I was laying in my bed last night trying to think of a way to tell you the Oilers played well, Vancouver was the better team and that you shouldn’t be worried this morning. Suddenly, my brain kicked in and said “tell them that!” and so that’s why we begin with a dull but true statement. I usually flower it up with “sometimes you have to give the other man his due” or I might tell you about watching Whitey Herzog’s soul slowly evaporate while he tried to pretend Bob Horner was the new Jack Clark.
You know, the real theme today should surround the maturity of this organization and its young superstar. Connor McDavid is taking the wise path here, despite the disappointment of not crushing the Canucks as full payment for the early season shockers.
My Dad was a boxing fan his whole life. You’d be talking to him about buying lumber from Nelson Lumber in Lloydminster and he’d say “lead with the jab” out of the freaking blue. He was still talking about buying lumber, I was wondering what the hell was going on.
Last night the Oilers were good at the bob and weave but couldn’t get any combinations to land and were never close to a knockout.
What next? Lead with the jab.
THINGS TO DISCUSS
Oilers and their fans got a lesson in what it’s like to watch a team of mortals last night. As much talent as this team houses outside No. 97, the task of beating Edmonton is far easier without the captain. The Draisaitl line (Nuge, Hyman) were successful at five-on-five (11-6 shots, 86 percent expected goals) but mostly Motzah balls on the attack.
The five-on-five goal came on a nice tip by Evander Kane. I muttered ‘hello, Ryan Smyth’ as it went in but I knew they were going to lose. Vancouver was better. The Canucks were able to run any line really against Draisaitl and have it turn out fine. I’m not going to be critical of any players today because the task was difficult for a team that played just 24 hours previous to game time last night.
Stuart Skinner had a .923 save percentage and he’d like one back, you could say that for many of the Oilers (coverage was scrambly) and I don’t really see the point in slamming anyone specifically. Do you? They’ve done the job, men. Edmonton will finish second in the division and play Los Angeles, unless the VGK sneak in through the back door.
What I really want you to do is enjoy the vibe of this season. There’s a spirit, an orinoco flow to borrow a song title from the remnants of my youth, that has me feeling good no matter what tomorrow brings. You know, Stanley doesn’t come to visit everyone, and sometimes Stanley arrives so often you (I) take it for granted.
So, it’s an elusive wonder, and for me, at this point in life, it’s about the journey. We’re all going home eventually, and filling the days with the pleasures life brings is as simple or as complicated as we make it. I’m at a point where simple makes the most sense. I well recall many days when I wished upon a star and requested the five-on-five outscoring by this team would look like this:
- McDavid and Draisaitl 38-20 (66 percent)
- McDavid solo: 48-35 (58 percent)
- Draisaitl solo: 35-27 (57 percent)
- Nugent-Hopkins solo: 5-4 (56 percent)
- McLeod solo: 19-21 (48 percent)
- Henrique solo: 6-1 (86 percent)
- The rest: 21-23 (48 percent)
It seems to me we spend a lot of time talking about what this Oilers team isn’t, instead of what it is. Does Adam Henrique get tons of credit for his amazing 111 minutes at five-on-five? No, because Tyler Toffoli was the right acquisition and someone said it before the deadline and that point needs to be hammered into skulls 5000 times before sundown.
I love the analytics movement, it’s a beautiful thing. It allows us to talk about things in a unique way, using facts uncovered by smart people and that knowledge becomes common. It allows us to follow along with the coaching staff as tweaks are made and wrinkles added, and even uncover unlikely emerging talent.
I knew the new math, the analytics, would make us smarter. I didn’t even think about the fact it would make many of us unhappy. It’s the tower of Babel, it’s my bible or else. I am a fan of hockey for many reaosns. The simple joy of watching team construction, of watching an organization find that elusive musical note that allows all pleasure, is happening now and so few are noticing.
Would you do me a favour? Would you listen to the song “That Summer Feeling” by Elizabeth Moen? It’s a Jonathan Richman song, he’s a brilliant artist and writes so beautifully. I am overwhelmed by the feeling that many of you are going to argue about the trivial right up until the Stanley is won, and only upon reflection will you know these are the good old days. Please, please, please realize the moment.
Richman writes “do you long for her, or the way you were?” and I’m telling you from the other side the greatest moments in your life need to be savored in real time. Don’t let anyone rob you of joy.
I don’t know if the Oilers are going to win the Stanley Cup, but they are in a window to win right now. I’m enjoying this team, there are so many elements of team building that have landed in a good way. The impact players are out of this world and playing out of their minds. The second- and third-round picks are giving all they have, the remnants and roll ends are keeping things at bay until the difference makers are ready to play another shift.
