The Evander Kane-Adam Henrique-Connor Brown line set the tone early, and ran roughshod over the Vegas Golden Knights last night in Edmonton. The opening goal featured a crushing hit by Kane, a fine pass by Brown, and a dart to the heart from Henrique. All of these men warranted consideration for player of the game.
Stuart Skinner had a fine game, I was so happy for him. As the online venom reached fever pitch during the anthem last night, Skinner punched his shoulder, set his jaw, and played well. I would like nothing more than to tell you Skinner was the most impressive Oilers player in last night’s game. Alas, I cannot.
Evan Bouchard had a monster night, and did it across 200 feet for the Oilers. He was exceptional. He took care of the puck and had an impact in coverage. Calm feet and Evan Bouchard have been used in the same sentence exactly one time, and you my friend are reading that sentence right now.
If they asked me (they never do) to name the player of the game, it would be Evander Kane. He had a goal, an assist, six thundering hits and took a penalty that should not have been called (it was a crosscheck, where the hell was he supposed to go?) and that’s important. Kane, at his best, can score goals, pass the puck well, get the opposition off their game and stay out of the penalty box. Kane’s performance was close enough to perfect last night, the call by the stripes was their mistake, not Kane’s error. We are seeing Kane at the top level right now, that’s a fantastic outcome for the Oilers.
THE NUMBERS
Stuart Skinner’s successful game may have the most impact on the rest of the season. Confidence is a thing, and goalies thrive on it. If Skinner believes he’s invincible, that’s a good thing.
Darnell Nurse with Troy Stecher was an effective pairing last night, for me Stecher brings a calming presence to the unit. He’s not big, but he’s tougher than the rest. I thought Nurse had a strong game, after a couple that were less than his best.
Jake Walman and John Klingberg are the most prominent contributions from Stan Bowman, and my goodness the duo makes a difference.
I think these Oilers, to a man, knew the assignment and applied all available resources to the task individually. The result was a fantastic team effort, and the kind of game we may remember later this summer. It is a candidate for the best playoff game of the McDavid era.
The Lowdown hits at noon, Sports 1440. Daniel Nugent-Bowman at The Athletic will join us at 1:20, we’ll have Declan Krueger gift us with another edition of ‘Hi my name is…” and Donovan Paulson will bring his special mix of opinions and diatribes. 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.
Imagine being a prospect in the king system today. I am curious to see what La will do this off season. I hope they blow their load on someone like Nikolai ehlers, and the Barry Bonds of hockey from Florida which will create no playing time for Clarke òr Spencè
Goal 2 highlight is kinda hilarious. Knee-slide cellies for 3 guys on one side of the ice, oblivious to Kane (then Nurse) taking on 6 Vegas players on the other side.
Can’t wait for Bouch to sign a extension so he can go back to “sucking”
I wonder if there were any contact talks during the season. Might have been able to get him under 10. Not likely now if he keeps doing what he does in the playoffs
Tongue in cheek?
What’ll really get your goat is the Skinner extension.
Amazing game by the Oilers! Like clockwork, HH is here in full force projecting whatever negatives he can find. It’s a miserable time for a troll! WOOOOOOOooaoaooaoaoaoaoao!!!
Ummmmmmm……
Ryan Rishaug
@TSNRyanRishaug
So let’s say Stu is in goal and wins this series… in the mean time Pickard recovers to 100%… who starts the next series? How tough is that decision and will it affect the confidence of the non-starter? Two competitive goalies, what a (wonderful) problem to have!
Easy. Games 1-3 go to Pickard. Skinner for the balance.
I say this only partly in jest.
Should be Cal, for the same reason it should have been him round 1 game 1.
Will be Skinner, for the same reason it was him round 1 game 1.
Kane is an absolute load, a key difference maker. Oil shouldn’t have needed his contributions to get past the first round, but without Kane I think they’re golfing already. That series turned sharp, it almost didn’t, and a raging, bullheaded Kane is part of what sent it spinning. And now against nemesis Vegas the beat goes on. Hail Kane!
Pretty crazy how KK found a way to shut down the imposing Eichel line by matching them against an injured Draisaitl, Kapanen who hadn’t been playing and Podkolzin.
https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-vs-golden-knights-game-4-tactical-review
Pure brilliance! Who else would have thought of this?
How many times has he made adjustments that seem questionable, but work perfectly? He did it in every series last year and he seems to have the magic touch again.
Yeah, KK often has a few more levers to pull than prior Oilers coaches.
It’s refreshing.
From Todd McLellan on to Woodcroft, it’s mostly been shorten the bench and ride 29 and 97 hard.
Cassidy is a pretty sharp tactician and it was an impressive coaching adjustment.
