The Edmonton Oilers played like it was “Kris Russell night at the Saddledome” and won the game. Passes that exited the zone landed nowhere good, and returned to the Oilers end within seconds. If you tuned in at any given time, you would have bet Edmonton was shorthanded, but they were not (just two minutes) down a man.
The goaltender (Stuart Skinner) was the star of the game. There were some positively filthy plays during the 60 minute saga, but two points for the road team and none for the Flames was the goal. Mission complete and successful. Edmonton is back in the playoffs, owners of the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference courtesy a one-point edge over Calgary. The fact the Oilers won should please you. HOW they won is a concern.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Oilers’ Philip Broberg, Markus Niemelainen pursue final defence spot
- Lowetide: Oilers’ Darnell Nurse remains the top defenceman despite struggles
- Lowetide: Oilers organizational depth chart reveal elite centres, quality prospects
- DNB: How Oilers are different yet similar to last season through 35 games
- Lowetide: Oilers’ Evan Bouchard’s difficult season disguises elite talent
- New DNB: Why the Oilers should, but probably won’t, acquire Jakob Chychrun
- Lowetide: What’s wrong with the Edmonton Oilers?
- Lowetide: Can Oilers prospect Reid Schaefer make the NHL leap next season?
- New DNB: Oilers throwing away points as defencemen continue to make crucial mistakes
- DNB: Why the Oilers need to make a trade to give Darnell Nurse more help on defence
- Lowetide: Ranking Oilers GM Ken Holland’s 5 best trades in Edmonton
- DNB: Oilers’ Klim Kostin much happier in Edmonton than he was with Blues
- Lowetide: Oilers top 20 prospects, winter 2022
- Lowetide: Will Oilers pro scouts help identify quality at the deadline?
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers avert disaster with strong finish to November
- DNB: Oilers GM Ken Holland Q&A: Can the team be improved? If so, how?
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers’ Jack Campbell will be better, but can he be a true No. 1?
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers reasonable expectations for every player in 2022-23
WHAT TO EXPECT IN DECEMBER
- On the road to: MIN (Expected 0-1-0) (Actual 0-1-0)
- At home to: MTL, WAS, ARI, MIN (Expected 3-1-0) (Actual 3-1-0)
- On the road to: MIN, NAS (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 1-1-0)
- At home to: STL, ANA (Expected 1-0-1) (Actual 0-1-1)
- On the road to: NAS, DAL (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 1-0-1)
- At home to: VAN (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-1-0)
- On the road to: CAL, SEA (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
- At home to: WPG (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- December expected result: 9-5-1, 19 points in 15 games
- December actual result: 6-5-2, 14 points in 13 games
- November results: 7-7-0, 14 points in 14 games
- October results: 6-3-0, 12 points in 9 games
- Oilers in 2022-23: 19-15-2, 40 points in 36 games
A 91-point pace isn’t anything to celebrate, but the victory involved several encouraging stories we can discuss for the next couple of days. It’s a far better game to ponder than the wretched run up to the Christmas break. As of now, the Oilers have more points in December than games played. That should be a low bar, but Edmonton didn’t get it done in November and have wasted much of this month unable to find any kind of consistency. That game against Calgary had some good signs.
SUMMARY
- Stuart Skinner stole the show, the highlights and the headlines. Stopped 46 of 47, credited with stopping 10 of 11 HDSC, it was at least that many. My GOD he looks calm in net. No. 7 in five-on-five save percentage (.931) for the season. Helluva rookie.
- Darnell Nurse played 23:32, three shots, three blocks and three giveaways. Had one good rush, leveled Tyler Toffoli late on what could have been a penalty, plus drew the penalty that led to the winning goal. The shot shares were ghastly for the pairing, played significant minutes against the Kadri, Lindholm and Backlund lines. In my opinion he played well, was a physical player and interrupted progress. A lot of noise in this game, and chances are going to happen (Calgary is good).
- Cody Ceci had one giveaway (damned dangerous) and a couple of blocked shots, failed to cover the backdoor a couple of times. He was better January on last season, Oilers have to hope he’ll repeat in 2023. A little walkabout on the Backlund goal.
- Brett Kulak had one hit and three blocked shots, skated miles and spent most of the night defending. His individual five-on-five totals (7-18 shots, 2-6 HDSC but 1-0 goals) made me melancholy for the Kris Russell era.
- Tyson Barrie scored a huge goal, the Oilers (imo) were not a wildly confident group and if the Flames go up 2-0 I don’t think Edmonton wins. Four shots, three shot blocks, got hammered by Flames a couple of times.
- Markus Niemelainen played a solid game without major incidents. That’s the expectation and he delivered. Some blocked shots, a nice hit, and even a couple of headman passes that worked.
- Evan Bouchard had a giveaway, a couple of takeaways and a very quiet evening with the puck. I’m not sure the Oilers are using him properly, the passes he’s best at are outlet types that spring the forward. Where did that go? Six foot passes can be deadly. Turning a Maserati into a Mule Train. Then again, Tyson Barrie has a 55 percent goal share at five-on-five, so what the hell do I know?
- Zach Hyman had an assist, two shots, a HDSC, plus a takeaway. He keeps pucks moving and is great on retrievals. I’m not sure who his ideal center is, and am also not sure he’s on the roster. I do confess to loving him as a player, and would like to see time travel in my lifetime. If he could play for the 1970-71 Boston Bruins, I think they win Stanley.
- Connor McDavid got kneed by MacKenzie Weegar and scored a gigantic goal by using his speed, skill, quick brain and release. Man, when he has a mind to 97 can find a sliver of daylight to shoot like ringing a bell. I bet he scores 40 at 40. One thing I want to mention is that the Oilers played it right when Calgary got filthy. Sutter is a smart man who knows about motivation and instinct, so the reckless plays later in the game by the Flames were designed to draw out the Kassian on this roster. It didn’t happen. The mistake was in fact made by Calgary, as Andrew Mangiapane made his interference too obvious and cost the game. That’s maturity, and Edmonton has finally learned it. You want blood? Next preseason the schedule will be drunk with Flames games.
- Jesse Puljujarvi had a solid night, including a fantastic scoring chance early. Took a penalty, had a shot, two takeaways and interrupted progress for Calgary often. I thought he played well, and the coaches had him on the ice late which implies they agree. Has an expected goal share of over 50 percent in six of the last eight games.
- Warren Foegele had several sorties that showed promise but none turned into a dangerous chance. Took a hit that looked dangeorus in the Calgary zone, hit some people and blocked a shot.
- Leon Draisaitl picked up an assist, five shots, three HDSC and a couple of takeaways. He should have drawn several penalties but none were called. He battled, it was an uncomfortable night for Edmonton’s skill forwards. The hit into the open door was a candidate for the most dangerous of the night. Edmonton’s reaction? Discipline and a win. You should take that all day.
