The first time the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames played an NHL regular season game, it was a pretty even affair. Ron Low outdueled Daniel Bouchard and Edmonton won 5-3 courtesy a pair of Dave Semenko goals. Mark Messier and Jim Peplinski got into a second period fight, but it was a fairly straight up affair for the time. The next game had over 200 minutes in penalties and a rivalry was born.
Edmonton is 111-120-28 all-time versus the Flames. Calgary has one Stanley, the Oilers five. The Flames have missed the playoffs 16 times, including last season. Edmonton has missed the playoffs 18 times, most recently 2019. This year? It looks like both Alberta teams will make the show.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Are Oilers approaching a crossroads with Zack Kassian?
- DNB: Should Oilers budget for Evander Kane beyond this season?
- Lowetide: Oilers’ 2022 draft strategy takes shape after trade deadline
- DNB: Oilers’ solid deadline adds depth but without goaltending upgrade, top concern remains
- Lowetide: 7 Condors who could impact Oilers’ fortunes in the playoffs
- Lowetide: 9 Oilers prospects who could be available in trade at the deadline
- Lowetide: Is Oilers winger Warren Foegele doing enough to warrant his contract?
- DNB: How Jesse Puljujarvi, as a player and person, became perfect fit for Oilers
- Lowetide: Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci emerging as top pair for Oilers
- Lowetide: Ryan McLeod’s case for a spot on Oilers’ skill lines
- DNB: Oilers’ recent play only underscores that upcoming trade deadline must be a time to act
- Lowetide: Revisiting the Oilers’ choice of Evan Bouchard in the 2018 draft
- DNB: Markus Niemelainen collecting catchy nicknames as his surprise breakout accelerates
- Lowetide: Oilers fans still adjusting to Ken Holland’s management style
- DNB: Ken Holland Q&A
- Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects, winter 2021
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM 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 5-0-0)
- On the road to: COL, DAL (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-1-1)
- At home to: SJS (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
- 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: 7-3-2, 16 points in 12 games
- Oilers in 2021-22: 36-24-5, 77 points in 65 games
Edmonton is 13-6-2 under Jay Woodcroft and have 17 games to go this season. A point-per-game should get it done, but another winning streak (beginning with the San Jose game Thursday) could put this to rest by early April. The VGK are 3-7-0 in their last 10, Edmonton 6-3-1. A repeat performance over the next 10 games gives the Oilers one of the three Pacific spots.
THE 2022 DRAFT
We are early in the process and there will be movement, but I’m pretty sure about the top six names here. Cooley and Kemell could jump Shane Wright but I don’t think so. Yurov is Russian, and the kids from that nation may slide this year, Ken Holland has been drafting Russian kids often since coming over from Detroit. That may change, for him and for the league. Slavofsky, Jiricek, Savoie and Lambert are likely top-10 picks. Jagger Firkus is an impressive player. All of these names should be gone by Edmonton’s pick, but Dawson Mercer was my No. 10 overall prospect in 2020 and lasted to No. 18.
Edmonton’s 2022 first-round selection could come from this list. I don’t trust the USHL equivalencies but Frank Nazar is having a great year. Mintyukov and Mateychuk are both strong canddiates, and Marco Kasper has played well in tournaments and in the SHL. Jiricek was top 10 but was injured and could slide. If he does, Oilers might grab him. The draft isn’t deep in defenders, meaning some of these men could be drafted out of order. I also think Connor Geekie would be a player Edmonton grades highly.
Dumais is a fun player, he’s fast and skilled and 5.08. I don’t think the Oilers will take him (Kailer Yamamoto was drafted during the Peter Chiarelli era) but five years from now he could be an NHL player. USHL has some nice talent this season, reflected in five names in the top 30. Ivan Miroshnichenko moves way down the list, not due to performance but rather to health. He’d be top-10 all things being equal.
FIRST OILERS MOCK!
