The Edmonton Oilers followed up two subpar efforts at home with a (mostly) complete road game against Utah Mammoth last night. The Oilers are in fact the hockey club that can turn on a dime and did it in Salt Lake City on Tuesday. Credit where due, but why is that level of precision and awareness so fleeting? The fact Edmonton can turn on a dime only helps if it can be done on demand. Figure that out and Stanley is coming back to Edmonton. 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) 2-2-0
- On the road to: UTA, VEG (Expected 1-1-0) 1-0-0
- At home to: ANA, SEA (Expected 1-1-0)
- Expected Record: 7-6-1, 15 points in 14 games
- Actual Record: 6-4-1
- Season Record: 35-28-9, 79 points in 73 games
The Pacific Division had the usual troubles last night, with the Sharks and Golden Knights losing while Seattle and Los Angeles picked up a Bettman. The Anaheim Ducks have the look of the division winner now, Edmonton will have to wait another year (last time: 1987).
The effort was there last night, but so was the game plan and execution. Maybe the Oilers are designed to get out of the west and then get flattened in the final every year. Don’t know how many of those I can take at this age.
- Podkolzin-McDavid-Savoie 13:46, 9-4 shots, 1-0 goals, 64X, 4-1 HDSC
- Roslovic-Nuge-Hyman 12:40, 8-3 shots, 2-0 goals, 60X, 3-3 HDSC
- Samanski-Dickinson-Kapanen 9:04, 0-3 shots, 67X, 1-1 HDSC
- Jones-Henrique-Jarventie 6:46, 2-1 shots, 0-1 goals, 93X, 2-0 HDSC
Connor McDavid scored career goal No. 400 last night, he is a mind blowing hockey player with enormous talent and sustain. I think his 30’s will be incredible, because his foot speed is increasing. He was 38.57 kph max speed one year ago, it’s 39.61 now. Incredible. Since December 1, Vasily Podkolzin owns a 1.90 points-60 at five-on-five, Matt Savoie is 1.87 points-60. Music!
Jack Roslovic is fourth in team scoring with 19 goals (tied with Evan Bouchard) and is that rare Oilers player who can drive offense without 97 and 29. It’s a valuable item, as shown last night when Nuge and Hyman joined him on the second line. It may be short term for the veteran wingers, but McDavid looks pretty damn good with younger wingers Podkolzina dn Savoie. Aging sucks, but credit Stan Bowman and Jeff Jackson respectively for finding useful solutions.
The Samanski-Dickinson-Kapanen line had a strange night, 67 percent expected goals without a shot on net. I like all three, Samanski belongs at center and Kapanen misses Draisaitl awful. The fourth line didn’t play much, but had their way with the lower Mammoth, save one very weird GA.
- Nurse-Murphy 17:16, 4-3 shots, 0-1 goals, 61X, 2-2 HDSC
- Ekholm-Bouchard 17:07, 9-6 shots, 2-0 goals, 45X, 2-2 HDSC
- Walman-Emberson 14:48, 6-3 shots, 1-0 goals, 61X, 4-2 HDSC
These are all good numbers. Nurse-Murphy did a fine job shutting down the Mammoth (who have talent) aside from a weird, fluke goal. The Ekhom-Bouchard pairing looks back to normal and the third pair contributed a goal and ran a clean slate at the other end. Tristan Jarry stopped 12 of 13 (.923) at five-on-five, 16 of 18 (.889) overall. I thought he played well, and the team played well in front of him. Something to build on.
James Hamblin was recalled from Bakersfield yesterday. He didn’t play in last night’s game but he earned the opportunity and I hope he sees some games. Hamblin has played 41 NHL games in his pro career, and at 26 he has plenty to give an NHL team. I hope the back half of his 20’s is spent in the NHL. He’s a fine player.
On the Lowdown today, our feature guest will be Kevin McCurdy and we’ll discuss the idea of the Oilers bringing last night’s quality to every game. That’s the nut. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube. See you on the radio!
Why Edmonton Oilers rookie Josh Samanski is thriving on the third line
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7057879/2026/03/25/edmonton-oilers-josh-samanski-stats-lineup/
Good article LT. An outscoring 3rd line is vital to any Oiler’s success this post season.
I feel Samanski’s responsible play away from the puck is winning over the coaches. He’s always thinking, reading. reacting and always moving to defensively sound positions. When we gain control, he’s usually one of the main forwards properly supporting the breakouts. When turnovers occur, he’s hustling back to cover the middle to support the D and cut the ice in half so the plays can get forced to the boards. As a bigger kid, he’s winning his fair share of board battles and providing a disruptive forecheck.
His 2 way play should cast some shame on the veteran players who make so many of the sloppy mistakes that Samanski has just not made as a rookie.
He’s definitely brought something the team lacked. That’s been a hallmark of the minor league additions brought up. Credit to the development team they’re delivering answers from the farm that give flexibility.
Appreciate that the org started to wise up to it too (too slow imo but whatever). Maybe light a fire under some too-comfortable vets.
Also credit to the org for bringing Samanski up in the first instance and not defaulting to James Hamblin – the “safe” pick to give some low event minutes.
Coach is trusting Sammy in the dzone now too. He was sheltered at first but last night started 5 shifts in the d zone and none in the ozone with Dickinson
Have a plan in place with him. Tall 3rd line centre’s that can play hard match-ups are coveted by every G.M in the league. Look no further than Stall towards the end of his career he had just enough offence to keep the opponents honest. Have Samanski focus on face-offs PK duty and reward him with some gravy by playing him with the opposition goalie pulled
My oh my is it ever encouraging to see Nurse and Walman split up and posting positive chance numbers against a quality squad.
If Bouch and Ekholm are the only pairing slightly in the red and the other two pairings crush it at a 2:1 scoring chance ratio, this team will consistently win a lot more than they lose. Especially because you just know that more often than not, Bouch and Ekholm won’t be in the red. Not by a long shot.
Huge game for Jarry. He wasn’t tested too heavily, but he made the saves the team needed and he contributed to 2 points on the road vs a playoff team. That’s not nothing. Goes a long way towards confidence building. And confidence has a funny way of helping a guy heal, if he is indeed still nursing some tenderness from his injury earlier in the year (I’m pretty confident that he is).
Pável Zacha nets the OT winner as Boston defeats the powerhouse Sabres. Korpisalo gets the W in net.
Full marks to the Bruins this year who seem to have re-tooled after a down year. Owning the Leafs 1st round pick is funny as hell too.
Viktor Arvidsson with his 20th goal of the season.
They liked his game acquiring him in Edmonton, but totally not the right fit for how they actually play
Hopefully pro scouting is improving.
And Jeff Skinner is out of the league, and Andrew Mangiapane has been press-boxed already. But you only come here to post when you have material to troll us with.
3 wrongs don’t make a right.
And yet, here you are.
3 lefts make a right
Lol. These are also not good things!
Yawn.
If you’re tired go to bed.
Indeed.
