.
After Brady’s announcement that he’s coming back, the Bucs are now 8.5 to 1 odds to win the Super Bowl, the third-best of any team.
h/t @gregauman https://t.co/D78IFa3mBG
https://twitter.com/TheAthletic/status/1503159724182675458?s=20&t=CRngx9XNSCinBERTBW2rSQ
Sir, this is a Wendy’s
2 months throwing passes with the kids is all it took. One of them must have dropped a pass or ran the wrong route.
/thread
He was at Old Trafford today watching Ronaldo score a hat-trick with 75000 other fanatical fans.
A $200 bet would of payed $5000 they’ll be going balls to the wall now that Brady’s back for another year.
Brendan Bottcher is a dead ringer for Dick Van Dyke.
You’d think with how much we’ve been hearing about the Kings prospect pool a few injuries should be a blessing to get some of these can’t miss prospects some playing time
They have called up 8 in the past week.
Not ideal to have them come in at the same time but should test their mettle.
Koskinen played well but also he LOOKED more, i don’t know, confident. I think.
There’s more too Goaltending than just making saves it’s controlling rebounds playing the puck well and communicating with your D so their jobs are easier. I thought Kosh should of had the one that got by him but he responded like a champ on the 5 on 3 that was a shooting gallery by a couple of rifleman yet Mikko never flinched. Kudos to Mikko most important win of the year.
Asked a big picture question after the game by Tony Brar last night, Woodcroft said, (paraphrase) “there you go asking about the big picture again. We are just focusing on the day at hand and what we can control that day” and he made a gesture with his hands like bringing things in tighter.
I LOVE this. Love this.
This is what champs do.
Yes, Woodcroft reeks of self-awareness and focus. He is a straight-up gem. We are so fortunate that NHL hockey management is over-saturated with Career Hockey men who are rigid in their long-standing beliefs that experience as an NHL coach (know what you know) and/or as an NHL player is extremely important. Taking a chance on a young “inexperienced and unproven” coach is done with far less frequency than hiring a re-tread coach. This also applies to all management and support positions. This reminds me of the definition of insanity.
Kudos to whoever had the wisdom to hire Woody as the AHL coach (I would think KG). He is the most fascinating addition to the NHL coaching ranks since Jon Cooper, a coach I wanted the Organization to hire since I became aware of him the year before TB hired him to coach Syracuse.
Totally agree, only minor quibble is that it was ChiaPete who ultimately gets the nod for the decision to hire, then retain Woody. Jay came onboard with TMac as part of his crew, and was retained after the purge. The next season he was ensconced in BAK as head coach.
Not that long ago is succession, the Oilers consecutive coaches were Ralph Kreuger, Dallas Eakins and Todd Nelson, none of whom had prior NHL head coaching experience, and among them, only Todd Nelson played in the NHL for one whole game, but they all played high level hockey before coaching. Granted the Oilers ditched Kreuger (for Eakins) after only 1 so-so season, and only gave Nelson half a season to show his stuff. None of those 3 ever coached the team to a .500 points %.
Chiarelli was the GM at the time the decision was made to make Woodcroft the Bakersfield coach and Keith was AGM of the Oilers not Bakersfield. Because Woodcroft was Todd McClellan’s assistant at the time on the Oilers, even if it was Keiths’ idea, he would have needed Chiarelli and McClellan to sign off on it.
We got the ‘half-Nelson’ not the ‘full-Nelson’
lol
(aren’t those wrestling moves? i think i learned those in Jr High. Do they still do wrestling in school?)
Eakins played in 120 NHL games.
He is definitely a guy who knows what he wants.
He knows what he wants the players to do. He knows what style of play he wants. He knows what kind of players he wants.
LeBrun speculating that the Flyers are likely hoping for a 2nd round pick for Braun and the 4-5 teams that really want him are thinking 3rd rounder.
He also speculates that Pellettier is someone the Habs would be targeting in a Chariot trade (notwithstanding I was told how ridiculous that would be when I suggested such a swap and how happy it would make me).
https://theathletic.com/3180407/2022/03/13/lebrun-jakob-chychruns-injury-complicates-deadline-plans-latest-on-ben-chiarot-tomas-hertl-and-more/
Good call / instincts OP.
I’d love for the Flames to blow their prospect pool on this run
Heard this morning they’re working on a deal to send Monahan to Arizona.
Perhaps they’ll send a prospect along with him to get Kessel.
from the same guy that told you the Wild are moving their buyout cap hits?
and, to this day, has refused to acknowledge the “genius idea” was, in fact, the opposite….. not one single acknowledgement.
Yep…I made a mistake.
Can we now discuss the Flames home record and schedule and how I told you it would eventually lead to them running away with the Pacific Division.
Or is that too difficult for you?
First time you acknowledged it (or any mistake that I can remember) – congrats.
There is a clear difference between wrong information and future outcome predictions, you see the difference, right?
Sure, we can talk about the flames heater just as much as we can talk about the March schedule not cratering the Oilers season (as prediction) or pretty much every other predicted (run up the standings) over the last few years.
Sure…we can talk about how wrong you are any time you like.
Colorado is playing hockey in a way we’ve never seen before.. Proceeds to get eliminated shortly after. Lol.
The Woodcroft hiring reminds me a bit of the Jon Cooper hiring in Tampa Bay. IIRC, Cooper coached a bunch of guys (Palat and Johnson for sure) in the AHL and then used those players effectively at the NHL level. Woodcroft seems quite comfortable using Condor’s alumni, and they have been quite effective.
I am my working my way backwards through the comments and just posted something similar, lol.
Nice to see the pipeline produce, at more than one level. Long overdue.
We can only hope
Cooper had astonishing success pre NHL. He basically crushed every level
Lachance now has a PP goal in back-to-back games as his 3rd-period tally gets Youngstown on the board:
https://mobile.twitter.com/YtownPhantoms/status/1503129019381866501?cxt=HHwWioCzvaL4l9wpAAAA
He then assists on both of Youngstown’s two late goals to force OT.
The white gloves are…different. Thanks again for all of the prospect updates. Very much appreciated.
