One thing life experience allows me is a free and clear mind when a team just isn’t good enough to win a hockey/other game. In the middle of last season, the NFL Philadelphia Eagles just stopped winning. They were 10-1-0 on December 1, and went 1-6-0 to finish the season at 11-7-0 (including a miserable playoff loss). The Eagles are trying to transition from the Super Bowl team (they won it all February 24, 2018) to rising contender without falling off the competitive map.
Many of the men who played in that Super Bowl game rank as my all-time favourite Eagles: Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Zach Ertz, Malcom Jenkins, they all made that team special. Some of those names played last season and hit a wall, and you knew it was over. Philadelphia had work to do on both lines of scrimmage and it was time for a new day.
The current Edmonton Oilers have no championships, just one trip to the semifinals and a sea of heartbreak losses in the postseason over recent seasons. Why then did they play a game last night that was so poor?
Injury. It has to be injury. There’s just no way around it. Connor McDavid played fewer than 15 minutes five-on-five in a massive game for Edmonton. In the last critical game played by the team (Game 2 of this series), he played 22:49 at five-on-five and 28:12 overall. Last night, in all game states, he played 23:25. That’s a five-minute gap.
Evan Bouchard will take a lot of heat today, that was a miserable play by the young blue. I’ll defend him to the ends of the earth and remind you that young defensemen will break your heart but the alternative is to run old men in key spots and that won’t succeed.
What is the solution? I’m going to tell you but you won’t like it.
The Oilers have to defend better, and that includes all skaters (I am less concerned about the goaltenders). Edmonton plays like Dom Hasek is sitting back there and it just doesn’t work. The attention to detail defensively isn’t there for this group. That’s something this organization is going to need to address, from the top down.
The Oilers are going to have to be a helluva lot more rugged than they are today. One of the stars of this series for Vancouver is Nikita Zadorov, and Edmonton has no answer. In a recent article by the truly brilliant Fluto Shinzawa at The Athletic, the Bruins writer quoted Brad Marchand laying down a hard truth: “People don’t want to say it. But part of the playoffs is trying to hurt every player on the other team. The more guys you take out, the more advantage your team has. People don’t say that. But that’s just a fact of the game. So every time you step on the ice, someone’s trying to hurt someone. That’s just how it goes in the playoffs.”
The Los Angeles Kings took a piece of the Oilers, and Zadorov took another piece. This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around. The Oilers need to be far more nasty than they’ve been this spring. I’m not going to pick on any specific player, and do think it’s ridiculous to point at Ryan McLeod because he brings so many other things and not every player needs to be filthy. I will say the Oilers, while also looking injured, look old on the wings. Old and slow these days. Bad combination.
So the summer brings contracts, most importantly for Leon Draisaitl. Mike Liut is going to take the organization to the woodshed and it’s going to be wildly expensive but the big man has earned every penny. There’s also a chance he decides to wait until next summer, and that will test management in a big way. The possibility of losing Draisaitl for nothing is not an attractive one. He is irreplaceable.
Is the season over? No, not at all. Good things happened last night. Calvin Pickard played well again when his team didn’t go double agent, and the third and fourth lines were good. The problem was the skill lines, specifically the men who are deployed to create offense.
That was a humbling game. It was so poor there’s not much that needs to be said. Oilers fans look forward to the day when Connor McDavid raises the Stanley on Rogers ice and skates around with the most valuable trophy on the planet.
Hope? Yes. Truth? Always. The Edmonton Oilers were the second best team in Vancouver last night. The spirit is willing but the bodies are injured. Pretty sure.
At noon today, we discuss the game last night and the dire possibility of the Canucks moving on. Sports 1440, noon to 2pm and we’ll have Steve Lansky from BigMouthSports and Tyler Yaremchuk from Daily Faceoff on the show. We’ll talk injuries, the Marchand quote and how far the Canucks might get in what is looking like a summer to remember on the left coast. 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. Question: Would you like to see an updated 2024 Lowetide draft list later this week?
NEW for The Athletic: What happened to the Edmonton Oilers’ secondary scoring?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5497612/2024/05/17/oilers-roster-scoring-stats-secondary/
And the fastest team in the league has been eliminated.
But I’m sure lack of speed for the team rated #2 in the league will continue to be used as an excuse on this blog for Oiler playoff woes.
Because then the GM can be blamed. Which is always this blog’s goal.
Where do you get the “fastest team in the league” idea?
IMO Dallas has looked quicker than Colorado this season, at least to my eyes. I haven’t been measuring the average skating speed of the team, though.
League ratings.
Dallas has never looked fast btw. And the data backs up the eye.
Are you talking about the 20+ mph “speed burst” stat?
