The Edmonton Oilers won a playoff-style game in mid-January, and in doing so closed the gap between last spring’s playoff team and the ragtag group we saw earlier this season. The Tampa Bay Lightning played a rugged, filthy, outrageous game and the Oilers won the damn thing. Music!
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 2-0-0)
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: 6-2-1, 13 points in 9 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: 26-18-3, 55 points in 47 games
Considering where this team has been in the last 30 days, and the number of young players in important roles, the game against the Lightning this season might be the best of the year. The Oilers have played the former champions tough this season. Edmonton is on pace to finish with 96 points and a likely playoff berth. This team is in a zone.
SUMMARY
Evander Kane had two shots on goal, four ridiculous pims (the referees blew that call so badly), 1 GV and 2 TK. He took a hit from behind (no call) and looks not quite there but it’s coming.
Connor McDavid didn’t have a sliver of daylight on his GWG but he created it drove to glory. What a player! 1-1-2, six shots, four HDSC, two takeaways, drew two penalties.
Leon Draisaitl was 1-1-2, including a blistering goal to put Edmonton 2-0 in the first period. Struggled against the Kucherov-Point-Stamkos line (as did McDavid) but was once again key to victory.
Zach Hyman scored twice, had eight shot attempts, three HDSC and helped set the tone on a night when all questions about this team were asked and answered. A splendid player.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had an assist and a 62 percent success rate in the faceoff circle. Owned a 2-0 goal differential at five-on-five, worked hard and smart.
Klim Kostin answered the bell against Patrick Maroon at the beginning of the second period, did pretty well based on appearances. Second straight quiet night offensively, he did draw a penalty.
Dylan Holloway drew a penalty, had two shots and two HDSC. He absolutely earned his playing time and is rounding into form.
Ryan McLeod scored again, he’s making a habit of it. Three shots, two HDSC, won four of 10 in the dot on a tough night for Oilers’ centers.
Derek Ryan had an assist, shot, one HDSC, drew a penalty and played almost four effective minutes with Leon Draisaitl in (I think) an effort to improve the defensive conscience of the line.
Warren Foegele picked up an assist on six shots and one HDSC, took a penalty, drew a penalty, had a takeaway and hit many people.
Jesse Puljujarvi had one shot, took a penalty, GV, TK and was effective in the neutral zone in winning pucks. He didn’t get much of a look with skill.
Darnell Nurse had one assist, two shots, one HDSC, took a penalty, drew a penalty, hit people, blocked shots, ended sorties with a good stick in the neutral zone, took a fight. He made a poor pass, while not under pressure, that led to the Brayden Point goal. 55 percent shot share, 54 percent goal share, battled the Kucherov line for almost 11 minutes at five-on-five.
Cody Ceci had a shot on goal, four hits, blocked a shot. Got caught making a poor head man pass that led to the Steven Stamkos goal, I think that’s a flaw in the system more than anything. Both Nurse and Ceci got caught making stretch passes last night, that isn’t the strength for either man. Oilers need to have a more welcoming first pass for these defenders.
Brett Kulak had an assist, one shot, GV, TK, lost the shot share but kept a clean slate.
Tyson Barrie lost a neutral zone battle for the puck and then was badly out of position for the eventual goal by Brandon Hagel. He needs to be able to get back into position on that play, there was time and Hagel would have been his man. Took a penalty, drew a penalty.
Philip Broberg is delivering, man. One shot, one HDSC, 9-1 shot share and 1-0 goals. He’s mobile, big and smart. Gets hit too much, you worry about injury, but there’s a player here.
Evan Bouchard is pushing now, great passes and able to buy more time with Broberg doing the retrievals. Three shots, two takeaways and created a couple of nice rebounds. 10-2 shots, 1-0 goals, the Broberg-Bouchard combo is going to move up the depth chart eventually.
Vincent Desharnais picked up an assist on the first goal, and not only had position on the Hagel goal but fully thwarted his man and would have contributed to an excellent goal suppression if Barrie could have covered Hagel. He was 3-5 shots but 2-1 goals at five-on-five. An impressive debut.
Jack Campbell played well, making some huge stops on all-world players. He seems to have the Lightning’s number, maybe that will come in handy late spring-early summer.
LOWETIDE AND JAMIESON
A big Friday show with much going on, TSN1260. Scott Wheeler from The Athletic will join us at 12:05 to talk about the Oilers prospects list he just dropped this morning. Steve Lansky will by by to talk Oilers and their playoff hopes and we’ll preview the NHL weekend. 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!
As noted below, the Reid Rocket delivered a clutch performance. He tied the game with seven mins left in the third, then had a penalty shot in OT. He did not disappoint.
For his 2-goal, 4-SOG effort, he was named 1st star. He now has 19 goals on the season.
maudite
January 21, 2023 3:48 am
I was hoping I might someday get this to you but was working on your book signing.
Something I wrote when my only nephew and brother recently passed.
Sincerely sorry for your loss. Always appreciated your absolutely heart warming references about your family anytime they popped in. You’ve gifted me far too many words not to try and repay a few on way out.
Parting is such
—-
It will never really go anywhere
At some point I guess
You have to accept that
It will never get easier
It will never get less painful
It will really never get less of anything
Except maybe less prevalent
Or less raw due to a numbing
Of nerves overworked
But undeniably
It will always be there somewhere
Come crashing in on random waves
Once again causing damp to overtake dry terrain
Only fools would pretend the ocean bends to them
So the only thing one can rationally do
Is not fight it when it rears
Because there is generally a peaceful end of every wave
If one allows themself to be embraced by it
Rather than bracing against it.
Sincerely Kindest regards and honestly being the primary reason I still thoroughly enjoyed this team throughout the entire DOD
That’s beautiful and kind of exactly where I am today. I thank you for beautiful words expressing a complicated life event. I am also sorry for your loss. That’s a lot to say goodbye to for anyone.
maudite
January 21, 2023 3:13 am
Thanks al.
Been on here intermittently commenting since early days. I almost always have been on night shift so it’s hard trying to integrate into things perfectly but I always enjoyed trying.
I think im out.
Always appreciated. Always will be.
C.
Last edited 1 year ago by maudite
kgo
January 20, 2023 11:04 pm
Seeing how Vancouver is handling the Bruce Boudreau situation reminds me how lucky we are to have Kenny at the helm … Doesn’t Rutherford at least have Skype?
kgo
January 20, 2023 9:59 pm
If McDavid scores 60g this year, he would be the 21st player in NHL history to accomplish the feat.
70 sounds a lot better and since it’s McDavid I half expect it.
Munny 2.0
January 20, 2023 9:26 pm
At a five game win streak, the Oilers are the hottest team in the League right now.
Yup, even the Bruins have only a W4. But that’s the only W4 and there’s only one W3. A lot of struggle in the League right now as the bar of play seems to be raised all over since the Xmas break. Plenty of fights, aggression, grease, penalties out there.
Separation is in full flight now. Good ones are rising, bad ones are falling, mucky middle, being mucky.
2nd Half Risers – Avs (duh), Oilers, Cats, Penguins, Detroit (push but no 2nd season)
Fallers (relative) – Devils (something about em), Stars, Jets, L.A., Vegas. I’m not sold on the last four teams here at all.
I don’t see St. Louis or Nashville making the biggest of pushes but they could surprise. Too unbalanced and can’t score.
The Flames are a curious lot. I don’t think they have the 6 inches between the ears figured out. A losing streak away from throwing in the towel this season. A winning streak away from a 3rd place division finish. They don’t have the scoring chops to outplay shitty tending this year.
€√¥£€^$
January 20, 2023 9:17 pm
Still many games left, not sure how Kenny will be playing TDL, if all hands are still healthy and the team is in at least the #2 Division spot I can see him add a Justin Braun + a Marc Staal + a Nieto.
I really don’t think he’ll be able to do much without spending too much capital. The Cap crunch is massively limiting. Plus our assets have no value. Besides, apparently the Oilers have to give away draft picks to trade any of Yamo, JP or McLovin.
This will be the most intriguing TDL for me since 2006.
Last edited 1 year ago by €√¥£€^$
Tarkus
January 20, 2023 8:55 pm
(Partial) summarizing!
I will update for Schaefer early a.m. Meanwhile…
Petrov fashioned another 3-point night, this time 1+2 with a game-high 6 SOG in a Battalion loss.
Lachance collected his 21st goal of the year with 4 SOG and 2nd star honours in a loss.
Maatta had an aPPle but only went 8-for-18 (44.4%) on the dot.
Mazura also procured an aPPle.
Chiasson (despite 4 SOG), Brind’Amour (16-for-28, 57.1 FO%), and Munzenberger were held off the scoresheet.
Presume Oilers are talking to Kostin’s agent about an extension considering his impact and how often the restricted free-agentsays he loves it here. I know it has been short sample size but Kostin looks like he deserves a new two-year contract with a good raise over his $750,000
Jim Matheson has also been a peanut gallery for years now. I hope Kostin keeps enjoying Edmonton – we need players like this on cheap contracts; or vice versa, short term league minimums. Roll through every year.
Kostin is what the Devin Shore ideal deal should have been.
Aren’t we talking about a contract in the 2 X $1.3MM – $1.5MM range – tops?
Of course, he’s going to come down off his shooting percentage (as are the Kraken who are currently on pace to have the highest 5 on 5 team shooting percentage since the stat has been tracked) but what if he scores 6 more goals in the next 30 games (as opposed to 9 in 31 so far) for a total of 15 goals. Given arbitration is all about counting stats comparable – what’s the comparable for 15 goals? Probably higher than $1.5MM, no?
As long as it’s less than 2 mill I’m on board.
He’s arb eligible so if we can’t negotiate an extension before June we probably can’t take the risk of qualifying him and getting stuck with a big arbitration
Markus Niemelainen scored his second of the night, Condors down 3-2 versus the Roadrunners.
Munny 2.0
January 20, 2023 8:06 pm
JP had a good post advocating for Henrique the other day. He fits a lot of needs up front. I, of course, posted a month or so ago that the target should be one famous Jonathan Toews. I would like to get into this a little bit, but this isn’t going to be mathy.
Here’s my thinking (so to speak)…
What are our expectations for this season? I think the simple answer is, “a step forward from last season.” Which would mean winning the conference final and getting to the Stanley Cup Final. And there’s no point in getting all the way to the Final and not taking a shot at the whole enchilada. If we got there, we, the fans, would be all-in for the win, right?
Who are we likely to face? Right now, the obvious answer seems to be the Boston Bruins. And Boston’s best player is Patrice Bergeron. Renowned for his defensive play and his face-off ability.
