I wrote about goal suppression at The Athletic yesterday, and then observed it last night as the Oilers played a strong game against a fine opponent (Los Angeles Kings). It was a full 60, with some outstanding performances (Leon Draisaitl versus Trevor Moore, music!) and encouraging notes from all quarters.
The fact this game happened after a long road trip, in the middle of a schedule created by Mr. Muddle, makes this game land a little harder. Are we watching a Stanley Cup season? Hell if I know. If the Oilers do win Stanley, this is a game I’ll remember as being special.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN JANUARY
- At home to: ANA (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
- On the road to: SEA, BOS, PIT, CHI (Expected 2-1-1) (Actual 3-1-0)
- At home to: LAK (Expected 1-0-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
- On the road to: MIN, COL, VAN (Expected 1-1-1) (Actual 0-0-0)
- At home to: WAS, VAN, BUF, SEA, DET (Expected 3-2-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
- Overall expected results: 8-4-2, 18 points in 14 games
- January result: 5-1-0
- Oilers in 2024-25: 27-13-3, 57 points in 43 games
I spend some time at the beginning of each month contemplating the schedule, and don’t recall a single game that caused me more pause than the LAK versus Edmonton last night. I don’t believe they’ll use last night as a launching pad to a brilliant winning streak, the schedule is relentless and the wall awaits. Credit to this Oilers team, the group found their legs and won the day.
THE NUMBERS
Stuart Skinner had another strong game, including a couple of spectacular saves. A good night for Team Skinner. He has a (five-on-five) .920 save percentage since October 15, that ranks No. 12 among goalies who have played 750+ minutes. His trending is all good arrows since the early wobble.
Leon Draisaitl authored the game’s only goal, outracing Trevor Moore deep into a shift (the puck went in at 1:28 of his shift. Jesus, Mary and Joseph!) and finding Darnell Nurse for a great look. Today, this morning, the Edmonton Oilers are 38-20 (66 percent) at five-on-five last season with 29 on the ice. Without him? 53-62, 46 percent. Leon is 70 percent five-on-five without the captain. Maybe I’m Amazed.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had three HDSC’s last night, that’s a terrific for a player who has struggled in the game state offensively. Hopefully he finds the range soon.
Among defenders, the top pairing had a good night, and I think Darnell Nurse showed well, too. Brett Kulak has been fighting the puck lately, not in a pounding it square way (remember the 2010’s!) but more in a not being able to keep up with the pace way. I think he has played a lot of hockey, and against top competition, so the break will come at a good time for him.
Kudos to the players for matching the intensity of the Kings, who are a fine team that plays filthy. Slew foots are damned dangerous and we should be hearing about a hearing for Adrian Kempe today. His handing of Connor McDavid on one exchange was alarming and needs to be addressed. We wait.
As for McDavid, he scored a terrific goal from a Draisaitl angle for the only marker of the game. Supreme talent, I expect he’ll go on a tear in the second half of the season.
At five-on-five last night, the Oilers surrendered 10 HDSC’s, 12 overall. That’s too many. However, the structure of the team, combined with the footspeed (shocking how many Oilers looked ready after some first-period flatness) impressed the hell out of me.
This was a game I thought the Oilers would win. I did not expect 1-0 and for me, and oldtimer who still believes defense contributes heavily to championships, it was a heartening sign.
A busy day on the Lowdown, Sports 1440 from noon to 2pm. We’ll be joined by Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Scott Wheeler (both from The Athletic) to talk Oilers and Oilers prospects, respectively. We’ll also talk Toronto Bue Jays (they are in on Sasaki!) and Donovan will join me for Declanations “Hi, my name is….” as Declan Krueger stumps the panel. I’m at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section here and on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly. We can be heard at sports1440.ca; iHeartRadio, Radioplayer Canada, it’s available post-show on apple and spotify, and we tweet it out on X.
Draisaitl’s great, the way he can simply barrel around the ice followed by his hapless checker, right up until the point where he can make at least a half decent pass which 80% of the time finds the other player.
Currently, McDavid hilariously is being devalued among the brainless fans yet he’s gliding around the NHL ice like he’s taking a Sunday skate collecting flowers for his girlfriend.
Meanwhile the rest of the team has completely bought into the McDrai system.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a finer Oilers season since forever.
