The Edmonton Oilers are a curious team at this time. The home games involve great drama but not the good kind, not the kind that is remembered fondly. The outlet passes are long bombs and the defensive coverage is not good enough by plenty.
The Oilers rely on Connor McDavid and goalie Stuart Skinner, almost exactly the template Todd McLellan (Connor McDavid, Cam Talbot) and Dave Tippett (Connor McDavid, Mike Smith) employed.
The game plan lacks imagination, ignores history and frankly is getting old. Jay Woodcroft won’t survive a season outside the playoffs, and this morning the Edmonton Oilers are outside the playoffs. The young, innovative coach has become a pretzel, contorting himself into some vague version of Todd McLellan, Ken Hitchcock and Dave Tippett. Amazing.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Should Oilers GM Ken Holland trade the 2023 first-round pick?
- Lowetide: Oilers’ next wave of first-shot scorers adjusting to pro hockey
- Lowetide: Making the call on young Oilers in need of a contract this summer
- Lowetide: Oilers’ Klim Kostin’s sudden impact, injury and immediate future
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers’ December sleep walk a touch of deja vu
- Lowetide: Bakersfield Condors’ 2022-23 season review to date
- Lowetide: Oilers’ Philip Broberg, Markus Niemelainen pursue final defence spot
- Lowetide: Oilers’ Darnell Nurse remains the top defenceman despite struggles
- 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
- 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 reasonable expectations for every player in 2022-23
WHAT TO EXPECT IN JANUARY
- At home to: SEA, NYI, COL (Expected 1-1-1) (Actual 1-1-1)
- On the road to: LAK, ANA, SJS, VEG (Expected 3-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: SEA, TBAY (Expected 0-1-1) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: VAN (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: CBJ, CHI (Expected 2-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- January expected result: 7-3-2, 16 points in 12 games
- January actual result: 1-1-1, 3 points in 3 games
- December results: 7-6-2, 16 points in 15 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: 21-17-3, 45 points in 41 games
The home stand went as predicted, although I had Seattle as the win and the Islanders as the OT loss. Now the Oilers need to deliver a strong performance in California. Edmonton is No. 10 in the Western Conference this morning, though in fairness the team is in a flat-footed tie with Calgary, Nashville and the Avalanche for No. 7 and No. 8 in the conference.
Two teams get in, two teams will be on the outside? I think the Avs list of players returning gives them an edge on one of those spots, so the Oilers are one of three looking to land the final spot. It might be time to get the lead out!
SUMMARY
I’m not going to write the usual stuff, you can see by the numbers that Edmonton had zero going on five-on-five. Zach Hyman scored twice on the power play, there was some real torque when Woodcroft loaded up the top line and Stuart Skinner earned a win that did not come.
Leon Draisaitl was matched up against the Nathan MacKinnon line for 11 minutes, bent but did not break. Connor McDavid faced the Newhook-Compher-Rantanen line and won the shot share but no one scored. McDavid was 2-3 on-ice goals, that’s high event in a 3-2 loss. Much of it was circumstance (how do you account for Brad Hunt coming off the bench as you’re reading the play in front of you?) but then again how did Evan Rodrigues beat both 97 and Tyson Barrie and get a pass to the blue line when he appeared out of the play?
Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci will get heavy criticism over the MacKinnon goal but Connor McDavid has done that kind of thing to quality NHL defensemen. It happens.
The bottom line is this team isn’t good enough to play the style being asked successfully. The mistakes are fewer because the risk is low, but the Oilers still make mistakes and are not in a playoff spot today. The LAK game looms large.
There’s a sense that this team just needs to bite the bullet and trade for Jakob Chychrun, but what if the other general managers aren’t convinced of Edmonton’s young players? The NHL kids (Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, Markus Niemelainen) aren’t locks for feature roles during their NHL careers, and the AHL kids (Xavier Bourgault, Tyler Tullio, Carter Savoie, Mike Kesselring) have promise but none are certain. I wrote about this for The Athletic and believe it may be a bigger factor than fans are willing to accept. The 2023 first-round pick is key.
URGENT
The Calgary Flames may have found their golden scoring line for this season. One year ago, the Johnny Gaudreau-Elias Lindholm-Matt Tkachuk line outscored opponents 73-31 (70 percent goal share) in 960 minutes (4.55 goals-per-60). That’s incredible.
Darryl Sutter is having a helluva time finding goals for this year’s team. Currently Nazem Kadri is making hay with Milan Lucic (!!!) and Jonathan Huberdeau (7-3 in just over 90 minutes, 4.52 goals-60). I don’t expect that line to survive long, but the Kadri-Huberdeau chem might be something. If Sutter finds a way to MacGyver another ridiculous line, Calgary’s chances of making the playoffs increases.
Look, I believe the Oilers will make the playoffs and have a chance to win Stanley, but the club has to play to its strengths. Right now the home games are stunning in their horribleness. Edmonton gets a two-goal lead, modifies offensive sorties and waits for the other team to tie the game and go ahead in the third period. Woodcroft then puts the big line together (97-29-Hyman are 186 minutes, 15-9 goals five-on-five (62.5 percent) and scoring 4.84 goals-60) and tries to shoot the moon.
Someone needs to tell Jay Woodcroft this style has been tried before and failed. I can’t believe a guy this smart has landed on what is provably weak is the best solution. I can’t believe what I’m seeing from Jay Woodcroft this season.
I would like to hear more about what Woodcroft needs to do rather than following this clearly flawed ‘plan’.
Hello from amazing Thailand!
I wonder why we see 2 extremely experienced coaches in McLellan and Tippett and now a brand new coach in Woodcroft employing the same strategies that seem headed for mediocre success at best.
Kane injury aside, we all seemed to think this was the deepest forwards corpse since 2006. It certainly has a high top end but where is the 1-4 quality we saw with Woodcroft when he came in last season?
The biggest frustration I have as an Oilers fan is the D has never been Stanley Cup quality.
Remember when we lost to the Ducks and Chiarelli said our D just wasn’t at the level of the Nashvilles etc? I thought he really identified where it went wrong against the Ducks and that was a team with prime Dreamy and Larsson.
You’d think the organization would look at last year’s D corpse and think “this is the area we need to significantly upgrade”.
And yet it’s worse.
