I wrote those words on this blog a year ago. The Oilers had just moved on from the Dallas Stars and were full sail for the Final.
The big scoring star was Connor McDavid (3-7-10 in six games). He delivered 3.06 pts-60 at five-on-five during the series. Evan Bouchard did his wizardy on the power play, where he had four assists. Zach Hyman chipped in three goals, Adam Henrique delivered from the depth lines.
GWG’s went to McDavid, Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and, and, and……Mattias Janmark. Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm led the defense in overall icetime. McDavid, Draisaitl and Hyman were the top forwards in TOI.
McDavid-Draisaitl played together for 24 minutes five-on-five, going 2-0 goals. In 93 solo minutes (without Leon), the captain helped Edmonton to a 5-4 edge. Solo Leon was 1-2 in 87 minutes in the game state.
Bouchard was 8-2 on-ice goals, Darnell Nurse was 3-7 goals both numbers five-on-five.
Ryan McLeod, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg all played in the series, Broberg impressing me most.
Skinner played all the minutes, .922 save percentage.
This year’s series will be different than the last one. There are no guarantees. I think Oilers fans should feel good about this team entering the second half of the playoffs.
They have elite skill, a spine, depth across the roster and the kind of battle-hardened determination that can only come after getting so close without winning it all. The captain will set his jaw, say to hell with this noise, and lead the way. That’s a script that is as likely as any for this series.
New for The Athletic: What Oilers prospect Matt Savoie accomplished in his first AHL season
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6362824/2025/05/18/matt-savoie-stats-ahl-bakersfield/
Cuthbert and Hrudy have a hard time hiding their dislike (or at least indifference) of the Oilers. Listening to them pump the Leafs tires more in meaningless second round wins more than an Oilers return from 0-3 in the SCF – I’d take Michaels and all his flaws. At least he’s into it. For my money, he’s one of the best American born play-by-play guys I’ve ever heard. He’s like DJ Wolfman for hockey.
A little surprised at the Leafs defence force at the Toronto Sports Network tonight, they seem eager to give the Shanaplan a 12th season without hesitation.
Quite the opposite on SN..
Kypreos was particularly scathing.
He was running hot…suggested ownership get rid of the POHO position altogether
Thinking the Shanaplan has run its course seems pretty obvious at this point.
Kypreos on the SportsNet post game was adamant that Shanahan had to go
He was also certain that Marner was ‘gone’
A lot of upset in the Big Smoke
Knives are out. Evisceration.
I wonder if Marner regrets his veto of the Carolina trade now?
On the US feed Biznasty was feeding the Leafs. Entering into the 2nd intermission, he said it was all over, pack your bags Leafs.
Has Sid Seixeiro sent out his “Matthews won’t put up with this for much longer” tweet yet?
He or Cathal Kelly will probably focus on running Marner out of town first. For not waiving his no-trade clause in the potential Rantanen deal, ironically enough.
Based on his post game interview, Marner won’t be needing any help leaving town.
Add Bruce Arthur to that list of pricks
Carts and horses and all that jazz. In any case, if the Oilers get by Dallas, they got home ice in the SC Final, by virtue of Carolina and Florida finishing with a lower point total than Edm.
Nice! I had mentioned similar a couple of days ago, I also find it intriguing that ALL 4 Division Champs are out in the 2nd Round… I don’t recall seeing that one too often either!
GO Oilers! lalalalalalaBamba!
— it never gets old. One of the great annual sporting events just occurred “the last game of the leafs season”
— My schadenfreude is very strong. Then getting to hate listen to Leaf Nation Sucky Baby radio.
— I get a lot of texts from friends who know me well : congrats on another successful season!
— Love it. You know Matthews needs to leave town and join an organization that can win They are ruining them there. (You know how many times over the years Leaf fans would tell me this about McD: as if he’d want to join a loser organization I would tell them.)
Will be an interesting offseason for the Core Fore.