The need for a guy with speed to forecheck had been mentioned a few places prior to that.
Eichel was having himself a series the best you can hope for is to contain him which they did so well last night. He’s a great hockey player and after making him virtually invisible he still managed to smoke one of the crossbar on the PP.
Leon looks ill out there, rather than injured. Movements have been just fine. Would explain a lot.
I love the fact they’re as a group targeting Pietrangelo every opportunity to hit that dirty sob. I’m a little surprised Vegas hasn’t had more pushback physically I do think they have the injury bug coming out of that tough Wild series.
Perry took a pretty heavy cross check on the power play from McNabb, I think. He didn’t play many minutes. I hope he’s alright.
Samanski scores his 2nd of the tourney in a 5-2 win.
Played 18:19, 2nd among German forwards, just behind Stutzle.
Wow, that is excellent!
Goal sequence begins at 1:23:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xAE_83Y-EA
Am I the only one who loves checking on the lower-tier IIHF tourneys?
Big story is Uzbekistan in their first ever tournament winning Division 4 (8th tier). They dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker in a shootout to Armenia, but rallied to score double digits in winning all 4 of their other games. Exclamation point was a 26-1 debacle over Indonesia en route to a +69 goal difference for the tourney.
Keep an eye on the Uzbeks! Honourable mention to Mexico for winning Div 3B on home ice. Gotta feel good for fans of Mexican hockey.
My father was the coach of the Mexican national team in the 2000. Quite the gig back then. Competed in Belgrade for their divisions world championships.
That’s awesome! It’s cool to see how many countries not only have national hockey programs, but have had them for a long time.
I feel an honorable mention needs to be made for Frederic dropping the gloves and going 12 rounds with a monster of a man.
Especially with a sore beak after the cross-check by Roy. This man needs to be signed he’s only going to get better he does his job smartly.
— the concerns about the health of Kane Klinberg Fred 6th/7th D and the lack of ideal prep being a worry going into playoffs has been answered
— Drai not Drai’ing and Pickard hopefully comes back healthy. McD picking his spots
— Any reservations about the fitness of this team to win the Cup have been removed.
— That was a statement win. For G and team.
— This team is legit and it’s the best chance to win Cup since Kinger was a little boy.
LFGOILERS!!!!
* whispers: they can win it all.
The refs lost control of hill last evening. I counted at least 4 wacks and one roughing the player that he should have been called. The most egregious was this roughing on Zack. Maybe it is a good thing the refs let it go, and Hill kept adding to his misery.
I honestly thought Skinner was going to have to come down and drop the gloves with Hill the way things were going.
That was a whale of a game last night. I was so pumped I had trouble getting to sleep! Kept rerunning the highlights in my head!
Man that first period last night was insane. The oilers were just a mean heaving hitting and at times dirty team. We were finally that team that we have complained about for years. Janmark taking out Hill was a Tkachuck type of move. Kane and Hyman also drove Hill and their defense crazy. We keep playing like this and the cup is ours this year!!
It could be argued Hill put his skate out to make contact with Janmark. Kane was cross checked into Hill. Oilers were certainly out to bully the Knights but in a controlled manner, unlike VGK’s goaltender, who was obviously told to chill out.
He stuck out his leg and took a dive. He suckered in the Refs and got the penalty call. He’s doing whatever it takes to win only problem is the Refs may be on to him. When your a Stanley Cup champion goalie you do get the benifit of the doubt but this was Billy Smith obvious.
100% this. I couldn’t understand why no one on the broadcast was mentioning it. Absolutely looked to me from the net cam angle that Hill stuck his foot out as Janmark was doing his flyby. I admit Janny was in the blue but Hill instigated.
Not sure about Sportsnet but they showed & discussed it a few times on the TNT broadcast, same with Kane getting crosschecked. Biz even called out the refs “for trying to keep Vegas in it” during the intermission.
And bullying Pietro trying to bait him into another Bunyan. Not like Wes would’ve called it.
Kaner whipping off the helmet after he saw 3 Knights coming after him is why you pay for that kind of guy. Worth the price of admission. Hill on tilt was a sight.
Was also hilarious to see Wheeler have to praise him on the panel when his leadership core was the reason Kane got thrown out of Winnipeg (with his track suit).
Janmark didn’t take out Hill. Janny did a fly by a little too close and Hill stuck his foot out. The rest was a shit show.
The offer sheet compensation revisions have been released.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/nhl-releases-new-compensation-thresholds-for-offer-sheets/
So Ken Holland is going to offer Bouch $11,700,191?
Someone might.
The Oilers have only $9.4 million in cap space with 6 UFAs and Bouchard as RFA.
