The Edmonton Oilers won a big game last night versus the upstart San Jose Sharks. The home side had some wobble, especially in the second period, but outscored the mistakes for the win. My takeaway: heartening stories but the turnovers and wayward passes are going to get this team in trouble against the rest of the schedule. Same as it ever was. Please read this.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN MARCH
- At home to: OTT, CAR (Expected 1-1-0) 1-1-0
- On the road to: VEG, COL, DAL, STL (Expected 2-2-0) 2-1-1
- At home to: NAS, SJS, FLA, TBAY (Expected 2-1-1) 2-0-0
- On the road to: UTA, VEG (Expected 1-1-0)
- At home to: ANA, SEA (Expected 1-1-0)
- Expected Record: 7-6-1, 15 points in 14 games
- Actual Record: 5-2-1
- Season Record: 34-26-9, 77 points in 70 games
Edmonton has a sliver of daylight now, if the club can continue grabbing wins and Bettmans over the rest of the month it’s possible to win the division. I think Connor Ingram’s role in this run needs to be highlighted. In Ingram’s last five games, he has a .914 save percentage at five-on-five. That’s No. 15 in the NHL during that time, representing the best run by an Oilers goalie all season (or at least it seems like it).
- Savoie-McDavid-Hyman 11:51, 7-6 shots, 1-0 goals, 45X, 4-2HDSC
- Nuge-Dickinson-Roslovic 6:42, 3-5 shots, 1-1 goals, 13X, 0-2HDSC
- Podkolzin-Samanski-Kapanen 6:10, 2-1 shots, 66X, 0-0 HDSC
- Jones-Henrique-Frederic 4:22, 2-2 shots, 1-0 goals, 79X, 1-0 HDSC
The McDavid line were hard matched versus Celebrini, seeing 14:13 against the ridiculous superstar from the Sharks. No goals scored either way, SJS had a 10-6 shot share and 58 percent expected goals. The top line did very well on the night, Hyman scoring a goal while 97 and Savoie picked up assists. Loving the line and glad Kris Knoblauch is running them. In 70 minutes, the trio is 4-2 goals and 50 percent expected.
The Dickinson trio had some tough numbers despite playing just 3:43 against Celebrini. Turnovers were the issue, this line must carry a heavy load over the coming weeks if they are to stay together. The Nuge is one of the seven wonders.
The Samanski line impressed, and I think we’ll see the coaching staff do one of two things: trust this trio more, or break up the second line. Samanski is not well known, but good things happen with him on the ice. Vasily Podkolzin is my favourite Russian since Rasputin.
The Henrique line played well and Max Jones is earning more playing time. That was a nice goal and a big moment in the game. If I’m Knoblauch, I would run this group (all four lines) against Florida Panthers.
- Nurse-Murphy 15:55, 5-8 shots, 1-1 goals, 25X, 1-4 HDSC
- Ekholm-Bouchard 15:42, 11-9 shots, 2-0 goals, 48X, 5-4 HDSC
- Walman-Stastney 14:52, 9-8 shots, 1-2 goals, 40X, 2-5 HDSC
The Oilers need Ty Emberson back in the lineup in my opinion, he’s apparently due soon. Nurse-Murphy is the current hot hit with the coaching staff, but Ekholm-Bouchard saw the most time versus Cellibrini (1-0 Oilers goals). The second period was a problem, long changes, broken sticks, Roslovic (I think it was Roslovic) covering at the point for Nurse (who took the puck deep, I don’t think he should most times) and not recognizing danger in time, and on it went.
The turnovers on pressure passes will end the Oilers season. It’s only a matter of time. I liked Ingram again, think he’s worth signing and I’d do it soon.
On the Lowdown today, our feature guest will be Kevin McCurdy. We’ll talk Oilers and Leon, plus the road ahead. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube. See you on the radio!
New for The Athletic: How will Leon Draisaitl’s injury impact Edmonton Oilers down the stretch?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7126718/2026/03/18/leon-draisaitl-injury-edmonton-oilers-standings-2026/
Summarizing!
Soup for both!
Lewandowski struck on the PP for his 17th goal and added two assists. He was named 2nd star for his efforts.
Nicholl tallied his 13th.
Prospecting takes a break until Freya’s Day.
How did Skinner do tonight?
.864
Gave up 6 goals one 38 shots.
44 shots
Doesn’t tell the story but neither of you are really interested in that.
The ever dangerous Walker with the winner. I’ll give Skinner credit he did a good job at not allowing any rebounds.
I highly doubt the Pens fans will throw the same hissy fit that Jarry received after the Stars game.
Battle of the Useless Twins tonight with Freddie.
They didn’t disappoint.
Clash of the Titans on TNT.
COL leads DAL 1-0 at the end of the first period in a intense playoff-style game.
SOG 6-2 in favour of Colorado.
Apparently Bednar read the riot act to his team after the embarrassing loss to PIT and it seems thy were paying attention.
Looks like Bednar should have read it harder.
McDavid 69 game pace projects to 137 pts.
If he ends up around there (22 pts in final 13), that will be 40 pts ahead of Draisaitl (who is sadly robbed of his 7th such season and a tie for 5th w/ Bossy/Stastny)
This part of the season is garbage time for NHL MVP voters (MacKinnon has already won it), but I was told that the gap between 1st and 2nd on the team matters, and right now it is 41 Kucherov, 29 MacKinnon, and 50 from Celebrini to Smith, who has missed some time.
Celebrini’s impressive. I think he’s going to have several Harts, but I also think the goalposts shouldn’t change and if SJ is out of playoffs, he should be precluded like McDavid was.
I also think a Hart candidacy shouldn’t hinge on pt gap to next best player like MSM likes to parrot. Some teams are top loaded and have little run support like Edmonton, while others are deeper.
If you are going on which player is “most valuable,” by the rationale of prior years, Colorado and TBL are the deepest and most stacked teams by a significant margin and thus the top guns’ contributions should be devalued. Just ask Doug Armstrong, right? And if SJ doesn’t make it, well, then, that should leave one player left standing….
For the record, I think that if all else equal, the Hart should go to the most valuable player on the better team, which would mean MacKinnon
Bouchard is supposefly well back in norris voting
1. Werenski
2. Makar
3. Bouchard
4. Hughes
And of that group if you look at them ststistically comparing on natural stat trick like none of those 3 guys jymps out as outperforming him on top of he leading league in defense scoring.
They don’t want to give any awards to mcdavid either.
None of those d-men are better than Bouch defensively.
Are any of those other 3 the top PK guy on their team?
