The Edmonton Oilers lost a game to the Buffalo Sabres last night, and pretty much all flaws were in evidence. The gang that couldn’t shoot straight are now the Marty Feldman All-Stars, simply incredible sequences of posts, bars and miles wide.
The defense had sequences that rivaled the looseness of Crazy Horse performing “Winterlong” at the Fillmore. Stuart Skinner’s kevlar pads made the trip. It was a game the Oilers could not corral, and the result was just. There are some concerns on this roster, suspect summer will see answers you are looking for from management.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN MARCH
- On the road to: CAR (Expected 0-0-1) (Actual 1-0-0)
- At home to: ANA, MTL, DAL (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 2-1-0)
- On the road to: BUF, NJD, NYI, NYR (Expected 2-2-0) (Actual 0-1-0)
- At home to: UTA, WPG, SEA, DAL (Expected 2-2-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- On the road to: SEA (Expected 0-0-1) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: CGY (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected results: 7-5-2, 16 points in 14 games
- March result: 3-1-0
- Oilers in 2024-25: 37-23-4, 78 points in 64 games
I have the team going 2-2-0 on the trip, last night was one of the projected wins. The facts are that Edmonton could play better in all three of the remaining games and go 1-3-0. The Edmonton Oilers are opportunities missed brought to life.
THE NUMBERS
If you’re mad at Evan Bouchard today, he was slashed before coughing up the puck. If you are on X, Jason Strudwick did a nice analysis of the play. Bouchard is a lightning rod for the fan base, but he’s easily the third best (and most valuable) player on this team.
I remain on Team Stuart Skinner but you can see a script being written this summer. Skinner + for a goaltender with more experience, maybe a Stanley. I don’t like it, or agree, but the die is cast in my opinion. Bowman may well have kept his powder dry because the deadline options weren’t there. That will change in summer.
Jeff Skinner will be in a new city next season, I do think the coaching staff’s stubbornness is beyond the pale. I love Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as a player, he’s an all-time favourite for me. He also owns a 1.24 points-60 with Connor McDavid at five-on-five, and that’s in 435 minutes. Jeff Skinner owns a .92 goals-60 with McDavid in just over one hour. Now in fairness McDavid-Skinner was a train wreck early this year (11 percent goal share five-on-five, 46 percent expected) but with RNH unable to find the range I think it might be an idea to contemplate a move there. I would ordinarily suggest Adam Henrique, but the man is a ghost in the offensive zone.
These Oilers want to win. Some of these veterans signed team-friendly deals to come here and the organization still isn’t getting its money’s worth. If this team bows out early, there’ll be blood in the streets up to my ankles.
I don’t buy the idea this team isn’t trying, there’s just no way a player on a McDavid team is going to screw the pooch and walk Whyte Avenue for long. There is erosion here and it is impacting some of our favourites. Denying it doesn’t help. At all.
We’ll chat last night and what may come on the Lowdown today, noon to 2pm on Sports 1440. Daniel Nugent-Bowman at The Athletic will be by and we’ll chat MLB, NFL and more. I’m at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section here and on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly. We can be heard at sports1440.ca; iHeartRadio, Radioplayer Canada, it’s available post-show on apple and spotify, and we tweet it out on X.
A Drai like backhand pass from Savoie – a great set-up to Brady (ECHL call-up) — can’t cash though – would have been a beauty with the pass.
Depleted Condors tie it up against the flow of play – a Hamblin shot block but Caggiula rips it home from distance – Savoie with the 2nd assist.
No Griffith (baby). No Kemp (hurt).
Still no Dermott sighting.
playing against JJ Khaira.
Wow, JJ has played 1 nhl game since the 22-23 season and a total of 40 AHL games. At 30 years of age you gotta think he is getting close to hanging them up. Dosent even show that he has a contract. He has made $9M in his career, just hope he doesn’t have brain Encephalitis.
Summarizing!
Soup for all!
So of course Wakely, after I mentioned how he’s faded down the stretch, scores his 20th goal and adds two assists. He was named 2nd star.
Akey netted his 6th plus an assist.
O’Reilly continued the heater with his 27th, a PP marker.
Nicholl registered a helper.
I think that’s goals in consecutive games for Akey?
You are correct.
I believe this qualifies as a heater for him.