They would have to perform major surgery to match that offer sheet.
Bury J Brown, Dineen, Jones maybe Tomasek there’s another 4.2.
9.4+4.2 = 13.6 > 11.7
Dispatch Arvidsson if sticky for 8.
The BIG UFA’s:
Skinner – gone
Perry- 1M
Kap – 1M or gone
Brown – might lose if O/S
Freddy – same
Klingy – 2-3
Would suck to lose Brown, Freddy would be the real cap casualty which compared to Bouch is a no brainer.
They won’t get married to the depth. Integrate new guys as all contenders do.
No sweat.
Arvidsson has a full NMC.
Why would he waive it and what would be required to dispatch him?
The new guys won’t be free.
Bouchard 11.7
Perry/replacement 1
Kapanen/replacement 1
Brown/replacement 1
Frederic/replacement 1
Klingberg/replacement 1
Even at $1 million each you’re looking at $16.7 million.
A clean disposition of Arvidsson (unlikely) and downgrading the depth still leaves issues all while salaries are on the rise.
So what? We still have Bouchard, which was your original argument. We don’t have to move Arviddson to do it either.
This is false.
The Oilers currently have $10.6M in cap space accounting for 21 NHL roster spots.
These 21 roster spots include the buriable contracts of Max Jones, Josh Brown, Matt Savoie, & Alec Regula.
With these contracts buried, the Oilers have $14.3M in space accounting for 17 NHL roster spots.
It is possible that the Oilers will elect to trade one of their current 2026 expiring contracts, either Henrique or Kane, both players would net a solid return, potentially multiple non-first round picks, or a single first round pick.
Your sadness from the failures of all of your favourites: the Kings, the Avs, & the Lightning sure is clouding your poor & limited understanding!
Are you saying the Oilers would match the Bouchard offer sheet and run a 17 man roster?
Henrique has a full NMC and replacing him (if he waives) with an effective 3C would almost certainly cost more than his $3 million cap hit.
Kane might be traded but he most certainly would not garner a first round pick and then you have to pay to replace him. Who and how much….remembering that salaries are increasing as the cap spikes.
They should not match that offer sheet if it comes. Too damn much.
I agree.
The Oilers have to bear in mind that a year later it’s very likely they will have to pony up for an Ekholm replacement with Walman and Kulak also hitting UFA status and no goaltenders signed.
Not to mention McDavid’s new deal.
Evolving Hockey has Bouchard estimated to sign an 8 year deal for $10.8 million.
https://evolving-hockey.com/blog/contract-projections-update-2025/
1) Bouchard can only sign a 7-year offer sheet
2) any offer sheet over 5 years will have a compensation tier AAV higher than the cap hit as the max term for compensation tier determination purposes is 5 years. A 7 year X 10MM offer sheet is $14MM for compensation determination purposes
3) Evan Bouchard has a VERY good arb case and, he files for arb, he is not offer sheet eligible.
Bouchard being signed to an offer sheet is a very remote possibility given the practicalities.
Whenever you talk about Bouchard it reminds me how you thought he was not an NHL player and how Ty Smith and Valimaki were better and passed him.
Now you’re doomposting about how he’s so good the Oilers can’t afford him.
How embarrasing (for you).
Based on what we’ve seen since he left I would expect Holland do something however I do not think Stan will get caught off guard. It is crazy to me how bitter he seems to be about leaving Edmonton . Buddy you got paid $5 million * 5 years is that not enough compensation for what you did? The other thing is I really don’t think Evan Bouchard would sign an offer sheet anyways.
Holland gets a lot kudos but really in 5 years what did he do? He inherited the core, his work lead to the sheets, still have holes he inherited and left
Hyman and Ekholm were what any GM would do except they probably got better deals. Nurse’s overpay was orchestrated by Holland, it’s public knowledge Nurse wanted less and was ready to sign before the Keith/Jones deals
Campbell. Kassian. There’s even more. He didn’t earn more time as I see it. Now on to ‘fixing’ the Kings?
86 players eligible for offer sheets.
https://puckpedia.com/players/search?q=2024-2025-offer-sheet
7-1 in last 8 playoff GP. DSF is talking cap space for Bouch.
Reminds me of 2015 lottery win, “they won’t be able to afford everyone!”.
Do you do kids bday parties?
I agree on Kane being MOTM. There are not many players in the entire league who can affect a game like him when he’s healthy.
I appreciate the Oilers bringing intensity but, to me a biased fan, staying on the line of cheap shots. Kane did nothing wrong, etc.
And kudos to Hyman – the scoring touch isn’t there anymore, but he’s skating like vintage Glenn Anderson out there.
Hitting Pietrangelo every single Gord-damned chance they get is having an effect. I thought he might pass out on the bench at one point.