Condors killed off 30 second of 4 on 3 in OT – teams trades decent chances but Eagles scored on a breakaway.
Rematch tomorrow.
Petrov did not return.
Rodrigue with some big saves, one 5-alarm chance, after the Eagles tied it up – to OT!
Well what happened in OT????
Condors lost.
Thanks! Too bad.
Condors get a late PP with 3 minute left – Griffith and Dineen go back and forth across the line, then down low to Hamblin on the goal line who uses a quick jam play to give the Condors a 2-1 lead.
2 PPG.
Condors have a good road PP and, well, ZERO PP goals at home this season – wild.
Eagles tie it up quickly with the goalie pulled – low to high pass and a one-timer beats Oly blocker side.
Petrov takes a hit by Giavani Smith – was down for a long time.
Hit looked high and potentially dirty but it was viewed on the corner of the screen from distance and no replay – looked like an upward trajectory – maybe the head, maybe an elbow. Can’t say for sure.
Finally, on the fourth PP, some great puck retrieval by PP1, Griffith skates in to the slot, the d-men back in to the goalie, Savoie drifts wide and takes the pass and one-times it home from the bottom of the circles.
Solid finish by Savoie, great pass by Griffith.
1-1 in the 3rd.
Done, Knights lose to Pred in regulation.
Flames are losing to the Blues, Nucks getting pounded by the Jets and the Avs are down by a goal to the Rangers…
“In addition, for fans of advanced stats, since Dec. 5th, Hyman ranks as follows among forwards who have played at least 200 minutes at even-strength:
– 1st in Scoring Chances For Percentage (64.23 SCF%)
-2nd in High-Danger Chances For Percentage (67.96 HDCF%)
-2nd in Expected Goals For Percentage (66.31 xGF%)
-2nd in Shots For Percentage (62.86 SF%)”
That’s damn good. Includes the stint on the 3rd line.
https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-spotlight-zach-hyman-one-of-best-forwards-since-team-canada-snub?
Of the seven hockey games on the schedule here on the Left Coast (between TSN and Spirtsnet), only 3 are not blacked out due to ‘regional restrictions’. I would have bought a package of some sort if I wasn’t traveling so much this winter.
Of the blackouts, I’m not even including TSN’s coverage of Van-Wpg which would have given me the pleasure of watching the Canucks get their butts kicked on two different telecasts.
Vegas has 2 goals with only 5 shots on net vs the Preds
Im glad they called up Philip. As I mentioned earlier. This is a perfect time for a cup of coffee and give someone a break.
I think it might/should be more of a 4C audition than a cup of coffee. I think the org knows that Ryan is not a 4C in the playoffs. Philp should get a stretch here before the deadline to see if he looks ready for the role.
For fear of a jinx, over half way through the 2nd period and the Preds have as many goals as the Knight have shots – being 4.
4-1 Preds, shots 20-4…..
They were sitting at 2 shots up until the 10 minute mark. Preds with a big PK to end the second still up 2.
D’Amato will take Philp’s spot and center Perrault and Griffith.
Remember Pederson re-hurt his shoulder and Hamblin has already been elevated up.
BOOM!
I presume Josh Brown will be re-assigned or else they would have waived Ryan today, right?
Technically they don’t have to do anything else, they have over $5MM of LTIR room they can use (and can always get back out of LTIR).
Maybe they are trading Skinner
Maybe – doubt it.
I know they won’t but I’d love for them to send down Ryan and J Brown and just accrue that much more cap.
They might. Ryan is toast. One of the worst forwards on the team as far as goal share and expected goal share.
They might – I mean, the were carrying 21 healthy on the roster (only one extra) much of the season. Probably not on the road but maybe once they get home.
Regular season games needed to be listed on the Stanley Cup = 41
Derek Ryan games played this year = 33
They will send him down after that until he returns as a black ace in the playoffs.
Thanks. I did not know that.
8 more game for Ryan is likely after the trade deadline, or never.
I don’t think that is factoring in to their decision making.
A team can also petition to get the name of a player that doesn’t meet the criteria on the cup. If a petition is ever granted, this seems like an easy case – if it came to that.
They may never waive Derek Ryan or they may do it tomorrow.
All true but it seems like something the Oilers would do for this player. We don’t know what we don’t know.