Enjoy this. The memory will be with you forever, but you will live these moments just once. If someone is wrong on the internet, let them. Let it Be. Let the emotion of the actual moment, good or bad, wash over you. Hold it in your mind’s eye as long as you can. I promise you won’t regret it.
Belshazzar’s feast….
מנא מנא תקל ופרסין
Feelings and flow aside, here are the analytics against the top 8 teams in the league:
New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Colorado Avalanche
GP 20, PTS 11, PTS% 28
GA 75, GF 55, GF% 42.31
xGA 59, xGF 76, xGF% 56.36
Goals For Above Expected -21
Goals Against Above Expected 16
Team, SV% against EDM
New York Rangers 92.98
Carolina Hurricanes 84.21
Dallas Stars 93.52
Boston Bruins 89.71
Florida Panthers 94.12
Vancouver Canucks 95.1
Winnipeg Jets 92.56
Colorado Avalanche 90.12
EDM SV% against the top-8: 87.62%
EDM’s goaltending has been weaker in direct competition than the top-8 with the exception of Carolina as measured by Sv% and GAAx.
The pattern of positive xGF% (DFF%) and negative GF% is one that reoccurs when you look at performance vs Elites on Puck IQ.
Positive forwards by GF% vs Elites filtered for 100 minutes: Hyman, McDavid, RNH,
Positive Defenders by GF% vs Elites filtered for 100 minutes: Ekholm, Bouchard, Kulak.
Everyone else basicallyfails the test against elites, some more than others.
These numbers tell us the story we all see but only some of us are willing to admit: The first line and first pair (thanks Ekholm) are excellent. but generally there are a lot of things missing in the finishing and saving department.
Draisaitl is not strong enough on his own to tilt the ice given the burden of the second pair, and wingers without finish. In fact, even when given the teams strongest wingers in the past few games Draisaitl wasn’t able to do much of anything.
Worry or don’t worry. Sail away, or don’t sail away. Enjoy the whether. Feel whatever you want. Stanley’s not coming. He doesn’t care about our xGF% or about Connor McDavid. He has other masters.
God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.
thanks for this LT. you truly are the voice of reason. may the miserable hordes on twitter be directed to the rico stat line and kindly stfu
This callup of Broberg is just more tokenism, and does not represent giving him a fair and decent opportunity for him to demonstrate his skills.
He is still in the box of being injury insurance for the left side D, but if Ceci and Stecher are not good enough, the Oilers will lose because they are not good enough, and the Oilers will have never explored the option of Broberg with Nurse.
‘The Oilers biggest vulnerabilities are the D partner with Nurse. And no right shot depth behind Hyman if he gets hurt, which is particularly galling since it was available at the trade deadline.
A real contender should be able to survive the loss of one of Nugent-Hopkins or Hyman to injury. The Oilers probably have enough to survive an injury to Nugetn-Hopkins, but probably not enought o survive an injury to Hyman.
If McDavid, Draisaitl, Nurse, Ekholm, or Skinner** get injured, those would likely be fatal.
**Unless Jack Campbell rose from the dead.
A Bouchard injury would be even worse.
A RD of Ceci-Stetcher-Desharnais would be crippling.
The org had determined they will develop Broberg in his actual positon, left side defence. He played the left side on a leftie/leftie pairing for most of the season in the AHL with Gleason playing the right side. More recently, Broberg has been 1LD with Phil Kemp.
Broberg was less effective on the right side in the SHL when he had way more time to make plays (bigger ice, slower players).
Broberg with Nurse isn’t something based in potential reality on this team any time in the near future.
Nashville’s last game is Pittsburgh in PIttburgh, and an absolutely must win for Pittsburgh. Both LA and Vegas can pass Nashville if Nashville loses and LA and Vegas win out.
The thing is that both LA and Vegas will know the Nashville result.
There is a chance that the Oilers could play Vegas. Vegas just has to win out, and LA lose one game in regulation.
Vegas is going to be a highly motivated team is Nashville loses. They can avoid Dallas by winning out, and most likely face Vancouver with a small chance of playing the Oilers in round 1.
Condors don’t play until Wed so, even if Broberg isn’t playing until the two game road trip Wed/Thurs (which would be silly in my opinion, he should play tomorrow) there is no reason (and no cap savings reason) to delay the callup.
Today was a full team day off but I presume Broberg (and maybe Lavoie) has made his way to Edmonton.
Summarizing!
The House of Stone failed to garner soup as Ottawa lost 6-1 and now trail the series 2-0 heading home.
Interesting end to the season, folks.
