The Edmonton Oilers are hockey’s ultimate high-wire act. Ceiling to floor, the possible outcome of any game or season involves the highest highs and lowest lows. Early in last night’s game versus San Jose Sharks, there were constant turnovers, yawning cages and enormous vitriol for a team that constantly shows up fashionably late. The first cracks in the ‘this goaltening tandem works!’ verbal appeared, as Connor Ingram was criticized heavily online for giving up three goals on extremely difficult chances. “He has to stop one of them!” was heard far and wide. Goalies who play for the Oilers take a lot of heat when things are going poorly, and I expect fans will be tearing up Ingram and Tristan Jarry this time next season. It’s a tradition.
The big story last night, in my opinion, is how well Edmonton played in the third period and overtime. It was 12-2 shots, 8-2 HDSC according to Natural Stat Trick. A fan base turned from bellicose to blissful in short order. From tragedy to farce in the wink of an eye, your Edmonton Oilers.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN JANUARY
- At home to: Flyers, Preds (Expected 1-0-1) 1-1-0
- On the road to: Jets (Expected 1-0-0) 1-0-0
- At home to: Kings (Expected 1-0-0) 0-0-1
- On the road to: Blackhawks, Preds (Expected 1-1-0) 1-0-1
- At home to: NYI (Expected 0-0-1) 0-1-0
- On the road to: Canucks (Expected 1-0-0) 1-0-0
- At home to: Blues, Devils, Penguins, Caps (Expected 2-1-1) 2-2-0
- At home to: Ducks, Sharks, Wild (Expected 1-1-1) 2-0-0
- Expected Record: 8-3-4, 20 points in 15 games
- Actual Record: 8-4-2, 18 points in 14 games
- Season Record: 28-19-8, 64 points in 55 games
The club arrives at the end of January with a chance to match my predicted point total. In December, I predicted 21 points in 15 games, and the team landed with 19 points. The Oilers are 17-9-3 since the start of December, caught Vegas last night, although the Golden Knights have two games in hand.
- Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Kapanen 6:21, 6-2 shots, 76X, 2-1 HDSC
- Janmark-Frederic-Lazar 6:13, 3-3 shots, 90X, 1-0 HDSC
- Draisaitl-McDavid-Hyman 5:45, 2-2 shots, 79X, 1-0 HDSC
- Samanski-Roslovic-Savoie 5:12, 4-1 shots, 0-1 goals, 29X, 0-1 HDSC
- Draisaitl-McDavid-Kapanen 4:54, 3-1 shots, 1-0 goals, 55X, 1-1 HDSC
- Nuge-McDavid-Hyman 3:55, 0-2 shots, 0-2 goals, 0X, 0-0 HDSC
There were nine distinct lines who spent one minute or more together at five-on-five last night. The usual No. 1 line (93-97-18) was an early disaster and that’s unusual. Leon Draisaitl had a nice night at five-on-five, scoring a goal and adding three high-danger chances. Zach Hyman scored the winner after a sneaky effective push, he is so good at gaining an edge. All of the usual suspects delivered points, I think the coaching staff could probably use Bobby McMann in the Josh Samanski spot about now.
Curtis Lazar had a HDSC, that’s another good sign for a player who is healthy and effective again. Since January 1, he is 3-2 goals at five-on-five. Small sample, but it’s progress. Since January 1, Roslovic is 5-10 goals five-on-five, and is scoring 0.62 points-60. Small sample sure, but its almost 200 minutes. If Stan Bowman signs him four by four he is continuing a long tradition of overpaying complementary players for hot streaks with 97, 29, or both.
- Nurse-Walman 17:19, 12-7 shots, 62X, 2-2 HDSC
- Ekholm-Bouchard 16:34, 7-5 shots, 1-2 goals, 55X, 2-1 HDSC
- Stastney-Emberson 10:54, 6-3 shots, 0-1 goals, 65X, 1-2 HDSC
The Nurse-Walman pairing played an effective game, Nurse was 9-2 shots five-on-five away from Macklin Celebrini (4-6 against the phenom). That young man is special. The Ekholm-Bouchard pairing had a tough run early but settled in after a time. Oilers are now famous for being unready, opposition coaches probably hammer that from sunup to sundown in the hours before playing the Oilers. Bouchard’s offensive touch is enormous, exceptional. The third pairing had some wobble, but I like the youth and speed. Oilers always add a defenseman at the deadline, so we’ll see how much opportunity knocks for these young men in the playoffs.
Connor Ingram went from being completely abandoned early (Oilers blue were double agents early) to a rather quiet night the rest of the way.
I think the Oilers will send Samanski down soon (trade is coming) but he’s shown so well hope he stays. In just 15:36 at five-on-five, his shot share (11-6) and goal share (2-1) solid. He has a high-danger chance and has won six of seven in the dot at five-on-five. This from a man who has been working overtime on faceoffs since arriving from Germany last fall.
On the Lowdown today, we’ll talk about last night’s game, the Olympic rosters, Super Bowl preview and trade deadlines in the NHL and NBA. Noon to 2pm on Sports 1440 and You Tube.
Zach Hyman is the Oilers top goal-scoring winger since Kurri, Anderson and Messier. The hockey Gods robbed him a year ago, will they reward Hyman and the Oilers this spring?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7007124/2026/01/30/zach-hyman-oilers-stats-goals/
I’m not sure the Oilers don’t win the cup last year if Hyman doesn’t get hurt.
That’s a triple negative – I think you mean with Hyman the Oilers woulda won?
Speaking of, that was a brutal wrist injury and it wasn’t certain that he’d get back to baseline but it looks to be the case – kudos to Oilers medical staff.
I think so.
I am.
Same triple-negative thoughts here.
Question for folks who’ve coached hockey at a high level: Is it usual to actively mentor younger players? It seems like Draisaitl is doing this w Podkolzin (not to make him Drai, but I can see some similar habits being developed). If mentoring is a thing in a pro club, who is Hyman mentoring? Or, who would you like to see him mentoring?
If it’s not mentoring, it’s definitely rubbing off on Podz. He’s scored at least once from the Drai spot on the icing line and taken at least 3 other one timers from what I recall this season.
Plus he’s added some of Drai’s puck protection moves along the boards with the reverse hit and holding the opponent’s stick with one hand while he moves the puck one handed away from danger.
If there’s anyone who’s getting mentoring from Hyman, I think Fredric should be the first candidate. He has a similar body and speed as Hymes and he would justify his contract if he could add more of Hyman’s strengths to the bottom 9.
