Take Me to the River

by Lowetide

Last night’s victory by the Edmonton Oilers was a strong showing for the home team’s depth. There’s a baptism taking place in key areas of this roster, and the benefits should sustain the Oilers for years to come. The 1997 Oilers department of youth saw feature roles (Ryan Smyth, Jason Arnott, Todd Marchant, Mike Grier, Boris Mironov) and it had a lasting impact on that young team. Something similar seems to be happening to this year’s club, and we could see good things in the future because of it.

It’s a stretch to suggest Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele are the new Todd Marchant and Mike Grier, but these men are establishing themselves in a real playoff series with live bullets. It matters.

THE ATHLETIC!

GOALIES AND DEFENSE

Darnell Nurse had an excellent game to my eye, he picked up two assists, covered well, hit like a train and blocked five shots on the night. Nurse had a couple of tough games in Los Angeles, and was not his best in the first game of the series, but last night, in an important game, I thought he was the best defenseman on the ice. Cody Ceci wandered a bit on the second GA, but was good in coverage otherwise. This pairing is 4-2 goals through five games, considering the physical play of the Kings and the talent on display (3-2 goals and 57 percent expected goals versus Kopitar, his most common opponent), I’d say they have played well.

Mattias Ekholm had another rock solid night, his speed and defense were anticipated but my goodness he’s talented with the puck. Two assists on the night, now has three in the series. A rare defensive miscue led directly to the Byfield goal. Evan Bouchard picked up another point (now 2-6-8 through five games) and is an impact player now but no one is talking about it yet. It’s like that Shania Twain song “No One Needs to Know” right now, but if you know, it’s smiles all day. This pairing is outstanding.

Brett Kulak had yet another strong game, not one chance in hell they’ll trade him this summer. What an extreme luxury to have this fellow man the third pairing. Scored a terrific goal and it was a big one. Hit somebody several times, blocked shots, covered for his inexperienced partner. He is 1-1 goals five-on-five in the entire series, the one area of the game where calm seas are the norm. Vincent Desharnais is 1-1 goals five-on-five in 50 minutes with Kulak, 0-3 in 11:33 without him. Jay Woodcroft is a smart man, he’ll staple the two together here moving forward. Philip Broberg got himself twisted into a pretzel on an innocent pass from McDavid, looked like he hit his head and got his bell rung. Broberg doesn’t play much, but he’s mobile, has good instincts and is a good passer/transporter. S

Stuart Skinner had some early rebound issues but I don’t fault him on the goals and he came up big later in the first period and in the second when the game was still in doubt. His .909 save percentage at five-on-five is No. 13 of 16 goalies who have played 100+ playoff minutes, but I think returning him to the net was the right call and they should play him Saturday.

FORWARDS

Leon Draisaitl. I always hesitate to use the name Jean Beliveau because it is sacred, but there have been precious few men in league history who bring the package of Edmonton’s big center. Some compare him to Mark Messier, but for me No. 11 was dangerous for what he did and what he might do. Draisaitl is deliberate, cool, painstaking and deadly in his own way. He’s a force of nature. Brilliant goal last night, for the series he is 6-4-10 in five games. Le voilà, le Gros Leon.

Connor McDavid had some great moments (pass to Leon, flying through the neutral zone) but his attempt to get the puck out on an Evan Bouchard pass cost the Oilers a goal, it was bang-bang for sure but 97 is 4-6 goals five-on-five in this series and the series isn’t over. His line (Kane-97-29) played 12:21, 8-6 shots, 1-2 goals and 48 percent expected goals. The good news is it was the third best line in the game, but McDavid played on the third best line in the game.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins skated well and made good passes, and his three shots included a post and another high danger chance. He hasn’t joined the series offensively yet (0-4-4 overall but just one assist five-on-five) but it will come.

Evander Kane is indeed that legendary Kenworth from “Duel” and maybe he should be called Kaneworth. A great goal (again), he is now 3-1-4 through five games and the second leading goal scorer on the club. He’s hurt, but that hasn’t stopped him from inflicting brute force on opponents. Effective.

Ryan McLeod, Warren Foegele and Derek Ryan were outstanding as a line last night. In 11:34 five-on-five, the trio went 5-2 shots, 1-0 goals and 98 percent expected goals. An exceptional game from all three, and the trio impacted the Kulak goal although McLeod and Foegele got the assists (Ryan did make a nice play). I think this line has some chem, they’re 19-3 shots in 22 five-on-five minutes in this series.

Zach Hyman relived the words to Brass in Pocket last night, using his arms, his legs, his face and damn near every other body part to score goals. If this were the 70’s, his nickname would be “junkyard dog” or ‘the vulture’ but thank God those days are done. He was effective on a line with Nuge and Nick Bjugstad, who scored twice and delivered a strong performance in a feature role. I’d like to see this trio again.

Klim Kostin had one shot, two HDSC, five hits and was a wrecking ball all night. When he’s playing like this, opponents don’t have an answer. Kailer Yamamoto played 11:12, only Kostin played less than the young right wing. It’s been a tough playoff for him, and the regular season was a struggle, too. How long do scoring slumps last?