In High School we called them the Make BeLeafs… some things never change!
The Core Four and Shanahan should all be worried. There will be blood…
That and game 5 were two of the most pathetic playoff performances by a team I’ve ever seen.
It was unbelievable. Matching 6-1 losses at home with no push. Much worse than some overtime dagger.
Those that don’t like Jack and Louie should be happy as the Oilers will have Cuthbert and Simpson from here on out.
It will be great not hearing the phrase “up the gut” 20 times a game.
Or “shooter mentality”, “off the plexi/window”
I’ll miss hearing about random movies and wresting
At least we won’t have to hear how good LA and Vegas are every game
The Leafs should honestly be ashamed of themselves. Contrasting this with the Jets last night… Winnipeg fought with every ounce of their being, with their top man playing in absolute anguish. Meanwhile, Toronto looks like they’re taking part in an optional morning skate.
Perhaps all the coddling in the Toronto media during the regualr seasons has them feeling a wee bit entitled/believing their own press clippings? Brings to mind an old poem…
The King is dead
Long live the King
He fall was not a small one.
We simply built a pedastel
A narrow and a tall one.
I have to wonder if the Ballard curse has them destined to spend their days as the Washington Generals of NHL playoff hockey forevermore?
12-2 combined in games 5 and 7 in your home rink.
Imagine paying the big money required to watch that…
Rink was emptying out half way through the 3rd in both games. Constant booing. I guess if you pay $1k + you can do what you want, but that fan base doesn’t deserve any better
When I lived in Toronto, I saw an incredible thing. If the Leafs were making a late sseason charge towards a plyoff spot, a sizable portion of their fans of my acquaintence would actively cheer AGAINST them, hoping they did not make the playoffs. They were conditioned that if they made it, they would lose out quickly in an emberassing fashion robbing them of viewership of competitive hockey with other teams for the first round…. what kind of fan would do THAT???? Never an Oiler fan!
Watching the leafs lose and watching England lose in soccer are two of my favorite things.
But I do wish they would have knocked out the Panthers. Canes don’t scare me but Panthers do
The Leafs certainly enjoy cementing their reputation as the most overrated team in the league.
They won’t get anywhere until they trade Matthews and use that haul to fix the team…but they won’t do it. Instead the regular season wonder will just keep leading them to pain.
Is he even a regular season wonder?
I mean, there are at least 15 forwards in the NHL I’d choose over him if I were starting team from scratch and two of them are in his team. 😬😬😬
The goal scoring at least warrants mention.
But yeah – Nylander and Knies should be their future.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Matthews asks for a trade.
He could certainly use a change of address.
They should be so lucky.
He’s the problem – not the solution. At least in that market.
How embarassing that would be. He finally gets to be captain only to ask for a trade after saying he thought there were too many passengers on the team.
Wow Bob, that was a gift
Happy Maple Leafs elimination day feels a little different this year as no sane person could possibly cheer for that scumbag team from the sewers of Miami. Now that i really think about it the Oilers MUST win it all this year because a 2nd Stanley Cup parade in Miami,Dallas or Raleigh would leave a real nasty after taste that would linger all year.
The only year where I would actually cheer for the Leafs (pukes). It feels dirty, but you are correct that it is better than the alternative of seeing a US south team win, aka MAGA ground zero.
NHL being the NHL. That 4th Panther goal was a goal. NHL = WWE
Chris Selley
@cselley
Donezo.
The end of the Marner era, end of the Tavares era, Matthews should be on the market. Shanny’s security pass should be canceled as of now.
What? Even after all of the cups they won?
Run it back, 10th time lucky.
The eastern conference is worse.
Florida doesn’t score despite ten minutes of domination, because they look kind of soft with the puck, hesitant and really no grade A chances. Toronto gets some momentum and now it’s just two teams attempting hits and passes. This play won’t beat Edmonton or Dallas. Carolina I’m less certain.