- No. 18 overall: LC Jack Hughes, Northeastern NCAA. His ranking is a little all over, but I think the Oilers will like him enough to call his name if available. Hughes is a November 2003 birthdate, 6.0 and 165 pounds. He’s a playmaker, has a nice range of skills and projects to remain a center. Edmonton has the best trio in the business at that position, but Hughes (18) will turn pro around 2024 and there will be a need at that time. The Draft Analyst projects him as a “top-six physical playmaking center” and that’s a very good fit for Edmonton.
- No. 146 overall: RW Kirill Dolzhenkov, CSKA MHL. He is 6.06, 234 and he scored 14-14-28 in 33 MHL games. There’s more buzz about him than earlier in the year (he is No. 17 Euro mid-term Central Scouting) and maybe he makes it into the third round. He’s a monster with at least some skill.
- No. 178 overall: LD Tnias Mathurin, North Bay OHL. Big defender with good speed, he projects as a shutdown type defender. He’s 6.02, 154, so his offense may spike as he grows, but at this point Mathurin is strictly defense.
- No. 210 overall: G Brett Brochu, London OHL. I’ve had him on my list before, he’s a 2002 and has been posting solid numbers for years now.
The defense is butter and I mean butter soft.
At least 5 Defensemen need to play with a little more jam than that.
It’s crazy what you really remember in the life of hockey… but, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fundamental defensive collapse by the whole D-crops in a single game like that ever? maybe the miracle on Manchester……..maybe.
It then collectively went through the team like a a wave save for one player!
RNH will be a GM one day.
The forward support was pretty abominable.
I don’t think this loss was Kassian’s fault! -).
McLeod has been a little shaky on Draisaitl’s line. I’d like to put Puljujarvi back there.
Foegele with Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan.
Brassard McLeod Shore
I might go 7D.
Only if those D promise to – play – D.
What a mess.
My take away was Backlund’s “interference” on McD, head first contact and the scrum after, where Coleman grabs Drai from behind, pulls him down and Drai’s head contact against the ice.
I wasn’t prepared for the two heart palpitations in 10 seconds, nor the lack of officiating.
Glad they both don’t have concussions.
Most concerning is that there was zero response to the flames dangerous actions to our 2 best players. Zero…for the rest of the game.
WWSD…what would Semenko do
Why didn’t they play the system tonight?
I know I’m not without sin – I had a wonderful evening, and by extension did not watch the game – but without having learned much of the nature of the defeat other than “very bad and in fact not very good”, I’ll caution the doomsayers about their assessment of the sky’s position relative to the ground.
Good teams have bad games, and good teams’ fandoms will get exposed to bad games more often against other good teams. To paraphrase our host, one game can be putrid and still just be one game. I say this not to grandstand as calmer-than-thou, but as a matter of mindfulness, and a reminder that no matter how atrocious a game can look they can only take a maximum of two points from us. As a typically cynical person, let me be one to throw my hat in the ring anyway, and say I look forward to the rest of our playoff push.
I’ve never seen so many forwards get behind a team’s defence with pucks – my goodness, that was something to see.
Johhny Gaudreau with one of the best performances I have seen in a LONG time – making multiple d-men look silly through the night.
That was a massive save by Markstrom, yes, however, Kane’s shot was far from great – he shot it back in to the middle of the net and gave the goalie a chance to make a great save.
Neither Oiler goalie could make a great save but, damn, the flames forwards were picking spots as well – if Kane would have done the same……
Yeah the game turned on that moment.
Spot on.
Some of our D – showed a complete lack of concern or carelessness at pretending to even take a man in their own zone. I think 2 of them – want- desperately- to be forwards.
Puljujarvi is our best defensive forward and needs to play on one of the top two lines. Otherwise, as we saw tonight, the top two lines get lit up at even strength. Kane is an awful defensive player. The second line struggled as soon as Jesse got moved down to the third line. I understand his offence can be frustrating, but he doesn’t let Connor or Leon give up goals and keeps the puck in the offensive zone. Wasting him with 9 minutes of ice time tonight seems silly.
The worst display of defence since Kuwait 1990.
