The Edmonton Oilers are riddled with problems, don’t appear to have the answers and there is no additional help on the horizon. A team with the best 1-2 punch in the entire league is not able to win at five-on-five, on the power play or the penalty kill. The good news? The Oilers have been able to play the Los Angeles Kings to a tie during the anthem.
Did you ever wake up to find
A day that broke up your mind
Destroyed your notion of circular time
The words of Mick Jagger seem fitting today, the Oilers are so far out of this series the mind has a difficult time placing things in context immediately. What do we know for sure? Let’s have a look.
THE NUMBERS
Stuart Skinner is going to get ripped in national and local media, but for me this Oilers team, as currently constructed, would make Dom Hasek look ordinary. Last night, we saw 11 HDSC’s from the Los Angeles Kings, who are not the 1984 Oilers offensively. Calvin Pickard will get the start in Game 3, with the season on the line. Godspeed, Mr. Pickard.
I mentioned yesterday that Skinner and Bouchard needed to deliver at a high level in order for Edmonton to win. That didn’t happen. Bouchard’s performance on the Byfield goal represents powerful evidence for those who are anti-Bouch (I am not among them).
There’s an old saying I learned many years ago. It goes like this: During a five-year period in a specific vocation, a person can either gain five years experience or one year’s experience five times. Bouchard needs to read and react to plays like the Byfield snipe, because defense is pretty damned important in that moment.
Darnell Nurse had a dreadful game, and it’s too bad because this has been his best season. I dislike the Nurse-Bouchard pairing, who are 1-2 goals during this series (in 22 minutes) five-on-five. Nurse is 0-1 goals in 16 minutes away from Bouchard, and that’s not good, either. Bouchard? He is 1-3 goals away from Nurse.
Special teams has been bad through the first two games. On the PK, Nurse is 0-3 goals in 7:33. When he is not on the ice, Edmonton is 0-2 goals in 6:49. Good grief. The Oilers are 4-4 goals five-on-five when Nurse is off the ice, 1-3 when he’s on. He is facing tough opposition, but these numbers are disastrous.
Bouchard’s power-play work so far in this series has yielded diddly squat. 8:36 power-play time, zero goals. The team has also failed to score in the 36 seconds of PP time that did not include Bouchard.
I’d like to say he makes up for it at five-on-five, but his on-ice goals totals (2-5) are rancid. Edmonton is 3-2 goals with Bouchard off the ice.
INJURIES
Kris Knoblauch is going to take major heat if this team goes down in four or five. I don’t know how much is earned and how much is injuries, but one doubts it matters in the end. Trent Frederic is not 100 percent healthy. Jake Walman slipped a gear in his defensive read on the first goal. I think you play Walman anyway, because he’s been pretty good. Frederic? Now that Evander Kane is back (skating well, hitting, forechecking aggressively, you have to give him time to get his hands back) perhaps we’ll see a healthier player join the playing roster over Frederic for Game 3.
BOTTOM LINE
Nope. Nopeity Nope Nope. The Edmonton Oilers have been elusive in describing various injuries and maladies, and now that all is revealed the excuses will come. I’m not buying. If the organization is going to simply not talk about injuries, then we have to assume this is how bad it really is the next time Kris Knoblauch says everyone is going to get a game in before the end of the season. We shall never see the best edition of this team, ladies and men. Pretty sure.
The Lowdown hits at noon today, Sports 1440. Bagged Milk from Oilers Nation will be the feature guest, and I’ll defend Evan Bouchard and Stuart Skinner as verbal blows rain down from the text line. We’ll also have NFL draft talk and your comments will hold sway during all segments. 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.
On a positive note, I imagine Bouch can get signed for less than 10 after this season.
At this rate, 10 might not be followed by “million”. Or anything.
HITS & WINNING: A REQUEST
Over the season I heard and read many complain about the Oilers lack of “hitting.” I’ve kept an eye on the hits/winning correlation and I remain sceptical that hits, generally, have any positive relationship to wins.
This series is an interesting case, so far. Oilers are out-hitting the Kings 3/2 (78 hits v 54). As we know, they’re being outscored 12-7 (almost 3/2).
The danger with prioritizing hits is that it takes players out of position (& play), and some kinds of hits (retaliation) are “expensive” (penalties, expended energy). Bieksa, who likes a good hit as much or more than most, didn’t like seeing skill players on the Sens hitting for the sake of hitting. Strudwick made a similar point viz the Oilers in this series: skill players should focus on skilled play.
My ask: Most of you are, I believe, sharper observers of what’s happening on-ice. I’m curious, do you see the Oilers new-found passion for hitting taking them out of position/play?
I’ve been broadcasting the message of harder coverage in the regular season. Hitting is part of harder coverage, but not all of it. In the year, there was a lot of Bouchard in the picture on goals against, if the expectation is that he was supposed to be providing hard coverage. If a hit is there to remove the threat and capture the puck, great; if not, rush the play, and Bouchard would be much closer to the puck threat.
Hard coverage also means you are closer to the threat, pressure it, force a turnover, or end the threat with a jump ball situation. Hitting is not the end point; it is a potential action to reduce the opponent’s threats.
I agree, it makes sense to track it. That is generally wise.
We all have our blind spots.
But more than isolating hitting, what Edmonton and many of these players are actually trying to do is closer to hurting.
Is there data that supports the relationship between hurting the other players and winning?
Given how banged up Edmonton is, well, you know, they haven’t been doing a lot of winning. 😜
I’ve only ever wanted them to gain position in front of both nets better and forecheck hard so that the man recovering the puck has less time to make a good play. I feel the game that Kane and Frederic play is a missing element on this team, but it’s for them to play and not the more skilled guys. I certainly don’t mind McDavid, Draisatl, and others throwing some weight around to give themselves more space, but only as long as it doesn’t lead to injury.
It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. I agree skill players should not be hitting as much as those who are less skilled, it’s about team balance and you want your best players taking as few risks as possible – over time it’s the best players that win games and more
Still finishing a check has amazing effects. I haven’t tracked that or seen a stat line, but watching for years it creates opportunity. It’s about impeding the others player’s progress and their participation in play, mostly not trying to blow them up. I have rewound plays when I notice, nothing much going on, a guy gets taken out of the play for a second and something good happens, often goals
Good hitting takes the opponent out of the play, not the player hitting – that’s running around and getting out of position. It is also true that the NHL is a full contact physical league. You can’t decide your not going to do that and win deep. When teams don’t have a physical presence, they will usually be teams trying to be offensive skill teams
So the easiest first tactic is run them to the perimeter. It used to happen to the Oilers, McLellan said so when he came. The book on them was play them hard and they’d back down
Tampa didn’t win a Cup until they decided to be a much more physical team – Goodrow, Coleman, Maroon and others. They got bigger in the back end. They returned McDonough because they missed his defensive big body they said
What the Oilers are doing now is chasing. They are playing poorly and hitting more. They should focus on team play – it has to be better – and then add more hitting in. The Kings aren’t taking the series this time to a slug fest
Hitting in playoffs has a cumulative effect. Our team has been beaten up the last few playoffs from it. A good coaching staff knows how and when to handle it. So far it seems like they aren’t sure, and unfortunately playoffs isn’t the time to be figuring things out. If they lose the next game we can’t expect another miracle, even if they are capable of it, they are so out of sync and so far not getting bailed out by the goaler
Very good point.