Regarding RNHs erosion. People have up seasons and down seasons. Ask Nurse. It’s too soon to call it erosion. Especially with the super short off season. Save this storyline for next year
Same w Connor imo.
Great article out there about Nate Mk questioning it all at around the same time in his career.
Its all going to be fine, Samuel Jonsson was named goalie of the year in the Allsvenskan!
however this season ends… we should trade Bouchard for Dahlin.
This team needs a Tkatchuk for Huberdeau -esque trade in the offseason.
SOR is 2/3 the way to a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, and the 1st isn’t over yet.
🔥🔥
I ran the stats per NST by month, for goalies above 350 minutes in Oct, 500 minutes Nov-Jan, 275 minutes in Feb, to look at the starters who have played at least as much as Stu and to also include some a bit below. Then I looked at the HDSA per 60, all strengths, for each goalie.
HDSA/60 faced by Stu:
Oct: 6.11 – 19th out of 21 goalies, i.e. 18 goalies faced more per 60
Nov: 5.01 – 23rd out of 23 goalies
Dec: 6.78 – 15th out of 20 goalies
Jan: 7.44 – 6th out of 20 goalies
Feb: 9.65 – 1st out of 24 goalies, i.e. he faced the most per 60
For reference, Stu’s TOI has been Oct-393, Nov-539, Dec-540, Jan-532, Feb-317
Connor McDavid has now been on the ice for 55 goals against at 5v5 in 57 games played. That rate of 0.97/game ranks dead last among all NHL forwards.
And full marks for it too by my eye. That Tuch goal is a perfect example of why. F1 must come back hard through the middle to pressure the puck carrier allowing the defense to stand up. Instead he meanders back forcing Kulak to sag and giving McLeod time for the play to develop.
NOTHING matters if he can’t find a way out of this.
You saw the man at the end of the run last year. He’s built physically differently than Leon or Nate. He looked like a skeleton. I worry he didn’t have the time to build the weight and muscle back. If he can’t find his super human reserves in a well rested time against a bottom feeder can there be hope he can in double OT in Round 3?
If I had to bet I don’t see him having enough in the tank for another push into late June.
yep. And tbh, the whole team does not look like a group ready for a deep run except maybe Leon.
Yep. If he isn’t committed to defending for his 25 min then forget it. There’s others culpable as well like the Goalies! but his own zone coverage which was always average has gotten worse by eye and numbers.
Been saying for a long time he should not be hitting because he’s not built for it. If CMD has to be a hits top on the team 5 the GM needs a new job
He needs to focus on scoring. Particularly himself.
I have also said he needs a winger to focus on defence. MacKinnon is a different type of player and can do that at times. Connor hears dog whistles. The solution is in house from the 80’s. No need to reinvent the wheel. Get someone else to be the defensive conscience
The solution is in house from the 80’s. No need to reinvent the wheel. Get someone else to be the defensive conscience
Isn’t this RNH?
I’d suggest they move 97 permanently to wing to find some cleaner air and lessen the D responsibility since he’s not doing that job well anyway. Other than Dria there’s no suitable center for that role though.
Afraid to say they don’t have the center depth to go deep with the decline of Henrique and Nuge. Just imagine if either of those 2 get hurt
Part of Connor’s step back this season has been has increased aversion to contact. When he’s at the top of his game he initiates contact in puck retrieval and it contributes to taking his game to another level. Maybe that’s not sustainable but it is what it is.
Are we going to beat LA for a fourth consecutive year? We’re not beating them by much in the standings right now. I just have to hope that McDrai will again turn it up to overdrive.
If Bowman decides he wants to bring in Quennville the blood in the street will be up to my knees.
I hesitate to comment directly about it for the obvious reasons, but I can’t think of a better coach for this group that’s not working. This one is losing me
Also, call up Matt Savoie.
There are a number of wingers that he was playing better than when re-assigned.
He can be called up with no other moves – they have the cap space and there is no roster limit post deadline. They have 4 non-emergency call-ups left.
He is eligible for the AHL playoffs (as he was on the AHL roster at deadline).
It makes no sense. The deployment of the forwards boggles the mind.
I am hesitant to focus on any one player when most of them are delivering below par. To me they are all capable NHL players (I didn’t feel that way last season), so they all have to decide to pull together and play better
Most players need the guys on the ice with them to play well to be able to also play well. The Drai’s and Connor’s (when they are on) who can do things regardless are rare
I recently caught the flu from my son. This recent one going about is a doozy. I lost 5kgs in 3 days. The fever has passed, but it feels like it’ll take 2 weeks for the scarring on my throat to go away.