Bouchard’s undeserved reputation will cost him many awards.
GF percentage:
Makar – 65.4%
Bouchard – 55.3%
One of these is not like the other.
Now compare Bouchard to Ty Smith, the one you thought passed Bouchard like a house on the side of the road.
How’s Dobson doing?
and they are not relevant to the comparison given they are team stats.
What stats are relevant to support your claim that Bouchard is better defensively?
Try this:
GA ON 5V5
Bouchard – 59
Makar – 37
Oh man….it’s easier to find statistical relevant equal or better marks than not to. You know this.
Also, considering the Avs have a team 63% goal share and the Oilers 47%, well, maybe those numbers are quite telling about who is actually driving increased performance on their team.
He and makar are about equal minutes PK.
Hughes just doesn’t which honestly i think should be part of criteria lke minimum 1:00 min/game pk. Surely best defenseman in league should be good enough for 2nd tier pk’ing lmao.
Werenski is 2nd tier pk qualifying.
Makar and hughes get about 30 seconda more PP time…werenski gets about 30 seconds less.
Hughes makes up his missing pk mimutes on everyone but werenski at even strength.
Looking at all game states in detail it should be between bouchard and werenski so far this year.
Makar just scored his 20th goal of the season.
He is the first NHL defenseman to score 20 in 3 straight seasons since since 1993.
Pretend makar plays for edmonton.
Tell me jow much better bouchard clearly is now that he conceptually is best non oiler to mundanely strawman argue using.
If San Jose makes the playoffs, its tough to argue against Celebrini.
Kuch has 93 points in his last 45 games…
MacKinnon is over 70% goal share.
Nobody votes for the Stanley Cup. Stop worrying about votes. Votes are for losers.
I echo this. Who cares what some idiot reporters SAY they think?
Listening to SDPN on Youtube, they mentioned that Auston Matthews will meet with MLSE management this offseason to hear how they plan to approach the pending retool. If things don’t meet his approval, expect to hear/see increased smoke and rumors around his possible exit.
I think it’s a fever dream but maybe Matthews requests a trade and uses his NMC to force a move to the Oilers for the remainder of his contract. McDavid and Matthews share Jud Muldaver as an agent and by all accounts get along well. Matthews for Nurse and a pick?
Both McDavid and Matthew’s contracts end in 2028 so teams could bid on one or both when or if they become UFAs.
Wouldn’t that be just delicious irony, given how the Eastern media has since the time he was drafted, been constantly putting out clickbait about how McDavid was going to request a trade to the Leafs.
dont want him
If they took Nurse and Savoie and some draft capital, I would in a heartbeat…
savoie is playing better than matthews.
The suggestion is Auston Matthews for a long term negative value contract plus a pick?
If Bowman trades Nurse for Matthews i will take back all the bad things ive said about him.
I won’t. Two things can be true at the same time.
As expected, Fischer did not make the final 10 Hobey Baker nominees.
Rumored future Oiler TJ Hughes did make the cut though. Wouldn’t it be nice to finally have a first-shot Hobey Bakey winner?
/s
ha.
They’ll just cock-block him like they’re doing to Hutson-Howard. Unlike Holland Bowman will find and give bottom 6 players meaningful NHL time. The one requirement is you have to be big over 200 pounds and over 6 foot. Samanski-Jarventie-Jones-Poulin will see ice-time this year and next year as well. As for Howard-Hutson your shit out of lock unless Savoie are someone else in the top 6 get injured.
The horse is dead man. You got him good.
Hutson isn’t even the conversation for call-up this season – he’s floundered for a couple of months now.
Blocked players often lose motivation.
LOL – of course, when called up, Hutson expressed how fast things were moving, couldn’t believe he was playing in the NHL and expressed how happy he was that he signed with the Oilers.
Undrafted rookie pros usually don’t consider themselves blocked in any real circumstances.
Awhile back LT posted the numbers on howard-hutson crashing when samanski was up with NHL team.
Looking at samanski’s 12 game audition so far statistically it’s pretty near unbelievably successful what he’s doing. Like mix bag of line usage and he’s crushihg posession and chance metrics.
In a way that also leans some serious cred to how likely the line he was playing on in AHL that was dominating at even strength had probably a significant amount more positive influence because samanski was centering it.
Howard is not a guaranteed sure thing. I think without the opportunity he’s in a position to play regularly on a PP unit there’s a decent chance still he can’t cover the bet.
I’ll be elated if proven wrong it’s just like i had shown before the odds are still quite high he has a career below “success” level of a magniapane far more likely than hitting a guznetzal like ceiling.
I’m in the sell high camp honestly.
Samanski had a great leader in Leon for the Olympic experience. I’m sure he was like sponge. Samanski big and a Centre he fits Bowman MO. Off the top my head all these players had size-skill and played bottom 6 for the Hawks. Brouwer-Byfuglien-Lang-Havlat-Bourque-Stalberg-Saad-Rozsival-Bickell and the list goes on. All over 200 pounds and at least 6 foot plus. The trade for Howard made no sense Reilly is going to be a fine 4C-3C for the lightning. I think Bowman got lucky and hit paydirt with Samanski. If he can be a threat to score when the checking gets tighter then Bob’s our Uncle.
SOR is no more of a sure bet to be a 3C than Howard is to be a 1/2 LW.
I would suspect that Hughes will be similar to Hutson – a good to great AHL scorer but likely an NHL tweener. He’s even older than Hutson was when he put up similar numbers in college.
Hughes did put up almost a point per game in his first year of college and 48 in 41 in his second. Similar to Hutson as you say. And similar to that Hyrckowian on Dallas as well who is having a great year and seems to be a shit disturber. Would love to get one of him.
Correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t Hyrckowian two years younger when he did that in college?
The devil’s in the details, so I think you’re right LT. You could see the comeback coming in the second period. The Sharks were, well, “sharking” and the Oilers were, well, a panicked lot. So many unforced and panicked errors. If they can keep their level of play the same as period 1 and 3, they have a shot at being very competitive the rest of the way and into the dance, if they make it (which for my money they do), especially if 29 can play and the goaltending stays, at the vert least, league average.
Listening to all the audio content and there are so many that think that Jarry simply does not play until the back to backs well in to April.
I understand the reason behind that opinion but, at the same time, I don’t think there is any realistic chance that is going to happen.
Is there any goalie in the league these days that would play 8, 9 10 games in a row?
I think Jarry gets a game here in the next little bit, maybe even Thursday against Florida.