My slogan for hitting is, “Position Over Punishment”, and the basis of hitting is to separate the player from the puck. Hopefully one of your teammates is there to support you and pick up the puck.
This idea of hitting for the sake of hitting holds no tactical advantage unless you have a goal for your hit.
Goaltending could be better but its not even close to the top 5 problems with this team. The D look absolutely terrible out there. Walman has been awful so far so add him to the pile of guys on the back end that are not playing well. Nurse had a good season but it looks like he is back to last years playoff form. Honestly there is nothing good happening with this team so I won’t list the bad. Its not over till its over but this is looking like a disaster playoff exit and an offseason where the fans have no faith in the current management team. There is a lot at stake here including the future of McDavid in Edmonton.
What’s Sather up to this days? Its too bad about the passing of Green and Muckler. I have zero doubt these 3 would bring home glory with this roster construction we have in place. We are the better team start with Pickard get out of the 1st not down turn Kane loose it’s all about shifting the momentum.
It’s a sad day when you’re longing for no 73 Vinnie Desharnais.
The inability of this D to block the sun was stunning.
This D let the Kings walk right in with time and space to pick the corner.
Inexcusable.
**Sorry for posting this again***
Well, this is usually where I drag out my Brother Bluto line, “Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbour!”, but it seems pretty bleak right now.
I used to get so wound up in Oilers playoffs games and say something really stupid, mainly out of frustration. The Winnipeg series was the apex of my fanatic behaviour. One thing that gave me a new perspective was getting back behind the bench after a prolonged absence.
Who do I coach? U-13 girls recreational, and we play in a boys league. It’s a long ways from the AAA rep, regional, and provincial teams I used to coach before, but when one of your players calls you Dad at home (never at the rink), you pick up the whistle and get back into a world you never knew the last time you stepped behind the bench (I have to take a course on cyber bullying?). The focus changes and you realize that the main goals are to keep it fun and keep the girls playing for life. You quickly realize that you just don’tr have the talent to take down the boys and there are highlights (winning Most Sportsmanlike Team two seasons in a row), and you marvel at how much the players improve over the season.
Where does that leave me tonight? The Oilers simply don’t have the talent to compete and it has been compounded by a rash of injuries that have been difficult to overcome. On top of that a majority of players have been on a downward slide this season, and it tempers your expectations. The season has had Murphy’s Law in full effect and the days of a 16 game winning streak and Game 7 seem so far away. You wonder when it will all happen again or if it will happen again?
However, experience has shown me that for whatever inexplicable reason, this team may turn it around and start playing like gangbusters and never make a mistake again. That is what I’m hoping for. As crazy as that sounds, it is what I believe in my heart.
Go Oilers Go!!
From Jethro:
Good points JT. Although I do think coaching is a part of the problems. In that according to many NHL formers that are on the radio shows, you can’t just turn things off and on, especially the physical play. Thus the being out of the play to make a hit, they barely hit for a large part of the season. You lose the timing and reads
I checked out the NST various game stats and noticed quite a difference in forward line usage between Hiller and Knob 5v5, GF/GA
Kings
Kuzmenko Kopitar Kempe 10:33, 2-1 (what’s the nickname for this line?)
Fiala Byfield Laferriere 8:55, 1-1
Moore Danault Foegele 11:13, 0-0
Oilers
McD Drai Perry 7:28, 1-1
Kane RNH Brown :46, 0-0
Frederic Henrique Brown 7:15, 0-1
Arvi Henrique Frederic :42, 0-0
Hyman Henrique McD :34, 0-0
Hyman Drai McD 2:19, 0-0
Hyman RNH Kane 6:07, 0-0
I’m not quite sure why the 5v5 goals between the two teams aren’t the same, TOI for individuals is a bit off. It’s probably in how they determine when a line is one
I get there are issues with play and health, but how can players get any rhythm being used like that? Why put Frederic in when he can’t skate?
I would expect given this has been the pattern through the season that it wasn’t the right solution to their inconsistencies. Pick lines and stick with them, let the guys get a rhythm and develop an identity and roles
We saw many players have off seasons. I think it would be harder to coach them up if they have little in game consistency. How do you teach Bouch and help him develop when he also has to think about what his partner will do?
To me Bowman has to get better bottom 9 centres looking at who the Kings can run, among other teams. Bottom 9 for when they load up the Duo
I’m not one of those Nurse hater’s, but WTF was he doing chasing a guy above the puck there? It’s like he went back to man defense instead of zone. Drai’s hit was fine if Nurse just puts on the breaks and protects the house. Stay below the bloody puck in your own zone!
Draisatl needs to take a bit of the blame for this goal as well. How much is hard to determine. Draisatl stood around to admire his hit and do a little sword play rather than recognizing Byfield was swooping in for the loose puck that Draisatl may have been able to get to at about the same time as Byfield. By no means am I excusing Nurse because he flat out lost his bearings or something, but I do want to point out that Draisatl may have been able to do something to prevent the goal.
McDavid should have been marking Byfield but he chose to fly the zone instead.
Bad Nurse is the guy trying to do it all. He needs to play a simple game, with the installed processor
Longstanding complaint of mine going back to ___ (MacT? I can’t remember how far back the chemistry disrupting has been going on). I remember reading some time ago about how some coaches prefer pairings and rotating a 3rd guy in, but Oilers coaches seem to try combinations and abandon them if they don’t click instantly. It’s one of many puzzling things about this club that seems to persist no matter who or how many are involved… D missing shots wide or over the net, the McDraisatl default, and underuse of many players being some of the others.
Special K.
So Pickard getting the W’s was enough not to chase the hungry Roloson golden goose Gibson. Pickard deserved game 1 and definitely should of started game 2. If coach K.K has no confidence in the man that got him in the playoffs and saved his job then he needs to be relieved today. Fire K.K get a vocal coach that doesn’t just stare into the abyss. Break-up McDavid and Connor light a fire under Nuge-Henrique ass take the penalty and let Kane throttle Mikey-Kempe-Doughty let’s get some emotion back in this series.