LOWETIDE AND JAMIESON

I’m back on the air today, 10-2 TSN 1260 with my friends Dave Jamieson and Matthew Iwanyk. Wall to wall Oilers, we may slide in some NBA playoffs and NFL draft talk and your comments are welcome at 10-1260 text, @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!

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hunter1909

Do you want to know what’s funny?

People are worried about the Oiler’s top players scoring and 3 out of the top 5 in current 2023 playoff scoring are Oilers.

hunter1909

Me before playoffs:

“Seattle would be so much easier to play than LA Kings”

hunter1909

Seattle my ex-Oilers second fave to take the Cup home from the West…

Eberle, Hall, Schultz, Larsson and others who I can’t remember I’ll cheer for the bums lol

Reja

Bobrovsky makes 10 million per year. I wonder how much the breakaway he saved with 2 seconds left is worth strictly for a financial amount for the organization with the extra home game?

Redbird62

in what was predicted as Bryam’s time to shine in Makar’s absence, Bryam goes -2 with 3 giveaways.

Optimism is like heroin

He was as likely to do Makars job as McLeod could do McDavids.

meanashell11

I hope the butthead had 5 units on the Aves……

Reja

Mackinnon is already on the phone with Sidney having a good cry.

Ice Sage

“al right, m’boy see ya next week in Cole Harbour”

Redbird62

What a hothead! Anyone still think he didn’t slash that linesman on purpose last season?

Reja

I can’t believe he survived the hit by Kassian a few years ago. He was useless for the rest of the game and I don’t blame him after the trolley track hit he withstood

Mayan Oil

3-2 Kraken 30 seonds left and an empty net…

Mayan Oil

Kraken hold on for the win and have the Avs on the ropes. Whoda thunk it?

Last edited 1 year ago by Mayan Oil
ArmchairGM

Me? 😁

I mean, Seattle was a 100 point team in the regular season, not far off Colorado’s 109 points. The Kraken also had more regulation wins (37-36) and more ROW (46-45). Most of the difference between the two can be chalked up to shootout wins: six for Colorado v zero for Seattle.

Then there’s this: Seattle went 2-0-1 v Colorado in the regular season. They’ve had the Av’s number the whole time.

This isn’t a surprise.

jp

I think it’s delicious that Grubauer is playing great against the team that cast him away. Hopefully they can finish them off.

Mayan Oil

Go Seattle! Time to get Kraken (pun definitely intended)

Mayan Oil

Under five minutes to go, still 3-1 Kraken. COlorado shooting from distance all game, hardly getting to the net at all.

Last edited 1 year ago by Mayan Oil
Ice Sage

They pull it off after a frantic final 3 minutes.
Colorado looking like the Oil of 2019-20. A crew of good-enough players and 2 superstars.

Mayan Oil

Make that 3-1 in the third. Woohoo! If they also manage to take down Dallas or Minnie, we would face a Pacific Division team for each of the first three rounds to get to the cup. (All starting with the letter K as well). The Kings, the Kniggits, and the Kraken… what ARE the odds??? Jaja

Mayan Oil

SO much for the weakest DIvision in Hockey jaja.

Mayan Oil

Release the Kraken!

Mayan Oil

After two, Kaken lead the game 2-1, shot clock 21-18 in their favor and Colorado onlty has three shots inside of the faceoff dots, but one was a goal.

Last edited 1 year ago by Mayan Oil
dangilitis

Let’s go Kraken!

dangilitis

Really awesome stuff. Reading the game 4 review made me appreciate the nice work in game 5.

FWIW, also really liked Bieksa’s analysis of the Kulak goal

Mayan Oil

Interesting. CHecked the TSN shot chart for the Avs-Kraken game. After 1 period Colorado outshot 15-8, both teams with one penalty. Seattle getting into prime real estate to shoot inside the faceoff dots pretty regular, COlorado does not have one shot inside the faceoff dots… could the Kraken take a 3-2 lead on the series or even pull an upset???

Ice Sage

Looking promising for the Kraken. McKinnon loses his cool and Seattle keep playing and score to go up 2-1. And here I was led to believe Colorado’s D was so awesome, they could weather a Makar absence.

tsunami

I have it on (very) good authority that it was Byram’s time to shine 😉

Reja

Tkachuk and Bennet scoring this must just burn the Flames fans. They’re stuck with declining vanilla Huberdough for 8 long years and a 33 year-old 3rd line Centre Kadri for 6 more years. They can’t rebuild for the new rink with these 2 albatross contracts.

Boil-in-the-Oil

Turtle scores OT winner… Florida lasts another game. Hope they can wear down, wear out Boston.

Ice Sage

Yeah crazy that 2 weeks in, all 16 teams remain alive. Game was a lot like Oilers – Kings, one team dominating and the other opportunistic. Linus Smith didn’t help their cause either

oilpower

I’m not a huge Boston fan, however it is nice to see Hall having some success.