I was thinking about the coach stuff. “95% of it is on the players”. You know what, it’s all on the players – 100% – to show up and do their jobs. In every place of work
I have a small business. I know when folks aren’t engaged and not doing well enough, come in a bad mood or funk. I used to juice them up. I don’t want to anymore, I don’t want to be a cheerleader. I want them to learn to self manage
I am also not coaching a 2B dollar franchise getting paid whacks of money, where the main goal (not the only goal) is immediate success = championship
So good is not good enough. If you can’t get the desired result too bad. That Cooper got some grace in Tampa doesn’t compare to Knobby. Cooper was – sigh – again – WHY NOT? – talked to by the Oilers says Lawton. As BL said, JC has won on every level every league. KK has been ok but we are not comparing apples to apples here
If a more established winning coach is or becomes available, they owe it to this veteran core. KK has had 2+ years to establish this. McLellan was perhaps a good coach, but the horses weren’t there yet
Tippet was done, retired after the Oilers. Woody a rookie not re-hired as HC. Didn’t like his antics, they were immature. Knobby has had time to dial it in and hasn’t. Maybe he can but clearly something is lacking right now
As Lawton said the Bolts had a lot of injuries but a great season. Because Cooper and his staff managed to get no name players to perform. Connor acknowledged the ability. The Oilers underperform their talent. Decisions need to be made
Has there been any further updates on Frederic’s injury and timeline? It’s really too bad as he was finally turning the corner and looking like a useful 3rd or 4th line player.
I don’t think there has been an initial update information provision let alone an update.
Never been told what the injury is (even upper or lower body) or whether its day to day or month to month.
Kind of strange to not hear anything and not have any reporters ask about it. It’s like he suddenly just vanished off the face of the Earth!
I think he was last seen at the Springfield Mystery Spot with Ozzie Smith.
So far Bowman’s deadline defensive specialists are getting shelled.
Murphy is underwater in almost every statistical category. 4-8 GF/GA.
Same with Dickinson. 3-6GF/GA.
Dickinson has been getting better:
last 5 games he is:
even
even
-2
Even
+1
with his usage, he is getting 30% offensive zone starts we shouldn’t expect him to be a plus player. Even is an excellent outcome for him and Murphy
Even is not a good outcome for Murphy if he is playing on the second pair. Also, Murphy is already 4 goals in the red.
I applaud Jarry for putting in a good effort and getting the win.
I’m not a goalie expert but does anyone else feel like he’s playing too deep in his net? Just watching the Sportsnet highlights of last night’s game, I noticed Vancek was almost a good foot further out of the crease facing similar shots that Jarry faced.
The first goal was pure puck luck but Jarry was already backing into the crease and giving ground without any immediate threat of someone charging into the blue paint. Jarry definitely lost the puck after it hit Nurse and it’s no guarantee that he would have blocked the ricochet off Murphy if he’d taken the extra space but good technique is supposed to help you stop pucks even if you can’t see.
The second was a hard carom off the end wall but Jarry didn’t explode off the post to challenge the shot. If he’d pushed off the post and gone a foot further out into the crease, it would have decreased the space to put the puck past his glove side.
When your fighting it your usually deeper in your crease. Hopefully Jarry gets on a roll and let’s see how he comes out further to challenge the shooter and take away angles.
One thing I noticed (if I’m remembering correctly) is that some of the best 60 minute games the Oilers have played thus year.. and there are only a handful… have something unique in common.
1.very few penalties
2.Oilers not down by more than one goal at any point
Both these areas allow Knob to roll all four lines and three d pairings and have everyone involved in the game. Also not having Drai available doesn’t allow Knob to revert to the blender so frequently when he loads the top line making the rest a jumbled mess.
i hope that the coaches also notice these things. For as much as we discuss the goaltending, it is much less impactful on game outcome when the Oilers play a committed team game, and the coaches also commit to that same team game.
Yes. I’ve been posting the last little bit that we are one of the worst teams in the league when down by 1. 39% goal differential when down by 1 in a 650 minute sample. Led by BOUCH (29%), McDavid (27%), Ekholm (24%). We basically turn into the Canucks (35%) when down by 1.
It also aligns with what Knoblauch said today in his presser, that (and I am putting this in my own words) the team looked for opportunities to maintain posession in the offensive zone rather than always trying to score off the rush, even when the other team had their structure in place. I thought this was smart, to recognize and state that this is a problem for the team. It becomes more of a problem with the two big guns, when we are down in the game.
However, the team goes as coach KK leads. If he continued rolling 4 lines, even when we are down one, instead of going to the nuclear option and giving those two ridiculous minutes, it would send a message that the team isn’t panicking and can stick with the gameplan that includes all players, and better puck management.
Yes, agree with you 100% and good that coach is recognizing it. Need to keep rolling 4 lines. Knoblauch always does this in big games in the playoffs, loads up McDrai and if you can shut them down we have nothing else going. Drai and Podz are very good when down by 1 though – Podz is 67% and Drai is 57%, Roslovic is 65%.
I agree, he goes to it way to early some games. I can see if you’re down one with ten minutes left, shortening the bench and getting McDavid and Draisaitl out there as much as you can.
But you also have to show your team you have confidence in them and in the system you and your staff designed.. When he goes to Draisaitl/McDavid so early, sometimes he’s done it early in the second period, he’s essentially saying he doesn’t believe in the other nine forwards or in his system..
That’s very interesting
Any thoughts on Jarventie today? How many games has he played.
My initial observations is he’s getting around the ice just fine, getting a few touches, but not able to create anything yet. Playing conservative, probably as instructed.
Hughs is a good dman, but in the playoffs series against Edmonton, Zadorov was more valuable
As long as the league allows a Zadarov to do what he does (not”cross check”, meaning you can do it lower back/kidneys – any boxers out there? – and injure him), a player like that is gold in the playoffs
Random side thought but relevant.
Having a beer with buddies last week we were talking about playoff hockey stuff. You know the garbage reffing greatest hits stuff.
Strategy we jokingly came up with for on the broadcast coaching end:
Have a players session showing what has worked against them past two seasons.
Retaliatory penalties taken.
Like the way too late slashes from drai and such things. Although i love it and it’s understandable watching there wrists/forearms and ankles/calfs frequently get slashed at go uncalled because they don’t drop sticks basically.
Show them the florida garbage. The league standard of he who cheao shot rabbit punches face or middle of lower back half cocked cross checks gets the last laugh if anything rightly returned back.
They should all be instances that are clearly coincidental minors.
So, have a session like that. And clearly drop that fact in press before starting any series wher3 yiu just jo intent to injure is surely part of plan to high degree.
Then start series florida panther style. If refs rush to call it on them at start of series they are going to be hard pressed to 180 standard back other way for cheapshot teams.
.
You know it’s lkely going to happen in advance with like a vegas or florida type team. Get ahead of it gamesmanship eise from coaching angle maybe better way to start?
Don’t way delayed slash peterangelo drai…just rabbit punch him in the face or chest the instant the whistle blows every time in close contact.
In a league where florida has one of the best positive penalty differentials -> this is the way that apparently the gsme is meant to be played.
The hardest games to ref are when all players are chippy/over the line all the time. It wears you down a bit as a ref, and you have to be diligent in your approach the to calling the game. And then be prepared to live through the complaints of imbalanced calls.