I wonder if a bunch of Oilers aren’t suffering the same. The whole team seems off.
Perhaps but its been 6 weeks with this team.
Sure, but he’s got to have some situational awareness. He has to know he’s got 2 guys in his hip pockets racing and hounding him. Either be ready to make a strong play or make the safe (smart) play by simply poking the puck into the corner and go eat it while waiting for help to arrive.
Bouchard’s play on the first GA was lackadaisical, all he had to do was get in front of Thompson after the shot. Instead he and Walman held the doors wide open for Thompson to waltz through untouched to gobble up the rebound for the goal.
Bryzgalov was on Gregor and I found it interesting that he pushed coaches to ‘not’ have players block shots. Had no success until Pronger came in and said the same thing and they listened
I have never been a fan of it. We’ve seen enough own goals with D deflecting pucks in or off their skate. Bryz wanted the players to go after the opponent to rush them or tie them up to stop rebound attempts, let him make the save and worry about the shooter
If a guy is in the lane properly most times there won’t be a shot. If your not there you not there, and guys also get hurt doing it by turning sideways or taking it in a bad spot because they aren’t squared up where the protection is
Don’t screen the goalie and go get the player or the puck, cut off a lane. I think the D get stuck in between trying to block and also take care of the oncoming player. At least ours seem to
again, yes that is a problem, they should cause him to slow up or run interference BUT that shot should be eaten up by the goalie and voila, no rebound. That is a tender who is not sharp and not ready flubbing a shot like that. Stew’s glove is not his strong suit.
Even more reason for the Dman to not let the shooter follow his shot to the net completely unabated.
He lacks awareness.
I’m really confused by this team. Something feels off watching them this year. What happened to their devastating cycle game? They aren’t nearly as exciting as they used to be. I would be fine with that if it meant they were winning.
I’m no tactician but I am curious if we are watching a similar pattern with Knoblauch as we saw with Woodcroft. New coach comes in to the nhl, implements a strong new system that thrives. The other coaches figure it out and the new hotshot coach fails to adjust.
Last year Knob had the magic touch. This year his choices seem so strange. Brown and Janmark constantly getting elevated while skinner is in the press box makes no sense.
Finally just wanted to say I really miss Ryan McLeod. I really enjoyed watching him develop over the years and thought he was a long term solution at 3c… Meanwhile we are rotating Henrique/Janmark/Kapanen for 3c and 4c…
Stu Skinner has basically had 3 or 4 quality starts against top 10 teams this year. If he plays like he did last night against LA in round 1 of the playoffs the Oilers will not advance. The Kings do not want to lose 4 years in a row to us. Yet, right now, I’d rather play LA than any Central team in the 1st round. That would only happen in we catch Vegas, which is not likely.
It’s hard to play low event lock down hockey for 82 games coming off a short offseason. I really don’t have faith in Pickard but he’ll be vital as Kris will need to reset Skinner 2-3 times if we are able to make it to the final. I have no doubt no matter the outcome Bowman moves on from both goalies hopefully we have a Cup as it’s depressing having to give a sweetner on every player we trade.
I hope s. skinner finds his game and leads this team to a cup. I know he hasn’t been great and I would have loved some veteran cover but he’s our guy and I’m going to cheer for him.
Last night, just bad luck by my eyes. Oilers were clearly the better team but can’t find the net. I’m confident they turn it around and win at least a couple on this road trip. Their schedule has been hellish after 4NF, but after this trip it gets a bit easier. Just one bigger trip to the west coast, and the rest are 1 off road trips mostly in the west.
Connor is flying out there now and it’s going to get them some wins. LGO!
Side question – has there been any update on Regula since January? There was talk of him getting a conditioning stint during 4 Nations but nothing came of it.
Sorry, I don’t have an answer for you.
So next summer, who are 1A goalie candidates the Oilers acquire and at what cost?
I think you are suggesting lack of resources.
Sign a goalie using cost savings from not signing Bouchard.
Sign a Carlos to replace Bouchard.
