In a season that featured plenty of struggle, the Edmonton Oilers delivered a 3-1 road trip in the second week of January. One of the results of that run is the beginning of what could be a season defining month for the team. Another result? For once, other teams in the conference are burning daylight.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New DNB: Why 11/7 works, Klim Kostin the folk hero, Jack Campbell’s progress
- New Lowetide: Are the Oilers creative enough in cap management to make a strong trade?
- Lowetide: Oilers should consider obscure options as reinforcements
- Lowetide: Oilers winger Warren Foegele has been odd man out, so what’s next?
- DNB: Oilers must act at the trade deadline
- Lowetide: Oilers midseason review of 2022-23 reasonable expectations
- Lowetide: Should Oilers GM Ken Holland trade the 2023 first-round pick?
- 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: 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?
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 3-1-0)
- 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: 4-2-1, 9 points in 7 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: 24-17-3, 51 points in 45 games
That was a big win last night for Edmonton. It was against the division leading team, it came at the end of of a long trip and a loss would have shortchanged the effort placed in the entire trip. Losing the first game to LAK put the club in a spot of bother, but credit where due three wins in a row and perhaps a January to remember.
SUMMARY
- Jack Campbell had an uneven performance that could have been helped with better defense in front of him. He was prone in the crease for several Mississaugas before Keegan Kolesar banked it in on a fine pool shot. The Cotter goal featured some scrambly play behind the net by Cody Ceci and Leon Draisaitl, plus a shot from Byron Froese that should have featured tighter coverage from Darnell Nurse, but Cotter made a nice play. The William Karlsson goal looked like Brett Kulak screened Campbell on the play.
- Darnell Nurse made a fantastic defensive play in the third period, altering a cross-crease pass that was a sure goal without him. He also had two shots, five hits and two blocked shots on a night when he (imo) outplayed partner Cody Ceci by some margin. Nurse-Desharnais is a tower of power and I suspect we’ll see it some more in the days to come.
- Cody Ceci is playing like a guy who is hurt, but not enough to come out of the lineup. He had one shot, a giveaway, two hits and three blocked shots. I like him but he’s losing too many battles, suspect there’s some malady.
- Brett Kulak picked up an assist, had a GV, two shots blocked and two hits. HDSC were 5-1 while he was on the ice, the puck was heading in a good direction.
- Tyson Barrie had an assist (gorgeous pass), two shots, a couple of hits. Chased a little too much, but the puck was heading in a good direction.
- Philip Broberg started the game 1-7 shots, and finished 6-2. That’s a nice recovery. His speed is vital to his pairing, Broberg does all the chasing and for good reason. One shot, GV, TK, made good decisions and simple plays.
- Evan Bouchard had two shots, a takeaway, one hit and one shot block. He’s gaining confidence now and winning more 50-50 battles. This struggle business would have been all behind him if Dave Tippett had played him as a rookie.
- Vincent Desharnais is starting to get comfortable and that means a more physical player who will initiate contact and intmidate. Two shots, a penalty, takeaway and a blocked shot. I’m waiting to see how this part of his game turns out, but Desharnais has played seven minutes shorthanded and the Oilers are 1-0 goals. It’s giggle worthy but a minute sample. At five-on-five, he is 2-1 goals in about 34 minutes.
- Leon Draisaitl had a strong game, scoring two big goals. The first was ridiculous hand-eye, and the second was all about timing (his release was perfectly timed). Leon took a big hit from Keegan Kolesar, interference all day but no call. Four shots, one HDSC, four hits and was hit six times. I know everyone wants LD at the All-Star game, I think he needs a few days to relax and heal.
- Connor McDavid had eight shots, three HDSC, three takeaways and 75 percent in the dot. His game was far more dynamic than the one assist implies. The captain had a breakaway and several other strong chances on the night. He was responsible without the puck as well, 16-10 shots and 2-1 goals five-on-five, expected goals 60 percent.
- Zach Hyman picked up two assists, four shots, two HDSC, a giveaway and several hits. He was especially effective late in keeping possession of the puck and stalling VGK sorties.
- Klim Kostin had another strong night, scored the winning goal on a great shot. He delivered two hits and drew a penalty, and really gives his line an edge. An impressive trade.
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two shots, one HDSC and was effective in all three game states. His line was 2-0 goals on the night, Nuge delivering one memorable hit and playing a quality game.
- Mattias Janmark had a strong evening and got the Oilers off to a terrfiiic start with an early goal. Went 1-1-2 (the assist a dandy pass to Kostin), three shots, two HDSC and a giveaway. You still hear people saying get rid of him and put Holloway in there, but those voices are fewer now. He is third on the team among forwards in primary assists per 60.
- Warren Foegele had one shot, one HDSC and a takeaway. He worked hard, skated miles, was a little loose in coverage.
- Ryan McLeod had one HDSC, skated miles, got in on the forecheck and won 42 percent of his faceoffs. He spent 1:22 strong minutes on the PK.
- Jesse Puljujarvi had one shot, one TK and a blocked shot.
- Derek Ryan had two shots, two TK, one GV, and won three faceoffs (3-0). Fine night on the PK, including an effective clear of the zone sans stick. Smart player.
- Dylan Holloway had one shot, one HDSC and a hit. He and Ryan started each period with McDavid and after that 97 played on the big line. Unusual strategy, but they’re winning so who cares?
THE WOODMONEY SLEDGEHAMMER (ELITES)
I shouldn’t run these this early but there are fascinating tweaks by Jay Woodcroft so I wanted to mention them. The forwards are being used in what looks like close to equal rotation, and the clean air for Connor McDavid is helping.
Using centers as proxy for lines, McDavid has played 211 minutes versus elites and has a 52.7 DFF percentage. Music! Leon Draisaitl is 198 minutes, 46.8 percent, Nuge is 176 minutes, 42.6 percent and Ryan McLeod is 68 minutes, 44.2 percent.
The protected players are McLeod, Warren Foegele (who is doing well versus elites) and Derek Ryan. Evander Kane is an outlier because his line was facing tougher opponents when he was injured.
I’m interested in the deployment of the top nine players listed here. Here’s what Woodcroft was running one year ago. These are just the Woodcroft games in 2021-22:
Year over year, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has taken on a far more prominent role. The results are up slightly, but his deployment in a feature role has reduced the load for Draisaitl and McDavid. In the case of Draisaitl, results have improved. Mattias Janmark appears to have taken Ryan McLeod’s elite minutes with poorer results. We’ll look at the defense tomorrow.