All those juggernaut teams in the East better not overlook the Penguins. They just took out Carolina this afternoon 4-2. Sid, Malkin and Letang would seem to still have “it”. Not bad for 3 guys that are approaching 35, 36 and 35 in the next few months. Crosby missed all but one game through mid-November but the team has the 3rd best record in the league since his return. Gives one hope that if the Oilers are successful enough in the next few years leading to extentions for McDavid and Draisaitl, the window might not be a short as some believe.
SOG – CAR 43 PGH 22 – Tristan Jarry .953
And here I thought that looked like classic score effects from a team that was behind the whole game (down 0-2 after 2, 20-4 shots in the third). 🤷
But what were the bookies odds?
Your boy Matthews might be getting some supplemental discipline after tonight’s outdoor game.
Speaking if which, for the Dubas Fans out there, Leafs goalies rocking an 0.862 tonight which is actually a step up from the last seven straight games…
Losing 5-2 to Buffalo in a dual national TV outdoor game… how embarrassing. Wonder how close Keefe is to losing the room?
Thanks for the largely meaningless post. Probably not surprising you wouldn’t notice scoring effects. The error of your ways is highly evident with just a cursory look at the data, since you probably didn’t see the game. Pittsburgh took the lead in the first, then added to it in the second. At the end of 2 periods shots were 23-18 for Carolina, pretty close despite Carolina had been trailing since late in the first. Naturalstattrick had scoring chances and HDSC almost even after 2 periods as well, both 5 on 5 and on the pp. Carolina finally threw the kitchen sink at them in the 3rd, but Pittsburgh is 21-1-2 when leading after 2, so it was too little too late for Carolina. And Jarry is part of that team too and has 26 starts with a save % over .929. So he is another reason those teams can’t take the Pens lightly either. They get just as good or better goaltending as their opponents.
Not to dig up old skeletons, but the success of Ryan McLeod — and the pleasure of watching him develop — really casts how poor the decision-making regarding the D was last season. It also underlines just how poor Tippett was at bringing along young players.
Lots of people were clamouring for McLeod to get more ice than he was getting earlier in the season. I agree he has improved, but McLeod’s positive attributes (zone entries, forechecking, defensive awareness) were plainly apparent even in his call-up last season.
Tippett played him like a 4th liner, but he was plainly more than that.
Caleb Jones and Ethan Bear have both rebounded from down years last season. Jones is something like 3rd in TOI on the Hawks in the past 8 games with 7 points (hat tip to Dennis King on Twitter, who re-tweeted that). Bear is having a solid season. Both guys still have upside to them.
Both Bear, and especially Jones, were great at the step up in the neutral zone, and would have thrived under Woodcroft.
Let’s not forget — both guys succeeded in top 4 roles at different times with the Oilers, before having down years. Development, as LT says about once a week, is not a straight line, especially for D.
Lagesson and Niemelainen are good players, but they will have to be tremendous defensively in order to cover the bet in a second pairing role. Jones and Bear have a wider range of skills that will enable them to rise higher. And if they can’t? Always room for soft minute killers on cheap contracts. You need those to win, too.
McLeod/Bouchard/Bear/Jones are four players who were mismanaged by Tippett in a span of 1.5 seasons. That is a pretty damning indictment.
I’m confident that Woodcroft/Manson are the right duo to bring along Samorukov and the next wave of forward talent, but certainly a hefty price has been paid.
Jones is actually 5th in TOI per game on Chicago’s D in the last 8 games and 4th in total time because Calvin De Haan missed 2 games due to injury. It is a nice run for Jones, but he is still a 3rd pair defender on a team 25th in the standings. Bear is a 3rd pair defender on Carolina, though they are a top notch team. Bear’s recent increase in minutes is entirely due to DeAngelo being hurt for several weeks. When DeAngelo comes back, Bear will probably be back down to 12-15 minutes a night. Yes they still have some upside, but Tippett gave both of the them ample opportunity to play. Bear wasn’t dumped, he was traded for an Oiler need. And Keith has been far more valuable to the Oilers than Jones would have been or is for Chicago right now.
The ROT (Run out of Town) club spends a lot time building discontent with and for each other on Twitter.
Did Dennis King provide the context that Caleb Jones was also healthy scratched last week?
This is spurious. McLeod was a healthy scratch earlier this season. Petry was made a healthy scratch by MacT. Bouchard was scratched by Tippett last season. Broberg was scratched by Tippett this season. Bear was scratched by Tippett last season.
I don’t think a coach scratching a player is a definitive indication of anything insofar as their ability is concerned, other than the player did not dress that particular night.
I would suggest that healthy scratching a d-man is pretty fulsome evidence that the player is not, as of this day, a legit every day top 4 d-man as implied by the original post and the position that he’s having such a “rebound season” showing the Oilers messed up his development and deployment is misguided.
I liked Jones, and still do, but he remains a 6-7 d-man on a team with an overall poor defensive group, no?
All day!
I read some guys on Twitter and like some of it but don’t agree with all of it.
My discontent over Bear/Jones is my own and I was extremely against both moves at the time, you can go over and check my posts from the summer if you don’t believe it.
I think it’s hilarious that the people who are so happy over McLeod’s development are willing to cast a blind eye towards what was blatant mis-development in the case of three other players.
I was calling for McLeod to play more early in the season and I said this guy is for real months ago. Yes he’s taken his game to another level — I didn’t expect to see him lining up at 2 LW — and it’s great to see.
Except you have not proven the ‘blatant mis-development’.
As per natural stat trick, Jones is 3rd in overall TOI and TOI/GP over the past 8 games. He is one of two Chicago D (the other being Gustafsson), who is north of 50% goal share this season.
Jones is up to 11 points in 35 games (0.31 PPG), whereas Keith is at 14 in 41 (0.34 PPG). Jones was effective in a top 4 role two years ago on a playoff team, had a rough stretch last season, and is back to being effective. He’s still only 24. The young man is building his resume in real time. Factoring in that cap hit, it’s unquestionable to me that the move was awful, although I acknowledge that Keith has been better than I thought he would be.
One stylistic thing: Woodcroft/Manson like the D standing up. Jones was excellent at it and Bear kept his gaps tight as well. Both would have thrived under the new regime.
Disagree completely on Tippett giving them chances. He gave them chances when the going was good and turned on them the second their respective fortunes changed.
