This is Luna. She was so unimpressed with the second period performance by the Edmonton Oilers last night she left the room. Luna entered the small bathroom off the master bedroom, jumped up on the window sill, and stayed there until the third period began. I think Luna, in her own way, showed exceptional analytical ability. The Oilers won the game, lost a player to injury and endured Luna’s disdain. All that matters is a win. Seriously.
The play of the game started with a Leon Draisaitl burst past two Ducks at the blue line (the word Ducks fails miserably in describing the amount of skill and effort required to break through the wall) and then two passes (Draisaitl to Vasily Podkolzin, Podkolzin to Kasper Kapanen) plus a great shot (Kapanen) for the winner.
The second period was ghastly, like another team was playing in Oilers uniforms. Kris Knoblauch shuffled lines, which is basically busy work but it may help with his anxiety, and the team lost Adam Henrique to a freak injury. The McDavid line couldn’t get untracked, the fourth line did good work, the third line scored (Jason DIckinson scored twice, as did Kapanen) and Connor Ingram played well.
The Ducks are good. Three more like that one and they’ll be pan-seared good.
- Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Kapanen 12:39, 12-4 shots, 2-0 goals, 71 X, 5-0 HDSC
- Savoie-McDavid-Hyman 10:03, 3-2 shots, 61X, 2-1 HDSC
- Nuge-Dickinson-Roslovic 4:40, 1-3 shots, 1-1 goals, 31X, 1-1 HDSC
- Nuge-McDavid-Hyman 3:03, 1-0 shots, 65X
- Dach-Henrique-Frederic 2:42, 2-1 shots, 25X
- Dach-Dickinson-Frederic 2:10, 0-1 shots, 0X
- Nurse-Murphy 17:04, 11-10 shots, 1-1 goals, 49X, 3-2 HDSC
- Ekholm-Bouchard 16:27, 6-4 shots, 48X, 2-2 HDSC
- Walman-Emberson 9:39, 5-4 shots, 1-0 goals, 5-4 HDSC
- Connor Murphy 25 of 28, .893, 3GA versus 3.31 expected
- All numbers via Natural Stat Trick
A lot to unpack here, it was a high event game the Ducks dictated for long stretches. The Draisaitl line was splendid, that’s an incredible set of numbers. Pure dominance. On the other hand, the McDavid line, while delivering a solid effort, was unable to score and didn’t get many shots on goal.
Knoblauch checked down from the unit after a time, one wonders if we’ll see Ryan Nugent-Hopkins back on the No. 1 line for Game 2. Nuge-McDavid-Hyman did get three minutes together, I think DIckinson’s performance is the only thing stopping the coach from trashing the third line. I could see Nuge-McDavid-Hyman and Savoie-Dickinson-Roslovic for Game 2.
The energy line didn’t see much action for a long time in the second, the injury to Henrique and the long change seemed to impact. Need more Dach-Frederic in Game 2.
Nurse-Murphy played the most five-on-five, 3-11 offensive-defensive zone starts and took on the Anaheim feature lines often. The duo does not outlet pass well. but were paired with the Draisiatl line and had success. I don’t know, honestly. I know they should have a puck passer on this pairing, but the results have been quality. I think maybe the Hockey Gods have blessed this pairing.
Ekholm-Bouchard were effective, but not in the way one would like when playing with the McDavid line and against the Tim Washe trio. Need more from the McDavid line and this tandem.
Walman-Emberson played the least and were on the ice for the most HDSC’s, so there you go. Luck be a lady tonight.
Connor Ingram made some outstanding stops in a madcap game with those young Ducks forwards buzzing like a Canada Goose terrorizing a strip mall. I’m liking Ingram. Sign the man.
On the Lowdown today, we’lll have the round table yutes as they once again attempt to end my broadcast career with strange phrases and obscure numbers. I’ll hang in there and old man them for two hours, you need to listen and send help if things get bad. Lots of Oilers talk and some baseball too. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and YouTube.
Love your writing Lowetide, Good luck and hope everyone enjoys the spring/summer regardless of the outcome.
Hope you’re not going anywhere! I like the no expectations message as it’s a reminder that we should enjoy the new season despite what’s going on in hockey….enjoy the festivities
For all those complaining about lack of equity, the Kings were 4 mins away from being the 3rd WC team to earn a split on the road (with Ottawa taking Carolina to 2OT)
Man, seems like Torts has awoken the beast. Watching the past game and a half and this Vegas squad is wagon’ing in a similar manner to their cup season.
Utah is a deep, skilled, and even surprisingly physical squad. And at 5v5, in both games,Vegas has still pretty much had their way with them and kept most shots to the outside. Just coming in waves of possession, aggressive forechecking, and physical.
Utah has turned the tide in their favour over the past 5 to 7 minutes, for the first time in the series, but still barely any quality chances. Maybe a couple.
Big challenge for Utah is that VGK has so much forward skill that you can quickly get exposed with an aggressive forecheck. But they’re also great at controlled entries because of that skill.
Was going to say that their best chance is to try and keep a tight shell in the d zone and focus on controlled entries and a lot of movement and screens in the o-zone to try and capitalize on the weaker goaltending in Vegas. And then Guenther potted one like that.
And like clockwork, Vegas pots one a minute later with an immensely skilled goal by Barbashev. It’s an uphill battle for Utah with Vegas being such a deep, skilled, and physical group of skaters.
Utah is out playing them tonight. and up with 2:30;to go so…..
And it’s a 1-1 series
Carter Hart 0.897%
‘Man, seems like Torts has awoken the beast”.
I’m sure the fine god fearing folk of utah know how to subdue out of state beasts.
Are we watching the same game? The Cooley line has been the best line for either team. I didn’t watch the first period though.
Creative writing major?
Vegas looks so confident with Torts. Carter Hart is looking really solid.
Kailer Yamamoto has something to say about that. Nice feed to Guenther for the 2-1 Mammoth lead.
Yamo had a series-winning goal for us in 2023 … hope he has a big playoffs for the Utes.
… for one round
Well they may look confident and have a solid goalie, but what don’t they have? Home ice advantage.
It’s a long series hopefully they beat up on each other. It would also be beneficial if L.A squeezed out a victory.
Does anyone foresee a Habs-Oilers final?
I don’t think that’s allowed.
I’ll take Josh Anderson to get the winner.
For me, a scary prospect. I’d have to leave the country, disconnect from the internet, stop reading this blog.
In 1981 when Andy Moog backstopped us to a sweep of the mighty Habs. Moog had pure athleticism as he’s half the size of Skinner-Ingram. Today’s goalies are big and play the angles I miss the days of Mike Palmateer- Bernie Parent-Bill Ranford -Grant Fuhr making double stack pad saves.
How is that not a Major?
I do hope we play a smarter game 2 l liked the physicality but man do did we play a loose 2nd period. It’s a good thing the Ducks tried sitting on it.
In other news the league/zebras have a new no call playoff team. The Bruins are leading but in limited viewing I’ve seen two blatant non calls. Like really blatant
Buffalo is basically a Canadian team. Maybe a full fledged one to Gary.
Huge goal by my man Josh Anderson.
They are playing really well. So organized offensively and defensively
Does anyone know how to beat Tampa more than Martin St. Louis.
Bolts are doing a good job of beating themselves tonight
Clatenburg has an upper body injury – skating but not contact. Won’t play Thursday, maybe on the weekend.
I can see Clattenburg being a Black Ace.
When Bakersfield is out of the playoffs, they can bring up as many as they wan but he’s 6 injuries away from a lineup spot. He’s 4LW in Bakersfield when he’s actually healthy.