I guess we’ll see how Desharnais’ absence (hand injury) affects the game against the Kraken.
Tough to see an obvious dman trade target that might not be redundant in 12 months. We’ve all given Woody some grief this year but he’s had the confidence to give a lot of young guys ice this season even if that cost wins in the first 40 games (and it did). Broberg, Niemo, Desharnais, Skinner, Hollywood is a lot of rookies for a contender. Plus Bouchard is still developing. So IMHO the issue are there:
– can Broberg move up and effectively play with Ceci on the 2nd pair next season? (looks possible at the moment)
– can Niemo/Desharnais be effective 6/7 dmen? (looks possible at the moment)
– can Kulak be a 4/5 dman (demonstrated)
– can Bouchard effectively play 1RD with Nurse next year (possible at some point but not looking good within 12 months)
So here is my take on the likely defensive depth chart next October
Nurse xxx
Broberg Ceci
Kulak Bouchard/Barrie
Niemo/ Deharnais
I like Barrie but he is not a 1RD. I like Bouchard but he is not a 1RD today and is unlikely to be one in 12 months. That’s the gap which cannot be filled internally and I’d move one of Barrie/Bouchard for a guy who can play 1RD with Nurse better than Ceci. Probably Barrie as Bouch can do his job on the PP well enough and he will be cheaper. But I would also give up Bouchard + for the right guy. Parayko is perfect (and unobtainable) and too bad we couldn’t keep Larrson. The guy is having one hell of a season.
So for me a Stanley Cup comes down to a simple question – can Bouchard play 1RD next year or can we put a package together for someone who can (preferably sooner than later).
Bouch plus 3 1sts for Karlsson @50% retained.
Ethan Bear is having quite the season in Vancouver. Happy to see him doing well.
Kuzmenko would be a great addition at the deadline.
Like schenn:
Due to price point Canucks should be getting some really solid bids in at deadline for him.
Apparently, TBL is very interested in bringing him back for a playoff run.
HH – your Canucks missing the playoffs again this season?
I’d love know package that would get both of them.
Ideal depth pieces in a salary crunch year.
Yes they are and, for both, you would likely need to start with a first round pick and add from there.
Other than picks, Vancouver’s direst need is for young D.
Their direst need is to get out of denial – it’s slash / burn / tank time.
Rumours EP40 wants out don’t help, although that should fetch some nice building blocks.
With Edmonton, Cal, LAK, Seattle, VGK strong or on the upswing and perhaps Ana or SJS landing Berard, it’s a long, long way to the promised land for the Dy’s.
And no one in management sees this? Shades of our DoD.
(a real shame)
This deadline is a defining moment for them.
If they don’t do stuff like trade ryan Smyth for overripe beans and then not trade soon to be FA sykora at same just cause “why wouldn’t you?”…there’s a lot of promising things that could happen.
Skip the explanation and just show me where to upload my Diners Club info
Please tell me I’m not mistaken, and this is a Planes, Trains and Automobiles reference.
EC standings Jan 15/23 using points percentage shown as points over/under fake Bettman .500
Atlantic
BOS 28
TBY 14
TOR 15
Metropolitan
CAR 18
NJD 16
NYR 12
Wildcard
WSH 7
PIT 6
Out of playoffs
NYI 5
BUF 3
DET 2
FLA 0
PHI 0
OTT -1
MTL -6
CBJ -14
BOS has a high quality top 9 and good goaltending but the key to that team killing it this year (Bererogn notwithstanding) is having two legitimate 1LD in McAvoy and Lindholm.
BOS averages 47 5v5 min per game.
For 35 of those minutes one of McAvoy or Lindholm is on the ice.
That’s tough to play against.
Probably your phone acting up but I believe McAvoy is a RHS and plays RD, no?
the point stands kinda reminds me Anaheim when they had Pronger and Niedermayer.
Two true number ones anchoring your first and second pairing is a huge ace.
Although your phone may be lying to you about Charlie McAvoy he’s a RHS and mostly plays RD.
Mostly on different pairing though.
Taylor Hall is on their 3rd line so you know they have depth.
Top line is +53 in +/-
Wowzers.
heyoooo! love these
WC standings Jan 15/23 using points percentage shown as points over/under fake Bettman .500
Pacific
SEA 14
VGK 14
LAK 10
Central
WPG 14
DAL 13
MIN 10
Wildcard
CGY 7
EDM 6
Out of playoffs
COL 4
NSH 2
STL 1
VAN -5
SJS -10
ARI -11
ANA -15
CHI -15
Games over/under Fake Bettman over the past week:
Pacific
SEA +4
CGY +2
EDM +2
LAK +1
VGK 0
SJS -1
ANA -3
VAN -4
Central
WPG +2
DAL +1
MIN +1
STL 0
COL -1
CHI -1
NSH -2
ARI -4
Nice to see you drop by, haven’t realized how much I missed these ledger posts on the daily.
Thank you
Love the baseball standings!! If you could make the Expos reappear I’d kiss you!
Only with Youpi though.
HH – your Canucks aren’t looking so good. Those who live in glass houses…..
It’s just a flesh wound.
Hoping for gangrene.
No worries, there are 30 other teams he can cherry puck to duckflect with.
Summarizing!
Petrov collected an aPPle on North Bay’s GWG in a 7-3 victory.
Prospecting takes a break until Tuesday.
Next 10 games are going to be big. If they keep up this style of play, with or without Evander’s return, they should (should being the operative word) go 9-1.
( puts pitch fork and torch back into the closet)
3rd game in 4 nights against a pretty darn good team, leading 4-3 going into the 3rd period and the team didnt take their foot of the pedal as the Oilers outshot and outchanced Vegas in the 3rd. It also looks like Campbell is turning the corner ( although not an exact straight line, but hes coming along)
Something I looked at last week is that the roster minus the PP1 unit players were scoring at a rate of 1.1 goals a game. Last year they scored at a rate of 1.8 goals a game.
In the year that led to getting McDavid, the Oilers roster minus the PP1 unit scored at a rate of 1.19 per game.
To make the playoffs and advance, the Oilers need the bottom of the roster to produce. This part of the roster had a good road trip.
Seems like Broberg is getting more confident weekly.
Kane returning.
Kostin is running a heater, I like this player.