Bear has put up similar boxcars in his age 22, 23, and 24 seasons as Nurse did at age 23. Not saying Bear = Nurse. However, Bear was effective on the top pair two years ago, and also effective (minus luck) situationally in that role last season. We saw Petry bloom in his late 20s; I’m amazed that people cast aside Jones/Bear as strictly third pair at age 24.
There is *much* more nuance to both players than, well they play third pair right now.
It’s a lot like saying, when McLeod was playing < 10 min a game under Tippett, that he’s a 4th liner. Except, lots of people wanted him playing more, and he evidently had skills that would easily lend themselves to a higher spot in the lineup.
It takes a certain hypocrisy to revel in McLeod’s development and not see what clearly went amiss with Bear/Jones.
Tipp went a pretty clear 0 for 4 on McLeod/Bouchard/Bear/Jones, just incredible to see people defending him. As for Holland, an unnamed western conference exec said his only saving grace is that he’s better than Chiarelli. I don’t think he was talking about resigning Nuge or signing Hyman/Ceci, do you?
Defend both at your own peril.
What peril is anyone facing commenting on hockey on a blog?
First of all, on Naturalstattrick, you are only using 5 on 5. He gets very little PP time or PK time. That does say something about the coach thinks he is good at.
I don’t believe Jones will ever be a consistent 2nd pair defender on a high caliber team. I could be wrong. I have never said Bear couldn’t be, but he isn’t yet. He is 3rd pair on Carolina right now, and has struggled from time to time and been a healthy scratch. He is getting 2nd pair time only because DeAngelo is out, and in the 10 games Tony has been gone, Bear has averaged 17 minutes a night and is -2. And the Oilers traded him for Foegele, not nothing.
And as for Tippett not giving them a chance, Bear played 18 minutes a night for all of last season and averaged 18 minutes a night in 4 playoff games in which he made a lot of mistakes. He averaged around 2 minutes more per game that he has been averaging in Carolina and they have made him a healthy scratch for several games this year. He was not healthy scratched once all year with Edmonton. And Jones, after his 7 game horror show as 2nd pair left d to start the season, still got in 26 more games getting 13 minutes a game to prove he was improving (very little pp time or pk time), just like with Chicago this season. He was expendable. He would not make the OIler’s better his season (at least not when the left D are healthy).
Tippett was far from perfect and I am not here defending his whole body of work, but he played a lot of rookies or inexperienced players a lot of minutes over the last 2.5 seasons (more than most other NHL teams over than span). Players you have over looked that he also folded in are Puljujarvi and Yamamoto (technically not rookies but might as well have been).
I meant peril as a figure of speech.
Fair, I should have clarified that I was referring to 5v5 time. Jones/Bear are never going to get powerplay time on a good hockey team, and certainly they aren’t going to beat out the likes of Seth Jones, Slavin, DeAngelo, etc for it. Bear was effective on the PK in Edmonton.
It says something that those guys don’t play significant special teams minutes, but didn’t Carolina effectively replace Hamilton with DeAngelo + Bear? Why is it that the Oilers couldn’t have used Jones+Bear at EV and relied on other options for special teams (Nurse, Bouchard, Ceci)?
Tipp did a fine job with JP and Yamo and I’ve said so in the past. That said, the record past those two is not very good. As far as Tipp giving more opportunity to young players, I don’t really see it. He leaned on (and gave more rope) to vets. Not the only person to coach that way. The league has moved to younger D playing an up tempo style, but not in Edmonton.
The fact Bear is playing third pairing on a top 5 team with a deep D core is no sin on his part. Lots of young D struggle, and even Bouchard has spent some time on the third pair this season. In fact, they all struggle. I’ve seen Poti, Petry, Nurse all struggle. Not saying Jones/Bear hit that level, but you’re saying one bad year a player makes and we’ve had so many instances of that not being the case.
Foegele is an okay player and has done some nice things. The price paid for him was dear. Not sure if his contract is value; I’d lean towards no. We’ll see how he fits in next season with Holloway in the fold and other young guys knocking on the door.
Jones, Bear, Barrie, Keith and Smith. These are all connected to our poor (not from mikko lately though) goaltending.
Offer markkanen enough to choose us. Sont pay smith 2 mil. Dont pay keith 5 mil. Dont pay barrie 4 mil. Run jones and bear for cheap. Have a solid goalie. Then koski comes off books this year’s and skinner backs up.
These are all dominos that fell and wasted away money he was trying to save in the first place.
How much do you think we’d have had to offer Markkanen? I’d be concerned that he’s almost seven years older than Mike Smith, hasn’t played in the NHL in fifteen years, and had a sub-.900 save percentage the last two seasons that he did.
I guess you could always target Conklin if Markkanen isn’t available.
You mean the Caleb Jones in the 3rd pairing on a basement team who wouldn’t even still be in the NHL were it not for injuries or his brother being there? You mean Ethan bear who has been healthy scratched a half dozen times this year? The same guy that is a 3rd pairing D at best on a team with some quality NHL defenders? Your comment about them both playing in the top 4 in Edmonton speaks more to the Oilers lack of depth than to the quality of the player. Ethan was a great guy….We all get it. Foegle is and will continue to be the better player. Oilers won that trade all day every day.
Petrov picks up an assist as the Battalion take a commanding lead in period 2:
https://mobile.twitter.com/OHLBattalion/status/1503086157663510533?cxt=HHwWioC55bG5hNwpAAAA
I ask New Jersey about PK Subban at the trade deadline, with 50% retained.
I’d offer Kassian and a draft pick.
For the love of God!!!
Subban is on an expiring contract. The Oilers need a depth RS D for the playoffs. He doesn’t have a Cup. He will be motivated.
I like everything about this trade.
Solves a problem now and in the future.
Subban is no shrinking violet. It’s not the first thing he’s known for but like Kane he can amp it up.
Seems like a pure win.
Subban is a disaster!!
This is absolute merit to this transaction as it opens up $3.2MM X 2 on the Oilers’ cap. Kass has played two solid 4th line games but that doesn’t change the fact that disposing of his contract for the next two years clean would be a massive win.
There is the extra cap to sign Kane, for example.
Subban is along with Hamilton the most overrated defencemen in the NHL. Both are terrible!!
Subban can’t skate. He’s done. Kass is more useful with a mask than PK right now.