There’s only one person in the world, the entire world, better: Jonathan Toews. Winning the Stanley is all about winning match-ups. If you don’t have a player that can beat Bergeron on the dot and in terms of shutting down offense and games… you won’t beat the Bruins.
And no way do I want them to have revenge for what we did to Bourque and their 80s “juggernaut.”.
Henrique is good. Easier to acquire. But he doesn’t win that match-up and that doesn’t get us the Cup.
Its pretty obvious Drai is still having issues with his ankle.
A well rounded team, with young guns performing or sweetheart contracts for veterans can endure through stars needing to recover. Oilers don’t have that, as well as other competing organizations. It is what it is.
Lets hope Kane coming back can let Drai breathe a bit and rehab(?) more.
Perhaps Draisaitl will heal/recover by May? He’s 53% (Dzone) on the season, so this is a very new thing that may right itself without any outside intervention.
By the way, there are only 21 right shot C’s in the entire league who’ve won >50% of their Dzone draws over the last season and a half (>500 total face-offs).
Well shit, I had in my head for some reason Toews was a right shot. My bad.
Anyway, I see where you’re going with Toews, and there’s no question he’d be a nice addition to the team. That cap hit is a problem though. And to your post, wouldn’t Bergeron be facing McDavid/Draisaitl most often anyway? (certainly any time Montgomery can make it so).
The cap hit is most definitely a problem. It requires another team, but I also believe CHI will not require a 1st up front. If that’s the case I spend the draft capital, but one of the picks would have to be 2024.
So you’re thinking 2nd (for Toews) and 3rd (for 3rd party salary retention) for Toews?
And a $3M-ish Oiler still needs to go out to accommodate the $2.65M after double retention.
That’s a reasonable theoretical, but I also worry about Toews. His on ice numbers this year aren’t good (and that’s relative to team). He’s no longer a primary penalty killer (hasn’t been this year or last). Is he reaching the end?
Pretty sure he’d be a nice add even if the end is nigh, but I also wonder if there will be other adds that would have more of an impact.
You may well be right he could be had for less than a 1st though.
I am a bit surprised that we have not discussed this much if at all, but Stuart Skinner is going to the All Star Game, the only rookie going. I just looked up the odds for the Calder Trophy and Skinner is not in the top 20??
Fifth is not bad. I assume the ASG will be the first time many in the East see Skinner. This has to help his chances. Although goalies are a bit hung out to dry in ASGs!
jp
January 20, 2023 7:17 pm
A little random, but I just realized any trade involving Joel Edmundson would have Kulak going back the other way.
I’m not advocating for an Edmundson trade (though I don’t think he’s a negative value non-NHLer as some seem to), but was a bit confused why/how the Oilers would be interested since adding him would block Broberg.
Blocking Broberg (who was penciled onto the roster last summer) for another year and a half, or trading him after a few months of struggle, would have been very un-Holland things to do. So the apparent interest in Edmundson didn’t make sense.
As a replacement for Kulak though, Edmundson makes more sense (to me at least). And again, I’m not saying I think that would be a good trade.
I was listening to TO sports radio this morning (and cursing the Gords the whole time of course), but they are all over Gavrikov to the TO, and defencemen like that don’t come along too often…
Yes, my ears hurt.
Edmundson to the Oil seems very unlikely. I think the last place they want to add anything significant, with term, is on D. This is not a weak area from an organizational point of view. Edmundson is the better Dman than Kulak, no doubt, so why would the Habs do that deal? And Kulak is cheaper than Edmundson, so why would Edmonton do that deal?
Edmundson to the Oil seems very unlikely. I think the last place they want to add anything significant, with term, is on D.
Agree adding there is unlikely, but that was kind of my point. It would be trading one defenseman with term for another, not adding.
I was thinking Edmundson made $3.1M for some reason (it’s $3.5M) but there still isn’t a huge gap in salary (Edmundson makes $750k more than Kulak).
Edmundson is the better Dman than Kulak, no doubt,
This part is the key really. Edmundson has played more, and more against tougher comp, but Kulak has had far better results. Edmundson did play ahead of Kulak on the same team though.
If Edmundson really is the better Dman then the Oilers could add something to make the deal work. The Canadiens were reportedly interested in bringing Kulak back in free agency this summer, so they do like the player.
I really don’t know about the evaluation though. Kulak doesn’t bring a lot of offense, but it’s still more than Edmundson. And Edmundson has consistently been used in tough minutes by his coaches through his career, but has consistently lost those minutes. Kulak has generally played less and easier minutes, but won them. I don’t know.
You’re right, bad choice of words by me. But you can see I wasn’t thinking of it as a simple addition. Edmundson for Kulak is the deal and it doesn’t make sense for me both ways.
And I will postulate too that while we, out here in stats world hate intangibles, getting players who have you as their favourite childhood team is a big deal. Skinner and Kulak are important adds because they will go through the wall for this team.
Not really. They don’t play the same position, so you’re asking someone to play their off side and/or elevating Desharnais into a full time role (as per your other post). And this is setting aside your belief that Barrie provides nothing of value to the team.
kgo
January 20, 2023 6:34 pm
Just rewatched the Maroon Slewfoot and noticed that Broberg and Bouch jumped into that pile without hesitation …. and Bouch was giving some aggressive face washes to Cernak and yapping pretty aggressively.
I think Bouch is growing hair on his ass before our eyes….I think he might turn into Ed Jovanovski….Jovocop might have been the greatest hockey nickname of that decade.
Even though Bouchard is passive and almost methodical in his style he seems to be a student of the game. Give him a few years to learn the tricks of the trade and he won’t be so easy to play against. I do believe Keith gave him some pointers on how to get away with being sneaky dirty.
I said the same late night after the Seattle game. He’s added some meanness to his game over the past week. I speculated that the cause wasn’t Broberg but the arrival of Desharnais. Kind of like how the Kane return has put the noses of the depth forwards to the ole skate sharpener (or whatever we’re calling a grindstone this week).
Would like to see the same from Schaefer. Need to see a strong step forward there this season. I watched a few of their games before he went to the Junior team and from my viewing, his effort and drive weren’t as consistent as I’d like to see.
He’d just been drafted. There may be some tendency to take the foot of the pedal and enjoy the moment after crossing that finish line, I totally understand, if that’s the case, but it’s time to get down to business.
With his size and shot, he has a chance at being a top 6 forward, i mean best damn drafted Coke Machine ever, and a big part of getting there is determination, commitment.
Really liking our draft picks for a few years now… Too bad we weren’t this good slash lucky when we had a raft of high ones.
Stauffer stated after they had him on when he was coming back from the Juniors that Schaefer has grown since the summer, and that, judging by his family and it’s history, he could add more.
He’s definitely going to add more weight as he matures. He’s already 213. 213 is pretty freakin solid for a six foot three 18 year old frame.
Weak spots are his four way agility and first step. Both typical for big men and not insurmountable issues. More speed always comes in handy too, right? If he’s still growing, a lack of polish in this area is completely understandable.
Agree with everything you’re saying, but Schaefer will be 20 in about 8 months, though the 213 lbs may have been his weight from last year. He may still have some growing to do but not as much as if he was only 18.
I was using his draft numbers. I also saw 214 used as his draft number (SN) but picked the lower number. I picked the draft simply because I opened with a speculation, so I thought it best, when I was being more, say, categorical, to use numbers that are somewhat confirmed lol.
Sorry I was so late but I did reply to your post below regarding face-offs.
He was hot for a few weeks to start his WHL season, momentum from his NHL TC experience, but he wasn’t putting many points on the board for almost 1 month prior to the WJ camp.
Hopefully he gets that mojo going again soon.
ArmchairGM
January 20, 2023 5:29 pm
In the past 10 games (from December 31st), Philip Broberg has ranked 1st in the entire league (among 532 players with at least 75 minutes at 5v5) in these categories:
CF%
SF%
xGF%
SCF%
HDCF%
He’s also 2nd in FF% and 12th in GF% (13-3 goals) in 120 minutes. And he has started slightly more shifts in the defensive zone than the offensive zone.
The Broberg-Bouchard pairing has been together for 91 minutes in the same timeframe. Among 90 defensive pairings to play at least 50 minutes together at 5v5, they rank:
2nd in CF%
3rd in FF%
3rd in SF%
3rd in GF% (10-3)
1st in xGF%
1st in SCF%
1st in HDCF%
Based on the opponents in the next few games, I think Woodcroft should move these two up a level. We know they can kill the soft minutes, but how will they do against 2nd pairing comp? It’s time to find out.
Because of how the team has performed to this point in the season, the Oilers do not yet have the luxury of not deploying their line up in a manner most likely to get a victory. Any team in the league still has a chance of beating any other. Arizona has beaten Boston, Columbus has beaten Winnipeg and, we recall, Anaheim beat Edmonton. There are numerous more examples.
I could see Woody getting those guys tougher assignments later in games if the score is not that close like the recent San Jose and Anaheim games and slowly increasing their exposure during increasingly critical moments in time if the team puts some distance between itself and the playoff cut line.
Player deployed can be – and is – altered on a shift-by-shift basis. I’m not advocating for anything different from that.
Look at the link I posted. Nurse-Ceci need some help with the toughs. Woodcroft should start easing Broberg-Bouchard into that position tonight.
maudite
January 20, 2023 4:21 pm
Last one until after deadline (minus away)
In
—
Kuzmenko RW
Schenn LHD
Bjugstad RW/C
Out
—
-Foegle
-Kulak
-2023 1st
-2023 2nd
-2023 3rd
-Whatever prospect below broberg/Holloway/Des and maybe Niem needed to balance
-however much salary retained that still allows a 22/23 man roster (if it lessens ask in pick prospect just a nice dial for negotiating)
1. Foegle lavoie 2024 3rd for bjugstad?
– sure
2. 1st, 2nd, kulak and 2023 3rd for kuz/schenn no retain
– sure
1. That’s a deep team every position possible. Janmark LW, ryan/bju RHC or RW, puj RW, niemo LHD, des RHD
Literally every position.
2. Gives a chance to see what kind of chemistry kuzmenko and frees up the kind of Cap needed to likely sign him next year to estimated 1-2 year bridge at 6 ish million.
3. Cap in 2.8 ish million Cap out 5.5 million
= 2.7 million space = 23 man roster
This is year 1 of 3 on drai clock
This sets up year 2 of 3 better
This is worth one years worth of draft capital and any more “better odds than not at best shiny tweener” that need be consumed
Even if retain 500k required at 2.25 million that’s not a terrible contract over period projected rebuild. Retain to value point for them or add sweetener to bite.