JP and Yamomoto are candidates in my book who could also go on a heater in the 2nd half ( they are not single digit goal scorers)JP scored in 2 previous combined seasons at a 20 goal rate, Yamo scored 20 last year
Many good signs to look forward to for the 2nd half of season.
Who qualifies as PP1? Just the top 5 in PP toi?
Also, great post. Kane returning will also help the non-PP1 numbers. Pushes everyone down the line-up.
Yes, the PP1 unit players ( McDavid, Drai, Nuge, Hyman, Barrie) are all on pace to having career years in points ( or will be close to matching, Barrie) but the rest of the roster is/was going scorched earth.
when you get 35 seconds to work with its kinda hard to produce
Interesting thing to look at, but this basically amounts to lines centred by McLeod, Ryan, Shore, Hamblin, Malone. There’s not a lot of minutes left when you take out lines centred by McDavid, Draisaitl and Nuge (plus Barrie minutes).
It’s barely 20% of the 5v5 TOI, and this season would include lots of time from the call-ups who aren’t even in the lineup now that the team is nearer full health.
Beyond that, they aren’t getting scorched, they just aren’t scoring much. Currently with PP1 off at 5v5 the Oilers are 1.16GF-1.41GA per 60 (45%). 51.3% shots, 55.8% xGoals.
Last season with PP1 (same players) off the team went 1.91GF-2.59GA per 60 (42.3%). 52.9% shots and 49.7% xGoals.
Surprisingly strong underlying numbers both year. But this years team isn’t worse than last, and really isn’t bad overall.
Analytics darling Mike McDaniel goes conventional wisdom taking 3 easy field goals over three 4th down gambles. So tired of watching HCs cutting their own teams off at the knees with questionable gambles. Nothing kills a team faster in a close game on the road than a long drive that produces squat.
And now a smart 2 point convert gamble pays dividends with a tie score. Fins hanging in without Tua. Great coaching.
The NFL – home to the most bizarre combination of antiquated thinking and crazy deep “modern” analysis in all of sports.
Constant ridiculousness.
It’s a perfect example of what happens when analytics favours an outcome over a process. NFL HCs have fallen in love with the stat that projects your odds of winning when you score a TD instead of a FG at any given time. So they’ll gamble on 4th and 8 when the odds of converting at that down and distance are extremely low. They’re chasing the prize. Poor process and odds calculation without full context.
It’s why I like the 2 point gamble. It’s a makable distance and you only lose a point if you’re wrong.
FGs are good. You can’t go broke taking a profit!
Not a football guy, and probably never will be. I tried watching a playoff game a few years back when at a friends party, and was honestly baffled that the last 3 minutes of the game took like 15-20 minutes to complete with all the timeouts and play stoppages. Apparently that’s “normal” in the NFL.
I thought, “what kind of sport allows this???”
Even with it’s terrible reffing, I’ll stick with hockey thank you very much!
It’s all subjective. I think the NFL has a fantastic product but I don’t expect everyone to like it. I never eat at MadDonalds but I understand it’s very popular.
I’m a big fan of Pete Carrol and his pass versus run decisions in the SB!
The most second guessed decision in sports history?
I would think so.
Pickard back to the Condors.
Not sure where Stu and his wife are, baby wise, but the Oilers are now in Edmonton for the next week.
Strudy thinks is a no-brainer to start Campbell on Tuesday – largely because Skinner hasn’t played or practiced in a while.
I’m not so sure as Skinner will practice tomorrow (I would think) and should be ready and Campbell just played 4 games in 6 nights on the road.
It’s go time for sure. Keep rolling with the hot goalie.
Last week, a wise man said the Oilers need to go on a 10 game winning streak.
A week later and 3 consecutive wins later…..
Ned (Det) on waivers
Yeah, Holland didn’t actually miss the boat there.
Ned has an .898 SV% over his 2 seasons in Detroit.
Surprised to see Husso has only a .902 SV% this season. IIRC he started out strong, so it seems there have been struggles since.
Ned played 59 games last season. That’s 10 more than Campbell.
Not many goalies outside of Helleybuyck and Vasilevsky can handle that workload.
Ned was .916 through the first half of last season (29gp).
He was .886 through the back half (30 gp).
Insoite of that, for goalies who played more than 30 games last year. Campbell was 25th and Ned was 28th is gsax/60.
Ned was just placed on waivers with an .880 sv%. Campbell currently has an .883
Apologize dammit!
Are you saying Holland did miss the boat on Ned?
And are you arguing that Ned’s recent performance is because he was overworked in the 1st half of last season?
That doesn’t hold water at all if you look closer.
His only good month last season was November. As of Nov. 31st is SV% was .923 (in 13 starts, 15 appearances; Greiss had started 10 games also).
His next 4 months had a SV% below .900 and he finished out the season .893 in 44 games. Then .880 this season.
That would be a 1+ year hangover, due to starting 13 of the first 23 games of his Detroit career.
No, I am not saying that at all.
He started 59 games last year. He was tied for top six in the league for number of starts last year. He played 29 of the first 41 games and 30 of the next 41 games.
Not many goalies can handle 59 starts in a season. Even the ones that do, the heavy workload
for the 1st half ofthroughout the season has a negative impact on their save percentage.Ned’s not a 59 game goalie. Not many are.
Campbell has been poor since January of last year. To what do you attribute being the cause of his hangover?
So what part of my original comment do you have an issue with then?
Ned only started 52 games last year by the way, tied for 13th. The rest were in relief. He was 11th in minutes played.
Perhaps some should apologize to Ken Holland for not claiming this guy – he’s not been good at the NHL level since he was waived and, really, he’s now 27 and has only had one 22-game sample of success at the NHL level.
In 2020-21 he played exceptional. It wasn’t a stretch to be disappointed about losing a possible starter on an affordable, expiring contract with RFA rights. Losing Forsberg (who’s gone on to put up some reasonable numbers with OTT) was one thing. But to have Ned available and not claim him, only to go on a prolonged and avoidable ordeal to get a competent goaltender was less than ideal management. I said so at the time, and stand by it.
2020-21
23 GP, 1.90 GAA, 0.932 SV%
That Ned’s tanked since then is a big surprise. Although DET isn’t exactly on par defensively with CAR and Husso (a much discussed target himself) isn’t particularly tearing the league apart playing there, either. Maybe it’s more about the team than the player? Hard to tell from my vantage.