I posted here that the 9 games in 16 days thay started vs ANA at home on Jan 3rd was a stupid tough travel schedule and that coming out the end 4-4-1 wouldn’t be a crime. I also had last nights game as a loss.
They sit 5-1-0 after 6 and agree with LT that going 1-1-1 is reasonable for the last 3.
Heady times.
Defence wins championships!
Anyone else want to see more of Ekholm – Emberson?
It will also mean more of Nurse Bouchard and Kulak Stecher
It’s very telling that Bouchard was not on the ice for the last 3 minutes. Good for Emberson he was very solid in those minutes at the end
Kempe got a fine for the slew foot.
No suspension.
I thought it might get a game. I think it was super dirty and dangerous and warrants a few games but knew that was not coming.
These types of infractions are not punished harshly.
5000 on a salary of 5,500,000 is less than 0.1%. Chump change. It should be a minimum of 1% of his salary. The NHL needs to make it hurt, or these guys won’t learn.
How much do NBA players get fined for “obscene gestures”? And these guys with intent to injure get one less designer shirt
seems to me there are no easy outs for the Oilers; every team they’ve faced lately, with the exception of the Bruins has been tough. Listening on your show today I agree, I’d like to see Jeff get a few games in top 6
What does hockeyviz say about Emberson? he passes the eye test, what are the numbers saying? Goal suppression, breakouts, etc….
LT, after managing the comments section here for so long have you ever considered getting into philosophy?
I imagine you could write a banger sequel to David Hume’s “A Treatise on Human Nature”.
The top 139 under 23 players and prospects the NHL.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6037690/2025/01/14/nhl-prospects-rankings-under-23-2025/?campaign=12303885&source=athletic_targeted_email&userId=1415419
The placing of Savoie at 129 seems suspect to me. Listed as above average in everything but puck skills (and yet we know he’s probably above average in that as well) and yet has absolutely no profile on him whatsoever.
Then the guy at 44 (Marco Kasper, the top C in tier 5) is average in everything but compete and shooting. When I see “high end” compete and everything else being average, it makes me think role player at best, and yet Savoie is a full 85 spots behind him?
Pronman’s been taking some criticisms for his rankings as of late.
JP Gambatese has put together a list of Pronman’s inconsistencies/errors:
https://x.com/jp_gambatese/status/1879190417725677959?s=46
Sadly I don’t have X, formerly known as Twitter, but I have to admit he really seems to have a low opinion on anything oilers-related when I read his stuff. I get that outside perspectives will be less rose-coloured, but the complete lack of a write up on Savoie seems to support my theory that he’s more indifferent than anything.
A poster on Reddit captured Gambatese’s items in a list
https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/s/I0N4KeC8lO
Interesting list, thanks for linking that! To be honest, I think many misunderstand Pronman’s ranking of average vs above average. In this case, above average means better than the average NHLer, while high end would mean something like top 5-10% in the league for that skill. So nit-picking above average vs high end is not that productive to me.
But the gripe re: how players are placed in the rankings definitely resonates with what I saw. What’s the point of having an “objective” ranking list if the end result is basically putting people wherever they feel like?
I wonder if size was a factor?
A factor like how 6’1″, 181 pound Dylan Guenther who Pronman calls “good size” but 6’0″, 190 pound Celebrini as “average size”?
I find height is often equated with size. Really it’s height vs weight. Like current D target Petterson being 6’5. But he’s listed at 174lbs. That is one skinny dude that I wouldn’t call ‘big’. Blake Coleman is only 5’11 which is below average. But at 200 lbs he’s stout, plays a heavy game and doesn’t miss many
Part of it is attitude, but undersized players with attitude often don’t stay healthy, like the bulldog Gallagher, and fan fave Yamamoto. I hope Emberson doesn’t fall apart
Size is the only thing I can think of. Still, it’s Edmonton’s only prospect on the list and they don’t even have a write up for him? Either he’s stuck in a blind spot or they’re being a bit lazy on these rankings. I’m not even championing Savoie as an elite forward or anything, but he should be at least in tier 4 or 5 based on other players listed in those spots (many of whom are significantly smaller than Savoie and have fewer “above average” attributes).
its one persons opinion and Savoie is small with an injury history. Either he will keep improving and being a very good player or he won’t. Boom or bust type.
But Pronman is notoriously stubborn on players he likes and dislikes.