Chychrun is such an obvious move that would immediately help this team. I sure hope Holland is trying his ass off and nobody is interested in helping him to clear space for Chychrun, rather than (what I believe) is Holland thinking it’s not the right move.
I’d be prepared to overpay to make major changes to grab say Ekholm and Chychrun.
Here here!
Oilers have had a sub-par D since the Pronger trade. Until it gets significantly upgraded they’ll continue to languish.
If you look at the McDavid-era teams that won a playoff series, they ran a top-4 of:
2017 – Sekera, Russell, Klefbom, Larsson, with Nurse as your #5. It was basically an average NHL d-corps, but a vast improvement on anything that had preceded it.
2022 – Nurse, Ceci, Keith, Bouch, and a fine bottom-pair of Kulak-Barrie. Again, no major weak links but Colorado still scored at will.
McNabb or Gavrikov ain’t gonna cut it. Edmondson or Schenn are a joke of a solution.
The two players you name are the only guys who give them a puncher’s chance of getting back to the final-4.
The same people complaining about Nurse’s 9.25 are happy to ‘overpay’ for hope.
Teams activity in 2022 Trades and picks left next 3 drafts 1st/2nd round:
Leafs 12 / 3 / 1
Bruins 8 / 3 / 1
Bolts 8 / 1 / 2
Canes 8 / 3 / 4
Krak 8 / 3 / 5
Flames 7 / 4 / 3
Avs 6 / 3 / 1
Knights 6 / 3 / 2
Oilers 5 / 3 / 2
Kulak was the biggie for Kenny in 2022. Is it fair to say other GMs are busier at work? Most haven’t gutted their picks or were able to recoup them. Many have some cap space
Holland has no significant players acquired, easily the most key holes on his roster (that are longstanding), and manages to be down a 2nd
Not as destructive as GMs before him, but definitely not a top GM, unless the draft and 50/50 cap/term contract signings are all that matters
He’s also paid the most. That’s Katz problem, but there is still expectation of top level performance right? I like him, would rather see him as POHO and maybe also Burgers spot, get a cap value deal maker in as GM. Who is always looking for the guy someone is seeing wrong or is in cap trouble
Funny article at NHL.com about Matt Tkachuk.
Florida’s six points out of a wildcard in the East and Matt couldn’t be happier.
Not every player wants to win the cup.
Your J.Fresh update.
one thing I don’t think Spector is wrong about is that Nurse and Chychrun are indeed pretty similar and comparable players. I’d be quite happy with them as my #3 defenceman making $4.5-5.5M.
problem for nurse is, well,
He’s just glad to be away from the McDavid Oilers.
Or, should I say the Evander Kane Oilers.
This team would be potentially competing for Connor Bedard if it wasn’t for another one of Peter Chiarelli draft picks, Stuart Skinner.
Yes, in his draft plus 7, this Chiarelli pick is important on the team.
So Holland gets 3 more seasons for those in his first draft as an Oiler GM?
Skinner was drafted in 2017 (R3, #78), so D+5, non?
2017/18 was draft plus 1
18/19
19//20
20/21 (just 21)
2021/22
2022/23
Draft plus 6 (no 7, my mistake).
Great win. Fun football game.
Aaron Rodgers out of the playoff picture is an awesome late Christmas present. Hit the golf course diva!
To think his last play in the NFL was being picked off in a must win game. I just can’t stop smiling.
Doubtful it will be his last play. He’s still got a lot of contract term left. But of course it’s always the “will he, won’t he” offseason drama with this guy. He’s not happy unless he’s the center of attention.
How about those Lions!
David Pastrnak with goals 30-31-32.
Looks like there’s going to be an Art Ross race after all.
but no race for the dickhead award
I guess you mean the Rocket Richard race?
Please refresh your ESPN website standings McDavid is over 20 points in front of any other player not named Leon Draisaitl.
Art Ross? Try again, maybe the Rocket Richard. However, Connor has been a bit slow and due to light the lamp in bunches over the soft part of our schedule coming up. I could see him pulling away again.
I don’t think Art Ross means what you think it means.
Well I did mean the Richard but the way things are going in Boston I don’t think the Art Ross is out of the question either.
32-4-4 while missing key players to start the season.
O my.
Canucks top scorer?
I’d take an OT loss to the Avalanche over an OT loss to the Blackhawks, if forced to choose.
It’s sorta funny that having McDavid and Leon shred his confidence last year has clearly impacted Markstrom and his ability to stop a puck.
Chased away the Turtle, made Johnny G bail to Ohio for a pay cut and mind f*cked Markstrom into oblivion.
What a wonderful series that was hehe
Ahh, Markstrom has now been poor in 2 of 3 seasons since signing in Calgary (plus the playoffs of the 1 good year).
But yes, that was definitely a wonderful series.
You are correct indeed! I forgot he played the Canadian Season with the Phlegms.
The only thing this team is lacking is 1-2 hard hitting defencemen to make the opposition nervous and polite.
So far the season doesn’t seem anywhere as dire as last season. Not yet. They have the next 25 games to impress me, lol
Current Hunter1909 Oilers season within a season 2-2-1
@DavidCastilloAC
Edmonton being on pace to miss the playoffs while a single player is on pace to account for 151 points is an example of such gross malfeasance on the part of Ken Holland and his predecessors that I honestly don’t know how Oilers fans cope
Whisky.
Whiskey!
Here’s a strange one: I’m almost as Irish as can be, but I cannot handle the whiskey.
Once upon a time, when I was very young way back when I was drinking 8-10 pints of lager at a time, came across a bottle of Irish whisky drank about half a bottle then Motorhead came on the tv and they played the Ace of Spades and I vomited out of the window. Ah, youth.
Yeah, I didn’t like that song either
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey 126.8 Proof
That’s easy. I always wanted to become a Zen master.
I think we all know the McDavid is on pace for the most points in a LONG time and the Oilers and the Oilers are currently out of the playoff picture but, with respect, isn’t think just a thought/tweet or some random Dallas Stars fan?
Not sure who this twitter poster is but tough to take seriously when he can’t even double his current points at the halfway point to get his projected points (152) accurate.
I don’t follow JFresh much, but I see today that he actually chimed in on the spec article.