The Kings and Knights are separated by 1 point with both teams having two games remaining. The Kings have 4 more regulation wins.
The Knights close out the season against Chicago and Anaheim while the Kings play Minnesota and Chicago.
I wonder if the Kings will play with diminished “enthusiasm” in an effort to draw Vancouver in the first round,
They have dominated the Canucks this season as Vancouver seems to have a great deal of trouble with the Kings 1-3-1.
Perhaps sitting out a few veterans would do the trick against Minnesota.
Is 23 not the roster limit still? If it is then Holloway would need to go down to bring up Broberg, no?
No roster limit after the trade deadline.
They have room to call up three players.
LT, thank you for putting it into perspective for us. Sometimes I get caught being too critical (of our team, my gf, my kid’s) and don’t stop to enjoy the ride. Simple is best because we’re here for good time. Not a long time.
Modern lovers FTW LT! I think this is my favourite delve into the slightly more obscure musicians.
I’ve seen him play a couple times. It’s just…its just a gosh darn nice feeling experiencing him live.
For some reason there’s a couple tracks off his Spanish album that just pop to mind on sunny days like today.
I was literally playing this song when I was puttering in yard before I saw this post.
https://youtu.be/c6_BT62Zx68?si=QK_pwGCDgeDUd0RC
What are the chances LA would rather be rested and play Dallas than care to finish third in the Pacific and play us?
After this comeback by Vegas over Colorado I have a feeling that sets up a rematch with Edmonton.
Now only up by one point over Vegas, LA plays Minnesota and Chicago. Vegas meanwhile plays Chicago and Anaheim. LA will have the tiebreaker. Will they even want it?
LA would love to knock off the Oilers in the first round.
The Kings were 1-2-1 against the Oilers this season and lost the last 2 playoff meetings, but they were 0-3 against the Stars this year (all of them 4-1 or 5-1 losses).
I can’t imagine they’re enamored with either matchup, but tough to see them going out of their way to face the #2 team in the league who has also owned them this season.
Fair enough.
Adam Henrique is 6-1 goals away from Connor and Leon?
I really think he should be locked in as 3C right now with Foegle locked on Drai’s wing.
Avalanche up 2-0, with a PP to start 2nd. Full value for the lead by my eye.
If they hold on, looking more and more like VAN-NSH, EDM-LAK & then Vegas draws into the Central.
Vancouver – Nashville is ~3200 km (~2800 km from EDM); Edmonton – LA ~2200 km (Van – LA ~1700). While things have broken right, I’m skeptical the distance makes a huge deal in round one.
That said, drawing a geographically close, in-country Vancouver in Round 2, after they’ve been going 3000+ km & two time zones, while pushing Vegas to the Central, seems like an ideal outcome. Hoping for Van to pull it off in 7 versus Nashville.
3-0 heading in to the 3rd period – presuming this holds it all but locks the Oilers/Kings in round 1.
It was just a flesh would.
Knights win 4-3 in OT.
Holy hell – what the eff is going on with the Avs….
LOL . Vegas wants Vancouver in the first round.
I wonder if rest might be a factor early in the first round.
Dallas has only one game remaining Wednesday against the Blues so after a 3 day break they play a game at home in which they might rest some players and then get another 2 days before opening at home.
Nashville wraps up the regular season tomorrow in Pittsburgh then gets the rest of the week off.
After today, the rest of the west have 2 games left except the Oilers who have 3 including a 2 game road trip to the Central Division.
Vegas finishes with another 2 at home as does Los Angeles.
The Oilers playing 5 in 7 in the last week and finishing with back to backs on the road on the very last two days of the regular season is truly egregious.
When the Preds finish their season tomorrow, the Oilers will still be playing in a game and then have TWO MORE GAMES.
Hence why I’ve been so adamant that none of the top 6-7 player, nor anyone “old” should play more than 3 of the games in that last week.
I was saying the exact same thing last night.
I was talking about the end of season schedule last fall, and about the need for regular season load maintenance because of it. Particularly with the blueline, and the Oilers had seven defensemen.
Biggest piss off is canucks get the easiest opponent for sure. Nashville had a great run but seem pretty beatable to me.
I cant see them taking the canucks out.
One positive though. Any matchup with another canadian team i feel means we will get far more even reffing. So in some ways we should hope for the canucks in round two.
Against cgy in 2022 i felt there was not the bias like against a cali team we always see… if anything the league was more generous to the oilers. No kesler holding onto talbot. Not high stick benifit of the doubt to LAK on OT goal. No piet can try to cut drais wrist off…
I guess they will just have to play the games and find out. Honestly Nashville might surprise you.