Bob looks good. Brad looks spent.
The real Stanley cup final starts Wednesday in the west. Whoever wins the series wins the cup
Florida is better than they were last year. But the Oilers spotted them two games before they put Broberg with Nurse, and they lost Kane.
The Oilers are the best team if they don’t beat themselves. The Oilers forward group is healthier and better than last year, but the defense is worse without Ekholm.
It all depends whether the opposition can get to the Oilers defense before they move the puck.
Florida is one of the best constructed teams in decades, for a team with just one elite player. That Lundell line tips the scales in favor of Florida nearly all team to team matchups.
Carolina is a wild card. We don’t know what we don’t know.
For all your vitriol towards Cody Ceci, including after he was gone from the team, to not mention his as 2nd pairing guy on Vegas……..
“Hard fought battles all over the ice”
-Craig Simpson after TML have about 40 seconds in the ozone and no shot attempts for 8 minutes.
He gets a free pass all the time for his crappy commentary
The Leafs have come out flatter than a Saskatchewan Sunday drive.
Panthers did that Oiler thing where you get complacent after dominating without actually first scoring a goal.
See your dog runaway for 3 days.
Screw the Leafs I want nothing of them in the finals. Should the Oilers get there and even win that series Toronto media will sell it as the “Canadian Finals” coast to coast to coast etc… forget that noise this is all about Edmonton now let’s go Panthers use your dirty evil energy I also hate you for opposite reasons but that’s for another day.
They will lose a heartbreaker in OT.
Since when has Toronto been using Enter the Sandman as their intro music?
Let ‘em have it. The sell out Bob Rock tune. Wish we’d have a badass tune from the likes of Slayer, Tool, Pantera, etc.
Since they noticed the home crowd was mostly asleep.
I thought it was Enter the Shanaplan….
Hey LT. Driving into Edmonton yesterday. Decided to take some photos while we went by maidstone. Where can I send em to you? Nice to see the land in late spring.
For me, one of the best parts. of watching the Toronto Florida series is enjoying the solid traditional play by play offered by Chris Cuthbert. The good game call which he provides makes the games much more exciting.
Jack on the other hand, spends most of his time spewing and re-spewing useless facts, making and repeating asinine observations.
If Toronto loses, hopefully we can get Cuthbert and Simpson on the Oil broadcast.
It’s going to be fun watching a game 7 with no skin in the outcome. I guess if Florida wins the game it guarantees us home ice in the final. I believe this has never happened where a road dog 3 series in a row gets home ice in the final.
I’m not sure, but perhaps 2006? Didn’t the Oil finish 8th in the west and the Canes 6th in the East?
There is no doubt that Cuthbert and Simpson will do the Oilers series if Toronto loses.
After the Oilers beat Vegas, Ivanka Osmak seemed to indicate “more Jack/Louie/Gene” was coming. Maybe just assuming Toronto would get through? Or maybe they are doing their own broadcast on both finals, so Cuthbert will call Car/Fla and Jack keeps calling Edmonton/Dallas?
Don’t agree. Love me some Jack Michaels.
Like Gene he’s passionate for the Oil and is unique to his market. I respect that, warts and all.
When Jack’s at his best in the biggest moments, he shines.
I’m not a big Louie guy, but a good colour guy is less important imo.
Listening to Jack is like watching the game with a buddy at the bar. He’s fun, brings some good energy with some random stories and factoids thrown in.
Listening to Chris is like listening to a professional hockey commentator. He’s all business and keeps your mind on the game where his energy tries to match the play on the ice but never matches even regular season Jack’s energy.
I do like Jack, but sometimes I don’t want to hear 80s wrestling references or what he and Louie did together the day before during a game.
Makes me wonder if Jack would tweak his style at all if he got to call the finals on television.