- Kailer Yamamoto picked up another point, the assist on Barrie goal. He also had one shot, one HDSC and is beginning to post numbers that reflect a top-six forward. In his most recent 10 games, his five-on-five pts-60 is 2.21.
- Mattias Janmark had one giveaway and a shot block. He’s excellent in the neutral zone, getting pucks turned over. His offensive game has eroded though, and I expect he might see fourth line when everyone is healthy.
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins spent the evening in chase mode (2-10 shots, 0-1 goals, 2-6 HDSC) but did have two shots on goal and two HDSC. Handled the Lindholm line okay but the Backlund line was pure acid for the Nuge trio.
- Klim Kostin was physical and intimidating. Had one takeaway, three hits, and got hit a few times. Not every game is going to be a gem offensively, but he was quiet in this one. I thought his effort against Vancouver was much better.
- Dylan Holloway had a shot on goal that was a reasonable look, failed to gather the puck a couple of times, tipped shots heavenward twice, and was physical. Ordinarily I would object to 8:49 playing time for him, but this was a game that was lost on a single play (by a veteran, no less) so using him sparingly was a wise choice on this night.
- Ryan McLeod had one shot, one HDSC, a GV and a hit, plus he won six of nine in the circle. He’s just back from injury but is getting chances. A good sign.
- Derek Ryan had two takeaways, iced the puck but it looked good and had 40 seconds on the PK. 3-2-5 in his last 10 games at five-on-five. That’s good production.
THE GAME
Woodcroft and Manson are choking off the offense in order to be risk averse, so have thrown away last year’s innovation for the Dave Tippett plan. I wish them luck. I also hope they rediscover the forward pass. On the other hand, I’m genuinely pleased by the discipline shown in not retaliating when Calgary went low. It shows maturity, something that would have helped in the Winnipeg series a couple of years ago. Play through, don’t waste your time on scrums or the referees. Those who call out this strategy didn’t get their fill of bar fights in their 20’s, that’s on them.
BAKERSFIELD
The Condors played a strong game last night, encouraging results everywhere. Carter Savoie slammed home a pass from Raphael Lavoie early for a 1-0 lead. Tyler Tullio entered the San Jose zone, dished a nice pass to Seth Griffith, who scored his first of two. Mike Kesselring used Tyler Benson as a decoy to score his ninth of the year, and Lavoie scored later on with one of his lasers. Olivier Rodrigue was solid again, his SP for the season (.920) ranks No. 9 among goalies who have played 10 or more games.
LOWETIDE AND JAMIESON
We’re back! 10-2 today on TSN 1260. We’ll talk miles and miles of hockey, including the Oilers-Flames and activity coming out of the trade freeze. Will Markus Niemelainen emerge as the de facto No. 6 blue in the next two months? Read that article at The Athletic today if you get a chance, a nice stat right at the end. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. Talk soon!
Now I know all about the Scottish play
https://historythings.com/macbeth-superstition/
and I know about 2:35 of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vUhSYLRw14
Dare I say it?
19 in 14?
Talk of Skinner’s fine night prompted me to see what he’s up against for the unofficial “Goalie rookie of the year” award, appears he’s got some competition. Thompson out of Vegas is making everyone forget that they gambled big and crapped out with Lehner, and this Kotectkov dude from Carolina kind of came out of nowhere. Anyways, I noticed a dude I remember playing great against us (Dostal) not on the NHL record and lo and behold there was a minimum games played threshold which I eliminated for shits and giggles. And doing so kind of made my day.
Congratulations to former Oilers draft pick Dylan Wells on making it to the NHL game played club. Granted it was likely a third period mop-up duty for the tire-fire that is this year’s Blackhawks, but you’re rocking a .923 SVP in the NHL!
This might get lost in the shuffle because it’s late-o’clock and a fresh post coming up tomorrow but whatever. Another feather in the cap of the Pete Chiarelli/Bob Green draft era.
Summarizing!
Petrov picked up two helpers in a big win, while Wanner and Chiasson were held off the scoresheet (the former getting in a scrappy-doo though).
Neither Savoie nor Gildon have come out for the 3rd period – sigh.
Kaldis not on the bench to start the 3rd period either and, with Demers in the box for his fighting major, that leaves the Condors with 3 d-men for now….
OP falls asleep on the couch and wakes up to a 7-2 deficit for the Condors near the end of the 2nd period but just in time to see Posposil bury Gildon in to the end boards from behind- dirty hit wit NO penalty called – Philp with zero hesitation, drops them with Posposil – a very spirited fight with bombs thrown (and landed both ways) and finished off with a massive KO by Philp.
Lets than a minute later, Savoie is hit behind the play – again, NO penalty and this time, Demers drops them in retribution – a short fight.
Both Gildon and Savoie went down he tunnel after receiving their hits.
End of a Condors’ PP, Malone gets it back to the point, Kesslering walks in near the top fo the circles, rips one, its blocked, puck goes right back to him, rips it again and he’s got TEN GOALS!
3-2 Wranglers in the 2nd.
Savoie with the second assist.
Well, seconds later, Kesselring goes full Nurse, chases in the danger zone, leaves a guy who stuff it home.
4-2
Aside from a regulation finish or both teams being disqualified, what result should be hoped for in this Kraken/flames game?
A Kraken win
Always flames loss. Always.
Another cross-bar for the Condors – this time a Lavoie rip that beat Wolfe but not the bar.
Yeah, I know the PuckIQ numbers can vary a lot based on opponent. It’s why Kulikov showed up last in %TOI vs elites list the year he played with the Oilers even though he was 2nd pair with Larsson the whole time.
Your theory that Chychrun ranked low in QoC last season because he was injured when Arizona played difficult opponents is possible, but seems a bit unlikely. I guess WG didn’t mention that you can actually check to test the theory (PuckIQ lets you pull numbers by date).
To remind of Chychrun’s full season QoC (%TOI vs elites) that started this:
19-20 – 22:26/game 31.8%TOIvsElites (5th) (or 4th if you omit Hjalmarsson with 26GP)
20-21 – 23:23/game 22.7%TOIvsElites (2nd)
21-22 – 22:59/game 31.0%TOIvsElites (5th)
So Chychrun played 1st pair TOI all 3 seasons, but in 2 of the 3 seasons he played 3rd pair QoC.
If we look at his 21-22 to test the hypothesis:
1-26 24:49/game 31.8%TOIvsElites (1st of 6) (range was 31.8 to 26.2)
Then injured
27-47 20:42/game 29.9%TOIvsElites (5th of 6) (range was 44.5 to 28.4)
Then injured again
So he played 1st pair TOI and 1st pair QoC to start the season. When he returned from injury he played 2nd pair TOI and 3rd pair QoC. He grades out 3rd pair %TOI overall because the players were bunched pretty tight in games 1-26 games, while in the 2nd stretch Chychrun was way back of the leaders (Mayo and Gost were both over 40% TOI vs elites, while Chychrun was a shade under 30%).