My 10 year old was in a catatonic state of depression today. The first game he remained optimistic, but this game broke him. I hate the organization collectively for that.
Welcome to being an Oilers fan, kiddo. Might as well tell him the truth about Santa just to rip the bandaid off lol
lol. He’s very advanced for age in terms of his Oilers expectations and knowledge, but when the youthful enjoyment of even watching the team has been ripped from him, that’s the hardest thing to see. Thankfully he was asleep before the 3rd, but was smart enough to read the writing on the wall
Show him hi-lights of the entire 80’s team he’ll cheer up instantly.
Gretzky once said that “if you want to be strong you need to be strong down the middle”.
I hope KK reconsiders splitting up McD and Drai 5×5. They play together on the PP and post-PK and at the end of the period but the Oilers need dominant play making centers 5×5.
I’d also sit Enrique a game as his undisciplined penalty at a critical juncture was unacceptable especially from a veteran. Give Phelp a chance. He is stronger and faster.
Agree 100% on splitting up McDrai. However, when the team gets down early, you need to start pressing for goals and it’s hard not to load up and go get one.
The rest of the roster needs to play well enough to get and keep a lead to enable you to split up McDrai and not play desparate, come from behind hockey for the first time all series.
As McD and Drai age, their brilliance is not going to be enough to continue to cover for managerial incompetence.
I don’t understand Bowman’s plan for 4C and 4LD at the trade deadline.
Big bet was made going with Skinner / Pickard.
We need to hope Calvin just does not give up any bad goals.
That has nothing to do with 4C or 4LD.
I think Bowman is measured. My take from what he said is that there wasn’t everything they wanted to do available in way they could do it, be it cap or ask. That being said they should have LTIR’d Ekholm. So obvious he was a mess
Pickard should start but no goalie will win with that type of D. They need to magically remember how to play positionally with patience and structure. I am not throwing in the towel but the team looks pretty scrambled and uncertain. Aside from the very few. It feels like it is the preseason and this team is trying to get used to each other still. All the while going through bad injuries and a stubborn idea that Skinner can rebound his year in net. The Kings are rolling now. A win at home might help the oil confidence.
There is a lot going poorly all at once.
Frederic should be out, unfortunately he came back too early for that type of injury and re-injured himself and still isn’t healed, it pissed me off then and still does. Kudos for him trying but…That is on the decision of the staff and player.
And on management for acquiring an injured, underperforming player, overpaying to get cap retention, and not doing their due diligence re: health when dealing with a fickle, difficult to predict injury
Truth about the injury part. I still like the player though and would sign him if possible.
On a 1-2 year deal at less than $3M/yr and no NMC? Sure. But an American about to hit free agency for the first time might need more $ or term to stay in Edmonton, and Oilers GMs have a history of overpaying to get “their guy”
going off this year, he isn’t worth more than that so I like that #. 3 yrs max for me but he may get better offers.
He seems pretty slow by NHL standards.
Lots and lots and lots of personnel talk – I get it.
At the same time, this is a best of 7, not a best of 3 or even a best of 5.
I certainly have not given up on a series win (or a cup win) no matter had bad the last 3 days have been.
I have not given up but I also live in reality. It’s going to take a miracle to win this series.
I’d start with keeping LA to less than 6 goals, then work up towards a miracle
We might have that miracle in a healthy and ornery McDavid and Draisatl.
We had that in G1 and still lost lol
This team is so schizophrenic I don’t know what I’ll see one shift to the next let alone next game. Arvi giveth Arvi taketh away was so pure. You are an Oiler for life now Arvidsson.
Well, this season we have certainly seen them ‘better’ than these last 2 puke ups.
Such a weird team. They may well crush the next 2 but it is a long view from last night.
— define “giving up”? In 7 games series the team up 2-0 wins 87% of time (even more if they won first two at home)
— until they lose at home they have a chance sure. So don’t give up.
— Govern fandom and faith accordingly..
— But their issues are real and had been explored by some brave souls going into playoffs
This. I never give up. But down 2-0 and playing so poorly, The Kings doing what they are supposed to, reality has to be acknowledged
It’s more than injuries. Dallas is winning missing their best D, with the rest being dead to rights mediocre. Oettinger sporting a .910 and Blackwood a .923
I sincerely hope JJ and Bowman can convince McD to resign after this turd of a season/last offseason.
That said, the Knights has a similar season after making the finals and it provided the rest needed to win the Cup the following season.
Backing off and letting Byfield with a free lane to the net looked bad but what was he supposed to do?
I guess somehow make a play but, if he commits to Byfield, its a backdoor tap in, right?
I would first look at Nurse and McDavid who both got on wrong side of the puck cheating up.
I’m not a big Bouchard supporter, but I had no problem with him on that play. Cover the pass, let the goalie handle the shot.
I thought that was the right play as well to a point. He maybe gave Byfield a little too much room but giving Skinner the shooter was correct. He may have tried to push him over a bit more to reduce the angle but that would give more room for a pass.
Great shot by Byfield too.
It seems like every good chance goes in almost. I feel scared when there is a high quality chance lol I am not confident in Skinner.
Byfield is not Draisaitl with his backhand passing. And the pass is telegraphed if he moves it to his forehand.
There was no reason for Bouchard to back up. He is still taking away the pass by not giving ground and a free pass to the net for Byfield.
Byfield shot from where Bouchard was standing intially.
As usual, LT is right. There are a LOT of problems with this team. Not just goaltending.
However, goaltending can mask teams issues until they sort themselves out or injured players return.
Winnipeg radio a few minutes ago telling the story that the Ducks offered John Gibson to Edmonton at the deadline. Gibson willing to go to 2 teams – Carolina and Edmonton.
Not to say Gibson is Helly. But Moneypuck has John as the 14th best this past year
There were options last year as well for Oiler management on goaltending.
Gross mismanagement of this franchise.
The Ekholm trade seems to be a very very unique outlier.
Wonder what the cost was – I hope they aim a bit higher than Gibson this offseason, lets see what this team looks like with a goalie capable of being a difference maker, not just “good enough to maybe win a cup”
Fully concede – the cost could have been too high.
Also, I know some have done work showing Gibson is not great on a big workload. Fades as the season goes on.
But John only played 29 games so looked to be very well rested.
In addition, on an atrocious team ( Ducks were 25th) – a .912 Save % looks like Hasek from Skinner.
I have no idea what a trade for Saros would look like, and it has HUGE potential to blow up in Edmonton’s face.