Ha! I’m not the biggest fan of getting Chychrun because of the potential purchase price and his injury history. But turning yourself into a pretzel to convince your readers he’s not the right target based on Spec’s reasoning is pretty funny. He would help this team and if it’s a reasonable price by all means we should be trying to get him. And get a lower tier guy like Schenn that can play against specific opponents to add a physical element.
After years of reading about keeping your powder dry from LT, he’s now declared it, “go time.”
Yeah, that would be a nice combo.
In fairness, I declared that last year. 🙂
Markstrom yanked again
Hawks win in OT and hold flame to, yet, another extra time point.
Oilers have won over half their games total and all in regulation or OT. Flames have 18/41 and Kings 19/43. I still think we’re stronger than both of those teams and will outpace them down the stretch.
After looking at Willis’ tweet it does make sense that the biggest issue on D is actually NHL quality
Keith and Barrie last season basically played the same EV TOI, tied for 4th. Bouch was 3rd, hmmm
So while Keith struggled with entries, he was good at breaking up plays defensively with his stick, passes into the middle we don’t see disrupted as much now
And his breakout passing was excellent. Take that out of the mix and Bouch having some troubles and it makes sense what’s challenging them now
So while a physical defensive D would be nice, and good skating passer may be more helpful especially one that pushes everybody down a slot
Bro could be that. Maybe he emerges quick as Swedish said he might. It was apparent against the Avs. They were chasing that puck moving D group all night
Against teams that are less challenging like the Isles currently are no problems. Looked like contenders. Against teams that clog and can attack like the Krak can be trouble, 50-50
This is a bigger issue than forwards as it affects the forwards a lot. And they aren’t helping themselves by not supporting enough
+ 1
Truly bizarre scenario in the NFL. Seattle win eliminates Detroit and now they need the Lions’ help to eliminate Green Bay to make the playoffs!
Congrats LT. Eagles win the NFC East and the #1 seed in the NFC.
As an added bonus, Dallas chokes against a QB starting his first game in the NFL.
We have to cheer against Jerry Jones on principle. Otherwise every owner will think they should be the GM!
Is Erik Tulsky taking a page out of Ken Holland’s book with the Canes roster?
I mean look at all of the old dudes on that lineup.
That’s some serious Ken Hollandesque old man strength on an analytics roster.
Every one of those players plus Jake Gardiner and both goaltenders on expiring contracts.
Imagine being a contender and having $28 million in free cap space in the offseason.
Except for Brent Burns, who has 2 years remaining on his contract.
Yep…my mistake but the cap space remains.
Not a single bad contract and zero dead cap.
Well, except for Kotkaniemi, Gardner, Bear, Kase…
Read more closely.
I said they have zero bad contracts in the offseason.
Gardiner and Kase are done. The minimal Bear retention is over.
You may think Kotkaniemi is a bad contract…but Carolina doesn’t,
Everyone thinks Kotkaniemi’s is a bad contract. Carolina just can’t say what they think.
They do have lots and lots of time to see if he can develop into fair value for $5M though, and he may well get there at some point before the deal expires 7.5 years from now.
He is all of 22 and they would NOT have signed him to an 8 year contract if they thought there was too much risk.
P.S Not everyone.
No one would ever sign a player to a contract if they thought there was too much risk.
The Canes don’t think Kotkaniemi is a bad contract in the same way the Oilers don’t think Nurse is a bad contract….
Ineeficient contracts on the Canes include: Kotkaniemi, Gardner, Pacioretty, Staal
Ditto Edmonton and Nurse. Less likely though.
Value contracts or value trades sometimes show up in unusual places and then get arbitraged away.
Carolina beats to a different drum. They certainly don’t fall in love with their own players.
Their transaction history certainly isn’t like Sakic either.
Yes, I thought about this as well.
But, I was thinking of Boston
Marchand- 34
Bergeron – 37
Krecji – 36
Foligno 35
That is 5 of 12 forwards….
Boston has only lost 4 games.
Incredible
Taylor Hall got tired of losing. Chose Boston. On a reasonable contract.
Hampus Lindholm got tired of losing. Chose Boston. On a reasonable contract.
Linus Ullmark got tired of losing. Chose Boston. On a reasonable contract.
Three impact players walk in the door. No assets out.
Lindholm cost the Bruins plenty of assets.
They acquired him at half retained (on an expiring contract) for:
Urho Vaakanainen (2017 1st), John Moore, 2022 first-round pick, second-rounders in 2023 and 2024.
Hall also cost them a player (Bjork) and a 2nd round pick.
Let’s try counting that again….4 forwards of 12
Interesting that the real Ken Holland has 36 year old Derek Ryan as the only player over 31 on the current Oilers roster.
He probably misses his earlier Detroit days where older star players were lining up to play for him.
I’m sure he does, though he inherited or traded for more of them than he signed.
I’ve said before there’s likely a market inefficiency regarding older players since most are worried about the impending cliff.
However you want to frame it, I think Holland has done very well shopping in this aisle over his career, including in his time with the Oilers.
Perhaps Waddell (and Tulsky, and analytics) agree with the approach.
Oilers 5v5 team stats at the halfway point:
49.85 CF%– 17th
47.83 GF% (77-84)– 20th
52.78 HDCF%– 13th
91.67 SV%– 17th
7.93 SH%– 24th
0.996 PDO– 21st
These numbers do not scream cup contender.
Oilers PP is 48-3 GF/GA 32.2%– 1st
Oilers PK is 5- 38 GF/GA 74.2%– 23rd
Special teams goal differential: +12
Oilers historic PP overcoming mediocre PK.
These numbers look very similar to the Tip days. Middling even strength team buoyed by good special teams, or in this case, amazing PP.
If I’m not mistaken, the PK has improved significantly over the last month as they’ve improved from 30th to 23rd. Not great, but improving.
Oilers were actually much better at PK’ing under Tippett.
The PK has improved. But they are also playing McD on the PK now.
And yes, under Tip, the PK was decent.
The Condors were not good on the PK over the Woodcroft years (generally).
Thanks for this
Our historic PP is covering a lot of warts
Summarizing!
I need to pooh-pooh Petrov’s production more often.
After I suggested this morning that his output this year was paling in comparison to last’s, he scores on this 3-on-1 and adds two assists in a 7-2 win, earning 1st star honours.