The deeper the playoffs go the more the Refs are told to let the boys decide it themselves. If you start calling everything you’ll find yourself at the unemployment office by the following morning.
I’ve heard this line for thirty years – let the boys play – and it always struck me as ridiculous. I want a game with lots of chances, skating and goals, that doesn’t happen when you reward teams for clutching and grabbing. You’re essentially giving an advantage to the team the holds, hooks, and slashes all over the ice as opposed to teams with skill.
Hockey played with skill is easily the best game in the world. Hockey that purposefully tries to diminish that skill is just boring.
I remember the Anaheim/New Jersey 2003 final quite well. I’ve never been so bored watching sports, and I’ve seen golf on TV.
Are you proposing that league be the one to put such a video out. Or that the team would do this … the latter would be a no-fly zone, and likely backfire spectacularly on the team that tries to show up the league and its refs. The former would require that the league acknowledge that the job these anonymous refs have been doing is bush league and would probably result some sort of punitive action on part of the referee’s union against the league.
The only way this gets fixed is if it become a priority that the players union themselves wants to have addressed … e.g. all the start players in the league come out against all the hooking and slashing. This was discussed in the latest 32 Thoughts as it pertains to supplemental punishment by the Dept of Player safety … the problem is not just that the league lets this stuff go, but also that the players themselves as a union have not shown the level of interest in having the refs call the rulebook, or letting Dept of Player Safety throw the book at players that cross the line with really big fines/suspensions.
The Oilers are a passive team that’s why a kid like Clattenburg was called-up. Bowman knows this that’s why Jones-Dach-Poulin and even Samanski were brought in. Big skilled forwards that have a bit of fight in them. I don’t think K.K is the right coach for push back he should have learned from the previous playoff. We had home ice K.K needed to use the crowd K.K allowed Skinner to be taking down by Bennett with no push back. Bennett-Tkachuk-Greer were like Sharks circling the Oilers looking for a strike. We have been Bullied 3 straight Playoffs Twice by Florida once by Vancouver and once by Vegas. With Vegas-Panthers-Caps-Blues etc heavy hockey wins. We had Maroon who had some silky mitts on him we kept the wrong guy in Lucic who was already burnt out.
We still got a Long Way To Go.
The credit Curlock with the stat but the ON guys (from Vegas) talking about how Ty Emerson has only one single game this season where he’s been on the ice for more than 1 GA at 5 on 5.
One time.
Don’t ask about how many times the likes of Nurse and Walman and everyone else.
Of course, he’s mainly played 3rd paring minutes (although bumped up to 2RD at times) but his GA/60 is like 1.8 and he’s a very very good defensive d-man.
He’s also moving the puck quicker (nice little pass to Nuge that started the rush on, I believe, a Roslovic, goal.
I’m fully comfortable with Emberson at 3RD and PK each and every night.
If Walman continues his recovery, that is a championship 3rd pairing (if Nurse can handle 2LD and we know he CAN do it).
Puck IQ has him facing tougher competition (35% elites) since Feb 1 and still doing well. Though hes been injured a bit so only 11 games for him.
Anybody else see the spelling and grammatical errors in the Cult’s player grades? (per usual)
Also use of the Em dash is a pretty obvious AI hallmark.
Staples and most at the cult call out the lack of attention to detail without their own.
Bit hypocritical is all.
It’s where Momma keeps the cookies.
Staples puts in a lot of hours watching games, recording stats, publishing game grades shortly after the final buzzer, and having to endure Kurt Leavins on a pod 100+ times a year. I’ll give Staples a pass for a few spelling mistakes and for leveraging generative AI.
The overall analysis is lacking at the CoH these days in its life after Bruce. Staples is the only one contributing meaningful content.
Dave does yeomen’s work with his scoring change contribution/mistake work – if that was available for all 32 teams, it would be some of the most valuable data out there.
On a positive note, Tyler Yaremchuk has evolved into a high-quality hockey commentator and media personality.
I’ve never met the guy but he’s become a solid pro, and very natural in his delivery.
Not my cup of tea but the nation guys as a whole are really good folks.
Gazzolla, Brar, Moon are my favs in the general media side. Some Gazzolla stories are insane. Bob is in the know and good even if he wants his hockey teams doing what i don’t care for. To each their own. Gracious guy. Gene is ours and he makes it fun.Can’t stand whatever Rishaug and Strudwick are doing now.
Curlock is top drawer even though I don’t always agree with the conclusions. He doesn’t claim to be an expert and hey, it’s free!
I’m in the minority here (seemingly) and love Jack Michaels. His energy in crucial moments makes up for the midseason nonsense.
Written, it’s pretty much just Al and Curlock without Bruce. Friedman and Lebrun nationally but Lebrun is on watch for his clickbait article about 97 leaving for a first round exit.
Agreed that Rishaug is a hack and Jack Michaels is the Evan Bouchard of broadcasting … there’s some bad but there’s far more great that outweighs the bad.
I was a big fan of the guy, who’s name escapes me, we had before they brought in Jack Michaels for the TV broadcasts. No idea where he ended up.
But I’ve come to appreciate Jack Michaels the more I’ve listened to him. Or maybe he’s just worn me down, who knows.
EST is taking a hit with their in-game analysis with Matt Kassian leaving. I love Dusty, Tom, Gager, Hernan and the rest but, aside, from Reid, for on-ice analysis, its not my preferred go to.
Stauff is the top with respect to actual information and speculation about the team.
Got Yr Back is top of my post-game list – Rishaug isn’t a great analyzer (in my opinion) but he is a good verbalist but Rob Brown is top tier and Struddy is, well, Struddy.
I missed that do you know why Kassian is leaving?
No, I don’t, I don’t actually listen to EST much these days (its back-up content when I run out, which is rare – so much Oilers content) but I caught his last post-game show about a week or two ago. Just “other endeavours” cited.
Thanks
I agree on jack. Sometimes you wish he’d shut up but I like his unique vocabulary and excitement. I don’t like the bland play by play guys as much.
Don’t mind Jack, but I’ll admit that an unusually high number of pucks seem to hit goalies in the ‘clavicle’ while he’s doing the play-by-play…
Haha. Totally that’s the best part. Jack uses “clavicle” more than a bone doctor. So many other none hockey specific words too. Always makes me laugh. I’d make a list if I had better memory.
His favourite saying are “the puck caromed off the boards” and “Nurse is lying prostrate in front of the net.”
Yes. Guaranteed no other play by play guy has used the term “lying prostate”Sounds like a paramedic or homicide investigator term.
Could make a list and have a betting game or drinking game based on it.
There’s also copius anounts of goals scored with a shooters mentality.
If I recall you’re on the younger side. Having cut my teeth on the greats (Danny Gallivan, Harry Neale, Howie Meeker) and the early Oiler guys, the over the top vocalization style annoys me, and talking over play all the time. As does the zero content not paying attention to the play colour analysts
Oh my… Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin..