Scungilli Slushy

I appreciate all humans as people

T Hall did nothing much good for our team and that he’s grown up is good for him. Lot of conflict with old guard hanger on guys that was publicly available

Remember 1 OVs are supposed to be the people that change team fortunes

Seguin has been similar and also not a franchise player. Meh on both

smellyglove

Wrong. Hall brought a lot of hope to fans. And he was a stellar and outstanding hockey team for us in a dumpster fire era. Please have some respect

dangilitis

He was an outstanding player who played hard for this organization and I wish him all the best.

He had to put up with a carousel of coaches including raging Eakins, and Ference as captain. Then was blindsided by trade for Larsen after many years of service just as he was forming a connection with McDavid and good years were ahead.

I won’t forget listening to a quote from his draft interviews about never being satisfied with average plays. I think of that often, also in the context of the current guard

hunter1909

Ference had to be the final straw.

I personally would probably be a coach killer like crazy if I could get away with it.

I hope Boston win the cup if Hall gets one.

Reja

How many Goals would Tkachuk have if he was playing with Leon or Connor? 60-65

fishman

So the last 2 games vs LA the officials stopped calling penalties on the Kings tactical diving team. I wonder if Holland (or another executive) made a call to Bettman and asked what the F**K was going on with the officiating???? Likely not but the change in officiating sure is noticeable….

smellyglove

As someone who has been hard on Nurse in this series, LT you are right, he had a helluva game.

If the goal is to be objective we need to acknowledge the good and the bad.

Scungilli Slushy

Each game is it’s own universe

Why can’t we call each one out for what it was?

Nurse has been below expectations and had a solid game. I’m very glad

Reja

Ekholm is our best D in all situation at the moment.

VanIsleOil

“Take me to the river, drop me in the water.” Talking Heads amazing version 45 years ago, sheesh I’m getting old.

106 and 106

Doing some research into Yamo’s injury history and found a few reported concussions (or potential):

  • Blindsided hit by Landeskog in last year’s playoffs (June 2022)
  • Pre-season last year against Vancouver (Oct 2022)
  • “numerous injuries” that put him on LTIR (upper body – Jan 2023)

Anecdotally, every-time I think of Yamo getting contact, it’s always a bigger d-man making contact with his head or neck.

If that’s 3 potential concussions, at least, in 1 year, than you can understand that maybe he’s just not recovered and trying to battle through.

Reminds me of what Khaira did after taking so many hits to the head.

Optimism is like heroin

He is so short that hits on him from larger opponents are up high on him. I worry about him.

Admiral Ackbar

He was great last year until the Landeskog hit. He’s never been the same since. To me, he appears to think the game slower.

jp

99% sure it was reported that it was a neck injury (not a concussion) from the Landeskog hit. And also that both LTIR stints this year were due to aggravating the same neck injury.

kgo

The head bone’s connected to the…….neck bone 🦴

jp

Point being “not a concussion”.

Redbird62

A concussion is a brain injury, not a bone injury. Massive distinction.

flyfish1168

Terrible how the NHL has not announced the time of the next game.

hunter1909

They probably want people to gamble on it.

Redbird62

They’re waiting to see what other series will still be playing on Saturday. If Toronto and Vegas both win their series on Thursday, the Oilers Kings game can be played earlier. If Toronto and/or Winnipeg are having their game sixes on Saturday, the Oilers/Kings game will get played later. It’s all about optimizing the TV schedule.

Last edited 1 year ago by Redbird62
flyfish1168

I realize that. It’s rare they don’t have West Coast games late. Not fair to the Oiler fans trying to plan their day.

Redbird62

I believe Sportsnet is now paying $500 million per season to the NHL to cater to all their viewers. That’s why they get to heavily influence schedules.

leadfarmer

The Kings got a gift by having a 3 day break. They looked gassed

geowal

I, like some others, view it more as a benefit for the next round bs another team that doesn’t have a mid round break than making much difference between LAK/Oil

Justthestatsman

Curious thing… Kind of surprised to see that Kempe played less than 15 minutes last night. His average TOI for the playoffs is over 20 minutes per game which is second for LAK forwards and his TOI last night was 7th for LAK forwards. He seemed dangerous every time I saw him on the ice. Anyone have any insight as to why is ice time was so low?

Ryan

He was at fault for the OT goal against in game 4?

Edit: –> https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-v-la-kings-game-4-a-tactical-review

Last edited 1 year ago by Ryan
smellyglove

He has been to my eye at least the most dangerous King forward on the ice. I fear him more than anyone else.

Ryan

He has 4 goals and 7 points in 5 games. He’s a 40 goal scorer. No question, he’s a strong offensively talented player.

IIRC, the Kings structure broke down in OT of game 4 and he was on the ice.

I’m not sure if that’s why his ice time was reduced or not.

Other guesses could include injury, of course.

jp

I think it’s TMac’s deployment. He hard matched the Iafallo-Kopitar-Kempe line to Kane-McDavid-Draisiatl. Woodcroft didn’t shy from that but also got all those Oiler forwards ~3 minutes with other lines through the game. TMac didn’t do that, and there also wasn’t tons of special teams minutes so Kopitar and Kempe both played pretty modest minutes.

