I’m not one of those “he got into a fight and turned the game around” types, but wanted to begin the day by talking about courage. Corey Perry took on a mountain last night in the 1299th game of his NHL career. There’s much to discuss about a game that saw the Oilers do something people claim never happens (“you can’t just turn it around in a second”) in playing what I think might have been their best second period of the season.
Why didn’t they do that in the first period against Winnipeg or in the game against Ottawa and (especially) Toronto? Folks, this is a winning team, they win a lot and sometimes complacency sets in. Human nature.
I loved the slap back by Edmonton last night in Winnipeg. I loved Corey Perry’s old fashioned gumption. Ken Holland has stacked a pile of unique hockey players on this roster, and Perry is most certainly unique above anything else. I enjoyed that game enormously.
THE ATHLETIC!
- New Lowetide: Why Dylan Holloway should be recalled by the Oilers
- Lowetide: Who’s the Edmonton Oilers’ best player outside the NHL?
- New DNB: How should the Oilers deploy Cody Ceci? Here are their 4 options
- Lowetide: How have the Oilers’ deadline acquisitions worked out so far?
- Lowetide: The Oilers face a looming cap crunch this summer. How bad will it be?
- Lowetide: If Oilers’ Philip Broberg is next man up, he needs NHL games soon
- DNB: How Adam Henrique is slowly becoming a key player for the Edmonton Oilers
- Lowetide: Edmonton Oilers top 20 prospects ranking, winter 2023
WHAT TO EXPECT IN MARCH
- On the road to: SEA (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
- At home to: PIT (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
- On the road to: BOS, CBJ, BUF, PIT (Expected 2-1-1) (Actual 2-1-1)
- At home to: WAS, COL, MON, BUF (Expected 2-1-1) (Actual 3-0-1)
- On the road to: TOR, OTT, WPG (Expected 1-2-0) (Actual 1-2-0)
- At home to: LAK, ANA (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected result: 8-5-2, 18 points in 15 games
- Actual March results: 8-3-2, 18 points in 13 games
- Oilers in 2023-24: 43-23-4, 90 points in 70 games
That was a big win for the Oilers last night, keeping pace with the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings. In the last 10 games, Edmonton trails the other three big players in the Pacific: Van (15), LAK (14), VEG (13) and EDM (12) but the win means the gap is marginal. A 12-game sprint for this team, suspect second place will be the landing spot and the Juha Widings will be the opponent.
THE NUMBERS
I thought the Oilers had a fine game last night. Stuart Skinner lifted the team early with some exceptional saves and for me the team helped the goalie to the win later on. This team looked fragile at times and the coverage lapses were expansion level at moments in the game. However, the team recovered and won the game.
I was impressed with Darnell Nurse despite his dash 2 on the night. He played a rugged game, stood up for a teammate and gave no quarter. He was on for a 14-8 shot share (six of his own), too. Mattias Ekholm stood tall, I thought Evan Bouchard was effective against the rush with several Bouchardian spineramas.
Kudos to all of the PK heroes (Desharnais, Ekholm, Ceci, Kulak, Janmark, Henrique), for me that was a turning point in the game.
We’ve talked about Zach Hyman so much and he was once again central to the win last night. He now has 51 goals and is on another zone so should add a few more before the end of the season. Among wingers who scored their goals in Edmonton (this excludes Craig Simpson’s brilliant season that began in Pittsburgh), the leaders are:
- Jari Kurri 71 (1984-85)
- Jari Kurri 68 (1985-86)
- Glenn Anderson 54 (1985-86)
- Jari Kurri 54 (1986-87)
- Glenn Anderson 54 (1983-84)
- Jari Kurri 52 (1983-84)
- Zach Hyman 51 (2023-24)
Man, to think Hyman could pass Anderson’s best scoring season as an Oiler is mind blowing. Did you know they (Kurri, Anderson) arrived in the same training camp (fall 1980)? Right wing, during that summer, would have had conversations revolving around a depth chart of Blair MacDonald (Gretzky line), Don Murdoch on the second line, Dave Lumley on the third line and then an open spot. Kurri was listed as LW’s:
Imagine being Tom Roulston that training camp. He was a good player, you know. So many stories on this list about to unfold. Andy Moog, Charlie Huddy, Walt Poddubny and of course Kurri and Anderson.