It’s important to reward Clattenburg with some front row Oiler viewing.
Chaulk mentions that Lewandowski and Nicholl have earned a spot in the lineup for game 1 of the playoffs – been better than some guys that have been there all year. Lafrenière won’ play.
I ‘m out of the loop is Samanski a for sure thing or does my man lazar get his chance to shine?
I saw on twitter Stauffer said on his show he thinks it will be Samanski.
Coach would not disclose.
Who gets the call Samanski or Lazar? I’m in the minority and would love to see a healthy Lazar.
Full credit to Bruce Curlock and Kelvin Cech at Oilersnation for doing tactical writeups before the Oilers-Duck series. It played out like both predicted.
The Ducks 2-1-2 high pressure, high risk, high reward forecheck forced lots of turnovers and led to their first two goals. Ekholm is struggling with how fast the forecheck is getting on him and Bouchard’s long bomb outlets were intercepted constantly with the Ducks playing the blue line like deep cover safeties in football jumping the crossing routes. Walman seems to have gone from a 4/10 on his read and react skills during the regular season and dialed it up to a 9/10 last night. #96 constantly escaped the forecheck pressure and made great outlet passes, leading to the first goal specifically.
When the Oilers got it out of our defensive zone fast and efficiently, we generated our first three goals off the rush, counterattacking past failed ANA forechecks. The winning goal came off a great cycle with Drai getting the puck deep and then getting it to Podkolzin to dish it to Kapanen driving into the slot.
To help the Dmen, the Oilers need to emphasize having a forward constantly shadowing the puck below the icing line to give our defencemen an escape valve to quickly pass it off when the speedy Ducks forecheckers are on them.
Great read on it. I was encouraged that the cycle lead to direct attacks at the net moving the puck as opposed to trying to jam it or go to the point. Rimming it around leads to little. Lead to goals, as the stats for those plays suggest
Walman jast had his feet moving to buy time and open up lanes. Ekholm is too slow at this stage to escape pressure and 2 was hearing footsteps all night
I remember back in the day and Bruce would have known what year and the which round some games were back-to- back. I wish we were playing Anaheim tonight as they are in a funk. That team is loaded with skill need to kick them while they’re down. I would have Lazar in for Henrique. Curtis is hungry as he’s 31 and will be looking for a contract next year. If Curtis scores a couple of goals out of the blue he’ll get a 1 year possibly 2 year deal. Booook it…….
Yeah, I remember those days. Games 1 & 2 were back to back. A day off, then Games 3 & 4 were back to back. Then a day off in between each of the subsequent three games for travel. Despite the same number of teams qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they are ending over a month later. The first Cup was won on May 19th. Incredulous.
Remember the 2-3-2 format which was a huge benefit for the good guys.
What makes you think they’re down?
They should be feeling pretty good about themselves after nearly winning game one.
The Ducks are have 2 wins and 9 losses in the last 11 games. The Oilers need to go for the jugular the Ducks could easily flip the scrip with Joel Quenneville. Let’s bury the Ducks while they’re down and be freah for the battle with Torts-Vegas.
Did anyone evwr question or explain why that wasn’t a goalie interference penalty?
I’d be asking that if I was knobby.
Rule 8.5 – Interference with the GoaltenderGoaltender interference refers to any attacking player who, by means of their stick or body, interferes with or impedes the movements of the goaltender by actual physical contact. While incidental contact with the goaltender may occur, attacking players must make an effort to avoid contact in all circumstances. The onus is always on the attacking player and players who do not make an effort to avoid the goaltender must be penalized.
a) A Minor penalty will be assessed to any player who commits interference with goaltender.
‘Therefore, it would be reasonable for a Referee to judge that a situation may warrant disallowing a goal under this rule without assessing an attacking player a penalty.’
I am no rules expert, but I don’t think the contact happened in the blue paint (though it was riiight on the edge). Is it possible that factors in at all?
Ingrams feet were both fully in the blue paint.
Great game one for the Oilers. We usually see a game one collapse resulting in a loss. Nice to see an up and down effort end in a win. Even better: the supporting cast looked great. Bouchard and McD will be better.
I love McD but he needs to dial back the 1 v 3s by like 70%.
97 and 2 wil be. In fairness to 97, and doesn’t take away from your point, it’s not like 97 always tried to take 3 on, sometimes he was surrounded by 3 before he had a chance to adjust or even consider an alternative. It was one of the oddest things I’ve seen, and can’t be sustainable once 97 and the staff find the elixir
I think McDavid is in need of a bit of a reset. The last several weeks, even a dumbass like me knows exactly what he’s going to do every time he touches the puck. (Of course knowing and stopping him is something else entirely . . .)
Along my life’s journey, I’ve had patches where it felt like I could do no wrong – in my head, anyway. Each time this complacency took over, I’ve been fortunate enough to have someone close give me a little kick in the ass to reset my priorities and nudge me back on path.
I don’t know if Connor McDavid is surrounded by yes-men, but I think someone close to him should have a little heart-to-heart “refocus conversation” to make sure he is onboard with “team-first.” It might be subtle, but it feels like something is missing.
It’s up to McDavid wingers to get open as well as protecting him. I remember Sather having Semenko-Lumley-Pouzar and various other big bodies with finally super pest Tikkanen landing the spot with Kurri. I would try Dach for a few shifts with Connor-Leon-Dach. They already tried Frederic but who’s to say that Dach wouldn’t open up the ice for Batman-Robin.
For McDavid to dial back the 1 v 3’s he would need to stay in own end until the 4 other skaters are in the offensive zone and he still may be seeing 3 man coverage.
The other 4 guys need to start disrupting and bull rushing into the McDavid over coverage to create chaos and break up the defensive systems.
LT, in “Strange Brew” from April 17, you wrote how Kapanen needs to step it up because “the team needs a Finn as a feature player to win the Stanley Cup.” Looks like Kapanen read the article and is doing his best to make it so.
They all read the blog! Here’s hoping that KK starts to and takes it to heart.
Too man thinking about the bad 2nd period and skipping the part where the 3rd period happened.
Playoff Leo fresh off an injury bullied 2 Ducks (Carlsson and Lacombe, ask DSF for their measurables) then Podz did a blue collar Edmonton hard work thing and Kappy was Johnny on the spot.
Senneke was -2, Lacombe (26 minutes!) was also in photo for both Kappy goals. They beat some very good hockey players and at times made them look silly (Gudas, Radko).
Ingram made timely saves at key moments. That’s been a rarity around these parts.
What you’re saying is seeing the forest for the tress? I’m in
How great was Walman last night?!!!
Wow!
A zone exit savant
That rifle to Dickinson was all world. Jaw dropping feed. Earlier gave an aerial pass to Podz for a break.
No wonder the Ducks slew foot(ed?) him. And then he got a penalty. Because Bettman.
Reminded me of Ceci to Janmark in game 7.
Henrique out for G2.
Big chanceski for Samanski.
Hope they give him all the time he needs
Rico ruled out for tomorrow.
That hurts the PK. Bob was talking to MacT about the PK faceoffs, where Dickinson and Samanski aren’t currently nearly as good
I read the 100+ comments but no one pointed out in LT’s post that Connor Murphy saved 25 of 28 shots for a .893 average. That’s pretty good for a guy who doesn’t usually play goalie! Just teasing. Love your work, LT!
I was going to post about it at 731am my time, felt it was rude though lol
Savoie welcome to the playoffs. As OP has said since time immemorial he usually takes a while to adjust to each level.