That’s a thing is it? Fans are supposed to apologize to the GM when hindsight turns inaction into alleged foresight?
If yes, when can we expect an apology for Kenny’s unforced errors?
As long as there’s no crocodile tears at the podium.
Claiming a player on waivers is different than trading for a player and signing to a long term contract, No??
Goaltending performance has such a wide variance from year to year. I’m not sure it’s ever fair to hang that on the GMs.
Everyone here was clamouring for Reimer too.
I didn’t buy crypto before it crashed. That ‘not doing something’ proves I’m a genius! Everyone who advocated for buying crypto should apologize to me now. lol
“Perhaps some should apologize to Ken Holland for not claiming this guy “How would that work?
That’s pretty rich.
This would be my fully healthy line up
Holloway McDavid Yamamoto – line looked good in tiny sample size
Kane Draisaitl Hyman – Gives 29 the two best wingers on the team
Janmark RNH Kostin – Let these guys roll
Fogele McLeod- have looked good together and should kill 4th lines with anyone on the other wing
Jesse traded for cap space
Nurse Ceci
Kulak Barrie
Bro Bouch
Vinny
Domination to follow!
I wonder how Justin Bailey would look on a fourth line with Foegele & MacLeod ?
As the standings stood last night, it was a preview of Round 1 of the playoffs:
VGK vs Oilers
Is must watch tv.
Watched the game with my dad last night and we were both saying how great a best of 7 series that would be.
I’m of the mind that any series would be a great series as long as there are no injuries, and the Oilers win.
I think this kind of spam has to be ignored in order to get rid of them.
I love that folks are already putting Desharnais on the first pairing. The guy who has averaged ~13 minutes a game against three middling opponents.
Never change Oiler fans!
To be clear, I like the player, but it seems a bit early to anoint him as the second coming of Chara.
He’s played some minutes with Nurse, Kulak & Broberg. And fit well with all three. He’s even played some on his off side with Bouchard. He could be the ideal 7th D-man. He’s going to be a fit somewhere and that’s huge for this team.
DesCHARAnais is chanelling his idol Z right now.Standing around the front of our net is much harder for the other team when 73 is there.
The Seaweed man .As Woodcroft says , players have to swim around him to get to the front of the net. LOL.
He won me over when…
he boxed out one player last night so Campbell had a clear view for the shot, and then immediately got in the face of another player.
Boxing out effectively – something that warms my heart.
He had a lengthy post whistle chat with Kolesar too at one point after he had been running around.
I read Kolesar’s lips “you should have asked me earlier…you should have asked me earlier”
Everyone wants a Chara and I’m just looking for a slightly used Bobo.
7D works great you can sprinkle 6-7 feet in every pairing.
How good would BoBo look on this team?!
Ceci, Barrie, and Bouchard isn’t a very high bar.
Desharnais is going to have an NHL career. That’s an incredible feat for a 7th rounder.
Interesting how Colorado are having a shit season and their AHL call ups are scoring like Jesse Puljujarvi. In other words it’s almost like NHL prospects are far less developed/talented for the NHL as advertised on draft day.
Nice stretch. Now beat Seattle.
Honestly, the best part of the three-game winning streak–Campbell treading water. The Oilers need both goalies humming.
The RNH line is my personal source of Oilers watching happiness.
Seeing RNH running his very own line, instead of being used like a utility forward has been a revelation.
Agreed. Love Nuge. Very happy for him.
I will shit myself if he hits 90 points.
Min 250 minutes and Klim Kostin is 3rd in the NHL in G/60 with 1.8…….
Before I read about his unsustainable shooting percentage, please note it is a full 10% LOWER than that of Jared McCann of the team that will not regress because Ron Francis is the new Joe Sakic and lauded GM of the community to ensure an Oiler rival is propped up!
Unfortunately Harpers Hair was blindsided by Seattles emergence – otherwise we could be reading endless streams of info regarding them – however even HH understands that at this stage of the season no one but no one is going to fall for anyone predicting this new exciting team.
Here’s some info.
Dom’s model now has Seattle finishing second in the Pacific but it’s close.
https://theathletic.com/3666576/2023/01/15/nhl-2022-23-stanley-cup-playoff-chances-and-projected-standings/?source=user_shared_article
Seattle, after ripping off an all time NHL record road trip, now has the easiest remaining schedule in the league.
http://powerrankingsguru.com/nhl/strength-of-schedule.php
Funny how that works. Expansion teams used to struggle mightily on entry into the league. Not anymore.
The salary cap has helped but so has the expansion location. Vegas and Seattle are very desirable locations when you compare with Columbus and Twin cities
Vegas isn’t my cup of Tea but Seattle is one of the nicest cities on Earth.
Interesting that Vegas and Seattle took polar opposite approaches to expansion.
Vegas has gone balls to the wall in player acquisition and cap management while Seattle has taken a much more measured approach and has built perhaps the best balanced team in the league.
The Kraken are among the highest 3 scoring teams in the league and yet their leading scorer is Matty Beniers with 36 points which puts him tied for 73rd in the scoring race.
The problem with that analysis is it doesn’t take into account when the games are played
I would not trade our schedule for the Krakens with their 6 b2b games remaining
They’ve built up a big pts cushion and the easy schedule will help, but their PDO is a league leading 1.03. If they get 40 pts in last 40 games, that puts them at 96 for the season. Probably enough to get in.
So the Oilers have an even easier schedule. I recall around this time last year you telling us the Oilers had a hard strength of schedule remaining, and they of course owned that stretch. Anyone who watches the Oilers over the last 20+ years would know this team had never cared about strength of opponent (for better or worse)
And Avs are to finish in 9th place
OhOh!!
So, Kostin, 1.8 G/60, third in the NHL…..
Yeah that was my single biggest take home from Dom’s latest.
Carry on! Seattle are my bandwagon team this season.
Last night Bouchard saved a goal with a good stick in the crease late in the third. He looks like he is starting to turn a corner and play like he did last year. I think the addition of Desharnais doing some heavy lifting on the defensive zone is helping also. Desharnais had a nasty fall late in the game where he went down like a pretzel in the corner.
When Kolesar tripped him into the boards & then finished the check? Yeah. Kolesar was taking liberties all game, including a way late hit on Draisaitl. Somehow he broke no rules along the way.
The son of KD Williams taking liberties? This can’t be true!
(Rider fans circa 1997 will know what I’m talking about.)
Ya got me there, I’m afraid.