One thing I get a kick out of on rankings is the biggest thing goalies are rated on is size. As if these giant butterfly monsters aren’t getting completely exposed right now. Pendulum is swinging back towards athleticism and smaller goalies
There’s a balance for sure. Shooter Tutor goalies have to have a D that plays so that they don’t have to move much. Some pretty big holes open up if they have to, not to mention slower
Aye, like Hellebuyck for example. Looks like the second coming of Roy in the regular season, then when the playoffs arrive teams simply start moving the puck laterally and he becomes Red Light Racicot.
Yes exactly way overrated start crashing the net and he turns to mush.
This thread (and the opposing comments that were removed) proves that a) the reported downvote rule doesn’t appear to exist, and b) there is no such thing as bad publicity when it comes to constantly posting negative content about the team that the vast majority of the posters here care an awful lot about.
I’ll see myself out…
Interesting game from the Kings. They switched their game plan. More aggressive offence, intensive, fast paced game.
Previously they scrummed every whistle. They never passed on a hit. Purposefull interference with some thugary.
Avoiding penalties by avoiding nonsense was a smart move, but I was shocked at lack of hitting.
It’s like they decided to mimick the Oiler game plan. Beat the Oilers at their own game. Didn’t work …. but interesting.
Oilers can handle them at this game. Now I’m very curious what LA rolls out next game. They know Oilers are their nemesis.
We are LAK’s Dallas.
Nice being on the other side of it. Assuming no one-time upset.
They might have been experimenting with game plans, given another playoff tilt is the most likely outcome
I wonder how many of those were after the first period….?
Seven at 5v5, 8 overall.
Thanks.
NST has 7 HDSC for the Kings in the second and third periods — but by my eye most of the Kings’ best chances came in the first.
Skinner had to be spectacular in the first, but he only had to be excellent for the rest of the game. That wasn’t so much a reflection on any real poor play on the Oilers’ part as it was the King’s goaltender also being excellent.
I wonder what an acceptable number of HDSC is in people’s eyes? There are some who think one is too many, but there are two teams on the ice and the other side is going so generate some chances no matter how well you play.
Public stats are pretty general. From everything I’ve heard and read from what the private companies sell to teams, they are looking at slot shots and shots after puck movement – trying to not allow cross seam shots off a pass or two, or plays to guys in front who aren’t checked tight, because they have much higher percentages to score
It’s the same idea as on a two on one, the D plays the pass because once the goalie has to move his save % goes way down compared to just a shot straight up
That’s what I look for. When the Oilers are playing their best D, they don’t allow many shots from those types of plays. The last while I find that there are too many plays to the slot where there is time to shoot uncontested or mostly so, also too many odd man rushes given up mostly from LT’s favourite turnovers at the blue lines. Also from trying to thread passes off the wall through players and it gets turned over in the middle and off they go
To me it depends on the game and what they are giving up. If a shot comes from what NST or whomever calls a HD area, but its’ contested and the goalie doesn’t have to move and is set, it’s not really that dangerous, or it shouldn’t likely score if the goalie is doing his job
In reality, who the shooter is matters too and that is not factored in to the analysis. McDavid’s goal is classified as medium danger by NST, but only because it was a rebound. But in that circumstance, with McDavid that is high danger. If that had been Janmark on that rebound in that location it would be low danger.
Draisaitl scored 20+ goals a year that according to NST should almost never go in using league average data.
I thought Nurse was fantastic last night, really strong on the boards and he made a number of plus defensive plays with his stick throughout the night (as he usually does). As Leon said, he took a great path/lane to the net leading to the winning goal.
He’s only 3-4 games removed from a LONG stretch of playing the best hockey of his career (at least as an Oiler) but its now 3-4 games where he’s been, well, much worse (Boston game excepted, he was great).
He’s been averaging around 21 minutes for a good 30 or so games now and his career high is 17:30 and he’s generally been around 17 minutes per game.
The break should indeed do him very well but, even with that, I wonder if he can handle 21 minutes for a 2-month playoff run?
Great win for the Oilers but wtf kind of hockey do the LAK play – barely even ice hockey at all – it’s like football on skates.
Holy mother of all things….. those numbers are out of this world and those in the east need to see those and the goal tonight and should be convinced that this man is the current Hart Trophy leader, with a bullet (among skaters, I don’t know how to handicap Helly in there).