I think Hyman should mentor Mcmann
I hope Edmonton is lucky enough to bring McMann back home to Alberta, he might be a perfect fit with the Oilers. I think might play on the top line with McDavid & Hyman. He’s already in his prime he shouldn’t need any mentoring. I’m not sure if he actually plays center, or he could center the 3rd line. But if he can’t the Nuge can.
Thanks
Hyman is our Snow Leopard. The much coveted 5th round pick who covers the bet, leaps over it and keeps running.
I loved the signing the second it happened. Nobody thought a 50 goal scorer was coming this way. Talk about a perfect fit.
Last years SCF would have been a lot closer if Hyman was healthy.
Warren Foegele possibly on the trading block. Would anyone swap him back for Mangiapane at nearly identical contracts?
Also apparently Holland has interest in Kane. Is he just trying to recreate the same moves he made in Edmonton?
Oh for sure I’d make that swap. Foegele at least plays hard. But I doubt it’s available to us.
Jarventie with a BOMB from the point on the PP and Poulin buries the rebound.
7-2
Summarizing!
Barnett scored his 2nd goal of the campaign.
Nicholl was denied soup but did win 10 of 17 draws (58.8%).
Berry, Park, Fischer and Lafreniere were similarly barred from enjoying soup.
Tomkins finally lets one in – a bomb from the point on the PP through a big screen – the 30th shot against of the night.
6-1.
What a goal – as the PP winds down (and after Tomkins stops a SH breakaway), Jarvenite picks up the puck in the neutral zone, splits two defender, drives to the net and buries the 6-0.
Condors give up a bit more in the 2nd but overall a MUCH better defensive effort than recent games – full battle and commitment in the defensive zone.
With that said, it is the AHL and they have four AHL tweener d-men playing so lots of good looks on Tomkins who remains as hot as I can remember a Condor goalie.
Stopped all 23 through two and the Condors lead 5-0.
Quinn Hutson is back and he much have 10 shot attempts so far.
ABB have goosed it up since the first and, just now, Woo on a rush dumps it in and cross-checks Prokop right in the mouth and a brew-ha-ha breaks out – Hamblin the first two engage – Hutson in there.
Woo did get a major for the cross-check.
Griffith with a nice play in the defensive slot, a back hand dish to space, Jones skates in to it and blow past two defenders for a breakaway and buries the 5-0.
Prokop with a massive block on the same 4 on 4 – Poulin breaks out, drops to Griffith who walks in and rips home the 4-0 from slot.
Howard breaks out on the 4 on 4, to Hamblin, back to Howard who rips one and a driven Carfagna tips it in as Hamblin causes chaos in front.
3-0 Condors.
Massive cycle shift by the Condors – MASSIVE. Mainly Marjala and Brown – Griffith drops to Marjala who rips home the 2-0 from the high slot.
They are back – Huston with a shot from the circles on a 3 on 2, saved, Howard gets the rebound on net, Hamblin bangs in the second rebound.
1-0 a minute in.
Akey may play next weekend.
Lepanen perhaps back for Tuesday.
Stilman perhaps tomorrow.
Dineen longer.
“So, in answer to the prayer
The one you feel is there
The one you feel so close to
The order of the sun
And everyone is one
And all the pieces fit together
Did it all begin with someone?
Did it all begin with someone?”
Just gotta wonder when does the McDrai/Bouchard magic run out. Postseason we’re playing better teams and no 3 on 3 cheat code.
Has anybody other than our PP1 unit gotten a point in the last 3-4 games? I’ve never seen such a top-heavy team, and I’m an Oiler fan.
Hamblin moves up to play with Hutson and Howard tonight. It was Marjala last game (he plays with Griffith and Jones to start tonight).
Dedence remains a bit mess with Akey, Dineen, Stilman and Lepapen all still out – the later two are close and I don’t think Akey will be out long.
Condors have given up over 40 shots on 3 straight.
Tomkins, the clear 1A over Ungar, with another start. Presumably Ungar will start tomorrow.
What do we think about Justin Faulk?
Someone said Armstrong is looking for a return similar to Andersson which I laughed at because I remember back in 2018 or so we weren’t even that interested. He is 33 now.
i looked him up and he’s actually doing pretty well this year. Looks like he plays 2nd pairing with Fowler and they have decent results. About 48% GF and DFF. On pace for 40 points.
would not be my ideal guy as I would rather someone that has size and is a bit mean but we could fix the lefty righty issue for Im guessing a 2nd? Maybe a mid prospect too. 6.5M, I don’t know where they find the money but I will leave rhat to Lucky Socks Bill Scott.
Old, slow. I wouldn’t want him even for mangipaine.
I haven’t watched him but NHL Edge says he is actually fast https://www.nhl.com/nhl-edge/skaters/justin-faulk-8475753
88th percentile in speed bursts over 20 MPH
Jeez. I formed an opinion of him being slow. Maybe I’m wrong. I still prefer a different type of dman. Also think there’s better ways to use assets.
I don’t think d is a priority unless it’s some sort of nurse move.
Not opposed, but how do we fit the cap hit. Seems obvious we need to stop the all puck mover experiment and get someone who plays well both ways like Ekholm. Not sure Faulk is that guy.
offload Mangiapane somehow and get them to retain? I agree he wouldn’t be perfect, and I actually trust this management group to find someone who is good as they did with Stastney, Emberson, Walman
Bobby would be such a great candidate.
If one of Samanski, Hutson, or Jarventie + 2nd is required, I would do it in a heartbeat. Sounds harsh but it would be a boon for Bowman to use the rewards of his off-season acquisitions. Also a Vegas kind of ruthlessness to it. Giving up first rd picks is likely too much for an expiring player contract (I would rather give two seconds, like the Sherwood deal), and I’d worry about re-signing the Alberta native later without baking that into an inflated trade cost.
If a team could take Henrique and/or Mangiapane, I would also strongly consider relinquishing one of the prospects for that freeing of dead cap space to enhance the team
Bobby is 29. Hutson for me I’m not trading the other two for anything less than certain help with term
I dont think I would do Jarventie or Hutson or Samanski. That is pretty cool that we signed these guys for free in the summer and now they actually have trade value. What a concept
I don’t get what they’re doing with Howard. If we are going to win a Cup we need production from a different source then the usual suspects. Why can’t K.K see this maybe that’s why Coffey bolted with K.K not looking at the big picture. We need all hands on deck peaking by the time we play Vegas
Connor and Leon 30 minutes a game. It is the way
Not sure why there is this “30 minutes a game” narrative when their average TOI is around 23 minutes (less for Drai).