All I remember of the ’97 season is the Riders losing the Grey Cup to the Argos, possibly aided by Reggie Slack’s “medical addiction problems”.
Later that year, Slack was supposed to be a guest speaker at a Sports Night fundraiser we were having in our hometown, but he had to withdraw. (Fortunately, our other guest speaker was Tiger Williams. Entertaining, to say the least.)
I was hoping someone was going to punch Kolesar in the face all night. One of the announcers said he asked Kostin to go but the Oilers were up by 1 and didn’t want to give Vegas any momentum. I liked how Desharnais grabbed Kolesar by the jersey and pulled him in real close for a whisper at the end of the game. I wouldn’t mind Holland adding another forward who is intimidating at the deadline. Someone who can sit in the press box but comes in for certain games to provide more confidence for the group.
A big difference between Niemo and Deharnais – while they are essentially the same height – Vinny D. has about 30 pounds on Niemo – he’s just a more intimidating presence and a stronger man in battle.
Nemo is a better skater , that’s about it.
You keep hearing about his wing span and ability to break the cycle which is what I’m seeing. The man deserves more games what do you think?
Perhaps his advanced age/maturity keeps his panic level low.
Twin Towers. Beukeboom & Smith in our future?
30 pounds? That’s a massive difference in 2 elite athletes the same size.
Dude probably never lost an arm wrestle in his life.
I believe that Vinny is also close to 2” taller and he is also a wider human. Vinny is also a superior passer in all zones and with his larger frame he is much more aggressive in the D-zone. The other thing that Vinny has in his arsenal that many dmen do not have is that back door passing ability. If he had a great point shot (which neither he nor Niemo possess) it would be an even more effective technique for him.
One thing I’ve noticed with Niemo, since his last call-up he is no longer looking to blast guys as they cross the blueline, he has also improved his passing somewhat.
Ultimately I see Desharnais as a better option on the blueline right now.
Poor man’s Hal Gill,
got it
Hopefully a Logan Stanley. He’s always annoying when the Oilers play the Jets.
Both the numbers and the eye test back up the mantra that Ceci is dragging that pairing down and has been for a while. He’s not playing THAT bad but he’s definitely not as consistently solid as he was most of last season. Having that 7th d-man, and a right show with the “skill-set of a monster” like Vinny seems to be the right play.
We know Jay W. doesn’t love the 11/7 – he’s all but said it expressly in his verbals – but its working right now and the structure of the roster seems to call for it and Jay is smart enough to use it for now, even if its not ideal.
Fully healthy lineup:
Hyman/McDavid/Yamamoto
Kane/Drai/McLeod
Kostin/Nuge/Janmark
Holloway/Puljujrvi
Extra: Ryan or Foegele
Nurse/Ceci
Kulak/Barrie
Broberg/Bouchard
Vinny
One could flip Hyman and Kane which would move Hyman to RW and McLeod back to LW but I don’t love Hyman and Drai together without McDavid to be honest.
Woody may not love the 11/7 but man it’s been working for him. This and last year.
Ryan has to be waived, no?
Either that or one of Foegle/Puljujrvi is being traded.
Could be a very interesting week.
Or Yamo
Is that 22 man roster cap compliant?
I don’t think so. Ryan has to be waived. Murray to LTIR. 21-man roster. Currently, the only way to get Kane back on the roster.
That’s why he said Ryan or Foegele. He assumes one or the other won’t remain in the NHL roster.
“Fully healthy lineup:
Hyman/McDavid/Yamamoto
Kane/Drai/McLeod
Kostin/Nuge/Janmark
Holloway/Puljujrvi
Extra: Ryan or Foegele
Nurse/Ceci
Kulak/Barrie
Broberg/Bouchard
Vinny”
what is wrong with?
Kane McDavid Hyman
McLeod Drai Yamamoto
Kostin Nuge Janmark
Foegele Puljujarvi
At least you get the R/L in their right place. By the way, I don’t love Yamamoto on the top 2 lines, but the coach likes that, so…….
Agree on 18 and 29 together. Too loosely goosey on defense.
I don’t see how they can not have Ryan up, as the only RS C
Many have him to the A as the cap relief
Not sure how they keep all the wingers
Hopefully they don’t waive a guy and he gets claimed, I’d want to see some asset return as they’re all NHL quality players
If it’s JP out, I wouldn’t be surprised if they find they miss him even though he doesn’t score enough
He does a lot of heavy lifting otherwise, that I’m not sure the others do as much of, or as well. He also doesn’t get injured as easily as some
He’s missed more games since the start of last season than any of Foegele, Yamamoto or Ryan (though all have played between 110 and 118 games).
I think the only player out of Ryan, Foegele, Puljujarvi that could potentially get claimed would be Puljujarvi – a lower end team with cap space can test drive him for free for 2 months with no commitment beyond this season.
I’m pretty sure Holland would be downright giddy if Foegele or JP got claimed on waivers. Maybe even Yamamoto.
He needs the cap space if he wants to add a dman, or even have a full roster.
Players who aren’t performing to the level of their contracts have negative value. Rival GMs generally don’t want to touch those guys, even if they are free. Especially if they have term.
Probably true
It would be nice to get assets for players on a more regular basis though
Foegele wasn’t free and the other two used first round picks up to be meh
One line the I think should be mentioned that wasn’t listed above was the 3rd period trip of Holloway/Ryan/Puljuarvi. I was starting to think, “damn, too bad Woody couldn’t find minutes for Holloway tonight” but, then, boom, in the third period, that line got 3 shifts together, while protecting a one goal lead and, well, gave up zilch and helped keep the ice tilted the right way.
I wonder if this is a line to look for going forward – probably not as, unless something else happens, I’m not sure Ryan is on the team when Kane returns (one $1.125MM player needs to be waived/assigned unless Yamo is sick/hurt for 24 days/10 games and goes on LTIR) if there isn’t a trade. Maybe Foegele is the guy over Ryan given Ryan played more late last night.
Unless, of course it’s bye-bye Jesse . Which is an option you somehow tend to omit .
No, its not an option I tend to omit – just yesterday I gave the waiver/assign option of Ryan, Foegele, Jesse.
I don’t think its Jesse – and the coach likely doesn’t want it to be Jesse given, well, he’s healthy scratched the other two and Jesse plays every night.