“speed” is not going to be the narrative on what style or formulation is needed for even a top 4 playoff team, let alone making it the SCF. You can really now see how Dallas, Florida and NY are very similar. Strong at every position, depth across the full line-up but with ‘play-off gamers’ who are reliable with the puck and for the most part, make smart decisions. All 3 of those teams pretty much have 3 lines every night who could be considered the top line and really don’t try and do anything fancy. It’s as if they’ve all reached a level of parity that games are won/loss by only randomness. Throwing pucks into the mixer, hoping for a weird bounce or sitting back and letting a very sporadic, high-risk opponent such as Colorado or Edmonton, to screw up and then capitalizing on their brain-fart mistakes.
What is your point?
Way to go Dallas.
I’m a little surprised Colorado didn’t push you harder. But Dallas has been playing great for months now.
3-1 final in double overtime LoL
First overtime solves nothing. Give me six more OT periods just like it, please and thanks.
Welcome to the goalie interference roulette wheel
Absolutely. Flip a coin.
King Henrik thinks it is the right call. Anson Carter saying if any of the goalie is out of the blue paint it is fair game. Should be as simple as that.
Is there contact with the goalie? Yes.
Is the contact in the blue paint? No. Goal.
Should have counted. Makar pushed Duchene into Georgiev.
Definitely should have counted and no one really wanted to say out loud that it didn’t because it would have been a series ending Toronto call and very sadlol as a way to decide Colorado’s fate. The emphatic on-ice no-goal ref call probably saved the league’s ass on that one.
Jason Gregor
@JasonGregor
Adam Henrique will not be available for game six.
I do expect Sam Carrick to play.
Oilers had 20 hits
in a playoff game
The Oilers had 23 hits.
The Canucks had 41.
The Utah Nephilim
Stauffer alluding to Skinner starting tomorrow.
I’m abundantly confident that these Oilers can still win two consecutive games against those Canucks. We’re due.❤️
I certainly believe they’re capable. Hopefully the coach has something crafty. . . that works!
And then there were 6.
FLA beats BOS 2-1 to take the series in 6 games.
Could be down to 5 in a few hours if DAL beats COL.
I’ve never heard Barkov speak before.
He sounds just like Andy Kauffman in Taxi.
https://youtu.be/bb68owdlxl8?si=JkzV3x4DvYM_DcGG
And Tkachuk has Kauffman’s likability.
I think you’re confusing Kaufman with Tony Clifton…
Thats a poor goal for Swayman to give up. He’s had an amazing playoffs
Holland had a questionalbe D coming into the playoffs. The pay was Walker or Tanev. He added 2 forwards.
Edm may still win this round? but doubtful they go beyond. Needed 1 more top 4 D.
Also, KK playing the big boyz 29 mins in game 3 prob a rookie coach mistake. They looked gassed.
Rest. Recovery. Hope. Would love to see a game 7 …
I’m glad Holland didn’t pay the price Cgy was asking for Tanev.
And Walker has been meh for Col, are we sure he is better than Ceci?
Yes a D-man like Tanev was the play, but I don’t recall anyone else like him available to trade for.
When you’re dangling a first round pick…lots of players become available.
Pretty sure SLC would have traded Sean Durzi for a first and he is much better than Ceci.
Holland offered a first round pick for Tanev.
If anything, Walker has shown in these playoffs that he would NOT have been the answer.
0 points through, almost, 11 games and 4-9 goals.
They have a better RD eating popcorn
I heard Eric Francis on the radio today say Woodcroft and Keefe are the finalists for the Devils’ vacancy.
Gazolla on the Oil Stream said there is an illness going through both dressing rooms.
It sure looked like it hit one room harder than the other last night……
Hopefully on the downswing for the boys and upswing for the nucks.
Same for Game 4, but it looked the other way around
Craig Berube the new coach in Toronto.
https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs-hire-craig-berube-as-head-coach-1.2122364
He has a way with words.
https://x.com/LeafsPapi_/status/1791574191533076715
Nastiness. Watch the beating the Oilers take getting to the net and at the net. Then watch the GMG last night. Not much nastiness handed out on Pettersson, or Lindholm.
JT Miller also got the free pass from Hyman and McDavid who seemed confused by who should take Miller.
They should just get him a winger to do the C job in the D zone. Gretzky had one
Connor and Bouch both have the same thing – they are both so focused on up the ice, they blow defensive reads and immediate area awareness can not be there
Bouch’s mess up last night is because he was looking up the ice and didn’t even see the pressure coming behind and in front
You see, I’ve collected your little downvotes, put them into a beaker, added some reagents, and distilled them into a rather potent rocket fuel. Honey we’re going to the moon 🙂
I’m really not too concerned. Look, in a sense, nothing at all has changed. If they won game 5, they would want to win game 6. The plan is now…win game 6. That’s it.
The Canucks were excellent, however, a lot of things needed to happen for that game to be won on their side:
1) Bad GA on goal 2
2) Amazing bounce on goal 3
3) McDavid, Hyman, Drai, Kane, Ekholm, etc. all battling injuries
4) Possibility of a team-wide flu
5) Poor puck movement from the second and third pairs.
6) PP terrible.