Why they didn’t try him in Draisaitl spot on PP1 while Leon was away is beyond me.
I’m pretty sure there’s a consensus that Trent Fredric’s 8x$3.85M extension appears to be a bad gamble. I’m probably in the minority feeling it could be a good deal if he recovers to being a solid 3rd liner for 5 or 6 years of the remainder, especially if you consider the inflation of the cap over the last 7 seasons.
Hypothetically, what if the Oilers had instead reversed the deals and signed Fredric to the 3 x $3.5M extension and Podkolzin to the 8 x $3.85M extension? For realism, I bumped up Fredric’s AAV to account for his UFA leverage. Would there be any outrage at all?
I think it’s likely Fredrick finds his game and becomes a big part of the oilers bottom 6. The Olympic break may be ideal.
I agree and I’ve been touted the “drive for Federic as the playoff 3C”.
At this point, he’s “recovered” to “playable 4th line winger” – he’s got a long ways to go but its a first step.
At this point, I’m not sure his 3rd line recovery will happen this season but, yes, I do believe he will be much better over the next 3-4-5 years than we’ve seen.
You don’t give Podkolzin 8 years either.
I think this season is a writeoff for Frederic.
I think the Connor Brown Year 2 recovery is our best hope.
— luck goes both ways but it’s hard for fans to assign luck to wins. They mostly attribute it to when they lose.
— Oil have had 2 lucky wins in the last week.
— Teams wins lucky games as much as they lose them. This was one of those.
— comes with the territory IMO.
— still a chance to run the table until Olympics and be top of division …
For what it’s worth, I think people are equally bad at assigning luck to losses. Every goal against is a failure of the team, specific player or goalie. Oftentimes it’s just a good or bad bounce.
I will say, a win from three goals back is still pretty impressive. Obviously luck played a big role, but I think you need a large amount of skill to get that lucky…
The Oilers heavily outchanced the Sharks. The Sharks ended up with a lucky OTL
If Bouchard makes his way onto team Canada, he QBs pp1
Makar is pp1b
There is zero realistic chance this happens but it’s becoming hard to argue that it shouldn’t be the case. The Avs PP, with the likes of Necas and MacKinnon and Nelson, is awful and Markar is a part of that.
I agree. The thing that saves Makar is his incredible speed. If he makes a mistake at the line he still has a good chance to breakup or disturb any breakout. No clean breakaway with that speed.
Makar can skate faster backward than many forwards can skate forward.
Sure, although he did cough one up on the PP for a goal against – one of 4 goals against he caused over the last two games.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s all but generational (he might even be) but he has gone full October-Bouchard this week.
LT made the point yesterday that the team has the next 3 springs locked in with McDavid and that means they have to go for it every year. I understand the logic of that, however, watching the last 2 years playoff runs I just do not see this year’s addition as near close enough to the previous 2 seasons. Apart from Roslovic’s fall heater before his injury, he hasn’t moved the needle and unless they can get some scoring off the bottom 2 lines I don’t see a deep run with this group. The leaders who have been to the last 2 cup finals must know that as well
I think we’re closer this year than we were before acquiring Perry in late January, 24-25.
There are a lot of ifs, but it’s really just about getting what we need out of the bottom six. We need Frederic and Mangiapane to be the guys they signed on to be, or we need to find guys who will. That to me is the big difference between a shot at the cup this year and losing in the 2nd or 3rd round.
I don’t know if there’s a Perry, Henrique, Stetcher out there this deadline, but having a deadline like that would set us up for another trip to the finals in my opinion.
Does adding Claude Giroux and Bobby McMann while sending out Mangiapane get us close? I think it gets us pretty close.
Sure, but how do you plan to do that? Send away our next three first-rounders?
The Oilers are definitely the most electric team in the league when McDraiBouch go pedal to the metal.
It boggles the mind that Bouchard is not on team Canada. The man is a general out there.
He was also on the ice for two of the first three goals against.
Canada won in 2014 by giving up less than one goal per game.
The checking was SO tight and fast in 4 Nations that Bouch’s lack of urgency would be an absolute killer. Way worse than it already is.
Just because Parayko is a bad pick doesn’t make Bouch a good pick.
In which he was at fault ZERO%. I will let you in on a little hint. All dman make mistakes every game. Dynamic players more because a) they play more. b) they play against tougher competition. c) they take more chances to create opportunities. Like Button said the other day I would take Ray Bourke’s 3 mistakes a game for the 20 chances he creates on the other end.
Also Bouchard has been the BEST dman in the playoffs 3 years in a row. Big sample size against the BEST teams in the league. Bouchard thrives in the big games and big stage.
I’ll also add Bouchard would be the 4th highest scoring PLAYER on team Canada right now while still sporting a +13.
Canada has a great team but it will look bad if you don’t win gold and didn’t bring your best players. Doughty, Paryako, Harley should not be ahead of Bouch.
Cirelli should not be ahead of Bennett or Scheifele or Hyman.
Binnington should not be ahead of anyone.
For two consecutive years Bouchard has been the best dman in the playoffs. He excels in tight checking competitive games.
Not against Florida. The Americans are Florida.
Really? Last I checked the playoff MVP was Canadian but not good enough to make our team i guess. Thank God Cooper got his Cirelli on the team.
He was excellent against Florida. He was one of the few Oilers over 50% 5v5 in GF. The team got killed without Bouchard. Look it up. I know your narratives are generally fact proof but it’s true.
Bouchard was 5-6 goals in the SCF and sewered by McDavid being AWFUL defensively and primarily responsible for 4-5 goals against (he was 3-8 goals). Bouchard was 100% goal share in the SCF when on the ice without McDavid.
I look at minutes played with kaleidoscope eyes. It seems to me that a minute in the offensive half of the ice with the puck on a string, or whipping the puck around, moving around for shots, deflections, etc is not the same as a minute doing stops and starts in the defensive zone, in the corners or hanging off your check, desperately busting your ass to break up a play that could result in a goal.
On the 6 on 5 empty net formations, I find it an interesting wrinkle to have Bouch alone at the top of the blue with Ekholm heading to the low slot to act as a middle screen. Drai and McDavid rotate up to the points to attack high to low or to stretch the defenders up to the blue to open more space behind them in the slot but it’s risky leaving just one D high. At least if there’s a turnover, it’s usually McDavid acting as the 2nd D chasing it down on the backcheck so that mitigates some of the risk…
This is the tactic the oilers are using as you accurately point out. There is certainly risk and the oilers will get scored on because of that risk.