I personally think Kass cannot sustain a physical style of play, he was hurting last night. I am concerned he will either be injured again if he tries to keep up with Archibald in that Department or he will abandon that style altogether because it is too hard on his body. His and Barrie’s contracts, along with Smith must be disposed of by the TDL or it will be very tough moving forward. Subban should not be a target though.
I did make a “joke” last night after that one shift with two hits that Kass was going to hurt himself. With that said, I don’t recall seeing him in discomfort last night, did you?
With that said, I don’t think he needs to play quite that aggressive in order to have an impact. I actually thought he was better in the prior game where he was still aggressive and physical but was primarily making a clear effort to 2-way responsibility – he made two or three really solid plays from the red line back.
In any event, 100%, disposing of the Barrie and Kass contracts are should be primary between now and July. Its not that either player can’t help the team in isolation but clearing that cap will be important to helping properly balance the team going forward and making improvements internally.
With that said, I don’t think its realistic at all to think that either will be moved prior to the deadline. It would be rare for a hockey trade to occur at this point and for a team to take on 2 years of material cap commitment.
I mean, sure, I do think that non-playoff teams like the Isles and Kraken could have some interest in Barrie (maybe even the Stars as well) but I think that’s an off-season type move.
I mean, would Lou move Mayfield for Barrie in a deal? I guess, maybe, if he does value Barrie at his contract. At the same time, I’m no sure that Holland doesn’t put a greater value on Barrie and its unlikely that he will dispose of any legit roster player at this time.
Kassian is one of my favorite players and even I will admit he is different. I am starting to wonder if the last few concussions and being a new dad haven’t given him pause about how he plays.
This is my concern as well. His game has deteriorated the last couple of years due to injury and I’m not sure there’s anything left in the tank.
I like this trade idea, Godot.
PK is still averaging over 16 minutes a game at evens. Good underlying numbers.
Interesting player at this time. He is utilized 5th most against elites in NJ, which initially makes you think bottom pair, but against them his goal share is 50+% and his DFF is just shy of 50, so he is holding his own against them.
He is 61st amongst NHL D (>500 minutes played) with respect to EV scoring.
Superficially, it seems like he could still play as a second pairing D.
The main issue for me would be he doesn’t penalty kill regularly on the Devils.
Brian Elliot (and his goal posts) played outstanding last night.
He’s not Mike Smith old………but he’s old enough to have been drafted in the 9TH ROUND
Koskinen keeps winning, he’ll be moving on as there’s zero possibility he takes a pay cut to stay on the Oilers.
He’s been playing well but it would be foolish to resign him. He’s having his swan song
Holland will do it and pay him I fear
We will regret it. Again
I wouldn’t be so sure of that. I think Holland may view Koskinen similar to Osgood … if he takes a haircut on his next deal, then Holland may be able to go out and upgrade the D again next summer, and come back next season with Koskinen-Skinner. Looking at the options in UFA next year. I’d prefer Koskinen for 2.5 million with less term thank either Kuemper or Campbell for 5-6 millions with more term.
What Koskinen is doing is proving what a lot of astute posters said earlier on this season … put a good enough and disciplined team in front of him, and he can keep us in games.
Bingo!!
Hopefully we get more than a few playoff games to test that theory.
I think there is very little doubt Koskinen will have NHL offers this off-season.
I also think there is little doubt that they will all be for a “haircut” on his current $4.5MM deal.
It really depends on playoff performance to say for certain, but from where we sit today, seems very unlikely he would receive any offer at his current salary of better.
He could backstop the team to the Cup Finals and I don’t think he’d get anywhere near $4.5M. Khudoin came in at $3.3M after doing as such and was coming off three regular seasons of .913, .923, 930 (escalating).
Good point on Khudobin.
I will add though… What you get is somewhat dependent on market and somewhat dependent on where you want to play… term, what you were paid before, how much you were relied on and will be relied on. The market isn’t perfectly efficient on any one single contract. In fact, that represented a 50% raise for Khudobin, and those stretch of three years the only time other than 2005 in Carolina that he played anything like 30 games and he only put up a .900 doing so.
Like I said, from here it doesn’t look like it regardless. But he accomplishes what you described and his signing could be interesting.
Holy crap. I hope that Holland is getting medical attention for his mood swings.
Buyer
Seller
Buyer
Seller
Buyer
Buyer
Seller
Three games left before the deadline Wings, Sabres, Devils….
BUYER!
#Xanex ( < the most dreaded of all Wordle words)
Kings twitter:
The @LAKings have made multiple player transactions:
Martin Frk (F), Austin Strand (D) & Gabe Vilardi (F) recalled from @ontarioreign
(AHL) Jaret Anderson-Dolan (F) loaned to Ontario
Dustin Brown (F) & Drew Doughty (D) placed on injured reserve
@Enterprise | #PlayersOnTheMove
=================
I believe Doughty is retro to Mar 7.
No No, of course Ziggy
Malone>>Puljujarvi
These are just facts
👎
LAK now with 8 regulars out of the lineup with injuries.
Tough timing.
Sounds like the Oilers from December on….
I don’t recall the Oilers having 8 regulars out of the lineup at the same time.
Of course you dont
you probably don’t even recall when top5 LHD were all out at the same time that our #9LHD was playing on right side because of injuries in the right
LA is missing it’s entire top 4D, 2 top 6 forwards and 2 bottom 6 forwards Not a brace of wannabes.
Don’t forget the Triple Crown Line!!
The Oilers are 5th in the league for man games lost to injury this season, including a run of losing 5 players in 5 games recently.
What’s the number of injuries at one time in which it becomes statistically significant? 6? 7? Is 8 the necessary amount?
No..it’s all just a matter of degree.
There go the goalposts!
So you’re saying 5=8.
Got it.
Arvidsson, Brown, Athanasius, Lemieux… Hahahaha ha. Not single one of those players are as impactful as Nuge or JP. Good grief.
Your degree in goal posts was a mail in cereal voucher.
Luckily we haven’t lost McDavid or Leon are else our season would of probably been sunk.
After watching the last few games, even LT has to agree that the Oilers are a way better team with Kane the in the lineup and Puljujarvi out of it.
Oh come on. That’s a ridiculous comment. Oilers are better with both. Evander Kane has been excellent, Jesse Puljujarvi was having a fine season when injury hit. They’re both quality NHL players.