Now, you can’t fix all of that for game 6, but you certainly can fix some of it.
Part of what good puck moving will do is keeping the opposition forecheck honest. The Canucks are damning the torpedos right now. If you insert Broberg and/or Stecher (I would prefer the former), maybe you get some more plays being made. If you score, that’ll back them the hell up. But even if it’s just more chances and zone time, that keeps them honest. I will add, more D mobility is absolutely needed to break the forecheck and turn over the puck. Too many of our D are absolutely powerless against guys like Garland.
Stecher has plenty of NHL experience, and as Bruce has pointed out, Broberg has something like 80 games of NHL regular season experience plus 10 games in the playoffs. And key point: the Broberg of today is better than the Broberg who played in the vast majority of those games. Bring him in!
Knoblauch is supposed to be a man of adjustments. Tocchet made his, now it’s time for KK to counter.
Don’t go quietly into the good night. A bold move is needed. Go Oilers!
Well done
Great one. The other teams have no problem changing players if they think they need to. I don’t know how the coaches can’t see the problems with the D pairs and what they are, or if they do why they aren’t reacting
Vinny was pretty good last night with the puck and does rough guys up, but is better suited for 3RD
There is no way Stecher would do worse. He is very aware in the D zone, harder on the opponents even if smaller, and yes the breakouts and pace of play are better. He’s not a great skater, but he gets around in small spaces pretty well, at least as well as the guy in question
Bro is a bit of a wild card because he’s young and that isn’t a lot of experience for a D
I’m sure our generous host was thinking of the Neil Young song, but there’s another lovely piece of Canadiana with the same title. Great song, nice buildup.
I went to see some other band–that I can’t even recall at this point–and was delighted to find some band I’d never heard of come up on stage with almost more musicians than there were members in the audience.
I always had a bit of a soft spot for the band after that. Especially the songs with modern themes on life and religion similar to the topics that Arcade Fire was exploring at that time.
Last night the Oilers iced 10 players over 30 (55%), 3 x 33 or older and that doesn’t include Henrique who would be first back in. The other 2 realistic adds for ‘fresh legs’ are 32 and 34
The Canucks 4 (22%), 30,31,34,35. Their ‘fresh legs’ are all under 30
Looks like it might be an issue keeping up with a much younger forward group that can skate, especially through a full game or series
In a nod to Blacklock’s Reporter – “Who makes these decisions?”
Just the facts
Bonus points for Holly and Tom at Blacklock’s!
Great journalists and great people who I worked with back in the day in Edmonton.
Korski kills me, what a character
Might become the next generation Rex Murphy.
I think Tom runs circles around most, but Rex was on a different level
I mentioned I didn’t think the Oilers looked nervous. But after reading comments it reminds me the PP does have trouble as playoff intensity ramps up. They get tight, force the obvious and have trouble even getting shots. I guess that is a type of nervous
They also were moving the puck too slowly, probably thinking too much, and it made the Knuckles look like they had rockets on their skates like Guy Lafleur in celebrity retired player games in the 80’s
This also raises the points made about not really having a PP 2. If they had deployed one enough to have some rhythm, when PP 1 gets tight they could even start PP 2 and it would be such a change in style that it might mess up the PK which would have been solely instructed to counter Connor, Leon and Bouch
The Oilers are the Death Star. The Canucks are the Millennium Falcon. And Tocchet always shoots first.
That’s a terrible analogy if you’re an Oilers fan. If the Oilers had a GM like the team they are playing this would be over
The Oilers are the most powerful weapon in the universe with a fatal flaw.
The Canucks are a bucket of bolts managing to hang on for dear life.
And Tocchet is like Solo before Star Wars went woke, and altered the scene where Han shot first.
I still believe. This team has rebounded twice in this series. Win Saturday and let’s see that G7 and how the Nucks hold up. I can’t see them going out on home ice on a Saturday night.
Fans may abandon hope to protect their own fragile emotions, but I guarantee Connor McDavid still thinks they can win.
When Knoblauch upped Ekholm’s minutes, and went hard on the fab five unit, he should have begun using Kulak to PK with Desharnais, and take those minutes away from Ekholm.
I doubt Ekholm has ever played this many minutes for an extended period of time.
Or run Kulak a bit with Bouchard on the fab 5.
Maybe run Broberg with Bouchard on the fab 5, Kulak with Desharnais, and Ekholm on the right side with Nurse.
This is literally the least amount of ice-time per game he’s every averaged in the playoffs:
https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerreport.php?fromseason=20232024&thruseason=20232024&stype=3&sit=all&stdoi=oi&rate=y&v=p&playerid=8475218
Ekholm will be 34 in a week.
He is not 20 something anymore. He was mostly playing 2nd pairing in Nashville, so he was not getting the toughest minutes.
I take it you didn’t even look at the numbers?
Oilers have backed him off over a 90 seconds per game from his last two years in Nash. A full four minutes from his career highs.