Playoffs is a brand new level, he’ll find his way, maybe on a different line for a while because 97 can’t be made a non-factor for long.
Damn you Jay Woodcroft and your sassy stances.
I think it is hilarious that we spent years and tens of millions of dollars in free agency trying to find wingers for Drai and have found two perfect ones in Podz, who cost a 4th and KAPANEN who was a waiver claim.
Hats off to Stan and to Knob for embracing it. Kappy in particular to me is absolutely electric in playoffs. Love his celebrations
When McDavid was drafted I thought he’d be able to raise mediocre players up a level. Doesn’t seem to be the case. Good on Drai!
Bowman doesn’t deserve credit. They were basically free players.
Mangiapane was a free player too, but I’m sure that one does count on the Bowman ledger.
You’ve got me pegged! Seriously though, if he ever gets to more good than bad I’ll reconsider.
There are lots of free players available every year. I’m very critical of bowman for the mang signing.
I’m very impressed with many of his other free targets and give him credit for those.
He’s done a fantastic job acquiring players that can fill a role. With little or no acquisition cost.
I don’t know. Being really good at acquiring fringe and role players doesn’t make up for the rest. In Bowman’s case I believe it’s a broken clock/blind mice scenario.
I’d give him a little more credit than that. Sure there have been missteps (Jarry and maybe Frederic – although I’ve massively changed my opinion of him since the Olympic break and he’s started to look more like what I thought he was), but there has also been a long list of astute bets for the pro club (Walman, Dickinson, Pod, Kapanen, Ingram, Emberson etc.) as well as a completely brilliant on the fly restock of Bakersfield and the prospect cupboard. Apart from the days when we were throwing multiple first round picks into the starting lineup within nano-seconds of them being drafted in the decade of darkness I don’t think we’ve had a prospect pool this deep since the 80s…. LT can probably speak more to that than me.
I wasn’t a fan of the Bowman appointment the day it was made, but I do see the value in what he’s done since being given the job.
Side note – we won last night. Let’s be happy! Here’s to a long spring of playoff action.
I agree on some but I don’t think the first round picks for Wallman and Dickinson are astute.
Jake Walman, a legit top 4 d-man under 30 signed for an extra year at under $4MM for the 31st overall pick. Come on.
Dickinson came along with Dach and $4MM of cap space for this year and next – you seem to continuously ignore that fact.
I mean, fair. I’d certainly give up a 31st overall for Walman given successful hit rates on players at that range and what we needed at the time. Dickinson I liked the trade at the time, 50% retained, Mangiapane offloaded, Dach in for a trial run. Dickinson being a veteran shutdown C with the analytics to back up that he can play against the oppositions top players therefore buying air for Drai or McD. But I get it, I’m at the point of we’re better going all in for McDavid now and try to win the Cup in the next three years. Dickinson and Walman give us a better shot at achieving that over waiting a few years for a late first round pick to develop.
The Mangiapane part of that story above though…. that bet looked off from the start so I am with you on that being a poor move.
Still, I do really like what’s happening with the prospects we are either drafting or signing from Europe and College. That’s stellar work and I do have some hope that if the unthinkable happens and McD leaves then we’re not into totally scorched earth territory team wise. It could be worse, we could be the Dys.
If he liked Walman that much I would have applauded him for acquiring him the in the summer from Detroit. He just wouldn’t have been a target. I also blame him for not matching the offer sheets. I think he has a long way to go to break even.
I would hire a manager that works much differently than the last three we have had. All of whom took over contenders and watched them wither.
He was a bad choice for gm. If he proves me wrong I will be proven wrong. I want two be proven wrong.
you were proven wrong but you simply ignore it… much like another poster here lol
It’s an opinion. I don’t think Stan is a good gm.
I think players find it easier to play with Leon than Connor because Connor is too far ahead of most others.
Not sure what is wrong here and I’m not ignoring anything. I’m also fine with disagreement.
Does Sakic deserve credit for picking up Devon Toews? He was basically free as well.
What a horrible uneducated comment. I cant let it pass.
McDavid doesn’t raise players abilities? Just the entire team.
God awful take.
There’s been some insane things posted but that McDavid take is in an entirely different realm.
Now, any educated Oiler fan whose watched since the glory days would know McDavid is the second best player to ever play for them.
When he was drafted I figured you could throw rookies or cheap players on his line and they would thrive. It’s not really the case. Seems to be for Leon.
McDavid has, I think, a Hemsky like quality. Very unpredictable which can make it hard to play with him. Educated fans might remember this.
Souring on having McDavid as part of the team doesn’t make me uneducated. Pissy maybe.
Never called you uneducated, I have no idea what you are or are not.
McDavid has flourished with several players, he has 6 Art Ross trophies stating so.
He’s one of 4 players to ever have 100 assists in a season.
Just this season alone he produced 90 assists, leading the league yet again.
Souring on McDavid is completely your choice, you call it pissy.. I’d call it nonsense.
Sorry, that was for Winchester. I soured on McDavid as part of the team because I don’t think he’s staying long term. I have not soured on his ability. Just want fair value back for him..
This isn’t uneducated. Sure is dumb though.
Like on its face dumb.
The expectation is dumb, there’s no real equivalent for a made up expectation that nobody else has met but will be held as Truth.
Just dumb that’s all.
Yawn.
Although I don’t agree with anonymous’ point either, I don’t think he should be called “dumb” or “uneducated”. This should be a safe space to post comments on the oilers and debate using facts and stats – not name calling. Unless someone is deliberately trolling the site, which I don’t think he was, then they are entitled to their opinion.
No, not a troll. Didn’t even think it was a negative Connor comment. Just a pro Leon one expanding on Lenny’s. I extrapolated but obviously some posters only read what they want to.
I don’t even think it’s a bad take to want to sell McDavid high since he didn’t extend for 8. Only reason I post these things is because no one else does.
Living away from Edmonton the last 20 years, most fans here don’t think this take is very extreme.
Whatever, linemates. You know what I meant. Don’t be a dick.
I’m not questioning his importance to the team.
I don’t think Hyman becomes a 50 goal scorer on a line with Auston Matthews. McDavid did that. Maroon doesn’t score 20+ goals. RNH never hits 100 points.
I’m not sure that every player benefits to the same degree when playing with Connor, and you can’t put some small talentless shrub of a player on his line (e.g. Rattie) and expect fireworks, but he can certainly raise the play of these mediocre players.
What we’ve come to learn is that to maximize McDavid, he has to play with really good players, otherwise, he tends to revert to trying to do too much himself, if he doesn’t trust that passing the puck to his linemates won’t end up in a loss of possession.
He might of on a line with Marner.
All of those are good players without McDavid. McDavid needs certain players. Draisaitl doesn’t. This was a Leon praising post, not a McDavid bashing one.
Why did Kahun not pot 50 goals?
Why did Arvidsson not score 50 goals?
Why did Mangiapane not score 50 goals?
Damn you Leon!
Ok , never mind.
No it’s that when you have really good players you play them together and the results are insane.
Like McDavid is going to pass Crosby and Malkin like posts on the side of the road for career points. Cups is still to be written but in NHL hardware Sidney isn’t in the same ballpark as Connor.
That’s why the whole premise is dumb. It’s detached from reality. McDavid’s results are trailing only Wayne Gretzky right now. Gretzky played with like 12 hall of famers. It’s obtuse to pretend this wasn’t the case. Lemieux played with the second highest scorer of all time. And the 2nd highest scoring defenseman.
