I think you have to give it 20 games for coach Mike Babcock to figure out the roster. He sent for Josh Samanski this morning and we could see more changes in the days to come. Please read this.
This was predictable. Why? Two reasons. First, Samanski is one of the four best centers on the team. Second, because the Oilers estimates on injured players returning is as reliable as public restroom hands-free soap dispensers. Nuge is on IR today, Matt Savoie and Alec Regula on LTIR. Should have been the case for Game 1, but Babcock is still figuring out the roster. How long will it take? Who knows? Pat Quinn never did figure it out.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN OCTOBER
- At home to: Vancouver (Expected 1-0) Actual 0-0-1
- On the road: Vancouver (Expected 1-0)
- At home to: Seattle (Expected 1-0)
- On the road to: Anaheim, San Jose, Los Angeles (1-1-1)
- At home to: Mammoth (1-0)
- On the road to: Mammoth (0-1)
- At home to: Minnesota, Carolina, Toronto, Detroit, Calgary (3-2)
- On the road to: New York Islanders (1-0)
- Expected Record: 9-4-1, 19 points in 14 games
- Actual Record: 0-0-1, one point in one game
Based on the team’s schedule, my estimates are completely reasonable. Based on the Game 1 performance, a 7-6-1 month might be a better prediction. I expect we will see a more organized team this evening, but who knows?
The thing I keep coming back to over the last few days is the team’s handling of the center position. This should be an area of strength. If you run Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jason Dickinson up the middle, that’s the best group in the NHL. Not close.
However, Babcock is going to run McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins, Dickinson and Dach when everyone is healthy. Why? Is this about making sure McDavid signs an extension? If so, just trade Ike Howard and a future first for a suitable winger. This season is too important for roster lollygagging. Babcock had Howard on the fourth line for Game 1, it’s going to take forever to build trust.
Shouldn’t the team be worrying about winnng hockey games? The story of playing the Glimmer Twins together should have been solved long ago. Seriously. This is the sign of an immature organization. I suspect this is ownership influencing the roster, but of course cannot offer proof.
Center is key. Here’s what Punch Imlach wrote in “Heaven and Hell in the NHL” about one of his Toronto teams: “We needed more depth everywhere but especially at center. There we had Jimmy Jones who could check but couldn’t score and wasn’t fast enough; Paul Gardner who could score but wasn’t fast enough; Walt McKechnie who could do a lot of things fairly well, except skate fast; and (Darryl) Sittler, who could score but wasn’t quite as fast as he had been, and had some bad habits, like giving away the puck too often and frequently being caught out of the play when he went in too deep.”
Babcock has an embarrassment of riches compared to old Punch, but isn’t using them correctly. I think Babcock knows better, so this must be about McDavid. It is unfortunate because the fault lies with previous management, but then again maybe Daryl Katz was impacting the roster all the way back to the beginning.
That doesn’t absolve management, of course. If you are the boss and there is someone interfering, you are not in fact the boss. It works in every relationship, be it Katz-Bowman or Ziggy-Me. Someone is the boss. It ain’t me, babe. It isn’t Bowman, either. Trade for the vet winger, Stan. Make the owner happy. I’ll get treats for Ziggy and we’ll live to fight another day.
On the Lowdown today, our feature guest will be Bagged Milk from Daily Faceoff Edmonton. The transactions today mean LTIR is being used, so there could be a change in direction. We’ll see. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.
It took Bouchard the month of October (12.3 games) to hit 8 points last season.
He coulda had two more last night with a bit more height on a couple of slot shots. That too will come.
The snubs by Armstrong and NHL writers age better by the day.
This could be a special one ladies and gents.
Appreciating the personnel gaps, but if a team can’t play prevent defence with a 6 goal lead, that’s a fail on coaching and veteran leadership. I find it a bit strange because the Oilers could do that in the playoffs, against much better teams, a few years ago.