Tough night.
But taking a more clear-eyed view of the Flames, they don’t look like a team that’s going to go very far in the playoffs.
Their PP and PK were poor. And they had a LOT of puck luck tonight … everything and I mean everything bounced their way at 5v5. And yet the Oilers were in it until one exceptional Markstrom save and then a goal going back the other way.
Sutter got his line matchup tonight with the Lindholm-Gaudreau-Tkatchuk line out there every time the Keith-Bouchard pairing was on the ice. That was the difference.
They’re in the lottery next season once Gaudreau leaves for Philly. Tkachuk, Mangiapane, Zadorov, Gudbranson and Kylington all need new contracts as well. They’ll have to either buy out Monahan or trade their first to get rid of him in order to sign all those other guys.
Holland’s got some work to do to make this team a contender, and it starts with moving a 1st round pick for a goalie, promoting Skinner to backup, telling Smith and Keith to retire (or else sit in the press box or get demoted to the minors) and take a job in the organization, and buying out Kassian.
I know people are down on Jesse, but his problem is consistency and a poor shot that he clearly has no confidence in … but his next deal will not be a cap-buster, and if Holland offers him some dollars in exchange for extra term, he could be a real value contract during the prime years of his career. We were down on Yamamoto all season, and he’s come around … we have to be patient with Jesse.
Bouchard’s a rookie … rookie d-men are tough to watch sometimes. But both Rasmus Andersen and Kylington had similar moments before breaking through. Again, we’re going to need to be patient.
I’m worried about that Nurse contract though … right now he’s playing like a 2nd pairing d-man that needs sheltering, rather than a soon-to-be 4th highest paid d-man in the league. He has to be better or he’s going to get run out of town … if you want to be paid like a Norris-calibre d-man, than you’d better play like one. No more excuses.
Holland has work to do…not much draft capital left is there?
1st round pick and that is about it.
I hope little Ben was in bed before the 3rd period.
Here is the bottom line…the straight dope about Oilers goalies since Gone with the Wind was playing in cinemas…
Oilers have a traditional style of playing fast and loose. Oilers will never win the Vezina trophy yet traditionally excel in the playoffs.
Both of the current goalies are less than desirable: Smith is old and banged up, and Koskinnen simply blows chunks unless the team plays like he’s a newborn baby.
Meanwhile there is a perfectly decent goalie prospect rotting away in the AHL.
It’s ridiculous, insane…nuts.
I’ve wanted Skinner all year. The management messed that decision up. Tonight’s game shouldn’t be blamed solely on goaltending. The flames came close to doubling the oilers in shot attempts. This after the oilers led the shot clock 20-10.
They demoted Skinner after a shutout. Who the hell does that?? It just makes no sense not to have Skinner here the man has had 2 phenomenal playoff runs in his past. He seems to thrive off the pressure in saying that why doesn’t Woody who knows him best have him up with the big club?
The Canucks did the Oilers an epic solid tonight!
I sat in the Bell Centre and watched the Habs mentally mess Toronto into a loss today and it was glorious. Underpants fell over on the game winning jailbreak with Paul Byron doing a Connor look off for the score. Leafs are so fucked in net. Imagine wasting all of Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Reilly and Captain Pajamas UFA contract. Holland is in a pressure cooker but it’s nothing compared to whatever Dubas works under.
The only goal this year is making the 2nd season, after that she’ll be a joy.
“Just another game” Connor McDavid at pre game presser.
9-2 at 5v5. Please don’t bring up skinner for that kind of effort on team defense.
yep, there is no need to ruin his confidence this season.
Yeah, they can always do that next year.
Thus proving its not a goaltender problem..but keep banging away at the lowest common denominator.
Yeah, goaltending isn’t the problem.
Can’t get a save to save a life, but it’s not a problem.
Scored 5 goals but can’t win a game, but goaltending isn’t a problem.
Scored 5 goals while playing zero team defense and 4 out 6 defensemen playing like they didn’t want to be out there…but sure.