Shit thought schenn was left for some reason though. Thanks for pointing that out. Just trying to find best options at lowest cap hit. I think full roster capable be huge advantage down stretch and into playoffs this year if achievable. Competitive edge.
I watched every kuzmenko tally this year. It honestly seems like he’d fit so perfect in top 6 here. Sneaky good definitely going to have sustain in highest percentile SH%.
If they run half pot committed blinds soon will wipe them out.
This is year 1 of 3 and year 3 is walking drai to ufa.
Everything possible:
1. Do some damage this year in a winnable conference
2. Have maximum cap flexibility going into off-season in year where cap.is still restricted (1 million increase is nothing)
There are better answers what costs 5.5 million on the roster.
Pay the toll sooner than later.
If no one can seriously see benefit of test driving kuzmenko and having inside track to sign him following – there obviously not staring too hard at the glaring hole on RW and whatever may be available for next year.
What might be unrealistic or perceived as too costly
Or
If postering like a jeering nonconstructive packled offering nothing of value in response is applauded.. I should go to HF. Obviously some of the worst traits of it are leeching in here so maybe it’s improving.
I dont see them committing to trading barrie to point I’m accepting our RHD is basically locked. At least for this season.
Pretendergast
January 20, 2023 4:02 pm
Not sure if posted. Per Gregor:
Vincent Desharnais broke his nose on his first shift v. Vegas. “They reset it in the first intermission. Took three cracks. Then one more after the game. It didn’t feel great (laughs),” Desharnais.
He challenged Kolesar to a scrap in third. Was upset with his hit on teammate.
Desharnais is turning out to be exactly what the team needed. His on-ice play is better than expected, but it’s story’s like this that can elevate the give-a-shit meter across the board.
Finally…FINALLY Oilers getting real old timey hockey character players.
Kulak, Hyman, Kane, Desharnais, McLeod, to name a few.
Even RNH is suddenly turning up for the show. Currently in 13th in Art Ross race!! Ahead of Ovechkin, Crosby, Marner etc.
And while I’m on topic, both goalies look terrific suddenly – both real honest to goodness NHL character types. Campbell just needed to get used to the insane way Oilers play defence.
Oilers defence is one of my favourite things about this team – let the goalie stop endless five alarm shots to demoralise the opposition.
kgo
January 20, 2023 3:52 pm
I just rewatched the end of last night’s game.
I’m shocked that Stamkos was willing to give up and run out the clock….also shocked the refs didn’t blow it dead the second they realized what he was doing….I’ve seen a handful of times where a ref will blow the play dead if the penalized team refuses to touch a puck.
Bouch’s bomb…this guy has bonuses to hit…and Paul didn’t have a stick…why wouldn’t he shoot hard to the net on this play?
I don’t know the exact wording of the rule, but if it isn’t possession they should make it possession, then they can say he had possession when it was just him, the puck and no forecheckers. Be done with the silliness.
Primetime
January 20, 2023 3:32 pm
Glad the boys have turned the ship around and are looking so much stronger. Prior to this run we were desperate for a trade to shake things up. Now that we’re rolling, should that change? Isn’t it better to trade from a position of strength rather than when others know we are desperate?
Loving Desharnais play but are we really going to count on that continuing? Should we not trade now for a more established D-man with a history of playing in the NHL?
Bag of Pucks
January 20, 2023 3:24 pm
I was really happy with the Oilers game last night. There were a lot of ‘team’ elements in that game that set a good foundation for playoff hockey success: having each other’s back, weathering the storm when the other team gets momentum, shot suppression with the lead, etc. They got a little loose in the second but tightened it right up again in the third. Loved that!
Hopefully the team can stay healthy and make some hay with this weaker schedule. I hope that Woody keeps these lines and pairings going for a while so they continue to gel. Starting to see some good chemistry.
Were you referring to the general 11-7 deployment or specific combos with in it? Last night Woody had the blender set to “Liquify”. Only Kane/McDavid/Draisaitl got an extended look and still only 8:25 worth. And his next 2 starting lines got between 4:30-5:00 minutes.
The grins on Kane and nurse when klim was skating over- priceless.
Bag of Pucks
January 20, 2023 3:17 pm
I was reading the recent ‘Legends’ edition of The Hockey News and they had an interesting quote from Michel Goulet that’s relevant to the recent conversations on players vs media pressure.
THN: How did Montreal fans treat you and other French Canadians from the province?
MG: They didn’t really like me, but they showed a lot of respect. So much attention, the people, the TV. Such an amazing thrill to play against Montreal because us, we had a game on TV once in a while, but Montreal had every game on TV.
THN: And the local media?
MG: I had skin for that. That’s where you build your character. A couple times a year, they destroyed me. But it didn’t really matter to me because I was just that kind of guy, that in my brain, I was so focused and secure on my ability to score and produce.
smellyglove
January 20, 2023 1:41 pm
Such a tight race in the Pacific, West. Anyone else thinks Calgary may get screwed (in a good way) when it comea to tie breaker given their lack of ROW? Beauty.
The Oilers since January 1 are 4th in the league in points percentage and also GF%. The Krak are 2nd in both
The next Pacific teams are LA at 15th in PTS%, and the fLames at 15th in GF%
Krak SV% 9th at .928 Oilers 12th at .922
The Krak’s PDO is 2nd in the league at 1.060 and the Oilers 6th at 1.029. They should have more regression coming than we do. They have 2 games in hand, we’re 3 points behind. They have 22 Reg Wins and 27 ROW, Oilers 24 and 26
Keep ‘er rolling lads, you can do this!
Harpers Hair
January 20, 2023 1:25 pm
Jeff Chapman
@NewWaveOil
hi everyone. if you haven’t yet heard, vox media is pulling their support from most of their NHL sites in the coming weeks. this includes our site over at @copperandblue. for 10 years, i want to thank you for inviting us onto your laptops, your desktops, and your cellphones.
It’s a grim reminder that sports blogs are not the cash cow people imagine. I don’t even think the writers were even getting paid and they still were losing money.
I would encourage regulars to look at their use of this website as an annual subscription, sort of like The Athletic. Think of what you’re willing and able to contribute and smash the donate button.
Most of us wouldn’t go to Allan’s house every weekend… show up empty handed… drink all of his beer and scotch, enjoy barbecue steak, leave his house in disarray then think, it’s okay I visit his website every day. He makes 30 cents per year off my web traffic.
Last edited 1 year ago by Ryan
106 and 106
January 20, 2023 12:39 pm
I wish the Leafs good luck in round 1 against the Bolts.
they are a handful.
Scungilli Slushy
January 20, 2023 11:54 am
I couldn’t watch the game which was a drag, it’s so good to see them playing to their potential again
Connor and Leo need to smarten up though, they should be able to dominate any line
Our fellas are tied for 2nd with Leafs Devils and Stars with 24 Reg Wins. I like this because it shows strength as opposed to winning too many nail biters, some would be nice
If they keep this level up their losses will start to even out with the other playoff teams
At this point another RS C is the only big hole
kgo
January 20, 2023 11:37 am
My gawd LT that McCurdy impersonation had me laughing so hard I had to take a knee…my knee is wet now, thanks for that.
”The real thing I notice is how Edmonton drags teams into the muck in order get power plays out of it.” For a different perspective of last nights game go here.
It’s like the guy doesn’t even understand his own team. Gourde is a handful whenever we play Seattle and where did he come from? TBay is a chippy-play factory. The scrums weren’t anything strange to that group. Oilers were not on the instigating side of any of that.
That was amazing to read! lol I complain about Hyman with the blinders on but this guy is only looking through a pin hole…
Oilers dive all the time? Wtf? I actually think we fight through most plays and obstructions and don’t go down easy enough to draw calls!
Kane tripped kucherov but no mention of kucherov trying to run Kane into the boards at full speed? Luckily Kane is much bigger and solid or it could’ve been bad.
We dragged them into the muck. That’s hilarious. What a bunch of crybabies. Plsyet, coaching staff And fans…they’ve lost any respect I had. American version of the Leafs.
some of the highlights. LOL i do find it intriguing that they view edmonton as a physical team who is designed to “fight” and “draw penaltys”
The real thing I notice is how Edmonton drags teams into the muck in order get power plays out of it. That’s specifically what Ken Holland says he likes about Evander Kane. He does dirty things after whistles or in play so the team can get 4v4 or the odd power play. This team is designed to create power plays for McDavid. When the Lightning fight and get dirty, they play into it. But they can’t get out of it because as Halpern said above, nothing’s going to stop them from standing up for their teammates. It’s a hero’s fallacy.
Then Kane dragged Kucherov to the ice after a trip, starting a scrum. Third time’s a charm the refs called the utterly obvious penalty.
A fight can just as easily hype up the other team as it hypes up one’s own. And I think the Oilers got as much or more out of that dirty game as the Lightning did when it came to internal motivation or intimidating the opponent into giving you space. In fact, I found the Lightning could work in less space as the game went on and both teams were more aggressive with their checks.
The Lightning will need to re-evaluate how they want to play teams like the Oilers. Not for the series against Toronto because they don’t play that way, but onward.
Again, like fighting, the Oilers are designed to draw penalties. They dive all the time.
I can’t hate on this writer too much. My highschool job was far less desirable than covering my favorite hockey team.
Admiral Ackbar
January 20, 2023 10:58 am
Also, on the call to Toronto after the Kucherov hit from behind, who thought for a second Kane was being reviewed? Also, save a missed highstick, since when is the war room involved in penalty reviews?
That was atrocious. That was a reputation call. And if Kane was 20 lbs lighter he’d might have been hurt (and presumably then it’d have been called). Larger guys are punished, at times (unless you’re Gudas).
Kucherov bullying the ref on the Foegle trip and then the ref caving. Since when is it reasonable for refs to cave? That, again, was a reputation call (for Kuch).
Maroon tripping McDavid, then the crosscheck, then roughing at least 2 more guys, and gets 2 minutes.
Where’s the reputation call? You’d figure that after then Giordano trip on McD, the league would be interested in protecting a once in 50 yrs talent.
is anyone measuring the benefits of reputation calls across the league? Surely this could be done. I’m not sure how though. I watched the TO and Col series while cheering for the Bolts and just couldn’t believe the benefits of the calls they got last year. Am I out of my mind?
Talking about reputation … Maroon-the-goon didn’t just trip him, it was imo an obvious slew foot. Something the goon has perfected, he also did it at least once in our previos game. Its a very sneaky (clearly practice makes perfect), dangerous and ferociously filthy play, the league should watch him closely. Game to game, this is Maroon.