You aren’t being smart or edgy by suggesting McDavid is mediocre. It’s a dumb idea. It’s on its face dumb. It should be mocked as such. Objectively dumb.
Doesn’t deserve players that he identified and obtained when others didn’t.
Does Zito get credit for Forsling?
Tulski for Brandon Bussi?
Francis for Tolvanen?
Just a few examples.
Kind of the point. Every gm, good or bad has a list of players that broke through.
Wait, what now?
Bowman doesn’t credit for Podkolzin as he was a free player…. what now? That’s the most non-sensical think I’ve read since the opinion that McDavid is a bad leader because of his next contract because its not 8 years. I don’t know how the Podz trade talks went but I’m pretty sure Alvin didn’t call up Bowman and ask if he wanted Podkolzin for a 4th round draft pick. If credit isn’t given for that trade that no GM gets credit for anything.
Kapanen was claimed by the Oilers after MANY teams passed on him and, also, Kap was a player management had tareted and wanted to acquire before they got the opportunity.
Good Grief.
This is satire.
I’m glad we won last night. But let’s hear it for less entertainment and more blowouts by the good guys. I way, way prefer that. Easier on the ticker
I just want to thank you LT, for all you do here and for Oiler fans in general. There are all kinds of personalities on this blog and you’ve provided a space for everyone. I hope the team has another long run into June again with the best results this time!
If the team can’t solve the swarm 2, 29, 97 system organically, the 97-29 combo is going to get some time, I think. Can’t flood all three with pressure.
Not an ideal outcome, but it’ll partly be a response to 97 not being the same player without an outlet capable of taking the bodies of him. Gretzky would find the open man but McDavid plays a very different game built on speed and quick movement in the open ice. Part of 29’s value is naturally buying him that open ice.
The pplay with Drai relatively static is a great example of why the sum is greater than the parts.
They seem to have gameplanned specifically for McDavid, not surprisingly. Basically every time he tries to bring the ouck over the blue line there’s 3 guys lined up to shut him down. I don’t know what the answer is, I’m assuming either finding a way to get it to someone else coming through the neutral zone or maybe just dumping amd chasing. Constantly trying to break a 1 on 3 is a losing proposition, even for McDavid. That said, Draisaitl showed that breaking a 1 on 2 isn’t impossible, so maybe McDavid just needs to ask him for some pointers
Chip and charge, indeed. Hyman can get there and cause disruption, with Savoie as F2 and 97 F3 high covering a lot of ice. Better odds of OZ possession than McD going 1 on 3… also less chance of a dangerous counter-attack.
It was 1 game my guy, this team adjusts. KK spot deployed them together but stuck to the spine and was rewarded with a great L2 and L3 when L1 wasn’t jiving.
We’ve been begging for that for exactly 1 forever. It was real and spectacular. We won without 97, that’s gotta be terrifying for the opponent no?
Exactly – McDavid needs to figure it out on his own; there is no need to blend the other lines that are working and generating offence, just to accommodate him. He was doing just fine generating offence without Leo for the past 14 games. There’s no need to panic just cause the puck was dancing on Connor’s stick like it usually does. Even generational players have an off night.
It has to play in the Ducks thinking, absolutely. And, we can all rest assured 97 will sort out what went wrong – especially the three man swarm – and find creative ways to capitalize on it without needing to adjust the entire game plan. The three man swarm is “cute”, but if repeated, it will backfire on the Ducks
A few notes from last night.
All the Oiler’s learned something about the Ducks, still won the game and will now dominate ALL THREE periods on Wednesday.
The eye test was pretty poor on Nurse for me. Him and Murphy defend well, but I noticed a couple times where Nurse exited the zone with possession, failed to hit his man with a clean pass, retreated with the puck, made a D to D pass to Murphy off the boards behind the net at the first sign of pressure, the forechecker gets to murphy and ties it up, and all of a sudden Anaheim is set up in our zone. There’s got to be a better play than the bounce off the boards, but it still seems to be the go-to reaction for him and it kills possession most of the time.
Not a Nurse hater, he transported the puck very well and had some nice looks on net, I just see his inability to make the first pass or handle the forecheck as glaring weaknesses that other teams will capitalize on.
Exactly what I saw. His poor decisions got the team hemmed in at least twice when a clear should of happened.
The Oilers took a game to reintegrate three guys (Hyman against Van doesn’t really count), Bouch had a rough 7 minutes and they still held the edge in all the metrics that matter.
The Ducks aren’t that good. Like Vancouver two years ago they are popgun on offense so you have to watch your P’s and Q’s, but they easily get hemmed in. They make mistakes, they don’t cover well, they have a hard time maintaining through the neutral zone. Entertaining but not that good.
And they took an absolute beating last night. Troy Terry got crunched at least five times by my count, same to be said for McTavish, Killorn, Carlson, Hines, Mintyukov, Gudas, all got ran and ran and ran.
McDavid will be just peachy next game. Nuge needs to wake up or he’s playing in a new town next fall. Getting tired of him sucking the life out of everyone he plays with the last two months.
I would say that game also reintegrated Ingram into what the playoffs are like. He looked off, and I wonder if it’s because he was nervous about getting his first playoff game win.
Ingram made some clutch saves to preserve the win in the final minutes.
Absolutely. I’m not saying he was bad, just that he was looking like he was overplaying at times as finn_fann pointed out.
I agree with you. Ingram made great saves off the first shot, but it seemed like he was overplaying them. As long as we clean up all the rebounds it’s ok, but hopefully he settles in a bit more
Nuge needs to bury the open net that he missed on. I would like to see more shots from the point take away Dostal eyes.
Anyone wanna take one guess who’s dead last in goals saved above expected?
https://x.com/moneypuckdotcom/status/2046560359293599960?s=46
Ron Tugnut
Darren puppa
Rrrrrred Light Racicot!
Want to hear the flip side of that coin? From Dan Kingerski, a Penguins beat writer and columnist:
And
https://pittsburghhockeynow.com/3-pittsburgh-penguins-thoughts-playoff-effects-on-future-goaltender-decision/
Until the day he faces the Oilers for the final I am going to be happy for whatever success Stew manages to create for himself in Pittsburgh. If only that slouch Crosby would start buckling the twine at the other end and take advantage of the great goaltending he’s playing in front of.
I don’t need a beat writer to give me the eye test.
Suffered through that in Edmonton the last 2.5 years
You offered one perspective, I offered another.
The Flyers 2nd goal last night was largely due to Pittsburgh doing… whatever this is:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NHLcirclejerk/s/JUkrZmXMWR
That needs to be watched with the Benny Hill theme song😂
All that matters are wins.
Unfortunately, the correct answer is…Ron Low. The coach who helped our plucky pre-salary-cap teams upset Dallas and Colorado.
McDavid should have a coach in his face with video, showing how the Ducks were sending 3 defenders as soon as he entered the zone, and how badly he handled it.
They are vulnerable because of this – McDavid really only has to beat one man or make a pass to a by-definition open teammate…but he can’t stop up or slow down like he’s used to.
A little alarming that this adjustment wasn’t made by anyone in-game.
I would to see him buttonhook and find Bouchard-EkholmWalman coming in late with a blast with Hyman-Savoie can be a human vacuum.
Should be a winger or 2 uncovered as well. He will adjust and put the puck in some open ice to have someone skate onto it.
Good grief.
McDavid knows this and I would think he would be able to adjust without specific video and teaching, no?
He has had all season but seems to try to take them all on by himself most of the time
He also ran away with the Art Ross while apparently being a lesser version of himself.
and ended up with close to 140 points.
