Bruins games on television 1968-75 were magic. They put a man on the moon in 1969, but Bobby Orr gifted Boston with the Stanley in 1970. No one really knows the bigger feat, but we all have our opinions. I knew the lineup backwards, but sometimes there would be a recall that didn’t get announced and it meant trying to find names like Bill Speer at quiet moments in the game. I never missed a chance to see Bobby Orr play for the Bruins, and incredibly, my Dad would hang around for those games even when he “had work to do.” Maybe that’s another reason why those games were magic.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN DECEMBER
- At home to: Wild, Kraken, Jets (Expected 2-1-0) 2-1-0
- At home to: Sabres, Red Wings (Expected 1-0-1) 1-0-1
- On the road to: TML, Canadiens, Penguins (Expected 2-1-0) 2-1-0
- On the road to: Bruins, Wild (Expected 1-1-0)
- At home to: VEG, Flames (Expected 1-0-1)
- On the road to: Flames, Jets (Expected 1-0-1)
- At home to: Bruins (Expected 1-0-0)
- Expected Record: 9-3-3, 21 points in 15 games
- Actual Record: 5-2-1, 11 points in eight games
- Season Record: 16-12-6, 38 points in 34 games
No matter what we argue about, I think it’s fair to suggest that Ken Holland improved the depth and quality of the NHL roster when he arrived in the spring of 2019. Peter Chiarelli made some bets that didn’t turn out (Milan Lucic, others) and because of it couldn’t capitalize on the bets that did turn out (Patrick Maroon).
There have been devastating injuries along the way (we miss you, Oscar) and if we’re honest some long shot bets came in and helped in a big way (acquiring Vasily wasn’t silly).
The list of failed free-agent signings over the last 10 years isn’t ‘everyone making over $1 million’ but it feels that way sometimes. From Lucic to Jack Campbell, and now Trent Frederic and Andrew Mangiapane are looking like bad signings. We can’t forget the Zach Hyman deal, but I do believe Stan Bowman’s plan to add players like Quinn Hutson is a reasonable alternative to blowing the boss’ money out on a July long weekend.
Tonight’s game will be fun for me, it’s a meeting of the high-flying Oilers and the overachieving (this year) Bruins. The Bruins are a strange team this year, with low star power (David Pastrnak) but an exceptional scorer in Morgan Geekie (now there’s a free-agent signing) and solid goaltending from Jeremy Swayman. Expect at least one player from each side to go down the tunnel, expect plenty of special teams.
I’d say count on a victory, but smoke and mirrors isn’t the only thing Boston brings these days. Example: during December the Oilers have a 58 percent goal share (21-15) at five-on-five. The team is 5-2-1 this month.
Boston? Leads the league in five-on-five goal share (21-12, 64 percent) and boasts a 5-2-0 record. This should be a brilliant game, with low scoring. I don’t believe it will be. The Glimmer Twins versus the Geekie Squad doesn’t sound like a fair fight, but math says be there for puck drop and expect a fantastic game.
On the Lowdown today, we’ll be joined by Bagged Milk from Oilers Nation, talk NFL weekend and MLB free agency. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.
Wishing Jarry a steady recovery
Great road trip so far
May be a tall task, but if they can get at least 2 points in the next 2 that would be real progress
It’s not a great look for the Oilers.
Jarry had just missed 7 games due to a lower body injury in November.
They paid pretty heavy price for a guy with that injury risk. Full cap hit no retention, 2nd round pick.
I would like to offer condolences to Jack and Louie. They must be devastated by the Bruin loss. After listening to them, I know more about the Boston roster and schools in the area than I do about my family. I hope Jack’s short stroking wasn’t a total waste and I hope Louie realizes his brat is no longer a Bruin.
Honestly, I appreciate them more every time after listening to the radio crew.
Stauffer only likes to comment on penalties being iffy and when an Oilers player didn’t shoot the puck quick enough. Meanwhile, Cam Moon keeps my blood pressure extremely high whenever a shot is directed at the net, no matter how harmless. I have to turn it down on car rides
Too true in the radio broadcast.