Since the trade deadline, Connor Brown leads the Oilers in goals-60 at five-on-five (2.17), ranks second on pts-60 (2.89) and owns a 57 percent goal share. The underlying numbers don’t dance, and I do wonder where he will be deployed if the team calls up Dylan Holloway puts him in the lineup, but through this last stretch of games Brown has played well.
I think the Oilers have to callup Holloway, the foot speed is too much of an issue. I think I’d run Kane-McDavid-Hyman, McLeod-Draisaitl-Foegele and Nuge-Henrique-Brown and Janmark-Holloway-Perry if it were me. I know people are worried about the depth chart and with good reason. It’s not fab to be uncertain in so many places with the Kings straight ahead. I do think coach Kris Knoblauch may have found some answers in that brilliant second period last night.
It’s a big day on the Lowdown, we get rolling at high noon, Sports 1440. We’ll be joined by Rachel Doerrie from Staff & Graph podcast at 12:40 and Bruce McCurdy from the Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal will pop in at 1pm. This is an important part of the season, and it’s the VGK who are falling back. Important for the Oilers to win enough to stay in the top three (you don’t want to have to beat Van City and then face Dallas) while also getting some rest for the wicked skill guys. We’ll talk about it today. You can reach me at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section or on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly
New for The Athletic: Oilers should call up Dylan Holloway.
https://theathletic.com/5368376/2024/03/27/dylan-holloway-oilers-ahl/
Provisio to the below. I think you need a bunch of different lines in the playoffs so I’m all for experimentation. You may need faster combos you might need heavier combos. That said.
If you want to get Evander Kane up and running give him a spin on PP1 for a few games. Gully won’t do it but that’s the way to pad his stats with minimal risk to everyone else. Now on to the fun part.
I don’t think the lines being suggested are optimal. I think they choke offense on all four lines. If you’re choking offense that means you need to play almost perfect defense. If players are focused and deployed to only prevent goals they will be playing not to lose cause they don’t expect to score. That’s loser hockey and no team with Connor McDavid on it should ever play loser hockey.
McLeod and Drai had a very strong four games together against the Devils, Rags, Sharks and Ducks. That is where 85% of their offense came from. They had decent numbers thereafter in the new year before Coach K decided to throw Drai up to line one, but the offense didn’t really show up, especially against playoff teams (McLeod has two points, both against the leafs, against playoff teams in 2024). While its true Ryan McLeod has some sparkling fancies with Leon at 2LW, the xGF for Drai/Cloud is running 19% lower than the actual GF. McLeod’s fancies are better away from Leon, batting lower and his offensive generation numbers are higher when he’s batting lower.
Evander Kane has scored on the PP, into an EN or when he’s playing lower in the lineup ie 3rd or 4th line against Playoff teams this season. At EV or 5v5 most of his damage has been done against the league Dregs plus Seattle. He scores better when playing lower at this point.
At EV, Nuge has scored well with McD and Leon, but his offense craters the further away he gets and his individual generation rates plummet. He shows well with CB but I believe that’s from earlier in the year. Like first three weeks.
Connor Brown is playing his best hockey on the 4th line and his offense drops significantly when he plays higher up.
So with the proposed deployment that LT and OP are on today I see:
A top line with Kane that generates less and gives up more. Risk.
The proposed 2nd line doesn’t generate much against tough comp even if they can saw off MacKinnon for 1/3 of a game (that’s the sample size). Risk, but I see the appeal.
That 3rd line might not ever generate a shot on goal for. You’d be asking three over 30s with little history of driving offense to drive offense and be perfect defensively when all three’s shot shares are underwater in such a role. Risk.