I did. When they said the play is under review, I said to my son “watch the Oilers get a major or match penalty out of this”. Thankfully they went with the lesser call, but Kane earned all 120 seconds of it. Complicating the matter further was the injury to the linesman that was a direct result of that action.
That said, it should have been coincidental with the hit from behind.
Also, Maroon’s penalty was for hooking, after which he slewfooted & then crosschecked McDavid with no furher call. The crosscheck was minor but the slew foot needed to be called.
The hurdle for Kane’s second penalty of the play was very low (clearly it was a trip but no more than he was hit in the numbers just before) while Kucherov’s hurdle is sky high. He had at least 3 legit get-out-of-jail-free cards played last night. I’m really just arguing for consistency.
I had a similar feeling in my gut while waiting for the callback. It seems like whenever anything involving the Oilers goes to TO, it’s like the guys on the other end of the line ask themselves, “how can we stick it to them while staying just a sliver inside the edge of reasonable doubt”.
The way the NHL rules on reviews are written can often lead to frustrating results. Cooper and Kucherov were claiming that Kane slew-footed Kucherov, which is a potential match penalty. The rules state that any match penalty call on the ice has to be immediately video reviewed by the referees (not Toronto) to confirm the offense or lessen the call.
For Kane’s trip to be reviewed, then the referee, or one of the other on-ice officials would have had to start off believing that Kane was guilty of slew footing based on what they saw when it occurred. Hard to say whether they saw it like that or just bought Cooper’s story since, if they weren’t originally going to call Kane for a match penalty on their own, under the rules the coach can’t call for a review. The one official who probably had the best view of the play was off to the dressing room. So the referees, and only the referees, then reviewed the play and decided it was tripping instead of a slew foot, which it was since Kane’s leg made contact with the front of Kucherov’s leg not the back, and reduced it to a 2 minute penalty.
But while watching the video, the rules seem to be written such that their review is strictly limited to the original reason for the review. No on-ice official was originally going to call Kucherov for his hit to the numbers on Kane and a coach also can’t ask for that to be reviewed, so even if they saw it in the video review and now believed it was a penalty there is nothing they can do about it for this game. Only if it rose to the level of a post game reviewable offense would anything ever get done about it (and still not during this game). And that hit by Kucherov, though definitely a missed penalty, I don’t believe is one requiring supplemental discipline.
Yeah, shades of “What do I tell Kucherov?” (tho Corey was available).
One reason I hoped McD might nab a cup early in his career is the apparent ensuing benefit of reputation calls. I thought of that all the time when CAL was still death valley and vets from those teams were given a license to kill whenever they suited up against the Oilers.
Individually, there 1-2 on the team for CF and xGF.
Using a 150 minute cutoff to compare the 4 most widely used defensive pairings this year,
Bro and Bouch are 1st in CF at 58% , 1st in GF% at 59% (13-9), 1st in xGF% at 62%, and 2nd in PDO (1.009). This in 203 TOI. Nurse and Ceci at 47% CF, 48% GF (46-48), 48% xGF, 1.005 PDO in 630 minutes.
Quality of comp is a big part of these differences to be sure, but Bro-Bouch are crushing it. At what point do Manson and Woodcroft see what the kid can do higher up in the rotation. You would think we’ll see more of this in the week to come.
Bouch almost coming back from the brink is monumental. If he hits 50% thats a huge recovery from the 38% he was running by the new year. Over 12 5v5 goals to be exact in 20 calendar days, no small potatoes. I liken it to if Campbell could get back to .900 with 3 straight shutouts.
As soon as McLeod returned, the top line changed immensely for the better. Nuge got easier minutes with teams focusing on Leon again joining McD and McLeod-Ryan have great chem. Some games were lost in late Dec but they weren’t getting terribly outplayed.
Since Kane’s return, Hyman, for some reason, looks like he’s been freed-up a bit. Kane is far from form but I think his reputation draws attention from opponents.
Kostin’s emergence is a revelation during a tough year for Poolparty. Having a big strong weapon in the middle 6 is so helpful. This is ignoring the solid play of Holloway too.
Who knew these three factors would be the straw that stirs the drink?
Certainly spreads things around a little and Woody doesn’t have him out against elites a lot, but he is becoming more effective when he get the chance. Among the players on the ice when McLeod scored 3 of his last 4 goals: San Jose: Couture and Karlsson; Tampa: Hedman and Sergachev; LA: Doughty and Danault. So San Jose’s top defenseman and 2nd line, LA’s top defenseman and 2nd line, and Tampa’s top 2 defenseman, but it was the 4th line. He scored 3 goals with 3 Norris Trophy winning defenseman on the ice against him in just 6 games. He deserves props for that.
This is where Jay Evens needs to shine, no excuses.
innercitysmytty
January 20, 2023 10:43 am
Rishaug saying something to the effect that the Oil should aim for winning 5 of the next 8 on the Nielsen show this morning. I would say that would be a letdown if they did. I think 6 is reasonable given how spread out the games are and that only 1 is a back to back (and the opponent is also on back to back).
The Oilers traditionally have struggled when games are spread out more iirc.
dustrock
January 20, 2023 10:38 am
Bouchard had a real nice play in the 3rd under pressure, didn’t panic and dump the puck or make a foolish pass, turned back and did a short pass to transition.
Real nice, looks much more confident. Not a play he would have made a month or two ago.
elgruntus
January 20, 2023 10:38 am
as per Garfield?
rich tm
January 20, 2023 10:36 am
George Santos says hello.
Offside
January 20, 2023 10:31 am
I prefer being poor. It keeps me humble
WedgeAntilles
January 20, 2023 10:28 am
I remember when I was a kid someone telling me that most NHL players were really dirty. And 6-year-old me thinking “but I thought they showered after every game…?”
If you’re not cheatin’ then you’re not trying hard enough.
Yes, they all play dirty, but some of them are better at it than others (aka – Corey Perry).
Haha, reminds me of attending an Edmonton Drillers game circa 1981 with a close friend & his young step daughter. Early in the match I noticed a player who had returned from IR so I said casually “Oh good, Andre Oostrom is dressed” & the young lass immediately exclaimed “did you think he would be UNdressed?!”. 🤣
Great game last night. I really like how Desharnais shoots the puck first asks questions later. None of these soft lobs into the corner. Reminds me of Willie Mitchell who shot every time the puck came to him. Lots of verbal about the forwards flying the zone and whether or not this is the Oilers system. Doesn’t matter. On the 2nd and 3rd goal all three forwards (McDavid, Kane and Draisaitl) were behind the first and second layer of forecheck when the pucks were turned over. I don’t blame the D men who are forced to pass it through sticks to hit a guy at centre. This is a terrible play either way and Woodcroft has to address it. Its the kind of play a team might try when they are down late in the 3rd not in the middle of a game. I wouldn’t mind one of the media guys asking Woodcroft what his team is doing there.
I agree. Was at the game last night and watched Drais bolt out of the zone as Ceci rounded his net. Pass was disrupted, Drais took a delayed penalty trying to recover, and it was in our net
On the next shift, I noted Puljujarvi playing low in the zone and winning battles to get the puck out
Similar situations, completely different approaches
Cheating for offence makes sense in certain circumstances in specific areas of the ice. Blowing zone when you are the strong side winger is never ok.
This Oiler system is used by ever team in the league.
One pass moves the puck 200 feet from your goal and put the puck on a goalies stick behind his goal if he can stop it. That is the picture of playing on the other team’s end.
jp
January 20, 2023 10:21 am
He made a poor pass, while not under pressure, that led to the Brayden Point goal.
Not that it changes the result (and still an error of execution), but I thought Nurse’s pass was tipped by the TB forechecker rather than simply being a bad pass.
I would like Kenny to slice the team in these thirds – we need more Nasty players for the play-offs – Ross Johnston, Nicolas Delauriers, Travis Konecny, Justin Bailey types …
Easier to play against – 2, 10, 22, 27, 71, 84, 93, 26, 56
We may see Justin Bailey added to the mix. Ross Johnston would be a beauty.
Reja
January 20, 2023 10:03 am
I wonder what Klim will recieve on his next contract? Klim is sure lapping up the Blue Collar attention he’s been rightfully receiving. It took a lot of guts to take on Maroon and his teammates appreciated it as much as the fans.
hard to say. Klim seems like a humble guy so maybe he signs a longer deal. But his agent might suggest signing shorter in hopes he can replicate the success for a bigger payday.
I am inclined to agree with your 2 year deal though
Coffeys_Messy_eh
January 20, 2023 10:01 am
Apologies if this has already been covered, but Tyson Barrie was on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast this week. If you’re like me and are generally uncomfortable with Barstool Sports, I suggest you put that aside and give it a listen.
Tidbits:
Auston Matthews’ nickname in the Toronto room is Tony or Big Tony, christened by Tyler Ennis, apparently a riff on his misspelled first name. This warms my heart.
He mentions that under Tippet that guys were just “skating around trying to score” or something to that effect
They call Kostin “Klimdros”
Assists on McDavid goals, which he calls “McDavid Apples,” “probably shouldn’t count.”
Oh my, MoneyPuck has the Oilers as the 5th ranked team in terms of their power rankings, and has their Cup chances pegged at 2nd best in the league.
This team is really rolling now, wow.
Chelios is a Dinosaur
January 20, 2023 9:50 am
LOVED the filthy, dirty, no class Bouchbomb(s) at the buzzer.
Everyone brought their own particular kind of nasty. On TSN Button was suggesting they should have had Nurse target Kucherov and maybe theres a case for that but I just like each player looking into their own bag of ticks, and thinking – what shit can I disturb from what I am working with?
No kidding. He committed about 6 fouls, several of type “filthy”, & when the refs finally called one he successfully appealed for an even-up call the other way.
Of all the superstars in the league — & 86 is undeniably one of those — I may hate Kucherov the most. F’n weasel.
Loved it. Team is starting to play for each other.
Reja
January 20, 2023 9:37 am
I would start Campbell again as he is 1-0 against the Kanucks where as Skinner had lost to them a couple of weeks ago. With that being said Woody will probably go with Skinner.
There is a lot of time off in the next few weeks so I’m not sure Campbell would need any time off. But either way I get Skinner in against the Dys. He’s been off too long and we need to get a rotation going here.
Summarizing (Part Deux)!
As noted below, the Reid Rocket delivered a clutch performance. He tied the game with seven mins left in the third, then had a penalty shot in OT. He did not disappoint.
For his 2-goal, 4-SOG effort, he was named 1st star. He now has 19 goals on the season.
I was hoping I might someday get this to you but was working on your book signing.
Something I wrote when my only nephew and brother recently passed.