I take solace in that if anything were to go wrong Jack or Cam could find employment as a carny, perhaps at the haunted house as the fella on the mic. Monster truck show announcer may be a step too far, lots of competition
It’s a shame the Oilers haven’t beat the Bruins in the playoffs, that would at least have given them some talking points
Matthews contract expires with 1 year remaining on mcdavid’s new one.
If i’m in management i would at least have up on the dream board possibility you could throw a 1 year offer and pitch together to “stand a good chance at a stanley”
Contract he gets at 31 shouldn’t be too different than 30.
No to Matthews if you’re chasing someone at that level. Better players out there. He’s one of the most overrated players in the league.
On a one and done contract at the right price point -> i dunno. It’s a blue moon scenario and possibly the last round for mcdavid here. Not against seinging for fences strategy.
Maybe not matthews fine i’d just hope strategically this line of thought is sonewhere in mid range planning
I’d rather have Crosby for his Raymond Boutique swan song.
I know he has already won cups so it wouldn’t be the same, but, if the Penguins blow it up he may consider a year playing with his successor as a good thing.
He, apparently, asked only that they try to keep competitive.
Savoie also really struggled and played himself off the second line. Be neat to see Hutson get a peek there but we know it’ll be Freddy.
He must have dirt on Bowman. It is the only explanation for where we are at and how he is being paid and deployed
There are problems on the roster for sure
But, they won. I hope TJ is ok. I see a difference in the team with him
I attribute it to being able to play more relaxed
Noted PP only guy Evan Bouchard 89% xG at 5’s tonight. No way Canada can use him already have Cale Makar to (checks notes) play all the power plays and all possible times you might need offense.
This is true. It’s an unfortunate false narrative that Bouch is going to be a liability against Olympic talent and his high-light reels of pizzas somehow outweighs his clearly 2nd best offensive Canadian D-man alive stats and cred over the past 2 playoffs. Even further to your PP comment, sure, run a 1st unit of McD, Mac, Syd, Reinhart and Makar. Your second unit is potentially Celebrini, Bedard, Stone, Point with Bouch quarterback or with Morrissey?
I was coming on here to comment on how lousy Nurse was only to see OP whom has great insights, say he had a great game. Made me wonder if I’m losing my touch but nope, I was right…Nurse was slaughtered again.
5/22 Corsi
2/9 scoring chances
22% xG worst on the team
We Gotta stop grading guys on the curve (Skinner, Nurse, Frederic).
Bowman got out of one. I wonder if Toronto might be a landing spot that Nurse would agree to waive for?
He did make one great play but got caved five-on-five. Now I’m going to defend him because he was playing with Stastney and faced Pastrnak 7:46, but I don’t think the Oilers are wise to send Nurse-Stastney out there against top level talent. I don’t think Knoblauch had many options tonight.
For 9+ million per season, he should be able to handle 2nd pairing minutes, no matter who the partner is.
Thought this was supposed to be an analytics driven blog … not a seen him good blog … so yeah I agree, stop grading on the curve.
If you want to win the game, then playing your best option at optimal times should be the priority. Nurse isn’t the best option versus Pastrnak, and the money doesn’t matter in this context.
I don’t disagree – I just wish he could do better. If there is ever an opportunity to unload his contract, with a more reliable d-man coming back, it would be wise for Bowman to turn over every rock to find such a deal.
He made quite a few good plays to my eye (set up Savoie for a great chance) but getting caved is getting caved.
And it should be noted his “great” play was as a result of letting Boston’s most dangerous player sneak behind him with a 2 goal lead. It’s sort of a classic nurse moment. He’s one of the very few that can catch 88 on a clear breakaway and also one of the unfortunate few that would be unaware enough of the situation to let that happen.
He waa never meant to be the defensive concious on a pairing.
“Nurse was slaughtered again.”
Apparently, as were his teammates on the ice with him at the time of each statistical event.
Those statistics are irrelevant in a single game. They are designed for large sample sizes.
More basic stats may be more important in a single game.