He was certainly wincing after one of the softer looking hits he took and struggling on the bench a bit.
That was from the Nuge shot into his ankle.
Someone pointed out yesterday that Vegas was not wise to engage the Oilers emotionally like they did in the 1st: immediately the Oilers started feasting off it and really gained some major momentum off it. Cassidy must have told them during first intermission to cut that all out, and sure enough they did. Kind of fascinating as you don’t often see a playoff game heat up like that in the first then become rather emotionless for the remainder.
Getting Kane back and having Frederic Perry Pod Nurse at times, and adding 220lb Walman has this group looking a lot like the 80s Oilers. They can play a skill game and they can play the dirty way. The Knights are big team but I don’t think they can take it to the trenches and come out on top
This is the best I’ve ever seen this team post childhood. If they can beat the refs and the other team they have a chance. Maybe if Winnipeg makes it through there will be no funny stuff.
A healthy Kane really could be the key to overcoming the annual Draisaitl injuries. No criticism of Drai, mans a warrior.
Unfortunately we’ve seen what occurs when we’re up against Winnipeg. It is very much funny stuff.
Revenge for the Avco cup loss is coming – if the Jets can make it by Dallas.
At 7-3 in games the Good Guys currently sport the best record these playoffs. 9 more fellas
Carolina is 7-2. But the Good Guys record is absolutely impressive! And I’m firmly of the belief we could take Carolina if that’s the SCF. As long as
RoliStu and Picks don’t get hurt.Missed them thx
In Eichel’s post game, he mentioned Skinner’s puck play with limiting their zone time. Specifically the timing and delay he used before he moved the puck. We laud Pickard’s stick handling, I’d never noticed if Skinner’s was on par. Good for us.
He must have been working recently on his puck handling.
I agree, as if anything it’s been a known Stu weakness. Last night he looked capable and decisive
Game 5 vs LA
Game 1 vs Vegas
Game 4 vs Vegas
Those were dominant 2-way games by the Oilers.
They haven’t been able to string that type of performance together but, when they are at the top of their game, I don’t imagine there is a team that can beat them without a goalie steal.
Absolutely OP. Their three best games of the playoffs.
The PK was outstanding last night. Completely frustrated VGK. They are still running the T formation just after zone entry as the puck moves through the point. The top FWD pressures Theodore to one side and forces them downhill (with the goal of not allowing a roll back or cut to the inside). The other FWD splits the ice and reads the cross ice pass and is ready to pressure the point for the drop pass (ala Nuge to Bouch) and the two FWDs continue that cylce until VGK gets set up with Eichel on the halfwall. Last night is where they made a change to a traditional box formation. The most important part of this is the established the “go” or “slide” guy after the pressure is put on Eichel. They are giving up the point a little more to make sure they take care of the pass from Eichel to Stone on the goal line and cutting off the cross ice pass that burned them for two goals in game 2. The second PK in the first was picture perfect!
I counted maybe eight back doors that didn’t connect, and it was hard to tell which were misses due to pressure on the passer, which were attributable to stick checks by the D, and which were pure horseshoe. Vegas was *very* close to potting a brace there, at the least. Just as Eichel’s wicked wrister off the post was centimeters from being buried top corner.
All credit to the Oilers, who earned every break. It’s just the nature of the game that these things can hang by a thread. This time the dice came up ‘total domination,’ but my the margins are thin…
Kudos to KK and the coaching staff for making the right adjustments. There are several reasons why I say this.
Great team win! It’s nice to see them come together and support their goalie. They haven’t done that for Stu until last night.
Something is off w/ Drai. When Kap got called for the slash (weak call), he changed with the puck in the neutral zone w/o possession. It was a surprising decision given the state of play. Hope they get the next one and have a few days to rest.
On #1 totally. CMD was trying to do too much and was getting stifled by VGK system and players. Better to use his elusiveness in different ways, rather than 1v4s, putting him on the PK as a breakaway threat.
I don’t know why it takes so long, but after a few games, the coaching staff makes tactical adjustments to play (and PK in particular), the team has the skill to execute it, and it seems like a different team. I don’t know if this is KK or Coffee, but this is what I’ve noticed the past few years. I wish they could do this earlier in the series, but here we are.
I don’t know why it takes so long, but after a few games, the coaching staff makes tactical adjustments to play (and PK in particular), the team has the skill to execute it, and it seems like a different team. I don’t know if this is KK or Coffee, but this is what I’ve noticed the past few years. I wish they could do this earlier in the series, but here we are.