~ I can’t believe Ziggy would even bark / murmur such a thing ~ 🙂
Not ridiculous but factual if you watched how limited his offensive skills are. Putting this type of player in your top 6 is not a winning formula.
Yeah, we’re not going to agree. All the best.
Both are quality NHL players.
But I’ve tried for weeks to gauge the opinion of the blog as to which player type (and perhaps at what price) is a more valuable asset to the team moving forward.
It’s a tough call.
For a 3 year cup run, I would choose Kane.
However, JP could be a valuable asset for the next 8 years.
Let’s hope we can keep both.
J.P is still raw who knows what his ceiling is Kane on the other hand is exactly what we need come Playoff time. If we let Kane walk at the end of the year it’s just seems like a missed opportunity not to get assets for Kane or the player he’s replacing.
Don’t forget Kane’s at the age where power forwards fall off a cliff.
If you have to pick one or the other for three years it’s Jessa.
3 years is a long time for 30 something power forward.
JP has to stay
Kane if possible
I would think that Holloway would replace Kane next season … starting lower down in the line up and working his way up, similar to McLeod.
relying on raw rookies has always worked out so well.
Go give your head a shake!!!
Shawinigan continues in a state of The Bourg-lessness:
https://mobile.twitter.com/Cataractes_Shaw/status/1503068372610654208?cxt=HHwWgICp6ZSu_NspAAAA
Anyone got an update regarding his progress? He’s been out for more than two months
Last played Feb. 10, so just over a month.
Still 1-2 weeks away, according to today’s update:
https://mobile.twitter.com/Cataractes_Shaw/status/1503018860794069003?cxt=HHwWloC-hZns5dspAAAA
Tyson Barrie navigated the blue line on the PP like a Waltzing Log Driver.
Ironic return for Archibald. For a guy so keen to avoid the jab, he took a baker’s dozen of them from Sergachev.
is this meant to be funny?
If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say 85% of Canadians may find it funny. 15% will definitely not.
i would think 0% should.
In a world where there isn’t much that’s funny I enjoyed the humour and play on words. I have stayed neutral throughout on the whole vaccination thing as I refuse to question another individuals personal choice!
It was funny with the added bonus of bringing out the insecure “victims” going after you.
10/10
I laughed! It was great to see him back out there. That 4th line was an absolute pain in the ass. Also, 29/71/18 plays like first line skill/3rd line strength. All 3 are beasts with their determination.
I laughed as well! People need thicker skin.
If a Flames player was getting ragged dolled by someone twice as big then it’s funny. How is a Oiler getting fed punches by someone 4 weight classes above him funny?
I don’t think you understood the assignment. I laughed at the first post. Not when Archie was getting hit…….
Yes that was a real knee slapper.
Too soon I guess.
Amen to that. I also respect the guts it takes to jump in as Archibald did!
I kind of feel bad for you that you don’t get the humour. It’s a quality joke.
He did drop the gloves to a player twice as big after coming to Malone’s aide after 4 Bolt players were surrounding and closing in on him. Archie has a lot of heart and I’m sure the last year and a bit hasn’t been easy on him and his family especially when the mob had their fangs out on him.
Why did no Oiler come to Archie’s assistance when he was being pummelled by someone significantly bigger than him?
It’s called 3rd man in and a suspension plus they were all being held back. If you leave the bench it’s a automatic 10 games.
Pretty cheeky Doc karma has a funny way about it.
Yes, karma is coming for everyone who makes a slightly edgy joke on a hockey blog, Reja.
how does this type of stupidity not get you a suspension ?
I am surprised you think this is the stupidest thing I have said that is worthy of a suspension. You should see my other posts.
There’s irony in your statement as well. Archie is clearly willing to throw himself into the dogpile to protect his teammates, willing to take on a guy 6 inches taller and probably 50 lbs heavier to protect his teammates…I bet he would do the same for his family and his neighbor. Yet he is maligned for being “selfish” for making a personal medical decision.
ffs this is a hockey blog, the initial joke was clearly a pun and not grounds for a political debate
Welcome to 2022. Some people wake up in the morning looking for things to be offended by.
He can be both. He’s human. But there’s a lot of psychology and philosophy here.
People get uncomfortable because it makes them question their own beliefs and values. They may have ones dear to them that refuse the vaccine and also ones that are immune deficient.
I smiled at this but did not lol. it’s an ironic joke, and a clever one.
There is irony in defending someone as selfless after the person made a personal medical decision which would have left his entire team short a man for a majority of the season, had it not been for injury.
I’m in the hospital with a partner who is just starting labor and I needed something… this was it. That you haha
I know that management is still hoping for Smith to regain his 2021 form believing that a top of his game Mike Smith, along with current Mikko, gives the team the best chance for a playoff run.
I don’t know many outside of Holland that think there is a reasonable chance of that happening at this point.
Given the foregoing, is the “best case scenario” for this Thursday (presuming that is when Smith gets his next start) that Smith overtly struggles, again, and the Oilers outscore the bad tending and get the win.
Would yet another overtly poor performance by Smith finally lead to Holland making the real tending switch (Smith waived and assigned and Skinner called up)?
A Smith ++ for Reimer trade would solve the problem for this year and next.
Come on put on some body armour and put names or draft number to your post instead of plus plus.😉
One can only hope! I am sure Smith is a great team mate and is respected in the room. Bottom line is he has played poorly this season other than a few brief periods in a couple of games. Oilers need to be playing the players/goalies that give them best chance to win every night. Currently I don’t see Smith on that list.
Wasn’t everyone saying the same about Koskinen 5 weeks ago?
While Holland ultimately makes the final decision of whether Smith is on the roster or not, if Woodcroft and Schwartz did not think there was a chance that Smith could recover, they would be honest about that to Holland. Holland does not strike me as a guy who would force Woodcroft to use Smith if Woodcroft told him that he would have considerably more confidence in Skinner as the second goalie. The real question is how many more chances will that group give Smith to try to return to approaching even 3rd quartile NHL goaltending, let alone the play he exhibited most of last season.
I would “greatly” prefer that Smith get a shutout in his next start.