I watch the Habs games in French so I don’t have to listen to the inanity of play-by-play and colour words, but still hear the thrill of the game (I am working on my French, but all I really understand is “But!” (Goal!)). For Oilers, I’ve considered switching to the Punjabi broadcast…
I cried when the Oil lost in 2006. Does that help? 😉
Heh heh. Just saying that there is a much better way. Not an age thing, but that you probably haven’t heard how it can be. You testy fella
I played a year with Gazzola. Good guy – very smart player. Would’ve gone further if he were just a touch bigger. He, I and one of our teammates once held the ice for 45 minutes straight in a “score and you stay” 3v3 game during a practice where the team had gotten some extra icetime. We never did give up a goal – the time ran out. That was a fun (though exhausting) day.
I’m sure Lowetide agrees with nothing but great things to say about his old producer.
I agree 100% with Tyler – he’s a rising star and I’m a big consumer of his content.
I have also met him a few times and, yes, he’s a great dude (and mature for his age) – the entire gang at ON are good guys – Tyler, BM, Rick, Jay, Liam, etc.
Spelling and grammatical errors used to be caught by editorial staff (proof readers, copy editors, and so one – several pairs of eyes) in the old days before newspapers did a tear down.
I respect that Staples does a lot of work, the “Grade A” shots analysis he and BM pioneered is a worthy bit of work. I hope he can find another, complementary collaborator. Like so many works of “craft,” however, I fear it will be lost when he packs it in. I find the in-print errors ugly, but they too are the price we pay for “progress” and profit.
David does incredible work but I miss Bruce so much. What a mind. David should cast the net wider for a partner. Our own Ira Couper could be the guy but I’d assume too busy. I don’t much care for Leavins analysis so I dropped Cult as my first listen after Bruce; to go to GYB but now it’s actually back in the lead spot and I’ll tell you why.
GYB annoys me with their dispassionate takes. I get Ryan is a journalist first but ironically he’s the only one that seems to care about the Oil (again they freely admit it). Strudwick and Brown couldn’t care less if the Oilers win or lose which I guess is “professional” but I want something more cathartic. Bruce used to live and die with every win. Brown is excellent in his analysis even though he doesn’t use analytics. Strudwick is funny no question but his analysis is right out of Sportsnets playbook; very shallow knowledge Joaquin Gage-like knowledge. I almost think these guys watch the NHL.com 5 minute review. It’s. Your damn job…be an expert. Blown away with Jamie Noodles McLennons guest appearances. This is an Ottawa dude and full league analyzer and he had the Oilers nailed down.
Any others you guys recommend? Where’s Yeremchuck?
Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton are the voices of Daily Faceoff. After Seravalli left Tyler has taken over the show and he’s dynamite. It’s a fun hockey show packed neatly into a half hour.
@OP who is LT’s old producer? Levins? Staples should find another guy who understands the game better or is at least funny. Levins is a cranky old man yelling at clouds.
Yaremchuk, I believe he was at least.
I like Kurt but I do have a personal relationship with him and Dave.
Got GYB is my first post-game listen – but GYB, Overtime (880) and Cult are always listened to after every game.
I like Struddy but understand what you are saying about his level of analysis but he’s 4 tiers above Gabe (not offence to Joaquin).
Rishaug is good for his polish but his lack of knowledge on contract stuff drives me crazy – is it not his job to know how many years left Oilers have on their contracts and who has trade protection or any nuance with respect to the cap? If I have to hear “I’ll need to ask Hart Levine” one more time with somewhat common knowledge factoids….
Yaremchuk has a 90 minute pod every weekday at noon – Oilersnation – live on YouTube. He also does DFO.
I am enjoyed eating my crow this morning with a side of black coffee and humble pie. I’d eat that breakfast every morning after a game where the coach and players played a more or less complete game with bodies in front of pucks. Heck I could do this right through the playoffs. Good game
And the Oilers have reeled us fans back in!!!!! Strong performance for sure.
Bullshit piece in the Journal by Gerry Moddejonge today – I presume Connor is furious.
Negativity sells in Oil country. It’s better for business when things aren’t going well. More to complain about. And some people enjoy being miserable.
People want to crap talk and its a dam shame.
Crap sells, especially in a newspaper industry that is struggling to stay relevant. Haven’t read the piece yet but this particular writer always struck me as fair and factual and not over the top. But correct me if I’m wrong on that
To an outsider Edmontons inferiority complex is mind boggling
From a lifetime insider, it’s always been that way. Us against the world. It demands perfection from all areas of life, sports included. It can be tiresome for sure. Edmonton is a great city and has a lot going for it, but I’m biased as it’s my hometown
Now they might have a chip on their shoulder.
Went to try to read it and it wouldn’t let me in. I never ask anyone to do my work for me. But if someone could post a link I’d like to read this filthy piece. Thanks in advance folks
https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/edmonton-oilers-mailbag-connor-mcdavid
What specifically do you disagree with?
There you are – you popped your head out the moment there was an opportunity to troll us.
It’s a silly article. X player could ask for a trade. No they haven’t asked, but they could! Unfortunate that it’s gotten talked about and sent people to read it. Just encourages more nonsense.
Agreed. Read. It’s an imaginary scenario that likely got Fib excited. Case closed and dismissed, zero evidence
Does anyone that wants real info read main stream anymore for anything except maybe local news? It was always tainted, now it’s so much BS who has the time to filter it? I’m not a whale with bellows. I cannot stand fake with an agenda, never could
Where’s flip-a-nacho today?
There was a huge storm last night on the island, he’s probably sitting in the dark.
He poked his head out of his hole lower down in today’s thread. His love affair with his proclaimed ‘best dman in hockey’ – Hughes, had now shifted to Werenski just so he can dump on Bouchard.
If you bothered to look you would find Hughes has 47 points in only 40 games in Minnesota…a 96 point pace which, if he hadn’t missed so many games, might well have led all defensemen this season.
Alas, he can’t get those games back so likely not a frontrunner for the Norris.
And if your Mom had balls she would be your Dad.
Not nowadays.
Hughes is a rover – not a dman. The Wild think he is so good shutting down other teams that he plays 0:05 TOI per game on the PK. This on a team whose PK is ranked 16th!
Would a, should a, could a!
Hughes is as you say a rover. A very good player that can be amazing. Given a choice in any game state I’d take Bouch every single time. No disrespect to Hughes.
Ha ha good moniker for the troll!
Are the moneypuck posts on cooldown today? I wonder why.
Can’t get too confident though, friends.
The Sharks have 3 games in hand which means even if they win all 3, they would still be 3 points behind the Oilers.
And the Kings are resuming their laughably easy schedule after losing to the laughably easy Flames. Beware!
The Flames are the hottest team in the league with 4 straight wins.
Moneypuck point projections this morning:
ANA – 97.2
VGK – 90.6
EDM – 90.5
LAK – 87.1
SEA – 84.3
ANA and LAK with a game in hand while SEA has 2.
3 games tomorrow that could have an outsized impact on the final standings.
Favourites underlined.
EDM @ VGK
LAK @ VCR
ANA @ CAL
Wait! I don’t see the goal posts… ohhhh there they are.
Sabres, Blue jackets, senators, devils, predators, blues, ducks, avalanche, lightning, Canadiens, flyers are all hotter then the Flames currently based on last 10 games played.