Münzenberger and Määttä were held off the scoresheet. Can’t even find results for Mazura’s match, since St. Lawrence played the USNDTP in a non-conference game and those games apparently don’t matter stats-wise. Humph.
Meanwhile, Määttä was once again a witch on the dot, going 12-for-17 (70.6%). For the season so far, he has won 227 of 398 draws for a tidy 57.0%.
Even better has been Brind’Amour, winning 256 of 441 draws for a sparkling 58.0%.
Prospecting takes a break until Tuesday.
We went to the Condor’s game today. About 80% capacity ($23/tix) in the lower bowl.
Deshamais was noticeable, Lavoie has a fine shot and Philip has some nice moments. The balance of the line up was pretty plain.
No Benson, Kesslering or Denver’s today
WHo is Denvers?
Demers?
I would be sad if there were no Denver’s, because I do enjoy those sandwiches. 😀
I guesstimate a crowd of about 8K maybe?
Lots of shots for the Condors but they were pretty low event – their PP remains just awful.
I don’t understand all the crying going on in Oilerland this week. They looked solid against Winnipeg and Long Island, and ended up with a Bettman point in a game they were a Hyman baseball swing away from winning last night.
If you thought the Oil were going to set the world on fire at a 120-point pace this season, you don’t appreciate how competitive a league the NHL is.
Fact is the Oilers were in the same position at this point of the season last year, and same in January, 2020. They ended up getting hot and rolling into the playoffs, and they probably will again. For a point of reference, the defending champion Av’s and the consensus favourites to win the Pacific, Calgary Goddamn Flames, are in the same boat as us.
LA is better this season, Seattle and Vegas are much better, and unfortunately the Oilers dropped games they should’ve won against Anaheim and Winnipeg to put us, as the blog’s author likes to say, in a spot of bother.
Buy the ticket, take the ride. NHL seasons have ups and downs. It’s not a gigantic failure that can all be pinned on Jay Woodcroft, or Darnell Nurse, or Warren Foegele. Trust me, they want to compete and win even more than you do.
Edmonton has a stretch of games coming up they can and should win their share of. To my eye the process looks fairly sound, and adding a couple of reinforcements will help.
Shame we haven’t seen Yamo, JP, McLeod, or Bouchard take steps forward. I’m sure the GM and coaches were banking on some internal development, and they’ve got about a month to further evaluate.
Edmonton has to stay in contention until then, and possibly also hope that one of their Pacific rivals falters.
We’ll probably end up making it to the dance by the skin of our teeth and earn a date with Dallas round 1. It’s been a while – should be fun!
Bravo.
I’m in a similar boat, but folks prefer to panic or express outrage so I just hang out on the sidelines and wait for the results.
I do wonder about the back up plan for reinforcements if the kids continue to meander, or (worse yet) get injured.
The Oilers have won 3 playoff rounds since we drafted McDavid. They just had a rematch on home ice with the reigning Cup champion who swept them. The Oilers went out and were completely dominated from start to finish.
People have a right to be upset that the organization can’t build a team that threatens to win Stanley.
Why are people upset the hockey team they spend time and money supporting is underperforming?
They come from the participation crowd where everyone recieves a pink ribbion and no one gets their feelings hurt.
Almost as sad as the 45 year old who still talks about his track medal back in Grade 7 when he owned all those puny ribbon wearers lol
Steve Yzerman was drafted in 1983. He won his first SC in 1996-97 season…….
I am not panicked.
But the lack of consistency is becoming an issue. It hard hard to unlearn bad habits.
Again, the result of last nights game is not a big issue. The performance, getting completely dominated at even strength, is troublesome.
If you thought the process was fairly sound, don’t put any bets on the oilers in playoffs.
the process was awful.
the result (1point) was fine.
fans are looking ahead here and projecting future results based on todays showings.
that’s the reason to be concerned.
Where the hell is verdad or his brother verite?
I’m worried
Even Verdad can’t believe the season so far….
This team won’t make the playoffs this season if they don’t make some pretty big changes. They should change their mascot to a Koala bear, soft and prone to fall asleep for long stretches.
What would you do poll.
Please give a Thumbs up/down for the following players you wou like to see acquired and the assets used.
Jake Chychrun
Matias Ekholm
Erik Karlsson
Luke Schenn
Joel Edmunson
Dmitry Kulikov
Vlad Gavrikov
No Trades – let the team play out the string and hang on to all the picks & prospects
Jonathan Toews
Patrick Kane
Sam Lafferty
Zack MacEwen
Jesse Puljujarvi
Oops how do you remove a thumbs down
Upvote the same comment.
Do a thumbs up
Evan Bouchard
Kailer Yamamoto
Ryan McLeod
Tyson Barrie
Philip Broberg
Xavier Bourgault
Reid Schaefer
Cody Ceci
Markus Niemelainen
Brett Kulak
Dylan Holloway
2023 1st Round Pick
2024 first round pick
2025 1st round pick
2023 second round pick
Other adds – suggestions, just 1 name so folks can give a thumbs up or down
I’d prefer ROR over Cpt. Serious, myself. I feel like he’d be a better fit here, and if the season went well there would be potential to resign.
Sucks that he broke his foot a week ago, will be reevaluated in five more. Even if that means he’s a buy low opportunity, that’s a tough timeline to come back for the playoffs at 100%.
Leon Draisaitl
Apologies for the non-hockey relayed post, but here are a couple fun facts: the Vikings had a negative total point differential for the season as well as THE worst point differential after 3 quarters yet still managed to finish the season at 13-4. Only two of their victories (including today) were non one-score wins.
Either Super Bowl champs or first round exit. No in between. Such a Jeckyll and Hyde team
They are as if the Edmonton Oilers were a football team. Some absolute star offensive players with a garbage offensive line and defense
Josh Allen just alpha dogged the best defensive coach in history with that rainbow. Be afraid AFC. Be very afraid.
Meanwhile Mahomes and Burrow waiting to say, “Hold my beer.”
Vincent Desharnais assists on a James Hamblin goal, both men having strong games. 1-1 late first in Calgary.
Any news about Kesselring? I don’t see him in the line-up today.
Haven’t heard anything beyond he’s an impressive prospect considering where he was drafted. I think he has a chance to play in the NHL.