Ryan

Yes, that game, the Kopitar line was mostly matched to them.

Looking at the TOI, it also appears that Mclellan waved the white flag at some point during the game.

Kupari, Dolan, Grundstrom saw a significant spike in minutes at 5v5, likely related to the score in the game. Sean Walker played big minutes for a guy who was a healthy scratch the rest of the series.

Last edited 1 year ago by Ryan
jp

Yeah, it looks like the Kopitar-Kempe line didn’t play at all for the last 5 minutes or so, though neither did Kane-McDavid-Draisaitl. Unclear if the line match dictated that or if it was to rest Kopitar (presumably he could use it given age and the heavy minutes he’s been playing)

The 4th line did get more time but Durzi played pretty normal minutes. Gavrikov-Roy were faded, while Walker played more than Edler had in games 1-4. No doubt being down 3 goals played a role in the minutes, but it also makes sense for Durzi and his partner to be playing relatively more when the Kings were trying to get back in the game.

Ice Sage

I think TMac stood down after the 4th goal, pulling Korpisalo and not changing the 1-3-1. I may be giving him too much credit, but I suspect King fatigue and injury, him seeing how the Oilers new line 2 was dominating (and having no counter) and knowing there were 4 days recovery led to that decision to just play out the clock.

CrazyCoach

Well,

Last night, as promised, I took my daughter to her choir recital. It’s always a pleasure to watch her sing. She loves it and she’s got dad’s touch for singing and memorizing lyrics. Simply a great sight to see. I was really touched at the end of the recital when all the participating schools formed a big circle around the crowd and sang an Indigenous song. In my past work, I fought school districts tooth and nail to have more Indigenous content, and there it was in front of me, something I never thought would happen. Made me very proud.

Meanwhile, my buddy is texting me the goals. My wife was wondering why my buddy was texting so much? Anyway, got home just in time for the third period. Woodcroft with the adjustments seems to have this team clicking again. Nice to see.

Go Oilers!

striker

One of the joys of life has been watching my little one perform. I’m glad you had that experience with your daughter. It’s one that I’m sure both she and you will carry for the rest of your lives. Great to hear re. the indigenous content of the program.

Go Oilers!

Ranford.85

How can people (2 so far) down vote this?? Heartless.

smellyglove

Yeah they are complete dirtbags

kgo

Trade Campbell for Merzlekins and then buy him out….

Cap hits are:

$1.2
$1.2
$1.6
$2.9
$1.8
$1.8
$1.8
$1.8

jp

Why on earth would you do that?

The buyouts are almost identical. Merzlikins would actually cost a shade more.

Gerta Rauss

A buyout can only be performed on a player who was on the clubs reserve list at 3:00pm on the most recent trade deadline

https://www.capfriendly.com/buyout-faq

Last edited 1 year ago by Gerta Rauss
kgo

Thank you, I didn’t know of this rule.

Reja

You do relize Campbell saved our season or did you miss that part. Kool and the Gang are not even remotely thinking of buying him out.

kgo

Of course, it’s a bad option, but what if Bouch refuses to take a bridge deal, what if escrow isn’t paid off and cap only goes up $1M….

Reja

Lowtide showed the buyout on Yamo and it’s really attractive. Nobody is trading for Yamamoto unless you add a high pick which we don’t have many of those. Yamamoto is advertised as a skilled forward yet he’s 339 in scoring. Woody finally dropped in in the batting order. What took Woody so long you don’t have a batter hitting under 160 batting fifth.

maudite

They’ll likely try to run him as 1B next season. Hoping focused offseason, while settled and hopefully less expectations there’s a rebound to at least comfortable 1A/1B level tandem. It’s a reasonable gamble given goalie voodoo.

2023 buyout
3.5
3.9
2.7
2.4
-1.5×4 (2031)

2024 buyout
3.9
2.7
2.4
-1.5×3 (2030)

If drai is willing to resign I could see that 3.9 possibly being worth considering if no rebound.

For now, let’s just hope skinner provides average or better for this run and Campbell competent or better if called on.

Last edited 1 year ago by maudite
Brogan Rafferty's Uncle Steve

I am not necessarily in favour of trading Kulak this off-season, but I am curious what his trade value is, especially if he maintains his current level of play.

geowal

Is this some kind of “sell high” nonsense? Haha.
The Fiala trade is sure interesting , on a side note, what was Minny’s angle? Did they surprise themselves?

Optimism is like heroin

Not a sell high necessarily, we need cap this off-season. To get the 6 million we need 2 guys to go. We have cover at LD and LW.

godot10

Broberg can play either side. Ceci is more likely (but not very) to go than Kulak.

I would keep all the current 7D unless somebody made an offer too good to refuse. The only way an Oilers season can be derailed now is with injuries to D.

Holland will deal Yamamoto and Foegele before he deals Kulak or Ceci. One can always find forwards.

McNuge93

I agree, depth on defence is key. We are not exactly flush with defense prospects. (Broberg no longer a prospect) Rather trade Yams.