No shade to Nate, his an elite player having an elite season but:
– Drai has played 220 minutes with McDavid and 440 without McDavid
– Nate has played 560 minutes with Rantanen and 198 without (and 511 with Makar and 245 without).
Its not close, is it?
What does the 53-62 look like if one takes Jeff Skinner out of it?
39-41.
No JSkinner or Ryan: 33-29.
An in depth TOI comparison on the linemates of MacKinnon vs. Leon:
In total, the ice time of all the players filling bottom 6 rolls on the Avalanche on ice with MacKinnon totals 280 minutes. That’s less than 20% of the total time available on MacKinnon’s wings 5 on 5 (757 minutes x 2). The bulk (82%) of the ice time on his wings has been filled with Rantanen, Lehkonen, Drouin, Nichushkin and Mittelstadt. And almost none of that bottom 6 participation on Nate’s wing happens with another bottom 6 winger on the line.
Meanwhile, of the 1427 minutes available on Leon’s wings 5 on 5 (713 minutes time 2), 380 minutes have been played with players not considered part of the Oilers top 6. Leon gets 73% of his time with the rest of the top six in order of TOI, Podkolzin, Arvidsson, McDavid, Hyman and Nuge.
The answer is obvious; Leon has a huge 😉 quality of linemates over MacKinnon because the Oilers bottom 6 is way more talented than what the Avalanche can put out for their bottom 6 and Podkolzin and Arvidsson are way above the rest of the Avalanche’s top 6 outside of MacKinnon, Rantanen and Drouin.
Fantastic game last night led by Drai, SSkinner and Nurse.
Interesting to see the Oil start the game slow and finish strong rather than start strong and fade given their January schedule. Well done!
I’m not seeing any belly aching this morning over deployment of the lines. Did Coach KK change anything with his deployment or was it that Henrique rose to the occasion?
The tightrope walk is something you need to do occasionally, but is not a good bet.
They had enough chances and needed to finish instead of flail.
The Arvidsson chance in the third is the perfect example. He’s a half step from walking the puck into the net and instead attempts a stab backhand. Nope.
Calm ruthlessness near the opposition net in the big moments wins championships.
Pardon me, but the Oilers won last night. Didn’t they?
That’s also how I see it. When young and watching games, it always seemed that if a team was missing high quality chances too often, the game would turn on them. Can’t score them all, but you have to cash on them, they are limited. That hasn’t changed for me
You can have 40 HDSC but if you only score on one, that isn’t good. Happened to LA not getting ahead after a dominant start, and the Oilers not closing the game out, especially with an EN. The EN thing has to get better, should be a focus
Yep – execution is what it really comes down to.
And the EN situation absolutely needs to get better. They should be converting at a very high rate with the players they are able to deploy.
Ty Emberson is nearing the magic 50 game mark. You never hear anything exceptional or detrimental to his game. He just quietly goes about his business. Should the Oilers sign him before the playoffs? What should his contact look like and for how many years?
2 x $1.3
6 x 2.4
9 x 3.5
3×1.75
I’m with you on this one Lettuce
I would go 3 years as you always need a righty who are in high demand anywhere from 4-7 on your depth chart.
2 x 4 x 8
A reliable 3rd pair D with a 2nd pair ceiling? I would try to get term with that. I agree with a lot of the above suggestions, but if you can get him without a NMC/NTC then in the $2-3M range for 4 years is a great starting point.
I also admit I haven’t looked at his contract status, to see if going beyond 3 years takes him into UFA or not, which does affect what that number looks like long term.
Evan Bouchard’s season is good for the Oilers. He is tilting the ice 5v5 but his counting numbers are slightly lower than last year. Hopefully they can get him signed for 8.5-9 million. Although I would go as high as 11.
West coast best coast.
6/7 of top teams in Pts% are all west coast. Caps only outlier leading the East.
Gonna have to win the league and likely get rewarded with the (hopefully) 2nd best team in the league in the 2nd round. Someone is gonna leave the Pacific wildly disappointed.
There is going to be a couple of Western teams severely disappointed that they didn’t make the playoffs, let alone be shocked to be out in the first round.
The way Draisaitl is playing is what causes Leon to become to most popular baby name for a generation with the Mother suggesting it before the Father says it out loud.
Nuge could of ended the game with a hat trick last night, not worried about the player personally. Rough 1st 6 weeks followed with a back to regular programming since.