I’ve been thinking Doc Stetch a natural pairing for some time, tho I don’t recall anything in the regular season strongly supporting that (sorry if I missed something in the numbers LT’s been posting by and bye). By the same token I don’t think any blue apart from Kulak had particularly sterling seasons, Stetch included (until the very end), and for a time Nurse’s improved play seemed self-sustaining, or partner independent. Until again he got the playoff wobbles.
Gut call I guess. I’d like to see this pairing stick.
Panthers co-owner suspended indefinitely over call to make Canada the 51st State:
https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/nhl-suspends-florida-panthers-co-owner-douglas-cifu-over-social-media-posts-1.2305103
It definitely wasn’t just that
I’d sure hope not or my crazy uncles long running predictions would be eerily accurate.
Ha ha ha no definitely not just the 51st state talk. Cifu is just gross.
For more in depth coverage:
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/florida-panthers-exec-appears-post-211634915.html
Cifu was responding (poorly!) to some disgusting tweets.
“Hey what’s worse, using headshots to win a series or using starvation as a weapon to win a war?”
“you MAGA d*** licker.”
Obviously as an owner he has to avoid taking the bait on social media. But he didn’t start it.
So it seems as if those of us who speculated that the team was dogging it(at least a little bit) during the regular season may have been on to something.
This is the team we knew they could be in the playoffs.
Wagon.
“Dogging it” suggests being lazy, which I doubt is your intention.
As I fumbled my way through to understanding WTF was up with this club as they rarely seemed to be 100%, the best explanations I could find were: exhaustion/hangover from SCF Game 7 run, and “load management.”
I know the 82-game season lines the pockets of owners, players, and league. But really, it’s just a prelude to the real season, up to 28 games of intensity and brilliance and heartbreak/jubilation. Do we really need 82 games of foreplay? And now there’s talk of an even longer regular season… Ugh. How many players will decide to coast at 75-80% before the “season that matters?” They are smart to do so.
ps. I’m a big fan of the wisdom of dogs. Unless there’s good reason to race in the heat of the sun, they’re much happier biding their time in the shade. Maybe this is what you mean by “dogging it.” In which, my apologies for suggesting otherwise.
I love Emberson and I think he will be a key component to this team’s blue line in the future, but the addition of Stetcher is immediately noticeable just within your numbers.
Way less blending on the blue, with much more stable pairings. That seems like a very good thing. Additionally, Stetcher picked up an extra 8-9 minutes compared to what Emberson was providing which seems a lot more sustainable for the other 5 guys.
Great work by Stetcher to step into the middle of a major series and immediately make a massive impact!
These pairings looked good and stable for the first time this post season.
If they were going to play Stetcher twice as much than they were willing to play Emberson, I have no idea why it took this long to make that change. I guess don’t mess with a winning streak lineup.
It was more about the pairings then individual efforts
Nurse and Bouch were not good together. It was more about putting those two with the right partners.
Agreed. Both about Stetch’s contribution and maintaining a sustainable workload across the D.
15-10 Total Goals EDM
13-7 5v5 Goals EDM
1-0 4v4 Goals EDM
3-1 PP Goals VGK
12-9 PP Opportunities VGK
It was pretty much the response that was required after the game 3 flubbery, not sure that’s a word, but that best describes it. They had each other’s back throughout the entire 60 minutes. All for one, and one for all, that’s the way. They must bottle that and not let it escape, for that is how they will capture Lord Stanley’s cup.
Game 5 in Vagas will be a tough challenge. The sooner they flick the Knights away the better. I hope they aren’t thinking they want to win it in front of their fans in Edmonton. I think dusting VGK off in front of their own fans sends a clearer message.
“flubbery” 👍
The whole team had an edge to their game that suggests they’ve got another gear when needed. Everyone seemed to be crashing the net and getting in Hill’s face, taking the body hard when the opportunity was there, and just generally skating hard all night long.
McDavid on the PK is an interesting wrinkle. I think OP said he was second in TOI for forwards on the PK. He covers a lot of ground quickly and is a constant threat to make a break the other way. VGK was generally neutralized pretty effectively, but their PP almost felt like a non-factor.
I thought I saw a moment on the Vegas PP where a forward did a quick double take when he saw who was checking him. Like you could see his brain making a panic recalibration.
TOI PK:
Connor Brown 3:46
Janmark 2:30
McDavid 1:49
Interesting, and good to see. I can’t imagine anything sharpens the defensive side of a player’s game like PK. Or being assigned to shutdown the other team’s top line. Knoblauch may be sharpening the team’s overall defensive awareness and play by having its most offensive players in key defensive roles.
There were many times this season where I saw McDavid on the ice for GA 5v5. I believe my eyes were supported by the numbers, McD w/o Drai at <50% goal share.