Looking for Burce Cassidy but got the Sundance Kid?
https://www.nhl.com/oilers/video/post-raw-mike-babcock-10-01-26-6406093718112
Babcock post game
-he had some kind words for Owen Michaels
I really liked our game in the first, I liked it for half the 2nd, and then I didn’t like it at all
We know we can be way better…what I saw tonight was a group that can play right and knew what they were doing, and then I saw a group that didn’t do it
It’s going to be a very very long season.
Celebrini with 3 points tonight – but Smith also had 3 so that will surely DQ him from the Hart conversation according to our resident troll…
Remember when he said taking Bouchard over Dobson was a gaffe?
“Elite D show themselves early and Bouchard is not elite”
“expected goals”
Will be a stat oilers staff should be following closely. Not for how their goalies are performing, but how many chances they give up.
Need to button up.
Canucks had a higher expected goals this game.
Did they? On what site?
Don’t want to look at the -GSAE/60 for Levi, but early observations were juicy rebounds after reaching for many shots. It actually felt like the D was better in game 2 but every shot seemed to be an adventure. Jarry had 3 goals against on a 2 on 1 and 2 breakaways. Levi was getting beat from side to side, up high, and on rebounds from the point…
Bouchard 3-0 goals at 5 on 5 and 5-0 goal overall….
Yeah, it’s been an historical start for him.
Atta boy Babs! The boys are really playing with structure now.
Nice to see Babcock bringing back Oilers old time hockey. For some reason K.K suppressed our offence nice to see Babcock unafraid to let the boys go full throttle offensively.
Are we sure Walman’s not a forward in this economy?
He’s a forward in any economy if he can actually play that position
On a positive note:
Currently have 8 uninjured defensemen on roster!!!
Emberson in over shakir playing om his off hand probably good place to start
I wish I had turned the game off at 8-2.
I did and came back expecting a 12-3 final score, what a sad ending.
When the good Oilers show up, they are very very good.
more learnings this game. Plug one hole and another one springs up
Howard needs someone to play with that can convert his playmaking and puck carrying plus feed him for goal shots. What about Tarasenko?
I honestly forgot he was in the lineup tonight
Oilers are in LTIR and have $762,000 of cap space.
I thought injuries used to be able to help build cap space but that is clearly not the case
Just two more preseason games, right?
Before this whole saga is over, we are going to get some juicy, all time quotes out of Babcock.
When you have a dpairing engage in that level of sabotage you shouldn’t put too much stock into anything else.
Mcdavid with a teachable moment on that PK.
otherwise I’m looking forward to hearing Walman is injured and that’s why he sucks at playing hockey this season haha.
This isn’t a serious hockey team.
.750 points percentage.
It could be worse, I suppose. McDavid Draisaitl and Bouch, Ekholm, Podz have been dominant, so I am glad to at least see that people aren’t pinning this on them
Are you happy with their play?
🙂
I’ve never been more upset for 3 points out of a possible 4.
You’ve lived a sheltered life then.
So Jarry is our best goalie. Interesting.
Small sample. Lets re-evaluate in December.
WINNING UGLY
clap clap clapclapclap
Levi becomes the first goalie to allow 7 goals in a win since his ex-teammate UPL back in March.
8-2 better known as:
“The most dangerous lead in pond hockey”?
The dreaded 6 goal lead!
Four top 9 forwards out, TWENTY SEVEN combined GF/GA goals in 2 games. Two goaltenders made out of swiss cheese 3 outta 4 points and a Babcock in a pear tree. Interesting times in Oilerville as usual!
3 top 6 players and the 3C out – .750 points percentage – that’s the lead.
They scored 14 goals in two games and by my eyes the Vancouver goalies were good.
They’ve given up 13 goals in 2 games to an opponent who is expected to be battling for the basement this season. And this is with their top 2 goalies and no defensemen out with injuries.
It won’t be buried if they can replicate that points % against actual NHL competition
So after two games Oilers giving up 6.5 goals a game and have 3 out of 4 points???? Pretty sure that’s not sustainable!