The 4th line now loses one of its quicker, more rambunctious but also defensively responsible players and gets slower with Perry. Risk.
The proposed lines also cause the most Blending when/if you need to load up McLeon. Meaning Kane will play less overall which is odd considering this entire deployment is designed to get him up and running.
The Oilers spent six years developing Ryan McLeod as a centre. I don’t think a four game heater behooves us to swap him to wing. His recent stints as a winger are seeing him score less than last season at this time. Evander Kane needs to remember that he can score with anyone at any time. Nuge is not an offense driver. Leave the man alone on the best line in hockey 😉 But if you have to do something or anything with baby Nuge, maybe look at the very small sample size of him playing with McLeod and Foggy. There are some interesting digits there and they did score against Colorado. Let Connor Brown find his way against the Dregs and stop putting him in positions to fail.
I think the lineup we saw last night gives you the best chance to win three out of your four matchups each and every game. The question here is can Henrique-Drai-Foggy not bleed 1-6 against say an Eichel line or perhaps Middlestadt? I think this deployment gives you the best chance to outscore what happens with the 2nd line and causes the least disruption to everyone else if you need to load up for a goal.
I’m actually not worried about forward depth. If Sam Gagner and Dylan Holloway are our 14th/15th forwards, I think we’re in good shape.
I worry about goaltending depth.
I also worry, to a lesser extent, about defenseman depth. On paper, we look OK, especially with adding Stetcher. But we’ve been so incredibly healthy for the last two years that we don’t really know what it looks like when everybody has to play one slot higher.
Well, actually, we do know what it looks like when Ekholm is playing through an injury. Jay Woodcroft feels that one more keenly than anybody. (I suppose Evan Bouchard’s next contract also feels that one keenly.)
Using NHL edge data and breaking it down into per 60 minute
Forward Times player hit 18 miles an hour and over per 60 minutes ( all minutes)
Ryan McLeod 58.00
Dylan Holloway 49.89
Connor McDavid 43.44
Connor Brown 42.25
Warren Foegele 31.66
Evander Kane 30.02
Leon Draisaitl 28.86
Mattias Janmark 27.47
Derek Ryan 26.89
Sam Carrick 24.89
Corey Perry 23.65
Zach Hyman 22.27
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 18.99
Adam Henrique 17.85
Forward Times player hit between 20 miles and 22 miles an hour and over per 60 minutes ( all minutes)
Ryan McLeod 18.35
Connor McDavid 14.65
Dylan Holloway 11.20
Connor Brown 8.8
Leon Draisaitl 7.11
Mattias Janmark 6.61
Warren Foegele 6.32
Evander Kane 6.13
Zach Hyman 5.18
Sam Carrick 4.35
Derek Ryan 3.89
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 3.42
Adam Henrique 2.34
Corey Perry 0.91
Holloway can fly, he is in elite company. Interesting that Nuge and Henrique have similar numbers on the slow side. Id counter that these two are our smarter players, they let the play come to them, instead of always chasing the play.
I think this is why Nuge doesn’t stay at C very long when they try it
What can we learn from regular season results for SC champions in the CMD era?
Season, Team, Standings Rank, Pts %
15-16, PIT, 4, .634
16-17, PIT, 2, .677
17-18, WSH, 6, .640
18-19, STL, 12, .604
19-20, TBL, 3, .657
20-21, TBL, 8, .670
21-22, COL, 2, .726
22-23, VGK, 4, .677
So 5 out of 8 finished top 5, and 7 out of 8 finished top 10. The median Pts% was around .664. STL is the one dark horse, the others all looked plausible relative to their peers (20-21 was a weird year schedule wise; and TBL were the defending champs).
Are we plausible? For comparison:
23-24, EDM, 9, .643
As it stands, we’d fall into the weaker half of regular season teams if we manage to go all the way. It feels like a stretch. As much because, watching the games, our fault lines, the points where we’ll break, are not hard for laypeople to spot, so, presumably, playoff opponents will spot them too.