Nearly a minute less on the PK too.
The last four years in Nashville he didn’t get out of the first round, so are not evidence that he can sustain mid-twenties minutes deep into the playoffs.
You made a statement which was completely factually incorrect – like 100% opposite wrong and when its pointed out, you can’t even accept the facts and alter your position?
Come on man, you are a smart guy, just admit that your statement was wrong and keep your credibility…..
Brendan Burke
@brendanmburke
Fire alarm currently going off inside the Florida Panthers team hotel in Boston.
Peak pre-game nap time.
?
Skulduggery is a possibility.
This may be an unpopular opinion but they choked. They were winning the battles in the 1st and seemed to have control of the play. Once Vancouver upped their intensity over the last 40 minutes, Edmonton didn’t match it and kept trying to force passes which led to turnovers. On the PP they didn’t adapt to Vancouver’s adjustments and weren’t ever really a threat. Vancouver was filthy last night and the ineffectiveness of the PP allowed that to continue as there was no making them pay for it. If they’re gassed that won’t change unless for whatever reason the next game is suddenly delayed. It’s not like the players can fast charge and recuperate. I don’t know what changes the coach can make to overcome the situation.
Imagine if the NHL started this series on time and allowed for more than 1 day off somewhere.
The Oilers had an entire week off to rest after the LA Kings series. I’m sorry, people maybe sick or injured, but that week off is the luxury that most teams do not have. Yeah the big guns were getting some heavy minutes in the Vancouver series, but the LA series was relatively short and again they had the long rest. This loss is squarely on the team
The OIlers are 5 for 15 on the PP. It was likely just mean reversion.
I have always said that they should play the 2nd unit more. Doubling down on the first unit all the time only increases the pressure on them.
Jeff Marek pointed something out this morning.
EVG/EVP
McDavid 1G/7P
Zadorov 4G/8P
mic drop.
Now do power play.
Saying they choked is a little bit strong.
Check the work Bruce Curlock did over at ON. Vancouver upped the pressure in the 2nd period – especially on the forecheck and the Oilers did not make the requisite adjustments. Frequently the forwards were not putting themselves into the right position for a pass to break the forecheck, or the D was not making the right reads.
The biggest adjustment they can make is to be better connected coming out of their zone – closer support, forwards not flying the zone but getting themselves to a place to break the puck out with control.
If anything, I do think the team was tired last night. Might need to put some fresh legs out there. I think it would really help if Henrique is healthy tomorrow. Team needs a shot in the arm right about now.
This is what I saw too.
Game six will be something to behold. Oilers will not want to lose at home in front of their fans. That would be crushing. Save the crushing for Vancouver in game seven in front of their fans. This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco. It’s a whole lot of rock & roll.
GO OILERS!!!
You mean the same kind of crushing feeling I felt witnessing Marchessault score a 2nd period natural hatty last year?
No, I don’t live in the past. And neither should you. Get over it.
I saw Delooper post below “I saw last night’s game more as the Oilers having no response to Vancouver’s “smother the talent with tight forechecking” game.
It’s the same way Winnipeg used to defeat the Oilers.”
That’s how I see it too. These players have always struggled when the other team is checking really close in all 3 zones. The Oilers also seem to get very deflated when it goes on for too long. Van this year, LA for stretches last year, Vegas last year.
In game 4, the Oil managed an effective breakout by using a neutral-zone area pass to the spot in front of the defencemen but behind the forecheckers. Skating into that with speed got them into the attack with possession. In game 5, the Canucks defencemen were ready for it and would skate forward to soak up that pass.
Switching to defensive mode due to the lead and then failing to gain any o-zone time due to a tactics failure and got them really deflated.
Oilers have to work on not getting deflated.
This conflict is down to a battle of millimeters and tenths of a second.
If the Oilers can be just a bit quicker on the passes, timing them just a little better, they can still assemble a victory out of this series.
The Oilers have done really well on the forecheck. It’s just their offense that’s been a little off.
What they could really use is a new element that can bypass Vancouver’s forecheck. Maybe a bit more crashing of the net. Maybe Oilers are shy of that, due to Vancouver’s big defensemen.
I was really hoping that the tipping ability of Perry and Henrique would help with ramping up that part of the game and the net crashing that goes along with it.
Trouble gaining the zone plus too many one-and-dones leads to little zone time and spiraling confidence.
I thought the d-zone work by the Oil was a lot better than games 1-3 though. Bottom half of the roster doing better offensively too (not that it was hard to beat their first 3 games).
Hockey is a game of momentum though. Just a little and the players can feed off of it.
And you are right LT, I’m listening to the radio right now
You often don’t get to this, and the blog talks more about math.
But there is no getting around what is needed in playoffs. Multiple bone bruising crosschecks nullify skill
i bitched in the summer last 4 summers. They signed decent but wrong fourth liners. I love Ryan. But I need different skill set there. Somebody and some line that is enough to keep Zadorov honest.