Optimism is like heroin

Playing a LHD on the right side costs about 6.5 corsi events per 60 in comparison to a player on his strong side. Also please recall Broberg just last game trying to take a pass while turning. He put himself head first into the boards trying.

Eh Team

Minny had no cap room and had to dump a contract

LMHF#1

The falling in love with role players has already commenced – and it’s only round 1.

Appreciate what they’re doing – but these are the players you DO NOT sign after a cup run – assuming you’d like another one. Unless they’re on discount (which is very rare after a run), you let them go. Casualty of the cap for any team that wants to keep winning.

Bank Shot

Who are you referring to?

The guys on the team up for contract renewal next offseason are:
Ryan
Janmark
Shore
McLeod
Kostin
Bjugstad
Bouchard

The Oilers should attempt to re-sign all of these guys with the exception of Shore IMO. I don’t even mind Shore coming back if he’s on a league min contract.

Bouchard is the only one who is having a post season that could significantly boost his next contract.

Last edited 1 year ago by Bank Shot
geowal

Attempt: yes. Back up Brinks for: no.
(For the UFAs)

Last edited 1 year ago by geowal
Optimism is like heroin

One thing that will help this year is that the escrow isn’t paid off so no big cap jump and no big jump in expected salaries.

Brogan Rafferty's Uncle Steve

Leon Draisaitl is Joe Colborne really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Reality sure tastes sweet.

Chelios is a Dinosaur

2nd all time playoff ppg

Incredible.

How do the Oilers get to have a regular season wizard who hands it off to a playoff wizard?

I’m starting to think this team needs to win the Cup.

jtblack

OK, I keep thinking we “will” play the Knights in Round 2 …but now that I actually thought about it, I am not so sure.

IF the following teams win, who do we play?

EDM, VGS, DAL, SEA

or

EDM, VGS, DAL, COL

Asking for a friend

Brogan Rafferty's Uncle Steve

If the Oilers advance, they play the Jets or Knights.

Elgin R

When the Oilers defeat the Kings, they will then move on to play the winner of VGK / Jets.

jtblack

ok thank you guys …I thought that at first, but with Seattle being the lowest seed, I thought maybe Vegas would get them ….

Brogan Rafferty's Uncle Steve

The first two rounds are bracketed. Seattle was a wildcard team, so they are technically in the Central bracket, and the Jets are in the Pacific bracket. Seattle will not play a Pacific division team unless they make the conference finals.

Brogan Rafferty's Uncle Steve

It will be tough to re-sign Bjugstad this offseason but I hope Holland finds a way.

He has been a perfect fit.

You can tell he is a high-skill guy. Injuries really hurt his career. I knew it was only a matter of time before he saw some time on the top lines.

Mayan Oil

Seems the Refs have clued into the King’s constant diving to get penalties. Possible now that if they try leave that behind, they have “cried wolf” so much they might actually miss out on some calls that are actually deserved, and in a series declaring game on Saturay. Any benefit of the doubt has been already spent.

Karma’s a beatch….

kgo

Fiala likely would have drawn a legit hooking call if he hadn’t flopped…just needed to wrench his arms a bit exposing the can opener.

jp

Video evidence shows there was no can opener though. McDavid did not commit an infraction on that play.

https://www.oilersdaily.com/LA-Kings-Forward-Kevin-Fiala-Takes-an-Embarrassing-Dive-vs-The-Edmonton-Oilers-230926

Durag

Yeah McDavid realizes his stick is parallel and contacts Fiala for a split second so he immediately pulls it back. Fiala does his best impression of Willem Dafoe in Platoon.

pixel-bender

I was going to compare his performance to a melancholy stabbing victim in a Shakespearian play — but I prefer your metaphor.

kgo

Wrong….his stick is leveraged between Fiala’s right hip and left glove…go watch it again.

jp

I’ve watched it multiple times, pretty sure I’m not wrong.

Roughneck

Nurse took some ill advised risks that he got away with last night, thankfully. He should watch Kulak and Ekholm to gain a sense of when to pinch and when to bail. 30 seconds left in a period is a NEVER fwiw. Its a work in progress. Phenomenal athlete, on full display when the Oil D changed with LA in full possession. Nurse exploded off the bench and reeled them in. Just phenomenal.
Lady luck smiled wanly on the lads last night which made for quite the vibe in the barn. Much much fun!!

kgo

Although not always linear, overall Nurse has improved every year and I see him progressing and improving until his late 30’s…how high is his ceiling?

Nurse has an ideal runway to launch into Norris calibre in the next 3-5 years. On the ice he has Manson as a coach he has Ekholm pushing him for 1st pairing minutes and he has competent partners to play with at RD. All ideal situations.

Off the ice he’s a proud member of the community, he has a young family, a strong friendship group on the team, and is financially set for life. All ideal situations.

Nurse is a gym rat, and word is he watches all the video he can get his hands on…he’s hungry to keep improving…and he has an extremely athletic and durable build…All ideal situations.