I will begin this by saying, I think Bouchard will be an excellent player and he will very likely in the long term become the number one QB on the power play. But if you critically examine the power play last night, the Oilers top unit still functions better with Barrie at the point than Bouchard. While overall the unit got more shots while Bouchard was out there, they got more quality chances in Barrie’s time on the unit, without giving up chances the other way. Bouchard has a harder shot and gets it away a lot and he can fire good passes, but Barrie with his experience still makes decisions a little quicker and that subtlety helps create looks from more dangerous areas.
On the goal that McDavid scored, Barrie made 3 plays that were key to that outcome. The first was knocking down the clearing attempt. Some of that is just good fortune of being in the right place and maybe not a great clear. But his quick back and forth with Draisaitl on the right side drew both Tampa PKers from the goalies’ right across to their left towards the middle of the zone. Barrie took advantage of this feeding the puck across to McDavid who had an extra second of open ice to move into the face off dot to take the unmolested shot for a goal.
The hallmark of the Oilers PP when it is going well is quick puck movement along with player movement and Barrie is still better at that right now than Bouchard. Even since Woodcroft has arrived, the Oilers PP has scored at 40% higher rate per 60 with Barrie than with Bouchard (per Naturalstattrick – and that I believe is without their data giving credit for last night’s goal -though in fairness to them the NHL data originally showed the Oilers with no PP goals after the game).
It is likely very good both in the short term and long term for Bouchard to be getting repetitions on the first unit. Short term, it changes the look up without having to tax Nurse’s minutes and also develops Bouchard so that he can cover for Barrie if he is injured, like he has been a few times this season and eventually become the key guy.
If the Oilers were to move Barrie, because they want to improve their defending and want more of a Larsson type for balance, for this season it needs to be someone of Larsson’s caliber who is a bonafide regular top 4 defender who can come in and play 20 minutes a night.
Barrie had strong game last night on one dump in he raced behind his net turned to his left and within a nanosecond nailed Yamo with a tape to tape pass with mustard on it at centre ice. Barrie seems to also hold the defenders in place a split second longer on PP. He does a subtle little shimmy with his shoulders that freezes the top 2 defenders which gives McDavid or Leon more air once the pass is made.
The dynamics of that unit quite significantly are altered if Nuge is not in lineup.
Inarguably barrie is a quality PP “quarterback”. He has value close to his cap hit. Just on a team where your 1st unit with nuge-mcdavid-drai operates in highest percentile regardless of the other interchangeable parts year over year over year – it may not be a luxury a savy gm would allocate what remains of his higher end defensive budget in a cap system. Given the pieces already in place when contract was signed and glaring bottleneck now coming next year…
One should appreciate the player and at same time disapprove of that choice of player on said roster.
It’s a management problem not a player problem.
You are correct though finding the type of player required to fill the appropriate minutes might not be I’m the cards via deadline trade – even as a rental. I’m more interested in finding adequate temp fill and giving the team a bit more wiggle room in off-season by exploring trade options for barrie.
At the time of the Barrie and Ceci signings (within hours of each other), Holland wouldn’t be certain that Bouchard was ready for 18-20 minutes per night and to possibly be able to quarterback the powerplay. He and the coaches went in to 2020/21 thinking Caleb Jones was possibly ready for top 4 minutes on the left side, but at least he had Russell and Koekkoek as some cover on the left side when Caleb wasn’t working out and the team managed that deficiency for most of the season. Even that still wasn’t good enough so he felt he had to get Kulikov at the deadline.
That Bouchard is meeting or possibly exceeding any preseason expectation for him is a good thing. While it may not be ideal with the presumed overlap of his and Barrie’s roles, had Holland instead signed a 3rd pairing type RD and Bouchard struggled the Oilers would be worse off now. To say it was a bad signing at the time, you’d have to know that another Ceci or Larsson quality player would have been available and willing to sign with the Oilers on July 28th. I will add, this isn’t any where close to a clincher for Holland, but the players on the team were very enthusiastic about Barrie coming back.
Even in thr limited minutes, it seemed fairly clear Bouchard, worst case scenario, would be a decent bet to cover 3rd pairing on right side and his passing/uncannily good at getting tippable pucks on net should at least be capable of klefbom like production with that locked PP group when nuge is resigned, one of keys is PP group is not where primary remaining resources should be spent – in order to complete the picture.
With keith penned in and a years worth of numbers showing barrie not ideal for top pairing 5×5 usage.
Undersized PP witch best suited for slightly more sheltered minutes simply not logical addition to mix there.
When you add hopefully drawing up past this season cap flexibility into equation it didn’t make sense at the time and accordingly results are expected…only now with more unnecessary data and looming cap handicap for off-season tinkering.
Thanks for that summary RB and now I feel like a commoner as I basically posted the same thing this afternoon before reading this comment – and way less informative than your post above.
Barrie and Bouchard have different PP skills. I think Bouch has the better and more dangerous shot and better vision but Barrie, at this point, moves the puck quicker – he shifts his skates and body position quicker and more efficiently and even a split second makes the difference.
With the current PP structure, an argument can be made that the quicker puck movement by Barrie fits with PP1 and, perhaps, the higher end “shooter” (who can also move the puck) fits better with PP2?
Great post. One more hat tip to Barrie on the PP is when he drops it back to McDavid, he doesn’t just stop skating and get out of the way. He keeps moving forward, clearing the opposition sticks out of Connor’s path. He’s our best dman at doing it and Connor has more speed coming up ice when Barrie is out there than any other dman because of the subtle little stick flips out of the way by Barrie.
Its a wild scenario and probably just one posited off emotion as we’ve seen solid 2-3 week stretches from Mikko in the past, however, if we knew that Skinner could play 30 games as a “back-up” or 1B, a Mikko/Skinner duo for next season could maybe not be the end of the world.
If we could get the current Mikko for 50 games or so, I’d be just fine with that duo, of course, presuming continued Skinner progression.
If only the management team would give Skinner the rest of this season, playing 3-4 out of 10 games to see if he’s ready for that role.
Mikko at $2MM and Skinner at $750K…… that’s value contract tending.
Of course:
1) I’m running on a high, history shows that Mikko “can’t” provide this level of tending for 50 games out of 82.
Fool me once….?
2) Even of Mikko continued this level through the rest of the regular season and a couple of playoff rounds, are we too far gone for a 2 X 2.25M re-sign?
Would the fanbase be OK with that?
Does Mikko have any interest in coming back….?