But I’d be interested to see what it would take, and if Bouch/Stu for Saros/Josi could be the basis for a trade (with the Oilers likely having to add assets to make it work).
My goodness – Sarros, with the season he just had and his contract, has negative value, of should.
Josi turns 35 before next season.
Wow.
Until becoming a backup this year, Gibson was a below-average goaltender for FIVE consecutive seasons. I’ve assumed he was there because Anaheim was trying to lose and because he had once been the up-and-coming guy. His career followed the same trajectory as Matt Murray, but somehow Gibson kept his job. Weird.
Last year, my brother and I flew from Thunder Bay, ON and bought overpriced tickets to watch Game 4 of the SCF because I was confident the Oilers could turn it around despite being down 3-0 in the series. We were rewarded with a SCF game of a lifetime and an almost epic comeback for the ages.
For 5 out of 7 months this season (November, December, January, March, April), the Oilers were good enough, by points percentage, to win a 7 game series (at least 0.571 needed). In 5 of 7 months of the season (November, December, January, February, March) their PP was better than 20% successful (April was dreadfully low, so there seems to be a carryover in effect). For 5 out of 7 months (November, December, January, March, April), their PK was over 80% successful. From November through January, they went 27-13 (.675) and were one of the best teams in the NHL. Yes, they had Ekholm during most of that time, but they also had weaker overall defensive depth for much of that time (Walman slots in better as a #3-4 than Kulak).
I still feel the Oilers have it in them to take this series and use the adversity they are facing to drive them through to the Cup. This doesn’t mean that I will be destroyed should they not figure out what they need to do (and/or stop doing) to get through this series or any additional series.
Yep, never say never when you have 97 and 29. Could come back and win the series 4-2, or get swept. The latter looking more likely than the former, but I’m still watching on Friday because 97/29 make winning a possibility any given night.
We’re truly lucky to get to watch them play every second night.
I know McLeod (like any former Oiler who wasn’t the second coming of Messier) gets a lot of crap, but he was really underrated on the PK, and brought some much needed speed to the lineup.
Savoie should be inserted into the lineup before this series is over, he won puck battles consistently during his audition earlier this year and KK needs to learn to live with the mistakes of youth when there’s upside
I’d like to see Savoie be tried out. The Kings seem to have goal scorers, while the Oilers have guys who have occasionally capitalized on plays by McDavid or Draisatl.
The Oilers haven’t even officially called up anyone – I somewhat presume that Savoie, Philp, Caggiula and Hamblin will be in Edmonton but maybe not.
The material losses off last playoff’s PK:
Ceci
Ekholm
Deharnais (didn’t play all games)
McLeod
Foegele.
Broberg killed penalties in the playoffs.
Did Savoie PK in Bakersfield? 93/19 have been abysmal on the PK. I’d like to see Philp and Savoie in, but it would require taking out someone with PK duties (assuming one is for Frederic).
Though there is also Skinner to come back in. Honestly, 19/13/21 out and Philp/Savoie/Skinner in would be fine with me. Janmark has been fine, and is fast, so maybe no net gain there.
Notably, Philp and Savoie were both outscorers in the AHL.
Did Savoie PK in Bakersfield?
Savoie has been on the PK every game since opening night in Bakersfield – PK1 for much of the 2nd half.
you were spot on yesterday, when Knob’s urgency meter was mentioned
The Oilers have been able to play the Los Angeles Kings to a tie during the anthem.
Thanks Allan, I needed the chuckle!
Defenders need to defend! That is the reason I hope the Oilers don’t overpay Bouchard. He doesn’t seem to be learning from his mistakes. If he wants the $10M salary then trade him. The return might include another goaltender.
Stuart Skinner has not had a great year but other than trading Bouchard how do you obtain an excellent goal tender and show me the cap space especially now that Connor must be paid the sun, the moon and the stars?
I still don’t think trading Bouchard would work out well for the Oilers, but I’d be curious what a trade centered around “Bouchard for Saros” would look like. Haven’t given it much thought but the list of quality goalies who could change teams this offseason isn’t long …
Woof.
A whole lot of whiney children posting today.
Do all of you give up this easily in life, as you do with your hockey team after two losses?
Woof.
A whole lot of mouthbreathing boomers posting here today.
Do you keep your head in the sand with everything in your life, as you do after your injured, poorly-constructed hockey team has underperformed all season?
Sorry, all I read was “waaaaa waaaaa”
Yeah I think it’s quite clear you have difficulty reading, among other things
Hah. I’m just wasting my time on a squid like you. All you do is bitch and complain, sound like my teenage daughter. Best to walk away when dealing with children like you.
Move along, little one
It is possible to hope the team wins while having an honest discussion about the shortcomings of the management and coaching staff. It’s part of what makes professional sports fun
And yet where does this “I hope the team wins” exist in the comments today?
You do know it’s possible to be critical, while still hoping they win, right?
I don’t think any people posting on an Oilers blog about their frustration with the team don’t hope they still win …
Read my posts
You’re complaining about complaining on a blog about the Oilers after a bad loss…okay then.
I finally found a comp for KK that I like – Lieutenant Dike from Band of Brothers!
Don’t you disgrace that show with your BS
Ranford.85 reminds me of Captain Sobel
Coach says he hasn’t made a decision on the starting goalie for tomorrow but did mention that, coming in to the playoffs, they knew they would need to make a switch at some point (i.e. use both guys) if they were to go on a long run.
He did reiterate his comments from post-game that the amount of goals is not on the goalie but on the quality (and quantity) of chances given up.
Win and you’re in going forward.
KK always playing 4D chess
Skinner has played 37 playoff games he has 19 wins 17 losses with a 889sv. Can someone please tell me how many times he’s been yanked in the 37 starts? This is the guy you want to go to war with? Bowman leaks that there changing the goalie situation next year. Pickard plays well enough not to get a goalie immediately he basically saves the season yet they won’t start him. Ask yourself why the media keep propping and protecting Skinner? Obviously they don’t believe in Pickard so let’s continue to play a half-broken Skinner. A 19-17 pkayoff record is all you need to know that he’s not the answer.
Somewhere along the line everyone forgot Skinner was meant to be the backup.
Now we have two backups. So why not just play the backup that is playing better? Picard has been totally fine this season and clearly better than Skinner. Never made any sense to me.
This is the truth. Good comment. Soupy was never replaced and Skinner came in to save the season but was never meant to be thrown in that quickly
Exactly. If they didn’t think they needed to get a better goalie to play tandem with Skinner, then there should be zero hesitation to start Pickard next game.
I’d play Rodrigue and hope he’s the next Patrick Roy….it’s not impossible right?