They should run the risk of running Ingram in to the ground even with the knowledge that the hope is he does play every second nice in the playoffs for an extended period of time.
Nedeljkovic did the same a few years ago in Pittsburgh… 13 straight games to end the season.
I think he deserves a string of games to see how he can handle the load. He’s had 3 consecutive starts, is 5-0-1 in his last 6 (including the game he was forced to leave), and not showing any fatigue. I don’t think you can announce Ingram as your starting goalie and then 2 games later, with the team winning with him in net, go back to Jarry. Especially against FLA. Also, Jarry hasn’t had much practice time to work through his game. Don’t over-manage the goalie that’s having success, let him ride it out for a bit.
Why can’t Jarry get a start? Every starting goalie in the league gets a night off in non-back-to-backs
It’s not like Jarry’s been riding the pine for a month here. It’s been 3 games. Why can’t Ingram be given a chance to grab the reins that have been earned by him, especially if he’s been solid and winning? Let the team run with the confident goalie for a bit, let Jarry have some more practice time to rebuild his confidence, and then give him a game later next week. Evaluate it daily but if Ingram is still responding well and the team is playing well in front of him, let him keep it going for a few more games at least.
Its not about Jarry riding the pine, its about not running Ingram in to the ground.
Its not about Ingram having a chance to grab the reigns, he’s grabbed them, that’s already happened, its about not running him in to the ground.
Florida is a beat up non-playoff team and after that, its Tampa and then Utah and then a run against the Pacific.
Ingram will not play them all – he better not.
If Ingram beats Panthers I would then give Jarry the Lightning game and then go back with Ingram against his previous organization.
You would think Ingram gets the Utah road start against his previous organization. Do you start Jarry at home against either the Panthers or the high flying Lightning?
Yes, I would start Jarry in one of those two games – Ingram playing 5, 6, 7 or more in a row does not seem like a good idea.
I would go Jarry against the Panthers he does have winning record and above 900sv against the Panthers. Ingram was drafted by Tampa and he’s been excellent in his 3 starts against them. I would give Ingram the Lightning start and Utah start and come back with Jarry against Vegas. If we can win 3 out 4 especially the Utah-Vegas games we can start feeling a sign of relief.
I would be very, very careful with Ingrams deployment. He has a history that needs to be understood and managed.
Same with Jarry, very very careful as he is not going anywhere. He will be needed, and thus again, someone has to bring him along.
How they treat the humans behind the mask will dictate the save percentage. In my opinion.
For sure, and presumably the goalie coach is keeping close tabs on both of them. I think a few consecutive games for Ingram is doing wonders for his confidence, he spoke about that the other night. Jarry needs some time to get back to basics and re-set. It’s only been 6 days since his last game, and I think only 2 practices (if that) since returning from the road trip. I’d give him more time.
I was going to say this, especially about Ingram. Running him too hard might mean two goalies not playing well enough
I think you have to see if Ingram can play 6 in a row which is an average playoff series
The Oilers scouting/development/handling of goalies is far beyond ridiculous. At this point it’s obvious that it’s not the goalies – it’s the system/coaching/mgmt. The only guys who have done decently are crusty old farts like Rolo and Smith who ignore the “system” and do their own thing. If Jarry is pissed off and yelling at guys – well – that’s a good thing in my books. He might survive and writing off after 15 games is so “Oilers”.
Savoie has 10 points in his last 11 games and only a handful have been in the top 6.
The McLeod-for-Savoie trade was always a high-risk/high-upside play by the Oilers and honestly I wasn’t a huge fan the day the trade happened.
Savoie is trending towards being able to cover that bet and then some. Really like how dogged he is on the forecheck despite being a smaller guy, very good stick.
Eh, that’s some dime a dozen, easily replaceable production according to some.
He’s a great story. A solid season in the AHL and a half season to adjust to the NHL. And is now proving his worth on the PK and in the top 6. Well done by the organization. Looking forward to seeing the same with Howard and Hutson in 2026-27.
Chris Johnston reposted
Michael Russo
@RussoHockey
Bettman and Daly deny that they have been informed by Czech, Sweden and Finland federations that they won’t participate in World Cup if Russia does, but Daly says the NHL knows how those nations feel and we’re “in sync.” Alludes again that if Russia is still at war with Ukraine, Russia won’t be in the World Cup
If the USA is still involved with all their nonsense, please sit them out as well.
This is very much falling into the “leave politics out of LT” category
Not at all – that is relevant information about the participants in a major international hockey tournament that is partially being hosted in the Province.
Kind of an aside, but I wanted to mention that I’m genuinely happy for fans of the Buffalo Sabres. Probably lots here remember what ir was like when our team was wandering aimlessly in the desert for what felt like an eternity. Those fans deserve all the success they’re seeing now.
I am too but they’re only at the beginning.
They too will know the immediate flash backs of trauma and panic of the last decade the moment anything slightly goes wrong. Will take those fans a long time to get past it.
We in Edmonton are over a decade past our DoD and still during at least 60 games a season each fan will fall into that darkness when a goal goes in on the first shot, they get blown out one game, have a 3 game losing streak, don’t start the season strong and then many start researching about the top picks in the draft.
We in Edmonton understand it Buffalo fans, just expect to work through that trauma at a very slow pace. Might even get to the next dark period before you’ve healed from the last.
Agreed, and as a guy who loves uniforms and jerseys, I’d say they have one of the best classic logo and colour. Right up there with the original Chargers blue and yellow and the Phillies maroon and blue kit. Anyone else got favourite jerseys/uniforms…..
Buffalo is a lot like blue collar Edmonton. They could sure can use a winner. Who could forget the 4 straight Jim Kelly Super Bowl loses. Even now with a great quarterback in Josh Allen, they simply can’t get over their unfortunate history
Technical question: what counts as potential spam? I’m often getting posts held for moderation. Maybe they are out to get me
To be honest, I have always loved the black and red Sabres jerseys. Especially the lettering and numbering. The buffalo is a little busy, but still looks menacing.
Yah, the black and red ones are nice too. Good point, the “original buffalo” is a little mincing looking…..I suppose the mind works within an historical context, as I can go back to, for instance, the original Islanders jersey and still see some greats like Bossy, Gilles etc and thus have a fondness of that original jersey/uniform. Maybe it’s the same with the Sabres as, like Reja, I had a fondness for the French connection who were particularly fun to watch. Or, with the Chargers, Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow.
It’s too bad the Sabres didn’t knock off the Canes in 2006 especially after the Hull dumb crease rule goal in 1999 was allowed to stand. I’ve had a soft spot for the Sabres going back to the French connection and company played the bullies of the league in the final in 1974-75. The Sabres had one hell of a team they just got out goalied in the final.