————
I know, wild scenario a couple of fronts.
I need to remember to take Mikko one game at a time – hot and cold streaks have been his MO but I’m seeing some solid/consistent play for a month now.
Ok but what does Kenny do with Smith?
Option 1: Retire him and pay him $2.2 as a goalie coach
Option 2: Starter for the Condors
Kenny the Grinder with his penchant for two year or longer contracts has ham strung this team.
To be honest, I’m not concerned about that detail given the “dead cap hit” is apx $1MM for waiving/assigning him (less for a buyout but no need to extend it for a 2nd year). Not ideal at all but not having Smith on the roster is easily accomplished.
Shit, for all we know, being assigned to the AHL may prompt him to retire. With that said, would he retire in October after training to get ready for the season? Maybe Kenny lets him know that plan in June and he retires early…… or agrees to terminate his contract and look for a new one somewhere.
Its very unlikely.
Smith is going to leave 2.2 million on the table while he has 4 boys to support. Why would any rational human being do this, well they wouldn’t. I could see Smith on LTIR next year but the retirement angle is laughable.
I don’t think he will retire.
At the same time, countless players retire with time left on their contract and forego cash – its clearly not as wild a concept as you infer.
P.S. I’m fairly confident that Smith will be able to “support his boys” to the exact same ability if he plays or does not play next season.
Maybe Connor and Leon retire at years end deciding both to live and get a spiritual awakening from the Maharishi Ashram Yogi in India as well as spending time with the Dalai Lama 14 Tendzin Gyatso. They both have more money than Jesus and it’s not that far fetched considering the pressure they constantly face.
So you have decided to be pretentiously condescending today – understood.
If you don’t think he’s going to retire why would you bring it up in the first place. I say it’s 50-50 that he plays or that he’s LTIR. You can wish upon a star all you want but Smith’s not going to flush 2.2 million fricking dollars down the toilet because he’s a good ole boy.
I think Skinner is a victim of Smith’s play. You cant see what you have in a stretch run with Skinner because the team burned too much daylight trying to get Smitty back into form. There is no room for error now so the inexperienced goalie gets the shaft. Hopefully Woody can find away to give him tactical games down the stretch.
It just my opinion but,
Koskinen is not coming back to Edmonton unless he is overpaid or has no other options.
To think these guys don’t hear what said about them is crazy, Hall, Whitney, Larsson, Pitlick, Eberle and Scriven have all said it. This guy is not coming back on value contract.
There +20 teams that make living outside the game way easier, we have all seen this and it is another value players look for, that is now playing out in sports.
Those are good questions OP, I am asking myself the very same things this morning. I agree Koski has earned 1A role the rest of the way and Skinner should be 1B. Not sure if I trust Koski or if I’m just real thirsty and seeing a mirage.
I would:
Re-assess in off season.
The Rangers are willing to move Georgiev and want a backup goalie going there way as part of the deal.
Koskinen
Georgiev
Skinner
$3M for Koski and Skinner, x2, I’m more than happy with that. Not sure if Koski will sign for that though. Judging from what I see after a win with the head bumps, he is a well liked man. I’ve said this before, but the feel good story of the year would be Miko taking us deep into the playoffs.
Torches have been lit up and circling mikko’s house far too many times – I’m pretty sure I’d take less by a fair margin to reset in a different city.
I think a team out there will believe Mikko may be better then we in here and the local media types think. Wouldn’t be surprised if he got 3mil+ for a year or 2 from a Buffalo or San Jose or the likes. Unless he wants to Stay in Edmonton and signs that extension here before seasons end. Guys like Jim Matheson spewing out the mouth hole dont help that likelihood
Drai at 3v5:
Going back a few seasons to Drai’s Hart trophy year, I recall numerous situations where the Oil have had to kill a lengthy 3v5, with Leon Draisaitl at the top of the triangle, effectively defending the threat every time.
Is there a stat for this? The Oilers (mainly Drai and Nurse) have been remarkably successful.
And often, including last night, the 2-man penalty-kill was executed while the game was very much in the balance.
Are Hart voters privy to this type of statistic? Because they should be.
More than anything, I was amazed, firstly, by how quickly Drai was back out there for his next shift and then by how he had the energy to bull rush that breakaway (and fend off Hedman as he scored).
After the game, Matty asked Drai how tiring it is to play a 3 on 5 against such a talented puck moving 5-some and Drai responded by basically saying, you don’t really have to move much on the 3 on 5.
In any event, the PK in general and the 3 on 5 are addition skills that many-tools player has – what a player!
As it turns out, both teams were shut out on the PP as the NHL changed the scoring on the 2nd McDavid goal to a 5 on 5- I guess the penalty had officially ended.
With that said, even though the Oilers had 7 PP and no goals, from a high level, I would agree the Oilers “won” the special teams battle – the 5 on 3 kill being a massive moment in the game.
Oilers all but dominated at 5 on 5 – my goodness.
That was a mistake on the NHL website after the game that was picked up by other data sites. It is corrected now on the NHL site as a PP goal. The penalty still had 30 seconds to go.
They haven’t updated on the event summary. Are you sure about this, OP?
http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20212022/ES020940.HTM
Sorry maybe I wasn’t clear. It was a PP goal, but last night after the game, the NHL in most of its data showed it as not a power play goal. They corrected it by this morning to be what it was: a power play goal like shown in the game report you link to. When I looked earlier today, Naturalstattrick was showing no PP goal, probably because they picked up the data last night when the NHL had it incorrect.
Have they corrected the Ovechkin hook on Hyman yet?
Not directly but they think they are on the problem by now calling more egregious hookings like the penalties on Keith and Nurse.
Bruce/Dave mentioned last night that the NHL incorrectly had them at 0 for 7 on the PP. Then, I heard Reid/Rob mentioned that the NHL had taken away the PP status as the penalty had run out.
I took them at face value – it could certainly have been “re-corrected” since last night and, if so, I apologize for my incorrect (or not “up to date” info).
No worries. I’m just interested in getting the right info, not certain either of us have it
The top of the leaderboard for the Smythe Division looks very 1989 …
For the first time in months I noticed Foegele finish an aggressive check…
I think having Archi, Kassian and Malone all playing hard down the lineup might have given Foegele something to think about. He obviously isn’t contributing offensively, personally I don’t want him if he’s not playing hard and hairy assed.