So why does he keep doing it then if he knows and is able to adjust?
No, he did the same thing against the Panthers. He has a tendency to try to overdo it in big games. It’s like Hero Ball in the NBA. When it works, you are on Sportscenter. When it doesn’t, you’re completely ineffective.
Curlock predicted the game in his tactical preview. I commented that the Oilers struggle with puck pressure, and haven’t found a way to beat it other than stretch passes. They fall apart and make the other team look like contenders no matter who it is. The Ducks are talented, but they have plenty of wobble in their game
It bugs me that Knoblauch hasn’t found an answer for a team this veteran and skilled to their one achilles heel. Or maybe that he can’t coach them into doing what they need to. When you watch other games, other good teams don’t have as much trouble dealing with high puck pressure or aggressive fore checks. They can break out. The Oilers make things look hard
Who specifically is good at breaking out against a suffocating forecheck?
Literally no team has beaten that the last 2 years so wondering where all these other teams have been hiding.
They dominated the first, got dominated the 2nd, did enough in the 3rd (against an egregious 4 back Anaheim trap, Cali teams man).
“The Oilers make things look hard” That they do, but listen to every Oiler player and coach say yeah, this team is pretty damn good. They were highly complimentary before the series began. I think we should be too, despite the goading of 1 guy.
Many games I watch. A lot goes into whether a team wins or not, so that the panthers won 2 Cups is irrelevant to my point. For example the Hurricanes have been at the mercy of goaltending and a lack of top end finishers for years, team play hasn’t been a big issue
The Ducks have talent. They also aren’t a hard fore checking team, as Curlock pointed out they run a 1-2-2 which is more about clogging the neutral zone. They do pressure the puck carrier and try to outnumber at times. The Oilers struggle with that more than they should as I see it
Your mileage may vary, but to me when you have 3 world class players, one an all time player right now, it’s not the same as a being regular team. You have a massive advantage. Like the 80’s team, who beat some really good teams with good and great players, but not Gretzky and Messier. To me they haven’t been able to capitalize on it as they might
You didn’t answer his question. You talked around it. What does Carolina have to do with anything?
Why when pressed do you never actual respond to what’s being asked?
I don’t know what your problem is, but saying I never respond to what’s being asked, me with the often wall of text comments and responses, is rich
I’m not trying to antagonize at all but the Panthers had the best forecheck in the league and rode it to 2 cups. How is that not relevant to you saying other teams don’t have trouble dealing with pressure? It is what actual real examples of champions have. Should I have said puck pressure? Split the hairs it’s the same thing just add zones.
If all these teams could easily deal with the cup champion’s high pressure, they would have. Carolina does the same thing to great success. The best teams make you make mistakes. The best way to do that is take away your time. That is the foundation of hockey. Knoblauch can’t think faster for them, I really don’t believe this is on him. If they fail to adjust (they didn’t last game) then blame him all you want.
I made a generalized comment. I didn’t feel like deeply engaging a cross examination
“don’t have as much trouble dealing with high puck pressure or aggressive fore checks”
I think you may have exaggerated what I said. Simply put, I would like to see the Oilers get to a place where they deal with it ‘better’. They still don’t as I see it, and to me that would seem to be kind of a core part of the coaches job, to strategize for it, right? Tactics? Maybe we’ll see an adjustment, but Knoblauch didn’t seem to have the answer last finals, even LT pointed it out
What I was thinking about was all of the games where we read here the next day they got goalied – back ups, rookies too, or teams that are not nearly as good look like world beaters against them. Sure teams get up for the Oilers, can’t win them all, but it happens too often. It’s why they don’t finish higher. This season was probably different, I think they were mentally tired after all of the hockey and disappointments
The players not executing is part of it. But KK and his staff are responsible to have the team prepared and doing it. I fear that the plan may be wrong, and it doesn’t seem to be changing even after the two finals. What Connor said in his Cooper comment suggested that they maybe aren’t as prepared as they could be, and Ekholm also said something similar about the guys knowing what to do
We may view what the team is differently. I don’t see them as a regular top end team, because of who they have, as I said. I felt the same about the Pens when they were in prime. My expectations are higher for this group of players, as are the team’s leaders
Did you notice that the Ducks changed things up in the second period.
They adopted a much harder forecheck in the Oilers zone and it worked.
After being outshot 14-4 in the first, they began to send multiple forecheckers into the zone and created numerous turnovers resulting in a total of 17 Oiler giveaways.
The shot clock also turned as the Ducks outshot the Oilers 25-20 in the final 2 periods.
Who won?
He does make a valid point. The ducks got eviscerated sitting back in the first, and then started to be much more active on the forecheck. Even Jack and Louie pointed it out.
That said, I believe a good chunk of it was also score effects and the oilers thenselves getting complacent and sitting back. I would assume they will have a plan for that next game, but it does seem like our D outside of 14, 2 and 96 struggle to get past the forecheck.
He doesn’t make points. That’s the point. There is no truthful intention, it’s what will cause the most negative reaction.
Either have fun with him or ignore him but don’t take it seriously.
I think the Ducks adjusted, that’s about it. They have a good team and a good coach.
It really is the human condition to remember negative more. The third period happened, they broke the 4 man trap then had L2 make another great play to take the win. That was a good playoff game where they got punched back and figured it out.
Eh, I know HH is a troll, but most of what he said in that post is not untrue. The oilers struggled against Anaheim once they switched to a more aggressive forecheck. I expect them to continue the more aggressive play next game. We had better figure out how to deal with it, because Colorado, Dallas and Minnie will all use the same tactics – specifically, I imagine they will target the Nurse/Murphy pair and likely try to isolate Emberson, who isn’t as strong of a puck mover. If they can’t figure out how to either shelter those guys or provide better puck support before jailbreaking the other way, then it’s going to get tougher imo.
That said, I don’t agree with the original post that the Oilers can’t handle it. They can obviously figure it out, as they looked excellent against Vegas and Dallas last year. I’m interested in watching for how the Oilers adapt this year with their current personnel, as I do agree that this is the key to this team going anywhere in the playoffs this year.
2/10
Lmao. Reminds me of winning 2015 lottery – DSF says they can’t afford to keep everyone now!!
Come troll after losses you wet napkin. No one cares.
The Ducks were outscored 2-0 in the third period.
Great write-up LT, and really great commentary overall this morning.
What worried me a bit yesterday was how pre-game and period 1, the building and the team were electric. The fans were loud, the team was crashing and banging, it felt like the game could have been a runaway.
That quick goal in the second not only seemed to deflate the team, but the building too. By the time it was 2-2, which is still a tie game, the building came across like a library on TV and the team stopped skating, crashing and banging.
It was like the whole city collectively just puckered up with anxiety and the fans and players were holding their breath thinking “here we go again”. It wasn’t until the third when the team seemed to loosen up a bit again, the fans got back into it, and bang – we walk away with the W.
I am glad the team pulled out the win and reminded themselves (and our fans) that they have historically proven to be a VERY resilient team. They are never out of it.
I noticed this too. Hear me out. Look at it from a fan watching this year’s Oilers. The team hasn’t been consistent this year, except in small doses, leading to doubts about resiliency. Maybe last night’s win, and how they won, will be the start of some confidence in the team’s resiliency….
Oh, I don’t blame the fans one bit. You should have heard me cursing at the TV in the second period… lol.
We need 15 more wins either Ingram or Jarry need to go on a heater. Edmonton is hard on Goalies but it’s not a graveyard. Maybe Ingram will thrive and feed off the crowd. This is a life changing moment he’s in a contract year adding his name on the Cup would look so good on his resume. .