I guess I would like Florida to win it in OT on a controversial goal as it would be a great rematch if we play them again. This time we won’t have Leon doing the heavy lifting that needs needs to be done to win. Kane-Frederic-Pod replace scared of their own shadows Foegele-McLeod no letting Bennett prance around targeting our stars.
One series at a time, but there isn’t a bad option for teams I have a strong personal desire to see EDM beat for the Stanley Cup.
I don’t even think the Oilers have hit top gear Dallas just doesn’t look as stong defensively as a unit. I think a couple of big hit on Rantanen is forthcoming.
Another thought after driving deep into some analytics. A huge part of the Oilers success is not only Wahlman and Kane killing it at even strength, it’s the revival of Nurse. At even strength his CF percentage, GF percentage, and expected GF percentage are all about 5 to 10% better than last playoffs. Add to the fact that Ceci is gone and dragging down Dallas’s D substantially, and logging heavy minutes to boot, this looks good for Edmonton.
Overall the team has posted much better 5v5 this post season versus last: 5v5 2024 49 xGF%, 50 GF%; 2025 58 xGF%, 58 GF%.
Everyone would agree that Nurse has been better in terms of incremental improvement.
But if you look at his RELs they are actually not much better and worse in goals: 5v5 2024 -12 xGF%, -23 GF%; 2025 – 11 xGF%; – 27 GF%.
This is a player who appears to leak goals 5v5, and while in raw scores there are improvements in 2025, relative to his team there are not.
The WOWYs with teammates over large samples are disturbing and are clearly articulated here in this article that is only 6 days old.
So yes most would agree he’s been better versus the disaster that was last post season. But I wouldn’t call it a revival or renaissance.
EDM posted a 1.05 PDO at 5v5 in Round 2 — the highest of any team — which highlights their win in the goalie battle (despite many of us favoring VGK there) and points to some positive variance at play. At 5v5, EDM had a SV% of 90.67, compared to VGK’s 85.87 — a noticeable gap.
However, special teams told a different story. Edmonton went just 1-for-11 on the power play and gave up 3 goals on 13 penalty kills. While the PK was decent at 77%, it wasn’t anything special. The power play, on the other hand, was a major disappointment, clicking at just 9%, especially in critical situations — like the five-minute OT chance in Game 2 following the Roy penalty.
The power play absolutely needs to improve. I’d be more concerned if I didn’t have faith that the Glimmer Twins (McDavid and Draisaitl) can figure this out. But if the struggles continue, it might make sense to shake things up by giving Kane, Brown, or Henrique a shot on the first unit. Draisaitl did get his opportunities on the right side, but his one-timers seemed weaker than usual. Hopefully, some rest is helping him recover from whatever’s been bothering him.
Powerplay is too static. They know they will get the whole two minutes so there is no urgency. Need to light a fire. Especially Drai who is way too content to slow things down.
It’s not game speed but Ekholm looks like he’s moving much better with the videos made available. The distress and labour in his face are gone.
https://youtu.be/9loXDRGsbD8?si=tSSRGi0hC90RYNkq
Should we be surprised the refs called a penalty on the Jets at 19:45 of the third period after calling nothing all game?
Sus
I mean, the Dallas guy was headed for a breakway. Hard to complain.
It’s strange because the highlight package I watched did not show that.
If NHL Officials actually called the game by the letter the law, then that was clearly a Penalty Shot.
The one thing that we can always count on, just like Death & Taxes, is that NHL Officials will be consistently inconsistent.
Bouncing pucks, unpredictable inexplicable board rebounds and pucks flipping, fluttering, dipping and dropping are also guaranteed.
These factors all confirm that the hockey gods are paying attention to the games. 😀😀
My observations looking at Natural Stat Trick data, for the upcoming series:
1. DAL PP is fire, 12 GF, leads the pack in the NHL. Versus the Oilers’ 6 GF. Dallas is riding a PP shooting percentage nearly double that of the Oilers.