Bouchard is generally very aggressive at keeping pucks in at the blue often with little cover.
I believe the risk is losing a game by two goals or perhaps scoring to tie. The risk I believe is reasonable and has most recently led to oiler rewards.
Taking no risk is very risky.
Per Ryan Holt:
Can’t wait to get Leppanen back.
Great comeback for the Oilers, yet there’s no way around it, Knoblauch needs to figure out why his team doesn’t show up and he’s left relying 4 or 5 guys to abandoned everything and win on talent alone.
Knoblauch would do himself a whirl of good admitting a bit of failure and adding a veteran voice behind the bench that can pick up where Knoblauch is weak or someone else is going to be taking over his position.
Comebacks like last night are awesome singular moments, but the way the game started is a serious problem that happens far too often, taking away a bit of the fun in last night’s comeback when you wake up the next day thinking about the entire 60 minutes.
Oilers need to start playing a 60 minute game, that’s the coaches job.
I will give him Kudos for the value contract that is Kapanen, the stud is maturing rapidly.
Draisaitl watching Celebrini with clear annoyance at the end of the 2nd spurred him to Micheal Jordan the Sharks, that was the real game changer.
I agree, and the Avs should fire Bednar for getting scored on a minute in too.
Makar played terrible and was caught pinching on a lob pass and played 24 minutes, he’s gonna be tired by playoff time. Bednar should hire a defensive specialist to mentor his confidence since he’s weak or Peter Deboer will take his job.
Mackinnon’s line got 21+ minutes and were a minus 3. They can’t keep overplaying these guys if they aren’t helping.
Staple them to the bench to send a message and play Zakhar Bardakov more.
A game between the Oilers and Sharks has respectfully nothing to do with the Avalanche.
Bouchard should be an Olympian beside Makar, the Habs are a good squad.
The Avalanche respectfully don’t start a large portion of their games down bad in the opening stanza.
If the Oilers didn’t regularly come out sleep walking, there would be no talk about it, unfortunately that’s not reality as it currently operates.
Bednar has his bottom of the roster cooking 5 course meals compared to the primo’s beef medley Knoblauch has his group rolling out.
I generally agree that the oilers need to find more minutes for the bottom 6 at the expense of Mcdavid Draisaitl minutes.
I think last nights game was an exception.
I think his point is that it doesn’t just happen in Edmonton.
Appreciates you.
It does when you post unreasonable expectation that are even met by the clear top team in the league, the Avs.
Makar has been without his D partner, Devon Toews for the past 12 games.
The AV’s 4th line of Bardakov, Kelly and Brindley played more than 10 minutes and their third line scored 2 goals.
Whoosh
I saw the sarcasm and also the lack of context.
My goalposts are fine, you are welcome to continue to move your own.
That’s a lot of money to pay a d-man who hasn’t proven he can play away from Devon Toews.
This wins the thread 🙂
Ditto for Nate Dogg MacKinnon. Offense drying up without Makar on his game 😂
Best way to beat DSF is to think like DSF
I respectfully disagree that slow game starts are on the coach. The coach is responsible for ensuring the right systems are in place for the opponent and that the right line-up is on the card. While a fire-and-brimstone coach may have an occasional motivational impact (that wears off over time), professional athletes are responsible to be ready when the puck drops.
The athletes, and only the athletes, need to ensure that they are mentally and physically engaged at the start of every game. What we are seeing is not systems issues that lead to early deficits, what we are seeing is athletes that believe the “all-in” start of seasons, and the start of games is optional, and that talent will ultimately win over time. That flaw cost this team their first run at the cup when they got down 3-0 in games. It’s also cost them multiple single-event games. Over the long run, the players need to figure this out if they are ever going to be serious contenders. Yesterday proves this is still a work in progress.
I disagree; it’s true at the pinnacle of any top level pro sport anywhere that the coach is a huge part of getting those players to their best game when it matters. Millions of coaches can do X and 0, there are zillions of managers in business but few could be a CEO
It won’t happen every game but McDavid was at 26:10 and Drai was 25:20 TOI due to falling behind so early. Samanski, Savoie, Lazar, Fredric and Janmark were all around 9 mins TOI while they ran the big guns excessively trying to claw back in.
The coach HAS to try work in the bottom 6 more or McDrai will collapse in exhaustion at the start of the playoffs.
When have they ever collapsed from exaustion at any time during the playoffs?
In 50 years 3 teams have lost consecutive finals, the last in the 70’s. This team that did it has 3 all time NHL producers on it, at least one generational
The Oilers don’t deserve a Cup, but history says with these players that they should win at least one. I think they could have already, and I also think that the panthers think that they are far more than they are and are far less relevant in NHL history than they now think
The Oilers and panthers issues are directly related
Samanski looks solid out there, not out of place.
Here is hoping for a couple of games before the break where the Oilers grab and early lead and the line can play 12 minutes at 5 on 5 and cash one.
It would be enormous if can come in and be a net plus 3C.
Like maybe Stanley big.
In addition to Point (and there is some thought he might be able to go), Marchand left the game last night and didn’t return – no idea on timeline there.
Lots more talk over the last few weeks about Hyman being at the top of the replacement list.
Ferraro said yesterday that, for him, Hyman is the guy. Now, that’s his opinion and not insider info on management’s opinion but it’s notable.
I really don’t think they could deny Hyman at this point. 12 goals in his last 15 games. Chemistry with McDavid. Scores goals in different ways than a lot of the guys on that team and is a great leader.
I think Hyman has forced his way on the team if anyone gets hurt.
Agreed but, then again, there is a Bennett Love In – “proven winner”, right?
I doubt Bennett’s game will work well with Olympic refs.
The Canadian games will be mostly, if not all, NHL officials.
Sure, but calling to what standard? Not the Bettman one I would guess.
Don’t see refs in the Olympics deciding to not call an obvious infraction against 97 just because Canada is up. Bennet is a cheap-shot artist, and his antics will not work at the Olympics – and that goes for Chucky as well.
I didn’t think Jon Cooper had any love for Bennett. And there are plenty of “proven winners” selected for team Canada.
They can name Bennett as a replacement for Marchand.
But Hyman is the replacement for Point.
Also, Hyman can play anywhere up and down the lineup, first line to fourth line, either wing. His hockey IQ is very high and he has chemistry with almost anybody.