You didn’t realize the Flames were on a winning streak 2 days ago?
“Fibonacci
Reply to Scungilli Slushy
March 23, 2026 10:12 am
LAK remaining schedule:
(Moneypuck projected wins in bold.)
@Flames
@Canucks
vs.Mammoth
vs.Blues
vs.Predators
vs.Leafs
vs.Predators
vs.Canucks
vs.Oilers
@Kraken
@Canucks
@Flames
With 5 road games against the dregs and a 7 game home stand they could be very dangerous.
While it certainly is not reasonable to expect them to finish the season on an 11-1 run, 3 games against the Canucks and 2 against the Flames underpin a laughably easy schedule.”
Always be constantly moving the goal posts is the credo that HH lives by.
Man, wish that was the Oilers schedule….
Congrats to the Flames on reducing the chances of getting their first-ever Top 3 draft pick!
Yeah,…they may have to settle for Caleb Malhotra who a couple of draft pundits believe might end up being the best player in the draft.
You were saying the same about Zayne Parekh, the player who you had pegged to be a #1 D for the Flames this season.
Parekh will win the Norris right after Valimaki.
It’s too late for them, even Zayne. Elite D show themselves early and he’s already 20 years old with only 27 NHL games and 5 points to his name. Poor guy’s career is already written and becoming elite enough to win a Norris is not possible.
They’re all going to have to wait, next season is Bobgan Ramdilly’s year.
Remember when Brogan Rafferty was going to be a better NHL option than Bouchard?
I will say we have to give HH props for suggesting Columbus would make the playoffs though.
I do, right when his pear group (Ty Smith and Adam Boquist) were leaving him on the side of the road….
and Rafferty
Utah looks really soft and don’t hit. Yes they have a few great youngsters but last night the Oilers did what a lot of teams do to us. They kept them to the perimeter and Utah actually ( in the offensive zone) looked a lot like the Oilers on many nights making too many passes and not getting the puck on net.
it was possibly the most complete game I have seen the Oilers play all year. It was pretty much a full 60 minute game where they stuck to the game plan and played a very good defensive game. Keep that kind of play up with Solid goaltending ( which they got last night) and Drai back, this team will beat all takers on that Pacific side in the playoffs.
If they keep that kind of play up and do win 2 rounds and get rolling , I guess you never know.
It was a good game, but to me teams that play the Oilers like that are not hard games for them. It’s the aggressive high pressure solid defensive teams that give them fits
It’s why the Kings and Canucks could have taken them out the last two playoffs, and they couldn’t play their game against the panthers
When i looked at path to Conference pacific dvision:
Utah had one of the mire solid bottom 6. Their high end is lower though. If we actually have finally figured out some viable options for 3 real lines and a 4th that is close to even ir better outscoring -> utah is not good enough in 7 games to likely finish edmonton.
Anaheim, with one of the best deadline additions in carlson and only goalie in division who likely can ateal games to level tips scale in 7 game series, is the team the oilers shoukd definitely be trying to avoid.
Vegas is a team that plays shitty. Gets benefit of doubt on penalties…most likely to severely injure mcdavid or drai and Has forwards who can counter attack mdavid effect better than the rest…equslly best avoided. While beatable odds in oilers favour. Can upset especialoy if whistles swallowed and big slower defense can lean more hesvily into modern game PC darian hatcher impersonators.
.
They should really be getting it drummed in that their is a huge advantage to winning the division…aside from i would bet the refffing vs utah woukd he ridiculousky bad (just luckily not a team built with a ton of shit head cheap shot artists)
Even if Anaheim got through Vegas (better chance of better refereeing as a west coast team beyond 1st round surely desirable for the bettman “growth of game” -> they’ll definitely ge banged up more than edmonton to start series.
As a coach I think it’s worth pointing out that some of the things we as fans critque; well we’re kind of just dead wrong and/or asking for things that aren’t going to happen anymore.
And a night like last night shows why.
Complaining about the stretch pass just sounds uninformed. The days of all 5 forwards collecting back below the faceoff dots aren’t coming back. NO teams do this anymore. You’d never get thruogh the neutral zone let alone score.
Nowadays, the moment possession looks like it might change hands the wingers take off and make themselves available for a stretch pass. Plan A is a scoring chance like Bouchard to Hyman but teams are plenty happy about just a deflection (or a defender stick lift that waives off icing) and now you can get into your forecheck structure. Or you can use the center or weak side defense to carry the puck out now that the other team’s defenders are pulled way back. I coached on a team where the winger wasn’t “allowed” to come down to the hash marks. They wanted the wingers to stay high just inside the zone and the defense to rip a rim pass so that they could chip it into the neutral zone and live to play another day.
The second piece is defensemen “tying up in front of the net”. It’s no longer that simple. Defensemen are taught to “front pucks”, meaning to block or interfere with the point shot long before it ever gets to the net front. They are also taught to keep their sticks freed up so that they can get to a loose puck like Bouchard did last night. I’m not saying they never tie up but it’s all about timing. Stay free and then at the right moment tie up and then release and hunt the puck. Coaches don’t want pucks just lying there in the danger area while with no defender able to make a play on it. The downside is that yes, sometimes a puck does squeak through and a player is left alone if there is a rebound.
A lot of this to say that some of what “you” hate about Evan Bouchard is that he’s an exceptional modern defenseman and doesn’t do the things the way we were taught growing up.
I really value the X’s and O’s of the game, and lament there is not more commentary like this. Thank you for providing coaching context, and please keep it up.
Thanks I always feel a little odd prefacing it with “I’m a coach” but I think it gives context.
I appreciate the context.
Thanks for this. Great stuff. Any insight on the lack of taking the body?
Avoiding attrition, better positional hockey, both? I think it’s cause the guys who have the ability to throw hits on this team don’t usually end up with the puck (what my coaches taught me). Guys like Hyman are experts at it, Podz is developing well into that, but they aren’t blowing anyone up.
Less visually appealing but really demoralizing when you’re getting outmuscled by some dude all game (think Khabib vs Gaethje for Mamma MMA lovers)
I wrote on this the other day actually. Obviously this one is all speculation. And will be honest I coached elite level girls so there isn’t really a culture of being hugely physical as a way to intimidate. Dont get me wrong these girls play physical but I haven’t really seen teams employ Panthers tactics which I can guarantee boys teams do where fear is such a big motivator.
First off, I don’t think there are any NHL coaches who would allow running around to make hits. Just so much damned structure. But the difference between Knobby and say Maurice is that Knobby doesn’t seem to value even the classic “finish your checks as an investment”. What’s odd is that by all accounts he was a tough as nails player. So why would this be?
Theory 1- wear and tear. This is an older team and hitting hurts. It’s not a coincidence that the guys missing time (with one notable exception) are the guys who live in the trenches. Hyman first then Walman, Freddy, Lazar, Dach, Clattenburg.
Theory 2- temperature control. I think Knobber knows he has a very shallow team with three precious resources. As we saw, Hogland crushes Bouchard raising the temperate leading to Nurse crushing Hagel and Cirelli getting one punched by Podkolzin. Two (almost) injuries to star players because Hogland raised the temperature. I think strategically it makes sense to play “cold” games. How many suspensions have we seen in Oiler games in the last few years? Almost none.