And Jesse plays every night because, he isn’t on the trade block. And there’s no reason to showcase him because he’s such a great fit on the fourth line. Makes complete sense to me. Thanks, for clearing that up. By the way nice job filling in for Bruce last night.
I’ve been enjoying that line a lot on the occasions they’ve been together (a few different games now). Selfish personal reasons: 55-10-13 happens to be my birthday!
It’s even in the right order: I am every bit as much a YY-MM-DD snob as I am a LW-C-RW snob.
Haha Bruce! LW-C-RW for the win!
It just makes too much sense to do otherwise
Mine is 84-10-13. But sadly I don’t think we’ll be getting Klefbom circa 2014-15 back anytime soon
Willy Lagesson would be a lot more realistic.
https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/EDM/numbers.html
What a great performance last night. I thought the first period was pure domination by the Oilers (but for the one sequence) and they were unlucky to not be up by 2-3-4 goals. Talking to Dave last night and the Cult scoring chance data met my eye test (and shows the inherent flaws of NST who had Vegas ahead on expected goals at 5 on 5 – love NST but there are some inherent flaws).
Second period was a bit of a sag and was more even but the Oilers locked it down in the third. I think you could see they were getting a bit tired but damn if they didn’t make the hard play and the smart play all period long and gave up maybe one scoring chance all period.
That’s 3 games in a row giving up 30 shots or less and, really, not a ton of high danger or five alarm. Is the the team “flipping that switch”? Is it Vinny D. and Vinny D. alone? Is it Jack Campbell and them concentrating on limiting chances while he finds his game (which he has now found)?
————–
Its too bad that they lost what really was the most important game of the trip in LA (to me) but, that’s OK, the are starting to play much better structured hockey and more parts of the lineup are contributing.
the Oilers locked it down in the third….damn if they didn’t make the hard play and the smart play all period long and gave up maybe one scoring chance all period.
This was the best thing about the whole road trip. This team has the firepower to recover from a four-goal deficit, but often lacks the steadiness to protect a one-goal lead against a good team. And the latter will usually get you a lot further in the playoffs. And if the Oilers want to get to the third round, they’ll likely have to do that against Vegas. So it’s nice to see that it’s within their capability.
Nurse-Desharnais is a tower of power and I suspect we’ll see it some more in the days to come.
Maybe the solution for D is in house after all?
I’m beginning to believe the D is fine as is . What might be more beneficial is another top six forward .
Yes please.
I would definitely start Campbell until he loses. Jack is 4-0 in the last 4 he’s started. I thought he played well last night especially on a back to back. You can see Jack gaining confidence as well as the rest of the team in him with each win.
Guess it depends when Skinners baby joins us in the world.
Pickard as 3G is good depth
Campbell is 12-8-1 Skinner is 12-10-2 we need wins. I don’t care if we win 8-5 or 2-1 As of today Campbell gives us the best opportunity to make hay while the sun is still shining.
The presumption here being that the goalie record is solely based on their quality of play. Campbell has been good but I don’t think he’s played well enough to earn his no 1 status back, yet. Splitting starts may be a good place to start, with re assessment based on assessment of quality of performance
Not really, I don’t think – the team is in Edmonton for the next week so, even if they haven’t had the baby yet (which I don’t know), Skinner should be participating in all team “events”, practices, etc. He should be fully available.
Kostin is such a beauty. He is on fire right now. I couldn’t believe that blocked shot at the end of the game. Can’t remember the last time I saw an Oiler forward lay down in front of a shot like that. Goal scorer, fighter, shot blocker. How many more jobs can this guy steal on the Oilers? I’m still a bit nervous with him in his own end but he made some great zone clearing plays late in the third.
Great coaching move to put him out with 90 seconds left in the game.
Gave Campbell a huge bear hug as a celly.
He is quickly become the folk hero the Bison King was.
Isn’t that how players used to block shots in the 90s? I remember Pronger standing tall to block shots in 05-06 and that seemed completely novel to me at the time
2 tough games this week but with a 3 day break and Seattle has a matinee tomorrow and then a 8 game trip through Tank Alley
LT, this is a day late, but I loved the line yesterday about the guy who has a job that allows him to tweet 60 times a minute. That’s gold, Jerry! I gotta start muting those guys.
I’m not on Twitter, but I do mute some of the obsessive posters on here. 🙂
This team has been unexpectedly and impressively strong in second-half of back-to-backs. That might make up for losses against mediocre teams. Strange season so far..
Super rare to play a goalie twice in B2B. Thought that was bold!
If Campbell had more starts earlier in the year we may have seen Pickard. I think he’s got lots in the tank right now.
Starting Campbell in both was the only play. Guy’s been waiting for a chance to play more than 1 in a row for quite a while, no way was he tired, especially after the blwout in San Jose. To use a call-up netminder during a short-term roster emergency would have been a slap in the face.
Oil caught the Knights at the right time. Stone out and Eichel was clearly off. I thought McDavid looked a little tired as well in the third period.
The lads really needed the points and the attention to detail looked much better. That said, they played three very beatable opponents. I’m very much hoping this is a signal they’ve elevated their game but I’m waiting to see it against the elites teams with healthy lineups before I quaff the koolaid.
Campbell starting to play better is definitely an encouraging sign and I love the wingspan on Desharnais. You can’t teach big!
Vegas is first in the pacific. I wouldn’t really consider that a beatable team. We were 3 in 4 on the road with our starter in a back to back. I agree with you that we should wait and see but that’s a fantastic result. Seattle will be a good test.
Stone was out and they showed post broadcast that Eichel appeared to be playing hurt. That’s VGK’s two best Fs and they were still in it until the end.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy the Oilers won but I don’t consider that a measuring stick game. Boston on the other hand…
Sure but we’re also without Kane, Skinner and Yamo. And a couple other guys possibly playing banged up. It’s not like BOTH teams had a healthy roster.
Sounds like you just want to see us beat the best team in the league..
If a team aspires to win the Cup, they have to show they can beat the top teams in the league. Beat Boston and the Oil send a message to everyone in the league that they’re a legit Cup contender.
Vegas is with in the league in points and currently 8th in points percentage (and were higher before the Oilers beat them).
I don’t think the Knights were any more banged up than the Oilers and they certainly were the fresher team.
The Knights were “in it” until the end but the score flattered them to my eye.
Kane was out and Drai is playing hurt….
Eichel 0-0-0,-3, with 0 shots & 22% on the dot. Not a great night.