It has been a repeating deficiencies. “Take out McDavid”. And they do. Because we can’t stop them. Coach has no
options so he plays him more, increasing his exposure until the inevitable happens.
not fait accompli
despite the prevailing mood
faith or fool, myself
It’s deja vu all over again.
It isn’t over yet.
It ain’t over til the fat lady sings.
This is from Tim Peel who isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but he’s been accurate when he posts “information” on stuff related to the Oilers before.
This is also not really groundbreaking info either:
Hearing Connor McDavid is dealing with an injury and Zach Hyman is banged up as well. Every team has injuries but this will be a challenge for #LetsGoOilers if they are to beat the #Canucks
Yep, every team has injuries.
Just a fact of the playoffs.
Oilers are not going to fold like a cheap shirt.
Hyman to Spec says they’re fine. I’m not sure what to make of that after last game
Possible the team can’t find separation (McDavid said as much after the game) and then the Bouchard turnover demoralized them more than anything. I’m not saying that’s acceptable but it could be the reason they say they feel physically healthy, despite appearances, but really they were emotionally checked out. Again not acceptable but this team is like this. They ride their own momentum as they build cycles and hem teams in… Vancouver has just never broken. Then they get a bounce or we turn it over and Jesus it’s an unfair and chaotic sport isn’t it? That’s why the best teams have the least amount of shitty players, not the most best ones.
If Hyman says they’re fine I’ll believe him but they need to prove it tomorrow.
I saw last night’s game more as the Oilers having no response to Vancouver’s “smother the talent with tight forechecking” game.
It’s the same way Winnipeg used to defeat the Oilers.
They continue to have the problem of too much talent contained in too few players.
Yes it could be that. And more than that probably. It’s why I refer to the 5v5 tactics and that they need to add some ways of attacking, and many don’t like it citing glorious reg season stats, but it’s a problem every playoffs
As for the playoff summary to date:
It is simply a fact that both Corey Perry and Ryan McLeod have vanished.
10 playoff games have been played here:
McLeod – 0-0-0
Perry – 0-0-0
Ryan McLeod is 6th in EV TOI.
I am unaware if Ryan has registered any hits.
Janmark, Ryan….all contributed, at least something.
Sam Carrick has only dressed for 3 games and he has more points that both Perry and McLeod.
10 hits for McLeod
Aside from the mind numbing Bouchard decision…..
What can you say when your elite players – get owned?
No need to over think or over analyze things.
Not much to say.
Evan Bouchard has been outright dominant this playoff.
Coming out party for him – outside of Edmonton.
Yet, that was a jaw dropping, mind numbing, play that I consider to be series altering…the team sure seemed to literally collapse after that goal.
Two things can be true at the same time.
I thought the puck stuck to the ice as Bouchard started his play.
Vancouver wants it more. Different from last year as I felt the Oil were the better team than Vegas. Vancouver has been the better team, and likely finish this frustrating season for all of us very soon.
The ‘nucks have been better for 1 game. That’s it. They’re lucky to be in this.
The Dys just played the best game they are able to play and the Oilers nearly stole the game.
Listening to the NHL Network on SiriusXM and it’s all doom and gloom regarding the Oilers.
The “experts” are changing their picks now and claiming the ‘nucks want it more, or their coach is outcoaching ours or some other dumb shit.
I’m changing my pick, too: Oilers in 7 instead of 6.
If you’re jumping off the bandwagon now, today, claiming it’s all over and there’s no way the Oilers can possibly win this series, then you don’t get to enjoy it when they win.
Don’t come back here acting like you’ve been a fan all along.
Don’t come skulking back like Ryan Whitney, apologizing for your lack of faith and claiming you’ll never do it again.
Run along and join ‘nucks Nation where you only have to cheer for your team when they’re doing well. You’ll fit right in with that rabble.
When I say, “you”, I don’t specifically mean DexandRuby, I mean, “you, the entire fanbase”.
So what kind of skin in the game are you putting in if you call the win and the Oilers lose? You’re asking everyone here who is criticizing the team and saying it’s over, and it likely is game 5 winners have an 80% chance of taking the series, to buzz off when that happens.
Vancouver is 7-2 against us this year, with both our wins being late game/OT heroics. 2 squeakers and no emphatic 4-1 or 5-2 drubbings. Sometimes a team just has your number. The Oil are gassed and can’t handle the Canuck’s big ogres on the back end. I expect the team to lose on Saturday.
Loser of a fan.
‘nucks Nation is just a click away.
There were two areas the Oilers failed; one they lost puck battles all over the ice and two they couldn’t win very many faceoffs. Consequently, they didn’t have much puck possession for much of the second and third periods. They’re just too nice, like their coach.
He needs to call out his team similar to what Vancouver’s coach did after game four and make the proper adjustments within the roster. They need to win draws, as well as win puck battles all over the ice, own the puck like they can. Vancouver can’t score if they don’t have the puck, no team can.