There are two sets of complaints about the stretch pass – one is about using it at all (wrong) the other is about depending on it and attempting it when the other team is geared to stop it (correct). The Oilers fell into it being the only play they had for a time, which makes it insanely easy to not only defend, but turn into attacking opportunities.
As for the defencemen – I would strongly argue that many today are being taught completely incorrectly by those who haven’t fully played out the consequences of their ideas. Especially in front of the net. You can control your opponent and their stick without allowing them to tie you up, giving you the ability to get the puck afterward.
It is almost as bad as modern penalty kill theory, but not quite.
A predictable stretch pass game can be countered with your 2 dmen stepping into and even front of the outlet pass to the wingers. And with an aggressive 2 man forecheck, F1 on boards and f2 in centerline. f3 floating to cut off cross seam pass.
If the dman cannot, under pressure, move the puck, he can be stuck with no outlet and a turnover occurs with your forwards all moving the wrong way.
Its still a fine plan, until too predictable. In theory, its whole intention is to trap the aggressive forecheck, it can work. Its all offense first and turnovers require stellar goalie to save you.
One system the puck is quickly moved, while in the other a puck transporter is needed.
All systems can work, but I think use anything too long and it stagnates, the NHL can adapt very quickly.
Theres no real right or wrong with a lot of this stuff. Just theories on what is optimal.
Also – low wingers are death. We strongly agree on that.
9 out of 10 NHL teams tie up the man in front and box him out. The Oilers are one of the 10 who do not; so I guess they are ahead of their time, and letting in goals because of it.
I’ve been saying for a while, the key to this team going anywhere (aside from the obvious, health of superstars, reasonable goaltending) is Nurse and Walman playing better consistently and I think both have made strides lately.
Yes, I know, Nurse didn’t stop the PPG but, 5 on 5, I though he and Murphy had another solid game and Walman has been playing better.
Murphy being a defensive minded, fairly solid, 2RD and Nurse solidifying a second pairing and Walman finding his game with a solid Emberson would create an elite 3rd pairing.
There is a chance for the defensive group, if healthy, to be good, maybe very good.
The key is 25 and 96 and they are coming, in a short sample, in my opinion.
Solid game last night from everyone. I don’t want to take anything away from the way they played and the important win, but I will remain skeptical until they a) play this way consistently, and b) play this way against top teams.
Emberson is looking good, Walman is looking better and I thought Jarry looked good (but I didn’t see the 2nd GA).
The team needs to get healthy and stay healthy!
Personally, I’m not sure I think the effort against Tampa was sub-par. I agree with the coach on that one that they played a good game 5 on 5 and, personally, I feel the game changed when they missed calling the hit from behind on Bouchard and then called the hit to the head by Nurse (which they scored on). Of course, the PP let them down later but, overall, 5 on 5, I thought that effort was fine against a true contender.
Yeah they weren’t bad it was a classic Oiler game this year though and against a team they’d be likely to face in the final if they were so lucky.
Better goalie, better situational awareness, better mistake capitalization, better special teams, Papa Johns.
Due to high winds and no power, watching the game was deleted from the menu last night, guess I can’t watch until they lose again.
Here’s hoping I dont get to see a game until maybe game 4 of the 1st round.
Leave Savoie with McDavid!!!
Bouch and Ekholm very much feel like they’re back in the groove together, we can’t split them up. It all feels very much like the live performance by the Who of “A Quick One While He’s Away” on Rock and Roll Circus… Bouch being Moon, and Ek being Entwistle.
Hamblin back to Condors.
I know I’m in the minority on this, but if the team plays like it can I like/trust these two goalies more for the playoffs than the last two
They have higher ceilings and better technique to my thinking and eye. Maybe it doesn’t work out, but I can see someone getting hot, and out of the last 8 playoff series how many times has that happened? Not very many
I am not sure quite yet, though I am leaning to that. I like Ingram’s rebound control, calmness and positioning. They need to keep playing with structure and effort on the D side like last night. Jarry is a wild card, who knows. He needs to be healthy and have confidence, last night was a good step. He could get hot and go on a run as well, he is a good goalie, def better than of late, he will get better.
I also like both tenders handling of the puck for the most part, it helps.
We shall see, once the team is more healthy I think they are going to turn the corner and start really playing like they can. Last night could be the start of that, though this is the oil.
Very reasonable expectation that 97 will move past Bobby Clarke for the top 50 point scorers of all time before seasons end. Before 30. Crazy.
All said and done, he could (should) easily be 2, and the 2nd player to reach 2000 points.
Enjoy it.
There was some respectful and thoughtful discussion yesterday about trading away McDavid, so I’m not in any way throwing shade in the direction of the posters.
I remain convinced that if the Oilers never win a cup again, it will have to do with the rest of the roster built around McDavid, and not the fact that we should have traded away McDavid for other players.
I just want the Oilers to keep McDavid (and Drai and RNH) all the way until those 3 retire as Oilers. Please and thank you.
As part of that discussion, yeah I am with you 100%. Would love to see long long careers with the Oilers for each. And there is still room for two or three cups yet. Maybe not this year though
Bouchard terrific again. Team was incredibly lucky to get a player of this caliber at #10 overall.
It is sad that he is still 3rd for the Norris odds. Not that I care about that too much but damn he is a beast and all they say is if it goes to the highest scoring D than he might be a darkhorse. His numbers overall rival Makar and Werenski and if it wasn’t for the rep he would win it, especially if he is 7-12 points up. I hope he goes on a run and gets to 100pts. F them.
They telegraph these awards, so may as well hand it to Werenski now, fully deserved or not.
Bouch is the best dman in the league.
He has tough moments that get magnified but all the top players do. Makar does more with his feet and the puck on his stick while Bouch does more with his brain and passes/ vision.
Biggest difference is Bouch gets better when competition increases. Players like Hughes get overwhelmed.
Bouch has more snarl than he gets credit for.
Should definitely get the Norris this year.
The Norris isn’t awarded for the best playoff defenceman. All credit to Bouch and I’m a diehard fan but it isn’t like the MVP which people use as an excuse to pick teams that barely made the playoffs to give their guy a trophy or because ‘he hasn’t got one yet’.
That said, Karlsson won one for 100 points which while impressive secured 32nd place by a country mile for San Jose so who the hell knows what nonsense these dummies vote for.
2forNorris confirmed.
Hughes has ome whilevplaying zero minutes on penalty kill… insanity
Karlsson 100% deserved his Norris trophy.
Take away the 100 points and thing about this, at 5 on 5, Karlsson was even (50% goal share) and the Sharks were -56 when he was off the ice.
Yes, Karlsson was -26 that season but 23 of those were empty net goals against, TWENTY-THREE.
We really be using plus minus and the flex on this is that he was a true minus 3 and even goal share riding insane 14% shooting. Respectfully don’t agree.