2. That said, DAL has two GA against on the PP. Small sample size, but vulnerable to shorties?
3. The picture is inverted when it comes to the PK, with EDM with a league leading 11 GA, and Dallas with only 5 tallies against shorthanded. They are riding a scorching PK SV percentage while EDM’s is in the toilet, near the bottom. DAL is leading the league, in a bad way, with 30 high danger chances against, so it’s clearly Jake killing it in net on the PK.
4. Even strength: this is EDM’s strength. 53% CF%, which is top 3 amongst remaining teams (top 2 if FLA gets knocked out).
5. DAL is at the bottom of the league in the ES possession war, with a 45% CF%, well, just a cut above TO, who I argue will be out soon.
6. DAL is getting eaten up on ES goals against, leading the pack with 30 against, torpedoing their ES GF-GA ratio. I cannot underscore enough how much the Oilers are killing it at scoring even strength. Leading the league by a huge margin (37 ES GF, next team is 30 GF, Florida).
7. DAL can’t put it in the net even strength, their shooting percentage is in the toilet at 8.4%. Bad luck, which will regress? Or systems? Look for EDM ES scoring to come down as they are riding an unsustainable shooting percentage of 12%.
ES shooting percentage has to remain around 12-15% or the PP and PK have to improve drastically. If either of those things don’t happen, the team is in big trouble.
What’s that like, with the sky pepetually falling all around you?
The team is in the western conference finals for the second straight year. Against a team they beat last year.
Try an enjoy it a little.
It’s important to note that 8 of those 11 were vs LAK.
First 3 games vs LAK they allowed 7 PK goals, then swapped out Walman and put in Bouchard on the PK.
In the last 3 games vs LAK they allowed 1 GA, and allowed 3 GA vs VGK in 5 games.
So they’ve allowed 4 GA in the last 8 games on the PK after the Walman/Bouchard swap
It’s not the Achilles Heel that the raw PK GA suggest imo.
An Ekholm return would likely also improve the PK.
Mcdavid is shooting in the 7% range, I imagine at somepoint that has to improve.
I’m hoping for a Drai and Rantanen hard match. Let the rest take care of itself
Love that thought! IF we can get a split in their barn, we get home ice advantage over the rest of the series… if we can do what we did in Vegas and sweep the opening two ( I know. Horses and carts…), I would be absolutely giddy!
So curious with this extra time where does this put Ekholm? I see him out there skating
I don’t think he’s close despite being on the ice for the optional.
Listening to the likes of Gazolla, if he does come back late on the series he won’t be anywhere near 100% – he’s very hurt still – apparently.
Ekholm on the ice for this morning’s optional skate.
Rishaug says it’s not determined if he’ll travel with the team for games 1 and 2.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL
Dallas [C2] vs. Edmonton [P3]
Wednesday, May 21 8 p.m. Edmonton at Dallas ESPN, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
Friday, May 23 8 p.m. Edmonton at Dallas ESPN, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
Sunday, May 25 3 p.m. Dallas at Edmonton SN, CBC, TVAS, ABC, ESPN+
Tuesday, May 27 8 p.m. Dallas at Edmonton SN, CBC, TVAS, ESPN, ESPN+
* Thursday, May 29 8 p.m. Edmonton at Dallas ESPN, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
* Saturday, May 31 8 p.m. Dallas at Edmonton SN, CBC, TVAS, ABC, ESPN+
* Monday, June 2 8 p.m. Edmonton at Dallas ESPN, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS
MT or ET?
has to be eastern. no way the first game starts at 10pm
I expect very few penalties as the refs have put away the whistles this favours the Oilers as we can roll 4 lines and 3 defensive pairs. Are we a better team than last year at this time? Is Dallas a better team? If not for the PK and PP woes we are a dominant team. I expect lots of traffic and bang, bang goals it’s time for Hyman-Kane to get that scoring touch really going this series.
Stars vs Oilers…brings back memories of the good old days. Doug Weight, Mike Modano, Zubov. Those were great series. Epic, actually.
