If this is the end, then the season will officially contain more ‘river deep mountain high’ moments than any in Oilers history. If we made a list of bold events good and bad, it would be longer than War and Peace. Even the late-season promise brought on by innovative coaches Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson appear to have been tarnished in recent days. What is it about these Edmonton Oilers? Why can the team’s fans have something to cheer for all the way to May long? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: How Oilers can finally fix salary cap nightmare
- New DNB: Five reasons why Oilers are facing elimination against Kings after Game 5
- DNB and Lisa Dillman: Why Oilers-Kings series has been a roller coaster through 4 games
- Lowetide: Reasonable expectations for Oilers could not see chaos ahead
- New DNB: How do Oilers solve depth issues up front after first shutout loss of Jay Woodcroft era?
- Lowetide: Early look at Oilers’ options for 2022 NHL Draft
- DNB: Mike Smith a big part of Oilers win in Game 3
- DNB and Lisa Dillman: Inside Oilers-Kings matchup between Jay Woodcroft and Todd McLellan
- Lowetide: Why Oilers line up as summer trade partner with Ducks
- DNB: Oilers’ Derek Ryan’s under-the-radar play instrumental in Game 2 success
- DNB: A long travel day, dim lights at morning skate and who’s on the real PP1?
- DNB: Oilers end seven-game postseason losing streak, a party five long years in the making
- Lowetide: 5 biggest Bakersfield Condors stories from 2021-22 AHL season
- DNB: How Dave Manson is making the Oilers blue line better
- Pierre Lebrun: Can Jay Woodcroft’s message help the Oilers move past recent playoff failures?
- DNB: Should Oilers play Jesse Puljujarvi and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on same line?
- DNB: Connor McDavid produces magic, Mike Smith mistake proves costly: 5 Oilers observations
- Lowetide: Oilers regular season report card for 2021-22
- DNB: Mike Smith never stopped fighting. A playoff run would be his ultimate redemption
- Lisa Dillman and Lowetide: Oilers vs. Kings position by position: Who has the edge?
- Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Shayna Goldman: Inside Oilers’ adjustments that saved their season
- Lowetide: Oilers’ exceptional April saves a turbulent regular season
- Lowetide: Stock up or down for every prospect in the Oilers system
MCDAVID ON OFF FIVE-ON-FIVE
There’s been plenty of talk this week about Edmonton’s poor performance with Connor McDavid off the ice, but in my opinion it’s a criticism that applied to the Dave Tippett Oilers.
The Jay Woodcroft Oilers were 54-50 without 97 based on the NST line tool numbers. The Woodcroft playoff Oilers are 6-3 with McDavid and 5-8 without, but that’s all Leon Draisiatl’s line. I mentioned the other day that he wasn’t getting the usual outscoring results, and that has become the theme of the series.
Woodcroft is looking for answers, and may have found some with 97-29 playing together. I’m not sure what the Nuge, McLeod and Ryan lines might look like, but stay tuned.
CARTER SAVOIE
The cover photo is a somewhat dated NHLE list of prospect forwards, there were a few games left in some leagues. Here is the updated list:
This is a valuable list. In all the positives about the forwards, I want to point out that Philip Broberg absolutely smashed expectations during his season in Bakersfield. Swedish defensemen are difficult to project offensively (see Oscar Klefbom and Erik Gustafsson), this season with the Condors has been wildly encouraging for Broberg. We shouldn’t overlook his season.
Savoie is the king of the draft +2 group, partly due to Dylan Holloway’s injuries and delayed entrance into the AHL, but it’s important to give the man his due. Savoie’s scoring got him a contract that sheds one of three seasons during the entry deal, that’s a helluva get for the player and indicates how much value Edmonton places in him. It also tightens the development window, so is a double-edged sword. The next contract may not be a home run unless Savoie posts some big boxcars with the Condors.
It goes without saying that Xavier Bourgault and Matvey Petrov had outstanding seasons and are giving the Tyler Wright draft era some exciting possibilities. Don’t lose sight of Broberg. He accomplished much this season.