Sincerely sorry for your loss. Always appreciated your absolutely heart warming references about your family anytime they popped in. You’ve gifted me far too many words not to try and repay a few on way out.
Parting is such
—-
It will never really go anywhere
At some point I guess
You have to accept that
It will never get easier
It will never get less painful
It will really never get less of anything
Except maybe less prevalent
Or less raw due to a numbing
Of nerves overworked
But undeniably
It will always be there somewhere
Come crashing in on random waves
Once again causing damp to overtake dry terrain
Only fools would pretend the ocean bends to them
So the only thing one can rationally do
Is not fight it when it rears
Because there is generally a peaceful end of every wave
If one allows themself to be embraced by it
Rather than bracing against it.
Sincerely Kindest regards and honestly being the primary reason I still thoroughly enjoyed this team throughout the entire DOD
That’s beautiful and kind of exactly where I am today. I thank you for beautiful words expressing a complicated life event. I am also sorry for your loss. That’s a lot to say goodbye to for anyone.
Thanks al.
Been on here intermittently commenting since early days. I almost always have been on night shift so it’s hard trying to integrate into things perfectly but I always enjoyed trying.
I think im out.
Always appreciated. Always will be.
C.
Seeing how Vancouver is handling the Bruce Boudreau situation reminds me how lucky we are to have Kenny at the helm … Doesn’t Rutherford at least have Skype?
If McDavid scores 60g this year, he would be the 21st player in NHL history to accomplish the feat.
70 sounds a lot better and since it’s McDavid I half expect it.
At a five game win streak, the Oilers are the hottest team in the League right now.
Yup, even the Bruins have only a W4. But that’s the only W4 and there’s only one W3. A lot of struggle in the League right now as the bar of play seems to be raised all over since the Xmas break. Plenty of fights, aggression, grease, penalties out there.
And they got to W5 by dispatching a team that was currently riding a 5-game winning streak too. Kismet.
Separation is in full flight now. Good ones are rising, bad ones are falling, mucky middle, being mucky.
2nd Half Risers – Avs (duh), Oilers, Cats, Penguins, Detroit (push but no 2nd season)
Fallers (relative) – Devils (something about em), Stars, Jets, L.A., Vegas. I’m not sold on the last four teams here at all.
I don’t see St. Louis or Nashville making the biggest of pushes but they could surprise. Too unbalanced and can’t score.
The Flames are a curious lot. I don’t think they have the 6 inches between the ears figured out. A losing streak away from throwing in the towel this season. A winning streak away from a 3rd place division finish. They don’t have the scoring chops to outplay shitty tending this year.
Still many games left, not sure how Kenny will be playing TDL, if all hands are still healthy and the team is in at least the #2 Division spot I can see him add a Justin Braun + a Marc Staal + a Nieto.
I really don’t think he’ll be able to do much without spending too much capital. The Cap crunch is massively limiting. Plus our assets have no value. Besides, apparently the Oilers have to give away draft picks to trade any of Yamo, JP or McLovin.
This will be the most intriguing TDL for me since 2006.
(Partial) summarizing!
I will update for Schaefer early a.m. Meanwhile…
Petrov fashioned another 3-point night, this time 1+2 with a game-high 6 SOG in a Battalion loss.
Lachance collected his 21st goal of the year with 4 SOG and 2nd star honours in a loss.
Maatta had an aPPle but only went 8-for-18 (44.4%) on the dot.
Mazura also procured an aPPle.
Chiasson (despite 4 SOG), Brind’Amour (16-for-28, 57.1 FO%), and Munzenberger were held off the scoresheet.
Jesus, who was Maatta facing? That’s a strength for him.
Schaefer had a great night. Game tying and game winning goals.
Jim Matheson
@jimmathesonnhl
Presume Oilers are talking to Kostin’s agent about an extension considering his impact and how often the restricted free-agentsays he loves it here. I know it has been short sample size but Kostin looks like he deserves a new two-year contract with a good raise over his $750,000
Good thing Matheson doesn’t negotiate contracts for the Edmonton Oilers.
Very good chance he gets a 2 year deal with a raise this summer, but Holland can gain nothing by signing him now.
Kenny loves him some 23.7% shooting percentages.
Jim Matheson has also been a peanut gallery for years now. I hope Kostin keeps enjoying Edmonton – we need players like this on cheap contracts; or vice versa, short term league minimums. Roll through every year.
Kostin is what the Devin Shore ideal deal should have been.
I don’t think he does.
He didn’t sign Puljujarvi to a big deal early last year when many were calling for it, pretty sure he’s not going to do it now with Kostin.
I’m not sure there isn’t some risk in waiting.
Aren’t we talking about a contract in the 2 X $1.3MM – $1.5MM range – tops?
Of course, he’s going to come down off his shooting percentage (as are the Kraken who are currently on pace to have the highest 5 on 5 team shooting percentage since the stat has been tracked) but what if he scores 6 more goals in the next 30 games (as opposed to 9 in 31 so far) for a total of 15 goals. Given arbitration is all about counting stats comparable – what’s the comparable for 15 goals? Probably higher than $1.5MM, no?
Sure, there’s always some risk. Kostin has to be close to peak value right now though, right?
I would say the risk is getting him at market price. We need a value contract.
This organization is pushed to the tits.
You think he’s more likely to sign a value contract now than in the summer?
You could be right but I’m not so sure.
As long as it’s less than 2 mill I’m on board.
He’s arb eligible so if we can’t negotiate an extension before June we probably can’t take the risk of qualifying him and getting stuck with a big arbitration
Yakov Trenin was awarded $1.7m in arbitration, scored 17g in 80g, very few apples. Similar to klims production.
Oilers recall Hamblin
Interesting and unexpected, considering Shore is still on the books
Yamo out. A trade is coming for more sandpaper
Markus Niemelainen scored his second of the night, Condors down 3-2 versus the Roadrunners.
JP had a good post advocating for Henrique the other day. He fits a lot of needs up front. I, of course, posted a month or so ago that the target should be one famous Jonathan Toews. I would like to get into this a little bit, but this isn’t going to be mathy.
Here’s my thinking (so to speak)…
What are our expectations for this season? I think the simple answer is, “a step forward from last season.” Which would mean winning the conference final and getting to the Stanley Cup Final. And there’s no point in getting all the way to the Final and not taking a shot at the whole enchilada. If we got there, we, the fans, would be all-in for the win, right?
Who are we likely to face? Right now, the obvious answer seems to be the Boston Bruins. And Boston’s best player is Patrice Bergeron. Renowned for his defensive play and his face-off ability.
There’s only one person in the world, the entire world, better: Jonathan Toews. Winning the Stanley is all about winning match-ups. If you don’t have a player that can beat Bergeron on the dot and in terms of shutting down offense and games… you won’t beat the Bruins.
And no way do I want them to have revenge for what we did to Bourque and their 80s “juggernaut.”.
Henrique is good. Easier to acquire. But he doesn’t win that match-up and that doesn’t get us the Cup.
And I will re-state what I said below:
Drai is 44% on own zone face-offs these past two weeks v. 54% last three years. He’s not the same man. Bring help.
Its pretty obvious Drai is still having issues with his ankle.
A well rounded team, with young guns performing or sweetheart contracts for veterans can endure through stars needing to recover. Oilers don’t have that, as well as other competing organizations. It is what it is.
Lets hope Kane coming back can let Drai breathe a bit and rehab(?) more.
Perhaps Draisaitl will heal/recover by May? He’s 53% (Dzone) on the season, so this is a very new thing that may right itself without any outside intervention.
I don’t know. Could even be tactical. But it’s concerning.
By the way, there are only 21 right shot C’s in the entire league who’ve won >50% of their Dzone draws over the last season and a half (>500 total face-offs).
Henrique and Toews are both LHS.
Well shit, I had in my head for some reason Toews was a right shot. My bad.
Anyway, I see where you’re going with Toews, and there’s no question he’d be a nice addition to the team. That cap hit is a problem though. And to your post, wouldn’t Bergeron be facing McDavid/Draisaitl most often anyway? (certainly any time Montgomery can make it so).
The cap hit is most definitely a problem. It requires another team, but I also believe CHI will not require a 1st up front. If that’s the case I spend the draft capital, but one of the picks would have to be 2024.
So you’re thinking 2nd (for Toews) and 3rd (for 3rd party salary retention) for Toews?
And a $3M-ish Oiler still needs to go out to accommodate the $2.65M after double retention.
That’s a reasonable theoretical, but I also worry about Toews. His on ice numbers this year aren’t good (and that’s relative to team). He’s no longer a primary penalty killer (hasn’t been this year or last). Is he reaching the end?
Pretty sure he’d be a nice add even if the end is nigh, but I also wonder if there will be other adds that would have more of an impact.
You may well be right he could be had for less than a 1st though.
RS C are the need
Alexis Lafrenière and K’Andre Miller for ?
K’Andre isn’t going anywhere, they’re already talking extension and that he loves it there.
Sorry to HH poo poo it but there’s 0% chance. I’d have time for Schneider.
Alexis Laf for Pujijijijijijijijijijiji
I am a bit surprised that we have not discussed this much if at all, but Stuart Skinner is going to the All Star Game, the only rookie going. I just looked up the odds for the Calder Trophy and Skinner is not in the top 20??
The starting goalie is also a rookie
There are two other rookies going, both from the Pacific Division – Matty Berniers and Logan Thompson.
Fandeul Sportsbook has Skinner with the 5th highest odds for the Calder (tied for 5th with a few others).
Fifth is not bad. I assume the ASG will be the first time many in the East see Skinner. This has to help his chances. Although goalies are a bit hung out to dry in ASGs!
A little random, but I just realized any trade involving Joel Edmundson would have Kulak going back the other way.
I’m not advocating for an Edmundson trade (though I don’t think he’s a negative value non-NHLer as some seem to), but was a bit confused why/how the Oilers would be interested since adding him would block Broberg.
Blocking Broberg (who was penciled onto the roster last summer) for another year and a half, or trading him after a few months of struggle, would have been very un-Holland things to do. So the apparent interest in Edmundson didn’t make sense.
As a replacement for Kulak though, Edmundson makes more sense (to me at least). And again, I’m not saying I think that would be a good trade.
I was listening to TO sports radio this morning (and cursing the Gords the whole time of course), but they are all over Gavrikov to the TO, and defencemen like that don’t come along too often…
Yes, my ears hurt.
Edmundson to the Oil seems very unlikely. I think the last place they want to add anything significant, with term, is on D. This is not a weak area from an organizational point of view. Edmundson is the better Dman than Kulak, no doubt, so why would the Habs do that deal? And Kulak is cheaper than Edmundson, so why would Edmonton do that deal?