Same and same to the other comments. Always liked them and given their history that has never come into conflict with my other fandoms
Game 5 2007 playoffs Chris Drury. My wife has instructions to play this at my funeral.
“The noise is deafening”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvNy7pVCDLA
Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin were pure class and so nice to listen to. My heart is with Rod Phillips who was an Oiler to the bone. He made us all excited and proud to be an Oiler fan back in the day when we only got half the games on T.V the other half was strictly through Rod. Rod’s call on Gretzky 92 goals and 50 in 39 were special. My favourite call of all time was the grunt Brad May undressing the hall of famer Ray Bourque to score the famous MAYDAY-MAYDAY……….Goal
“In Ingram’s last five games, he has a .914 save percentage at five-on-five. That’s No. 15 in the NHL during that time, representing the best run by an Oilers goalie all season (or at least it seems like it).”
I’m not here to argue the trade. Or to piss on Ingram’s parade: I’m very (very!) happy when any goalie behind this team does well. But, to give perspective: Skinner was .943 SV% 5v5 in five games played between Nov 26-Dec 12 (ranked 6th of 37 goalies who played at least three games during that stretch).
Oilerville, be glad of a winning goalie. Cheer him on. Be patient with him when he doesn’t stop as many pucks as you think they “should.” Goalies have not been “the problem” during the McD Era. Impatience is the problem.
Man the Oilers are the wobbliest fringe cup-contender I can remember seeing in recent memory. Even when they’re winning games it feels like this year they’ve been getting by the skin of their teeth. They were very reliant on the PP/3v3 last year (I think they were a 50-50 team at 5v5 goal share) but this year it seems even more pronounced. It also makes me very concerned come playoff time.
Even before he scored I thought Jones was having a good night. I’ve never really thought he would do much as an Oiler but he’s playing well the last couple of games. Good for him.
To me the team that is a worry in the West is the Dallas Stars. However, they have to go through at least one of and possibly both the Avs and the Wild. Injuries happen especially during long series. Oilers could show up at the West final healthier than their opposition.
Even with the amount of ‘wobble’ (and it is significant), I believe the Oilers are better than Anaheim or Vegas.
Wins / RW / ROW / + –
Oilers: 34 / 26 / 34 / +11
Ducks: 37 / 22 / 29 / -10
Knights: 31 / 23 / 30 / +9
The Oilers are winning outright more than the Pacific competitors. Oilers getting to the West final is not an absurd suggestion.
I never said the Oilers getting to the West final was an absurd suggestion, not sure if you’re implying that I was but in any event, I don’t think it’s “absurd”
It’s pretty well recognized the Pacific is having a down year overall so the Oilers being (marginally) ahead of VGK/ANA in these stats doesn’t give me a whole lot of confidence. I also believe the Oilers probably win a playoff series against ANA/VGK, but DAL/COL/MIN are the real competition in the west in my opinion.
Never said that you did say that. All I was doing was continuing your thoughts on the Oilers wobble and comparing it to the other Pacific teams.
I like the Oilers’s chances against everyone but Mini. I fear the Wild would tear through the Oil like butter.
Careful now. Fibonacci will be here in short order to point how you’re mistaken.
They were at top 3 team in 5v5 shot shares last year. Here
Even if you were right, a mid 5v5 team relying on a PP like last year would worry you, but the Oilers went to the final last year. Why would that cause you worry? It obviously worked out. The logic doesn’t make sense.
I think focusing on a single data point (the Oilers making the cup final last year with middling 5v5 scoring and heavy reliance on a PP) cherry-picks a counter-example without really engaging with actual point and intentionally looks past every other example of middling 5v5 teams not doing well. I don’t think it’s determinative one way or the other, but it’s a weakness that, for example, the 2023-24 team didn’t have.
I think there are reasons the Oilers can perform better than most mid 5v5 teams because McDavid/Draisaitl and the whole 5v4 unit are so dynamic, but I don’t think that riding the PP and Bettman points and hoping 97/29 can carry this roster to the finals again is a sustainable recipe for success.
“I think focusing on a single data point (the Oilers making the cup final last year with middling 5v5 scoring and heavy reliance on a PP) cherry-picks a counter-example without really engaging with actual point and intentionally looks past every other example of middling 5v5 teams not doing well.”
You made the assertion about middling 5v5 teams, I pointed out the flaw in your logic and the flaw in what actual reality was. Instead of engaging, you’re calling out my bias. That’s Ad Hominem my guy.
They were a top tier 5v5 team last year by chance metrics. Goal metrics swing season to season based on a level of randomness (Eg Jets had 58% GF and 49% chance share last year, regression comes for us all). The 23-24 team was top 3 in 5v5 chances too. That team relied so much on the PP that it was the sole reason they beat the Kings.
“ I don’t think that riding the PP and Bettman points and hoping 97/29 can carry this roster to the finals again is a sustainable recipe for success”
Sure, except they didn’t last year. You can absolutely worry about the team this year, but that’s not what you did. You compared it to last year’s team which by most 5v5 metrics was superior, then say the PP and the stars dragged them? Last year’s team was carried by the bottom 6. They were dominant.
It isn’t our job to understand the point you’re making when everything inside of it doesn’t track.
Lol “pointed out the flaw in my logic”
P1: “Men are generally stronger than women”
P2: “That’s not true I know this one strong woman who is stronger than loads of men. Your logic is flawed, Q.E.D.”
I am worried about the team this year, that’s why I commented what I did? Why would I come on this blog and comment “The 2024-25 Oilers were crap despite making the cup final because of their regular season 5v5 goal share”?
Last year’s team was superior to this year’s team, and 2023-24 was superior to 2024-25. I said that this year the trends I noticed cropping up in 2024-25 after 2023-24 are even more pronounced this year (i.e. continuation of a trend I saw starting last year).
And by your chance metrics the Oilers rank 16th this year, not top 3 like they did the past two seasons, which would be yet another concerning trend under the hood creeping in this year, after over-reliance on the Bettman point and cratering 5v5 goal share crept in last year. Both your preferred fancystat and other indicators can have some value 🙂
Now you’re on Strawman with the P1 P2. We can do the whole gamut if you’d like.
23-24 was not superior. You could make the case 97 dragged them to game 7 that year, and you’d be right. Last year’s team by 5v5 was just as strong but it wasn’t propped up by extreme 97. The bottom 6 finally was above water. The stats are in the pages of this very blog.