The numbers for this season are up now too. For the 17 games Chychrun has played:
22-23 – 22:27/game 22.1%TOIvsElites (7th of 7) (range was 28.9 to 22.7)
So Chychrun’s %TOI number wasn’t low last season because Arizona played tough opponents while he was out. Though it may be fair to speculate that his reduced TOI and usage vs elites after the 1st injury were due to him not being 100%.
Surprisingly, this season continues the trend of Chychrun playing big TOI, but not facing the most difficult QoC. I think everyone assumed that was no longer the case.
So this is now Chychrun’s 4th season being a 22-23 minute defenseman. However, he only got true 1st pair usage (1st pair TOI and 1st pair QoC) in 20-21 and the first 26 games of 21-22. Exactly 82 games of true 1st pair usage, weirdly.
The rest of the time (including this season) he’s been playing 1st pair TOI, but against 3rd pair QoC, on average.
This doesn’t mean he’s not a very good defenseman, but I do think it’s it’s a real thing that’s worth noting. Even on Arizona, Chychrun isn’t being fed the toughest opponents by his coaches. And I also think it’s fair to assume his results have been improved a bit by not being asked to face the best players on opposing teams.
Really interesting stuff thanks for this.
With the injuries and coming back from them the coach might be sheltering him as he ramps back into form.
And he gets injured quite a bit.
This season, it looks like Chychrun is sheltered as you’ve concluded here, though a sub 70 minute sample size is not very robust.
Indeed, Chychrun has a lower percentage of TOI vs elites 22.5% compared to Moser (28.5%) and Valimaki (28.9%).
For the games Chychrun has played this year he’s actually played 66.5 total minutes vs elites compared to Moser (67.5 min) and Valimaky (50 minutes).
If you’re going to conclude that Chychrun is sheltered this year because he played a minute less against the PuckIQ estimate of elites, in a small sample, I’m not buying it.
From what it looks like. Arizona has a fairly even deployment of their top 4 against Elites this year–just that Chychrun plays so many additional minutes against the other comp that it lowers his percentage of total time against elites down.
You don’t have to buy it if you don’t want to, that’s fine.
I think I’m being fair in describing Chychrun’s usage – big minutes but relatively less of his minutes against top competition than his teammates.
Whatever you want to call that usage, it isn’t typical 1st pair or #1D usage
(ie – big minutes AND top comp).
Nurse plays those minutes. Makar, McAvoy, Fox, those guys play true 1st pairing minutes. Chychrun is generally not doing that on a terrible team.
The Bourgault, Savoie, Lavoie, Malone unit starts the PP but its the veteran unit that scores the goal.
They work it around, retrieve some rebounds to keep plays alive – a shot from Benson from the half wall goes off a Wrangler and wide, bounces off the end boards, comes up the other side and Griffith gets the goal pounding it home.
Philp with the 2nd assist.
Ooop, spend 5 minutes with the wife and come back to the Wranglers having scored 2 for a 3-1 lead.
Niemo may be the fastest skater but Kulak owned him in the puck control relay (he was fast) and Jesse owned McLeod in the sauce pass portion of that relay event.
Esposito with a great long stretch pass from the goal line to Griffith for a clear breakaway and Griffith with yet another beautiful move – bar down for the goal (his 3rd beauty in 4 periods) and its 1-0 early.
Check that – reviewed and called off – didn’t go in (crossbar).
Holloway pretty damn good on the sauce pass portion – took longer because he hit the post 4 times.
As anticipated, Niemelainen wins the fastest skater at the skills comp…
lol!
97 not competing?
Savoie/Malone/Lavoie
Tulio/Esposito/Griffith
Benson/Philp/Bourgault
McPhee/McKegg/Kambeitz
Demers/Kesselring
Kaldis/Deharnais
Gildon/Kemp
Rodrigue
Same lineup for the Condors including Rodrigue going back to back with the travel.
Schaeffer rings the bar, takes a penalty (Canada scored on) and then stopped on a 2 on 0 – eventful last few minutes.
Condors with a 4 plus hour bus ride back to Bakersfield after last night’s game and are back to play the Wranglers tonight at home. Hopefully they can get their legs going and build on their best game of the season (to my eye).
Out of respect for LT’s quoting rule. I won’t quote this article. 🙁
It’s a good read. Maybe a dig at Edmonton’s rebuild in there along with the cold weather.
https://theathletic.com/4038942/2022/12/28/coyotes-bill-armstrong-jakob-chychrun/
I don’t read OilersNation as much these days, but I do have time for NHL_Sid.
I had missed his article recently posted there about Chychrun.
He adds some microstats from Cory Szajder–not sure where these are these days? He used to have a Public Tableau.
Also, he adds in some Evolving Wild stats. I don’t subscribe and I think these are from behind their paywall.
Quotes:
Chychrun Bouchard would be a fun pairing to watch.
Bouch is a talent that deserves work. As in getting D that can allow him to do what he’s best at while hopefully still progressing
I think as he gains man strength (6’3 and under 200 by a bit is still pretty lanky, would be different if he had elite wheels) his D game will improve. A better version of Barrie, and that has value as I see it
Bro may be the better defender but will likely never have the offensive game at the same level, also to me doesn’t have the same level of vision
You could keep both and do pretty well if you aren’t upgrading a good portion in the now
Chychrun could help Bouchard immensely since he’s good at in zone defensive play, puck retrievals. He also has size and wheels and can skate the puck out of trouble like Nurse.
Bouch would help Chychrun with his elite outlet passing and playmaking.
https://theathletic.com/4038942/2022/12/28/coyotes-bill-armstrong-jakob-chychrun/
I still wonder what the ghost will cost. He alluded to him in this article, but didn’t say much other than wanting to turn a bad contract into an asset.
Ghost would be a terrible fit
Bouch would be more given the same opportunities
Way too small for this D group and nobody to balance him
They don’t need O, they need D
Sounds like a better, younger, cheaper Nurse.
There’s literally no such thing.
Nurse is slightly off this season, perhaps more than that considering the expectation placed on him, but he’s got a skill set that’s nearly impossible to duplicate.
While there are better defencemen and Makar comes straight to mind here, aside from his cap hit he’s a key piece of any teams’s puzzle.
Oh my.
Off the top of my head I can think of 10 teams where Nurse would be second pairing.
we couldn’t care less what you think 🙂
This is a nice article with a lot of info in there. It does help paint a better picture of Chychrun as a player.
The part you quote really captures the weakest (IMO) parts of the article though.
Sid doesn’t give any info at all on the “high QoC” bit, aside from claiming ‘Chychrun played tough QoC’. He’s either unaware of PuckIQ, or has another (very different) source for Chychrun’s QoC.
The in-zone defending stuff is also highly speculative, even though some huge conclusions get made from it. Per the article, regarding Chychrun’s in-zone defending: “Aside from entry defence and retrievals, there aren’t a ton of publicly available defensive microstats, but there are some snapshots of proprietary metrics online. Per Sportsnet and SportLogIQ, Chychrun ranked first in the league in stick checks, and eleventh in puck battles won in 2020-21. From this, we can deduce that Chychrun’s major strength when it comes to defence is his in-zone defending.”