As a for instance he had:
No goals against while he was on the ice;
Four blocked shots (negating corsis and high danger chances);
One assist (on the short handed goal by blocking the shot/pass to set up the heroics); and,
Plus one on the night.
He definitely contributed to the win.
Oh and Pastrnak and Greekie each had one shot and no points in the game.
Yeah I saw Nurse skating miles. On the ice for the even strength goal for and the SHG goal for.
But when you have a narrative, when your mind is already made up, it really distorts perception.
An update on Alexander Karmanov, the 7′, 265 lb. behemoth who was taken in the CHL Import Draft this summer, the first ever Moldovan to be chosen.
He was taken by Brantford but never appeared in a game for them. He was recently signed by North Bay, and has played five games with the Battalion. He has one assist so far.
And he is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft.
Silovs starts a net tonight over Skinner. 4 Goal loss against Ottawa. 0.846 for him
Hutson rewarded with 6:30 minutes of icetime.
Knobber’s deployment will never make sense to me.
If true to form, we can expect KK to have Hutson to be eating popcorn in the pressbox next game.
Congrats on his first (of hopefully many to come) goal.
He had excuses after the game too.
The guy can’t read an individual game.
He has constant moments where a player is clearly feeling it that night and his reaction is to do nothing.
I don’t disagree but we can’t forget the Number 1 priority for a coach is to retain his job. Period.
I would gather Picks gets the Wild game and Tompkins gets the Vegas game.
Ingram.
Lyon.
When’s the last time a Goalie from the ECHL was called up to make his debut. If neither Tompkins or Ingram can be trusted come on down Unger.
I don’t even know where Ungar is playing.
Very mature road win against a good club. Good on Hutson, Stillman, Jones, Stastny… all new guys looked good.
Great job by Picks coming in cold and shutting out the B’s. Congrats to Hutson, for his first goal and a GWG at that. Great team effort. Glad the unsuccessful PP’s didn’t come back to bite them.
Win!
No EBUG hug for Picks, tho.
#PlayLaBambaBaby
That was a fantastic road win with some adversity being faced.
Great job by Pick in injury relief.
Subtle adjustments by Knob in deployment.
Jones with his best game as an Oiler and Hutson showing NHL level skill. They got one shift with Drai, took advantage and got extra minutes.
By eye, great game Nurse. He was in the box for the goal against but he didn’t do anything.
The one time the Oilers keep a clean sheet late, and Jarry can’t even enjoy it.
Hutson with the GWG for his 1st NHL tally.
2 more points for McJeebus.
Well Picks was victimized by a late GA vs the Kraken a couple weeks ago so at least he got to enjoy it. Hopefully it becomes a new trend they can keep up for Jarry when he gets back into the crease.
“Oilers keep a clean sheet late” – let’s hope this is the start of something. Playing as if your goalie matters.
Loved Stastny’s game tonight.
Could be a real sleeper trade at a great cap hit.
To my eyes, Stillman has not looked out of place
Roster freeze is in like 26.5 hours – executing a Lyon trade seems unlikely……
Jakob Chychrun is a likely candidate for Team Canada on D.
Toews Makar
Morrissey Sanheim
The locks
Then Theodore, Parayko, Chychrun, Harley, Doughty (pick 3 or 4)
The Bouchard Shaefer (pick 0 or1)
I almost want them to pick Chychrun, so when he inevitably gets injured Bouchard can slide in as an alternate.
Seriously, though, Chychrun over Theodore is madness.
Is Sanheim really the 2nd best RHD that Canada has?
Sanheim is Canada’s best all-around D with a complete toolkit that is big enough to handle the big forwards on the American team when physicality is required. He played really well during the Four Nations. Because he is a lock does not mean he is a top four D. It is just that he is clearly the best Canadian available to fill a necessary role.
There are just more options for D with other qualities.
PP needs to have a “finish him” moment here.
Pretty casual PP with a 2 goal lead and your backup in net.
Thankfully they are getting another chance.
This time they’ll connect.