Vancouver / Nashville is not the easiest travel schedule
Mr. Tide- very much enjoy your attempts to create a civil environment for discussion. Thanks for doing it! And get even more enjoyment out of your musical suggestions. I had not encountered Elizabeth Moen before- what a voice!
I was born summer 1988, so I missed the dynasty years. I didn’t play hockey past 6 years old (save floor hockey and road hockey), and didn’t really follow the NHL much. I went to a couple games as a kid andwatched the odd one on TV. Being closer to Edmonton than Calgary, I grew up listening to Rod Phillips on the radio in the car, so Smyth, Marchant, Comrie, Laraque etc. Were all very familiar names.
It was spring 2006 that really solidified me as a fan. I decided to watch some playoff games with my friends, and got really into it. The sting might not have been as clear, and I certainly didn’t understand the game well enough to remember particular moments that well, but I started watching almost every game every season thereafter.
Long story short, after 11 of my first 12 years as a fan were misery piled on top of disappointment, I think I have to agree with LT. These are the good times. We may or may not see another cup, but that shouldn’t stop anybody from enjoying this team, as they’re brilliant. Long gone are the days of Hemsky as the offensive “star” (loved him, but he’s orders of magnitude below McDrai). The talent here is real and spectacular, and likely won’t come along again soon. Critique and analyze all you want, but the doom and gloom that shows up after a couple of losses are just mind blowing.
Those guys in the eighties were something else. Sorry you missed it. Those were the truly good times. So good the league doesn’t want to see it again. We were spoilt as a fan base.
Spring has sprung in southern Indiana – everything’s gone green.
I’m going out to mow the lawn, take in the smell, and “flop down on it.”
Mrs. Llama has adopted Connor Brown.
She jumped up and did a “happy dance” when he scored his first goal.
When I commented after his second that he only scores “unimportant” goals she snapped “Connor Brown is under my protection!”
When he clears the puck out of the Oilers zone on the PK she always says “Connor Brown won’t let you down!”
Yes, these are the good old days.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see McDavid back in the lineup until the Colorado game.
Where we will see a full playoff lineup.
This has been McDavid Appreciation Week.
Please don’t go anywhere McD.
Not nowhere never again.
Such a well written and timely piece LT. I had been finding that Oiler fans on Twitter and other places were sucking the joy out of me despite my best efforts. There are so many problems in the world currently and I am determined to get enjoyment out of our hockey team no matter how much Nurse is being paid or what Kane’s body language is.
Lining up against the Kings in the first round is a result as good as could be hoped for. I hope Connor gets in at least one more game to crack the 100 assist mark. That is elite company in that area. There will always be things to stress about in our hockey world but today the sun is shining and spring is temptingly close.
Thank you for faithfully keeping this place of reason for Oiler fans to congregate and find some sanity.
Nobby got out-coached last night. Let’s keep in mind this is the first time he’s seen the Canucks. What happened last night isn’t all that important, what’s important is how he successfully adjusts tactics if they meet again this year.
That was a very passive, patient, trappy-type game by the Canucks who clearly put defense before offense yesterday. We now know the Oil don’t have to worry much about the Canucks O. It’s going to be more about how to figure out how to break their net front D. The Nucks gave up a lot of zone time and shots, but were good at preventing or disrupting quality chances.
Another thing to note was the Canucks shift length, which Tocchet kept very crisp and short, unlike KK. Our second periods remain an issue too.
When the other team is in a defensive shell keeping things as low event as possible, the game turns on capitalizing on the powerplay and the Oil clearly have struggled on the powerplay without Connor. There isn’t a lot of time to practice while the NHL schedule-makers are shoving games down your throat like a hotdog eating contest, but you’d want them to be better. Again, that’s on KK and Gully.
This is the first ever meeting for KK and the Canucks. I think we can give him a mulligan. There are no one game playoff series. Sometimes a coach just has to see firsthand what the other team has.
Rookie coach remains the biggest question mark going into the playoffs. KK is a complete unknown in the NHL playoffs. He had a tough test coming in mid-season like he did and has well exceeded expectations, but we’re heading into a new frontier next week. I hope he does as well as he has done in the regular season.
I have to respectfully disagree with this.
Oilers had plenty of “penetration” through the canuck defense. (Seems the underlying stats suggested so too) the chances in the first they could have easily been up 3-0. Van leaned on desmith and he held them in it.
Second period canucks got some confidence and started pushing back.
Oilers rang posts and made desmith make a fair number of big saves.
I feel the issue isnt getting theough the canuck d (which is not strong but average). Its that their tenders play rock solid. Meh d. Great tending often is mistaken for great defense.