19-17 record in the playoffs doesn’t strike me as bad considering 15 teams lose in the playoffs each year.
Yeah “goalie wins” are not really a helpful stat anyways, just like pitching wins. If anything it makes Skinner look better than he has been in the post-season given the number of games the Oilers have won the last few years giving up 3+ goals
Yes, let’s fire Knoblauch for having to choose between Skinner and Pickard, Ekholm hurt, Bouchard looking like a rookie, losing Broberg, Holloway, McLeod and Foegele.
Maybe it’s his fault the PP and PK are broken, but I doubt it.
His fault on the special teams – both related mostly to deployment but also stale systems.
His fault on the goalie situation being mismanaged.
His fault for not bothering to figure out how to use talented players during the season.
His fault for having zero emotional leadership of the bench and leaving it entirely to #s29 and 97.
His fault for the lack of physicality in the team’s style.
His fault for the solution to everything being Connor Brown.
His fault for not adjusting with any decisiveness or purpose.
His fault for not fostering any individual growth in his players.
I could go on.
He is not the coach to lead them to Cups, therefore he is not the coach.
I don’t disagree with the sentiment, but this is a bit of an overreaction and is laying way to much at the feet of KK
Doesn’t Glen Gulutzan run the PP? And Stuard does the PK?
Is “the goalie system being mismanaged” just starting Pickard over Skinner? I don’t think Pickard is capable of backstopping the team to a cup either way
Hard to play physical when the team is hurt and you have a bunch of old and slows …
I don’t think screaming on the bench/at the refs would make much of a difference
The HC is the ultimate decision maker and he is the one employing the assistants.
So what – he’s supposed to fire GG and Stuart mid-postseason and figure it out? Throw out their schemes and just come up with some new KK-devised powerplay?
I don’t think he has 0 blame in this but I don’t think you can just lay all this blame at his feet by saying “the buck stops with the head coach”.
Also, if history has shown us anything, it’s pretty questionable whether the Oilers’ head coach actually has the ability to hire/fire assistants, given that Dustin Schwartz has survived like 6 or 7 coaching staff changes despite being pretty bad at his job…
He’s not primary offender, to be sure. However, his approach this year has been horrible.
With a full offseason to prepare for a season, he changed the structure and style the team was playing even though they made it to G7 of the SCF last year. He’s thrown lines into a blender all year inhibiting any solid chemistry between players to form in furtherance of getting the team to play ‘the right way’. He’s prioritized a low-event/shot-suppression approach with a roster that screams offense, offense, offense. He’s elevated players who work hard but who can’t cash chances and sidelined skilled, offensive contributors because of, at times perceived, lack of effort and gaps in their defensive game.
Good coaches adapt their system to their players, recognize players strengths, and put their players in the best possible position to succeed. KK has done everything short of putting Tobey Peterson on the powerplay and playing a 1-3-1 with 97 and 29 this year
History will record Josh Brown playing in game 1 of the NHL playoffs
on April 21st, 2025
Choices were made
4:54 minutes of ice time that will live in infamy …
Ha, not as bad as Dmitri Samorukov…although maybe more consequential.
Broberg and Holloway have a combined cap hit for the next two years of $6,871,374.
On July 1, JJ gave out $7M in cap to Arvidsson/Skinner, and $7.6M of cap in re-signings (Pickard/C. Brown/Henrique/Perry/Janmark).
But hey, at least we got 3 games of Trent Frederic and two third-round picks out of it.
Jeff Jackson masterclass
Arvidsson at least had a chance of working out. Skinner signing was absolutely stupid
They both had a chance of working out. But taking those chances, (1) a risk you don’t need to take, (2) while boxing yourself in with NMCs in case those bets don’t pan out, and (3) exposing yourself to the risk of losing two of your former first round picks who just established themselves as NHLers at 22 years of age, the year after you got to G7 of the SCF, was an unnecessary risk and an asinine decision rising to a level of criminal mismanagement that would make Anatoly Dyatlov look cautious and conservative
Arvidsson has not had an injury free season since 2016/17.
It was a bad bet from the outset.
Almost as bad of a bet as bringing back your 32 year old captain after not playing for three years??
Avs are 0-1 with Landeskog. But didn’t he get a couple points in the AHL??
Lol what type of a comparison is this.
Landeskog (a) was not a free agent signing, (b) was LTIR’d all year (not counting against the cap), so he didn’t take up any cap $ that could’ve been spent elsewhere, and (c) activating Landeskog didn’t result in the Avs losing two of their former first round draft picks who just established themselves as NHLers for peanuts?
I know you’re just trying to pick a fight with HH but this is an idiotic take that’s completely disconnected from reality.
Yes.
77 games from 2 years ago, I would call injury free
With two back surgeries in the intervening season?
If it was a one year deal with a limited no-trade, then at least you have the opportunity to pull the plug after 40 games. But a 2 year deal with a NMC is difficult to work around.
I don’t mind taking the risks but it was the depletion of the youth and speed. A very ignorant decision.
I am tired of the Bro DH talk BUT it is true….Broberg was a minute munching D man in the AHL and you don’t bring him up after he paid his dues and give him playing time he deserved, WTF I don’t blame him for the trade request. DH should of been signed they fd up so bad there.
Now with youth. Where is Philp? He should be up as the 4th line center. Living and learning. Why not give Savoie 20 games this season in the second half to see, let him adjust. Now they wont play and golf season is upon us anyway.
Decisions have consequences and with a salary cap, every player you pay has an opportunity cost. Giving Arvidsson $4M of cap means that’s $4M less you can pay someone else.
Taking the risk on Arvidsson/Skinner necessarily meant you were limiting the $ you could spend on other parts of the roster, including retaining Broberg/Holloway. That should make you less willing to take the risk
Jeff Skinner was one year removed from being #2 in NHL ESP/60. I would bet he had a lot better offers than ours. I think it was brilliant at the time, even if it hasn’t worked out as planned.
The Oilers’ coaching cycle has played out reliably over the past number of years and reveals flaws in their coach-hiring process. Not the team. They’re not perfect either – but they do have the best 2 players in the world. You shouldn’t need an amazing supporting cast to win a division if they are deployed properly. They aren’t.
Here’s how things have gone:
1 – Coach inherits offensive juggernaught
2 – Coach wins with the team scoring many goals and having some nights where there are a lot of mistakes
3 – Coach decides that rather than leaning into the team’s strength, he will fix the “flaw” and teach them how to defend
4 – Playing style and overall aggressiveness changes markedly
5 – Goal scoring drops and team begins losing more, despite better defending
6 – Coach laments what could possibly be wrong, and that the team is losing despite playing “well”
7 – Psychological effects of players playing away from their strength take hold, driving down performance across the board
8 – Coach fired
Find a coach who will identify the strengths of this team and max them out, not try to “fix” them. Building is done via individual players as Sather did with Messier, Coffey, Kurri, Anderson, and even the greatest of all damn time.