I’ve been thinking about Henrique v. Toews…
Agree adding there is unlikely, but that was kind of my point. It would be trading one defenseman with term for another, not adding.
I was thinking Edmundson made $3.1M for some reason (it’s $3.5M) but there still isn’t a huge gap in salary (Edmundson makes $750k more than Kulak).
This part is the key really. Edmundson has played more, and more against tougher comp, but Kulak has had far better results. Edmundson did play ahead of Kulak on the same team though.
If Edmundson really is the better Dman then the Oilers could add something to make the deal work. The Canadiens were reportedly interested in bringing Kulak back in free agency this summer, so they do like the player.
I really don’t know about the evaluation though. Kulak doesn’t bring a lot of offense, but it’s still more than Edmundson. And Edmundson has consistently been used in tough minutes by his coaches through his career, but has consistently lost those minutes. Kulak has generally played less and easier minutes, but won them. I don’t know.
You’re right, bad choice of words by me. But you can see I wasn’t thinking of it as a simple addition. Edmundson for Kulak is the deal and it doesn’t make sense for me both ways.
And I will postulate too that while we, out here in stats world hate intangibles, getting players who have you as their favourite childhood team is a big deal. Skinner and Kulak are important adds because they will go through the wall for this team.
Barrie for Gavrikov makes more sense.
Not really. They don’t play the same position, so you’re asking someone to play their off side and/or elevating Desharnais into a full time role (as per your other post). And this is setting aside your belief that Barrie provides nothing of value to the team.
Just rewatched the Maroon Slewfoot and noticed that Broberg and Bouch jumped into that pile without hesitation …. and Bouch was giving some aggressive face washes to Cernak and yapping pretty aggressively.
I think Bouch is growing hair on his ass before our eyes….I think he might turn into Ed Jovanovski….Jovocop might have been the greatest hockey nickname of that decade.
Even though Bouchard is passive and almost methodical in his style he seems to be a student of the game. Give him a few years to learn the tricks of the trade and he won’t be so easy to play against. I do believe Keith gave him some pointers on how to get away with being sneaky dirty.
I said the same late night after the Seattle game. He’s added some meanness to his game over the past week. I speculated that the cause wasn’t Broberg but the arrival of Desharnais. Kind of like how the Kane return has put the noses of the depth forwards to the ole skate sharpener (or whatever we’re calling a grindstone this week).
It’s a weird sentence: “I think Bouch is growing hair on his ass before our eyes”
Personally I’m going to avert my eyes.
Petrov continues to wield a hot stick as his one-time riPPer evens the score in period 1. 19th goal of the season:
https://mobile.twitter.com/OHLBattalion/status/1616596231534571520/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1616596231534571520¤tTweetUser=OHLBattalion
Nice to see he has turned it up a notch.
Would like to see the same from Schaefer. Need to see a strong step forward there this season. I watched a few of their games before he went to the Junior team and from my viewing, his effort and drive weren’t as consistent as I’d like to see.
He’d just been drafted. There may be some tendency to take the foot of the pedal and enjoy the moment after crossing that finish line, I totally understand, if that’s the case, but it’s time to get down to business.
With his size and shot, he has a chance at being a top 6 forward, i mean best damn drafted Coke Machine ever, and a big part of getting there is determination, commitment.
Really liking our draft picks for a few years now… Too bad we weren’t this good slash lucky when we had a raft of high ones.
Stauffer stated after they had him on when he was coming back from the Juniors that Schaefer has grown since the summer, and that, judging by his family and it’s history, he could add more.
He’s definitely going to add more weight as he matures. He’s already 213. 213 is pretty freakin solid for a six foot three 18 year old frame.
Weak spots are his four way agility and first step. Both typical for big men and not insurmountable issues. More speed always comes in handy too, right? If he’s still growing, a lack of polish in this area is completely understandable.
Agree with everything you’re saying, but Schaefer will be 20 in about 8 months, though the 213 lbs may have been his weight from last year. He may still have some growing to do but not as much as if he was only 18.
I was using his draft numbers. I also saw 214 used as his draft number (SN) but picked the lower number. I picked the draft simply because I opened with a speculation, so I thought it best, when I was being more, say, categorical, to use numbers that are somewhat confirmed lol.
Sorry I was so late but I did reply to your post below regarding face-offs.
He was hot for a few weeks to start his WHL season, momentum from his NHL TC experience, but he wasn’t putting many points on the board for almost 1 month prior to the WJ camp.
Hopefully he gets that mojo going again soon.
In the past 10 games (from December 31st), Philip Broberg has ranked 1st in the entire league (among 532 players with at least 75 minutes at 5v5) in these categories:
CF%
SF%
xGF%
SCF%
HDCF%
He’s also 2nd in FF% and 12th in GF% (13-3 goals) in 120 minutes. And he has started slightly more shifts in the defensive zone than the offensive zone.
The Broberg-Bouchard pairing has been together for 91 minutes in the same timeframe. Among 90 defensive pairings to play at least 50 minutes together at 5v5, they rank:
2nd in CF%
3rd in FF%
3rd in SF%
3rd in GF% (10-3)
1st in xGF%
1st in SCF%
1st in HDCF%
Based on the opponents in the next few games, I think Woodcroft should move these two up a level. We know they can kill the soft minutes, but how will they do against 2nd pairing comp? It’s time to find out.
Here are the Oilers defensive pairs (50+ minutes) over the past 10 games:
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/pairings.php?fromseason=20222023&thruseason=20222023&stype=2&sit=5v5&score=all&rate=y&team=EDM&loc=B&toi=50&gpfilt=gpdate&fd=2022-12-31&td=2023-01-20&tgp=410
Because of how the team has performed to this point in the season, the Oilers do not yet have the luxury of not deploying their line up in a manner most likely to get a victory. Any team in the league still has a chance of beating any other. Arizona has beaten Boston, Columbus has beaten Winnipeg and, we recall, Anaheim beat Edmonton. There are numerous more examples.
I could see Woody getting those guys tougher assignments later in games if the score is not that close like the recent San Jose and Anaheim games and slowly increasing their exposure during increasingly critical moments in time if the team puts some distance between itself and the playoff cut line.
Player deployed can be – and is – altered on a shift-by-shift basis. I’m not advocating for anything different from that.
Look at the link I posted. Nurse-Ceci need some help with the toughs. Woodcroft should start easing Broberg-Bouchard into that position tonight.
Last one until after deadline (minus away)
In
—
Kuzmenko RW
Schenn LHD
Bjugstad RW/C
Out
—
-Foegle
-Kulak
-2023 1st
-2023 2nd
-2023 3rd
-Whatever prospect below broberg/Holloway/Des and maybe Niem needed to balance
-however much salary retained that still allows a 22/23 man roster (if it lessens ask in pick prospect just a nice dial for negotiating)
1. Foegle lavoie 2024 3rd for bjugstad?
– sure
2. 1st, 2nd, kulak and 2023 3rd for kuz/schenn no retain
– sure
Hyman McDavid kuzmenko
Kane drai yam
Klim rnh janmark (ain’t broke)
Holloway McLeod bjugstad
Puj/Ryan
Nurse ceci
Schenn barrie
Broberg Bouchard
Niemo/des
1. That’s a deep team every position possible. Janmark LW, ryan/bju RHC or RW, puj RW, niemo LHD, des RHD
Literally every position.
2. Gives a chance to see what kind of chemistry kuzmenko and frees up the kind of Cap needed to likely sign him next year to estimated 1-2 year bridge at 6 ish million.
3. Cap in 2.8 ish million Cap out 5.5 million
= 2.7 million space = 23 man roster
This is year 1 of 3 on drai clock
This sets up year 2 of 3 better
This is worth one years worth of draft capital and any more “better odds than not at best shiny tweener” that need be consumed
Schenn is right handed.
Why would Vancouver want Kulak?
Because their D is in shambles?
Even if retain 500k required at 2.25 million that’s not a terrible contract over period projected rebuild. Retain to value point for them or add sweetener to bite.
Shit thought schenn was left for some reason though. Thanks for pointing that out. Just trying to find best options at lowest cap hit. I think full roster capable be huge advantage down stretch and into playoffs this year if achievable. Competitive edge.
Kulak is pretty much a clone of Travis Dermott who is one million cheaper so the additional years on Kulak’s contract would be a stumbling block.
Kuzmenko is certainly worth pursuing and I expect there will be multiple suitors if Vancouver doesn’t extend him.
I watched every kuzmenko tally this year. It honestly seems like he’d fit so perfect in top 6 here. Sneaky good definitely going to have sustain in highest percentile SH%.
Sorting through sellers, that’s the most cap efficient upgrading position of need I could find.
23 man roster being able to truly rest guys and have good options not just broken to get in. Is a real advantage over most teams present construct.
Pay the toll.
Kuz had his chance, he’s not invited.
HFBoards is still open, Maudite. Crush this post on there.
It isn’t unreasonable its just bold.
If they run half pot committed blinds soon will wipe them out.
This is year 1 of 3 and year 3 is walking drai to ufa.
Everything possible:
1. Do some damage this year in a winnable conference
2. Have maximum cap flexibility going into off-season in year where cap.is still restricted (1 million increase is nothing)
There are better answers what costs 5.5 million on the roster.
Pay the toll sooner than later.
If no one can seriously see benefit of test driving kuzmenko and having inside track to sign him following – there obviously not staring too hard at the glaring hole on RW and whatever may be available for next year.
Keep clutching your pearls if you like
Seriously:
Add something constructive
Why don’t you like it
What might be unrealistic or perceived as too costly
Or
If postering like a jeering nonconstructive packled offering nothing of value in response is applauded.. I should go to HF. Obviously some of the worst traits of it are leeching in here so maybe it’s improving.
Barrie for Gavirkov modulo stuff.
Nurse Desharnais
Gavrikov Ceci/Kulak
Broberg Bouchard
Kulak/Ceci
I dont see them committing to trading barrie to point I’m accepting our RHD is basically locked. At least for this season.
Not sure if posted. Per Gregor:
Vincent Desharnais broke his nose on his first shift v. Vegas.
“They reset it in the first intermission. Took three cracks. Then one more after the game. It didn’t feel great (laughs),” Desharnais.
He challenged Kolesar to a scrap in third. Was upset with his hit on teammate.
Desharnais is turning out to be exactly what the team needed. His on-ice play is better than expected, but it’s story’s like this that can elevate the give-a-shit meter across the board.
This is how a team starts playing for each other.
Mount Vinny to the rescue.
Vinny ridge.