“other indicators can have some value” Would you like me to do that work for you too?
Reframing past years to make your point now is my issue. It isn’t true, you didn’t substantiate it with anything, which calls into question anything else you’re saying.
“And by your chance metrics the Oilers rank 16th this year, not top 3 like they did the past two seasons” – Now you’re getting it, now you’re thinking critically. Have you seen how they’ve performed since the break? Or have any insight on why you believe that is?
The blog encourages challenging thinking, it’s not a personal beef I have with you. I’m wrong often too and have learned a tonne from posters here. Honest arguments for and against something.
The ‘went to the finals’ argument rarely comes with any supporting facts. The fact that they also lost twice to a less skilled team, and went out quicker the second time, speaks exactly to your point
The team that beat them was the better 5v5 team in both years with a better goalie.
The 2nd time the team used a PED ‘loophole’ to bring in a top pair RHD and future HOF in a 3rd line role. And we lost our #1 goalscorer.
As a pure fan, they still could’ve won it if Marchy hadn’t scored the OT in game 2. Woulda coulda shoulda.
In the last 10 games the Stars are 8-1-1 best in the west, the Oilers 6-3-1. The Stars have 10PP goals out of 44, the Oilers 10PP goals out of 40. Pretty similar
Again, I think this is picking artificially small sample sizes that confirm the point you’re trying to make, rather than looking at the numbers in an unbiased way.
Over the course of the season, the Stars have 7 more regulation wins (33 to 26), are +31 at 5v5 (Oilers -14). To be fair, the the Stars get a marginally higher percentage of their goals on the powerplay (56/231 = 24.2%) than the Oilers (56/243 = 23%). Do any of these numbers mean that the Stars are guaranteed to win a series against Edmonton? Of course not. But ignoring them/explaining them away doesn’t seem intelligent
I think DAL (and MIN for that matter) are worse teams than COL, and Edmonton can surely beat any of the three teams on any given night.
The only points my original post was making are 1) the Oilers highs seem higher, and lows seem lower, than most cup contenders (something you could say about last year’s team as well to a lesser extent), and 2) there are concerning trends “under the hood” (5v5 goal differential, etc.) that I find concerning.
And some of these trends are applicable to other teams as well! Minnesota for example is not a particularly strong 5v5 team, Dallas also relies on their PP to generate offense more than I’d like if I was a Stars fan, etc.
I wasn’t trying to illuminate much there, just that the Oilers aren’t out of line in PP compared to another good team. But your 5v5 numbers show an issue for sure
I’m not sure how long you have been around here, but I have been pointing out their 5v5 production issues starting before the first finals run. I was worried the whistles would go away or they would get tight on the PP and score when they had to, both happened
And again before the last playoffs. I’m not into expected stats other than as an information point against actual production (Goals Saved Above Expected is a good goalie stat though). They should be able to produce more at 5v5
Connor and Leon have 17 and 16 5v5 goals. MacKinnon has 28. 5v5 GF Connor is 63-59, Leon 62-50, Mackinnon 85-30
I honestly have no clue how this team does in playoffs. They’re peaking at the right time though. If Leo and Connor are both healthy and Ingram is good they will always have a chance.
Yeah that’s the thing with this team, I never count them out because of 97/29 and all they need is the rest of the roster to play “good enough” for them to have a chance to win each night.
My best hope is that playoff Oilers show up and decimate the Pacific. We lose to one of the Central juggernauts in the West final and hold our heads up high. McDavid is satisfied enough to feel better about re-signing long term, and the team comes back strong for a better run next year.
My worst fear is that this team can’t even make the playoffs. And everything that comes with that, in McDavid’s mind.
I’ve been hoping for about two months to get him signed to a 2-year deal at apx $2MM – I think that’s reasonable?
Jarry will recover from current levels of play. The 11 game post-injury sample size is not determinative of anything. Lets not forget his “awful season” last year was .893 and that’s not all that terrible these days.
He was better than league average and well over .900 in 6 prior seasons and was .909 at the time of trade.
This is an 11-game slump – it’s a bad slump but he will recover and I’m comfortable with these two goalie in a 1A/1B next season.
2x2M would be great. He seems to be close to his 22-23 self. the Ingram for free move was an excellent one. I don’t think we’ve had a goalie as calm as him for a while.
I’m not sure if 2×2 is reasonable from his end as long as he keeps showing this level of play. He’s making a strong case that he is in fact a 1A/1B goalie right now. I worry that we’ll finally find a decent goalie and then he’ll price himself off the team.
Perhaps but maybe he likes the fit on the team and has found a comfort in the city with the support he needs as he battles his mental health issues on a daily basis?
He’s coming off a 3-year contract with an apx $2MM AAV and, well, he is a 0.895 this season which is essentially league average.
If it is contractually possible, the Oilers should:
If Tomkins doesn’t do well then get Ungar up to the show. All Ungar does is stop pucks at every level so far.
Can’t send Jarry down because of AHL rules
Wouldn’t be an option till next season. They can not send down players unless they were in the AHL during the deadline.
I’ve heard that shots on goal are measured differently this year. It’s one of the reasons given for a below .900 average for the league this year.
My sense is that SV% can’t be used to compare years, certainly not years previous compared to this year.
Also, despite being used by many as a measure for goalie performance, SV% is best understood as a team stat, ie a measure of how well a team is protecting the crease/not allowing quality scoring chances. One day it will be seen as a poor measure of what a goalie actually does, as the previous gold standard, GAA, is now viewed.
My preference is to look at WIN% the most important goalie (and skater) number.
I wouldn’t be surprised due to the gambling on the games.
I’ve done it a few times and they seem very tight on what might be a shot or a block etc, to the extreme.
So if a goalie is stopping pucks that used to be considered shots and it’s not counting now, the average would go down.
Its not that they are being measured differently its that there is more scrutiny and every shot is analyzed and re-analyzed for accuracy – if the model shows the shot would have been going wide, its not counted as a shot on goal/save – this is really due to shot props and betting.
Yes.
“Comfortable” may be too strong. But it may also be the best we can do. I doubt a material upgrade is available. But I would look into Linus Ullmark.
Ullmark has 3 more years at $8.25MM and is at .885 this season. My understanding is that Ottawa is actually a good defensive team as far as scoring chances and their goalies have cratered their season.
With respect, unless I’m missing something, that is a wild, wild suggestion.
When he went down, it was noted that this was not a small loss. Yes, he’s generally 3rd pairing minutes but his GA/60 on the season is in the 1.8 range – he can defend.