The only individual contribution of the last 4 coaches to either #97 or #29 is that Leon now knows he can be the best of the 2 on any given night. Hat tip to Todd for getting that out of him.
Yep. Why KK settled on the team playing a low-event/shot suppression style all year rather than leaning into the one advantage the Oilers have over the entire league is beyond me.
The biggest mistakes coaches make is wanting to win “their way”, rather than finding out the best way to take advantage of their players/roster. There’s more than one way to win, and often times the best strategy is figuring out the best way for your players to win, not working backwards from a pre-conceived idea about the “right way” to play
Couldn’t agree with this more. Defence doesn’t win championships, outscoring does. Now, complementing and offensive style with a goalie who is good at stopping transition chances against might have been a useful strategy.
Players under contract next year with NMCs/no-trades (excl. 97/29):
Nurse ($9.25M) – NMC
Nuge ($5.125M) – NMC
Kane ($5.125M) – 16 team no trade
Arvidsson ($4M) – NMC
Henrique ($3M) – NMC
Janmark ($1M) – 10 team no trade
I don’t think any of these players is so much of a negative that it’s worth giving up assets just to free up cap space, but man, the team really hamstrung itself, particularly this year.
This was discussed at length during the Trade deadline….
If only the front office discussed it prior to July 1 last year …
Next season is worse as all those players will be one year older with age-related decline already evident in most.
With only $9.4 million in cap space and Bouchard looking for a big payday there is virtually no room to manoeuvre.
And, hey, the Jack Campbell buyout doubles to $2.3 million.
The Oilers have a bad habit of making sure that 5-10% of their cap each year is allocated to paying for last year’s mistakes.
How does it get worse when Kane, Henrique and Arvidsson are all expiring next year? Seems like Bowman is gonna get a lot of room to change the roster in a year.
Those contracts expire AFTER next year.
Yes I believe that’s what in a year means
They’re signed through 2025-2026
we are hamstrung because we have barely any youth. They have all been bled.
It is rough. We need youth.
Get that PK working properly and figure out how to score some PP goals, if they get the opportunity to go on the PP.
As a personal gauge, I can tell how invested I am in the Oilers at any give time by how much I stew over them. Last year was an emotional rollercoaster in the playoffs where I would agonize over losses lying in bed trying to sleep and then wake up still stewing. This year on the other hand – meh. Nothing. It is like my brain somehow managed to properly assess the roster construction, the injuries and the goaltending going into the playoffs and effectively told my emotions to take a hike.
The ability to distinguish between “What I want to happen” and “what I expect to happen” is a skill I wish the front office could pick up as well
DiG UP, STUPID
THE Oilers management’s slogan for 35 years
If the Oilers had Dom Hasek in their crease they would of won the conference, started at home, playing the Blues.
If Bouchard goes at Byfield, and Byfield passes to the open man he’s roasted just as much. That’s a save Skinner must make, he’s 6 and half feet tall and gets beat over the shoulder.
He doesn’t have to go at Byfield. He mostly just has to stand his ground. Byfield shot from where Bouchard was standing.
Byfield would have to make a backhand pass (he is NOT Draisaitl) or bring the puck across his body to his forehand to make a pass. i.e. A pass could not be disguised.
Fiala is a left shot. A one-timer would not be possible. And any shot would not be at a great angle.
IT was the right play but yes he needed to push out Byfield a bit more to reduce the angle to help Skinner because God knows he aint saving an open shot
To all the folks here who applauded the Frederic trade on deadline day and chastised those of us saying it was an overpay/unnecessarily risky move given he was injured:
What’s your assessment of the move now?
It was a gamble that hasn’t paid off as of yet. I would rather see Noah Philp, another center inserted into the lineup. Frederic isn’t up to par, but Kane is looking good and that’s a positive.
Why trade for Frederic when you had Kane and Philp to begin with
I don’t like the inury but I like the player type and the risk to get him IF he resigns. I would make sure to get him signed.
It depends how much you value huge fearless guys that can skate and have some offense
I showed a while back that it wasn’t an overpay, look at what has been traded for Jeannot who isn’t as good. That player type carries more cost
It didn’t pan out, but I think Bowman was thinking long term as well. He is also pretty good at getting and also signing guys he wants, I’m sure he thinks he’ll retain Frederic. When was the last time the Oilers were getting the better Euro free agents etc? Slats? Holland did the obvious and paid through the nose each time
Given Kane is older and has a one year left, I think it was a very good move for a team that needs more players like that
I don’t value them too highly when they’re out of the lineup or completely ineffective due to injury when they’re in the lineup. He was injured when they traded for him, with an injury that’s notoriously fickle/difficult to predict recovery times on. The Oilers took a huge risk, overpaid, and it blew up in their face.
Comparing the trade to another, even worse trade, doesn’t “show” that it wasn’t an overpay. “Hey at least they didn’t trade a 1st for Paul Gaustad” doesn’t mean that the Frederic trade was good value. If I spent $500,000 on a beat up Corolla, but someone else spent $750,000 for one, it doesn’t mean I got a good deal – we both overpaid.
If Bowman wanted to sign Frederic that’s fine, why not wait until the offseason when he’s healthy and you don’t have to give up assets to sign him? If you were really gung-ho and wanted to have the inside track on signing him, you could trade a 7th or a 6th to Boston after the season for his rights and could have a few days to pitch him before resigning him?
What do euro free agents have to do with Frederic? If Holland overpaid worse, how does that make the Frederic trade good value/a good bet? At least Athanasiou played more than 10 games for the team …
Again, you could make this move in the offseason or take a run at him in free agency
It’s not easy to get players like Frederic, they are rare, and that’s why they cost more. And he’s not old. Having him in house makes him easier to sign than off the market. It wasn’t a foregone conclusion he wouldn’t play, the bet failed
So it boils down to whether a person thinks the player type is valuable. I do, especially for a team like the Oilers
It’s funny. When Galaxy Brain Jackson took over briefly from Holland, the future seemed locked down. McDavid coming off game 07 would be chomping at the bit with a management team that was tight with his very own representation. Some roster questions but clearly a very, very good team.