IMO, I would like to see Corey Perry sit, he isn’t his usual playoff demon of the past.
They need to win faceoffs & win puck battles that doesn’t sound like Sam Gagner’s forte.
I think it’s time to see the other Sam, Sam Carrick center the fourth line with Janmark & Brown. Move Derek Ryan to the third line with MacLeod & Foegele. If they want to keep Ryan at 4c, then have Carrick play RW on the third line. Whatever.
The top six needs an adjustment also Dylan Holloway slides up with Mcdavid & Hyman, Nuge slides down with Leon & Kane. Holloway deserves the opportunity and will shine.
Defensively. Please try Troy Stecher with Nurse, he’s a warrior, take Ceci out. Enough said.
And at this point stick with Calvin Pickard.
Lastly, I just want to say,” Com’ on Knoblauch get these guys going “. Repeat after me,
I”M MAD AS HELL AND I”M NOT GOING TO TAKE ANYMORE.
If Vancouver wins the cup, Rick Tocchet should be coach of the year. Not only that, but he should also win the Conn Smythe.
Quite likely Tocchet wins the Jack Adams even if they don’t since the votes are conducted at the end of the regular season.
And the Lady Byng!
No, Knoblauch wins the Lady Bing.
Well hasn’t Edmonton lost to the eventual cup winner the last two years?
Keep Holloway with Draisaitl and Kane. Holloway is much more effective supporting Kane’s game.
Hey LT et al,
Maybe I shouldn’t watch the whole games. Game 4 had me building installing IKEA closets for Ms CrazyCoach, and I’ve been putting it off due to coaching, playing, etc, but as I want to turn the garage into a stickhandling/shooting gallery for my daughter (and a Stiga Hockey palace for Dad), the IKEA boxes were cluttering the garage. I also need a place to store my Oilers jerseys as well. Anyway, I watch the third period of Game 4 and was pleased.
Watched the whole game last night and it was a different story. That looked like a very tired beaten hockey team for the final 2 periods. It was almost like someone had taken the cloud that was over Elias Pettersson, rendered it into a liquid, and put it in the Oilers water bottles. I have to join the chorus here in saying something is not right with a lot of players and in particular, McDavid. He just has not looked like himself the entire season and last night, he looked normal. JT Miller is not Dave Keon, hell he’s not even a poor version of Bob Gainey. Something is up with McDavid.
IT has been hard to watch this team these playoffs. The glaring holes that have been spoken of during the entire McDavid era, have never been addressed and it seems the holes are that much more glaring today.
That being said, home ice heals the sickness and home cooking always helps chase away the blues. Game 6 awaits and it is a new day today. Win that and game 7 is a crapshoot.
I’ll be leaving to visit the province of my birth in a few hours. If I find out I won the lotto max, I’ll definitely be at the game Saturday night, and if not, I’ll be in Carrot CReek cheering.
Go Oilers!
If anyone expected a Tocchet led team to be all warm and fuzzy never watched him play. The PP let us down if we go up 2-0 or 3-1 Vancouver has to back off on their aggressiveness.
This for every game. Finish better and this is a done deal
That has to be addressed this summer. Can’t have a team largely of pass first muffin shooters or can’t hit the net
It has to be addressed right now.
Whatever the reason… illness or injury… this team has regressed back to the “easy to play against” mode. Surprising actually.
Is it just me or have we all heard the “they’ve all got the flu” or “they are all sick with …xyz” I can recall this type of speculation every time the oilers are about to crash out of the playoffs. Quite a bad bit of luck if true, or……
Every year….
No excuses. They have to get after it, period.
I said at the start of the series experience would be a huge advantage Oilers. Especially after last year losing to Vegas. Boy was I wrong. They were badly outplayed outclassed outworked outhit outshot outchanced out everything last night after the 10 minute mark. I’m sure they’re injuries tired etc. but don’t forget I’m sure Vancouver does to. Playoffs haven’t been easy for them. I’m confident the Oilers can win 2 in a row. But I’m not as confident as I was Wednesday that they will.
The commentary has been funny this series. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. The Canucks have played three periods of good hockey and even then I’m very hesitant to call the 3rd period in Game one that great. 1 HD chance is not great. The Oilers have played that way all series. Head stompingly good. Over at the CoH they had Grade A’s at something like 70-40 for the Oilers overall and 40-20 at 5v5. This shouldn’t be close. Silvos made killer saves when he needed to and the posts rang true. Can’t say the same for Oil last night. Bad change, lucky bounce and Miller was Johnny on the spot. Le sigh.
LT always goes to injury. Its a good cope when the actual explanation is probably frustration. Frustration with the constant holds, hacks and whacks. Frustration builds when you are doing the right things and you don’t get results. Resignation can set in when the breaks don’t turn out just right. Maybe he should dish it out a tad? Turn around and absolutely just clobber Miller in the corner. Teach him there’s a cost to being a pest. That’s the takeaway from Marchand yesterday frankly. He was on the giving end many a time. He wasn’t sulking, he knows how it works. I think back to Drai and his pitchfork in Game 3 against the Sharks all those years ago. Messed around and found out.