It could and just might be that easy. However, we have just gone down this path. McLeod out because he wouldn’t hit a fly. I did not like his style and did not think it would be missed. But swapping out him the rest of the turbo gang and bringing in replacements has not meshed well for this past season. I would be very nervous about trying that strategy again.
Im more inclined to build around Skinner and Bouchard. My bet is the management staff is more inclined to build without them.
These are NHL players and should be able to focus on details of the game. Regardless of opportunity luck, chances, they should be able to maintain details of the game.
When the bad guys take a shot on net, get in the lane, interrupt that player from getting his rebound. Oilers – stand there and watch.
When you can make a hit, make the hit. Why would you purposely disengage and just skate by? This is hockey, get involved.
Get in front of the net and dig in. Okay, this has been better, but detail of the game. Do not sit on the perimeter for keep away game.
Win your one on one battles. Have some pride. Take it personally, show some emotion.
Each player has to deliver the details. If not, dial them way back. Bouchard should be under 20 minutes. Others on the bench. You can’t “make” some score, but you can make them accountable for the details of the game. Each player picks it up even 10% the overall affect will be winning games.
I think sometimes we forgot that the other team also has “NHL players.”
Some coaches keep it very, very simple. Beat the other team at one on one battles. Win your battles, win the shift, win the period. Its all about the details. The goals will come.
Bowman knows it he said too many of the same type of player. Last night I said they have no balls, some didn’t like that but. When Kane plays they act like a different team maybe Frederic can bring some of that back
I just heard someone say it’s good to be a Boy Scout, but not when everyone else is a gangster. It was said the schedule is hard, there are other problems. But the best teams still keep winning records
Most NHL coaches are good coaches. I am more convinced the right coach hasn’t been found in the Connor era. The wrong way of playing can stifle too much offense. This team can score and that’s driven because of the talent. But it’s spotty and disappears at critical times. A part of that is they revert to trying things that are well known and it makes them easier to defend. They shouldn’t be easy to defend ever
They aren’t short on skill. So why are so many players struggling? It’s not one thing, but they need different tactics offensively. And on the PP for when it’s stale or being defended well. They use stretch passes as many teams do and play on the perimeter in the O zone cycling
Players stand behind coverage and that leads to failed forced passes. I hope the dice roll right these playoffs but I’m not bullish on a Cup. If Stu is in trouble I think the coach is as well. Like KK and appreciate Coffey taking defensive play out of the Stone Age, but the two rookie coaches don’t seem to have the answers this season. The team needs a strong leader that’s not a player right now. Well always
This season is disappointing so far, but I remain hopeful with Bowman making the right decisions as it stands, and there’s a few to make in a few months
I heard Bowman was in on a trade with Chuck Norris for a set of balls but couldn’t get the deal done?
He did get Frederic and Jones. Back in the DoD I asked Ed Patterson who was on the Kamloops Blazers back when they were winning Memorials, and had those teams with a bunch of future NHL stars. Ed was on the muscle crew, he is a big dude and has a hockey face to show for his former glories. I’m not small but around him felt like it. Had the same feeling when a buddy introduced me to Souray – and he was in the WHL and a teen still, giant
He became visibly angry when I asked him about standing up – or not – for your teammates. The concept was still completely incomprehensible to him. NHL players to be good or better have to have that sort of mindset, that they don’t lose personally or as a team
They take losing a battle personally, or getting beat for a goal. No eye rolls or head back looking at the rafters, they get busy making sure that’s the last one at least for now. There are too many Oilers settling for less. I’m not sure it’s in some of them to change but they can, and I hope they do soon for the playoffs. I expect a another busy summer this go round as Stan tweaks
Maybe they need some new tactics, a motivation coach
“it puts the puck in to the net, ….. or else it gets the hose again”
….. Hannibal
Heh Heh
It’s been a long-time issue. The team seems to be fine with partial efforts around game performance. I am not saying you must BLOW EVERYONE UP with a hit, but looking at Bouchard, he doesn’t even try to get in the lane and make the opponent at least go around. The stick waving by the entire group needs to stop. Bouchard is just the visual example of the entire team’s game management.
Totally agree. Im poking fun today, but yes the stick waving is a long time issue so it must be acceptable play with coaches
Lowetide, being a person that believes in analytics I’m surprised you are so high on S.Skinner. His numbers are really bad by analytics and eye test. I like the person but being nice isn’t going to win a cup. His numbers are getting worse each season. The Oil are a top hockey team as well; i would hate to see his numbers playing on Chicago or San Jose. His pay is actually high for his performance. He should be a backup at best right now. If we get knocked out early from poor goaltending and Management doesn’t address this I’m sure you would agree they should be fired. No?