Great game for Stu, hopefully they target a defender that helps out even more so.
Kempe is a cock roach.
We were thinking about naming our new puppy Leon. But my wife wouldn’t have it, she didn’t like Stanley either. Had to go with Finn.
I’d grow pork chop sideburns for a year in silent protest.
You’re married to a Canuck fan?!? How’d that work in playoffs last year?
She doesn’t watch hockey.
Classic Canuck fan.
We named our doggo Leo. But we all know what his full name is.
The Kuemper-Dubois trade sure revitalized both players. Kuemper scares me in a 7 game series. It is so hard to beat the same team 4 years in a row sooner or later the hockey gods appear. Without Skinner in the 1st we’re down 2-0 and not coming back. Even though we were all over Kuemper after the 1st the fact still remains that Skinner stole this game.
Each tender faced 30 shots, classic mostly goalie battle.
Yes those type of games scare me especially a game seven.
Classic goalie battle and the 2 points went to the team that has two future first ballot Hall of Famers in their prime, one of which willed his team to the victory with a stunning 10 second long period of brilliance.
Skinner was excellent — the save on the two-on-one in the first was simply spectacular — but he didn’t steal the game. By my eye the game was evenly played overall, with a slight edge to the Oilers, and the fancy stats back that up.
A goalie stealing a game suggests that a team was thoroughly outplayed throughout, and that’s not what happened here.
As a team, the Oilers earned that win.
Edmonton might be considering John Klingberg. He’s been out the last couple years after hip resurfacing surgery. I had the same surgery in 2007 and have had no issues since. If Edmonton can sign him to a two-way minimum contract to get up to speed, he might be the puck moving RHD they’re looking for. If not, no biggy.
Save your powder, get a real defender.
How was Klingberg’s defensive play when he was at his prime before all his injury issues.
Was he a stylistic fit for 2RD with Nurse in his prime?
I honestly don’t know.
I mean, yes, I’ll give him a trial at $1MM or less replacing Brown but I’m hesitant he can play top 4 and survive 2-ways.
I could be wrong.
Would Tony DeAngelo not be a better fit – isn’t he a better defender? He’s leading the KHL d-men in scoring and is coming back to North America for family reasons.
He played on some very good Dallas teams before his hip started bothering him. He isn’t known for being a shutdown type defender. He was a great skating offensive puck mover. If his hip was bone on bone as mine was, I can certainly see how that might affect things. He’s probably chomping at the bit to rezoom his career. At 32 years young he should be able to. Edmonton would be a nice place to land with a two-way contract starting in Bako to get up to playing speed and go from there.
Wasn’t there talk of DeAngelo wanting to play in Edmonton? That’s as far as that went.
I don’t want DeAngelo anywhere near the team. There is a reason why he washed out of the NHL.
DeAngelo ?? Really ? Arizona, Rangers, Carolina, Philli, KHL, ….selfish, its all about him…..dont screw up the room.
I brought him up as a stylistic and current performance comparison to compare to Klingberg.
Fit right in next to Skinner in the press box.
Maybe? On the other hand, it could be a great story.
We do need a couple so called assholes to do the some dirty work come playoff time. Nobody knows what a certain person bad decision in life means in a dressing room. Everyone including Yourself-Myself-McDavid-Leon have made mistakes. I do feel we need a Hathaway type to deal with the slewfooting attempts come playoff time.
Not all DeAngelo’s transgressions were in his personal life. He got waived after an incident with his own goalie.
Do you get along with every employee you work with? Oilers had zero response for Bennett besides Leon landing a disguised elbow. I myself want Leon to save his energy for a goal in game 7 instead of having to do someone else’s job because their was no someone else.
You think DeAngelo is a problem solver? He’s the kind of hothead who overreacts to Corey Perry, spears him and gets a major and a 3 game suspension.
You’d probably welcome a Sean Avery type on your team as well.
Leon and Connor get hacked and slashed at will. Skinner gets run over then we see Connor get slew footed with Zero response. Don’t be surprised if we see Connor drop the gloves because apparently it’s open season on him. Maybe you think Connor and Leon aren’t above fighting but I would rather have someone else do this sort of thing. Clattenburg and Wanner can’t get here fast enough.