He was out sick last week and was questionable to make the road trip – doesn’t seem that he has (or maybe he is an option for Tuesday, not sure).
They used to say that the Caps struggled in playoffs because they were so consistent that they never faced adversity during the season.
The Oilers will never have that problem
I Agree LT that Woodcrofts 180 has been the biggest story of the year for me. Things like changing his system, the distribution of icetime, and development of players outside 97, 29, 25, 18 and 93 has been horrendous.
But at this point it’s fair to say the organization doesn’t have the infrastructure to support a coach to maintain continued success. With no analytics department and what seems like a minimal sports science being used all these coaches are falling back into their biases and have no pushback on their decision making.
For me the organization from the top down is failing and changing the at this point is just a bandaid solution.
The recent Ethan Bear interview was informative regarding the level of preparedness of the Oilers compared to the Canes. Anyone have a link?
The problem with analytics is that there’s a growing complexity and number of stats teams can obtain, but the challenge is to know which ones actually matter and lead to winning or those which have confounding or interrelated factors.
i.e. You might think you like guys that have a good stick to block passes in the d zone and look at the Sportslogiq data to find one, but not realize the guy who like is there because he can’t defend zone entries.
Tulsky was an absolute trail blazer. His gift in part was knowing which questions to ask. If you sat down with him today for a beer, he could tell you everything from the optimal time to pull your netminder to the second to precisely how NHL players age based upon player type to whatever. This type of info permeates an organization.
Someone recently cited the number of Canes rebound goals this season. I’m sure this is no accident since these are killer scoring chances.
Lol. Somehow the Canes are stone cold killers.
look at their roster. It doesn’t jump out as looking like that much.
https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/carolina-hurricanes/line-combinations
You have Paul Stastny (37 y/o) as the second line center. Derek Stepan as your 4RW. (34 y/o) Jordan Stall as your 3c.
37 y/o Brent Burns on your top pairing.
The contract efficiency on that team is just outstanding.
They have one of the most competitive Coach in the league.
Why does this happen? Three good coaches but the team defines them not the other way around. Do they all get stupid watching McDavid? Are all options other than ‘run 97 until he can’t run no more’ ultimately lesser options? Each of these coaches came in and looked like the right guy for the job but as time wears on it seems that the coach’s impact lessens and team reverts to the ‘watch Connor show’.
I’d be interested to see what a guy like Tortorella could do with this team. Sure he would probably run Draisaitl and Nurse out of town just to make a point, but he would instill systems that weren’t reliant on superstars. Even though he’d sacrifice production from McDavid I wonder if it wouldn’t translate into more from the rest of the team. I worry when I watch these guys that players outside of the top 2 lines are constantly wondering where they fit and what they’re actually expected to do. I dunno. Hope we never see it because the current regime gets its guff together, but in a scenario where this team misses the playoffs and the coach and GM are on the chopping block and it’s 2018 for the third time since 2017 what does the organization do to ensure we’re not looking at 2018 again in ’24?
Woodcroft has completely lost the plot. I’m not saying fire him, but he’s got to make serious adjustments.
Kostin doesn’t have the kind of scoring record to suggest he’ll be a top 6 winger, so naturally he’s playing on the first line. Gets burned by MacKinnon. Is that error lesser, greater, or equal to the bobble JP made in the neutral zone that had him stapled to the bench?
Janmark has always been a 3rd/4th line tweener and he’s playing 2nd line minutes, in what can only be described as an act of self-immolation. Kane will be back in a few weeks and Woodcroft has shown zero interest in seeing what Holloway can do in a prominent role. Why?
Woodcroft is afraid to play both Broberg and Bouchard because of their EV goal differentials, meanwhile both their xGFs are sparkling. Could you imagine the horror that would have ensued had either of them made the same dumb play that Barrie made on the game-tying goal? Look at NHL_Sid’s tracking stats of Nurse-Ceci last night, just brutal defence.
Woodcroft preaches meritocracy and practices aristocracy.
I don’t believe for a second that Holland should bail him out.
Broberg and Bouchard are pretty sheltered and that’s part of their sparkling xG numbers.
You have $9 mil to spend.
You want Makar or Nurse?
I will see myself out.
Makar but wasn’t an option
You have 9.5 mil to spend.
You want Fox or Werenski?
Doing this is not the mic drop you think it is
Yeah, when Holland had that choice he sure went the wrong way didn’t he?
Did he have to sign him?
See CAR and Dougie Hamilton.
Yes but that’s Connor and Leon’s buddy.
While I’m pretty sure you will get accused of blasphemy, you certainly raise a point worth discussing.
Carolina obviously made a decision based on analytics and aging curves when they walked away from Hamilton. As it turns out, they effectively replaced him with Brent Burns at a much lower cost and on a much shorter term.
So, what could the Oilers have done if they walked away from Nurse?
Alternately, you could ask what Nurse would have received on the open market had the Oilers declined to sign him to his current contract?
I don’t think it was as simple as Hamilton out for Burns in (years later).
More they’re applying the Preds model of a deep D corps that can withstand the loss of any one player (Slavin, Pesce, Skjei).
Btw while we’re pimping Carolina for walking Hamilton, it probably bears emphasizing they shipped out Lindholm and Hanifan and lost that trade handily.
Important to remember the rights to Adam Fox were part of that trade.
If he signs in Carolina, the trade swings massively in their favour.
Also of interest, the Canes have outpointed the Flames since that trade.
Worth noting, Fox was never going to sign outside the NYC area which is what initially forced him being traded.
This is true but it will hearten me for a long time every time I think about the fact he was flames’ property.
Anyone that throw criticism at Holland for John Mario should, of course, eviscerate Trelving for Fox though…
That appears to be the case but Carolina obviously wanted a shot.
Is that really a fair comparison? Wasn’t the Carolina blue much better that theOiler’s? Imagine if there was no Nurse.
Whatever the Oilers’ system is, I hate it.
It’s called Another Night At the Improv…
Managed to grab three of four and now head to California where six of six is possible, five of six is great and four of six is passable. Oils get the SJS on 3 in 4 with travel in between. Shouldn’t be “too” tough before having to hop to Vegas for a fun one on Saturday.