The article also says he “‘uses his size and physicality to consistently win puck battles along the boards“, but he’s below league average in hits/60 in recent years (behind Kulak and Bouchard, for reference).
Sid also shows Chychrun as below average on rush/entry defense, very average on zone exits, but above average at Dzone retrievals. So some good and some bad with the player, but not exactly the profile that matches what the Oilers are struggling with the most.
More generally, Sid seems to believe that a players relative results on bad teams likely underestimate their real impacts, when I’d have expected the opposite to be true (that the best players on bad teams likely shine more than they would on an average or good team).
I like the article and info presented overall, but I was honestly puzzled by the “consistently playing tough minutes against elite QoC” and “best in-zone defender” conclusions, because there was virtually zero data in the article that led to those conclusions (an article that claims to “statistically break down Chychrun’s value“.
There was lots of good about the player that was well supported, but those are some big conclusions that were based on basically nothing, as far as I can tell.
I find it weird that the comments are ordered L-C-R. Given out big centres are the ones that drive the lines, I think it would make more sense to list the centre first… C-L-R, no?
…. Ducks and hides…
Yes. It was a battle I lost long ago. I agree, though.
Why do you think it’s better to go C-L-R and not C-R-L?
Center is the most important position on a line.
Yes, but why C-L-R and not C-R-L?
Anyway, just being silly with this question, as you can see when you try to answer it. Our brains are such interesting machines.
Leafs fined $100K because they travelled as a team during the Christmas break.
https://twitter.com/friedgehnic/status/1608209893181251585?s=61&t=X814IPf1aotUBNLEZ5MehQ
I’ve been trying to figure out what is up with Pulujarvi and who he is for a long time and after watching last nights game there were two plays that brought me to the conclusion that if he was playing field lacrosse he would be a defensive midfielder.
The two plays were:
The shot on goal from the feed from 97. If he was a real offensive talent he scores there. No doubt that was a great save but from that spot and with the goalie moving across the ice that has to go in.
The other was where he makes a great play at the D blue line, clears the puck and has a chance to carry it through the neutral zone and start an attack. He fumbles the puck at the O blue line and no chance is generated off the rush nor was the puck put deep.
The reason he would be defensive middie is that he has very good mobility all over the ice and he is great at shutting down lanes. This I believe is owing to his bandy background. Think of this game as soccer played on ice with a hockey stick. There are lots of players, lots of space and big goals. So JP is good at getting back on D, great at disrupting plays and regaining and retaining posession but when he gets into the O zone he has nothing. He is a spooner (in lacrosse this is a player who carries the ball as if it is an egg on a spoon), meaning he has no hands. He just can’t get anything done in small spaces where he has to handle the puck. His best chances to score are off the rush.
Best of luck to JP in the future I hope he finds his role and gets some mojo going.
Under 2 minutes of pk time in last two years…makes me scratch my head continuously watching him play defensive zone.
Is he still just too terrible at English the coaches don’t want to bother trying to mold him?
Great take
I still think he’s a natural centre. But a defensive one. He wants to roam, as said isn’t good in small spaces, and is naturally defensive in style
Shut down C on a shut down line. Or with scoring wingers. Maybe sheltering young natural scorers like Savoie someday. He may score more if moving around more to get his shot away clean. As he played pre NHL
But that’s not how he sees himself currently, a checker. And coaches don’t see a C there apparently
I’m not sure he’s a natural C, he’s never played the position as far as I know (not in Liiga, not in the WJC, not in the AHL, not in the NHL).
I agree…Bandy Bison has had a tough time translating those skills to hockey. He will never be more than a third line player, not ideal for a 4th overall but stuff happens. I’ve always cheered for him but I don’t think he will be here after the trade deadline.
Part of me wonders what happens for JP post Oilers.
Is he going to be Benoit Poulliot, or Sam Bennett?
As in, a guy who bounces around the league, never really gaining traction, before retiring earlier than his pedigree would suggest? Or the guy who wasn’t a fit on the team that drafted him, only to be traded for peanuts, and flourish?
So many top drafted players don’t make it. So many of them simply bust, it’s amazing.
Any properly run NHL team focusses mainly on rounds 1 through 3 because that’s where are most of the good players to be found. I am using Boston as my prime example of an excellent way to manage a hockey team.
Ya, Pouliot played a few season after he left Edmonton but retired very early, barely over 30.
If Jesse does bust out of the league, I presume he’d head back to Finland and likely have a long career in Liiga, and likely star.
Oilers need better players than anything he’s likely to grow into in a big hurry.
JP has become a project.
“Bumps and bruises” for Drai and Barrie per Woody.
Regarding the forward pass comments: when WoodMan came in last year it was Feb. and when speaking of how they wanted the team to play they repeatedly said it was a very demanding way to play the game. If we agree with the coaches statement, and why shouldn’t we, then it’s reasonable to acknowledge that playing that style is unsustainable for an entire season, or in any event would leave a team gassed just when the playoffs are starting.
It then follows that the coaches needed a season long plan of how they want the team to play, perhaps with the idea that they will revert to the style we saw them play last year (when they were way behind in the standings) as the playoffs draw near. We have seen them play a few different ways this year: 11-7, 12-6, McDrai, 3 unicorns down the middle, and at times like crap. Woody’s been banging the consistency drum all season and it’s worth remembering there’s a large number of players early in their careers playing each game. And Campbell has been brutal. All of which to is say the coaches see what we see and have a plan, we just don’t know what it is. It does feel like a heater after the All-Star is in the cards
Part of this season is a wonderful success. 2-1 in the annual series against the fLames is always a good way to end the series. So part of this season is now a good deal. Now they can focus on a full 200 ft game and let the skill put the goals in the net. Come on boys lets ring off the new year with the start of a big winning streak.
VGK sustaining significant injuries again.
Alex Martinez seen on crutches after last night’s game.
He joins Eichel, Marchessault, Theodore, Whitecloud, Cotter, and Howden on IR.
Could be an opportunity to track them down for 1st in the Pacific.
Someone here a month or so ago when Vegas was on fire and had a big lead in the division had a “just wait for their injuries to start” post. There’s a fair bit of mileage on many of their players
Martinez got hurt blocking a shot…could happen to anyone.
Other than Marchessault, their other injured players are well under 30 so I don’t think mileage has much to do with it.
Just bad luck.
It would seem LAK might be well positioned for a push with 7 of their next 10 at home where they have a record of 11-5-2.
Kris Russell blocked a lot more shots than anyone, but was rarely injured.
Some players go down with injuries more than others.
as I remember it, Kris Russell wore double protection on his shins/ankles.
You obviously are still high on Byfield what do you project him at in a few years? I myself do not think is worthy of the top 2 pick. I’m glad the Kings didn’t pick sharpshooter Stuetzle.,
There is no reason to be down on Byfield…at all.