I wonder the same about putting Bouchard on PK duty (at 3:31 his were the highest TOI for D). Is this about awakening his defensive habits? Is it coincidence that the unforced errors seem to have evaporated from his game?
Early in the season, when so much was going sideways, Strudwick would harp on the importance of the PK, beyond simply killing penalties. In November, as the PK began to do its job, the team began to look like itself. This postseason hasn’t been great for the PK. But that seems to be changing. Here’s hoping that change ripples through the rest of their game, and Game 4 is what we can expect —all the way to Stanley.
Wonderful team win last night. The skaters did their part. The goalie did his part.
Both Stecher and Kap played real well and made the coach look smart, again.
Kane, Skinner, Bouchard for the win!
Play the same way in Game 5.
Skinner when asked about how he handles the outside noise:
“What outside noise?”
Stecher was 5th on the entire team in TOI at 5 on 5 last night.
After Emberson playing around 6-7 minutes per night for a long stretch, this is a revelation.
I’m glad they finally put Stetcher in. Emberson wasn’t just limited in minutes, he was out of his depth and got crushed.
In contrast, Stetcher has the calm wheels and passing, similar to Kulak, that lets him cover for Nurse when he goes into rover mode.
It’s interesting seeing the TOI for the three pairings. We’re basically rolling a 6 man platoon right now, which bodes well for a deep playoff run.
Stecher would be a holy terror if he was 6’4 & 215 lbs.
He’s a warrior.
There is something to be said for the ability of a vet to elevate their game in the playoffs. Stecher did well and gave the team a strong 6th D who really helped Nurse simplify his play. I say this as someone who was not in favor of him playing earlier this playoffs.
Now they can roll four lines and three steady D-pairs. La music, merci beau copes.
This is playoff Bouchard and its three years in a row.
1) 2023 – led the NHL in d-man scoring by 5 points and he only played 2 rounds
2) 2024 – a historic performance and elite 2-way hockey for almost all of the 25 games.
3) 2025 – some wobble early but his game has come around and, while he is a bit up and down, he is providing games that resemble the 2024 historic performance.
At the top of his game, in the playoffs, Bouchard is a top 3-5 d-man in the NHL – actually at the top of his game like 2024, he’s a top 3 d-man in the NHL.
Oh ya, he’s adding PK1 to his repertoire!
Not trying to shit on Nurse but Bouch is opposite Nurse. The calm with a dose of added intensity brings Bouch’s best game out in the playoffs while Nurse often tries to do too much with this added intensity making his game worse in the playoffs. Nurse is much better with a steady, quick partner lower down the lineup.
I’ve been posting for days (weeks) that this team is full of player that step their games up in the playoffs (Brown, Kulak, Janmark, Bouchard, Henrique, etc. in addition to the big guns) but one of the few that hasn’t (and, in fact, regresses) has been Nurse.\
I have cited injury as a big reason in the past for Nurse but I don’t think that’s a mitigator this playoff season.
Nurse has had good games this playoffs, last night was one of them, and I remain hopeful he can find a way to bring that game more consistently.
I would add that his wobble early could be partly attributed to a change in D partner(s)
But Bouch wasn’t elite two-way last year. Have we forgotten his horrible, horrible gaffes that became almost instant goals for the other team? Like Mike Smith-level gaffes?
Bouch is a metaphor for this team: sky-high ceiling, canyon-level floor.
I disagree 100% – he was absolutely elite 2-way in the playoffs lst season. There were all but none of such gaffes in the playoffs last year. Maybe 1 or 2.
My only critique of Skinner is that he didn’t punch a Golden Knight in the mouth — apparently that’s permissible. Who knew.
When Stu decides somebody gonna get hurt real bad
Ha! 🙂
Goaltenders do not want to get a reputation for responding. Because then they will never get legitimate calls. It took multiple seasons for Binnington to recover from his reputation for being a hothead as a goaltender. He would never get any calls going his way because of his reputation.
This is a different era than the Billy Smith era.
i have been tough on Skinner in mind and words, and it seems to me, I get whipped up like everyone else does. To begin with, he is a class act, model citizen, great teammate and more than competent goalie. I asked myself, have I had bad weeks, months etc…and you bet I have. I know it’s a results orientated business, and he gets “paid” to stop the puck. But, I am glad to retreat, eat my words and cheer him on individually and as a professional goalie. He will find a home (if it isn’t here) and my hope is that he thrives, and keeps that kind smile going despite the negative narratives that circulate about him. His game last night calmed all of us, and at least for me, gave me a glimpse of his resilience and strength.
The online venom was, in my opinion, really really sad – my goodness was it over blown.