The rest of the schedule sees us playing 4 games against teams ahead of us (COLx2, VAN, DAL), 2 more games against divisional playoff teams (LAK, VGK), and one game against a team that’s still in the playoff hunt (STL). We have 4 games against the down and outs. LAK, meanwhile, has 3 games against playoff teams and 7 games against the down and outs. Win tomorrow and EDM may hold on to second. Lose and it’s pretty unlikely.
I think it works out better this way. Anything can happen in the playoffs, it’s true, but, generally, the winners have been coming from the top of the pile, among the better regular season teams. If we can push towards the top while playing legit teams the rest of the way, I think it’s a great (and much needed) sign for our game heading in. If we can’t, well, probably better to temper expectations to a round or two. Which, in CMD’s 9th season, would be sad violin.
Given that opponents will correctly see the mission as shut down CMD+Drai if they’re playing together and beat the rest of the lineup OR beat CMD, Drai, and the rest of the lineup if CMD and Drai are not playing together, the biggest difference maker for us is, as it’s always been when we’ve faced tougher playoff competition, the rest of the lineup.
This year, we have as many good resumes as we’ve ever had: Hyman, RNH, Kane, Henrique, McLeod, Foegele, Perry, Brown, Ryan, Janmark, Carrick. Most of these players are capable of making plays. I get much more enjoyment out of their good plays than the top two guys’ good plays now. Like Foegele, Brown, RNH, and Hyman yesterday.
what happens if you analyze by second half of the season splits? Should justify the Blues run better for eg.
And also ours.
In a way, it’s good that we’ve had to recover from that early season swoon, because it’s kept us on our toes. If we’d had 1st place locked up by February, we might have gotten (even more) complacent.
I believe you hit the nail on the head.
The game plan to beat the Oilers is obvious and known. The Oilers game plan which is high offence, they keep throwing out there over and over and get a pretty good result. What I don’t see is them changing their game plan to meet The smothering defensive game that some teams apply to them. This is a worry.
To my eye, it’s not about just playing better team defense.
For example. When McDavid gets hooked and interfered with all game. The other teams willing to do it because the worse it happens is two penalties if they get more than three the refs will even it out anyway .
if the refs don’t call it, the Oilers get frustrated and take retaliation penalties.
I suggest they meet this game plan head on in the first period. That is the period to not give an inch. Scap, scrum, don’t give an inch, give it back. Force refs to call a proper game. Do not wait for the third period down a goal.
This is not the Oilers game but they need to have it available. They don’t have that right now,
Connor fighting through interference, taking a dive, Leon taking outlandish cross checks, if the reacts won’t call it, and they won’t, there has to be a response.
Connor throwing 10 hits or Nurse responding in the wrong way, that’s not helping.
I know my posts are long can’t help it.
Every time the Oilers seem to hit a skid, it’s because the top guns are trying to do too much and the rest of the team is sitting on their hands.
When the top guys get so engaged in the playoffs, they can hardly move. It’s going to be up to the other guys to win the games. pretty simple.
Instead they load up the top line which is the worst thing they can do except for strategic times.
When you have elite players, there’s a tendency to defer to them. There’s an expectation that they will be the ones to get the winning goal, and a tendency to sit back.
So I’d like to see the coach do as much as possible to get that bottom six playing the way he needs them to play. The games my still be won by stars, but due to bottom 6 having everything buttoned down
And try something different like don’t even start McDavid in the face-off circle. Don’t let the other coach adapt. Double shift him but throw him over the boards on the fly.
I would even think about resting McDavid just to teach team how to win without him. That’s doubtful, of course, but depends where they want to land in the standings.
Connor Brown’s 2.93 goals/60 since March 13th (3 goals) puts him 7th in the NHL in that period among forwards with 40 minutes or more. He’s there with some pretty impressive players:
1 Brayden Point
2 Jamie Benn
3 Filip Forsberg
4 Anze Kopitar
5 Artemi Panarin
6 Anthony Duclair
7 Connor Brown
Could this be the turning point for him? If so, it will be just in time. Over his last 6 games, he’s on a 41-goal pace, haha.