Stu Skinner saved two Oilers’ seasons. He has four playoff series wins.
How quickly we forget.
He might have saved us from losing McDrai.
There’s gonna be a lot of roster turnover from last season to next season
One can hope. All of the mid 30’s lead boots should be moved.
I’m honestly done making excuses for Bouchard and this team, It’s every single game Bouchard makes multiple low I.Q plays.
Skinner is just throwing his body in front of shots now, no form whatsoever & rebound control is terrible.
You can’t win right now with ether of these guys, package them in the off season and fix this team.
Both players might be really great in a couple years, the Oilers don’t have a couple years.
Agreed. Good riddance to them both along with Rico, Arvy, Kap, Brown, Perry.
Or get a coach that can work to the roster and lead their wandering minds to the ice. Juice them up and calm them down when needed, as needed. KK has only one speed and it’s putting them to sleep. Coffey might be out of his element now and hasn’t been able to get them stable enough or help Bouch
Skinner I don’t care but Bouch can play he has done it when it counts most. They don’t get to the finals last season without his play
I remain annoyed/frustrated that Drai hit that post on the open net.
He sure did. BUT others are allowed to score at some point aside from 97 and Drai. We have guys with scoring history who love the logo, the pads, the boards or are in the pressbox at this point.
More frustrating is the first goal that skinner caused.
The forward to took the shot had a clear path between two Oilers to get his own rebound. Just step in his way, engage, disrupt his path, don’t just watch the guy get his own rebound!
There never should of been a rebound on that shot. That goal is on skinner. I don’t disagree with what you said.
So you are good with how Bouchard and Walman played that?
Are there any motorcycle guys/gals on here ? Oilers are fun but cruising the motorways is really fun. Lowetide and CycleTrader are my two favorite spots.
I don’t think it’s fair to say you’re either with Skinner or against him. It’s far more nuanced than that. Of course I like him, and cheer for him, and will cheer for him as long as he’s on this team.
But I do believe in the goals saved above expected stat. He’s 41/54 for all goalies who’ve played 20 games this season. Last year he was 32/64.
If we focus on a starter role (>50% of starts):
2022-23: 13th of 25
2023-24: 19/31
2024-25: 28/32
At best, he’s been average, and in this case would warrant the contract he has (and then some). However, this year, there are clearly cheaper alternatives who have outperformed him in a starter role.
It is also true that he is a bounce back candidate for next year. I recall that Dubnyk had a terrible season after the birth of a child and was traded away, and the next season returned to form for 5 more seasons.
The play should be to trade for a 1B upgrade on Pickard and see if Skinner returns. And seriously consider goaltending coaching that may be different from their current team
He’s well below average. If he was average we would have 5 more wins.
Skinner is 75th in the league in GA -122 – Expected goals against – 116.92 – Goals saved above expected – minus -5.1
GAA – 2.88 33rd in the league
SV% .896 37th in the league.
This is not a starting NHL goalie, he’s barely above replacement value.
It may be too doomer and alarmist, but the vibes are way off right now. Enough so that playoffs are nowhere near a guarantee right now.
We’ve all watched this team. Not even last week, the coach called them fragile. That fragility has played out at least once a season for an extended stretch in each of McDavid’s 10 years.
If they continue going 2-3 every five games for the rest of the year, they’ll maybe have 92-94 points, which might not be enough.
Is anyone confident enough to say they won’t do that? Especially after these last nine games?
I think they’ll make the playoffs on the back of Draisaitl alone. However, one can easily imagine a WC2 spot if this keeps up.
I don’t disagree that this team has been maddeningly fragile for a decade.
And yet they still came within *one goal* of hockey glory last year. Of a comeback for the ages.
The team is awfully inconsistent, but their ceiling is sky-high.
The good news is that everyone needs to play better and can play better. I
thought Dolynny TV had some good points about the power play after the game. Its turned into set up Draisaitl 99% of the time now. No wonder no one else is scoring on the power play. McDavid will dance right into the slot have a wide open shot and then…dish to Draisaitl for the bad angle goal line shot. Yes Draisaitl has scored a lot of goals from here but come on. Set up someone else or shoot yourself.