100%, each and every fan had every right to criticize Skinner’s play in aggregate on the season and in the playoffs to that point – reasoned criticism. Each and every fan had every right to have a lack of confidence or a concern that Skinner would not perform to needed levels.
The absolute vitriol that was out there for Skinner – opinions that management should be fired for letting him play another game, that he is an AHL back up, and even more personal – it make me, of all people, not even want participate in online discussion about the Oilers (as they were up 2-1 in the second round of the playoffs).
Categorical statements regarding his ineptitude and inability to play a good NHL playoff game despite his history of having stolen playoff games and being huge in must-win playoff games were so so sad.
I’m happy for Stu.
I have NO IDEA how he will play on Wednesday but I have seen him go on stretches of very good playoff hockey late in series in the past.
If the team plays with any kind of structure he’s fine. I worry he will be our next Dubnyk/Talbot
Hear hear
💯There is not much I despise more than personal attacks online. I wish people would take a moment to ask themselves if what they are posting adds anything to the conversation? Would they say it in person? Would they say or write it if their mom were going to see it? I am not perfect, certainly but I find myself taking a moment extra at times when I am furious(sad) about my team.. not always, but often.
I was also so genuinely happy for Stu the person last night.
AndySkinner crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of shit smelling foulness I can’t even imagine, or maybe I just don’t want to. Five hundred yards… that’s the length of five football fields, just shy of half a mileAndy DufresneStuart Skinner who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.He didn’t even notice he was crawling through shit.. he just stayed focused on the other side.
Stuart Skinner didn’t seem to be aware of all that shit.
Incredible play up and down the line up. Not necessarily the player of the game, but the “play” of the game was Skinner stopping Barbashev’s breakaway a few minutes after Henrique opened the scoring. Sometimes timing is everything and I think this could have been a lot different of a game if he lets that early one in
We asked for 1 timely stop. We received 2 and a shut down of the Wes Macauley show.
What a great morning for the province and therefore the world.
As per tradition
He was really solid. I hope he rolls with it
Of course there was the odd depth goal here and there during the 2024 playoff run but my recollection is the offence was highly driven by McDavid, Drai, Hyman and Bouchard.
This year, while, of course, McDavid, Drai and Bouchard are getting their production, this team seems to get a couple of goals from the depth almost every game and its driving wins when the stars have muted production.
From Brown to Janmark to Podkolzin to Henrique to Kane (for a 3rd line role), etc., etc., etc.
This is wonderful.
If the starts can just get the PP up to 30% we are cooking.
The massive difference is there is a second offensive minded d pairing that gets other lines the puck with speed through the neutral zone. I think the impact of Walman and Klingberg on this team has been more significant than fully recognized. And this version of Kane would have brought us a 6th cup last year.
No doubt Klingberg’s arrival, not just as an actual NHL player over Josh Brown but as an impact higher end puck mover that can handle 2-pairing responsibility and be fine defensively, has been HUGE.
It’s the perfect storm. The underestimated depth thrives as the opposition game plans for McDavid, Draisaitl & Bouchard.
LOL maybe they’ll need to start game planning for the Oiler’s depth players.
I couldn’t watch last night, but was Draisaitl line matched up against Eichel?
Yes… 8 minutes head to head. Draisaitl had another poor game to my eye and Eichel was a shell of himself from the previous 3 games… so I guess we’ll take the saw off. It was Leon’s wingers that saved the line in my opinion. Hopefully we can wrap this up tomorrow so 29 can get some rest before the next series.
Draisaitl was lights out defensively against the Jack Eichel line
Yes, fantastic job by Knoblauch on challenging Drai like that. Pronger said it on Twitter that Knobs used a motivated star after some poor defensive performances to step up in a shutdown role. He responded and won his minutes against a top 5 player in Eichel (my opinion, 1st line centre for USA) while giving clean air to the rest.
They gave him 2 4th liners who, while rambunctious and effective, are not in his offensive class.They let the depth (!!!) win and Connor to do his thing (also an excellent 2 way game last night).
KK might know what he’s doing out there.
That’s some very astute coaching there. I couldn’t wrap my head around Janmark getting the promotion, but using them in a shut-down role was a great idea! The cat and mouse linematching will be more difficult on the road, so maybe that combo is short-lived.
Knoblauch is a master of adjustments.
Man you really got to give it to Knoblach. He really does have the Midas touch with this team.
The boys on Got Yer Back Podcast said yes. Not a bad play by the Coach. If Drai is not helping offensively, give him Podz & Kap and have them check Eichel. Won the home match-up hands down.
Interesting to see what VGK counters with tomorrow with the last change.
Yes, in more of a defensive role though.