Fortunately, these Dallas Stars don’t have quite as stacked roster. They have plenty of weak links starting with Codi Ceci averaging nearly 22 minutes per game. He’s in familiar territory rocking a 36% expected goal percentage. He’s currently their number 3 in terms of toi/game.
If I were a Stars fan, their blueline would give me pause, certainly a feeling of disquiet.
Of the top of my head. I wasn’t sure if Alex Petrovic was still an NHL defenseman two or three years ago. He’s their number six.
Miro is the hero, but he’s just back from injury.
Daily Faceoff has Petrovic as their 3RW?
Yeah I had previously noticed that too. I haven’t watch them play. I had assumed that was an error. Daily Faceoff has listed Oilers defensemen on our fourth line at times.
As I said earlier, while the Stars are clearly an elite team and it will be a very hard series, from watching them in the playoffs, they don’t scare me as much as I thought they would.They “seem to have depth” but the depth isn’t giving them much at all – they’ve been basically a one line team. The Oilers are currently the deeper team up front.The Oilers have been a much deeper team up front through the playoffs – and they also have the “greater stars”. No offence to Rantanen and Hintz but I’ll take McDavid and Draisaitl.Miro H. and T. Harley are a very good 1/2 D-punch but their defensive depth is weak (just like last year).They are not a physical team and I think the Oilers can take a bite out of them physically like the seemed to the Knights.Jake O. is good and can be great and is playing well but that is the same as last season and the Oilers got to him (and Skinner outplayed him). I feel the Oilers will get to any goalie through the course of a series.Should be alot of fun
Their vaunted depth has the likes of Alexander “AHL” Petrovic on their third line as RW.
Bring ’em on.
Double post
The only thing that worries me about Dallas is how Benn and Marchment will implement their antics. Everything else we’re used to and can beat. They’re a good team, but so is Edmonton. It’ll be fun to watch.
Enter Evander and Trent. We have our own scumbags and bullies now. Sometimes that acts as a nuclear deterrent.
Will have to be smart – give as good as we get, but don’t get manouvered into penalties… stay out of the sin bin where you must feel shame – alone – for two minutes…
I see the likes of Perry, Frederic, Kane, Nurse, and even Shaq-Hyman being up to their shenanigans.
If/when DAL resorts to goonery that means we’ve gotten inside their heads and they don’t think they can compete on skill. That’s when our functional muscle will have to let them know they’re outmatched in that regard as well.
Zach “The Hitman ” Hyman….
If you target Benn he’ll completely come undone which I don’t think is necessarily a good thing as he’ll attempt to inflict as much pain on the recipient as possible. If you leave him alone he’s basically invisable.
On the other hand, the only Oiler he can catch is Perry and that wouldn’t end well.
You can goad Benn but you need to be prepared for a cross check to the face like Frederic recieved. It’s crazy how Roy a journeyman winger escaped with only a fine. This has set the precedent and Benn is one nasty prick when the light bulb goes off.
Hopefully Oilers’ scouts were watching Oettinger closely and have some good intel for the shooters.
Oetter didn’t sound too pleased they were playing the Oil. Didn’t expect us there.
Show the boys video of Appleton blowing a wide open net and say ‘you’re gonna wanna score there’.
Lift the puck, take his eyes, same as last time.
Looking forward to this series! It’s been a nice little break. I live in Tunisia, and during the regular season I sleep through the games and watch with no commercials in the morning. During the playoffs I often wake up in terror that the oilers have lost and watch live between 2-5am. Really throws off the rest of the day!
I wanted to share an amazing YouTube channel. I love analytics but also love learning more about tactical decisions. Former video coach breaks Steve Peters breaks down each playoff game. He mostly covers the goals. But for those of you that like Curlock’s tactical analyses, I think you will enjoy these. There are so many small, incredible plays these athletes make to create goals. Sometimes luck is a big factor as well.