I wouldn’t rule out a 0.750 points percentage through the end of the month.
Quietly the PK is running at 83% since the Dallas game (included in the calc), hopefully that’s fixed now that bodies are back.
LA is a weird team. Winning record with a negative goal differential. Mean reversion gonna be funny in Tinseltown.
Chychrun appears to be off his heater, aside from a showing against Florida his numbers are dropping like a stone the last few weeks. Managed a -35 rel in the fancies against the Hawks lol. Doing his damndest to be the worst defender on the team even while the coach is heavily sheltering him with Ozone and on the fly starts lately. Just getting worked.
Hey Spec, You mind giving Cale a call and explaining to him how Bednar’s sheltering him with offensive zone starts? He’s 4rth in the entire league in that stat.
I haven’t been watching Chychrun play.
He still has the lowest OTF/60 on the team.
Even over the last week, him and Ghost who play together are 1-2 on the team in lowest OTF starts.
I went and ran through his last seven. It’s not pretty. Go check it yourself if you don’t believe me.
Rel or standalone, getting absolutely torched lately.
And I bet you Bednar and Cale are gonna have a chat over his coverage and battle level on the PK.
Two “in-photos” last night.
Where are you getting he’s “sheltered with OTF starts?”
Do you understand that high OTF starts/60 is being sheltered and low OTF starts/60 is not being sheltered?
NST has him with the lowest OTF starts/60 since December 24rth (last 7 games)?
Since December 24, 2022
Chychrun: GF 58.3% FF: 47.17%; OTF/60: 41.92
NST man.
Are you looking at all situations numbers there?
5v5 results for Chychrun and Gost have been quite poor in their last 7 (though quite good in Chychrun’s 23 games on the year).
You are correct their OFT starts are lowest on the team.
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerteams.php?fromseason=20222023&thruseason=20222023&stype=2&sit=5v5&score=all&stdoi=oi&rate=y&team=ARI&pos=D&loc=B&toi=0&gpfilt=gpteam&fd=&td=&tgp=7&lines=single&draftteam=ALL
Devil’s advocate here, but is there anything you can see that separates Chychrun’s performance from Gost’s this season? They appear to be playing together in all game states and performing almost identically.
Columbus trades:
Vladislav Gavrikov to Edmonton with 50% retention
Gustav Nyquist with 50% retention to Arizona
Calgary’s 2023 3rd round pick (which columbus currently has) to Edmonton
Edmonton trades:
Jesse Puljujärvi to Columbus
2023 1st to Columbus
(Insert correct prospect here) to Columbus – Savoie? I don’t know
Edmonton’s 2023 3rd to Arizona
Arizona trades:
Gustav Nyquist with 50% retention to Edmonton
Oilers free up 225K in cap.
Columbus frees up 1.15M in cap.
Arizona takes on 1.375M.
Kane – McDavid – Yamamoto
Nyquist – Draisaitl – Hyman
Holloway – Nuge – Kostin
Janmark – McLeod – Ryan
Nurse – Bouchard
Gavrikov – Ceci
Kulak – Barrie
How about this trade; the Edmonton Oilers trade another night at the improv/blender for 4 balanced lines and defensive structure for the rest of the season?
Well at least you were trying to make some fits.
The only place this trade happens is in your Be A GM mode, in NHL23, on your Playstation.
Not to be rude. . . but be realistic man. (trades like these never happen IRL).
I keep seeing your EA Sports comment on rotation.
Just wondering what solution you have in mind?
As far as I can tell, all Arizona gets out of this is a late 3rd round pick in return for taking on $1.375 in cap hit and cash out.
Why would they do this?
I am not sure AZ wants to eat cap for assets
CF says they are running a 22 roster with 35M in space, looks like an internal budget. The injuries are LTIR and not coming back. They are also paying OEL ~ 1M. If the LTIR contracts are insured only OEL is cash out. If not that’s over 11M
And they are not generating a lot from Mullett with that seat capacity. Lesser concessions etc, not that they were ever well attended
So the league, merch and TV are their rev streams. Do they have cash to burn for assets? Does the owner want to dump into that for futures? To me doesn’t make sense
Straight contract dumps gets them assets and cash in hand. They have a bunch of 2nds but haven’t acquired extra 1sts, which I’d want to rebuild with
Well…they took Kassian for a second and a third so Imwould imagine they will look at taking cap dumps.
If, as expected, they move Chychrun and the Ghost before the deadline, they’ll will go into next season well under the cap floor with Ladd’s $5.5 million coming off LTIR.
But I would imagine they will want, as you say, additional first round picks for their trouble.
Worth noting, they already have 24 picks in the ‘24 and ‘25 drafts so should be insisting on ‘23 picks.
Teams sometimes value big edgy players. While Kass isn’t what he was, he can skate and is still edgy. They have Ritchie as well, smaller skill youth and more youth coming. Most teams look to make sure the talent feels safe
They are also just over the cap floor this year. They got 2 higher round picks and also swapped firsts moving up from Kenny
I can see why they would do that. Also guys like Kass have the potential to help sales being a rambunctious and usually fan fav. I doubt the hockeying matters as much when losing is the goal
I have no idea if they want more cash out. My guess is hanging around the cap floor. They have 10 players to sign to get to 23 next season, and depending on the floor 17-18M they have to spend. Seems they don’t ‘need’ to acquire salary
Maybe they have more real money than I think
They have tonnes of cap space, actual cash cost would be under 500k, and he would be off the books at the end of the season. 3rd rounder seems fair for that.
Fair to whom?
Why spend half a million when you already have 31 draft picks in the next three drafts.
Why did they take on Kassian and his $5.8M in real dollars for a late 3rd in 2024 and a late 2nd in 2025 then?
They only have 7 picks in the next one draft.
Based on your last paragraph, what is the solution? What is your preferred game plan?
RUn the centers three with best available wingers. When Kane returns, it’s a significant group. Second, add a real LHD for the second pair, moving Kulak to play with Barrie. Straighten out Campbell or bring up Pickard. STOP dump and chase at five-on-five.
Very good write up this morning LT.
And taking a measurement from the comment section, it’s also very interesting. We could be happy to get one point from last year‘s champs, however, it is clear to all that the team is not living up to its potential.
There is plenty of talent on this roster to succeed when it comes together, they can beat any team in the league.