He’s always been pumped to play well against McDavid so it seems like an injury. Seemed to be favouring a leg. An injury to their 1C could help to bring VGK back to the pack.
1 point – not a great night for McDavid……..
The lightning strike first goal by 26 from 22 was just brilliant in timing and execution. Woke the bench up and set the tone for the game.
Prospectily!
Once again, Petrov gets the attention all to himself. He has indeed retaken the team lead in scoring following his 2+1 performance on Thursday. His boxcars are 15-38-53 in 38 games. He can improve on those numbers when the puck drops @ noon Steen River time.
Side note: TSN updated their CHL broadcast schedule on Tuesday, once all the trade deadlines in the O, Q and Dub were complete. With Sassytoon acquiring Chiasson, that gives us an extra game to watch, and it’s against Connor Bedard and the Pats:
Tuesday, January 17: Saskatoon vs. Moose Jaw
Thursday, February 2: North Bay vs. Mississauga
Friday, February 10: Red Deer vs. Seattle
Friday, March 24: Regina vs. Saskatoon
After the San Jose game, I began the manifestation of
Nurse Desharnais
Broberg Bouchard
Kulak Ceci
Barrie
We are freakishly close to seeing this become reality.
It may be Kulak Desharnais for awhile. But Ceci has been thoroughly mediocre this year.
Vinny is going to flip the whole right side. Desharnais will also really help Nurse.
Barrie is now a dead D walking as an Oiler.
Gavirkov would be a better fit than Barrie for a group of seven for the playoffs.
2 rookies and Bouchard in the top 4 is not a recipe for success in the playoffs. I really like what I’m seeing from the young D right now as well, but it’s way too early for this.
The suggested deployment is a shutdown pair, an outscoring pair, and a 2nd defensive pair. Functional deployment, not ranked deployment.
Oh I get that and if it is early in the season I don’t have a problem with that alignment. I just don’t think that’s what you want going into the playoffs in your window to win. Two years from now, that D may be fantastic.
Also. Start as you mean to go on.
I liked how Barrie started last night’s game. Fantastic stretch pass to Janmark for the first minute goal that put EDM ahead to stay.
Not bad for a “dead D walking”.
He is also part of the core group. They will think twice about moving him and only in the summer. I doubt it.
I am also enjoying Desharnais’ emergence. Glad he is getting the experience and being able to show what he can do for the future. I don’t agree that he is an answer for THIS year going into playoffs if our goal is to win the Cup.
I would still like to see a more veteran, mean RHD in the lineup to play in tight defensive games. Agree with Barrie as 7th D floater. Can play on PP and on any pair if we are behind, but off the ice if we are protecting a lead.
Someone like Luke Schenn comes to mind. However, Vancouver unlikely to give us a break on price, and apparently Tampa interested in reacquiring for their Stanley run (as per Friedman last night). If the Isles drop out of the race, would Scott Mayfield move the needle at all?
I have a hard time believing Barrie is a dead D walking as he’s an essential part of the best Powerplay ever.
He’s part of the best PP ever, but I’m not too sure he’s an “essential ” part.
Didn’t really love Hymans game the last few nights and I’m not a big fan of him with McDavid and Draisaitl. He simply has the puck too much. He needs to get it in the hands of the skill guys when he’s playing with them.
Did anyone else notice the play he made at center ice just before the 3rd Vegas goal? He received the long outlet pass, and had McDavid open in front of him. Rather than make the pass to McDavid, he decided to try and beat a defender in the neutral zone and lost the puck. Vegas gained possession and never really gave it up until scoring.
I love Hymans work ethic and tenacity, but he wears XXXL blinders most of the time.
Yes, I saw that play, Hyman had the puck at the Oilers blue line, had McDavid open in front of him & instead tried to make his own play holding the puck. This at a time the line needed to get a change somehow. Instead the puck never got over the red line & they would up conceding a goal.
Even though it happened a number of seconds before the goal, I identified Hyman’s mistake a key contributing factor to the GA in our Cult of Hockey Grade A scoring chances analysis.
Perhaps essential is a strong word but I emphasize that it’s the best PP ever. When you’re up at that level everything matters.
The way he holds the line is truly elite. So many times the opponent will ring the puck around the boards and I think it’s gone down the ice for a re set and while the camera is panning over there comes Barrie into the frame to pinch it in and move it quickly. His distribution is fantastic and he has a well placed shot.
I notice a down tick in performance when he switches with Bouchard.
On Hyman, I agree. We’ve seen some regression in his play of late.
Puljujarvi has worked best when McD Drai set up goes into effect. He defers the puck and he is on the look out for loose pucks and defensive response.
Maybe not “essential” but a big and under-rated part, in my opinion. His ability to keep pucks in and plays alive from back there is elite. The forwards, in particular Nuge, have a huge comfort with where he’ll be along the blue and it serves to allow no-look back-passes from the side boards that open the ice.
I do NOT like Hyman with McDavid and Drai because of the 2-way play. That line can be fairly dominant, possession wise, in the offensive zone but they can be an absolute tire fire from the red line back. McDavid and Drai often struggle together defensively, I think they can get mixed up on who has the “centre’s responsibility”, etc. and Hyman, well, he’s not nearly as committed battling in the defensive zone as he is in the offensive zone and he cheats for offence more than any other forward on the team.
In the load-up scenario, I prefer Yamo or Jesse (or even Kane).
My take is that Barrie shadows the puck along the blueline, either directly behind it or heading to that spot as quickly as he can. The forward drops it back and he most often just moves it to the wide open guy on the other side of the sheet. Whether that’s 29, 93, or 97, good things often follow with Barrie getting the odd secondary assist & damn little credit.
He is a point guard & a good one, with a strong enough shot to be a third or fourth option. He’s great at keep-ins, deep pinches & other forms of puck recovery. To my eye a quicker decision-maker than Bouchard (at this stage in time).
We see it very similar Bruce and the “second assist without credit” is evidenced in this very thread.
I have full confidance that Evan Bouchard is going to be a high end PP1 guy in short order, and I do like how they spell Barrie for Bouch on PP1 here and there, but, 100%, Barrie moves the puck “quicker” than Bouch at this point. I think Bouch can be a more dynamic passes with better vision but, right now, Barrie moving it quicker is the key as the flanks are where the dynamic passes come from on the PP.
Klefbom and Nurse were fine on the top. The net front guy has had Neal, Chiasson, Kane, Puljujarvi, and Hyman.