The problem with that bad angle shot is that it doesn’t produce any rebounds.
Prospectiful!
O’Reilly needs to stop, drop and roll because he is on fire right now. His six-game heater has seen him ring up 8 goals (with two hatties!) and 6 apples.
Nicholl has gone cold as ice. Is he willing to sacrifice his love? If it meant getting off the schneid, I think he might be.
Wakely too has faded down the stretch, helped none by his recent two-game vacation.
Akey scored his first goal in half a season yestergame.
London (O’Reilly, Nicholl) @ 5 p.m.
Barrie (Akey, Wakely) @ 5 p.m.
Both times are the same time and are also Bluesky time.
Sam O’Reilly and his current scoring outburst is honestly the most positive Oilers-related news that fans have as hope as the overarching theme. Otherwise, hopelessness would get all the headlines it seems.
I thought he was one of the better forwards last night
He needs to play and play more and higher in the lineup – end stop.
My goodness, the likes of Janmark haven’t even been solid defensively lately. Brown remains a ghost, Henrique close to a ghost, Podz is a non-factor and hurt the team last night.
Play Skinner.
Nuge as 1LW is over for now – they need to move off it.
I’m fine knocking him down to the 3rd line but I wouldn’t be adverse to giving him to Drai for a bit – its worked in the past and maybe the change will help him?
At this point, put Skinner with McDavid, just do it.
i dont mind that idea. See what he can do. It is tiring watching 97 set up cherries for players who can’t put in the net. LOVE nuge but he isnt cutting it right now point wise. He should of tied the game last night. Great save by the buffalo goalie mind you but still.
I look forward to Frederic’s appearance on the roster, then we can forget all about Jeff Skinner thank you very much.
They are not applying for the same job. Opposite skill sets, play each man across the roster to his strengths.
Why would we want to forget about a guy with a long history of scoring many goals when there are so many players in this team that do not score goals.
I love any Crazy Horse reference.
Maybe Connor’s ire moves something in this locker room and prods the coaching staff to buck up? Maybe not, but something has to give after such an abject performance by everyone.
Posts and crossbars, PDO is going to eventually swing in their favour.
Which they will need running two back up netminders.
Guess what, other teams starters stop rush shots. That’s why they’re starters, their talent prevails.
Skinner was a 5’7 140lb flopping trout last night, composure and control are consistently inconsistent and until that changes the Oilers netminder is their fatal flaw.
Skinner may have been 5’7 & 140lb when he was 12.
LT, given this club’s history with the Sabres (not a good one over recent seasons), I have your confidence of a win as perhaps a little too much wishful thinking.
(On Jan 25 the score was also 3-2, Oilers only winning on the backs of Stuart Skinner’s heroics (stopping 39 of 41 shots). )
A Stanley in June would change that plan but, at this point, it tough to see a Stanley – not out of the realm of reasonableness though.
Moving on from a player with such a value contract would be a tough pill to swallow – not out of the realm of reasonableness though.
22-16-4 2.88 0.896
22W 20L
The Oilers are 2 games over 0.500 with Skinner between the pipes, he’s a backup signed to high-end backup money. He’s not a value contract, that’s his value.
I can’t disagree with this at the moment. Frustrating to say. He can definitely be better but that is what he is right now.
Watching the oil play most of the game the way they did against dallas only adds to it. The team playing as a whole helps the tending be better but last night the Buffalo goalie made the saves and the oil goalie didn’t.
Meh – I don’t agree and would note his career spans longer than his 44 appearances this season.
He’s 26, I don’t think moving on (and keeping career backup 33 year old Pickard) is a prudent idea. The smart thing to do is to acquire a 1A/1B type goalie and see how Skinner does the last year of his contract. Having 2 potential starters is better than 1.
Yes, Bouch needed to be stronger on the puck when the battle engaged but I don’t think that was a weak effort – he had one hand on the stick as he was trying to our-race two top offensive players on the opposition because of a terrible play by Podz. Any lack of urgency was Podz himself on the backcheck which was egregious – lazy and he went to the wrong place – check Thompson for crying out loud.
It looked like they were ganging up on Bouchard to force turn overs. I think he might be missing Ekholm.