Well, Vancouver isn’t on the schedule again for awhile, so you’re probably right.
Man this preseason hockey drags on.
Giving up 13 goals in 2 games to the worst team in the league is very Oilers.
Will Vancouver’s save percentage go up or down, if they pull their goalie?
We’ll owe Calgary a draft pick.
Levi making himself smaller, Van shooting high.
Well I guess it’s Jarry’s net! Crazy
Levi is pretty good at playing the puck
Not so good at stopping the puck though
Walman with a pretty decent shift there. Good to get one in!
The top pair/line are literally going to have to carry this team until forward bodies are back. But the state of the bottom 4 D/G is in serious question. These aren’t 4 terrible D, as has been suggested, but they are not playing structured and I’m not sure their strengths and weaknesses are compatible. Especially when there is a defensive D in Emberson waiting
I didn’t hate the second pair but I never want to see Makhadullin again. I’m good. Bring back Emberson.
Something, something, LHD… something, something, shouldn’t play RD.
Levi has played a grand total of (almost) 1 game in Edmonton, where he had practically zero participation for the first 40 minutes and got hung out to dry on all three Vancouver goals. Yeah the goals against in the 3rd haven’t been great, but the rest of the team forgetting how to defend post 8-3 isn’t helping at all.
I get this fanbase is tortured when it comes to goaltending, but everyone already losing their minds, piling on the new guy, and prematurely braying for an Unger call up needs to shake their head a little bit and consider where we’re at in the season.
This is not on the goalies. If the team doesn’t play defense, no goalie can save them. Well, maybe Hasek, but good luck pulling him out of retirement.
So you are saying my Go Fund Me to buy Freddie Anderson a hyperbaric chamber might be premature?
We need to get a hypnotist to convince the Oilers there’s only 20 games remaining in the season.
can I get that link, please
Goalie’s job is to handle the push back when you’re up 8-2, not to wilt and allow a team back in it.
I would love to have the G plan work. These games are not indicative of their entire body of work. But they’ve both been awful
Podzkolzin out now too? Geezuz what a start to the season
!?! Where did you hear that? He was interviewed after the game and that didn’t come up
Babcock right now “Are you really sure I don’t need to look at these guys phones?”
🤣
Podz raising his arms calling for a penalty as The puck goes right between his legs with an open net staring at him. Funny.
So how are we all liking the new Babcock defensive system?????
Becoming the coach of the Oilers is probably a lot like trying heroin for the first time. You just hope he acclimatizes to the effects of the drugs and sees past all the standard pitfalls.
On the positive side, the goalies’ save percentage has been going up all game. Started around 50%, now it’s around 66%. If this game lasted 12 periods the goalies would be near perfect by the end.
I now understand why Steve Yzerman decided he never wanted to see Jaje Walman again.
To atone for his sins, Mike Babcock has been sentenced to teach the Edmonton Oilers how to play defense.
Immoveable object meet unstoppable force.
How did the loss of Chris Pronger ensure the end of defensive competence for all time?*
* not counting that one stretch in 2024
Double digits clapclap clapclapclap
I was just about to say, Oilers only needed another 3 shots to get one in and back on track
both teams?
This game is on the verge of making me physically ill.
WTF is this crap.
Now everyone can calm the eff down.
Good Grief.
Ya, let’s calm down, it’s not like we’re playing a team that might win 20 games all year…..
Did you SEE the Oilers lineup? 1 superstar line, 3 AHL lines. At least Vancouver is fielding a lineup of NHLers, even if they aren’t great ones.
We need 10!
We might need 10……
I know right. The way this game is going I don’t feel like any lead is safe.
Game 3 Stasny- Emberson is the third pairing and Ungar starts.
Wonder if Ingram would reconsider his retirement????
In fairness to the Oilers goalies, the Oilers aren’t really giving their goaltenders a chance.
The last thing on most Oilers’ minds is playing an effective defensive game.