LT, you fixed the lines imo, or at the very least it’s our best try.
We know those first two lines work very well, for me it’s figuring out Henrique because his consistent Shot Share is concerning (though he’s scoring I’m sure his pts-60 is fine without looking).
That 3rd line has the makings of a shutdown line at minimum, but with the way Brown is trending could certainly outscore.
Add in Holloway’s speed as 4th line C, with Carrick/Ryan in the wings keeping those wingers honest, and I think we can rumble.
I’m starting to think that any line Ryan McLeod is on is going to be a positive and impactful line. His defensive game is elite and his transition game, also elite, drives play the right direction.
Lots of talk recently about re-signing Perry for next season. I get that and I’m not adverse. Issue I foresee is cost as I don’t think he comes in under a million (likely double that) and I don’t think that’s affordable in the Oilers’ current cap structure.
If they go far which would interest him I don’t think he will look for cash. His contracts before the Hawks dumb summer were 1.5M, 750K, 2X1M
He’s made almost 100M US, he doesn’t need money
He’s the only one I’d bring back though. Enough old and slow. Perry brings other elements
For some reason he insisted on a $250K games played bonus for the Oilers to get him to $1MM this season. Pretty sure that $250K (before taxes) is a bigger deal for the Oilers (as it will hit next year’s cap as an additional overage) than for Perry but he still negotiated it in.
The player will want to get what he thinks he’s worth on the market, despite previous earnings.
His agent, who gets paid based on a percentage (likely) is also in his ear.
Those are the top 2 lines and, essentially, the 3rd line I’ve been suggesting (3RW could be Brown or Perry and I’d have time for Holloway if they are comfortable with either Nuge or Holloway on his off-wing).
I was quite skeptical when Kane arrived in town given his history. It has been great to see him be such a good teammate and positive contributor to the community. It gives me hope that people can change (maybe the new Kane was there all along, but I don’t think so). I hope we do not see a regression to old Kane.
I think the role of new Kane is critical to the success of this team in the playoffs. Keep being a great teammate! Play hard no matter your assignment!! No pouting 🙂
Every player on a championship team has a role – just ask #11.
Both Holloway and Broberg are, essentially, NHL players – both are too good for the AHL.
I think its more important to get Broberg up and in to games – firstly, they are almost assuredly going to need him in the playoffs. He is first cover for an left shot D injury/illness, coach confirmed this. Also, he’s killed the AHL all season long, he’s earned it, he deserves it and relationships are important – this kid can be a huge part of this team on a value contract for a few more years.
Holloway is also too good for the AHL but they can only call up one without moving someone down – who is going on waivers? Ryan? Carrick? Janmark? Brown?
I’m more comfortable with Holloway stepping in to playoff games straight out of the AHL than Broberg – I think it would be prudent to get Broberg NHL games in April.
Of course, Holloway’s speed and motor, if nothing else (i.e. his skill and the fact he could “pop” at any second) would be beneficial. Just think Broberg is the guy that should get the call first for reasons stated.
I’d pretty easily waive Ryan if it meant getting both Holloway and Broberg up for some reps. Ryan has been among the weaker links on the team this season and could likely use some rest (and a vacation to California).
This is true – he also drew a big powerplay last night and make some big plays on the PK late.
Given that they are again in peril of losing positioning in the standings I would bet not much will happen. They will rotate Carrick Ryan. The Condors fellas for playoffs
I will preface this by saying that I didn’t think it would be nearly as bad as it was in the first half of the season nor that it would take quite as long as it did but I did posit prior to the season that it would take Brown months, not weeks, to be close to the player he can be. It boggled my mind that some wanted to cut anchor post bonus but in the first few months of the season.
Are we going to see the player we though they signed in the playoffs? I’m not saying he’ll be back in the top six but maybe a somewhat impactful 5 on 5 depth player?