As I’ve said before, when it comes to Olympics, he’s like a poor man’s Patrice Bergeron – the guy you think will be your fifth-line centre, but ends up as Sidney Crosby’s most reliable first-line winger.
The other option would be Bedard, but he hasn’t been as good since returning from his shoulder thing.
A month ago, the replacement list was really Bedard, Scheifele and Bennett – now Hyman is there, probably above Bedard and Scheifele but I just don’t know about Bennett.
Hyman is just so much better than Bennett – their ceilings are not comparable but there is folk-lore around Bennett, right?
The Bo Horvat selection is also looking worse and worse by the day.
game worked out pretty well for me. Watch first five minutes. Change channel in disgust and watch two intriguing shows. Turn back to game with 5 minutes left to see if they can do the thing. They do the thing.
Game worked out well for me – watched every second of play.
Lots of good is happening for the Oilers despite the chaos. Another night with big min for 97/29/2 though. This team needs one more star. Bryon Bader says you need 5. McDavid didnt take 12.5 so they can sign Roslovic or a mid 6 player. Swing big!
How the h**l does Hockey Canada defend not picking Bouchard!
2025 – 2026 Regular Season
Bouchard: 55 gms / 59 pts / 24:42 TOI / 1:54 SH TOI
Doughty: 44 gms / 13 pts / 22:55 TOI / 1:05 SH TOI
Parayko: 54 gms / 12 pts / 18:04 TOI / 2:27 SH TOI
Doughty not even tapped to be LAK’s shutdown PK guy.
Parayko playing 3rd pairing minutes.
NHL Playoffs (the games that really matter)
Five (5) left-shot dmen were chosen, so would think that if any of the eight (8) guys chosen get hurt in the next few games that Bouchard should be in.
If hockey teams including national teams weren’t so risk adverse, it would create a tremendous competitive advantage for them. It should be ‘let’s add the talent, not let’s add the best role player’. Luckily the US was even worse at selecting players.
Yeah, 2 of the top-10 scorers in the NHL this season not on the USA team!
I think they all got caught up on the fact the ice surface is going to be 3ft smaller than NHL and the shatstorm that happened at 4 nations.
Going in trying to win a pitfight.
I hate that these games aren’t on the european regular ice size and honestly i hope bouchard and hyman are left off team because surely there’s a good chance some marquee players are going to be coming back injured.
# of players going -> #on medal competitive teams (goalies in brackets) -> 15% chance injury?
——-
BOS 8(1) -> 7 (1)
CAR 4(1) -> 2
COL 8 -> 8
DAL 7(1) -> 7(1)
EDM 3 -> 1
FLA 9 -> 7
LAK 5(1) -> 4(1)
MIN 10(2) -> 7(2)
TBL 11 -> 5
VGK 9 -> 6
All the central has like 30% of their top roster players in mix.
some Good players always get left off, that’s the reality.
To your point, in a short tournament, familiarity helps.
I thought they could have ran a froward line headed by MacKinnon, with Makar as right D.
and then ran a McDavid line, with Bouchard on right D.
Makar most likely heads up PP1, but then Bouchard could have quarterbacked PP2.
Also, if Makar were to get hurt in tournament, Bouchard could step right in PP1 role.
The lack of Makar insurance is a huge gaping hole in the Canadian lineup. If I’m the opponent, I target him and hooray I beat Canada. What good are your forwards without a dcore that moves the puck at an elite level (they’re all very good, but at this level…)?
All on the team can PK to some degree and play all situations.
Not all of them can run a PP (lookin at you Parayko). Fewer still can run the actual best powerplay to ever exist.
Yeah, the only way I can pick Bouchard is as an 8th defenseman who acts as Makar insurance. Maybe you’re winning me over.
Awesome come-back!
The Oilers show that the top end of thier roster is the best in the league. But it takes effort and momentum and its fatiguing to play elite all the time. They are blessed with talent though.
Im not hard on the coach for slow starts, not really his to own. I just want to see the bottom half of the roster get better and better. Carry the game, outscore, energize, get physical ect. Some is on the coach, players need ice time to improve and fill their role. They need coached on roles and “how to” at times. Ultimately the goal is to close the “ceiling to floor” gap by bringing up the floor.
“But it takes effort and momentum and its fatiguing to play elite all the time”
Is it? What evidence do we have that these guys are in any way tired?
What kind of evidence do you want?
Flat starts, lack of enthusiasm, average play until they get draped into a must crank it up. Inconsistent. Can’t win 3 in a row.
do you want to wait till a collapse in playoffs from exhaustion? Inability to bring it due to fatigue? Perhaps fatigue leading to injury?
Do you need that type of evidence?
Perhaps play top guns 30 min a night till you get evidence?
Or maybe we can look at history and comparisons to deduce that players fatigue after 82 games at peak performance? Most athletes can only peak for a much shorter period.
Of you don’t think it fatiguing why don’t they bring that elite play every shift?
Running top guns right out of gas in regular season plus Olympics is not a smart play, and I don’t think you even need an expert opinion to conclude.
I would like any evidence, at all. You have no evidence, provided no evidence, and gave rhetorical questions that assumed fatigue is a given.
Has anyone asked Mcdavid if he’s tired? They started slow and he brought them back last night. With that lack of evidence, one could just say he actually got better with more minutes, given how the game ended.
‘Inability to bring it due to fatigue? ‘
They are tied for first in their division.
‘Perhaps fatigue leading to injury?’
This is a real concern, good point.
‘Or maybe we can look at history and comparisons to deduce that players fatigue after 82 games at peak performance?’
Yes, please do that or provide a link I’d love to read that
‘Of you don’t think it fatiguing why don’t they bring that elite play every shift?’
I don’t know what this is saying, elite play and being tired are 2 completely different points here. 97 won the game with a pass during his 26th minute and flew down the ice to do it. Was he tired?
You asserted something and provided no evidence, I asked for evidence, this shouldn’t be a hot under the collar moment.
Good grief. You are picking a silly argument, but okay, without the required evidence please continue with McDavid and Draisait at 26 minutes per game. It’s all good.
I haven’t picked any argument. This blog has always asked for proof or at least an attempt to provide an answer. Trivializing being asked a question is lame.
I don’t take any onus with you, I take it with the assertion they’ll be gassed by the final. We literally saw them run the table in 25 after we played these guys just as long due to all the injuries last year, compounded with the 24 cup run. They can and do play that long and produce exceptionally.
What evidence is there that ‘this year’ will be any different? I’ll wait for someone to do the work or ask the question.
I liked MacT on the intermission last night talking about the bottom 6.