Healthy Ekholm would certainly help. So would his forwards making smarter play high in the offensive zone (and actually making an effort on the backcheck and taking the right route and attacker).
Very pro-Bouchard biased comment OP…..Bouchard was caught in tough at the offensive Blueline….BUT, he stopped skating and coasted in that race…Poz took Thompson because Bouchard was indecisive and took nobody.
I’m sorry but, after having gone back and watching the replay just to be sure, this does not line up with what happened. Bouch never stopped skating. In fact, Podz stopped skating and Podz did NOT take Thompson, that being part of the problem.
Podz could have continued to hustle back and, at the very least, effected Thompson’s ability to make the move and finish
Bouch is very valuable, we need him. Bouch is also butter soft at times and looks like he took a toke and is picking daisies on certain plays. Those are the plays that will drive everyone crazy and why he is getting torn into by some of the fanbase. That was on Podz but Bouch is gonna hear it too.
He took a toke and is picking daises…
Line of the century
In all fairness the team in front of him needs to be accountable as well and they need to score more goals.
Yep. This is the season in a nutshell.
I have said it for the last few months, Stu has done some good work but at this point he is not good enough to win a cup.
I keep trying to tell myself that last night’s roster was missing Ekholm, Frederic and Kane and that things will be different come playoff time. Seems like a hope more than a reasonable bet. This team has been unconvincing for the majority of this season and it’s getting hard to envision a long playoff run.
The truth is that Ekholm will be back, Frederic will eventually make his debut and Kane might also return to the lineup. That trio will make a huge difference.
100%
The Oilers without Bouchard have been outscored 80-85 at 5v5.
Connor McDavid has been outscored 17-27 playing without Bouchard.
Bouchard sucks!!!!
You do realize that Connor has 80ish points and is a +2 for the season? Maybe Connor is one of the problems!
Don’t build a team for old men. One was playing with fire losing McLeod, Broberg, Holloway, and Desharnais.
One has to fade the urge to hire too many mercenaries.
Desharnais is playing for the Nordiques now no?
Desharnais was a good regular season fit for the Oilers. Desharnais (and McLeod and Holloway) were arguably the players with the most joyful exuberance in the super serious McDavid lockerroom.
Skinner is simply not good enough. He looks panicky, jittery and unsure. I like him. I wish he didn’t play here.
Bouchard. I suppose he adds a lot of fancy statsy numbers to the equation, but he looks like hell. I would sit him for a game or two to shake up his head. Then actively present him with the wonderful opportunity to advance his career somewhere else.*
*Or pay him $3M per year to be a bottom pair D with no expectations. He should then be able to cover that bet.
This the same Bouchard who scored more goals than the entire forward group last night?
Yup. That Bouchard. One dimensional, average skater, soft, defence optional defenceman.
Its interesting to me that goals scored vs. goals given up are deemed to be “fancy stats”.
We need better goaltending plain and simple. I understand being on board with skinner and I have been as well but he/the goaltending NEEDS to be better. Was it a sloppy ugly game from the skaters as well? yes it was. That first goal should never go in.
The die is cast, correct. Skinner is a mediocre 1B goaltender. I feel harsh saying that tbo but the stats are there.
All I will say about the coach’s handling of Jeff Skinner is that he learned a great deal last post season. We’ve all seen it. The playoffs are literally a different sport. You’re playing nothing but top-6/top-4 caliber players with their dials turned up to 11. He will have a PK/defensive line with 13-19-28 and perhaps one similar player could rotate into that spot to HS either of those wingers. He’ll have a energy line that will play a north-south game and soften the defense. Jeff Skinner is not applying for either of these jobs. He’s applying for a job in the Top-6 and that means going against Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
We’ve seen very strong regular season players like Warren Foegele, Ryan McLeon, Vinny Desharnais, Cody and Corey Perry get healthy scratched and it’s been completely on merit.
Jeff Skinner has scored a few goals but you can see the someone looking at a random goal against the Sharks in October being an irrelevant data point in his evaluation as to whether he can be a top-6 player on this team in May against Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe.
The Oilers outside of the big three struggled to score goals in the last 2 rounds.
Skinner can score. Find a use for the player. It’s not hard.
It’s probably harder than you think.
Having one-shot scorers as your depth in the playoffs is one of the best possible assets. They could do almost nothing all game and then give you exactly what you need.