Heiskanen would’ve been my pick. Dominated Elites, dominated overall and had plenty of points to add. He’s stuck in the Doughty arc of ‘wait he hasn’t won one yet?’ Morrissey was excellent too. Pietrangelo is the correct answer but again, not a playoff trophy.
No, I was using his 5 on 5 goal share relative to the team.
Being even 5 on 5 on a team that was -56 is astonishing.
Bouch is +19 on a +4 team. Werenski +12 team +14. Makar +31 team +86. I don’t know about ZW but CM screws up a lot too
Yes see how the season ends up but right now, he should win that award in a close vote.
Canada would have won gold with Bouchard on the blue line, and with Hyman playing forward. You cannot convince me otherwise.
I wouldn’t try to
Bouchard should definitely be in the Norris conversation. It really is a 3-horse race as only the top 3 of the top 7 dmen pts producers play any significant PK time.
Player / Games Played / Pts / Goals / ES Pts / TOI / PK TOI / PP TOI / PP Pts per 60 / + –
If Bouchard keeps going at this pace he should win it!
I wonder if the games played will be a factor like other times it is used. Werenski is having a fantastic year as well but less games likely if Bouch stays rolling.
Werenski is also rolling with 9 points in his last 5GP.
Bouchard has 6
This made me laugh. This is peak cherrypicking absolutely no notes.
Some of your comments are hilarous.
Some other considerations:
Bouchard – GF 54% / P/60 1.67
Werenski – GF 57.1% / P 60 2.01
Makar – GF 65.1% / P60 1.70
Werenski with the superior offensive production while Makar dominates possession while on the ice.
Makar’s PP production is being affected significantly by an almost inexplicable mediocre powerplay that for most of the season was near the bottom although it recently has been much improved and moving up the rankings.
Makar has 20 PP points this season while last season he had 61.
That will likely cost him the Norris with Werenski currently the strong betting favourite.
If the oilers pp sucked. I’d blame Bouchard for its sucking.
None of it matters when you have
writersfans voting on the awards.“Makar’s PP production is being affected significantly by an almost inexplicable mediocre powerplay that for most of the season was near the bottom although it recently has been much improved and moving up the rankings.”
At 5 on 5:
GF% with Bouchard on the ice: 55% (plus 13)
GF% with Bouchard off the ice: 42% (minus 29)
GF% with Makar on the ice: 65%
GF% with Markar off the ice 63%
GF% with Werenski on the ice: 57%
GF% with Wereski off the ice: 50%
I remember following that draft. Once the Habs went off the board at #3 with Kotkaniemi and the Coyotes at #5 with Barrett Hayton, we were guaranteed one of Bouchard or Dobson. Once the Rangers went off the board with Kravtsov at #9, we were guaranteed our pick.
If only one team had gone off the board in 2020, we could have had Seth Jarvis, now closing in on his third 30-goal season…
Drai mcdavid hyman (115 min):
GF/60 6.26, GA/60 3.13 -> +3.13/60
Crazy horse (old man nuge) McD Hyman (480 min):
4.25, 2.25 -> +2.00/60
Podzilla McD Savy (40 min):
4.50, 3.00 -> +1.50/60
Podzilla McD Roslo Pico (195 min):
4.31, 3.38 -> +0.93/60
Cacaw McD Kapit (85 min):
2 82, **4.94** -> -2.12/60
I’ll put takeaway thoughts in next comment
The killer elites (game breaker lines teams with one of these likely to win stanley IMO…florida without barkov doesn’t have one)
MTL
Slafk Suzuki Stepchild (510 min):
5.12, 1.88 -> +3.24/60
TBY
Guentzel Point kucherov (385 min)
5.40, 2.20 -> +3.20/60
NYR
Panarin troechek Lafreniere (488 min)
5.30, 2.22 -> + 3.08/60
COL
Lehk DaddyMack Necas (290 min):
5.05, 2.02 -> +3.03/60
So….it’s been said and bears repeating coaches jumping to Nuclear Mvdrai option would be hard not to form crack pipe habit hitting. Because they stack up likely better than any of these given that this season they have only been deployed when trailing and then play tgose minutes stupidly over extending shifts or shorting breaks off ice. Like in least ideal citcumstances they are actually outscoring better than “the most amazing line in the history of hockey if you tilt henny penny brain like at any anti oiler narrative” (sorry HH but spade is a spade is a spade as long as you frequently strawman away from any solid counter arguement or accountability when blatantly tilting too far with statistrickal narratives that you clearly could and would deconstruct quite eadily if they were pro oiler driven)
So oilers are 1 of 2 teams in west with a when the whistles are eaten still have an even strength unit that has acoring rates like lowkey PP unit.
rangers screwed up somehow bigtime.
Taking herpes off of canucks surely part of what screwed them…firing jeff gorton from GM possibly cost them a cup….speaking of gorton….that’s probably the guy edmonton should have tsken a serious look at….bet they didn’t even interview him….where is now again….oh vice president in MTL since 2021…ah…good bet montreal is going to actually stay long term competitive if smart enough to stash a guy like that who is surely over qualified for VP of hockey operations as far as draft/develop/pro scouting/team building goes.
Like look at this guys track record.even his interm GM moves alone are like the entire foundation for chiapets success in boston.
So anyway.
Uhm.
I hope they roll with savoy anf podzills on mcdavid’s wing down the stretch.
Both of them hustle back on defense and although early results small sample it finally might be what has been lacking in amy iteration of mcdavid contender years
A line not being built with most expensive forwards on team required for wingers.
I’m okay with mcdavid scoring a bit less in his minutes if it reduces gosls against and spreads the wealth to build more balanced lines and brings down minutes played until maybe they need to go nuclear ootion later in a game.
So then what’s left of the every where and anywhere higher end adaptables?
RNH -> can score more in as a center, defensive responsible and high hovkey IQ can adapt role to maximize linemates strengths or mitigate damage from their weknesses.
Hyman -> great in offensive end, tenacious forecheck and cycling higher end effective, not scared to pay price and quick reflex awareness so a high danger goal scoring assasin with the best of them…but…kero him out of defensive end as much as you can. Like high ozone starts sureky best.
Drai -> just the best of all things. Surely one of the Highest hockey IQ guys in the game whomever he plays with he makes better. Only negative really is he doesn’t always seem to adapt risk according to game state. Hasn’t completely locked in mentality of elite of the elite 200 Ft dynamo he is yet. Still a bit more offeneive minded and also still a bit at risk of retaliatory temper tantrums in key moments where greater good for the win is checking his head. Let’s call it all still needs let the 9ld gambler’s wisdom full sink in (no when to hold em know when to fold em 75% sunken in as far as gamesman ship strategic 25% still kid)
I like the potential of a hyman nuge roslovic 2A softer opp outscoring line. Roslovic works best with a nit more liscense to carry puck in transition and in offensive end. He’s not the best fit for a line defering to mcdavid…i rhink drai can get more out of a more physical cycle able RW in kapanen and kapanen benefits ither lines less than roslovic in my head.