Hard to do that for 82 games needs a support staff. We now have it with Kane Archie Kassian and Malone who’s flattened 4 or 5 people since his call-up
Depth implies competition up and down the lineup; Some guys are competing for scoring roles, others for special teams work; some for bringing physicality / energy
I think you are right to include Foegele as in the group with Arch, Kass and Bugsy.
Although in Foegele’s mind, he’d like to be in the Yamo, Ryan, Shore, conversation, and perhaps he is / can be.
to be clear, i think the Foegele could be included in either group.
Fits the definition of middle six to a T for me. (but best on a 3rd line)
Great hitting from the Oilers all night last night.
“Just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in…”
Exciting Saturday night game. Look at this team one year from now.
McDavid, Draisaitl and Nurse’s team will have a great support system.
good pro support – Nuge, Kane, Hyman, Puljarjarvi, Yamamoto, Ceci, Keith, Ryan, Foegele, Kassian all slotted correctly
good young pros support- Bouchard (184 NHL games), McLeod (163 NHL games) Broberg (107 NHL games) Skinner (60 NHL games), Holloway (40 NHL games)
Eddie Grant!
electric avenue….the bolts……well done!
How’s the roller coaster of emotion going for you. You were pretty negative and pessimistic yesterday. Is that just a long time Oiler fan defense mechanism: expect the worst and you can only be pleasantly surprised?
Thank you for asking RB62.
It actually is a mechanism I employ on two fronts. 1) Like a good coach, I try and find the positives after the team suffers a loss (kind of balances out the negativity of social media); And I try and posit my negative thoughts/concerns after a big win so I’m not perceived as piling on.
ALSO, it is definitely a defense mechanism; I went into last nights game expecting the worst and was WAY MORE relaxed throughout the game as a result.
Finally, my single biggest relief/joy came from seeing Evan Bouchard perform well against elite comp.
Not a single (serious) missed step that I could see last night. I doubted his ability to perform under the pressure of playoff style hockey ( still do) but last night he gave Randle ‘the old middle finger”. Kudos to him. Credit where credit is due.
By the way. I REALLY enjoy reading your posts.
#Quality
Ryan McLeod. OH MY LORD!
I’m still working on my grand unification theory of Oiler game prediction.
Currently at:
Oilers suck at nationally televised saturday night games UNLESS:
They are playing one of the top seeded teams AND
the moon is in a waxing gibbous phase.
Please feel free to point out flaws in my logic or possible improvements.
Oilers suck at nationally televised saturday night games unless it’s an afternoon game, in which case they still suck, UNLESS:
They are playing a top seeded team from the East AND
the game is on at 10:30am Mountain!
Without intending to “call out” any individual poster, I think I read a post mid-game about the team’s poor structure at 5 on 5 mid-game last night and awful center support. I believe the Oil outshot Tampa 30-19 at 5 on 5…..and let’s not forget about 4 legit bars.
It was very well played game
but there are two kinds of posts
ones that glance off goalie and count as save
and ones that don’t and are a missed shot
thats it.
I would posit that 3 of the 4 bars were shots that beat the goalie clean and were an inch away from a goal.
LT in your opinion what has changed with Ryan? When he centred the 3rd and 4th lines his 5v5 was a disaster. Now on RW he’s the player we all thought Holland signed. Is it simply a move to RW? Or did RNH kickstart his game? Maybe Foegle? Either way it’s a terrific change.
Pretty sure that was directly answered by Ryan in a post-game after Woodcroft took over 😂
Ryan told us it was opportunity, and I think that’s the best description. Part of it could be center, but he was also playing with slower linemates and often on a fourth line that would be scrapped for parts. Now, he’s on a third line and playing more often and in bigger parts of the game with better linemates.
We speculated about the fourth line sitting for half a period and then going out on a PK cold as ice. Ryan felt it was more minutes and more shifts, suspect he is right.
I also think it takes time for players to adapt to new playing environments. There is so much change when a player moves to a new team, both on and off the ice.
Yeah, that and a streak of brutal luck where everything found the back of the net.
I know Ryan spoke about opportunity and ice time but I don’t believe that’s what changed for him.
In the 2 months before Tippett was fired (Dec 10-Feb 10) he was 8-7 in on ice goals with 58% shots and xGoals. Also scored 1.86 P/60.
He’d recovered to the player he was expected to be long before Woodcroft arrived (and I think most of that time was spent at C too).
I should have read your post first. I agree.
PDO/luck is definitely a factor. Ryan was rocking a rancid PDO for the first half of the season. IIRC, his onsv% was in the low .800s. His other fancies have been passable all season.
Did somebody say Rancid?
https://youtu.be/TMgMYIGJLZE
Lets also not forget that Ryan was hurt very early in the season.
He started off quite well for a few games, if I remember correctly, but missed some time and wasn’t nearly as effective when he returned.
Of course, the “slump” lasted for too long to be solely health related but I presume he wasn’t at 100% when he came back and was playing catch-up while still battling healthy issues.
Imagine taking last night’s lineup and switching out Malone and Shore for Nuge and Puljujarvi…….
With consistent solid tending, the healthy lineup is substantial and can beat anyone on any night.
I credit part of the success last night to a big uptick in physicality on the part of our Oilers. Malone brings that element (Shore, not so much, though he always works so hard).
I wonder if having their former Captain (Malone) in the room and on the bench, gives our promoted condors some more comfort. Making the jump to NHL can be very intimidating, and I suspect Malone’s presence, and of course Woodcroft’s, adds a calm comfortable confidence.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the game that Brad is playing and he has been filling in nicely. At the same time, he played under 6 minutes at 5 on 5 last night (surprisingly high event with a goal each way) and did take a “bad penalty”, as marginal as the call might be.
I like the physicality but, of course, there is no sane world where Malone in the lineup helps the team more than Jesse or Nuge, right?
Well of course, but I am saying Malone is like,y a better 4L option than Shore. Neither are gonna take time from 93 or 98 when they return.
13.
Worth noting too that the 95 points we’re on pace for comes from our full record.
If you use the .623 points percentage we’ve seen under Woodcroft, and multiply it by the remaining 46 possible points, it would give us 29 more standings points. Good for 97 points total.