Skinner is also an excellent technical skater, so it’s not like he’s just standing in a spot.
The coach being completely perplexed in terms of using him at best, or at worst directly opposed to using him, is crazy.
What actually happened at the end of the playoffs? They didn’t score enough.
There is a lot of disappointment in the vets right now. I think/hope the narrative will be drastically different post playoffs. I expect we will get the best versions of Janmark, Henrique, and Brown in the playoffs. Janmark and Brown didn’t do much for me in the regular season last year either, but when it’s life and death they can be counted on. Leon and McDavid raising their games can be counted on and I think/hope the same is true of Bouch. Who knows with Arvidson but he sure looked good with the Kings in the playoffs. Add in the big bodies and this group can get it done. Sadly, I expect Nuge to be only slightly above meh in the playoffs.
Crazy how close the margins in hockey are – even one of those posts goes in last night, especially early, and I think the verbal today is a lot different.
The forwards are concerning though, I agree, too many quiet passengers. The good news is that there are other options that can be tried. Savoie showed more life than some in his short time here, Frederic I suspect will be a lock, Philp could be another option, and I pray every day that Kane is capable of playing NHL hockey again. So that’s 4 options, who were not in the lineup last night, that could maybe be used to inject some life later this season and into the playoffs.
Blue line looks good, let Ekholm rest because if he is in and healthy, this blue line is 100% good enough to win a Cup, I know it. Bouchard just needs to cut out some of the crap.
Alas, none of that matters if the goaltending continues to be sub.900. Just hoping like hell Skinner figures this out, and soon. 22/44 games this season with a save percentage less than .900. Since February 1, Skinner has only managed a save percentage north of .900 in 2/10 games. This is a major story.
After Vejmelka resigned, and Gibson got hurt, I could understand why Bowman didn’t get a goaltender. But if the Oilers lose in the playoffs, and goaltending is an issue, Bowman won’t be able to say he didn’t know it was a risk.
The vets are rightfully getting a lot of flack, and should, but I just don’t think it can be overstated how terrible this goaltending has been – this season.
Running the numbers on money puck, for true starters this season starters of a minimum 35 games, Skinner is 25/28 in goals saved above expected. Georgiev, Ersson, and Saros only trail. One of only 5 goalies who are in the negatives for goals saved above expected, everyone else is in the positives.
How much would the verbal change on this team and its components if they were getting even league average starting goaltending? I wonder if this veteran team is supposed to be winning more closer, tighter affairs, but doesn’t have the backstop to support that playstyle and it is a throwing a wrench into everything.
You want goaltending numbers to improve? Quit bleeding rush chances.
I get that, but that is also why teams have goalies, and why goaltending matters. They should be there to stop shots, sometimes difficult ones. That is why I value goals saved above expected. In theory, it should suss out the quality of the defence in front of them. In my opinion, there is just no way to slap lipstick on numbers this bad. Skinner has played poor this year.
Well, I’m with you on the “different story” if even one post-shot goes in.
From what I’m reading here, I may have watched a different game than pretty much everyone here. I’m not alarmed. Some sloppy play by some forwards, yes. Lots of bad puck luck, for sure.
When I look at NHL EDGE the biggest difference I see between last year’s team and this year is shooting %. This year’s team is down, significantly. That was glaring yesterday, and Saturday. How many posts over those two games? How many empty nets missed?
How long until we get to see Trent Frederic play the Maroon role on 97’s left side?
This is very likely. Either Frederic plays 3c or somewhere in the top six. If he’s in the top six Nuge will be 3c. There will be some experimentation with Frederic and his ideal roster location.
Be worth trying. Nuge is really having a tough season.
If Skinner goes this summer, then I think that our goalie coach needs to be shown the door too. Honestly, if they flame out in the conference semi-final or sooner, then the entire coaching staff will be gone anyway.
If Skinner gets healthy scratched after last night’s game, they might as well donate his equipment to Hockey Central. He was one of the more effective forwards last night in the offensive zone, and I didn’t really notice any defensive flaws or lost board battles.
But… he didn’t score. So… how effective was he really.
How effective were the other forwards who also did not score? Why single out JSkinner with your comment?
Because that’s what he does best apparently.
My bet is he sits. It is brutal and that is one thing that pisses me off about this coach. And yet Brown and Especially Janmark stay in the lineup . That 3rd line stunk last night as it does on most .