I think (hope) the Oilers as a team have learned that they need to play that way to win games. Get the puck out quickly, don’t give Vegas time to set up, make sure you limit turnovers at either blue line, and they can play offense more than defense. Vegas counterpunches really well, so preventing that aspect of their game really allows the Oil to play to their strength.
This imo was part of the reason they were not going to lose that game, regardless of who was in net and how they played. That Skinner arrived with a higher level of confidence and played a solid game was just the icing on the cake. Rinse repeat in game 5 and the Oilers can sit back to wait for Dallas or Winnipeg.
Stu’s game was in direct correlation wit the Oilers’ team game. Game 3 was beer league all around, game 4 was well executed with intension and some ill humour too boot
To my eye Stu had his technicals dialed right in, and when he does he’s really good. Moving well, keeping his net, glove at the ready. So happy for him, I hope he hangs on to it with all that he has
Agreed. The numbers for game five against the Kings are absurd, but Vegas is a much stronger team. Exemplary effort effused by Edmonton.
What a game. Not often the goalie gets the shut out and he’s nowhere near the best player in the game. Individual effort and smart plays leading to an exceptional team performance. Who knew? Game 5 against the Kings and this one.
Insane game management from the refs in the first. How Hill wasn’t called for at least one penalty is beyond me. The Zach Hyman eye roll and “whatever” on one of the ref’s explanations was classic. Like Kuemper held the score back in game 5, the refs kept this one much closer than it should have been.
Vegas now look very similar to LA in that they look out of ideas. They tried their usual plans, then their fallback plans and still they look perplexed.
Rolling the lines and depth is a gift thet keeps giving.
My player of the night? Podkolzin. A battle tank out there with some smart defensive plays.
Podz baby. What a player.
No kidding this was game management at its finest. If the officials aren’t performing mental gymnastics to give Vegas some very well time PP’s the Oilers could have come out of the first 4 – 0. Instead, the PK had to work to ensure the game wasn’t artificially close.
Absolutely agree.Bowman doesn’t get enough credit for this astute acquisition, and for a merger 4th rd pick! It was an excellent replacement for Holloway. Altho he didn’t get the pats Holloway did, Holloway was a mainstay on the power play which Podz doesn’t see or they’d be closer. Plus their assignments @ 5×5 are different. Podz not only much more physical and hits more but he’s durable as Holloway once again went out with injury and wasn’t available for Blues in the playoffs. I believe this was a major reason as to why the Oilers decided not to match, aside from not wanting players who don’t want to be here. Similar reason for Broberg, and Walman helps us more in winning now
I commend Skinner for fighting through what has been a difficult stretch and hopefully he is coming out the other side. He doesn’t have to be spectacular. No one thinks he has to be Hasek/Roy. The fan base just wants him to make a timely save when mistakes (which are inevitable) are made, and to his credit, he did last night.
Seriously, a .900 save % isn’t too much to ask and if they get it, they’ll win nearly all the time.
Prospectizing!
The Knights We Can Actually Support wrested back home ice advantage yesternight after a 7-5 victory. Apples were had by both O’Reilly (2) and Nicholl (1) as London took a 2-1 series lead. Nicholl had another fine night on the dot, winning 8 of 12 draws (66.7%).
As usual, TSN will be carrying this and all the other CHL finals matches.
Puck drops @ 5 p.m. Coalspur time.
Lots of kudos to go around today, but to me the player of the game was Podkolzin. What a disruptive force all over the ice. Loved his game.
Lineup remains the same for game 5?
Was not a fan of Perry on the 4th line. I would flip him and Kapanen.
Podz – Drai – Perry as a second line looks much better to me.
Kapanen was fantastic last night
Right away after being picked up off waivers Kapanen played with Podz & Leon when Arvidsson was injured early in the season. Knoblauch must have locked the trio into his memory banks for good reason.
It was one game. Expecting this to be a repeatable performance is unwise. There’s a reason why he’s been healthy stratched until now.
In order to have four effective lines I believe Perry should always play with McDavid, how that could affect the other lines I’m not sure
Always??
No Kap’s speed is better suited for that line. Plus Perry still on the PP. So better to limit his minutes on the 4th line so he can stay fresh for the rest of the playoffs. Was probably already starting to feel tired playing heavy minutes on the McDavid line
With Kap’s speed comes his defensive liability. I’m sure that’s why Podz played the other wing. Defensive liability for speed is not a trade off I would make in the playoffs.
Thanks LT.
Limit the high danger and Stu can thrive. A much needed & stellar performance from the big man.
Credit to KK for the lineup changes; I had doubts about playing the other KK, but boy was he effective.
It appears that running three solid D pairings rather than rolling musical chairs (mostly) among the top 5, paid dividends. Great to see Stecher excel, love that player!