I’m not sure he recovers his game this season. That shot last night was a beauty, but he seems to be having a heck of a time handling the puck still. Doesn’t mean he won’t do something in the playoffs, but overall still not there
Confidence is as big a factor as any in the NHL and I’m hoping that this snowballs for Brown.
Slow veteran boots playing last night.
1.Ryan
2.Henrique
3.Perry
4.Ceci
5.Desharnais
6.Namestnikov
7.Lowery
8.Monahan
9.Niederreiter
10.Tofolli
11.Dillion
12.Stanley
And Lavoie at 23 years old, 6’4″, 215 lb with an NHL shot is too slow for the Oiler’s 3 or 4th line?
What are Lavoie comparables now?
As in, if he wasnt our prospect would he be viewed as anything more than a tweener?
I like the idea. But he looked very meh in his nhl games he had *acknowledging he didnt get grade A time or linemates
Not saying it’s a straight across comparable but I look at what a guy like Justin Brazeau has done for BOS since signing his contract. Not world-changing but he’s a bottom-6 W; he doesn’t need to be. He has brought an infusion of energy and physicality to a BOS 4th line with a clear role (Beecher- Boqvist- Brazeau rn).
I’d like to see EDM do that over the course of a season- especially when things aren’t rhyming.
I dunno, he is the 2nd best under 24-yr-old goal scorer in the AHL this season after Fagemo. He’s 6’4″, 230lbs. And while he’s not a burner, he has decent speed.
Last year he was tied for 2nd in goals for AHL players under 23.
Other NHLers who had a under-24 AHL season in the top 3 in goals: Kyle Palmieri, Daniel Sprong, Warren Foegele, JJ Peterka, David Krejci, Tye Kartye, Josh Norris, Patrick Maroon, Cam Atkinson, Carter Verhaeghe, Victor Olofsson, Yanni Gourde, Frank Vatrano, Tyler Johnson, Brett Connolly. So there is some pretty good potential there. Note, I didn’t go through to see who was younger than 23, so some of these may have done it at a younger age. Lavoie did it at 22 (under 23) as well.
Thanks for this!
That puts him in a different light. I dunno if he is an answer this year. Might be an excellent Foegele replacement???
Next season. Kenny has done what he has purposefully because that’s what he thinks he needs to win a Cup. It worked 15 years ago so why not now!
I think that Perry is doing what we would hope Lavoie could do. And has a lot of experience that Lavoie doesn’t.
Lately it seems like there has been talk about how the Oilers are a team who is not great enough to “turn it on” and take games over. Ignoring the fact that they have been either 1st in the league or 2nd in the league when it comes to goal differential in the 3rd period for the last while, lets see how other great teams did last night:
Florida lost 4-3 to the Bruins after blowing a 2-1 lead in the first
Carolina lost 4-1 to the lowly Penguins scoring their lone goal in the 2nd period
Toronto lost 6-3 to the lowly Devils scoring no goals in the 3rd.
Vegas blew a 4-1 lead to Nashville and couldn’t turn it on in OT
Winnipeg couldn’t turn it on to beat Edmonton in OT
Colorado lost 2-1 to the lowly Canadiens. Colorado had 2 periods to turn it on and couldn’t
What is wrong with these great teams? Are they stupid? Just.. turn it on and win!
yep
This is my thoughts.
Where are oiler fans getting our false narrative that “the beat teams” dont do “x, y, or z”?
I wonder, because i never enjoyed the glory days, is it because the last time oilers won cups they had juat ridiculous teams thst were above the rest winning year after year?
The early Cups, yes. But the team as a whole just kept getting smarter & more disciplined as the years went by.
Yeah, they were not unusually talented by 1990. I recall Mark Lamb as the 2nd-line centre (and still somehow killing it against the Jets!)
There are no true contenders in the league it seems – based on the expectations of some (not just on here, I’m not signaling anyone out, on Oilers’ social media in general).
The things cited that the Oilers do that “true contenders don’t do” are simply not true.