For example, check out his breakdown of Kapanen’s series winner. He notices something I could have never seen. McNabb’s stick gets stuck in Hill’s pads, which is why he couldn’t clear the puck! Reminds you how tight the margins really are
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dzxF2nbZ2kE
Oilers fans in Tatooine! I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am a little bit.
Great YouTube channel, thanks for sharing.
I had examined that yesterday frame by frame and in addition pressure from that stick also prevents Hill from doing anything with his leg to try and hold the puck. Another thing – as Draisaitl flys by behind the net he tries to put the puck in and it’s not clear if his stick touched the puck or not before Kapanen pushes the puck in.
The Oilersnation crew has Steve Peters on their noon hour show sporadically as well.
Well I hope the Stars and Oil like Katy Perry, she has a concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday May 21st at American Airlines Center.
Maybe it’s a BIG place, room for a concert as well hockey
They moved Katy Perry
To space?
More than a bit annoyed that the Stars get a full 3-day break. It should be two max. The Leafs or Panthers will get one day.
That’s life in the American networks
…and the Stars did do it in 6, while the East will go to 7
I’m also annoyed, but maybe the arena isn’t available for a Tuesday game due to stage set up for the concert. At least the Oilers will be very well rested for the final 2 rounds.
Actually the opposite. Tuesday was available and Wed had a Katy Perry concert which is being moved.
Oilers are pretty banged up. The Stars looked tired but not hurt last night. I think the incremental day off benefits the Oilers more at this point.
I don’t really agree.
The Oilers will have had a full week off. I’m not sure one extra day would have made a difference whereas the Stars getting only 2 day, or maybe even 1 day (ala the Leafs/Panthers) would be a tough turnaround for sure.
If an extra day or two of rest is enough to turn the tide of the series, it is a coin flip anyway and it doesn’t matter.
The Oilers getting an extra day to give them 7 or 8 days instead of 6 or 7 means little but a team getting 3 days instead of 2 (or possibly 1) coming off a 7 game series and then 6 game series – yes, I think that extra day or two makes a difference to their rest and recovery heading in to round 3.
The CIA may need the Zapruder film to dissect the magic puck theory after this is all over showing McDavid’s series winning goal… back and to the left, back and to the left… back and to the left.
Other than the top 3 Dallas defense is very very weak. Give Harley Heiskanen and Lundell the Pietrangelo treatment and you can move on
Huh? Dallas has a top tier defense, don’t underestimate them
Top 3 yes. The rest are weakest out of the teams left
Reads like a HH post
No, I’m not that bozo, but I honestly thought they have a very good D. Sorry you don’t agree
Let’s just say the top three on both teams are a wash and cancel out on average.
There’s no way a bottom three of Ceci/Bichsel/Lyubushkin can compete with the likes of Klingberg/Kulak/Stecher.
When Ekholm comes back, that gets even deeper, resembling something like Walman/Klingberg/Kulak.
Advantage: Oilers.
Alex Petrovic, Ilya Lyubushkin, Lian Bichsel, and Cody Ceci are all third pairing guys in the regular season. In the semis, they’re all weak spots. This is not the picture of depth.
Heiskanen and Harley are elite but not elite defensively. Lindell is their true real in-zone defender. This D-core is far from perfect.
On the Oilers, Bouchard is elite, Walman, Kulak, and Nurse are second pairing level and Stetcher and Klingberg are bottom pairing guys. Bouchard, Kulak, and Stetcher are great in their own zone. Walman has been helping Klingberg play to his strengths so his skating hasn’t been exposed too badly.
I would give Dallas a slight edge because of Harley but if Ekholm comes back 80% or greater, I think the Oil have the edge. And clearly they’ve got the edge up front.
Lindell, Lundell plays for the Panthers.
Any time Cody Ceci is on the ice put 97 on.
Get off of my lawn! -).
Haha. That’s great right there