It’s no guarantee that’s for sure…and he certainly has flaws today, but if Nurse keeps steadily progressing and gaining valuable XP, there’s a good chance he helps this team hoist a cup or two, and might even contend for a Norris in his mid 30s.

Munny 2.0

Stauffer: Nick Bjugstad grew up idolizing Matt Hendricks.

Chelios is a Dinosaur

Puljujärvi could have been Hendricks ++ but Bjugstad is Puljujärvi ++ anyway.

Ice Sage

Great game last night. Felt like McLellan pulled the chute at the 4th goal, with the goalie change and still no shift from the 1-3-1. Kings are tired and beat up trying to contain the Oilers, and their only option is to retreat and regroup.

Victoria Oil

A couple weeks ago I suggested that the Oilers need to trade at least one of the ~$3 million men (Yamo, Foegele, Ceci, Kulak) in order to extend Bouch and resign some of the others.

I now realize (as LT pointed out today) that Kulak doesn’t belong on this list. I will go to the penalty box and feel shame.

In an ideal world, Yamo is the one and only one from this list to be moved. Ceci could be an outside possibility in the event that somehow we are able to upgrade at RD.

Props to Godot for rightfully pumping up Kulak’s tires.

kgo

Agreed, and Foegele is making a pretty strong case for himself too.

Yamo will have to go either via trade or 1/3 buyout because he’s under 25.

Reja

Foegele will be easy to trade. Yamo has to wake the eff up and get involved. I think Yamo has played well against Vegas if we advance some players just don’t match up against certain teams.

jp

I’ve been one saying that Kulak should move on so that Broberg can play full time next year.

Ask me today and I’d agree that Kulak should stay and they make it work with the current 5/6/7 D in the same spots.

There’s (hopefully) a lot more hockey to play though. A lot can change. Remember a year ago it was Foegele being healthy scratched, so we’ll see where things are once the dust settles.

Optimism is like heroin

He is playing great but that changes nothing for the off season besides the return that he can fetch. We need picks and he is a luxury.

kgo

Not exactly,

Being at the top of the standings drastically reduces the value of our own picks.

We have the cache to attract cheap FAs chasing the cup or looking to boost their value, these guys will replace the cheap ELC players we don’t have from trading away picks.

On top of that, with a deep roster and Holland’s development model. Late round picks are the perfect recipe here. Pick 3 or 4 late rounders each draft, send them back to junior or college, let them marinate and forget about them for 4-5 years…the cream will rise to the top.

Look at our last few 1st round picks, Schaffer, Bourgault, Holloway, Broberg, Yamo, Bouch, JP. Only one of them is contributing to the team in a meaningful way…

Draft and develop doesn’t only apply to high pedigree picks.

Optimism is like heroin

I am not sure what kind of pick you imagine we would get for kulak but I think it would be multiple picks in the 2nd round and lower.
Yes we can back fill with cheap ufas this year but with a cap expected to rise to 100 million over the next few years there won’t be many good ones left at a price point the Oilers can afford. Also please remember the odds of anyone drafted lower than the 3rd round is very low. More bullets please to use for cheap elcs or capital to trade.
Besides about 6 million has to be cleared so we can resign who needs it and begin to accrue cap space next year. Kulak and Foegle would bring in assets while Yama might not.

kgo

2nd round picks have shitty odds too

McNuge93

Pretty hard to trade Ceci. Not a terrible contract and we would need to replace him with an equivalent RD anyway. I would go with Yams.

AsiaOil

Yamo is the guy to go and it will not take any assets. He’s a great pickup for a poor team lacking depth. Young 20 goal scorer who doesn’t make all that much, only one year left on the contract and still under control after that. I think we could even get a pick at the draft for him from someone like SJS or CHI

Keep Kulak as he’s not over-paid as a 4/5. You can never have enough dmen and he can fill in at 2LD. Desharnais is a great 6/7 and Bro is still developing and can play both side in the regular season. We were supper lucky this season with injuries on D – it won’t last.

Foegle is paid less, bigger, and better suited to the playoffs. Keep him.

Last edited 1 year ago by AsiaOil
Scungilli Slushy

We had an out of town guest last night so I couldn’t watch. Now a conundrum! I don’t think I’m that sports superstitious

McLelland has done what is probably the best strategy when you are seriously out gunned and overall less experienced

Play tight and dirty and let the Oilers beat themselves. It has got them a couple of wins and nearly a third. Except the Oilers decided that they didn’t want to go down that road again. Thankfully

Keep it rolling, keep pushing to play better as individuals and as a team. Close it out Saturday, and hopefully the Avs have to battle out 7 and still lose. Or at least come in more sore and tired

Mayan Oil

I worry first about the Kings Saturday. If history is is any indication, they will try to take a pound of flesh on the way out.

Second, I worry about the Kniggits. They are our likely next opponent.

Only after we take care of the business in front of us do I worry about the Avs. ANd the Avs sould worry about the Kraken right now. They could be upset this round.