Great game and the kind that the oil will have to play a lot of in the playoffs. I’m not sure J Skinner is capable of playing that system and I think Ryan’s age has caught up to him and the pace going forward will be a problem for him.
In Skinners case C Brown did change his game into becoming a great checker so there is that possibility .
I thought Josh Brown played s very good game, he is faster than I thought and I really don’t think he has to fight all the time to contribute .
At least in the playoffs they didn’t have to play back to back, 6 in 10, 7 in 12 in all different cities and timezones.
The playoffs are easier from a travel perspective.
The ideal end to the season is finishing behind the Caps and perhaps the Leafs in league standings
Winning the league is bad juju. And I don’t think either of those two will make the finals, so home ice throughout. The Caps are rolling but their 5v5 Goal Diff is at the lower end of the teams I am tracking, it’s their in their wheel house to win the league and not the Cup. I also see a deflation when Ovi passes Gretz. And the Leafs are the Leafs
Excited to watch Matt Savoie and the gang on a rare weekday game not in the Pacific time zone.
How was Klingberg’s defensive play when he was at his prime before all his injury issues.
Was he a stylistic fit for 2RD with Nurse in his prime?
I honestly don’t know.
I mean, yes, I’ll give him a trial at $1MM or less replacing Brown but I’m hesitant he can play top 4 and survive 2-ways.
I could be wrong.
I would rather keep the cap space.
Skinner level defense but from a defender
Why in the world are we talking about John Klingberg today?
That guy’s career was over 2 years ago.
Nevermind – I see Darren Dreger is trying to stay relevant.
Klingberg was disinterested in playing defense even before his hip started acting up. He needs PP1 time to be effective, otherwise he pouts.
Hard pass.
Dreger hitched his wagon to the Leafs when he could’ve hitched to Mackenzie on the way out and competed with Friedman. Frank Seravalli took the low hanging fruit and has mostly filled that void. Lebrun too
He’d need time he hasn’t played in a couple years. He’s a puck mover/ offensive type with good speed, which to me means he keeps the puck moving in the right direction out of the defensive zone. Sounds like a stylistic fit with Nurse to me. But what do I know?
I do know that if he had hip resurfacing surgery in 2023, he must be about 99.9% healthy by now.
Give little more thought to team construction…We need a heavy Solid D our existing D are woefully weak clearing the slot and net front …Radco Gudas please
With fortunes smiling this evening, and beating the Wildy Inconsistent, the Good Guys could be in 2nd place – overall
Playoff style game last night.
*Patient approach to the game. Didn’t force anything. Oil started picking apart the Kings once they gained the zone starting in the second. Love the OZone possession stats they show on SN. This team values possession above all else… over a 7 game series this is an advantage.
*Might be the first game the Oilers out hit their opponents. It was part of the game plan early in this game. Maybe they can just turn it on… maybe they can adjust their game for any opponent in front of them.
*Skinner is 9-0 after a loss. I’d like this trend to hold through a Stanley Cup run.
When Draisaitl connects one of those brilliant back handed passes through a couple of players is that called “forcing it”?
It depends. If it is the go to move on the night in the neutral zone or when entering the zone and they aren’t connecting on the regular than I’d say forcing something that isn’t there on the night. Didn’t see anything like that last night. I like seeing Draisitl attempt plays that very few others can make. I also love seeing Hart worthy sequences of closing the gap on a great skater and taking him out on the boards and generating a scoring chance that results in a goal!
It seems like Kulak has been off last few games. As mentioned, maybe he’s wearing down after taking on more of a top 4 role than he’s used to. I’ve noticed he’s just blindly started to throw the puck up the boards to the opposition in the last few games and it has cost us. He’s done it when not under pressure. Unusual for him, so hopefully it’s an easy fix.
Kulak has had a fantastic season. At this point he’s either tired or nicked up. The break will do him good, but we need to get there first.
The L.A. Kings have a popgun offense.
I do not fear them in a playoff series.
The thing that I fear with LA is the pound of flesh that they extract. Health will play a major factor this playoff like it did last year.
No need to worry – Oilers will finish first. Then ‘Gary’s team’ and the LAK can beat up on each other.
Every team you beat in the playoffs will exact a pound of flesh. There are no easy outs.
I’d rather play the Kings in the first round – our lads know what it takes to beat them.
Injuries may have cost us a cup (or two).
And they added notorious playoff cross checker Edmundson. Seemingly his main trait is to cross check guys in the playoffs.