Will be interesting to see if either of the Oiler goalies are in the NHL next year at this time. I’m pretty sure Koskinnen will get a contract to start the season, but will he survive the season? Maybe. It’s actually hard to predict.
Not trying to deflect attention away from the rest of the team. This was an awful performance, top to bottom. Embarrassing.
Well.. that game about sums up the Oilers playoff hopes.
– We don’t play anywhere near dirty enough to succeed in the playoffs.
– We’re not nearly tough enough to play against.
– Our goaltending is absolutely atrocious in high-pressure games.
– Our defense doesn’t make it much easier for the goalers.
*I’d also like to give big props to our GM for not addressing what’s been glaringly obvious for months & wasting another year of McDavid & Drai (because after watching that playoff-esque game, it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion what our playoff run (if we make it) is going to look like… Also, the cost of another season lost is greater than the draft picks Change My Mind*
Some other notes/questions:
– How many times did you count Mike Smith pass the puck directly to the other team when being out of his net?
(I counted at least 7… in only half a damn game).
– Did JP do anything tonight? what’s his “puck on stick time”? (like 30 seconds?)
I don’t want to say he’s a waste of a draft pick, but comparing him to his draft class is getting painful.
– I promised myself that I wouldn’t complain about Darnells next contract… So I won’t.
Well, it was a wickedly fun 1st quarter of the year, a dreadful 2nd quarter & an okay 3rd, but the lack of addressing the massively obvious goaltending issue & this viewing of the team playing actual playoff level hockey has me thinking “We hoped for the best, but it turned out like Oilers (once again).
End rant…
Cheers boys (fingers crossed that I’m wrong)
Yes, this was very synical & doomer-pilled… but a lot of it is accurate, despite none of us wanting it to be so.
Why is our best goaltender in Bakersfield? He better get called up after this debacle.
He’s not ready lol
Skinner and Niemelainen anyone?
Niemelainen? He was leaking goals against more than any other d-man before he was re-assigned for more needed development time.
Got ate up physically.
D was treating the puck like it was a grenade from the puck drop.
Still nervous. Still no confidence. Utter panic when the forecheck is coming.
And I might add, where the hell were the forwards? Everything about tonight looked like the Tippett Oilers.
The D are nervous and panicked because too often the forwards are nowhere to be found.
I thought the team was playing inspired hockey in the 1st period…great even…
Then Leako Kostagame went into his patented “It’s not my fault for letting in a slew of goals”…
No team in the history of hockey ever won with such rancid goaltending.
The D shit the bed on all of his goals, but he should have stopped a few of them for sure
Its not his fault the long flight might have tired him out. Like the old saying goes you build a team from the net out.
I’ve tried to warn people that Vegas’ schedule is a joke. If you think the Oil can outpace the Knights playing teams like the Flames while the Knights play the Kraken (after watching how good this Flames team is) I don’t know what to tell you.
The Oilers either need to play much better or the Knights need to truly fall apart and if not, and all goes according to script, they’ll be past us in 10 days.
I’ve been trying to tell these folks that the Vegas schedule is all down hill from here but they won’t hear it.
If Vegas can grab 3rd in the Pacific, it’s very likely the Oilers will miss the playoffs entirely since Nashville and Dallas are both tough outs.
They play the Canucks 3 times in the next 5 games. Canucks are playing well and it wouldn’t surprise me if they win 2 out of 3
Have you heard of the boy that cried wolf?
I may not be exaggerating when you’ve proposed 25 instances where the upcoming schedule was going to sewer the Oilers over the last 3 seasons – all wrong.
You seem to be operating under the assumption that passing accurate information is important to him.
Oh, Most people have very little interest in what goes outside Edmonton.
Oilers could not keep up with the flames. Just look at the shot attempts. This has nothing to do with toughness or goalies.
I agree with the 1st part, but they also whipped us in toughness & goalies.
We were beat in every facet of the game.
Someone seriously succeeded in their Hex against the oilers tonight. Whatever they offered to the Hockey Gods, it worked way too well.