They transition well. This seems like the oilers achilies… colorado is similar. Not great defence but when they break the cycle they move north quickly and can burn you on the rush.
My opinion only. But i think the oilers can blow up the canucks if they can just beat their goalies. Respectively i fear they can easily get goalied by them.
Credit where due. Every goalie the canucks touch over the last 10 years seems to be pretty solid as long as they have been even remotely decent…
Thank you for your considerate response.
There’s no count for these things (well Sportlogiq might have it, who knows), but if there was I’d think we’d see a high number of deflected pucks and sticks on sticks in the slot. That is what I’m referring to.
The Oilers also seemed to take more shots from above the circles than they normally do.
That isn’t to say DeSmith didn’t play well, I agree with you, he had a solid game. But I don’t think they won from a lot of ten bell saves from their goalie. Usually we can get the other goalie moving or catch him out of position (create ricki holes). But not last night and those holes come from puck movement in or across the slot, which was very difficult last night.
I’m also not talking about their pairings but their team defense and commitment to it. Forwards who commit make a defenseman’s life easier.
Up and till the last 10 minutes of the third (give or take), Knobby was essentially rolling his lines and pairings. I don’t think he was coaching this game to win at all costs but to get through the game with taxing the core too much and gaining information on the opponent.
The fourth line played 10 minutes at 5 on 5 in a game they never led and trailed for 40 – that’s a tell.
Give them a false sense of security.
If that’s the case, OP, then it is surprising shift lengths were materially longer than the Canucks took. And KK did not roll lines. Here are the Oilers lines by TOI at 5v5:
L1–14:12
L2–10:31
L3–8:07
L4–6:49
…And an average shift length about 8-10 secs longer than the Canucks. Canucks had four players with an AVGSL longer than 45 seconds. Oilers had two players who did not.
Here are the Canuck lines by TOI:
L1–10:40
L2–9:42
L3–9:39
L4–8:15
It’s pretty clear which coach was conserving his team’s energy, and it wasn’t KK. The above also completely refutes LT’s tweet that he has posted above today’s article.
Each of Janmark, Brown and Carrick played just under 10 minutes at 5 on 5.
I don’t agree with your first sentence of the last paragraph – KK certainly did not deploy his forwards with a balls out to win approach.
Comparing deployment to the Nucks deployment means little. Comparing deployment to how he generally deploys provides informaton.
He used normal multi-goal lead deployment in a game they trailed from the end of the first period on.
Here’s the source for my numbers, which disagrees with evidence how you think the lines were deployed. You can find shift length–perhaps the biggest way a coach can keep his players fresh, especially with a lead–under the heading Shift Report, and the TOI/line number which you can find under the Forward Lines tab.
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20232024&game=21280
Those numbers clearly show a coach relying heavily on his top 6 to get the lead. and a good thing too since the bottom 6 were getting their asses handed to them.
The comparison tells us which coach actually was conserving his team.
With respect, I don’t see the correlation between “shift length” and the coach’s deployment – shift length is often a function of on-ice impact. The coach can tell a line to “keep it short” and they get hemmed in the d-zone for 90 seconds or have a great o-zone cycle and don’t change early.
Connor Brown had 13 shifts at 5 on 5 to Leon’s 18. Of course, lines 1-4 will never have “even shifts” but that is quite close considering they trailed for 40 minutes – in my opinion.
Some good points. A few things that I think they need to be better at consistently are shift length and changes – they can be very slow getting off (probably too tired to hustle off), and can be a bit sloppy making them. This I think is where they get outmanned sometimes coming back. They also change a lot when backtracking so being precise is huge
I was busy yesterday and caught the mid part of the game. I have mentioned a lot that I think the Oilers need to add more timed direct plays to the net front. They can cycle and hold it, but a lot of times might get the puck to the net, but often it’s not very dangerous. And when there isn’t puck support we see guys trying to thread the needle on low % plays and coughing it up
I noticed the Dys were making those plays more. Part is that the Oilers still leave players open in the slot, but part is that other teams make plays there on purpose more than we do. I noticed that we made more attempts to tip which is great, it has been something they didn’t do enough of regularly
I think because they aren’t great or consistent at low/high plays in the scoring area that is how some teams can be so hard for them to attack. I get the feeling Knoblauch is working to some of the things they can add to be even more dangerous, and hard to defend, tipping more being one
KK does subtly mention these things. Like when he talks about the PP when it’s not scoring. Some of it comes down to the personnel. They still could use some quality shooters that find the soft ice so there is someone for the abundance of playmaking not natural shooting types to pass to
The GM for Utah’s team is going to have one of the “funner” starts.