He just turned 20 and his development has been stymied by the pandemic, which caused him to play in the AHL at 18, a broken ankle and, most recently, a viral infection that saw him miss multiple games and lose 20 pounds.
He was just called up for last night’s game after a conditioning stint in Ontario where he managed 9 goals and 15 points in 16 games.
To put it in perspective, he is almost an entire year younger than Holloway and has exceeded Holloway’s numbers in both the AHL and NHL.
I’m not sure he would still go second overall but he most certainly would be a top 10 pick in that draft and still projects as a top 6 centre.
Holloway lost just as much or more development time as Byfield did. I thought Holloway would be a better fit then he has been so far maybe it happens in the New Year.
How are can’t miss prospects Podkolzin and Ratbones doing?
Why on earth woud you want to finish first and play a tougher opponent? lol
Finishing first is better than the alternative especially since you have no idea who your opponents will be.
Are you for real?
Per Reid Wilkins, neither Drai nor Barrie on the ice today. Broberg is though….
Will wait to hear what Woody says on Drai but we know his words will be essentially meaningless given prior history (i.e. “maintenance day” for McLeod, said hours before he was placed on IR).
I keep seeing Drai flexing his ankle lately before face offs. Unfortunately its going to be hard for him to get over that injury during the season as he keeps tweaking it now and then playing so much. Not sure if that was his injury last night.
He didnt look to be skating much last night, not the way he certainly can.
Gambling is the primary reason the NHL requires teams to say more about injuries than what the teams would actually like to provide. While I would like to know what is going on with the Oiler players, I applaud Woody for providing the least amount of information that the NHL will allow regarding the health status of a player. Strategically, he prefers to not let other teams know what the injury is or how bad it is, since most NHL players will use that to their advantage, if they can. Either they will attempt to aggravate the injury, like they did slashing Draisaitl’s ankle in the playoffs, or the injury intel potentially helps them exploit a temporary weakness.
Also, the less information the other coach has on which players Woody has available to him for a game, the less game planning they can do. Every little advantage can matter even for just a single game in the middle of the season. Woody sweats the details and most things he says to the media are well thought out and said with purpose.
The NHL is a dog eat dog league and like you said players will use it to their advantage especially some borderliners.
I’m not sure the QoC for Nurse/Bouchard (vis-a-vis the high TOI vs. elites for Nurse/Ceci), and the sample is small, but in their 75 minutes, Nurse/Bouchard are plus on goal share and have dominated possession and have an expected goal share of 65%.
I know, I know, Bouch is giving pucks away and has issues defensively so a bump to 1st pairing comp doesn’t seem like a great idea but I think it might make sense to give this pairing few more minutes and spell Ceci a bit.
Nurse/Bouch also won the goal share in a larger sample last season.
Looked like Manwood was deliberately trying to get that pairing out there against Lindholm, Dube and Toffoli… and was purposely avoiding Backlund’s line. They also got Kadri–Lucic–Huberdeau one time, coming out of the Calgary powerplay and a couple times against Ruzicka–Lewis–Ritchie later in the game.
Bouch was the go to guy in junior
Yes he’s making mistakes, but I think he may be a guy that does better in a breed situation as with Nurse. Harder comp, a better partner. Rise to the challenge
It is different with guys that don’t have the high skill. Their bread and butter is mistake free hockey and reliability, PK
A lot of Babcockians try to drag force players along. I’m not sure it always is a good idea
I’d rather decide if the player fits the plans or not, and if not still put them in a position to succeed, and then trade them for a good return
We’ve seen this too many times. Part of the issue is Holland’s off season plan. The coaches don’t have balancing players to do this a lot of times especially at D
After the McD goal, the team rolled out Tip’s prevent defence that involves icing the puck every five seconds. There was a ten minute stretch in the middle of the third period where it did not even look like players were trying to pass to each other.
Nemo has looked much better during his current stint, IMO.
Skinner is the MVP of the season. I was skeptical he could hack it as a full-time NHLer; he is proving me wrong.
Overall, I am pretty happy with the win. I have seen the Oilers outplay the Phlegms and lose plenty of times. I will take the win every time.
That strategy might work against teams that are offensively challenged but it won’t work against high flying teams.
Good game by the Oilers last night. To be honest I’m not that impressed with the flames. They look like a Sutter team that works hard but has no finish. Did anyone else notice that Lucic was out there a lot in the final 3 mins. I mean if he is a go to guy at the end of the game you are in trouble.
There was a lot I liked about Kostin’s game but his D zone play along the wall is not one of them. Thats 2 games in a row his weak play in his end has led directly to a goal. He is not a good choice for defensive zone face-offs.
Although Bouchard played a pretty good game overall he has a tendency to be the first one to make a big mistake in games and kill his teams defensive momentum. The game was tight defensively back and forth in the first then all of a sudden Bouchard slid a greasy backhand pass into the middle where his teammates couldn’t react in time. He needs to use the glass more if there isn’t a safe outlet.
I like Puljujarvi on Mcdavid’s line in the 3rd when the Oilers have the lead but I wouldn’t mind seeing someone else (anyone) there when the Oilers are trying to get the lead. McDavid could set Jesse up 10 times in a night and he still wouldn’t score.
Great game by Skinner. I was starting to worry a bit about his regression as the season goes on. Markstrom played well also. One more thing on Markstrom. Everyone is surprised by his poor season so far this year but maybe it’s because he is turning 33 in 3 weeks. Athletes usually show significant drop off at this age.
Kadri 20-25 Goal scorer who disappears for 5-10 game stretches a few times a regular season. he’s definitely a guy you want in the playoffs when play is a notch higher. Weeger has zero Goals and 7 assists. Huberdeau a PP specialist that needs finishers that can skate on his line. Treliving panicked and mortgaged the future on 3 players that had Career years. His being cheap cost him Johnny and he bet against Tkachuk having a Career year with free agency looming.
Agree that Treliving panicked. I thought the Flames would be better this year and that both those contracts would hurt them in the long run. Throwing money at players doesn’t improve your team it just limits your options.
Hubredeau under Sutter is a recipe for disaster.
People can say whatever they like but I’m willing to bet if given an option not a lot of guys would be willingly signing up to play under him these days.
Huberdeau Weeger and Kadri couldn’t sign on the dotted line fast enough. Money trumps all else. No way Sutter was going into a rebuild, let’s face it Treliving is Sutter’s Cabana Boy. All 3 of those contacts will not age well if the Flames miss the Playoffs this year and the Oilers have success.
Huberdeau on an 8 year, 10.5 million dollar extension that doesn’t start until his age 30 season, coming off a career season is a recipe for disaster.
IFTFY
He’s not a dynamic player like Johnny is maybe he’s playing injured but he’s not a noticeable player. Kadri needs to play aggressive to be effective the only problem is no one can play that style for 82 games plus the Playoffs. Weeger’s contract could get messy as well.