THE BLAME GAME
I suspect we’ll have long conversations whenever the Oilers season ends, and I’m hopeful we can have some nuanced discussions. For instance, Ken Holland’s inability to address goaltending last summer should be a topic. Along with it, the Duncan Keith trade, which surrendered massive cap room and compromised further building of the roster, has to be central to the piece. I remain convinced that trading a defenseman (Ethan Bear) who could play top-four minutes for a third-line winger (Warren Foegele) failed to recognize the full value of a RHD in today’s market. That should be part of the conversation.
Along with those negatives, the positives have to be considered. Adding Zach Hyman, Cody Ceci, Evander Kane, Derek Ryan and others helped the team. Even Foegele performed as expected, giving the team more scoring bunch in the middle-six forwards.
Can we converse this way? Or is it another summer spent under a black and white, death or glory sky? It’s up to you.
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
A fun day on the show, as we contemplate the season and look forward to Game Six against the Los Angeles Kings. Chris Johnston, TSN Insider, will join us to talk about the Oilers-Kings series and other games tonight. Tom Gazzola will preview the game from the rink at 11:40 and we’ll be give you up to date information throughout the morning. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!
Above all else last night:
What. A. Game. By Connor McDavid!
Woodcroft’s line blender sure looked smoother last night, though it was still blending.
They looked like panic moves in game 5, but in hindsight it appears to have been by design.
Seemed to be pretty effective in getting McDavid and co. clean air, and countering TMaC’s line matching.
JP and Zack played 1 shift after the goal to tie the game at 2.
Woody basically went with 9 forwards and 6 D.
Broberg played 3:16
JP played 5:30
Zack played 6:57
Next lowest ice time was Ryan Mcleod at 13:58. Highest TOI non McDavid forward was Yamamoto at 19:19. If Drai is not hurt, he would have played more. McDavid played 24:01.
I believe deployment of the roster would have been similar with McClellan or Tippet
McDavid has to play that much because virtually no one else is a threat to score on their own, regardless of who the coach is.
One thing I noticed in the 3rd was that the Oilers managed to sucker the Kings into a bunch of icings and then ManWood were hard matching McDavid with every offensive zone draw. I counted at least three double shifts that came out of it. The way lines 1/2 were controlling zone time I get why the bench was shortened.
For JP, I thought his skating and oomph were a bit better last night but the ice time is a tell. There’s something up with the Bison King. I’m secretly hoping its an injury or else its a concern that he’s riding the pine again.
Yes, but a major difference is their TOI in games 1 through 5.
McDavid 20:04
Draisaitl 18:59
Nuge 18:43
Previous iterations have had them 22-30
minutes per game. Connor and Leon both averaged over 30 minutes vs Winnipeg, though the OTs skewed that.
Woodcroft has managed their minutes so they have more in the tank for games like this.
Anybody have video of the alleged intent to injure on Draisatl with 15 seconds left? Kupari goes for the leg & it’s apparently what got Woody riled up.
Did anyone else notice Russell’s grey hairs? He was never worth 4 mil but I’d sign him at league min for the 7/8D role next year.
After deserving the criticism, that was a good showing from the Bouchard/Keith pairing.
In a game of this magnitude and the pp are 4-1 LA when both teams are mauling each other is embarrassing for the NHL. I mean to narrow it down the hit on McDavid no call and the call on Yamamoto is classic reffing the scoreboard and the arena your in.
Its same as game 3 except oil didn’t runaway with it so they had no opportunity to micky mouse call late penalties to make it look better on gamesheet.
Not just the refs, but the ice was absolute garbage too. The puck was bouncing like crazy. Maybe the LA ice crew were missing playoff basketball.
The last six periods McDavid has played are insanity. This is like Goku going Super Saiyan to kill Frieza.
My thoughts exactly
The man has big dragon balls.
I have no clue what you just wrote.
Well, kind of…Japanese cartoon stuff, I am thinking….
Frieza is hardly a Japanese name though…
Can’t wait to see Mikey Anderson with the $5K fine, and no suspension.