My idea that will never happen – bring in MacT as a an assistant to help Knoblauch with the bottom 6. That was kind of his specialty right? I miss some of the old shifts we would get from the bottom 6 where they don’t necessarily score, but do simple things that help like hit, cycle the puck, wear down the D and try to get some zone time while the big boys rest.
I think Knoblauch is a decent coach but I just think he needs some help getting through to the role players.
I think we posted at the same time, I am agreeing with you. We are going to need the entire roster so build them up as strong as possible.
I think it’s a brilliant idea.
Tangentially related, but I was oddly excited when the Oilers hired Dave Tippett. I was looking forward to the team playing better overall defense and especially seeing a bottom-six play then Coyotes style hockey. Oddly it never happened.
I had thought if Dave Tippett can take a bunch of rag-tag castoffs and get them to play like that, look out.our bottom six is going to shut it down for once.
The mistake that I had made was underestimating how much of Coyotes-style shutdown hockey actually did rely on personnel—guys like Antoine Vermette, Marin Hansel, and Daniel Winnik etc.
Yeah I think they need different personnel too. I like the players on the 4th line right now – JANMARK, Lazar, Freddi. The third line could definitely use Martin Hanzal and a Winnik.
Every player has a role to play. That’s just the way it is.
Dan Winnik! That name brings to mind Ben Massey’s funniest, most sarcastic Oiler article I’ve ever read. “We lost to a team where Dan Winnik played 12 minutes?! That’s not even a real player!”
You need the right personalities to play those kinds of roles and Im not sure SB has brought them in .Perry is an example of a player that embraces that roll . He enjoys being a sh..t disturber and getting under peoples skin and at the same time pulling his team into the game. Like we needed in the first two periods last night .
Frederick and Mangiapone were supposed to fill those roles but both are far to passive and that may be just who they are . Now Clattenburg loves the role and will play to it in th\e future
My youngest stayed home from hockey practice (not feeling well) to watch his favorite team to play his second favorite team. He’s been a Sharks fan forever, and he was giving the gears to me early on. Since I was out for my mom’s birthday dinner (happy 80th!) I took it in good stride and felt like there was no need to hurry home or stay up late.
Well, this team keeps showing me new ways to break hearts. My boy was yelling at the TV when I was in bed last night, and when I saw the final score I understood why. What a perplexing group they are this year.
Thanks to all who have helped me get a sense of Ingram’s play and that it wasn’t his fault at all. I was very curious with 2 in the first couple of minutes and another before the period was done.
Was KK running the 97-29 line too hard again at the end? I am a little concerned with the deployment heading into the Olympics that our top guys will get worn down come March.
Obviously happy with the win after a frustrating two periods that looked like a loss most of the way. Time will tell, but I just don’t see a deep run for this team this year unless they are very fortunate with the playoff match ups which is entirely possible. The way they have to overplay McDrai to constantly stay in or come back in games is going to catch up with them I believe. I said it right from the start of this season. Condensed schedule, Olympic Games, and sky high minutes for the duo doesn’t add up to sustainable high end play into June. Hope to be proven wrong
I was thinking at this point they are like the teams that might make a run with lots of good fortune and whatever magic
Like the Habs a few years ago or the Blues
And it is possible given the weak Pacific division. If they start against Seattle, Ana, or SJS, I’d give them the edge. Then Vegas is far from unbeatable for the division. They may still be able to beat Dallas in a conference final matchup, then if Florida doesn’t make the playoffs, who knows? Dare to dream!
I think a major tweaking is coming very soon. After the Olympic break this team is going to be a wagon. At the TDL they may not even need to be active. They will be ready for the playoffs.
I really like how the 4th line is performing every night now. Hard on the forecheck, generating chances and keeping it in the good end of the ice for large stretches of time.
The third line is getting there but I can’t help but feel they need a bit of size and snarl. Looking to the playoffs, I think they’ll get muscled out and neutralized by the clutch and grab style. If Samanski stays as #3C, he might need to be willing to engage in fisticuffs or general assholery to amp up the sandpaper on that line.
The only two players that I’d classify as “tough” are Nurse and Fredric but I don’t think that’s enough. It’s good to be “team tough” but we haven’t shown much of that this season. Looking at a possible playoff matchup against Anaheim, it’d be nice if we could physically dominate them to make a series win easier. Matching up against Vegas, we’d be leaned on hard by their defencemen who average 200 lbs and 6’3″ tall.
I feel our 5v5 offence is too reliant on being a rush team and that’s what is countered most in playoffs with tightening of neutral zone defences. Our #1 ranked PP will be given even less chances under playoff refereeing so it won’t be as much of an advantage as it is now. It’d be nice to see our team work on being a better forecheck and cycle team. We have the speedy forwards so we should be leveraging that advantage to turn over more pucks.
I don’t think Samanski has an aggressive bone in his body haha
I don’t think they’re over reliant on the rush, they like to get in the ozone and control play with the cycle.
That fourth line is gaining traction and Frederic is playing decent hockey there.
We are a LONG ways from there but I do hold out hope that his game can continue to build and he can be a legit 3rd liner by playoff time (or at least for next season).
He’s been good but we need more than 8 minutes on the fourth line wing from him at some point.
I believe numbers prove the to be a myth – power play opportunities actually go up in amount in the first round (and I think first couple of rounds).
I think there is perception of the opposite as there are likely many more infractions committed so many non-calls but also many calls.
Brad Treliving’s 10-care pileup in the center of the hockey universe is really increasing my entertainment level right now!!
Has Sid Seixeiro sent out his “Matthews won’t put up with this for much longer” tweet yet?
Hope Brad gets the hattrick and destroys a third franchise. This guy has now reached the Milbury / Chiarelli level of incompetence. Can he go farther down that path – we sure hope so!
He must have a world class spin game getting the primo Canadian GM job after wiping out the flames. Shock of shocks it’s happening again!
Kyle Dubas hold my beer! That the Pens are in playoffs ATM is a surprise. Which is a bad thing when you have Sid as your leader. The Karlsson trade was very ill advised and wasted years of Sid’s career at its end
Yup, he ruined the Flames and now he’s in the process of wrecking the Leafs.
Stan Bowman should have him on speed dial, there’re a number of players on the Leafs roster that would be tremendous Oilers.
The only goal that Ingram could have possibly saved was the second after Emberson inexplicably decided not to dump the puck in for a line change. The resulting break away could have been stopped, but wasn’t and I believe about 30% of breakaways result in goals so what are you going to do? The bigger question is what goalie in the world, past or present was going to stop either of the other two goals?