The power play is McDavid Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl.
There are no power plays in the playoffs anyway.
A second reliable defensive pair is more important for the playoffs than what Barrie contributes on the power play.
I’m not sure the Powerplay was as good with Klefbom or Nurse was it??
When you play 11/7 you can afford to have a specialist on D.
As for playoffs, Barrie played his best defensive and physical games as an Oiler in last years playoffs..
Yup, they were fine.
Barrie has helped take it to another level, one not seen since they started tracking PP%.
Tyson Barrie no doubt has been helping the PP get to the place it is today.
Last season the Oilers averaged 2.87 powerplay opportunities in the regular season & 3.13 in the playoffs.
What do the numbers look like for infractions:penalties, both in the regular season and the playoffs?
My hunch is that the ratio is even higher come playoffs. So even as the refs swallow their whistles to let the boys play, they eventually have to make more calls overall.
I’m looking at it and it appears Ceci is the defenseman struggling the most . As LT suggests he may have a nagging injury. Barrie is more than useful on the PP and that is how he would separate himself from Ceci. Maybe Ceci should take a break, the trio of Broberg, Bouchard & Desharnais has arrived.
This is a long way out there, and clearly very premature.
I do really like Desharnais as the 7D in the 11/7, with his and the others strengths being used situationally.
If he keeps up play resembling his first 3 NHL games that’s what I’d hope to see in the playoffs (and that would be a splendid result for Desharnais in his rookie season).
He was not the #7D in the last five minutes last night.
That was the ‘being used situationally’ part.
But the single most important point is it’s be three games. THREE GAMES! You simply can’t project much of anything with confidence from a player’s first three games in the NHL.
The neural net inside my head has been trained for 50 years. One can wait for the data in two years, but Draisaitl has 3 playoffs left, and McDavid 4.
Sometimes thin-slicing is imperative.
Dehernais did have two shifts in the last 5 minutes – given he’s a defensive specialist, yes, protecting a one-goal lead should be the time where they look to him.
Deharnais had 6 shifts in the 3rd period. Ceci had 8 and Barrie had 9.
I’m confidant even you think its too soon for your idea and you are looking for reaction on this beautiful Sunday.
4 NHL games and being anointed to 1RD. Sounds about right for a segment of Oiler fans.
3 NHL games. But hey, we’re 3-0-0!!
As with others I’ve been liking Desharnais’ game a lot & noted with approval his regular usage down the stretch last night, with 3 shifts in the final 8 minutes. I also note that all 7 d-men played at least 4:00 in the third, & at least 1 shift in the last 5 minutes, leading by 1 on the road. Coaching staff sticking to their guns.
PK is 9 for 9 in those 3 games and Deharnais has played 7 of the 18 minutes and is actually 1-0 in goals and, while the sample is way too small to have any meaning, his SA/60 and xGA/60 are tops among d-man, with a bullet.
I included the exhibition game from September. The Oilers lost that one so now I don’t know what to make of Desharnais. We all like what we’ve seen in these 3 games, but he did play in that Sept game the Oil lost. 🤷♂️
Deharnais was hurt and didn’t play in the exhibition season (this year or last year) – are you sure?
Except Nurse played 14:25 with Ceci last night (including the last shift of the game) and 5:25 with Deharnais. Kulak played 18 seconds with Ceci.
Deployment last night doesn’t represent anything close to what you suggest there.
I’m not so sure that 3 games with very little elite comp faced (and some solid PK time) for a 26 year old rookie is quite enough to trade one of the team’s best and most consistent d-man on the year, a big part of one of the best PPs in a generation, a leader on the locker room and a player that has elevated every playoff season as an Oiler.
That’s just me though.
If I recall, the big line was out in the last minute protecting the lead, is that wise? It worked I guess so who am I to argue.
They’re always out there with the open cage. They rarely score on the open net for one reason or another. I would of had RNH line out for the empty net last night as they played well and deserved the open net carrot.
I’m with you.
Connor is tied for 1st in the league over the last 1.5 seasons for points on goals scored into an empty net. Leon is 6th. They are also in the top 10% to 15% of anyone who has been on in this game state more than 20 minutes (> 230 players).
Top 10 to 15% in point per 60.
The Nuge line was out the shift before – they can’t play the entire last 2-3 minutes.
Another line needed to go.
Be lucky if Kane is good to go this week. Holland will have to do some major shuffling. Be interesting to see who is put on waivers or even traded .
Pretty easy, only one decision to be made (if there is no real trade):
LTIR: Murray
Assigned: Niemo
Waived and Assigned: Shore
Waived and Assigned: One of Foegele or Ryan
21 player roster – no ideal but likely where we go in the short term.
Great team win. Sure a couple defensive bobbles by Kulak ( He would be so much better if pasted to the 5/6 pairing) . But huge win on a back to back night . Time to come home and beat up on Seattle ( hopefully). Time to make Hay
I definitely expected the Oilers to need another goal the way things were going halfway in the third. But those last 5 minutes were some of the more
effective button down D I’ve seen from this group.
LT, I’m a little confused. Maybe I have this wrong but a couple of weeks ago you indicated that an ex-Oiler (Coffey?) was hired and likely in Bouchard’s ear, which was negatively impacting his game. Today you indicated that it was lack of playing time in 2021 under Tippet. I’m assuming you probably believe it’s a bit of both, but after that comment a few weeks ago and with Bouchard’s improved play that talk has died. Do you still think he’s being impacted by this ex-Oiler coaching?
What I saw this year, with the benching and lack of confidence, was a different handling of the player by the coaching staff. Whenever a young player’s performance hits a downbeat, I cast about looking for former glory Oilers. Notice i did NOT mention Steve Staios, who has also been hired by the organization. My guess is that both Coffey and Staios are part of the future, and I suspect Bouchard’s handling was partly outside forces. I hope that helps.
Thanks that makes sense given past history with the organization under the current owner. I had thought of Staios as well but figured he hadn’t been here long enough to be involved if that was happening. Hopefully if that is happening it’s in concert with the coaching staff.
I think Bouchard’s improved play has more to do with Broberg than anything else.
It could also have been the benching (which lasted one period IIRC).
I think much of Bouchard’s improved play has to do with Bouchard being a much better player than his early season play showed and he’s snapping out of a long slump with increased confidence.
The Broberg/Bouchard pairing is certainly playing well and they are working well together but I will give most of the credit to the player himself.