Next to no players signed long term, decent goalies, cap room the same size of a 80’s Volvo trunk.
The Utah Cutthroats? / Salt Lake Cutthroats (Excellent fly fishing down there)
13 draft picks this year
10 next season
10 more the following season
An owner that potentially cares, at least a little bit.
Perhaps we will actually see a real offer sheet this year!
Quite possible the Stingers are very active in dealing a few of their 6 second and third round picks for players or additional first rounders.
They are at a point where they’d need to decide which picks / drafted players to sign for their 50 man 😂.
Probably better odds in their first year then an expansion team, to run into the playoffs.
I was figuring The Salt Lake John Smith’s, but what do I know.
I’m voting for Salt Lake City Latter Day Saints.
😜
Best I’ve heard so far is the Utah Choir, which matches well with the Utah Jazz.
my vote is for Utah Hasa Diga Eebowai
How about Utah Donner Party
Sweet or garlic sauce?
I like the Utah Yeti.
Has a nice ring to it.
SLC is a long way from the Himalayas (and Donner Pass is in California).
Utah is the “Beehive State”.
Bees have Stingers.
I’m not the least concerned about the loss last night. Vancouver can have top spot; it really doesn’t matter. When they don’t make it to the cup final and the Oilers do it will be all the better. I haven’t given up on the Oilers. Now they can focus on being happy, healthy and tough as nails for the playoffs.
Let it Be…. wise words LT, and the first CD I bought with my own money as a kid.
Kept an eye on the game but found myself thinking more about the playoffs to come. In the end, I’d rather play LA/Vegas than Nashville anyway, as getting “goalied” is less likely.
Although disappointed with the lack of scoring and losing the last two games the last three set up nicely to get ready for the playoffs.
We will beat LA and the Canucks and Vegas will be ousted. I definitely feel we make the conference final. The only team that worries me is Dallas. They seem to have had our number since Madano was flying down the wing.
Playoff Simulation
Round 4: 2-2
I’ll be happy if they can wrap up the regular season with no major injuries. A couple more wins would be nice for the confidence, too.
I am happy to face LA in the first round. Also very happy to send Vegas to the Central division.
I have pretty low expectations (including last night) because of the schedule.
Just stay healthy. Biggest consideration now.
“I am overwhelmed by the feeling that many of you are going to argue about the trivial right up until the Stanley is won, and only upon reflection will you know these are the good old days. Please, please, please realize the moment.
Enjoy this. The memory will be with you forever, but you will live these moments just once. If someone is wrong on the internet, let them. Let it Be. Let the emotion of the actual moment, good or bad, wash over you. Hold it in your mind’s eye as long as you can. I promise you won’t regret it.”
These are wise words and can only be learned through experience. They sum up pretty much how I feel. I know I am well into the back nine so I do not let the highs get too high, or the lows get too low.
Thank you LT for expressing my thoughts so well
It’s a reoccurring dream. The ending is never quite certain. Such is life.
Same. Though my highs sometimes get too high when I watch a magnificent game.
It’s been a strange, wonderful season and I’ve enjoyed the journey. I for one accept that blah off nights are part of the package. It’s a long season and they are human after all, though I secretly suspect a lot of it is somewhat calculated.
May this playoff season be Mr. Holland’s Opus.
Loving the set-up:
Home ice vs. the Kings
Home ice vs. the Preds in round 2
I don’t fear any of the Stars, Jets or Avs in round 3 – the Oilers will be rolling by then and after playing only 11 games in the first two rounds, ready to roll!
Pred’s wont get by the Canucks .
This is accurate
Listening to the post-game pods and the listeners’ calls and texts and reading on social media, it sounds like the Oilers just got dominated and are playing brutal hockey heading in to the playoffs. I’m not surprised but it, after any loss, let alone two “losses” (on was a regulation tie), the opinions that Holland is a failure (and similar) come out but, really, I have zero concern over the last couple of games.
In particular last night, I mean, I can easily argue that the Oilers were the better team for that games – the Cult of Hockey high-danger and five alarm chances, both in favor of the Oilers, the NST expected goals in favor of the Oilers – etc. Yup finishing remains an issue but the team lost a one-goal game on their third games in four nights without McDavid to a top of the conference team while playing their B game.
This team is elite, everything from November on tells us that.
3 games, one week, of prep for the playoffs. Winning or losing a game by a goal means little.
Their goaltender obviously kept them in the game.