For Kostin I’m sure this is the reason he struggled under Berube
I think almost all Oilers struggle with the wall and especially knocking pucks down. They go to the right spot backtracking and the opponent easily passes right through them- the N zone is way too easy
Also at the blue lines
JP is fantastic skating after a player and somehow stripping them, but same issue skating at them to the wall
Just thinking out loud here.
Draisaitl left the ice for a short while, anyone know what that was about? And then he was cross-checked away from the play into the Flames bench.
Combined with the 97’s knee, I kept thinking the season was shot (although I have lost faith in this team, I still support them 1000%).
To be honest, the Jack Campbell situation has really deflated my expectations for this team. So of Skinner or Leon or Connor goes down, the what? These are the 3 players that are keeping this team afloat. This team is as deep as HH’s secrets and one of key players getting knocked out of the line-up for even 2-3 weeks mean this team will finish sub 50%.
If it results in more of the AHL underlings getting at bats in Edmonton (like the suddenly scoring Lavoie, the surprisingly scoring Kesselring, Bourgault, even Philp), is that a bad thing? I think not, I think it would help the team next season.
Yes its a bad thing. Unlikely the AHL guys are going to make a significant impact in the next year or two.
The Oilers need to make a sizeable move to balance the back of the roster, and some of those AHLers could be bait.
Hope the Oilers stay healthy as their mediocore play has allowed Seattle and LA to open substantial leads in the standings.
Not sure if the Oilers have it in them to go on an extended hot streak. Their fancy stats say they aren’t going to do it.
The AHL guys don’t need to make a big impact, but if they have NHL experience going into next season, it will benefit them personally and better prepare them to be able to potentially position them to make a positive impact sooner than otherwise.
*shudders* This is some DoD level musings here.
Yes, yes it is.
Just a review. They were beaten at home, while rested, by a team who had only won 3 of 19 games on the road and basically gives up 2 more goals per game than they score.
They then followed that up with a loss to Nashville, who honestly is not that good. After beating a top NHL team in Dallas, the lose to what should have been a tired team (who started their 3rd string goalie) in the Canucks.
Combined with the shocking result vs St. Louis and this team literally pissed away 7 gettable points out of 10. This would have them 1 point behind Dallas and 2 behind Vegas, with a game in hand.
They won’t win them all certainly, but these were all winnable, but the will, skill and interest just disappeared. Without consistent bottom 6 contributions and dependable goaltending from both goaltenders, this team is destined for mediocrity, at best.
Kane can’t heal quick enough this will be the blueprint for beating the Oilers come Playoff time. Look at what L.A did last year and almost beat us. Look at the Av’s last year skill this skill that but Sakic knew they weren’t getting by St.Loo without some dirty play by Kadri Manson Landeskog and a few others including goody two shoes MacKinnion. Retribution doesn’t have to be at Weeger Hammer Lindholm are Huberdeau who does not like the rough stuff. This is the new NHL a team intentionally goes after your stars you go after there’s.
Equipment issue.
1) Campbell could get hot at any minute. Mike Smith had stretches worse than Jack’s start to this season and then be the best goalie in the league for a stretch – in the same season. Campbell has also had awful and elite stretches in the same season. Its likely to happen at some point. Could start Friday or Sat for all we know.
2) If I’m not mistaken, the team has lost McDavid for 2-3 week stretches a couple of times in the past few years and have actually done well. I know of one tough south US road trip a few years back where they did well.
3) Lavoie does have a history of “suddenly scoring”. Unfortunately his history of suddenly stooping scoring (or being visible in any respect) is just as large. Here is hoping history does not repeat itself, again.
Since his first season with the Oilers, McDavid has only missed more than a couple of games consecutively only once. On Feb 2020, shortly before the Covid shutdown, McDavid missed 6 consecutive games over a 12 day period and the Oilers went 3-2-1 during the heyday of the DRY line. McDavid only missed one other game that season. He missed none in the 56 game season and only 2 games last season and 1 of those was him being rested at the end of the regular season. In 18-19, 2 of the 4 games games he missed were the suspension in February for the head bump. The other two, if I recall, were illness in the fall. He missed no games in his 2nd and 3rd seasons. In total since the start of his second season, he has missed only 13 games out of 491 that the Oilers have played.
Draisaitl and Nurse have been healthy for most of their careers as well, though both played very hurt in last year’s playoffs. Since becoming a full time NHL player, Leon has missed only 6 games, including 2 before last season’s playoffs. Nurse missed 11 games last season after having played every game the previous 4 seasons. The Oilers don’t have much experience at all since 2017 of playing without any of the “big 3”.
At Smith’s money and term no problem. This is not the case with Campbell, unproven at the age a few seasons before drop off for most guys. And he never set the level to drop from
Awful deal even if the player was a decent bet
We are less than a 10th in to the contract – I’ll give it a bit longer (and I’m one that didn’t want to sign either “big name” UFA tender for term).
I agree with this. It was kind of mentioned at the time of the signing that Campbell only really had one season as a starter, followed by an overall average NHL season and on the losing end of a 7 game series where he had a 0.897 playoff save percentage.
So how did this rate out as a 5×5 contract? How did they get to 5 years at this salary coming off of a 2 x $1.6 million salary and an average overall performance?
It seems to me Holland was bidding against himself…especially with the knowledge of his relationships with Hyman, Barrie and Ceci. How the hell can he possibly move this contract, if it comes to that? A buyout would basically snuff out a cap raise.
The Smith deals sound about right to me…
1) Or he could stay cold…bad seasons happen, especially to players who have not realized their potential for the majority of their careers. He could just as easily be a dud contract (which seems more likely given his track record over a mostly AHL career 192 games vs 150 in NHL) as it could be a good one. Currently he has the 5th worst save percentage of all goaltenders who have played in the NHL this season.
2) I have no concerns with McDavid’s durability, my concerns are the liberties taken on him by opponents and the lack of “protection” that the NHL braintrust provides it’s best players.
3) Lavoie is not only showing life as a scorer lately, he is also showing a 2-way game. From my vantage point, odds are the same regarding Campbell actually proving to be an NHL calibre goaltender on a consistent basis and one of the AHL players I mentioned actual playing games.
1) He could stay cold sure but I doubt it. Yup, he’s near the bottom of the league in save percentage, right AHEAD of Merzlikins and others that are right around him, Ingram (off season “sleeper signing”), Alex N. (Holland should have been fired for not claiming him), Quick, Grubauer, Thatcher Demko, etc., etc.
2) Should have been a minor penalty (and likely would have been called most times but the refs likely thought they saw legal contact as primary – wrongly). Nothing else the league can do on that play.
3) I look forward to seeing is any part of his game can thrive for longer than 2 weeks.
Also, can we talk about Markstrom against Oilers?
2021-2022 season
.875
.864
.964
.885
Playoffs 2022
.786
.875
.882
.840
.857
2022-2023 season
.885
.909
Posts a save percentage above .900 for just the second time in his last 11 starts … and still loses.