So many players have gone backwards this year or simply display at lack of effort lack of intensity.
It seems though that nobody can figure out why this is happening.
always more than one thing of course. In regards to trades I’d be very reluctant to go all in unless the true problem can be identified in the trade is part of the solution.
Right now the solution is within the teams hands. Internal. The talent is there. The effort is not. The coaching is not.
In their first play since Damar Hamlin was carted off, the Bills run the opening kickoff back for a TD.
You can have your “reality TV.” I’ll take the authentic human drama of sports every day of the week.
That’s story book shit right there.
It takes a massive amount of creativity and intelligence to insult someone with a meme, don’t you think? Truly higher brain function. MENSA caliber stuff.
.
I don’t get all the dislike for Holland. Made the playoffs all 3 years after inheriting a tire fire. His team went to the final 4 last year. They’re a game over the real.500 not the Bettman.500. Are there problems? Of course. But fire the GM again? Let’s wait for Kane to come back and the trade deadline additions and the end results this year.
Inherited
McDavid
Draisaitl
RNH
Is making the playoffs – in the pacific- a tough task with a generational player?
Nurse
This year apparently it is.
Those 3 plus Nurse all missed the playoffs in 2018 and 2019 and by a fairly substantial margin.
Mario Lemieux missed the playoffs in 5 of his first 6 seasons, and that was when 16 out of 21 teams made the playoffs, not 16 out of 32.
Yep.
Gross gross incompetence…
Its really hard to do, but we may be watching it happen in 2023.
So many bad Holland bets on the roster. If we’re talking changes he is the one to go
He needs to step up .
LT, an area where I am in complete agreement with you that the coaching needs to improve is the D Zone outlet passes. Way too many Hail Marys. Not nearly enough puck support. Not enough set plays.
Outlets and zone transition should definitely be a practice priority
A hallmark of Sather’s teams were the breakout set plays from behind the net. You don’t see this as much in the league anymore because of advance video scouting. But I do believe the Oil have such superior skill that a rotating set of these should be in their arsenal.
We talk about the the greatest team ever but none of this happens without the vision of Sather and Muckler.
For sure. Sather’s adaptation of European game tactics and practice techniques was ahead of the curve and hugely influential on the league as a whole.
The rest of the NHL world may underestimate the contributions of ‘The Architect,’ but this city won’t forget. There’s a very good reason he went into the rafters alongside his players. Slats was the OG magnificent bastard.
Andres Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson and Bobby Hull was the blueprint Sather witnessed. What a line one of the best ever the creativity was beautiful to watch.
Yep. He said Bobby Hull and 8 Swedes beat the Oilers in the (WHA) final by skating them to death.
As much as we faithful wouldn’t understand, maybe some of these vets we are pining after who hold rights as to where they go see the issues in big “E” and would rather steer clear…just wondering
Klim Kostin is reverse Jesse Puljujarvi. He gets caved in at even strength and is riding an unsustainable shooting percentage. The media will not shut up about how great he is. And after an awful game like last night, when they would have been all over JP, not a peep.
Very very high event player and poor defensively
Last night i said he is a 3rd line hero top line zero. he might be a great bottom 6 guy leave him in the batting order. but he only played 8 min in the end so the coach seen enough
i would rather have the 3rd line hero version and playing top 6 isnt a easy game
He’s more Warren Foegele than Evander Kane.
Kostin certainly has more of a positive effect with the team then whatever it is that Puljujarvi brings.
Kostin took a dumb penalty and did nothing when MacKinnon started wheeling out of the zone on his end to end rush. He played 8 minutes, same as Puljujarvi who was making good plays during his limited time, and a shade more than Holloway, who was also making quality plays. Dumb.
I think it’s the goals. Gave him ‘a shot’ heh heh Klim Shady
What he has that Foggy and Bison don’t is hands and a shot that scores more. When he gets it together, he’s got more game
The edginess and threat to score is fine. Few are good enough at that for me to leak against
That being said, if multiple players struggle, there’s other problems at the fair. If Marty SL with zero proper coaching experience can get guys to play hockey better than the Oilers do, after multiple coaches, yikes. The team is poor, but he’s not working with much
Although all of the Oiler coaches (except Eakins) are really the same coach, aren’t they? They all end up doing the same thing and never deeply resolve team D despite being defensive oriented, and have weak even play for a team with the Duo
I would love to acquire Chychrun using the 1st round pick and Reid Schaefer (Bourgault if necessary) and Kulak going out (not necessarily in the Chychrun transition):
Nurse
Chychrun
Broberg
That’s the LD for the cup window!
Broberg is needed over Kulan to cap structuring. ELC and low 2nd contract for players impacting the lineup are imperative to balance the cap.
That’s likely not enough for Arizona and maybe its a 2nd round pick that gets added (plus the contract back – Jesse or Foegele).
if that’s the cost, Holland should be taken out back for not taking it
If Chychrun can help them with their defense & 5vs5 play, then thumbs up, if not then thumbs down. They really need the right kind of player or players that will make a difference in those areas of concern.
So if Chychrun plays last night, are you saying that Skinner woudn’t have had to prevent a blowout? This team is an embarrassment. There are teams in the league with way less skill on paper yet with higher up in the standings.
If You could trade This for Chychrun
#1 this Year
Kulak
X man or the 2025 1st rounder
that would be great
But my bet would be they want
1st
Broberg
xman or Another 1st or 2nd
I am liking the idea of Ekholm more and more as it would put way less minutes on Nurse who obviously cannot handle them right now .
it could also drop Kulak to that last pairing where he belongs
you could run This as I think Ekholm would help Bouchard
Nurse/Ceci
Ekholm/Bouchard
Broberg/Kulak/Barrie
Maybe they take Kulak , a 1st, And If they could eat 1/3. For the duration of that contract give them a Schaefer .
You could go get whoever you want. The problem is that from the top down this team is not a team. It’s disjointed. The lines are always flip flopped. 5 on 5 a disaster. The youth don’t develop. Coach Woodcroft just like the others before has yet to implement structure that shouldn’t have Skinner having to make 45 saves to a team missing 5-6 regulars.
You’ve said this multiple times today, who are the 5-6 regulars the Avs were missing?