I want to see Walman/Emberson get some traction.
Stauff speculated he could be back for Saturday.
That line got a lot done in like 7 minutes.
Henrique with his best game of the season, by far, to my memory.
Jones is doing what he is in the lineup to do – use his speed, get some bangs in, don’t make mistakes and he’s got decent hands – huge goal. Can he provide consistency in this regard – something that has escaped him through his career?
Frederic is playing like signing-day expectations – huge forechecks in the offensive zone, he hits more than anyone realizes, and a couple big defensive plays – he will impact this team as a 3rd liner going forward – maybe not this season as they’ve actually accumulated good forward depth, but doing forward.
Hopefully there is something to the Jones-Henrique-Frederic line as Henrique-Jones were teammates in Anaheim Jones-Frederic in Beantown. Anyhow Jones is 28 consistency has dogged him his whole career. I think he’s only good in small doses as he’ll look like a bull in a china shop power forward for 1-2 games and then he disappears right of the radar for games on end. Once they have a call-up I hope K.K alternates bottom 6 forwards on a performance basis.
Hated the Frederic signing the day it happened (still do) but it is nice to see him start playing better. Hopefully he can get hot down the stretch and give the Oilers some good depth scoring in the playoffs.
I mentioned last night post-game that this was the only trio that didn’t lose possession battle through the game last night.
Samanski’s calmness and responsibility (while being able to make a play with the puck) less than 10 games in to his NHL career is really something else.
Again, thank you Dallas Eakins (and Stan Bowman).
You could feel the play shift in our favor when Samanski was on the ice. Seems to be good at finding open ice, making simple plays and forechecking hard, but also showing good creativity when he has the puck.
In my opinion, the Dickinson line seemed not to jive very well, lots of one and done kind of plays and then it was back in our end. I wonder how Samanski would look with Nuge and Roslovic? Or is that putting too much on him too fast?
Dallas Eakins a much nicer ex-Oiler than Peter Chiarelli
Eakins also didn’t dare the Oilers to fire him, by trading for the guy who both broke McDavid’s collarbone and laughed at him over it.
Eakins was a bad coach, but not a bad person.
Chia architect of the offer sheets I thought I read somewhere. And almost certainly deliberate w sabotage efforts as he was halfway out the door.
What an eh-hole.
I’ve really liked Samanski this year. Knobby likes his veterans but even he has Samanski ahead of Henrique on merit. Excited to see what he looks like with a few more at bats.
Something I’ve noticed with Samanski. He’s great defensively as advertised but he doesn’t seem to cheat for defense.
He’s able to jump back to defense to be in position while also being first to pucks below the goal line. He’s often a big factor in ozone cycle shifts which lead to offence from his line or the next.
He strong enough to handle big dmen.
The floor for Sammi is high.
That was a good game last night but the Sharks pressed hard at 5 on 5 and Connor Ingram was the better goalie and a huge part of the win.
From Friedman:
“Does not need surgery” are the best words you can hear after a presumed MRI.
I think out for the rest of the regular season always sounds worse compared to what is a very realistic scenario of saying he’ll be out approximately 3-4 weeks and we want to use LTIR in his absence
Get him in the hyperbolic chamber stat
I think this is the hyperbolic chamber. Might stress him out!
You win the internet!
Hyperbolic? I think you meant hyperbaric…
That was the original commentor
So probably a low grade MCL?
That turnover by Dickinson on goal 1 was awful. Even his winger was pointing at him to not try the pass and get the puck in.
I’m liking the overall play of Dickinson ok I suppose but this is now 3 goals he’s directly caused. Not “had minor parts of” but egregiously and completely at fault”.
You cant be defensive specialist and personally cause a goal against every second game.
I felt the same way after that play and he did as well, judging by his expression after the goal. I was also disappointed in his faceoffs last night. I don’t know what the final numbers showed but he seemed to lose every one that I paid attention to.
He’s getting Oilerfied. I think that they are told to make plays, at least Coffey pushes the D to
This is precisely why the league has moved away from shutdown forwards. There is so little upside.
The concept of a shutdown centre is so risk averse.
He plays the ‘live to fight another day’ game but the team is pushed to ‘make a play’. I lean towards the latter while realizing the former has its place in the game still. Dickinson moving to line 2 I think pushed him into something he’s less comfortable in.
Yeah, RNH and Roslo also don’t seem like his kind of style. I think something like Dickinson, Podkolzin and Frederic has tge look of a shutdown line, and I think could actually manage to saw off against elites.
I agree. I think dick has to be on a pure shut down line. Roslavic should be on a pure offense line. Not sure how to arrange the deck but I’d keep those two apart.
This^ x 1000
When your goal is “low event hockey/play defense” at 5v5 your margin for error gets a lot thinner in the aggregate.
He’s trying to hard to impress new coach-team. K.K needs to get this forward group to relax and have each player and line play to their strengths
It takes time to learn a system for a new team and how your teammates play. Expect mistakes.
The reports on Drai really are not all that positive. Coach saying he will be re evaluated at the end of the season. Then Bowman saying if everything goes well he SHOULD be back at the end of the regular season. I know the guy is super human when it comes to injuries ( the high ankle incident). But who knows. You also know the guy wants to play as it is in his DNA. No clue what this injury is. Knee, Hip, Ribs? All 3 probably have different healing periods and who knows if he needs any king of surgery?
I Guess we just hope he is.
Have to get into them 1st. So just play hard every game. Start Ingram every game until he has a real bad one, and give Jarry the only back to back. Ingram has only played 22 games this year ( 11 in the A). But he had 3-4 weeks off at the Olympic break so he should have a ton of gas in the tank. The Oilers only have 13 left. So take out the back to back and Ingram gets 12. Making it 33 and 44 overall, which is not a huge overload.
If you meant get into 1st, I wonder if playing the Knights or Ducks might not be better than the Mammoth
If they have Drai, I think they beat all 3.
Me too. The Mamms seem like they might be a tougher out as they are pretty good defensively. Could maybe soften up a team for the next round
Great to see others contributing. And Savoie continues to elevate. Wonderful story for the local kid.
I wish they had McD stapled to the bench with the empty net however. Honestly, what is Knob doing there?
Can you explain your point about McDavid?
It seems foolish to risk injury in a 6 on 5 situation (i.e. lots of churn, blocked shots etc) with a 2 goal lead. Put our best defensive forwards on the ice and play it out. McD got pummeled on one rush which resulted in the late PP. Unnecessary risk IMO
Not sure what the issue of playing McDavid against an empty net is. The other team is obviously more tentative while he is on the ice, not to mention his speed adds a lot of pressure in the defensive zone.