Ingram provided the goaltending last night that the team needs to win the cup.
Duck are going to come out next game and try to run & gun with their youthful exuberance, which was how they found some success in their dominant second period. Oilers know all about that style of play because they’ve been their themselves.
I agree. What i don’t think thoes fans got is the team fuels off them when they aren’t winning. It’s fun to cheer when they’re winning but the home advantage is to cheer when they’re losing. If the fans believe, the players believe. It’s been said countless times.
Monday nights are tough tho.
Well there you go IMO Nurse & Murphy didn’t have a very good game. Nurse seemed to be trying to do too much & Murphy was having trouble with the speed of the Ducks. Walman &
Emberson were great IMO.
With the puck? Not good. Not a good penalty either. The defensive side, with some luck, and it all worked out. I think people aren’t giving these young Anaheim players enough credit.
Yes, both good takes. The young Anaheim players are a handful. Like being in a daycare with 20 toddlers scurrying about. Fast, chaotic and unpredictable. Count me out on that being a penalty that should be called, especially in a playoff game. How many times did the Panthers get away with that, or if you watched the Sens/Canes game last night (an excellent tilt), tons of that going on uncalled. Oh well…..officiating is what it is, accept and move on
With a little puck luck, Sennecke could have scored 2 or 3.
He generated 6 SOG while Carlsson had 10 to go along with 1G 1A.
With alil puck luck McDavid could of had 10 points.
With a little puck luck, Draisaitl could have scored 2. With a little puck luck, Podkolzin could have scored. With a little puck luck, Ingram could have scored.
How are your Dys doing again?
Oilers need to make the Ducks defend. Which they did in the first & second periods.
I meant the 1st & 3rd periods.
Good win, but a few things to fix for Wednesday. Hopefully the coaching staff makes the right adjustments.
I wasn’t able to watch the Flyer game how was Skinner? We all watched Vladar and knew he was solid goalie that just needed an opportunity. I think Bowman was going to pull the trigger in the Summer but with Skinner dropping 15-20 and working on his lateral movement he gave both Skinner-Pickard another shot at the Cup with the Oil.
The Flyers are up 2-0 so I could imagine Skinner isn’t making the tough saves.
Skinner is playing very well. The Pens have wasted a fantastic couple of games from him, he has been their best player.
That’s what I’ve read in the Pittsburg press. They’ve been very appreciative of him all season. Given that so much of the position is a confidence game, I’m curious to see how he responds. Tocchet’s Flyers are on a mission.
I guess it’s how look at it. But the Pens lost the first game 3-2 in what could be called a goalie battle and were shutout in the second game. I’m sure Skinner is playing well, it’s just that Vladar is playing better.
Skinner is playing well/ok but also let in a goal with just under 3 minutes left in the first game when it was 2-1 philly by waving at it with his slow moving glove hand. First game wasnt his best 3/17 .850. Same ole, same ole.
In saying that Pitt looks out of sync over all and especially on the pp, they are going to get beat out quick if they don’t get their act together.
I think Bowman gave the two very well liked team mates the chance to redeem themselves. It would have been a pretty hard move to do anything in the summer after making the finals. They didn’t and he replaced them
No Goalie in the Oilers franchise history was given as much rope as Skinner.
The Oilers had no alternative. Yet Stu, while being paid like a backup…i.e. an extreme value contract, took then to two Cup finals.
Pickard is as equally responsible, the guy that the Oilers would put in when Stu would have mid series liquid farts.
Pairing Stu, a high ceiling/low floor guy with Ingram, a high floor guy woukd have been awesome.
It might have been ok if Skinner was backing up Ingram.
Jake Walman having his best game of the season – what a great arrow. I though Emberson made some subtle and skilled plays with the puck in transition – he’s growing and developing still.
Kudos to the coach for giving McDavid/Drai some shift together in the 3rd period but not going with it full time and keeping the regular lines (with some tweaks) flowing.
I thought Savoie, while being quiet, did have a solid game – he made some subtle plays with the puck to get it to McDavid with speed and extended some plays in the offensive zone. I hope they go back to how they started – Nuge wasn’t good on the 1st or 3rd line and its been a LONG time since he was playing good hockey – a bad arrow.
Drai is magnificent and was able to be part hero while not being near his top level – bad games from McDavid, Bouchard, Nuge, Ekholm and the Oilers still win – that’s a big up arrow.
Yeah that’s almost never happened. Credit to this GM.
With Rico getting injured it took Dach & Freddy out of the game somewhat. If Henrique can’t rezoom, than I expect Samanski to jump into the fold. His youthful exuberance might be the tonic against this energetic Duck quad.
Sam has been playing well. Depth is a great thing after years of not enough
I’m looking forward to it!
If McDavid line is quiet, but Draisaitl line is bludgeoning their opponents, I don’t see a problem with it. That’s the entire point of those guys driving their own separate lines isn’t it? Makes the Ducks adjust to try and shut down Draisaitl more, and then things open up for McDavid line to create carnage. All the while riding the depth of the bottom six to at least keep an even slate. Maybe I’m missing something here, but isn’t this current roster dead center level on the elusive “Balance Photo?” There’s no need to panic just because McDavid’s line had a quiet night, because we all know that dam will break on it’s own eventually and he’ll post the easiest looking 3 point night ever. Mind you, I fell asleep at 1:00am on the east coast, which was prior to the third period puck drop.
A win is a win. 15 to go!
Ducks looked to be trying to play defense in the first with bad results. The second saw them taking it to the Oilers, then in the third they got caught trying to defend their lead but couldn’t. Oiler special teams weren’t too special on the night, otherwise the score might have been slightly more lobsided in Edmonton favor.
Don’t go into prevent defence with the Oilers in the playoffs – just ask the Kings. But I was getting the feeling it was working, until Gudas fell and the Oilers scored…..the Oilers didn’t seem to have the jump until then
First game all year Oilers have won where McDavid doesn’t have a point.
He needs to stop forcing it but IT’S A TRAP, I get it.
Oilers win with 97 & 2 looking bad, now that’s refreshing.
‘Happy learned how to putt. Uh ohhh’
Joel Queeneville along with Woody are swarming Connor-Evan-Leon the boys need the grunts who have open ice to do their thing.
This is why I have been saying for ages that they have to learn how to use that against the other team. If you are double teamed someone is open. Gretzky killed the opp getting the puck to those players. Trying to force impossible plays leads to bad things and takes the line mates out of the game
Nuge does not deserve to get promoted. He has been very poor lately. Hope it’s just an injury and not falling off a cliff
Savoie didn’t get enough done in his first playoff game, coach might want to add a veteran. It sure as hell isn’t Roslovic, and the danger is Knoblauch decides the answer is Leon. Nuge isn’t on a line that plays to his strengths currently, I can see the coach making that move.
Problem is Savoie Dickinson Roslovic is a problem
That looks like a line that would take on a lot of water
I think it’ll be Lazar getting the nod for next game Frederic-Lazar Dach. I’m already sick of Jack-Louie-Hrudey-MacLean-Beiska going in and on like the Ducks 4th line is the 2nd coming of the French Connection
There’s no way theyre dressing Lazar over Samanski with the Patty Dach supremacy.
I don’t like to pick on Nuge but hasn’t it been some time since he’s stirred a drink at 5v5?
26 EVP for the entire season.
Ranked #205 in the league.
Who cares? Its the playoffs.
An 82 game sample size is far more informative.