No team can win every game. But how I see this is that Florida and Toronto have ongoing defensive issues, Florida was doing better but have regressed. Vegas is very injured and haven’t played well in a long time overall. Winnipeg has offensive issues and their PDO pony croaked. Colorado is loose but also 9-1-0 the last 10. The Oilers have defensive consistency issues, as always
I’d be tempted to roll the Holloway-McLeod-Perry line as the 3 or 4 option. Without going back and digging at the numbers I liked what they had going on immediately after the Perry signing. Foegele-McLeod-Perry also worked well, but I get keeping Foegele with Drai. One of those line combos would work well though, it has the right element of speed and forechecking from the C and LW, then the filthy nasty nous of the veteran RW.
I have to say, I finally get why every team’s fanbase (not you Chicago) ends up falling in love with Perry. I hated him so much when he was at the Ducks and now I feel like his biggest supporter 😀
Saw Ryan good last night. I think the few games off he has had recently has done a world of good for him. I would not be replacing him for the playoffs. I wonder if a couple of games off (not just one) might help a couple other players.
Same, he was throwing some hits like he was at the start of the year. A rest clearly worked wonders for him.
If Henrique can play on Leon LW, then Kane & MacLeod have decent speed on the third line along with Perry, two out of three isn’t too bad. It looks like they want to spread the speed out on all four lines. Which makes sense. I suppose calling up young Holloway is another option. All though veterans know how to play playoff hockey.
I agree this blend of speed seems to be a recipe for success. At one point this year Nuge-McD-Hyman were the best line in hockey. There is a good chance that magic reignites…
Nuge-McD-Hyman
Henri-Drai-Foggy
Kane-McLeod-Perry
Janmark-Hollywood-Brown/Ryan
Lots of blending opportunities of course. Can go with the nuclear option for a shift or two when needed. Can switch MacLeod and Henri on occasion. Rotating Brown and Perry in 3 and 4 RW spots, Ryan spotting in. This is a much older team than it was a year ago, load manage the 30 somethings…
I thought I heard an interview clip on the radio last night with Holland saying Holloway and Broberg will be getting some NHL games before the end of the regular season. Seems very prudent.
Ack! Forgot Carrick 🙄. He can be primary 4C and Holloway can go to 4LW and Janmark can take a rest now and then too…
Playoff Simulation
Round 1: 4-1 (5-2 in 7 games)
Round 2: 4-2 (4-3 in 7 games)
Round 3: 1-1
Oilers were dominant for long stretches last night against a very good team, good to see.
The tilt against LA will be one of the most important games all month. I hope they can keep the momentum going.
Yes. For me if they see themselves as for real, they have to play well against the best teams
To my eye there are a few forwards still taking the defensive side a bit lightly
I have also been wondering if their line changes are sucking again. Forwards are often late getting back and it was a big issue in the past
Since the Colorado game Mattias Ekholm is rocking an 8-3 5v5 goal share, with 7 points and a +4.
You thought he was part of the problem and was a loser drag on the team.
I think you have confused me with someone. When I refer to Ekholm it is as the team’s best defenseman. Since he arrived
I believe you were railing on how slow he was and how he couldn’t keep up anymore.
You then called me a drunk and an Oilers Apologist that night and threatened to quit posting when I pushed you a bit with is fancies.
Its ok, those posts have disappeared into the ether so the past is whatever we make of it now 😉
My apologies. I have said I don’t like the cost paid for Ekholm because of his age. He is having issues pretty regularly, and it seems to affect his mobility. He is their best D because he has a complete game, non of the others do, but sometimes he isn’t up to his best game
Over / under on Connor Brown scoring 10 goals this season?
+ for over
– for under
Are we including playoffs?
Ceci gets ragged a lot here, most deserved but not always, so I think it should be noted how good he played last night. Determined comes to mind. Especially on the pk when Darnell was in the box after the fight. He was smart and hustled hard. He still had a few issues with puck movement but he was determined not to get beat defending. Banging bodies, tying up sticks and clearing the net front. I hope this is Ceci gearing up for the playoffs.