Yeah. Like I said below, impossible to win when your best players get schooled and you have midget level goaltending ( my apologies to midget goalies everywhere).
I wonder if the Flames set a record for most goals scored on the second leg of a back to back
Our team play is too soft. phlegm play on the edge. Need to amp this up as we know playoff hockey the whistle disappears
Everything is fine.
I am sorry , But Cassie Campbell is the worst colour analyst ever. CBC/Sportsnet should be embarrassed with her. It is a joke.
Have you ever listed to Shortbus in VAN?
Or even Drew Remedial?
Not even in the same Universe.
Who cares. Is that really the concern tonight? Mute the tv and listen to the radio.
I watch on stream, start late & skip intermissions / TV timeouts.
Between her & Singh, the whole show was awful, the hockey game was hard to listen to.
Literally getting half their calls / reads on plays wrong. Barely C-tier commentating IMO.
From Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin to this C-rate product
I like Singh. I’ll admit he’s a bit of an acquired taste, with the energy he brings.
Cassie is terrible at everything. I don’t find her analysis informative, she’s a poor speaker in general, and she’s immensely unlikable.
Brutal. Nothing more to say.
Can’t believe the way this is playing out.. zero response. Just go away quietly. Yuck!
Not sure Oilers threw a body check in the 3 rd period. Tells you a lot.
Oilers best players were dreadful tonight. Never going to win when Connor and Leon go -7 and the top pair goes -9.
Oil should give complimentary box seats to every Oil fan wearing a sweater tonight
This is rather embarrassing . Crowd chanting we want 10
This goaltending won’t take this team far , if they make the playoffs.
The D is an absolute joke tonight .Nurse and Bouchard brutal. kulak brutal, Ceci not far behind
Just a terrible effort
But the pp was good, so there is always that😂
I’m watching to the end out of morbid curiosity whether they’ll get ten goals scored against them.
that’s a lot of goals against
What a complete fucking embarrassment from top to bottom.
Do these guys realize that they can still miss the playoffs?
Nurse needs some raw meat, screw the salads
Nurse thinks he doesn’t have to play tough anymore. That is how he plays now
That’s how it goes when Oilers get paid it seems… MANY SUCH CASES
Reja has been very quite since he called for koskinen to be pulled.
This team has thick skin, they simply refuse to be embarrassed, too bad
So I guess the next practice is the basic fundamentals of defensive structure and Skinner is on the next plane up right?
Well, the oilers have won a few of these high scoring games in the last couple years, the fLames were going to get one eventually. Still kinda stings though.
If the oilers can’t come back from this, it would make us all feel better if this game was the fuel to curb-stomp them in the playoffs if they end up playing each other.
We’d better pray we don’t get the Flames if we even make the playoffs… they are a vastly better team in every single area that actually wins games. (& I hate the Flames, but tonight was a big black pill swallowed dry).
Bouch with the best seat in the house to watch that goal…smh…
Embarrassing
The only positive I take out of this is that Lucic didn’t score
Yet…
Yet
We won the special teams battle?
Yet
Didn’t score … moral victory!
Like what was the game plan tonight?
boush hooked all the way back. How is that not called
That’s a BS call, considering where the puck was and other hits that have been laid out in this very game tonight.
Just like Zadarov’s hit from behind on Hyman with about 30 seconds remaining.
I wonder if Nurse is hurt. This is the worst I’ve seen him in years. As much as I hate our goaltending, the defence is almost comically bad. On the bright side, there’s no way Holland is back next year. Of course, they’ll probably hire the same guy with a different name.
I hear Peter Chiarelli is available. Won a cup once.
Pretty sure Holland isn’t going anywhere. Two years left at $5 mil/year.
I too have been wondering if he is hurt or sick for a few games now.
TkaCooke deserved that response
Is Puljujarvi allergic to physical contact?
Because if he can’t throw a hit in the battle of Alberta then get rid of him.
He is even on a night where the 5v5 goals are 9-2. Ouch.