Nuge -9
Kadri -30
How many games did Nuge play for the hapless Flames?
Kadri played 61 and was -27 in those games.
So he’s been a -3 with the Avalanche which over 82 would be a -15.. sheesh.
Kadri of course being signed and spotted in as the Flames premier player, which he lead to being “hapless”
Paid nearly 2 million more per hapless season.
Lol
So, minus 3 on the best team in the league and not producing at 5 on 5?
Yikes.
“How many games did Nuge play for the hapless Flames?”
What do you mean by hapless Flames? You have been saying they would be challenging the Oilers for a playoff spot for years, even after Tkachuk and Gaudreau bailed. Zayne Parekh was supposed to have a Norris and Calder this year and Dustin Wolf was supposed to be shutting everyone out.
82 game sample size showed the Ducks have an uncanny ability to come back from a 2 goal deficit and win. How did that work out for them last night?
Pretty well actually.
They were down 2-0 but came back to take a 3-2 lead.
Hell, even the Edmonton broadcast crew was gushing about the Ducks ability to never be out of a game.
“They were down 2-0 but came back to take a 3-2 lead.”
Then what happened? And how many times did that happen to them in the 82 regular season sample size?
Only when it suits your narrative
what was John Druce’s EVP in the 1989/90 regular season?
answer: no one cares.
Kadri 29 EVP in 77 games
Nuge 26 EVP in 72 games
How can this be?!
I think they should stick with the same line combos. Afterall they still managed the victory. They just need to clean up the turnovers and get their puck possesion game going for three periods, make them defend. They let the Ducks back in the game last night giving them a sense of belief. Oilers need to take that belief away ASAP.
Its not about “promotion” its about trying to find lines that work.
Did Kap deserve to be promoted to the 2nd line prior to last night. I would say Kap and Nuge were likely the two most disappointing players over the last month.
I go back to Savoie at 1LW tomorrow but “deserve” doesn’t factor in at this point.
That top line of Savoie-McDavid-Hyman works, so does that fourth line of Dach-Samanski-Freddy. The other two lines did all the scoring in game one, so they work.
They have four lines that work. Keep it simple.
I’m with you, Samanski in for Rico and top 2 lines get another chance.
Great to get the win. Game was so typical Oilers. Get up early, think it’s going to be easy and everyone wants to score so they get lazy, start cheating.
The play of the entire 1st line was disappointing. Awesome that lines 2 and 3 stepped up.
Can’t wait for Wednesday!
3 Stars Dickerson-Kapanen-Walman honourable mention to Podkolzin as well as Ekholm who had the original tricky shot on the 3-3 goal. Ekholm was also a hero saving a goal on the Granlund shot with 14 seconds remaining.
Nothing for Leon? Jesus, that’s a swing and a miss by the people naming the three stars.
Leon busting through the Ducks D reminded me of Frank-Pete Mahovlich. I also had a flashback of Glenn Anderson when Leon’s arms were flailing. Leon getting 2 points after being out so long was impressive but not surprising. I’m so glad we have Leon for another 7 years and maybe longer. Leon is a lifer he’ll finish his playing career in Edmonton and then he’ll transition into Coach then G.M.
That was my favorite play that whole game. Magnificent.
As I watched it, I thought he was just going to run through whoever was in front of him as he was getting frustrated…. as the Oilers barely had a pulse, or at least it seemed they had been lulled into a trance of sorts by the Ducks prevent D….it was a cool feeling watching it, as I was wondering, who is going to wake them up….well Big Leon did
Ahhh… You had me at Pete. Just got my new good luck charm: Habs #20 jersey, currently being animated by Slafkovsky, but heavily imbued with Little M vibes. Wore it last night.
LFG Oilers!
Go Habs go!
Oh Canada!
Habs-Oilers final Booook it……. By the time we get to the final will have enough injuries that the black ace Iceman will have inserted. The 2 Hobey Baker winners will be going toe-to-toe.
They won the game with 97 doing too much (and therefore doing nothing) and Bouch getting pinched a couple times.
Can’t wait to see the adjustments. Depth!
Samanski, knock knock.
What a strange game. Some stunningly good performances and then a bunch that “fail” vs expectations.
I thought all of the wingers were bad-to-awful except Podz and Kap who were beyond good. Hyman stunk. Nuge stunk. Savoie was invisible. Roslovic did nothing. Dach was very quiet. Freddy was louder but loses so many puck battles.
At center, McDavid was ghastly. Leon was excellent. Dickinson, I mean c’mon. I wasn’t expecting two goals this playoffs. Rico hurt.
On defense Bouchard stunk. Walman was other worldly. Nurse was very good but dumb. Murphy got walked but was ok. Ekholm was solid but also got walked a bit. Emberson hardly played IiRC.
So it honestly depends on how you look at it.
Oilers got 4 goals from Dickie and Kapi and barely won vs Oilers got nothing from97/2/93/22/18 and still won.
Dach did have 8 hits in 8 minutes…..
It is about the top line figuring out how to break the neutral zone trap, instead of trying to beat them with a rush. 97 was as guilty of that as anyone, which is why he was unsuccessful. Getting the puck deep, avoiding turnovers in mid-ice and establishing the cycle is what will bring success. Running into brick walls again and again will not.
I expect they will reflect on game one and make adjustments to be more successful in game 2.
Plus, having another strong center like Samanski will give one more line the element necessary to break down the D. I personally can’t wait to see him with Dack and Frederic causing havoc in the Duck’s end.
Happy they won but unless DIckinson is our John Druce or Kris Kontos I’m still in the trade was atrocious camp. Same with Wallman and Jarry trades.
This is it though. Last chance before we pay for Bowman’s bad deals in spades. Go Oilers.
you must be right, both Wallman and Dickinson had horrible games last night…
Not saying the did. Just that the assets are badly spent.
how are the assets badly spent if these guys perform well (or extremely well…) in the playoffs ? Isn’t that what’s all about ? Sorry but I am having trouble to understand your logic here (and particularly the word atrocious)
Because there is no long term thinking.
Take a couple firsts and a prospect, trade it for Robert Thomas or someone else who comes available.
Don’t overpay the Fredricks, Rico’s etc and you might not be waiting for Connor to leave right now.
Don’t trade your assets for replacement level or below replacement level players.
How long do banners fly in the rafters
Not sure I’m getting your point but if it’s that I will have to eat crow I will happily do so.
Doesn’t mean I will give Bowman the credit though.
Got it now. Long term thinking…the gist of the post remains the same imo.
all those ships have sailed. upshot is Oil have now reset the foundation more or less, and don’t have to be so desperate with their acquisitions moving forward.
I realize this but unless they win I will die on this hill. I will give credit when it’s due but they could still win and have a bad gm.
Robert Thomas wasn’t traded though. Neither was Binnington. Neither was anyone else worthy of multiple first round picks. Dickinson is definitely above replacement level, particularly due to his specialist toolkit.
The only player even remotely close to your description that was traded this year was Hughes, and even if we had kept every 1st round pick since 2010, we wouldn’t have had the players and resources to trade for him.
Hughes was not staying in Canada anyway, but your point is valid, we did not that assets to land him.
Examples, he may be traded in the summer. Rantanan last deadline. If they hadn’t blown their wad early on Arvidson, Skinner(barf) Henrique etc.
The facts don’t line up with what you are saying
How do? I’m obviously playing revisionist.
I’m saying that we shouldn’t have made a number of these deals when they were made and struck on a bigger fish and now we have wasted assets on plugs or replacement level players like Walman and Dickinson.