This year, McDavid has played 16:40 TOI against an empty net, and is 12GF- 1GA in that time. Last year he was 4-0, the year before he was 8-1, then 12-3… he is strong in this situation.
For players with at least 10 Minutes of TOI against an empty net he is Number 1 in the league in GF/60, and 4th in league overall (8 minutes behind Mackinnon, Kucherov and Hagel).
There have been 26 players who have played 10 minutes against an empty net and allowed 0 goals. McDavid is 38th in the league in GA/60 against an empty net.
I just do not see how this is mismanagement, or poor player deployment.
McDavid played 24:52 last night! After the Hyman goal at 8:12 of the 3rd period, 97 should have been almost stapled to the bench. Unless it got to 5-4 I cannot see a reason to continue playing him huge minutes. Conserve McDavid as much as possible and with a rested 29 the team may get to the promised land this post-season.
Yes I agree get other players more involved leaning on McDavid every game with huge minutes is not the right recipe long term.
Is there any evidence to suggest that McDavid’s performance suffers with longer minutes? I can’t think of any
Every athlete is better when rested – I don’t think you would find a study discounting that (let me know if you have one). McDavid gives everything he has, especially in the playoffs. Therefore, limit his minutes as he can’t seem to coast (which I really admire about him).
In fairness, I do not have any studies related to athletic performance and rest, but would be curious to read some if you have any (genuinely, i find it fascinating!) 🙂
I do know that Gretzky’s regenerative power was astounding and nearly broke the machine when an athletic trainer tested the Oilers in the early 80s. I have no evidence to back it up besides a faint memory that Gretzky scored the majority of his points in the 3rd period and that was because he had a superhuman-like ability to maintain and regenerate his stamina. Most of the time, comparing a player to Gretzky is facetious, but McDavid is in that echelon.
My point is, there is some correlation between rest and athletic performance, but if McDavid would be a better player with more rest, why not play him just 5 minutes a night? Because more rest doesn’t always correlate to better performance. There is a balance and that is very player dependent. Even Ingram has shown that as his stats drop with every additional day of rest hes had between starts this year.
Where is the line where McDavids’ performance drops? I haven’t seen it, he seems to play 25+ minutes a night fairly often and as far as I can tell, he does equally well in those games as in games with fewer minutes.
He played more because the 2nd line got caved.
I agree with Knobs decision, Dickinson had a stinker. It’s easy to say trust your guys with the game in the balance but for a game that important with a 4 point swing I’m fine with the TOI.
I would’ve liked to see Samanski out there but might not be fair having the kid sink or swim when keeping his head above water in the NHL is a huge accomplishment this year already.
Then KK should have played the replacement German more! I don’t care if it is ‘fair’ or not. Up 2 after the Hyman goal and KK sticks with it. The 2 pts were huge – 4 pts not relevant as SJ, even if they make the playoffs, will just be cannon-fodder in the 1st round.
It isn’t your job on the line, so of course you don’t care.
The only true metric for KK’s job is to win Stanley. A rested 97 gives him a better chance to accomplish that. I will be much happier if he does not turn into the NHL’s version of Marv Levy.
This
It is all about risk and time management. With Drais on the shelf, McD’s minutes are sure to climb naturally. Why put him out in garbage time with a 2 goal lead and risk injury?
Prospecteur!
The CHL gets the spotlight with a tandem of NAmateurs in play.
Unless something untoward happens, David Lewandowski will finish the regular season as the Blades’ leading scorer despite missing some games for Oilers camp and the WJHC. He owns 16-46-62 in 54 GP and is five points up on the next highest Blade (draft-eligible C Cooper Williams) with three games left.
William Nicholl will not lead the Knights in scoring — missing just over half the season will have that effect. He has a respectable 12-11-23 in 29 GP.
Even though Paul Fischer’s season is over, he can still make news today if he is selected as one of the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award. He came out like gangbusters in the first half of his junior season but faded in the second, and that will likely scuttle his Hobey Baker hopes:
Before Xmas break: 16 GP, 5-10-15
After Xmas break: 17 GP, 1-7-8
London (Nicholl) @ 4:30 p.m.
Saskatoon (Lewandowski) @ 7 p.m.
Both times, as usual, are Torrington time.
William Nicholl doesn’t look like much of a prospect anymore – not even a PPG player, as an overager in a watered down OHL.
Technically not an overager yet as he turns 20 in May, so has another year of junior eligibility.
What complicates matters is he has to be signed by June 1 or else the Oilers lose his rights.
Haven’t paid much attention but coming back from injury probably had something to do with it, no idea what the injury was or how the team used him when he got back.
Shoulder surgery right after the Memorial Cup. Had been playing through injury leading up to it.
He returned right before New Year’s and promptly took over 1C when O’Reilly was dealt soon afterward.
He has more opportunity but has nowhere near the offense around him as last year. The Knights turned their roster over a lot in the off-season.
He’s 19 – he’s not an over-ager.
Max Jones has played very well in every game he has been in this year.
It is unreal how much this team turns the puck over 1) because they don’t dump it in and try to make make the extra or perfect pass , 2) they don’t lob or chip it out in their own zone, but go backwards and then go from there, 3) When in the others team zone they diddle around near the blue line Too much with a lot of times 2-3 guys .
It is just uncanny.
Those 3 points saw several turnovers last night.
Good win by the team last night. They got it done after a terrible 2nd. San Jose is 4-5 players away from being a Wagon. They have some great youngins in the system and will get some more in this years draft.
Thinking Florida comes in and greases it up on Thursday. I might call upon brown for this one.
The thing that I find hard to get is that the pain of poor play doesn’t change their behavior. Connor after the finals loss said ‘banging our heads against the wall’. Throwing the puck into a group of opponents in the middle of the ice in the O zone and the resulting odd man rush seems to exactly be that
Their line changes are impossibly bad. It causes so many problems both ways, defense and offense. I’d look for a new coach in the summer for that reason alone. If he can’t get them doing it properly, after them playing hockey their entire lives, or doesn’t think it’s a problem, not good enough
The Canes hustle to get off the ice, I imagine Rod has no time for anything else. Watching Drai do his 80 foot coast to the bench aggravates me. Don’t stay on the ice that long if you don’t have the legs to get off
I think Connor and Leon are amazing players of course. But I am also a firm believer that actions tell the true story. I don’t get how after losing in two finals to a less skilled team, the gross pain and embarrassment of it, they still think they can do the things they try to that almost always fail and cause problems. The problems that cause them to lose more than they should. The ratio of highlight reel to fail is not in their favour, not even close. What is that about? It looks a lot like hubris, regardless of the words spoken
Their must be someone who can get them organized and playing to their potential. Such simple things, have enough patience to play properly, let the skill take over games, let the goalies work in a stable environment. It will work, and work well
You use the Canes as a foil to the Oil beating their heads against the wall? Man to man is on year 8.