I’m have no problem with them having a bit of a playoff “pre-season”. They are a veteran group that has been through the wringer the last couple playoffs. At this point they know exactly what it takes to succeed in playoffs. Do what you need to do to be ready for Game 1. Because they haven’t been great those.
Bouchard amazed me last night when he crunched that Dys player, he looked solid.
Kane was on fire too. Just in time.
Neither team looked like they put an A level effort in. Vancouver played “just enough” better than the Oil, and the Oil were content enough to finish in second place.
A pox on the NHL for scheduling so many games at the end of the schedule.
Drai sure takes a lot of crap from the keyboards for a guy that has slumped to another 40 goals and hundred points.
Yup. There are people who will critique a SC win saying it should have only taken four when it takes six.
Or they should have won two cups in a row!
Or three!!!
NOW we’re talking, Al! This is the good stuff, my fellow mortals. These are the blog posts that should find a way into our everyday lives. Into our families and into our souls.
My oldest daughter just went for her driver’s license on Thursday. I had been elected as the driver trainer by my wife, and as such have spent the last six month in the passenger seat beside my learning child. There were multiple times over our driving regime that I had to consciously remind myself that the curb she had just hit wasn’t the point of all this. The point was I, her father, had been blessed with the opportunity and gift of spending time with her in a small vehicle while we did something that had purpose. It was so easy to lose sight of the big picture when I had my eyes trained on the small stuff. Every single time that I made myself swallow the negative outlook that came with a narrowly focused view of her driving was rewarded with a moment or few moments of big picture love that we both get to carry with us forever.
It’s so easy to forget to widen our view and appreciate the moments like that. It almost feels as though life encourages me to ignore them, sometimes. Al is 100% spot on, at least to my eyes and ears. Don’t let yourself become trained to pounce on every transgression
In life. The cost is much too steep and there are no second chances to actually let ourselves live through a moment.
Man I love this place!
Terrific comment. You & LT are both spot on.
i found last night’s game largely enjoyable if frustrating; the Oil without McDavid & without a lot of luck lost a 1-goal* game to the division champs. Just their 5th regulation loss in 34 home games under Knoblauch (26-5-3, .809), pretty damn good.
But then I made the mistake of visiting Oilers Twitter & it turns out they are pretenders, that Nurse sucks, that Draisaitl doesn’t give a shit, that the goaltending is a mirage, that they have no depth, that they will be lucky to win a game in the playoffs never mind a series. And i found myself asking WTF? If we cant enjoy this team even with the occasional loss WTF are we doing here?
Lighten up & enjoy the ride, I say.
As we all know, social media, especially the hole that is X, is not representative of even a minority of the population. The point is to be the loudest to get attention and rile people up.
Of course it’s all negative there, that gets engagement. Those people don’t want to enjoy the ride because it means not getting attention on the internet. It’s their drug of choice, like Evilsports said, the wide view makes it easier to glance past and enjoy the ride.
A feel good moment for you all. Liz passed her road test in Melfort and when we got home to Saskatoon the carefully laid plan of surprising her with her first vehicle was played out to perfection. She had absolutely no idea that when we went outside to go for ice cream, it was just the final act of my wifes and my months long charade. 😁
Apologies Al if posting a link to a short video isn’t allowed. Please remove it if that’s the case.
https://youtube.com/shorts/LNv5X_4-yjI?si=RUx7be4ZLlQYAHxh
Me as a kid… “we’re still getting ice cream, right?”
Good for your daughter. I am quite taken aback at the number of youth these days who do not want to get their driver’s.
“This is the good stuff” – INDEED!
Such a beautiful post Evilsports, your daughter is a most fortunate young lady. Thank you for your added emphasis on LT’s sage words of wisdom.
Perspective is hard earned. We find ourselves living in a hyper-reactionary, partisan and adversarial window of time. Our current world appears to hold very little space for nuance – a balanced and thoughtful perspective is often the first casualty in times like these… Perspective is hard earned, but to LT and Evilsports’ sage and poignant point, perspective is a most worthwhile endeavour.
Simply stated, in my experience, a reactionary and shrill response is mostly fleeting and ultimately unsatisfactory; whereas a reflective and mindful approach will more than likely lead you towards enduring fulfillment.
As someone who took the Boy’s On The Bus era completely for granted, I will share with you that the post-Gretzky Stanley Cup of 1990 and that glorious run in 2006 have provided me with a lasting fulfilment that the first four Cup’s have not… and it’s nobody’s fault, but my own damn self:)
Al, thank you for reminding us of the pitfalls and folly of being hyper-reactionary, that it doesn’t have to be this way. And, that the purpose of this exercise we call Edmonton Oiler’s Fandom is to embrace and savour the journey, and all the tribulation and glory that the journey provides us along the way.