All he had to do was keep on keeping on. Instead, he hires Stan Bowman, who hadn’t been in the league for 3 years and whose reputation was shot. No matter what you think of Bowman’s role in Chicago’s scandal, that was a dumb ass move. The first thing he faced was a debilitating offer sheet. This is a famously aggressive managerial move made within a famously cliquey GM culture /community. It is reasonable to wonder if these things are connected. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I suggested this at the time and people nearly bit my head off. Because this team is much shittier now, and this dumb ass bet has not paid off, I’m bringing it back.
Where are the shots of him looking forlorn after goals against? C’mon Sportsnet. Or does he not travel with the team? I know he doesn’t live in Edmonton.
Some of us knew this hire was a totally embarrassing self own and we said so at the time. The culture matters. “Bowman deserves a second chance!”, was the refrain.
Why here? Why with a team that just went to Game 7 of the SCF? He hadn’t been in the league for three years! A “second chance” should have been a job, not the job!
“Wait for the results! You’re so quick to judge!”, was the pushback. Then the team was gutted of speed and talent and yet I still climbed off my high moral ground, and said ok, I’ll wait for the trade deadline.
I re-submit that Bowman did not deserve a second chance and certainly not in a culture that had been nurtured over time into a contender. So dumb!
Now Trent Federic has just hobbled around the ice in a playoff game in place of Jeff Skinner, two amazingly bad bets, and I am left here baffled that after a decade of pushing together, becoming a team with a championship culture, Stan Bowman of all people is going to be responsible for extending Connor McDavid 8 more years into an organization much shittier than he found it just 9 months ago. Huge own goal.
Or, he should be fired after the LA series. The Federic trade itself is enough justification. On with it. Maybe there’s still time to keep 97.
Agreed, l thought and said the same thing. Bad off season sank this team.
And what has been given away is the hardest thing to rebuild.
Most of the atrocious actions happened BEFORE Bowman arrived.
Jeff Jackson was responsible for making the team older, slower and more expensive with a brace of NMCs to ice the cake.
You have to wonder how (and who) was involved in the decision to hire Jackson.
Oilers ventured outside of the Hockey Canada old boys club after Nicholson and somehow found someone even worse
Can we stop it already with the “he doesn’t live in Edmonton” nonsense? I think it’s common knowledge at this point that he has a kid in high school in CHI and no parent is moving said kid to a new country mid-year.
I don’t care.
I’m talking here about organizational culture and accountability. His kid is in High School? Lame excuse.
I don’t give a shit where he lives I care if he’s good at his job. If Bill Zito would take the job on the condition he gets to WFH 24/7 I’d give him the job in a heartbeat.
I don’t care where he lives if he’s good at his job either, but he’s not.
Also, that was a minor throw-away line in a larger commentary about organisational accountability. Happy to let that one go.
So why don’t we criticize him for not being good at his job, instead of criticizing him for where he lives lol
Jesus guys, drop the Chicago thing. Read the last line of my post. Its the Frederic trade that has me running him out of town (wait… is he in town now?)
We’re trying to find easy narratives to rationalize running a guy out of town. You being reasonable isn’t helping. I hear he slept with a reporter as well as one of the players wives.
More like a single line was cherry picked and is being used to undermine the larger point but whatever.
Hear hear. Don’t get in the way of us finding a scapegoat we can throw under the bus in 3 years instead of making deeper organizational changes that address the root cause of the organization’s years of dysfunction.
My Fear after the playoffs last year was that the best chances at a cup were missed.
Management likely assured that last summer. You need hungry youth.
Home ice is looking pretty damn important right about now.
Skinner is at best a below average goaltender,period
I think he has the tools to be an above average goaltender, but he clearly has work to do and would probably benefit from a change of scenery and a team with a goalie coach capable of helping him improve.
I feel like I could say the same thing about every goalie this team has drafted in the past 20 years
Skinner is what he is. I kinda felt bad for him last night with the Kings celebrating each goal like it was a Game Seven overtime winner. The fans in the stands mocking him with glee. This board and others ripping him to pieces. (Myself included.)
Upon further reflection, my contempt is directed to a handful of people who put him in this spot. The GM should have found a way to provide a better goalie as their starter. Period. The coach has to be more aware of the situation. Most Oiler fans have come to realize that Skinner is in over his head. Yet Bowman sat unfazed, watching the game with his feet up eating ice cream while letting Stu Skinner take all the heat for his inaction. I’ve also lost a lot of respect for all of the coaching staff to allow this.
What the hell is so wrong with this organization that they refuse to put players in positions to succeed? From one end of the lineup to the other, from young player development to on-ice deployment, they make the wrong choices nearly every. Single. Time. For decades. This is why there is a dark cloud over this team that will probably remain.
They are going to have to win four straight now because they don’t want to play game seven in LA. When the going gets tough……..
1) I’m not happy but I feel vindicated in my prediction that the Kings would win this series. Edmonton looks all the part of a top-heavy team that papered over weak goaltending and a negative 5v5 goal differential this year by being 3-on-3 OT/powerplay merchants, while LA looks like the smarter, more poised, defensively-sound team. While the comeback in G1 exposed some weaknesses in their structure when they took their foot off the gas pedal with a big lead, they corrected last night and kept the pedal pinned to the floor all night, and Kuemper bounced back from a shaky G1 with a strong performance in net. Kings in 7 is looking like a wildly overly optimistic prediction on my part.
2) Ekholm’s absence REALLY hurts this team. Hard to argue that any other player is more valuable to the team’s overall performance outside of 29 and 97. Him being in the lineup allows everyone else to slide down a spot in the batting order, and his ability to complement/cover up some of Bouchard’s weaknesses is apparent.
3) Re: Injuries – Oilers were lucky with how healthy they were last year, and this year is a reminder that health is a huge factor in determining who’s golfing and who’s playing hockey in May.
4) There should be, but likely won’t be, a significant internal assessment by the Oilers front office this offseason about what they did wrong this year. More likely than not, they pin this on the coach and the players, but the lions share of the blame lies at the feet of management. You can’t expect them to learn from their mistakes and improve if there’s no accountability, but I guarantee the portion of the media in Edmonton that carries water for the organization to preserve their access will be all to happy to direct the fans’ anger to whatever scapegoats management designates for them to throw under the bus. Dustin Schwartz will also probably survive his sixth or seventh regime change, despite a complete lack of evidence he’s done anything to improve the quality of the Oilers goaltending or help struggling goalies improve.
5) The Oilers medical staff’s assessment/treatment of injuries this year is concerning – presumably they had some role in assessing when Frederic would return before Bowman traded for him, and they clearly made a mistake. I’m not sure how much continuity there’s been behind the scenes, but this organization has a history of being overly-optimistic/aggressive when it comes to injury. Also wonder about their role in the Kane saga this year, diligence on the Klingberg signing, etc. Not a lot of positive arrows.