Vinny Appletree
Vince Vega.
Vincent Van Goal
Des Hard Ass.
Vinnie VD Vici.
that last one might be a little too obscure lol
It’s the best one.
Lol… Yeah, but that’s just cause you and I know a little Latin…
Excellent.
Finally…FINALLY Oilers getting real old timey hockey character players.
Kulak, Hyman, Kane, Desharnais, McLeod, to name a few.
Even RNH is suddenly turning up for the show. Currently in 13th in Art Ross race!! Ahead of Ovechkin, Crosby, Marner etc.
And while I’m on topic, both goalies look terrific suddenly – both real honest to goodness NHL character types. Campbell just needed to get used to the insane way Oilers play defence.
Oilers defence is one of my favourite things about this team – let the goalie stop endless five alarm shots to demoralise the opposition.
I just rewatched the end of last night’s game.
I’m shocked that Stamkos was willing to give up and run out the clock….also shocked the refs didn’t blow it dead the second they realized what he was doing….I’ve seen a handful of times where a ref will blow the play dead if the penalized team refuses to touch a puck.
Bouch’s bomb…this guy has bonuses to hit…and Paul didn’t have a stick…why wouldn’t he shoot hard to the net on this play?
Their coach sniveling about it after game was hilarious “he could hurt someone. There’s just no need”.
Fuck off. If you had a guy dying to prove he can run PP but was blocked and you sent him out in gravy- like he’s not doing the exact same thing.
I don’t know the exact wording of the rule, but if it isn’t possession they should make it possession, then they can say he had possession when it was just him, the puck and no forecheckers. Be done with the silliness.
Glad the boys have turned the ship around and are looking so much stronger. Prior to this run we were desperate for a trade to shake things up. Now that we’re rolling, should that change? Isn’t it better to trade from a position of strength rather than when others know we are desperate?
Loving Desharnais play but are we really going to count on that continuing? Should we not trade now for a more established D-man with a history of playing in the NHL?
I was really happy with the Oilers game last night. There were a lot of ‘team’ elements in that game that set a good foundation for playoff hockey success: having each other’s back, weathering the storm when the other team gets momentum, shot suppression with the lead, etc. They got a little loose in the second but tightened it right up again in the third. Loved that!
Hopefully the team can stay healthy and make some hay with this weaker schedule. I hope that Woody keeps these lines and pairings going for a while so they continue to gel. Starting to see some good chemistry.
Were you referring to the general 11-7 deployment or specific combos with in it? Last night Woody had the blender set to “Liquify”. Only Kane/McDavid/Draisaitl got an extended look and still only 8:25 worth. And his next 2 starting lines got between 4:30-5:00 minutes.
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20222023&game=20725&view=limited
The list of the 10 line combos they show also only accounts for around 32 minutes out of 48 minutes of 5 on 5 time in the game.
Nuge and Kostin seemed to miss Janmark a bit.
The grins on Kane and nurse when klim was skating over- priceless.
I was reading the recent ‘Legends’ edition of The Hockey News and they had an interesting quote from Michel Goulet that’s relevant to the recent conversations on players vs media pressure.
THN: How did Montreal fans treat you and other French Canadians from the province?
MG: They didn’t really like me, but they showed a lot of respect. So much attention, the people, the TV. Such an amazing thrill to play against Montreal because us, we had a game on TV once in a while, but Montreal had every game on TV.
THN: And the local media?
MG: I had skin for that. That’s where you build your character. A couple times a year, they destroyed me. But it didn’t really matter to me because I was just that kind of guy, that in my brain, I was so focused and secure on my ability to score and produce.
Such a tight race in the Pacific, West. Anyone else thinks Calgary may get screwed (in a good way) when it comea to tie breaker given their lack of ROW? Beauty.
I don’t think Calgary will get enough points to require a tie break.
The Oilers since January 1 are 4th in the league in points percentage and also GF%. The Krak are 2nd in both
The next Pacific teams are LA at 15th in PTS%, and the fLames at 15th in GF%
Krak SV% 9th at .928 Oilers 12th at .922
The Krak’s PDO is 2nd in the league at 1.060 and the Oilers 6th at 1.029. They should have more regression coming than we do. They have 2 games in hand, we’re 3 points behind. They have 22 Reg Wins and 27 ROW, Oilers 24 and 26
Keep ‘er rolling lads, you can do this!
Jeff Chapman
@NewWaveOil
hi everyone. if you haven’t yet heard, vox media is pulling their support from most of their NHL sites in the coming weeks. this includes our site over at @copperandblue. for 10 years, i want to thank you for inviting us onto your laptops, your desktops, and your cellphones.
They couldn’t wash the stink of Derek Zona off them after all these years.
It’s a grim reminder that sports blogs are not the cash cow people imagine. I don’t even think the writers were even getting paid and they still were losing money.
I would encourage regulars to look at their use of this website as an annual subscription, sort of like The Athletic. Think of what you’re willing and able to contribute and smash the donate button.
Most of us wouldn’t go to Allan’s house every weekend… show up empty handed… drink all of his beer and scotch, enjoy barbecue steak, leave his house in disarray then think, it’s okay I visit his website every day. He makes 30 cents per year off my web traffic.
I wish the Leafs good luck in round 1 against the Bolts.
they are a handful.
I couldn’t watch the game which was a drag, it’s so good to see them playing to their potential again
Connor and Leo need to smarten up though, they should be able to dominate any line
Our fellas are tied for 2nd with Leafs Devils and Stars with 24 Reg Wins. I like this because it shows strength as opposed to winning too many nail biters, some would be nice
If they keep this level up their losses will start to even out with the other playoff teams
At this point another RS C is the only big hole
My gawd LT that McCurdy impersonation had me laughing so hard I had to take a knee…my knee is wet now, thanks for that.
I have confidence Bruce will get me back next week on the show. 🙂
Who are you?
”The real thing I notice is how Edmonton drags teams into the muck in order get power plays out of it.”
For a different perspective of last nights game go here.
https://www.rawcharge.com/2023/1/20/23563469/recap-tampa-bay-lightning-roll-in-mud-with-edmonton-oilers-lose-5-3-highlights-fights-nhl
It’s like the guy doesn’t even understand his own team. Gourde is a handful whenever we play Seattle and where did he come from? TBay is a chippy-play factory. The scrums weren’t anything strange to that group. Oilers were not on the instigating side of any of that.
WOW!!! that was enlightening. LOL
That was amazing to read! lol I complain about Hyman with the blinders on but this guy is only looking through a pin hole…
Oilers dive all the time? Wtf? I actually think we fight through most plays and obstructions and don’t go down easy enough to draw calls!
Kane tripped kucherov but no mention of kucherov trying to run Kane into the boards at full speed? Luckily Kane is much bigger and solid or it could’ve been bad.
We dragged them into the muck. That’s hilarious. What a bunch of crybabies. Plsyet, coaching staff And fans…they’ve lost any respect I had. American version of the Leafs.
Edmonton is designed to draw penalties and we dive all the time
love hearing from the other side
Considering the Oilers are in the bottom 3rd and Bolts in top 3rd for penalties drawn this observation is flawed
Florida Man says what?
some of the highlights. LOL i do find it intriguing that they view edmonton as a physical team who is designed to “fight” and “draw penaltys”
The real thing I notice is how Edmonton drags teams into the muck in order get power plays out of it. That’s specifically what Ken Holland says he likes about Evander Kane. He does dirty things after whistles or in play so the team can get 4v4 or the odd power play. This team is designed to create power plays for McDavid. When the Lightning fight and get dirty, they play into it. But they can’t get out of it because as Halpern said above, nothing’s going to stop them from standing up for their teammates. It’s a hero’s fallacy.
Then Kane dragged Kucherov to the ice after a trip, starting a scrum. Third time’s a charm the refs called the utterly obvious penalty.
A fight can just as easily hype up the other team as it hypes up one’s own. And I think the Oilers got as much or more out of that dirty game as the Lightning did when it came to internal motivation or intimidating the opponent into giving you space. In fact, I found the Lightning could work in less space as the game went on and both teams were more aggressive with their checks.
The Lightning will need to re-evaluate how they want to play teams like the Oilers. Not for the series against Toronto because they don’t play that way, but onward.
Again, like fighting, the Oilers are designed to draw penalties. They dive all the time.
I can’t hate on this writer too much. My highschool job was far less desirable than covering my favorite hockey team.
Also, on the call to Toronto after the Kucherov hit from behind, who thought for a second Kane was being reviewed? Also, save a missed highstick, since when is the war room involved in penalty reviews?
That was atrocious. That was a reputation call. And if Kane was 20 lbs lighter he’d might have been hurt (and presumably then it’d have been called). Larger guys are punished, at times (unless you’re Gudas).
Kucherov bullying the ref on the Foegle trip and then the ref caving. Since when is it reasonable for refs to cave? That, again, was a reputation call (for Kuch).
Maroon tripping McDavid, then the crosscheck, then roughing at least 2 more guys, and gets 2 minutes.
Where’s the reputation call? You’d figure that after then Giordano trip on McD, the league would be interested in protecting a once in 50 yrs talent.
is anyone measuring the benefits of reputation calls across the league? Surely this could be done. I’m not sure how though. I watched the TO and Col series while cheering for the Bolts and just couldn’t believe the benefits of the calls they got last year. Am I out of my mind?
Talking about reputation … Maroon-the-goon didn’t just trip him, it was imo an obvious slew foot. Something the goon has perfected, he also did it at least once in our previos game. Its a very sneaky (clearly practice makes perfect), dangerous and ferociously filthy play, the league should watch him closely. Game to game, this is Maroon.
Did it to Ryan (I believe) in the 3rd last night as well.
He did it to Ryan in the third period, right alongside the benches.
Filthy and intentionally dangerous. Should be reviewed by DOPeS, but it won’t.
can’t stand slew footers and i don’t remember it being part of his game as an oiler.
I did. When they said the play is under review, I said to my son “watch the Oilers get a major or match penalty out of this”. Thankfully they went with the lesser call, but Kane earned all 120 seconds of it. Complicating the matter further was the injury to the linesman that was a direct result of that action.
That said, it should have been coincidental with the hit from behind.
Also, Maroon’s penalty was for hooking, after which he slewfooted & then crosschecked McDavid with no furher call. The crosscheck was minor but the slew foot needed to be called.
The hurdle for Kane’s second penalty of the play was very low (clearly it was a trip but no more than he was hit in the numbers just before) while Kucherov’s hurdle is sky high. He had at least 3 legit get-out-of-jail-free cards played last night. I’m really just arguing for consistency.