… and speaking of the Good Stuff, thanks also for sharing Ms. Moen’s spin on one of my all-time favorite’s from Jonathan Richman. I believe it may just be the perfect accompaniment to “La Bamba” as our team takes on an enthralling Spring journey that leads us to what we all hope will be a glorious Summer!
Wonderful share, thank you. Congrats to your lucky daughter too.
Prospectus!
It’s Stonehouse’s turn today as Ottawa seeks the split in Oshawa. By putting up a goal and four assists in seven GP so far this postseason, he has already surpassed his output from yesterplayoffs (2+1 in 11 GP). The opportunity to fill the net further arrives at 4 p.m. Maidstone time.
And now for something completely different: The Frozen Four concluded with Denver upsetting top seed BC for their second title in three years. Denver ousted both Boston-area teams to do it.
And now for something more completely different: Check out the player that Windsor took 1st overall recently. He is a monster, and only just turned 16. Any more growth and he can start levelling Tokyo.
Maidstone time. Love it!
WOW. I hope the kid progresses well. For me, I will watch how he progresses skating wise and how his game translates when his size and strength advantage isn’t as pronounced , against older and more seasoned competition in the future (NHL camps/AHL/International matches). He could end up being quite a Unicorn, this kid.
Wow, that certainly is monstrous. Very few NHLers even carry that much weight. It’ll be interesting to see where this kid tops out.
Highly likely that one week from today we will be commenting on the game day post for game 1 of round 1. How exciting.
Who else is looking at flights for the following weekend in LA? Game 4 likely on Saturday night. As it turns out, wife has that Sat to Tues off work – time to lock in an Oilers/Disneyland 4-day trip.
EC standings as of April 14/24 using points percentage shown as points over/under fake Bettman .500
Metropolitan
NYR 31
CAR 29
NYI 10
Atlantic
BOS 29
FLA 27
TOR 22
Wildcard
TBY 16
WSH 7 (reg. wins tie break)
Out of playoffs
DET 7
PIT 6
PHI 6
BUF 1
NJD 0
OTT -4
MTL -6
CBJ -17
My gut says DET makes it for some reason
I feel Pittsburgh, plus my gut is bigger
Pretty sure 😄
WC standings as of April 14/24 using points percentage shown as points over/under fake Bettman .500
Central
DAL 30
WPG 26
COL 24
Pacific
VAN 27
EDM 23
LAK 17
Wildcard
NSH 18
VGK 15
Out of playoffs
STL 9
MIN 5
SEA 0
CGY -2
ARI -5
ANA -24
CHI -28
SJS -33
I love that you post these. The grumblenumbkins downvoting them can go fly a kite!
23/24 EDM Goal Diff 79 gp (48-25-6).646 pts%
EV(3v3,4v4,5v5)
97 w/o 29 (51-38) 57%
29 w/o 97 (36-28) 56%
97&29 On(44-21) 68%
93 w/o 97 or 29 (16-19) 46%
71 (20-21) 49%
Other (28-26) 52%
Net EV +42
SpTm 69-55= +14
w/EN 3-15=-12
vs EN 12-1= +11
PS 1-0=+1
SO 2-1=+1
Goal Diff +57
Such a difference from last year when Oilers posted a nice +69 but just a third of it at 5v5 (+23) & the rest at various other manpower situations that combine to make up 20% of the game.
Whereas this year they are +56 on the year but fully 2/3 of it (+38) at 5v5, a much healthier ratio. No over-reliance on a powerplay that itself relies on the 🤬 refs making a 🤬 call when, say, your best d-man gets speared in the face in the third period of an elimination game. Better to be dominant in the primary game state.
I’m sure those refs will continue to be a major conundrum through the playoffs. I have many conspiracy theories dating way back probably 30 years, if you know what I mean.
There are lots of people making a fortune these days by giving advice on social media.
Not a single one comes close to the wisdom of LT.
Thanks for the reminder.
Didn’t love the game but I think sitting McDavid for it regardless of the reason or extent of his injuries, now that they’ve lost it especially, was a good idea. If they meet in round two, both teams won’t look at 4-0 season series as meaningfully. Game 1 can truly be Game 1.
Good advice LT.
Take Drai out of the lineup and give home a rest. Rotate the starters to give them a little break
Coach was asked after last game if the result and, essentially, being locked in to 2nd place alters the plan and coach confirmed it does and they will look to rest players.
Said it allows them to keep Holloway in the lineup (which also implies he’d be the guy that comes out for McDavid) and did mention getting Broberg in games.
Do it!
Broberg!