I also thought Frederic had a very good game. He is definitely a lot faster and is getting shots on net. 1 great one where the goalie made a great save. He needs a few to go in and get more confidence.. He plays well with Lazar it seems.
Knoblauch has found something with that fourth line.
I was at the game. Last night. Crazy game.
I did wonder in OT why Cellebrini was not out to start. I know he had a long shift at the end, but he got a good rest before OT started. Dumb move IMO. BUT good for us.
This team needs to quit passing so much once they get into the zone. By this I mean, right after the 1st goal , The Drai line was in San Jose’s zone , the puck got to Drai and he was on the right of the high slot and could have shot. He passed towards the L side boards then there were 3 more passes all to the perimeter and then it got knocked out and San Jose scored shortly after. They do this a lot. Just wish Drai shot that and the forwards crash the net for rebounds. Anyone else notice that?
People ragging on The goalie? I mean on the 1st one he overcommitted to the play on his left and was way out of position, but it was a great shot so ? The other 2 no chance.
That barn was the quietist I can remember after that 3rd goal until in the 2nd.
What a comeback, but it would be nice to come out on time for a change. I just don’t get that.
San Jose has some fast kiddies for sure. How about the class that Cellebrini had telling refs he wasn’t high sticked. So why wasn’t there a review and why was there a penalty? Something wrong with that.
2 points in the bank.
They better not come out like that on Saturday night.
I noticed the play you’re talking about. It happens a lot.
I agree Shamus about their offensive play and have been talking about it for a few years, because I was very concerned they wouldn’t win a Cup being able to be shut down 5v5 by certain teams. Any team with our top 5 players should roll no matter what, be the favourite to come out on top of anything. Like most teams that have a world’s best player
I think it’s at the root of the Jekyl and Hyde persona, even defensively. Connor’s line shouldn’t be getting outscored very often at evens and it does
Whatever their system is, if the opponent lets them do it they will win, possibly win big. If they don’t let them, the team does not respond how decades of NHL hockey says you must – create traffic, screen, deflect, move the puck pre shot. The become mainly perimeter without good shots mostly, spiced up with some individual attempts that are often high risk
Because of this fast break out thing it seems they are so focused on it they have nothing left mentally for self preservation, ie defense; until things are desperate, where the lack of choices clears the mind
A day is coming where these come back efforts aren’t going to work as much. Give the Celebrinis and a couple of other teams a few seasons and the Oilers will be looking like old rock stars still trying to hit the high notes of their 20’s. Or they could learn a lower key now and keep rolling before it’s embarrassing
This is also why no Oiler outside of the 4 that usually produce (Connor Leon Hyman Bouch) can, especially the lower down you go. There is no normal hockey strategy that they have all played forever. Players that leave recover their games if they are legit
They have to add an effective ‘ground game’ to go up a level as they should. Through the air is far more exciting, but more risky, and more dependent on outside factors. All of the players can do the ground game, and add pressure on the opponent in any environment
I travelling so spotty or no responses might occur
“Hockey is a business” – entertainment is what’s being sold. I think about fans like you a lot as I watch this team, among others. I wonder how much appetite there is for paying to watch mediocre or awful play? Is that mitigated by the probability of late-game heroics? At least the Oilers can promise ticket-buying fans a heart-attack finish, if not 60 minutes of responsible play. I hope it felt like getting your money’s worth last night.
As for ragging on the goalie. LT says it’s a “tradition.” That’s a polite way of saying, Oilerville has a bad habit of mistaking the effect for the cause. A bad habit that creates enough noise that GMs have to “do something,” because hockey is an entertainment business (that needs drama perhaps as much as winning?). And fans must be satisfied. I’m assuming that the business of hockey (winning, and entertaining) is probably easier in markets like LV and FLA. Bob’s numbers are not so good this year (weren’t great last season, either). Yet there is no tradition/bad habit of blaming the goalie in FLA. Yet another lesson from the 3x SCFinalists, 2x Cup winners: don’t make a tradition of blaming the goalie.
They chatted/discusse/argued about this on the Got Y Back pod last night. Rob Brown agrees with the Sharks choice – he thinks the opposition should always start 2 d-men and try and “survive” the first shift.
Rishaug thinks its a mistake to lose a game in OT without Celebrini seeing the ice.
A tester wondered if they would have made a line change for Celebrini if they had won the face-off.
Mike Grier’s San Jose Sharks are the template for effectively re-building from down to the studs.
Last night the Sharks showed that they have the top-end talent to compete with elite teams, but lack the experience and situational awareness to close it out.
These, in my opinion, were the keys to San Jose’s rapid trip down and then back up the elevator shaft:
-Get value in your divorce from over-30 / high payroll players: Sharks ended up getting Askarov and Dickinson, key pillars in goal and on D, from their offloading of Hertl and Karlsson. Not to mention players they got by trading Timo Meier.
-Don’t just be bad, be very very bad for 3 to 4 years to draft elite talent. Celebrini is their star, but Will Smith and Mike Misa will be all-star players for the Sharks for a long long time. Part of the art in trading Karlsson and Meier is that it helped SJ draft top-2 instead of top-5.
-Find other good young players looking for an opportunity. The Sharks started with Zadina and Calen Addison … didn’t work out but they ended up with Colin Graf who did.
-Surround your young core with good vets … in this case Toffoli, Wennberg, Orlov, and Klingberg to insulate young players and build a culture of competitiveness.
Grier was a great Oiler … I remember a huge goal he scored against Colorado in Game 7 in 1998 …
Rosy is one of the leagues best GM’s having made the Sharks relevant in record time.
Probably still needs to pop his shoulder back in every once in awhile 😂
The thing is, there is no reason to tear down all the way and rebuild these days. You can get everything you need with cap space, picks, and a smattering of other assets.
All tearing it down does is prolong everything.
By conventional wisdom, Vegas should just be starting to contend now. They correctly said that approach stinks for an expansion team (or anyone) and went right after it.
I disagree. I still like the complete tear down. Be terrible for 3 – 4 years, accumulate a pile of picks and get 2 – 4 TOP picks you can build your team around.
yes, it does take longer and there is no guarantee, but there is no guarantee on a “Re-tool” either.
Need to get lucky as well. Red Wings were bad for years and did not pick above #4.
Vegas very much believed they wouldn’t contend with the team they had at outset and changed course once the team showed how good it was. Aggressive was not the starting point.
They correctly pivoted.