For the Leon headlock? That’s totally allowed….. no?
The slew foot take down is what got me haha
He’s been a liability the whole series! From driving Nuge’s head into the ice, to tonight’s antics??
I wish he was on my team.
Throw in a fine for Grundstrom’s dive too. The refs should, and likely will, be embarrassed by that after reviewing the game later.
Except this is the NHL; the refs don’t review their games.
If NBA refs managed games like NHL refs, they’d be lucky to get out of the arena alive.
The whole Archibald thing has me cast as Mugutu in Zoolander, downing crazy pills.
The guy does nothing in the third period, misses an open net to ice the game, slams his stick on the boards while coasting for his line change.
I literally couldn’t care less about his politics.
He stinks! I look at this guy, and every look is the same!
Hmm, I watch all of his shifts as well & he has impacted the games much much more then multiple other forwards on the Oiler roster
The red means I’m getting warmer?
If Seinfeld was set in Edmonton, when Steinbrenner calls the Costanzas to say George is dead, Frank would grab the phone and say, “Why is Josh Archibald on the third line!?!”
I suppose you can interpret the red that way, or you could properly interpret what it actually means.
Name all the forwards you think had more impact last night?
Now that’s funny, I don’t care who you are.
I thought Archibald was good last night, although I can’t believe he missed the open net.
The Oilers won a hard fought game. Against two teams…
It would almost be tough to break up Kulak/Ceci for Nurse.
I say, sit Broberg and still go with 7D (keep Rusty in) but I don’t know how to deploy them.
Kulak – Ceci
Nurse – Bouchard
Keith – Barrie
Russell
Yeah it’s scary as hell but JW has last change and you can always throw the human shield out there for D-zone starts.
Nurse-Barrie
Ya, I though about that but I thought Keith had a strong game – 71% expected goals as well.
Nurse has played with Barrie. Could be the 2nd pairing.
Lol Woodcroft is pissed. Rightfully so. Seething.
He’s giving great answers, though.
He made quite clear how he felt using the bare minimum of words.
Love it, edgiest he’s ever been.
Oh yea he was boiling! Surprised he didn’t bite through his tongue! That was a pathetic, one sided display of incompetent officiating. Does anyone from the Oilers take issue with the league? Guessing not.
Is there any possible way to retaliate without hurting yourself in the short term?
Loved Kaner flashing the “7 goals” to the crowd!!
He meant game 7. Didn’t even know he had 7 goals.
Did he say that? Ha – I’m sure he knows exactly how many goals he has.
He did say that in the post game. If you watch the replay, he can be seen telling LAK fans “game 7, baby” as he flashes the 7. Nice response to Kempe, and his consistent play this series can actually back it up. Also love that he was giving it to LA fans, who have been extremely boastful and disrespectful on social media.
Well, either way it was great.
Leon is Willis Muthaeffin Reed!
The refs are straight up moronic.
Anze Kopitar can’t skate any more and is just grabbing away. I’m rolling pennies, will mail to him so he can pay for power skating lessons.
Not sure why but I laughed quite hard at this. Thank you haha
Oilers won. Leafs lost. There is some justice in the world… At least tonight.
This reffing is worse than Aussie Rules Football.
Didn’t think AFL had refs
AFL has umpires. What’s wrong with them anyway?
In Aussie Rules, if no one dies, there is no foul, so it is said….
My blood pressure is through the roof. I guess I won’t be sleeping for a while
I spent ten minutes standing in front of the tv. Finally poured a scotch to try to calm down. Springbank 15 year old – 1 for each remaining win needed plus some extra for overtimes.
That in my opinion is the biggest win since game 6 vs Carolina. And also in my opinion the best and most determined period I’ve ever seen McDavid play
Game 7 Saturday. Just win baby!
Still expecting Kenny to be writing a cheque after this one
The Refs are more disappointed than the Kings and their fans. They put all that effort into shafting the Oilers who were still able to win.
Teams scoring first are now 6-0 in the series.
Yeah, noticed that too, although in 3 games they were tied at one point?!