I see Landeskog, Nichushkin, Manson and Byram missing. So 4 ‘regulars’, with Kane and Foegele missing on the Oilers side.
Byram has also only been healthy for about 30% of his ELC, so 3-4 regulars missing vs. 2 for the Oilers seems like it might be more appropriate.
This is true but, if we are being honest, Foegele was missing “by choice” – he was an available player the coach chose not to use.
My mistake. I’ve been slightly out of the loop with traveling etc lately and didn’t realize Foegele was a scratch rather than injury.
That “5-6 regulars” were missing from Colorado’s lineup is highly questionable though, is it not?
I don’t mind that idea. Right now ( or in the 4-5 losses of late) where the D was not good , we are having a terrible time of our D getting the puck out of the zone. Even when they pass it up the boards the forwards are not getting it out. We do not have 1 Dman that starts from behind the net and just goes when there is a it of pressure on them . Not 1.
iIt is pretty sad. Some feel we have puck movers in Nurse, Barrie and Bouchard. Some even Kulak. Well none of them in all our recent losses can move anything .
It is entirely probable Oilers are going to lose Draisaitl and McDavid in a few years from now – leaving the franchise in perpetual Cleveland Indians territory.
On the bright side we all get to witness hockey genius every game and more so on powerplays.
Pity about never getting close to winning anything. I guess this team is like the 1970’s LA Kings, who too had a few great forwards and a whole lot of mediocrity.
i would rather go the Raptors route trade it all for 1 cup. then be back to putrid
So you are basically saying that they are going to let them walk without trading them before hand for a massive return which would set them up for years? That would be dumber than what Calgary did with Tkachuk and Gaudreau…..
I think 1 of those 2 will stick around. I don’t know this for sure , but I guess we see
Holloway – 97 – JP
McLeod – Drai – Janmark
Hyman – RNH – KY
Foegele – Ryan – Kostin
No Janmark in the top 6
In a perfect world, you are correct. What are the current RW options though?
Hyman is a good PKer, good net front PP player, but not so good in the Dzone.
Yamo, he shows flashes of brilliance, but against top 6 competition he is not producing.
A line of Hyman + Yamo & Nuge positions them to take other 3 lines to the woodshed while minimizing Hyman’s defensive liabilities.
Janmark and McLeod gives Drai 2-way wingers with size and speed. This opens up the ice offensively and helps to cover for his defensive lapses.
Or, let’s just do everything else that has not been working.
What I don’t understand is not using the advantages of home ice to get the McDavid line some “clean air” match-up wise. Power vs Power was NOT WORKING last night and, frankly, often doesn’t work for this team. I know McDavid subbed on the “4th line” once early but how about him, with his starting line mates, getting some McDermid minutes?
Yep it’s an awfully reactive approach. It’s been a long time since we had a coaching staff and players that consistently forced the other team to play our game and react to what we are doing and not the other way.
I don’t know. But they sure handled the Islanders well in the previous home game and the islander are no slouch. They aren’t the Avalanche though. I think the two-goal lead was flattering. It was the 5vs5 play where Colorado excelled, Georgiev was terrific, so was Skinner and so was the Oilers special teams. The game could have gone either way when you come right down to it. Both teams played to their strengths, Colorado prevailed in OT. If Oilers could have matched the Avalanche 5vs5 they would have had a better result. They were awarded the loser point in the end. But sometimes you learn more from a loss than you do from a win. The Oilers will be a better team after that loss. It may also signal to Holland that he needs to roll up his sleeves and get something done to help his coaching staff and team, for they need some players with the ability to make a difference in some of their areas of weakness.
Continuous loss – learning?
You make it sound like they are a last place team struggling to win a single game.
You are mistaken, that is not where this team is.
The Avs were missing 5-6 regulars……and came up with that performance. As an Oiler player, coach, fan, that is quite alarming.
I think the Avs where happy with their performance. They were highly motivated against the Oilers after going through a 5-game losing streak themselves. They brough their best regardless of their injuries and found a way to win. They are Stanley cup Champions. And the game could have gone either way.
Do you think Woody would work with Babcock again?
Keep that asshat away from anyone and everyone.
a pathetic bulky gifted all star teams and nothing more.
fuck that guy
I thought the team actually sat on the lead for almost three periods. After going up 2-0, they simply stopped forechecking. When the Avs tied it up, they suddenly started to push back again. Curious. I thought they played timid or lacked commitment. IDK.
Oilers on home ice last night:
CF 34%
FF 29%
SF 31%
SCF 25%
HDSCF 35%
XGF 20%
Do we have a good Power Play?
Yes…yes, we do.
I think the vast majority of our high danger scoring chances came in the last 10 minutes, when the Avs tied the game. They played scared IMO.
There is one universal truth and one universal reality in sports:
Truth – sitting back passively is death.
Reality – in almost every game, the team or individual who is winning enters into this horrible game state. It’s hardwired into our nature I guess.
The MacKinnon goal was the game breaker . All the Oil needed was another PP goal to make it 3-0 , and they had the opportunity , but couldn’t cash in. Oilers have made comebacks in similar fashion . It happens, all it takes is a puck luck.
Puck luck has been horrible lately with multiple posts, crossbars and Hyms barely missed the OT winner last night. Things can only improve, at least in theory.
The Oilers were not really “in that game” against the Avs as far as flow of play, etc.
At the same time, yup, they were an inch or a break in OT away from coming away with two points.
Move on – crush California!
I agree with playing our young players more if they earn it. By my eye Holloway has done that and more in his last few games. He has shown more jam than 90% of the team. He has hit ,scored and been in scrap with a pretty tough player in V.Dunn. If that hasn’t earned more ice time then I don’t know what the coaching staff is looking for. Jmo
The very fact that they held a ‘player’s only’ meeting is a signal to me that the problem is/was more the players than the coaches. Imo you have that kind of meeting when the coaches are giving you good game plans and you’re simply not executing them to the level of detail required to win in this league. And the team has presented with more defensive structure and effort since, albeit still getting outshot.
The alternative is the players were not buying what Woodcroft is selling and met to decide how they could win regardless. If that were the case, this would truly be a lost season. But I’m simply not seeing that in their play since. Better days ahead!
They have had 2 games since the players only meeting and outshot one team and got outshot against the other team.