Good backcheck by Mangy
So Drai with Hutson and Jones is a thing – and, so far, a substantial thing.
Is two shifts too small a sample size?
Jones having a good game tonight
Another nifty play by QH
What a great pass by Nuge. needed to be and was perfect.
Beautiful play all around by Nuge.
First, clears the crease.
Second, retrieves the puck.
Third, has the patience to hold on to it long enough for a better lane to open up.
Fourth, threads the needle perfectly on that lane.
Beauty finish by McDavid obviously. But Nuge really made that play happen.
MachDavid says hello on the PK for a shorthanded goal.
More Nuge points with the assist.
McShortay!!!! 🚨🚨🚨
That ol’ 97 has got Jeremy in his Sway(man).
The Oilers’ EBUG is this guy.
I found his LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-sanantonio-28996184?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
I hope they complete that Lyon trade in the am
With the Jarry injury, Price just went up.
Ellis is still hurt. Unlikely Buffalo trades Lyon before Ellis is healthy.
I love Pick. The guys love him. He is purely a reactionary goalie, he has little technique, which is why I imagine he got looks but never stuck. Rebounds are way juicy. I was on the fence about an upgrade, not anymore
It’s his team for the time being he’s in a contract year. This next stretch is huge for the team and his career.
I guess that’s the downside of a goalie that doesn’t move side to side like an Oil tanker
Watching this Bruin game is very interesting wrt people that live and die by stats. The shots on goal are really surprising how many are not being counted that, Edmonton are taking. Not sure how much you can believe Goalie stats, when I see how many they are missing.
Shot counts are down league wide. This is one of the reasons we have a league wide SV% below .900 for the first time in a long time. Shots that are going wide and “saved” are not counted as shots. They must be using Edge analytics to determine what is a shot.
I believe the guidelines are stricter on what a shot is. I also think there’s a lot of unqualified people receiving these statistician jobs.
Damn, Savoie, got to be able to take that pass.
As much as I rag on Nurse, that was a helluva defensive play
You and me both. A rare excellent defensive play by the much maligned Nurse.
Amazing backtrack by Nurse on Pastrnak.
He catches a lot of crap, but what a great defensive play by Nurse.
Jarry has a plus 0.900 game. Stanley Cup here we come.
Hopefully he picks up where he left off after he returns from LTIR.
Bowman’s acquisitions….straight to sick bay. The man has the touch.
Ingram come on down.
I mean, I don’t want him to go on LTIR but I feel like that was one of the main concerns with the trade. A small step up in established ability with a step down with respect to health + Kulak and a 2nd.
I wanted Binnington but Armstrong and Bowman probably aren’t the best of buds after the offer sheet garbage move.
I would think that Bowman didn’t want Binnington because he’s a bad goalie now.
That shift from Hutson, from the zone entry and not throwing it away to helping keep it under position, to scoring the goal, is not something you will see from Frederic or Henrique or Janmark or Mangiapane.
Exactly. Mangiapane has zero puck control and keeps giving it up in dangerous spots. Frederic a more simple game but Hutson has been noticeable with the puck on his stick and in winning battles despite being a smaller player
Omg. I really hope Jarry is just being extra careful. Bites fingernails nervously.
Yup, that’d be a season killer
Bowman will need to get on the phone again.
That’s gotta be a groin pull.
Well, crap.
Crap, that’s not good for Jarry
Hope it’s nothing. Go Jean Luc!
Drai replaces Fred at 4C and they dominate, Hutson with multiple great plays, Jones with his best shot as an Oiler and congrats to Quinn Hutson on his first NHl goal – and a big one.
They took my suggestion! (Double-shifting McDavid or Draisaitl at C with the fourth line.)
and even without going 11/7…..
IN FOR QUINN! 🚨
nice work by Maximum Jones!
Way to go fellow Quinn! Stoked for 23!
Assisted by that 3rd line AHLer.
Yup, Jones best shot on net as an Oiler.
The single play doesn’t change what watching his 20 NHL games plus all his AHL game this season have informed me.
Good for Hutson. Yessir, happy for the kid.