3-9 in his last 12 starts vs. Oilers
Not sure how Flames media can change that narrative…
They consult with HH.
Play through, don’t waste your time on scrums or the referees. Those who call out this strategy didn’t get their fill of bar fights in their 20’s, that’s on them.
Well I have to say I disagree, I had my fill of youthful foolishness. Yet I prefer a team that plays hard, even after the whistle. The regular season is just here to set the seeding for the playoffs. In the playoffs every puck needs to be contested, the refs swallow whistles and if you can’t match the intensity you will likely lose. Would you prefer to win the presidents trophy or the Stanley cup? Saying that I would like to have seen a big scrum and then later a guy like kostin take a number and deliver a few clean hits at every chance.
I also don’t know if anyone caught the post-game comments from Woodcroft but he had a few clever digs at the Flames.
He insinuated that Calgary running up shot attempts is all well and good, but quality trumps quantity.
I don’t know what Edmonton was doing after the 2nd goal, it was clearly a recipe for disaster, but the game was very evenly matched before then despite the shot attempts being uneven.
Also, having watched Kadri and Huberdeau, small sample size but neither exhibited the game breaking qualities that Gaudreau or Tkachuk had. I don’t know if Sutter has beaten the creativity out of them, if it was post-Christmas lull, poorer quality of linemates, or just the style of game. Hopefully this pattern continues for the next 5-6 years.
They beat us on quality chances too. Just not as badly.
I believe Markstrom made the three “biggest” saves of the night – two on Drai and one on Jesse. Not taking anything away from Skinner but the 3 highest danger saves of the night were at the other end, in my opinion.
I do think there could have been a bit more of a reaction after the Weegar “hit”. No, I don’t agree with many that think they should have jumped Weegar in the moment but there could have been a bit of a scrum. I know Rishaug says good teams take that penalty and you kill that penalty. Well, easy to say, harder to do and we know how bad this PK can be and, well, the flames have won more than one game in recent times against the Oilers that turned on “retribution PKs”.
The best response would have been to punish Weegar (and others) with some aggressive hits as the game went on. That didn’t happen and that was disappointing but, as Al is saying on the radio this morning – the Oilers won the game, that’s the lead. They beat Calgary, in regulation, to jump Calgary on the standings and get back in a playoff position – that’s the lead.
All due respect but the win is all well and good but allowing a team to have that much zone time and making your goalie take a game and a half worth of shots to do it is the real lead.
The Oilers taking the lead in the third & hanging on to that lead is the real lede. 🤓
Do you think it was intentional or a reactionary play by Weeger? I think the media misses the Tkachuk vs Kassian story line and the Smith vs Talbot scrap was epic.
I don’t think it was intentional in the least.
That’s a reactionary play that can’t be made
Just like driving your stick up players recklessly. These guys are way better than that. It should only happen once and never again, and be done by NHL, or it’s a player issue
Typically repeat offenders also
Yup, its a reactionary play that deserved a 2-minute minor penalty.
Its going to keep happening every once in a while as a product of such an elite skater/elite one on one player that can cut at high speed better than anyone ever has – d-men will “react” and this will happen. It should be penalized every time as well.
Absolutely, a fantastic game from Stuart Skinner last night – full value for the 1st star and the biggest contributor to the win last night. At the same time, I stop short of saying that he “stole the game”.
For me, the 2nd start last night may have been Jacob Markstrom.
For sure, the flames tilted the ice in the 3rd period, put pucks on net from everywhere and carried the play, however, through two periods, this was an even game. I don’t care how many shot attempts the flames had. Through 2 periods the actual shots were 23-18 and, to my naked eye, the Oilers have more 5-alarm chances – Markstrom came up with huge saves on Leon twice and another on Jesse and there was 3rd 4-alarm chance for Leon that Markstrom saved.
Don’t get me wrong, Skinner was huge and a huge part of that win but, for me, that game was not as one-sided as many think (different opinions). I think Bruce and Dave had the flames with a total of 2 more high danger chances and 1 more 5-alarm.
This is the way I saw the game as well. I certainly didn’t get a ‘Flames dominated and the Oil were lucky to win’ vibe.
Actually thought the Oilers played a defensively smart game for a change
Is Woodcroft choking the offense? Yes, but it didn’t start last night. His Tippett emulation started with playing Connor and Leon on the same line and refusing to budge off it.
Evander Kane must be a helluva player because it appears he has to be on the roster before Woodcroft considers Draisaitl a viable 2C.
Broadcasters last night were bragging about the Flames C depth with Lindholm, Kadri and Backlund. We’ve got much better C depth with McDavid, Draisaitl and RNH. Someone should tell Woodcroft.
Our boys have more skill but at 5v5 the flames 3cs have outplayed thier oiler counterparts.
Pretty sure I saw McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins & McLeod all playing centre against the Flames.
Skinner is challenging #97 as Oiler story of the year (and thank Gord)
Reviewing the game this AM, Markstrom made the tougher saves IMO on about the same amount of HDSC.
Flames rink is dodgy – from the old flood saddledome smell to the unclose-able gates to the generous homer shot-trackers – glad they’re done with that barn for the year!
I totally agree with LT’s take re “retribution.”
While the knee was malicious, I don’t think Weegar was doing it with malicious intent. I think the last second jag made him react quickly, and it was a poor and dangerous decision. That is what penalties are for.
I also believe wholeheartedly that if there were no instigator penalties, someone would have responded. Or if the Oilers had faith in their penalty kill (like 1998-2007 era). This is a terrible flaw in this league, if you want to take violence and injuries out by including the instigator penalty, then any penalty needs to be called. We all know this.
This team needs Evander Kane back and healthy soon. Also need another right winger.
Interesting you should mention the forward pass. I noticed interspersed with the numerous prayerful clearing attempts there were a number of forward passes, but many of them were the 100 foot variety that would at best not amount to much and at worst get picked off or iced, starting yet another fire drill in the d-zone.
I don’t know much about systems of play, but it seems to me that in the Dallas game they were going with shorter passes and the puck carrier generally had multiple passing options. It could be that Dallas was giving them space that the Flames weren’t.
I also have to say that I’m not a fan of Jay’s post game dissing of the Flames high shot volume strategy. To a degree I agree with what he was saying, but the strategy was also causing the Oilers fits and it was more good luck than good management they got the win. Better to just zip your lip and heap praise on the team for getting the win.
I agree. it was a good thing Skinner had good rebound control last evening
The open gate trick. I have never seen this happen as much as it does when the phlegms play. I do feel it is intentional and the NHL needs to look into this.