I had a similar feeling in my gut while waiting for the callback. It seems like whenever anything involving the Oilers goes to TO, it’s like the guys on the other end of the line ask themselves, “how can we stick it to them while staying just a sliver inside the edge of reasonable doubt”.
Those calls so rarely come back in our favour…
The way the NHL rules on reviews are written can often lead to frustrating results. Cooper and Kucherov were claiming that Kane slew-footed Kucherov, which is a potential match penalty. The rules state that any match penalty call on the ice has to be immediately video reviewed by the referees (not Toronto) to confirm the offense or lessen the call.
For Kane’s trip to be reviewed, then the referee, or one of the other on-ice officials would have had to start off believing that Kane was guilty of slew footing based on what they saw when it occurred. Hard to say whether they saw it like that or just bought Cooper’s story since, if they weren’t originally going to call Kane for a match penalty on their own, under the rules the coach can’t call for a review. The one official who probably had the best view of the play was off to the dressing room. So the referees, and only the referees, then reviewed the play and decided it was tripping instead of a slew foot, which it was since Kane’s leg made contact with the front of Kucherov’s leg not the back, and reduced it to a 2 minute penalty.
But while watching the video, the rules seem to be written such that their review is strictly limited to the original reason for the review. No on-ice official was originally going to call Kucherov for his hit to the numbers on Kane and a coach also can’t ask for that to be reviewed, so even if they saw it in the video review and now believed it was a penalty there is nothing they can do about it for this game. Only if it rose to the level of a post game reviewable offense would anything ever get done about it (and still not during this game). And that hit by Kucherov, though definitely a missed penalty, I don’t believe is one requiring supplemental discipline.
Yeah, shades of “What do I tell Kucherov?” (tho Corey was available).
One reason I hoped McD might nab a cup early in his career is the apparent ensuing benefit of reputation calls. I thought of that all the time when CAL was still death valley and vets from those teams were given a license to kill whenever they suited up against the Oilers.
Broberg at 5v5: 245 TOI, 59% CF, 64% GF (16-9), 63% xGF, 1.023 PDO
Bouchard at 5v5: 692 TOI, 56% CF, 48% GF (32-35), 57% xGF, 0.971 PDO
Individually, there 1-2 on the team for CF and xGF.
Using a 150 minute cutoff to compare the 4 most widely used defensive pairings this year,
Bro and Bouch are 1st in CF at 58% , 1st in GF% at 59% (13-9), 1st in xGF% at 62%, and 2nd in PDO (1.009). This in 203 TOI. Nurse and Ceci at 47% CF, 48% GF (46-48), 48% xGF, 1.005 PDO in 630 minutes.
Quality of comp is a big part of these differences to be sure, but Bro-Bouch are crushing it. At what point do Manson and Woodcroft see what the kid can do higher up in the rotation. You would think we’ll see more of this in the week to come.
Bouch almost coming back from the brink is monumental. If he hits 50% thats a huge recovery from the 38% he was running by the new year. Over 12 5v5 goals to be exact in 20 calendar days, no small potatoes. I liken it to if Campbell could get back to .900 with 3 straight shutouts.
Top notch young man.
Extreme kudos for sure…but quality of comp is big here.
I mean Perry and Maroon- as an example from last night – can barely get around the rink
Patrick in particular…
Patrick…What a maroon!!! Re:Bugs
Unsung hero: forward depth.
As soon as McLeod returned, the top line changed immensely for the better. Nuge got easier minutes with teams focusing on Leon again joining McD and McLeod-Ryan have great chem. Some games were lost in late Dec but they weren’t getting terribly outplayed.
Since Kane’s return, Hyman, for some reason, looks like he’s been freed-up a bit. Kane is far from form but I think his reputation draws attention from opponents.
Kostin’s emergence is a revelation during a tough year for Poolparty. Having a big strong weapon in the middle 6 is so helpful. This is ignoring the solid play of Holloway too.
Who knew these three factors would be the straw that stirs the drink?
McLeod has 4 goals in his last 6 games. Nice little heater for him.
It’s the softie minutes with everyone uber-focusing on the top 6.
Certainly spreads things around a little and Woody doesn’t have him out against elites a lot, but he is becoming more effective when he get the chance. Among the players on the ice when McLeod scored 3 of his last 4 goals: San Jose: Couture and Karlsson; Tampa: Hedman and Sergachev; LA: Doughty and Danault. So San Jose’s top defenseman and 2nd line, LA’s top defenseman and 2nd line, and Tampa’s top 2 defenseman, but it was the 4th line. He scored 3 goals with 3 Norris Trophy winning defenseman on the ice against him in just 6 games. He deserves props for that.
That’s just fine. The bottom 6 & bottom pair have been crushing it lately.
Watching Booch unload those game ending bombs.. If this team decides to play bully hockey, let’s go.
Ravishing Vince Rude has brought forth a new day.
Next 8 games are through tank alley
This is a gift
This is where Jay Evens needs to shine, no excuses.
Rishaug saying something to the effect that the Oil should aim for winning 5 of the next 8 on the Nielsen show this morning. I would say that would be a letdown if they did. I think 6 is reasonable given how spread out the games are and that only 1 is a back to back (and the opponent is also on back to back).
The Oilers traditionally have struggled when games are spread out more iirc.
Bouchard had a real nice play in the 3rd under pressure, didn’t panic and dump the puck or make a foolish pass, turned back and did a short pass to transition.
Real nice, looks much more confident. Not a play he would have made a month or two ago.
as per Garfield?
George Santos says hello.
I prefer being poor. It keeps me humble
I remember when I was a kid someone telling me that most NHL players were really dirty. And 6-year-old me thinking “but I thought they showered after every game…?”
If you’re not cheatin’ then you’re not trying hard enough.
Yes, they all play dirty, but some of them are better at it than others (aka – Corey Perry).
Haha, reminds me of attending an Edmonton Drillers game circa 1981 with a close friend & his young step daughter. Early in the match I noticed a player who had returned from IR so I said casually “Oh good, Andre Oostrom is dressed” & the young lass immediately exclaimed “did you think he would be UNdressed?!”. 🤣
lol
Gold
Great game last night. I really like how Desharnais shoots the puck first asks questions later. None of these soft lobs into the corner. Reminds me of Willie Mitchell who shot every time the puck came to him. Lots of verbal about the forwards flying the zone and whether or not this is the Oilers system. Doesn’t matter. On the 2nd and 3rd goal all three forwards (McDavid, Kane and Draisaitl) were behind the first and second layer of forecheck when the pucks were turned over. I don’t blame the D men who are forced to pass it through sticks to hit a guy at centre. This is a terrible play either way and Woodcroft has to address it. Its the kind of play a team might try when they are down late in the 3rd not in the middle of a game. I wouldn’t mind one of the media guys asking Woodcroft what his team is doing there.
I agree. Was at the game last night and watched Drais bolt out of the zone as Ceci rounded his net. Pass was disrupted, Drais took a delayed penalty trying to recover, and it was in our net
On the next shift, I noted Puljujarvi playing low in the zone and winning battles to get the puck out
Similar situations, completely different approaches
Cheating for offence makes sense in certain circumstances in specific areas of the ice. Blowing zone when you are the strong side winger is never ok.
This Oiler system is used by ever team in the league.
One pass moves the puck 200 feet from your goal and put the puck on a goalies stick behind his goal if he can stop it. That is the picture of playing on the other team’s end.
Not that it changes the result (and still an error of execution), but I thought Nurse’s pass was tipped by the TB forechecker rather than simply being a bad pass.
Agree
I would like Kenny to slice the team in these thirds – we need more Nasty players for the play-offs – Ross Johnston, Nicolas Delauriers, Travis Konecny, Justin Bailey types …
Easier to play against – 2, 10, 22, 27, 71, 84, 93, 26, 56
Harder to play against – 5.13,18,29,37,55,97
Nastier to play against – 21,25,73,91
We may see Justin Bailey added to the mix. Ross Johnston would be a beauty.
I wonder what Klim will recieve on his next contract? Klim is sure lapping up the Blue Collar attention he’s been rightfully receiving. It took a lot of guts to take on Maroon and his teammates appreciated it as much as the fans.
Half of JP’s money which doubles his current salary?
And would be 4xs the value.
Do you see a 1-2 or more year deal. It’ll probably be a 2 year deal what a nice pick-up. Klim takes the pressure off of Kane and Nurse.
hard to say. Klim seems like a humble guy so maybe he signs a longer deal. But his agent might suggest signing shorter in hopes he can replicate the success for a bigger payday.
I am inclined to agree with your 2 year deal though
Apologies if this has already been covered, but Tyson Barrie was on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast this week. If you’re like me and are generally uncomfortable with Barstool Sports, I suggest you put that aside and give it a listen.
Tidbits:
Auston Matthews’ nickname in the Toronto room is Tony or Big Tony, christened by Tyler Ennis, apparently a riff on his misspelled first name. This warms my heart.
He mentions that under Tippet that guys were just “skating around trying to score” or something to that effect
They call Kostin “Klimdros”
Assists on McDavid goals, which he calls “McDavid Apples,” “probably shouldn’t count.”
I saw a guy at the game on Tuesday with a Kostin 3:16 sign.
I also liked Nuge being called Nuggles or Nugent-Hoofkins
he did chirp the fans, saying that some fans say that secondary assists aka mcdavid apples dont count
5 in a row; I now declare myself officially stupid
We thought you knew . . . : )
Oh my, MoneyPuck has the Oilers as the 5th ranked team in terms of their power rankings, and has their Cup chances pegged at 2nd best in the league.
This team is really rolling now, wow.
LOVED the filthy, dirty, no class Bouchbomb(s) at the buzzer.
Everyone brought their own particular kind of nasty. On TSN Button was suggesting they should have had Nurse target Kucherov and maybe theres a case for that but I just like each player looking into their own bag of ticks, and thinking – what shit can I disturb from what I am working with?
Kucherov is Mr. Teflon.
No kidding. He committed about 6 fouls, several of type “filthy”, & when the refs finally called one he successfully appealed for an even-up call the other way.
Of all the superstars in the league — & 86 is undeniably one of those — I may hate Kucherov the most. F’n weasel.
(Matt Tkachuk enters the chat, but still…)
Loved it. Team is starting to play for each other.
I would start Campbell again as he is 1-0 against the Kanucks where as Skinner had lost to them a couple of weeks ago. With that being said Woody will probably go with Skinner.
He might need a rest. Get Skinner rolling again.
There is a lot of time off in the next few weeks so I’m not sure Campbell would need any time off. But either way I get Skinner in against the Dys. He’s been off too long and we need to get a rotation going here.