After last year’s playoffs Reilly said that he needs to just cross check guys like Edmunson does.
What makes the play by Drai on the winning goal even more impressive to me is the fact that Drai has already been on the ice for 90 seconds.
Now, I’m not promoting long shifts but I am floored by the wind he had at the end of that shift.
1:28 when the puck went in, as mentioned in my post this morning.
If I recall, McDavid had been on for a full minute longer as well.
McDavid’s shift was 2:47. So he had been on for 1:19, hits Laferriere, gets hog tied and thrown to the ice, then stays out for another 1:28 to score there.
People rag on DeBrusk and suggest he provides little insight. At the face off to start the 4 on 4, Louis pointed out that Hiller caused a lengthy delay after the penalties were called, allowing McDavid time to rest up. He suggested Hiller probably made a mistake doing that because his team was now going to face the dynamic duo 4 on 4. He was dead right on that one. Louis reminded everyone of that observation after the goal was scored.
That was a fantastic team defensive performance – from start to finish.
Even in the first 15 min when the Oilers were sluggish and the King’s carried play, I thought they were solid defensively – any chances the Kings got were due to poor passing and puck management by the Oilers. Once they gave the puck up, they defended well.
Oilers took over on the last 40-45 minutes.
That’s the way they should play every game.
LT along with most, if not all, readers of this blog (as well as all Oiler fans) know that Draisaitl has been the best skater in the NHL this year. If he keeps up this pace of play, he could, and should, win the Hart and Lindsay.
Humorous article over on Canucks Army trying to justify that Hughes has a shot at the Hart. They pump his tires with an extensive comparison to Makar, then way down in the article they list who they think are the current leaders. Leon far and away in first – voting had him 11 out of 11 first place votes.
Sizing up where Canucks’ Quinn Hughes sits in the NHL Hart Trophy conversation
Nice to see Draisaitl is getting the recognition he has earned.
Unfortunately, LT, I think that you will be waiting in vain for Kempe’s hearing. DPS is the “see no evil” when it comes to these rediculously dangerous slew foots.
The NHL has made it very clear for years, if not decades, that player safety, particularly of their superstars, is not a concern.
The league office tends to push for longer suspensions. It is the NHLPA that is against longer suspensions. GMs want longer suspensions for offenders on other teams and shorter ones for their own players.
Maybe the NHLPA and the players in general would be less opposed to longer and more frequent suspensions if it wasn’t for the loss of salary involved.
The NHL at least saw the tape on this one and have fined Kempe. Thankfully McDavid wasn’t injured.
Kempe fined for actions in Kings game | NHL.com
Great game. Loved the gritty effort, and it was almost like they were reassuring the people complaining about their pacing of the physical during the regular season that it will be there as needed. I would still love to see them go out and get a guy like Mathieu Olivier.
The slewfoot was ridiculous, but unfortunately, I would be shocked if the NHL did anything more than a fine. Even that is doubtful in my mind.
Watching the first period, LA did the best impression of the 1998 NJ Devils that I’ve seen in quite some time. Great work ethic by the team to push through that.
Carl Eller did not dominate last night in Glendale. Ugh. It was Roman Gabriel’s show.
Way to go Oilers !! Stick taps all around.
I needed to go to bed after the 2nd period, and was glad to see that I witnessed the only goal.
One thing that maybe wasn’t made clear in this post, it could easily have been a 2-1 victory for the Kings if S Skinner was not dialed in early. He has been great this month, even in the loss. We in Oil Country don’t give our goalies their due until well after they have left (I admit I was far too hard on Mike Smith, for example), so it is helpful to note when a goalie is performing for the team. Well played Mr Moustache!
It could also have been 3-2 Oilers if the Kings didn’t get their plus level tending.
Expeced goals were 3-2 on NST (and Cult scoring chances and 5-alarm chances also favored the Oilers).
Was a really strong performance. Little slow to get going in the 1st. ( the last 3 games this has been the case and let’s hope it doesn’t become a thing)
Skinner unreal.
The bottom 6 was a lot better than the last game against LA . That’s was a strong game from them.
Drai is a beast.
Back to Back toughies coming up. Hopefully they can win both
Didn’t really notice Brown much last night on D, so that is probably a good thing .
I do wonder if he was dressed to add a tougher presence?