Which means drai has to do more with a bit less (even though he deserves podkolzin he can make others better because he actually figures out how to use linemates and makes them better to a far greater degree than figure out how to get open, keep up as best you can, get me the puck again, for the love of god please play harder defense if my 1 vs 4 attack pattern disintegrates in worst possible way it sometimes can)
Samanski/frederic drai kapanen -> outscore opposition with less ideal zone starts quite often. Defacto 3rd line but higher minutes than clear 1 to 3 in tiers would have.
What’s left enough to have a close to sawed off hard to play against 4th line that gets 10 min 5v5
Henrique/frederic/samanski dickinson/lazar/jarbentile/jokedmaybe janmark…but i like idea of hard hitting younger options.
Pk1 usage heavy this line
Pk2 depends on team and situations but savy and mcdavid could be a real threat
Pp1
Hyman mcd drai
Savy bouchard
And a real PP2 option built and at least a bit more tested before playoffs start
Podzilla rnh roslo
Walman/ekholm/nurse points
Stop the shuffle. Roll lines don’t panic early and make a mess of the bench. Cut out the cheating for offense and higher risk plays when leading or tied quite a bit. Never fully transition to just nursing a lead because their defensive system and goaltending level are not built to hold out forever unless they convert to collapsing box atyle if leading game late enough to try to hold lead. Give this team a chance to win as a team or they aren’t cup contenders in a legitmate sense
This is good stuff
Podz + McDavid is a strong combo
I like Hyman and Nuge together as the foundation of a 2nd scoring line.
Credit to razor for noting the potential lines when Drai is back:
Pod McDavid Savoie
Roslovic Nuge Hyman
Samanski Drai Kapanen
I’m not 100% sold on ordering, or even having Samanski on wing, but those are three lines that can cook. Especially when everyone is all in on blocking shots and closing out the front of the net like they did last night. It would be good to see that style of play done for sure tomorrow but again on Saturday.
And on a side note, Savoie is quickly becoming my favorite on the team. I leaped out of my seat when he scored that shortie last night.
Thing of beauty. Fun to behold.
That second line is solid enough for them to probably play Leon with Connor & Podz as a top unit on occasion. Dickinson is the 3c & Samanski could easily play 4c if they don’t decide to place him on Leon’s left flank. There’re plenty of options to keep the opponents guessing. Once Leon, Lazar & Freddy get healthy the forward depth will be astounding.
Why would they do that though.
McDavid/Drai as a duo has been decreasing in effectiveness for a while now and both McDavid and Drai have been better apart then together this season.
They need to get back to a place when putting those two together creates an energy in itself and that means using it less, at least in my opinion.
Didn’t I say on occasion?
The -1 for the 4th line was iffy as McDavids line was just coming off and they arrived just in time to watch a shot go in off both dmen. How do you solve the goaltending problem? Limit the opposition to 18 shots and win puck battles in all zones. One of their most complete games!!
The Oilers can, and do most times, beat teams with mid-level goaltending. Last night was another example of this (the second Roslovic goal was brutal).
The Oilers played well enough to win the game against Tampa – Vasilevskiy was the difference. The game against the Panthers was terrible all around, but the goalie (Bob) did post the shutout.
Do the Oilers have enough to compensate for mid-to-low goaltending come playoff time? Not looking good this year.
Shootout to all Oiler’s management personnel for not addressing this since the Connor draft.
Steer clear of anaheim as best they can and there isn’t any clear outgoalied driven potential 1st round upsets.
VgK collapsed box and counter attack next biggest threat. also most likely to injure players in series big nasty and dirty.
LA kings dead in the water is fantastic as i woukd put them as 3rd biggest threat.
It could be a ploy by management to get the team in the frame of mind to play shutdown defense and protect their goaltenders for the duration of the second season. It’s obvious they won’t get far if they don’t.
The Oilers look to have the goaltending advantage in round 1 – Hill is abysmal recently.
I don’t disagree, but it’s been a while since I’ve heard ‘Oilers’ and ‘goaltending advantage’ in the same sentence.
Glad for the Captain, it’s too bad he missed another all time record of sorts. With an assist he would have been the 3rd player in history to hit 3 milestones in 1 game: 400/800/1200. I like that the numbers go by 400
I’m also glad that they won. Even without Drai, only the top teams should be games they shouldn’t expect to win
Also glad Jarry had a good game, and apparently nobody got hurt
Who were the first two?
I don’t remember but Gregor had it probably at ON pre game piece
By eye, an uptick in Jake Walman’s game recently. Welcome back Ty Emberson.
Hear, hear!
They’ve found the optimal three defense pairs from one to three.
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Murphy
Walman-Emberson
All six have something to prove. I like all six and drink to their good health.
If Walman can play anywhere near his established levels of ability, with how damn good Emberson is defensively, that would be a HIGH end 3rd pairing.
The 2nd pairing will likely be inconsistent given Darnell is, well, inconstant but, when they are on, that is a solid 2nd pairing.
Problem is Darnell has not been on for 3 playoff seasons in a row…..
Darn it, Darnell has something to prove. Right?
Max Jones is playing very well.
I had him no. 29 on his draft day, Brock Otten called him a throwback power forward. Guys like that who can play, and score 10-15 goals, have careers. He could emerge now and be a regular for several more seasons imo.
Bowman definitely values the player type. He has acquired Jones, Poulin, and Dach as unexpected parts of trades
I like that Jones and Poulin are 1st rounders and Dach 2nd. Because it means they aren’t puck optional big guys and all 3 can skate at least well enough
He lessens the blow of the Frederic injury. Max & Freddy might be good bookends for a grinding 4th line come playoff time.
If you get 5-6 hockey players that are hard on you and hard to fight, that’s a forward thinking GM. Kypreos said to Bob the league seems to be going back that way. Because panthers have won 2 playing like the 70’s Flyers, it’s the response
The last piece is if the coach is on that train. You have to tool to beat the teams that you can’t beat, like always. That’s not only toughness, but does your western conference system beat the east?
my guess is Ingram is back in the Calvin Pickard role, saviour when the starter needs a reset.
I think Ingram should start the next game. Good for Jarry, but why announce that Ingram is the starter if you’re going to go back to Jarry after one solid performance? If Ingram is the starter, Jarry’s job is to be prepared for one game out of 4 and not to screw it up. So far so good IMO.
I also wonder if it’s a bit of load management for jarry. Maybe a nagging injury…. Last nite he looked very quick. Side to side and up downs.
If the oilers play like last nite it doesn’t matter who’s in net.
Hey, if Jarry gets us there, fantastic.
For now, I go back to Ingram on Thursday but coach should have the confidence to not roll Ingram out for 5 straight games which is not good (Jarry should have played against Florida, in my opinion).
I think Edmonton has two 1B goalies and then there’s Pickard.
Back to back Stanley Cup Finals losses broke something in their brains. They have massive loads of talent and can easily beat most teams if they just decide to try that night.
Hoping the real team shows up for the playoffs.
I think the motivation of making it in and being back after a weird season will keep their heads together in playoffs. Not to mention the extra juice of knowing the only truly hard series should be the WCF if they can get back there
As MacT says they are a uniquely impatient team. The reg season, especially this one, tests them plenty
Defense wins championships. As simple as that sounds, it isn’t. That’s the motivation for this team.