I get you said more than that, although I’d say line changes are entering the ‘body language’ argument that rarely holds water. I don’t think the Canes are a shining example of innovation on the ice.
I referred to the Canes line changes, not sure how you tied that all together. Others have referred to the Oilers changes being pretty bad too often. It leads to open players defensively and stalls rushes
I’m often left wondering where the players are. For me they could be better
No, you started with the original premise:
“Connor after the finals loss said ‘banging our heads against the wall’. Throwing the puck into a group of opponents in the middle of the ice in the O zone and the resulting odd man rush seems to exactly be that”
Since Connor’s comment was about coaching, throwing the puck to noone is implied to be coached….somehow. I doubt that.
You spend a whole paragraph saying the Oil lose more than they should which, they were 1 and 2 games away from a cup so ok. You think it’s because of line changes? Attention to detail? I don’t agree. It was many things, but I don’t believe it was 97 and 29’s fault. And the Canes have that attention to detail as you’ve mentioned (The Canes hustle to get off the ice), and yet they’ve underperformed against the Oil while doing the same thing for 8 straight years.
“Actions tell the story”. Ie Body language. Drai looks lazy getting off the ice to your eye.
Tthat’s how I tied it all together., I think the premise is flawed and the conclusions inaccurate,.
Unless the point is Oilers ‘insert anything to complain about’ is bad then fill your boots.
The Oilers show a pattern of mistakes. A well coached team learns from mistakes and works to eliminate them from their game.
Oilers have a tendency to be stubborn about learning.
When things are on an upturn, a positive, I would also revisit coaching. It is the players responsibility to deliver, it is the coaches responsibility to lay out expectations and hold accountability. If either one cannot meet the requirement, they need corrected or replaced.
That’s fair, and I dont disagree with that. I do think this is really biased. We watch the Oil and many here dissect every thing. Continuing the example, Carolina has done the same system for 8 years. It hasn’t worked for 8 years. Where is Rod’s accountability? Maybe there’s more to it than ‘replace another one’. If Rod is holding the player’s accountable and laying out the expectations, then why can’t he get them to win more than 1 conference finals game in 17 opportunities?
All I’m saying is I think the hyperfocus on the Oil obscures the greater picture. I think it’s easy to point to the coach and say ‘that’s the problem’ and gives way more credit to the coach’s influence than reality of the games.
Carolina has had the same issues over those years. A lack of top end talent, usually goalie issues, and I would agree playing man on man. Works great until the other guy wins the battle. Of course the deeper you go it gets harder to play that system as the teams are better
Only the system is on Rod. Still I think they should have tried someone else. But he does have them playing to their best every season it seems, so maybe the owner thinks the players were the problem
On a positive the Canes beat Toronto with a Zamboni driver in net!!!! So there’s thar!!!
Are we sure Connor’s comment was about coaching in particular? Not that I recall
I was referring to this season. It was widely expected they would have a very good season, by most around here. Best D group in the league etc. They are a very talented team with more elite players than any other I think. So it’s fair to say that they are losing too much this season. There are reasons why, but it’s a fact
You are entitled to you opinion, but what I wrote isn’t that hard to read if not perfectly explicit, and I wrote it so I know what I meant to say. I read daily how the Oilers’ issues with details and consistency (interrelated) are at the heart of their problems. Line changes are a part of that, I’m not alone in mentioning it
Connor and Leon are the leaders of this team. They are still making high risk plays an awful lot, and it usually causes problems as opposed to being in the highlight package. It’s not a good message to the other players. Teams follow the lead of the best players, not a new thought
They talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk enough. It’s more than those two guys, but they are the best two guys. Their actions are what matter, affect what happens on the ice, not their words, right? I didn’t call anyone lazy or talk about body language. I have said here many times I think NHL players care and give what they have, or they’re on their way out of the league
But that doesn’t mean they are always doing the right thing, or every team with a good roster would be ripping it up. If you haven’t seen Leon coast to the bench, often a lengthy one, and hold up a change (I said winded not lazy) you perhaps haven’t noticed. But many do
Lumping me in with the hot take crowd there at the end is rich. We may not agree but my comments are well supported with data often and explanations of my point of view
Connor’s comments were about the system “Their forecheck was great. They tilted the rink,” McDavid said. “They were able to kind of stay on top of us all over the place. Never really able to generate any momentum up the ice. We kept trying the same thing over and over again, banging our heads against the wall,” McDavid said.” Sure, you could argue about what he truly meant.
Wasn’t trying to lump you into hot takers, didn’t mean that. I did lump the idea into similar criticisms that have become extremely granular to the point of losing the meaning (in my opinion). It felt forest from the trees so I expressed that. The expectations on this team have jumped the shark in my opinion. Every giveaway, every bad goal, every line change has come under scrutiny. We don’t have to agree and that’s fine.
You’re absolutely right they don’t do everything correctly every time, and the details will matter. I am not meaning to trivialize that. I used your comparison to make a counter point that other teams that fit a definition of detail-oriented haven’t necessarily found success and have at times been just as stubborn (in response to winchester).
You make good points, and we agree the team has underperformed thus far. I personally think it’s goalies in their own head and a brutal early schedule with a cup hangover. They’ve played very strong until the first non-Leo game in tightening up per NST xGA and xGF, chances for/against, and Ingram being ‘good enough’.
I agree. Thanks for looking up Connor’s comment. A bit of a poke at the coach, but not clear as they may not have been doing what was asked, which I wonder about in terms of the top players listening as opposed to freelancing
I get that winning isn’t automatic. Still they have such a head start on teams that I feel they should have taken advantage. I think that they weren’t stocked deeply enough with the aspects they were missing
I take that you are a younger person, and wouldn’t have seen what a team with these players could look like. An Oilers team. It’s getting closer I think. If they are healthy and in come playoffs they very well might surprise
The Oilers don’t need to call up Josh Brown – the team can take care of themselves.
Brown also JUST returned from injury but, again, left and did not return and isn’t expected to play this weekend.
The team only has 3 call-ups left, they won’t waste one on Josh Brown because of the Panthers.