Management wasting assets made it impossible to make good moves on bigger fish. Rantanan if you want a different example.
We know what you’re trying to say. There’s no reason to explain yourself.
Seems like there is. I just want to make sure Bowman gets the blame when the mess is obvious to all.
There is no world where the 31st overall pick traded for Jake Walman signed for under $4MM for another year is a bad trade – no world.
Yes, we know, unless Robert Thomas is coming back (apparently half retained to fit him in), the 24-32 draft pick is off limits, right?
The Oil’s have an awful tendency, and it’s mind blowing they still do this both within a game and or witthin a season (ie mulitiple games..)
play great and structured then get success, then decide oh, it’s going to be easy, let’s skill it up, get some poitns have some fun. That generally means the LONG stretch passes, having too many players above the puck; too many leaving zone. Inevitably this leads to icings or dzone turnovers, and quick strike goals as a result. It’s truly maddening they can’t get this out of their game.
Overall though solid game. It’s clear the Ducks gameplan was to outnumber McDavid everywhere, and it kinda worked. I’m sure 97 will figure it out, but overall, I think the Oil are fortunate for the win. Also need to figure out how to handle Ducks 4th line, which was an issue all night for the Oilers.
The Ducks are a problem already and will be for the next 10 years if they can pay everyone and keep insulating them with some vets.
They will have zero issues paying everyone since their cap situation is extremely tidy.
Granlund has another 2 years left while Kreider and Killorn have one more season.
They will have to make some decisions on D with all of Trouba, Gudas and J. Carlson on expiring deals but the Ducks have an embarrassment of riches in young. almost ready for primetime D prospects.
They just need to add Nurse to settle things on their back end. Shouldn’t cost them more than a top prospect.
I expect all of Carlson, Trouba and perhaps Gudas to return on short term deals.
With LaCombe already locked up at 1LD until 2034, I expect the priority will be to find a long term solution at 1RD.
They have 3 internal candidates along with Trouba and Carlson in the interim.
Pavel Mintyukov is already set at 2LD so Darnell Nurse need not apply.
The Kings also had an embarrassment of riches in young, almost ready for primetime prospects. So did New Jersey (still do), but it’s getting closer to them not realizing all of that potential with a Stanley Cup. It’s not as simple as having the prospects, or even having prospects who become NHL regulars.
Ya, we mentioned that to him yesterday – the list of 8-10 “blue-chip prospects” he listed, not a single one has lived up to his projection, including Quinton Byfield.
He somehow cited Rob Blake being the issue when, in reality, it was him over-rating everything non-Oiler.
Brandt Clarke, Alex Laferriere, Samuel Helenius and Jacob Moverare say hi.
The last player to be drafted and developed by the Oilers that is on the current roster is none other than Evan Bouchard who was drafted EIGHT years ago.
How is Tyler Benson working out?
You gilded his lily for years.
Did you serious just cite a 9-point forward as a blue chip prospect that has met his projection? Really? Like seriously.
Are you noting.a career high 44 point player as a blue-chipper the has met the projection – I note that Matt Savoie was in the range in his rookie season 21 years old for half then 22.
I’ll give you Brandt Clark (although not quite the Norris level projected).
What in the world does the Oilers history of prospects have to do with this? Nothing. No-one here was citing a long list of “blue chip” prospects including me and including Tyler Benson.
Trying to validate your failed position with a straw man is almost as funny as trying to validate it with Samuel Helenius.
Of those 4 you mentioned, only Clarke comes close to being an above replacement level player. Unless he takes another step forward, Laferriere is comparable to Roslovic – a good supporting player, but relatively easily replaceable.
The comparisons between the Oilers and the Kings prospects are apples to oranges. Over the past 10 years, the Oilers truly had/have core pieces to be a Stanley Cup contender, which allowed/allows the Oilers to move on from prospects and picks in pursuit of players who could/can help immediately (rightly or wrongly). Meanwhile, the Kings do/did not because their window closed after the 2015-16 season. It has never really opened again, and it is not on track to open any time soon. The Oilers’ window to the Stanley Cup is open.
Going back to the 2011 draft, the Kings drafted and developed (development is a tricky concept because how much say does the NHL team really have on a junior aged player, an US college player, or a player in an European/Russian league?) the following “successful” players using Lowetide’s choice of 100 GP (I’m only including players who played at least 100 GP for the Kings):
Compare this to the Oilers “successful” players over that same time frame:
It should be mentioned that the development of Philip Broberg (2019) and Dylan Holloway (2020) was done in the Oilers’ system. They popped as soon as they were given feature rolls which they weren’t really going to get (yet) with the Oilers.
Which group would you rather have?
Of course, it’s not easy but suggesting they can’t afford to pay them is patent nonsense.
The Ducks have already integrated Jackson LaCombe, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke, Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov, Tim Washe and Ian Moore from their recent drafts.
Are you of the opinion they don’t know what they’re doing with drafting and developing young players?
As for the Kings…Rob Blake succumbed to ownership pressure and spit the bit with the PLD trade.
“It’s worth noting” that for Mason McTavish, you have been saying for years he was poised to take leaps forward. Yet, he was healthy scratched this season, and producing less this year compared to previous years, despite being on a better Ducks team.
It’s almost as if young talented players aren’t guaranteed to trend upwards each year, which you don’t seem to realize yet.
“Are you of the opinion they don’t know what they’re doing with drafting and developing young players?”
I remember when Ty Smith started playing on the Devils, and you said he was projected to put up 60 points or something over a whole 82 game season while asking “Do you think they are screwing up his development?”
You never learn, do you?
Oh noes!!!
Mason McTavish has played the 5th most NHL games of any payer from the 2021 draft, scored the 4th most goals, the 4th most points and would be even higher if Dallas had not hit another home run picking Wyatt Johnson 22nd overall right after the Oilers drafted the immortal Xavier Bourgault.
How is he doing anyway?
Why does it matter how Bourgault is doing or how the Oilers are drafting and developing? You were praising the TBL approach to building teams which is to use picks (lottery tickets) to acquire younger, developed talent from other teams which is what the Oilers have been doing.
Or did you sour on that approach after TBL traded a ransom for Tanner Jeannot who turned into a big flop for them after you proudly and loudly defended their trade?
His multiple straw man arguments, by brining up Oilers drafting failures when no-one has expressed success in the area, is amazing.
The energy and time that goes into responding to this clown is mind blowing.
I don’t think paying them all is going to be as easy as you seem to think it is. Four players are RFA after next season: Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger. They will chew up a lot of the available cap. How likely is it that any of them are willing to sign for less than the $7 million that McTavish is making? How likely is it that any of them will sign long-term at a team friendly number when they know the cap is going up over the next few years?
On top of that, they will need to fill out their roster. As the salary cap goes up, so do the salaries of pretty much every player. The percentage of a player’s salary at every price point compared to the team’s payroll is likely to stay about the same regardless of what the cap is.
I’m not suggesting the Ducks don’t know what they are doing with drafting and developing, but I am suggesting that prospects and young guns don’t always continuously improve. They can be wildly inconsistent. They can hit a wall. They can be hit by injuries. They can be susceptible to being trade bait for a player that ends up being a bad fit. They can be poorly supported by veteran players that sets their progress back. Many other possibilities exist that result in all the potential not being realized in a Stanley Cup.
Ducks owned the puck during the second period. Oilers can’t score if they don’t have the puck. Oilers need to own the puck and score. Oilers score two in the first and two in the third, Ducks scored three in the second. Go figure.