Made a terrific lead pass on the Brown goal as well.
I think Hyman was one of the Oilers best d-men through the weekend and once again last night.
I think he’s coming out of his post all-star break slump and the right d-man to play with Nurse going forward (Vinny just isn’t that guy, at least not yet, and the team loses his positive impact when he’s asked to play outside his established levels).
Hyman is not a d-man
And was not great defensively last night
Ceci, of course – obvious by reading the rest of the post that a mistake was made.
It was good to see. I’ll bet he wants to keep his old gig really badly
I don’t think Kane should be anywhere near the top six right now. He cheats for offence and he’s a defensive liability. That could easily change once he snaps out of his scoring drought. I would try Brown on the top line. He’s much better defensively, he’s faster, more engaged, and he’s rediscovered some scoring. They don’t need him to score a bunch of goals on that line.
You move Hyman to left wing?
I think that Kane needs to be in the top 6 if he’s going to snap out of his scoring drought. He needs time on ice and people who can get him the puck. I think it’s worth the liability at this point.
I agree the bottom six is slow boots but what they lack in speed they make up in hockey smarts. They were in good spots all over the ice and didn’t give up the puck defensively much. They created chances via puck moving movement and takeaways quickly turned up ice. Ryan, Janmark and Perry are especially good at this. Henrique looks like a player that tries to make plays that aren’t there. Maybe due to still getting acclimated? He passed to nowhere and peeled off when he should’ve been driving instead a few time the last few games. He’s made some plays but he’s gotta iron out those misplays. I gotta say I liked Carricks hard nosed game more so far. If Hollywood is recalled I’d sit Henrique for a few games, over Carrick.
‘Henruque’ is sure a smart player. He does coast a lot watching the play, leads him to going to the right places. It’s an issue though, I agree they need more speed and assertiveness to take time away
It’s a tough way to play if too many fellas are sitting back because it means you will be defending more and chasing
It’s too bad Holloway isn’t a known quantity on PK, because it’s a no brainer to have him as 4C in that case. Or even 3C if he’s up to defending well
It does seem like KH spent a 1st on two centres, and centre is still unresolved. Dowd was probably the better play if he was still available. A fast assertive agitator
Don’t mind seeing Henrique with Drai, probably prefer McLeod at 3C over Henrique. Kane had some looks last night. I agree on needing to get a couple games in for Holloway and Broberg.. But not sure I want him over Carrick or DR. But we won’t know until they play.. maybe Anaheim?
The team looks pretty much set as it should be this time of year. Holloway & Broberg are certainly prepared if they are needed. .
Watching the Captain battle for the puck on the opening draw of overtime was my favourite moment of that game. Lead by example. Well done.
Yeah, he had a bit of a bee in his bonnet after the brutal call on Nuge. I think he wanted to finish OT in 10 seconds.
So you’d sit Carrick? I realize giving up the #1 for Henrique and Carrick was absolutely asinine considering what you could have received for the #1 but now you’re going to sit 1/2 of that return. Hmmm!!
Without hesitation. Good teams scratch good players. I have no quarrel with Carrick but the bottom six is slow as molasses right now.
The PK was on fire last night with Carrick out. Complete turn around from the dumpster fire PK in Ottawa. ?????
Both Janmark & Brown are good skaters on the fourth line. Do you think Ryan has more speed than Carrick?
No. Both Ryan and Carrick sit in my scenario above.
Not asinine at all and it was just a 1st for those two players, it was a first for those two players, each half retained.
Henrique is not overtly impactful but his game is solid, he helps balance the lineup, he’s versatile and he can be trusted in various game states. He’ll continue to score on a 20G pace at 5 on 5.
I didn’t see Toffoli any more impactful than Henrique last night.
I think this player helps win in the playoffs.
Carrick is a right shot center that will play most game but he’s a 12F, legit NHL fourth line player that the team has the depth to sit situationally – the likes of Ryan, Carrick, Janmark and Brown know they could be scratched any night and are playing for a lineup spot nightly.
That’s a good things.