The biggest issue last night is that they got away from their game. Forwards started cheating out of the zone in the 2nd period. When Vinny is trying to fire hash-mark to far blueline passes five times a period cause there are no Oilers in between that’s a problem. When the forwards lose 8 to 10 board battles in their own zone in a four shift timespan that’s a problem. I like that Coach K called out the “safe” plays out of their own end last night. Those flips and glass and out came back down their throats left and right. They ironed it out with about 12 min left in the 3rd. Start as you mean to go gentlemen, its a five man game.
On the secondary scoring piece. All year I was on about Coach K, and Woody before him, refusing to give anyone else PP time. What do you teach your team when nobody else gets the opportunity to shine offensively? To get a boost from some special teams time? To get the chance to play with outrageous skill and to find the twine? What do you teach your team when even if you do find the twine, like they did in game 3, that in the 3rd you won’t play and then tell the media “well we needed a goal so everyone else just needs to understand.” Balderdash.
I think this has been the weak spot for the last 2.5 seasons. We all love the incredible PP scoring, its great. Hyman’s run to 50 was great! But that sort of play turns hockey into basketball, it doesn’t raise up others offensively and it makes the coach hesitant to trust them to find the range when the game is on the line. You should reward guys who are going hard and doing the right things. Help them score a goal once and a while. Give them a chance to contribute when the ice is unquestionably tilted in their favor. Hopefully next year they don’t go back to the same old same old. It hasn’t worked and it won’t work. I’d love to see three or four different PP1 configurations. Give more than two people a chance to create fire with the Dynamic Trio.
Really good comment here. The 2nd period was dreadful as the puck kept coming back in their zone. Very rare where under pressure they tried to come up the middle and just move someone off the boards. It was up the boards trying to get thru 2 layers (F & D) and having it knocked back in. In the 3rd, they changed the lines and adjusted, getting back to how the game started.
Did like that they tried reversing pucks to break the forecheck – but as others here have mentioned, Van forwards and defense kept beating them to the punch.
There’s still time, just gotta get it fixed by tomorrow.
Last night we had the Grade A shots at 8 for, 20 against including 1-11 in the middle frame . It was a complete reversal of form.
Calvin Pickard was the best player.
Yes…Skinners’ fault again. When the Oilers don’t play team defense, it is the goaltenders’ fault.
The Oilers didn’t play team D last night and no one is blaming Pickard and his .914.
And scratch my previous comment cause I didn’t read again.
100% agreed Bruce, 100% agreed.
Ekholm – Bouchard … were both bad last night.
Ekholm is / was sick and looked it. The Oilers looked like several of them had the flu and were down a quart.
I hope they coughed on the Canucks during the faceoff lineups so the Canucks will be ailing by Monday night’s game 7.
Overtraining by elite athletes oftens leads to a weakened immune system. Too many minutes for Ekholm for too long. Ditto McDavid. Knoblauch was living on the edge. The Oilers doctors and trainers should have suggested “pitch counts”.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12696983/#:~:text=Overtraining%20syndrome%20(OTS)%20occurs%20where,respiratory%20tract%20infection%20(URTI).
Like Babcock once quipped, if you keep playing those guys 25 minutes, they will lose their pop.
We saw it in the series against Winnipeg years ago. Too much load onto the top line meant lines 3 & 4 weren’t able to get invested in the game. Our top players were gassed by the end. Doesn’t matter who’s coaching – Tippett, Woodcroft, or Knoblauch – they all panic and default to overplaying our stars.
Of course, a powerplay goal and a lead might’ve helped change the outcome of the game, but you’re right in pointing out the Oilers stars were deflated.
It’s kinda depressing that the Oilers are likely to knocked out of the playoffs by Captain Leprechaun and his team of Lucky Charms.
seriously. Oilers are losing to a box of cereal.
WHAT??
On the one hand, you’re calling the Dys a joke of a team.
On the other hand, you’re throwing in the towel way early because you think the Oilers can’t open a cereal box.
Wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend.
Nastiness. It’s needed especially with an opponent like Van. People forget how dirty and nasty the 80s oilers were. It was one of the keys to winning. They take one of yours out you have to take three of theirs.
“oh no we don’t do that, take the high road”. That’s the losers mentality. Not many high skilled teams won without what Marchand just said out loud. It’s war of attrition not a the all star game.
i would change up some of the nice players for more borderline filth next year. Some of the skilled players will need to protect themselves more. Nurse hasn’t been nasty enough.
this is not regular season anymore.
I was going to mention the 80’s teams as well. Tough top down except for Wayne, who was ‘tough’ in that he played through the beatings Connor takes
People on this this blog were lamenting “nastiness” the other day, whining about how they prefer a skill game. Weak stomachs.