Offside

All this talk about the players getting some extra rest before Saturday’s game. I am more thrilled about me getting to rest. These late nights are taking their toll more than I thought and we are only in round 1

Reja

It’s nice to kickback and watch the other teams beat the shit out of each other. The Seattle game isn’t going to be a walk for the Av’s tonight. I would love to see Seattle make Country boy hick Makar pay for being a thug.

Harpers Hair

It’s Bowen Byram’s time to shine.

He will.

meanashell11

How’s that “The Kings never let in more that 2 goals since Korpse of Salo arrived”……. working for you.

Last edited 1 year ago by meanashell11
jp

Byram? Don’t you mean Manson? Or one of the Johnson’s?

Byram is already playing almost 22 minutes a night, the Avs need guys who are currently barely playing to replace Makar’s 25 minutes.

Ranford.85

He’s already playing an average of 21+ minutes a night. Seems like if he was going to shine, he’d be doing it already.

dustrock

For everyone praising the better reffing the last couple of games, get ready for some Saturday night Fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

“That’s the loudest curse I’ve ever heard!” – Reverend Lovejoy

dustrock

When you make changes and lose, you look like an idiot (“why did you move Bjugstad up?!?”) and when you win, you look like a genius.

All of Woodcroft’s adjustments worked yesterday.

I’m typically terrible with predictions, but called Korpse of Salo getting pulled and I hope the Oilers tool him up again Saturday.

I think they’ve got the Kings figured out as best they can; not an easy out by any stretch, but LA’s PK can’t stop our PP and if we stop with the stupid penalties, oh look 2 straight wins.

I have pretty good tickets for Game 7 but would very happily receive a refund and hope the Oilers close it out Saturday.

Dee Dee

Ticket would be good for Game 1 of the next series, Isn’t it?

dustrock

No, I believe they refund and then have a presale for Round 2.

hopeoil

The Fiala dive on McDavid last night was peak comedy.

Boil-in-the-Oil

After all, LA is the home of Hollywood … where actors abound. To hell with Stanley, the Kings are shooting for an Oscar.

Mayan Oil

I give them a Razzie. And last night so did the refs!

winchester

Defensive coverage.

Was this a purposeful tactic or coincidence? It seemed that right out of the gate the Oilers had somewhat of a set play to open up the ice on the left side of Korpisalo. As the Kings play “inside the Jersey” of the man they are covering. Oiler players can in fact lead them around opening up a hole. It seemed this was happening.

Still, the way the Kings pick up their man is astounding. They made mistakes last night though, or Oilers speed or game plan broke the coverage.

Oilers on the other hand barely shadow their man, and are, with a few exceptions, certainly not “in their Jerseys.” The best example are in rebounds off Skinner. Oilers skate to the net looking to play the puck. Instead of looking for the man coming in and tying him up. (Kings tactic) You cannot predict where the puck will go, but if you have the player and stick tied up, the threat is controlled if not eliminated.

Witness a Kings second chance even on a breakaway. Their trailing man can still drive to the net and does so, uninterrupted by opposing Oilers, and get a rebound or a whack. They simply will not pick up their man.

Great game, but still gifted Kings 3 goals which they need to contest harder.

dustrock

Absolutely Forwards backchecking, let’s go.

Reja

With Janmark out and being being down a SH forward I can see why Yamo isn’t being replaced by Holloway or Lavoie. Woody finally slotted Yamo in the correct batting order. Kostin and Ryan with either Leon or Connor at Centre are a real force. Ryan has quietly been superd this series and Kostin not far behind.

Last edited 1 year ago by Reja
cowboy bill

Holloway & Kostin with Leon or Connor would be a real force too.

Reja

I expected big things from Holloway first go around. I thought his style would translate and be seamless at the NHL level. Many players in his draft class are making a real difference for their respective teams. L.A seems like the type of team that Holloway would show well against. If you dump it in and pound the L.A D-men they will cough it up this plays right into Holloway very good for-checking skills.

Brantford Boy

I felt after the the fourth Oilers goal the entire team got their swagger and identity back to post All Star break form. It’s massive, and coming out of this series with that battle hardened confidence will be huge for this team.

Whatever was holding them back, seems to be in the rear-view mirror. For me, it was an inevitable win with Sportsnet opening the broadcast with Pearl Jam.

Let’s Finish these guys off and get rested for the next round!

JimmyV1965

It seems to me the Oil have controlled the play for large segments of the series. Outside a period here and there, they have been the dominant team – although their lapse in play has been hugely consequential.

Reja

Arvidsson flopped at least 4-5 times to no avail last night. He embarrassed the Refs on the swan dive on the nurse drive by in game 3. Byfield has flopped all series as well would love to see Kane tune him in for real.

rich tm

Yup. Arvy has a history (ask Tim Peel). Glad the refs are onto this.

dustrock

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Arvidsson

Check out the edit on Arvidsson’s Wiki page ha ha ha

106 and 106

Korpisalo Talk:

“Prior to this season, Korpisalo had a lengthy history of sub-replacement-level goaltending. In 137 games between 2017 and 2022, he had an .897 save percentage and allowed 60 goals above expected. Aside from a random nine-game run of dominance in the 2020 playoff bubble, Korpisalo looked like one of the league’s worst goalies.”