Thing is…Grier inherited a very large number of inefficient contracts for aging players and had little choice but spend the time and effort to dispose of them while accumulating associated assets.
He is still carrying retained salary for Vlasic, Martin Jones, Erik Karlsson and Thomas Hertl but most will soon be gone while the $10 million cap hit for Carey Price is done at the end of this season.
Looking ahead, the Sharks have another very promising forward prospect in 20 year old Igor Chernyshov, who has 11 points in 15 NHL games and is a PPG in the AHL.
Still some work to do with the D while Sam Dickinson develops but Grier has only Orlov and Dickinson signed from the current roster next season so I expect his focus in free agency and the trade market will aim to build that up.
He will have almost $55 million in cap space and 2 first round picks to work with.
Can you imagine if they would have picked 1st overall last year and got Schneider.
yikes.
Not sure I agree. Lotto luck and getting a top end forward who is truly elite is the exception, not the rule.
Detroit did exactly what you said, had no lotto luck and are only now becoming relevant almost 10 years later. We did that 10-12 and got Hall, Nuge, Yak. If we had done it 13-15 it would’ve been Nate/Barkov, Ekblad/Reinhart/Drai, Mcdavid. Best pray when you suck the best of the best are available.
You have to hit on every high pick. Miss 1 (Patrick), and you become the Flyers.
I still have no idea who is going to play defence for them long term. Dickinson isn’t a lock to be a 1 by any stretch and he’s their best. They better hope a Lacombe comes along.
I do like their rebuild, especially after blowing the original Karlsson trade that crippled the franchise. I think Anaheim has them beat from a team perspective but they also weren’t starting from as far back as SJ.
I’m in full agreement with what you’ve said. I’ve used similar arguments in defending the Oilers for their three #1 in three years and not being able to win a Cup – having the No. 1 overall doesn’t mean a lot if the draft doesn’t have a clearly elite franchise or generational level player, it’s not easy to win the Cup. The case can be made for drafting differently, over those years, but the reality is they picked the generally accepted top player at the time.
Unfortunately, to add to the lack of a true franchise/generational player from those drafts, the Oilers were never really able to draft/develop a No. 1 D early on whose game would be entering peak years at the same time as the elite forwards, or draft/develop/trade for a high end goalie. These were keys to Cup winning dynasty teams like Pittsburgh (Letang & Fleury/Martin), Chicago (Keith/Seabrook), LA (Doughty & Quick), TB (Hedman & Vasilevskiy). Klefbom seemed to be on track to fill the No. 1 D requirement, but they threw the goalie away (Dubnyk). Of course, this all led to drafting McDavid, so a new window of opportunity opened.
San Jose does seem to be that elite No. 1 D away from being a soon to be perennial contender. If Dickinson can take his game to another level in the next couple of seasons, or they acquire a top D entering/in his peak, they should be on their way to a Cup or three. Of course, they also need to find the right mix of supporting players as well.
Anaheim seems to have the pieces except possibly the goalie. Dostal looked like he would be the answer, but as this season goes on, he’s looking more average than elite. That may be enough with the team coming up behind him.
Prospectingly!
The Michiganders return to action after having last weekend off. They remain first in Div-1 with a sterling 20-4 record. As such, Aidan Park and Asher Barnett represent the best NAmateur chance for a championship title like Will Nicholl and Bauer Berry experienced yesteryear.
Also ranked in the Div-1 top 20 is Berry and his St. Thomas squadron, who jump one spot to #15. Berry has points in four of his last five GP, and has more points in those five (5) than his previous 20 (4). Turning the corner? We wait.
Paul Fischer has been nominated for the Hobey Baker Award. He is one of 88 nominees, with the 10 finalists to be announced March 18th.
Nicholl is riding a six-game point streak (2 + 5) as London’s 1C.
Tommy Lafreniere is also 1C for Kamloops. His next point will set a career high.
Michigan (Park, Barnett) @ 4:30 p.m.
Notre Dame (Fischer) @ 5 p.m.
London (Nicholl) @ 5 p.m.
St. Thomas (Berry) @ 6 p.m.
Kamloops (Lafreniere) @ 8 p.m.
All times, at all times, are Mirror time.
I couldn’t watch the game last night, but does anyone know why Roslovic is playing C while Samanski is on the wing. It seems like a more natural fit to switch the two men.
Maybe Samanski doesn’t know the system yet?
My guess is the coach doesn’t trust young people. Samanski didn’t see the ice later on.
I think he just took a couple draws. Samanski was playing C when I noticed him. He didn’t play much
NST (and my eyes) had him at C on that line, going 3/3 in faceoffs. He had three shifts (2 shortened) across the 3rd period. I liked what I saw in his 8 minutes. Forechecking. Backchecking. I’d like to see more.
Kudos to the coach for not pulling Ingram after goal 3.
Kudos to the coach for changing his load up – Kap up top given the 2nd line Hyman.
Kudos to the coach for finding shifts for the fourth line through the comeback – they played on the offensive zone and kept momentum.
Coach eve found a shift for Savoie with over four minutes left and I think they drew and icing that led to goal 2.
It’s funny. I only turned the game on at the start of the second, down 3-0. I started having thoughts of maybe Knoblauch’s seat getting a bit warm creeping into my head. The poor starts should kinda land at the coaching staff’s feet should they not? It’s confounding to see the team that just takes over in the third period not be able to get off to a better start. But after a win, we praise the coach (myself included). This team will be the death of me!!
I don’t know if the poor starts should be at the coach’s feet or now. I’m not one that thinks the coach should need to “pump the players up” so I disregard that. Now, if the coach doesn’t have them ready for counter the systems of the opposition, that’s another thing but is that what happened?
I mean last night was individual mistakes.
Did coaching have anything to do with Ekholm and Nuge giving the puck away on the first goal or Emberson not being able to make a reasonable play with the puck and Walman changing?
What about when the team was starting well – we aren’t far removed from back to back blowout wins (without Drai) where the team dominated from start to finish, right?
At times they lack motivation. But once they get down three goals to a team they can beat for fun, that mind set changes. Although sometimes it doesn’t change quick enough.
I’m just wondering if a reporter would ever actually ask that question
‘Do you feel prepared at the start of games?’
‘Do you think this much icetime might tire you by end of season?’
‘Do you feel like you have a role on this team?’
Would save plenty of nonsense speculation. I suppose that would take the fun from lots of commenters so maybe that’s the point.
Matty would ask those questions.
Yeah think?
I do – he’s blunt these days.