Welcome to reality. The NHL playoffs are a Royal Rumble.
Oilers will have to be much tougher to play against if they want to play Game 7.
They also need to figure out the borderline penalty calls. I’m not a Marchand fan at all but some people are ignorant to how the NHL is actually setup for playoff hockey.
i don’t see it changing overnight. Players like Perry and carrick would be counted on to do more. It’s not just playing knuckle dragging hockey but some are needed in order to create space for your skilled players. This element was one of the reasons the leafs bow out early often. Skill alone can only take you so far
I think they were against egregious violence, most liked clean hitting
Someone wrote a ballad about why, due to the violence, they can no longer tolerate watching playoff hockey. Oh come on.
The Soucy cross-check was ugly and merited a one-game suspension. McDavid was no worse for wear.
Looks like our mileage varies on the word egregious, but I’ll stand on my position that playoff hockey is won by tough hombres, always has been, and always will and should be.
Wear your balls on your crest or go practice on the putting green.
Whining?! Really, JC?? It really is a shame that this is what the playoffs are about.
If we’re talking free agency, do you know who has a lot of high quality players that are UFAs? My favourite fancy stat darlings, the Carolina Hurricanes. We’d do well to be sounding out a bunch of their free agents if we want to replenish the wings and D-Corps.
In related fashion they are very well placed to restock the team and keep building on what they have, plenty of cap space, old guys not locked into too many long contracts, all of their draft picks etc. I know they’ve yet to win a Cup with the current regime, but my word what a well managed team.
I was watching them pretty closely last night, there aren’t too many of them I’d want
Skjei Necas Drury aren’t bad
Not sure much stock should be put in to one game.
I mean, if someone watched the Oilers game last night, I would suspect, based on that one game, there are not many they’d want including Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm….
$13.5MM X 8 – something in that range is the clear reasonable expectation given the comparables (MacKinnon, Matthews).
For me, I’d love 6 years but will definitely give 8 to get it done.
I think he re-signs and that is based solely on the fact that there hasn’t been ANY indication he doesn’t intend to and the elite superstars almost always re-sign – leaving in free agency (or forcing a trade prior thereto) is the exception – Tavares, Gaudreau.
If they get knocked out, or he takes a team friendly and leaves some on the table, he might do that
But his agent can argue he’s 2nd highest scorer and justify more than 250K over Matthews
I hope he doesn’t go that route. You are on top of cap implications, there are some hard choices coming up. They can technically fit the high contracts in, but will be stripped of depth
Holland has put the next GM in a pickle with the way the top contracts are done, no movements, long term, etc
Some significant factors surface in using Matthews as a comparable.
Matthews will be 27 years of age next season and his contract expires when he is 30 (September birth date) so will be more able to get another deal with term.
Draisaitl turns 30 shortly after his next contract takes effect so his contract would be a comparable for Matthews NEXT contract.
Given significant increases in the cap, Draisaitl’s agent might well argue for a number significantly higher.
Agreed. I don’t want 34 YO Drai with 4 years to go. I don’t think he will age well. He will always have his skill, but I don’t want to pay a guy 14M to stand at the side of the net waiting to be set up. He already can’t skate hard throughout an entire game, be it injuries piling up or whatever
The Joe Thornton mistake looms large.
Thornton peaked in his 10th NHL season.
Draisaitl is playing his 10th NHL season.
While Thornton remained reasonably productive for quite awhile he never reached 100 points again.
So then what would you suggest, Harper’s hair? What would you do if you were the oiler’s GM with regards to Leon?
Not HH but I would have a long hard think about what the contract ask was ($ and term), where Connor was at which will be available bcs Jackson, and if the team needs two top end F contracts and 2 top end D contracts to win, or it’s it’s better spending the cap dollars on having more production and quality deeper down the group
The pipeline could solve that issue but there isn’t enough talent in it at the moment or in time
See if he would accept a shorter term…say 5 years.
If not, trade him.
The Oilers are already the oldest team in the league and cannot afford to make it significantly worse.
Where are you getting this from? The handful of sites I checked all. have the Penguins as the oldest team. Depending on the site, the Oilers aren’t even the next oldest. One site has the Oilers effectively tied with your team the Stars, and with the Canes.
Oilers’ age will come down without Perry, Henrique and Ryan. I’m not worried about the team’s average age.
Could be illness as well. We know Ekholm has been sick and I’m not so sure the coach didn’t sound under the weather in his post-game last night. Purely speculative but there MAY be more than Ekholm that are sick.
As far as injury, I’m not sure if there is something new but I remains convinced McDavid has not been 100% since October – something in his hand/wrist/finger area. Could be wrong but his “touch” with the puck has not been there all season long and his “shot selection” change is obvious.
Fatigue from overwork/overtraining in elite athletes weakens the immune system.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12696983/#:~:text=Overtraining%20syndrome%20(OTS)%20occurs%20where,respiratory%20tract%20infection%20(URTI).