In this series, the Oilers have seen both Korpisalo’s. The one who is lights out, and the one who turns out the lights.

It took time, but the leagues most potent offence finally started clicking.

Reja

You have to give the Oilers offence credit last night they had so many good looks. I was surprised Korpisalo was pulled in the middle of a period no way was he at fault for the 4-2 deficit.

pixel-bender

I’d argue that we haven’t seen sub-replacement-level goaltending from Korpisalo this series. He’s been all-world up until last night, so in comparison his performance last night comes across as worse than it was.

If we do see sub-replacement-level goaltending from him the Oilers will have 7 goals before the first intermission.

MushedPeas

Since the Kings and Flames series last year it feels like the Oilers will crack any goalie eventually, and then the flood gates open. The forwards are now much deeper than they were for the WPG series, and deeper even than the squad that faced COL last season. They will bury the biscuit.

Harpers Hair

Friedman reporting that It’s likely the Kings will insert top prospect Brandt Clarke on their third pairing next game.

Clarke’s Barrie Colts were eliminated from the OHL playoffs last night.

Chelios is a Dinosaur

I’m sure the Oilers are shaking in their skate boots.

BornInAGretzkyJersey

Fresh meat.

pixel-bender

If true, inserting a rookie defender straight out of junior into a playoff game says a lot more of a team needing a spark than it does the player.

Clarke is an elite prospect to be sure — but he’s being tossed into the deep end of a shark infested pool. If he’s able to avoid becoming chum, that’s a huge credit to him but I don’t think he’ll be able to make a positive contribution to winning.

Harpers Hair

He does have 9 games of NHL experience under his belt and the Kings were apparently hesitant to send him back to junior but had a surplus of RHD.

Sean Durzi has been struggling at 3RD (-4) so he may be better in limited minutes.

pixel-bender

Everyone with a heartbeat and a pair of skates is an Oiler killer — I get it. We all get it.

But the likelihood of a junior defender — even an elite prospect like Clarke — out-performing even a struggling NHL defender is exceedingly minute. Especially in the playoffs against the highest-scoring team in the NHL.

If he does draw in it’s not because the Kings think he’ll make a discernible difference to the outcome of the game — it’s because their third pair is struggling to the point where using a junior player probably won’t make things any worse, and it’s an opportunity to further audition an elite prospect.

Ice Sage

This is such a desperation move that I wonder if it’s a smokescreen, or if the Kings braintrust realize the series is over and want to get him a little development time.

winchester

This is good news for Oilers.

Eh Team

Desperate times for the Kings but their 3rd pairing has been pretty poor

Harpers Hair

Yep..,Durzi in particular.

Pretendergast

This Brandt Clarke?

https://twitter.com/BarDown/status/1650495127679279109?s=20

Sure I’ll take a few free powerplays and a tune-up from Desharnais.

Redbird62

When did he “report” this? What I saw, he reported that Clarke’s OHL season was done and that he was available to the Kings? He then indicated the Kings could put him in Saturday but did not indicate he had any direct intel from any Kings personnel that this was likely to happen. Maybe he will be, but please provide a source where Friedman provides more than his speculation that Clarke is likely to be in the line up.

TheGreatMutato

I love Ethan Bear. I have an Ethan Bear jersey.

Right now, Warren Foegele is making me not hate the Ethan Bear trade. Credit to him and the way he is playing!

misfit

I remember when Hyman first arrived and how his style reminded me of a weird combination of Ryan Smyth and Glen Anderson. Both goals (and yes, I realize one turned out to be Bjugstad’s 2nd) looked like they could’ve been scored by those 2 players. One goal from paying the price in front of the net with a deflection, and the other crashing into it with speed.

Beauty!

dustrock

Yeah Hyman is absolutely a throwback player. What a gem.

Chelios is a Dinosaur

That whole business of hanging back in 1-3-1 when down multiple goals is every indication to me that this is Edmonton’s for the taking. Just as I thought, we’ve seen the Kings ceiling – they have one bag of tricks.

The problem is that Todd is coaching against the team as it is in his mind when he left. And for the first few games that’s the Oilers team that showed up. Just bounce on their mistakes and you got a shot. But this team has matured under his very own pupil, how beautifully ironic is this?

Anything can happen, hockey is notoriously unfair. But we have them on the ropes. Have been the better team since Christmas, the better team this series. A good showing Saturday and they will move on and be full value for it.

winchester

The Kings have some offensive talent. I think Todd’s game plan suppresses that talent, though it has led them to a winning record.

When the Kings drop the 1-3-1 and go all offence, they are still a handful. That is one trick we have not seen yet, doubtful we will.

Chelios is a Dinosaur

This is why when HH was stoked that Fiala was coming back it didn’t matter.

winchester

So true. Slots him on the third line.

The theory maybe outscoring third line. But Danault/Kopisar taking all the ice time.

Dee Dee

Hard to change the battle plan mid stream.

Players have been coached on their system until it is drilled in their head, to the point where players throw the puck to a specific spot on the ice just assuming someone would be there.