Retribution? There is no retribution in today’s NHL. If you challenge a player to a fight after a play like that typically they don’t fight back because they don’t have to as the referees will just step in. There is no payback later in a game as players just don’t have to fight anymore as fighting is out of the game for better or worse. Today’s players just don’t have to worry about Matt Cooke blindsiding them and taking their head off. Or Bob Probert, tapping them on the shoulder and pounding the daylights out of them. The only retribution today is hopefully the NHL itself disciplines the player. I would hope there would be some supplementary discipline today, but I doubt there will be. When the league allows players to injure their stars, that is truly a shame.Today’s game is certainly better than the 70s or 80s but they need to get those plays out the game by penalizing them. Every other sport protects there stars.
Old Man Sutter?
Is that you?
Salty after the loss?
The ’70’s are over, Darryl.
Time to adjust your game.
Umm, maybe re read Darryl’s comment there Spartacus? I don’t think he’s advocating for more fighting. I read this as advocating for the penalties in the game to be called properly..
Sadly, the archaic threshold used by the NHL is whether or not the player gets injured, when they mete out discipline.
What the numbers don’t show about Kulak last night, was that there were a number of potentially dangerous rebounds that didn’t land on flames sticks because he tied up his man every time.
“I also hope they rediscover the forward pass.”
I hope this isn’t some innovative Woodcroft thing from watching too much World Cup.
The back pass to open space just leaves all the forwards standing still facing the wrong way, and the other team ready to intercept and counter-punch.
Why stand still though?
A. Dont pass to the guy on the other side of the ice that’s standing still.
B. Move.
I feel like LT and I are watching a different Bouchard.
I am still seeing enough darts to know that is in his arsenal. For me, Bouchard is much quicker onto the puck, skating with the puck and his first step on the defensive cycle is now NHL quality.
For the second time this week, Bouchard got a good chance in the high slot of the offensive zone, & for the second time he took damn long making up his mind what to do & got checked without a shot being fired.
I get that he’s still learning the defensive game, but offence is supposed to be his forté.
Banging it off the glass gets the puck out of the zone. Passing between the dot and the wall generates the rush and passing between the dots is high event. He is significantly less high event this year and much more generating the rush.
This year you can see Bouchard has become much stronger, his closing speed below the dot is now more than good enough for the NHL and he can lean on big forwards to win battles. He is significant better on his backhand. This were some of Keith’s assets last year.
Bruce this one frustrated me as well. He had two pretty decent options, a shot from the high slot or Yamo was to his left in perfect position to wire a one timer. Neither of these things happened and it was nearly jailbreak the other way..
I am also seeing more “urgency” in Bouchard’s game and I am also seeing some nice outlets from him as well but not with his usual consistency and, unfortunately, despite the increased urgency, I’m seeing more bad passes going to bad spots than normal or that we’d like.
I think that’s confidence and he’ll snap out of it and will cut down on the culpability on scoring chances against.
LT – thanks for “…hope they rediscover the forward pass.” Fun stuff!!
You can debate the knee Connor took but you can’t debate that there was NO retribution from any member of that roster… ever… during the remainder of the game. Stunned.
Look at the standings. There’s your answer.
And if the Oilers lost the game, LT? No swagger, no confidence, no belief.
McDavid won’t score 40 at 40 because the league continues to let players take out his knees repeatedly without repercussion.
I attended the Kings game which featured a near identical knee from Alex Edler on McDavid. Darnell Nurse responded quickly, the refs took the chance to even out the penalties even as the league’s best player laid on the ice injured. In a game the Oilers *desperately* needed a powerplay, the opportunity disappeared. Kings went on to win a low-scoring game, effectively 2-1.
I for one would rather hurt Weegar & all of his teammates with an L then take a dumb penalty going after him. On the other hand, I wouldn’t have minded seeing a few legal hits laid on him the rest of the way.
I completely understand the idea of not getting into an arms race of retaliation. I’m just saying that’s a lot more palatable when they win.
I just am at the point where I’m losing interest in the game because the NHL continues to be run by dinosaurs.
I prefer no dumb penalties too. But I’m of the belief that sometimes you need to risk losing the battle to win the war. Reducing the risk of a McDavid injury generally beats the benefits of 2 points.
That being said, the oilers are too close to missing the playoffs to toss away a win. So yeah – in this case playing the more disciplined game was probably the right call
That’s the thing with bar fights; sometimes you HAVE to fight, even if you’d prefer not to.
Reminds me of a couple of horrible memories.
Thing is you don’t have to be stupid about it
The Oilers need to be better in every way right now
Learn how to time a dump in consistently and send a message. Clean aggression after dirty or dangerous plays
A problem when the GM prefers very vanilla players. Some players aren’t psychos but also like the physical part of the game. Few and far between on these Oilers. Sather would not approve
The ideal solution would have been to take a number, ideally with the Oilers up by two, then give Weegar a similarly dirty answer. But that would have required the Oilers to, you know, play better.
Look, flames take penalties. They get scored on on powerplays. Let it happen.
November 17, Edler hits McDavid with a knee on knee worse than Weegar’s (Refs called a penalty on the play – and Edler’s pre contact leg movement was more questionable than Weegar’s). Nurse goes after Edler and gets 4 minutes for his efforts negating what would have been an Oilers PP.. With the linesman jumping in almost immediately, Nurse doesn’t get to deliver much in the way of any physical punishment to Edler either. McDavid himself goes after Edler later in the period, while the Oilers are on the PP, negating the PP. The Kings go on to win the game 3-1 with an empty net goal. Either of those power plays could have made a huge difference in the outcome of the game, but Edmonton lost both opportunities in an effort to punish Edler.
In a 1-1 game last night, against a team that the Oilers are currently fighting with for a playoff spot, but won’t play again for the rest of the regular season, staying focused on winning the game, which they did, was a far more satisfying outcome.
I remember cursing Nurse for negating that PP.
If you’re going to take a penalty; get your pound of flesh.
Remember Nurse smashing Polak’s face (for being in the wrong place at the wrong time)? I don’t even care that he didn’t deserve it.
THAT is the retribution one needs if it’s going to cost a penalty.
Sending messages is still pretty effective, you just have to make sure the messages get through.
Rishaug has been all over this (last night, on his pod, on the mandate this morning and in his questions with the players) – asking every player and the coach if their response was enough.
Essentially, the coach and the players think (at least publicly) that it should have been a penalty but they didn’t think there was any intent by the player. They (specifically Hyman) differentiated from the Elder hit where there was a response as they believed there was intent.
Prospectrality!
Back to the ice for the Oilers NA prospects, three of whom participate tonight and all in the Great White North.
North Bay (Petrov) @ 5 p.m.
Brandon (Chiasson) @ 6 p.m.
Moose Jaw (Wanner) @ 6 p.m.
All times, at all times, are Bruce time.
Duly noted!
And now thinking about Bruce I have the Philosophers song playing in my head. Thanks for all the updates Tarkus.
Ah, Bruce. Home to the Stampede, steak night at the hotel, and many a childhood visit to my grandparents who ran the general store there for many years.
Fun fact. Long ago the town’s previous name was actually “Hurry,” and when my gramma wrote a book about the town it was aptly titled: “Hurry to Bruce.”