Every game is tied at one point. 😀
Not only has the team that scored first won, but there hasn’t been a lead change all series.
That was an absolute war
And the Kings played decently, too.
Gutsy effort. That’s all a guy can ask for.
Onto Game 7
Go Oilers!
This.
Ceci and Kulak were monsters tonight.
Without a doubt – from the first period (where I commended both) through he final whistle.
23 and 21 minutes (and change), respectively.
Wow. Grind it out. Crush them at home
Kane is on pace for 95 goals
Looked like Woodcroft gave the refs one last earful before he went to the dressing room.
I saw that too. (better be careful with that, we’ll end up starting the next game on the PK). LOL
Yeah, the camera panned away quickly but he wasn’t inviting any of the officials over for drinks
That’s the most animated I’ve seen Woody since he got called up to the NHL.
He definitely has it in him – not uncommon for his down in the AHL.
They live to fight another day. See y’all Saturday.
(ok, probably before then)
OILERS IN 7
Get Leon and Darnell in a Hyperbaric chamber stat.
LOL – I was just about to make that post!
Hopefully the game off helped Darnell. Overall the D played well.
They need one of those regeneration chambers. Just like Boba Fett
Ok, I’ll say it: This is the way.
Got the win , now rest up for Saturday.
Smith huge
97 with a clinic on body positioning and stick checks at the end
Shove this up Bettmans you know what
Another solid game for Smith .938
Yup, kudos to Smith tonight – a very solid game and the better tender on the night!
Bettman’s point?
Whether those 7 fingers were for “game 7” or “my 7th goal” – I love it.
7 million!
Lol x 2
WOOOOOOOOT!!!!!! If they can win this, they can win anything!! Ha!!!
We won but this league is a joke. They need reffing reform.
They need bettman gone. The game management isn’t just happening again the oil it’s ridiculous watching the other games also.
Bettman is just a mouthpiece for the small number of owners who actually call the shot (apparently it is like 6 or so owners who dictate things, with the Bruins owner as the main one) or so it is often said by agents, media and retired players. As such Bettman being gone would change nothing most likely.
What the NHL needs is either a fan revolt or a couple hot-shot type new owners to come in and change things.
Or, you know, media that actually called them out on their bullshit instead of pandering to them constantly.
My heart. Time for a vacation to the Castle of Aargh.
Kassian should be sent out to run Richardson if he’s on the ice.
If the officials weren’t so egregiously terrible that’s a hatty.
Kane clowning Los Angelinos? Draisaitl backhand magic sauce? Barrie picking corners?
It’s a modern fairy tale!
I hope all the Oilers give the refs the look that says we beat you.
Every time I have tried to get back into being a hockey fan the refs do their best to remind me why I stopped watching it. The NHL does its very best in driving fans away. Any success the league has is astounding given how badly the product is tarnished by things like reffing, player safety, and so on.
A lot of truth in this post.
Playoff officiating is the biggest hurdle this organization (NHL) has yet to solve. The only sport I know of that has two completely different standards of officiating.
This isn’t an Oilers problem either, ask other fans and it’s clear it’s a league wide problem.
Consistently inconsistent.
Two things can be true: 1) the officiating is inconsistent and 2) the officiating consistently helps more teams than others
The initial breaking point for me was the Anaheim series a couple years back; after the Oilers lost I was livid with the officiating. The very next game I watched (I think it was the Capitals? Not sure anymore, Covid-years have somewhat skewed my memory, honestly) was just as bad and I just threw my hands up, turned off the game and didn’t watch hockey again until like.. 60% through the next season, and sparingly at that, and that was as someone who watched at least 8-9 games a week minimum, of a number of teams.
I’m starting to like this Kane fellow
Evander Kane with the Bettman hat trick! 2 good goals and 1 “Game Management” special called off.
YEA BOYS! CLOSE IT OUT NOW!
THANK YOU HOCKEY GORDS!
ooo my heart
Thank you jesus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really hate the Kings.
Suck it Kings. Adversity overcome! One to go.