On Frederic – the trade was an overpay and an unnecessarily risky bet the day that it happened, and it somehow looks even worse today than it did the day it happened. The Oilers parted with a 2nd (the most valuable asset the received from the offer sheets last summer) and a 4th for less than 10 games from a hobbled middle-six scorer who is clearly not ready to play. The Oilers have a history of trading valuable assets/players for magic beans, and this move has the opportunity to go down as one of the worst deadline deals in team (and maybe league) history.
Before the defenders jump in and say how this gives the team the inside track to resign him – why not just wait until the summer to go after him? Hell, you could’ve even traded a late round pick to Boston to get his negotiating rights? I can already see Bowman giving term and $ to a player who is better suited for a short-term/pillow contract to cover his ass so he doesn’t “lose Frederic for nothing”
6) Big picture – Why did the Oilers hire JJ to be the head hockey ops guy? He had no experience managing a team, building a roster, or evaluating folks to do those jobs. It looks to me like this organization thought they need to keep McDavid happy so they hired his old agent. And then when Woodcroft was fired they hired McDavid’s old junior coach, who frankly looks overmatched and slow to react. I’d like to think they hired these guys because they thought “they’re capable of building/coaching a cup winner”, but I feel like that was secondary to “Connor will like these guys and we have to keep Connor happy”. That seems like a pretty stupid way to make hiring decisions, because I’m sure 97 doesn’t give a crap about anything other than winning.
7) By the time next year’s postseason starts, McDavid will be 29 and Draisaitl will be 30. No player who is as good at hockey as McDavid has gotten this far into their career without a cup. Outside of Ovi and Yzerman, you can probably say the same about Draisaitl. Gretzky, Howe, Orr, Messier, Mario, Jagr, the Rocket, Beliveau, Crosby, Lidstrom, Lafleur, Sakic, all had at least one cup before they turned 30, if not more. This is not an indictment of McDavid or Draisaitl – it’s an indictment of the organization. How have the Edmonton Oilers, who have no problem spending to the cap and paying players, taken the first 10 years of two of the best players of this generation, one of whom is already a Top 5 player of all time, and turned it into one SCF appearance and one conference finals appearance where they were swept? This is an organizational failure that is, frankly, unlike nothing we have ever seen in the NHL.
8) If you’re McDavid, and this postseason ends they way it looks like its going to end, do you think that staying with this organization makes sense for you as a player? Do you feel that the folks responsible for building a roster around you are good at their jobs? Do you believe that the organization around you is capable of winning a cup after failing to do so for the first 10 years of your career? Loyalty and a desire to win with a group of teammates and friends you’ve been through hell with can only go so far. God I hope he stays, but if he decides to play out 2025-26 without signing an extension and leaving in FA, I can’t say that I could blame him.
9) With all of this being said – the series isn’t over and McDavid and Draisaitl have shown they can put the team on their backs and win multiple games while getting jack shit from the rest of the roster. Here’s hoping they somehow find a way to pull it out.
The Frederic trade was so brutal. Overpaid for an injured 4th liner with no clear return date.
I hated the move the day it happened and was derided by the majority of commenters here who applauded Bowman for the move.
Let this be a cautionary tale the next time the team trades for an injured depth player in the middle of a down year.
The worst part is high ankle sprains are notoriously fickle/hard to predict injuries, which made the trade even riskier
Gave higher asset to RETAIN salary on a guy who didn’t even count against the cap.
The Oilers proclivity to light draft picks on fire for magic beans and depth players, across multiple GMs and Hockey Ops heads, is baffling
He counted against the cap – he was not on LTIR>
Good thing they didn’t put him on LTIR, he was very valuable in that 7:10 he played for the Oilers in the regular season. Glad we made sure to overpay to get that cap hit down
This management team which includes Jackson and Bowman, have made terrible asset management decisions since they got here. Giving away multiple assets for little to no return. Now with few remaining trade assets and few if any difference makers coming up through the system, the Oilers are reduced to trying to patch things together through free agency for the rest of the McDrai window.
Yep. Those of us who have been pounding the “asset management” drum for months/years have been right all along.
You can’t keep mortgaging the future for magic beans and what-ifs and expect it not to bite you in the ass.
I assume S. Skinner will be traded away this offseason, and I assume the coach is going to be shown the door too.
But I think based on purging youth and speed, Jeff Jackson really should be shown the door too. He shortened the Oiler’s Stanley window substantially and torpedoed the 2024-25 season.
If the Oilers had prioritized and kept Broberg and Holloway (instead of getting Arvidson and J. Skinner), and hadn’t traded away McLeod, the Oilers wouldn’t have spent all of their trade deadline assets to bring in another (smaller, older, slower) LHD who can play RHD, and some fast energy wingers. They then could have had the assets to bring in a 1B goalie to steady the ship and really fill in the gaps.
That would require ownership/management to be introspective, willing to acknowledge their own mistakes, and to not just disclaim responsibility by scapegoating a coach and a few players.
based on how this organization has gone about the last 20-25 years or so, I don’t think that’ going to happen, as much as the organization needs to grow/change to be successful
Faults too numerous to dissect. Kings really want it. First to pucks. I will say that the first time we got inside their defensive perimeter around Kuemper, we scored.
To those blaming Bouchard on the Byfield and Kempe goals where he was the ONE In a 2-on-1 and a 4-on-1, walk me through your thought process.
I see Byfield on his forehand with his head up with Fiala back door. Bouchard has been coached that Skinner is weak EastWest so takes away the pass and Byfield scores from a low angle anyway.
Then on the 4-1 I see the same thing except Kempe is on his “on” wing so a worse shooting angle. Again Bouchard takes away the passing lane and Kempe just beats Picard clean.
So again, walk me through what it is you’re looking for from Bouchard on those plays?
It’s not even coaching. Bouchard took away the pass and Byfield was at an acute angle in tight. That’s a save you should make. But more concerning is that the two Oilers were more concerned with crushing the LA guy on the boards that they forgot about the puck. This happened a lot.
Mostly agree.
Bouchard played it safe and safe is good. That said, did Bouchard really think he would be able to intercept a cross crease pass on reflex? Seems like the backdoor option was pretty juicy anyway. It’s a static 2-on-1, but maybe the right play is to play it like a rush 2-on-1 and cut the pass while closing the attacker? Maybe put some pressure on even if it’s superficial? I don’t know I’m not a coach.
Commentary said that it’s tough shot to save as a goalie. I gotta trust them on that one.
Either way, the root cause of the goal was the 2-on-1 overload. A sharp eye notices Drai and Nurse getting caught flat footed along the boards allowing Byfield to pick their pockets and take on Bouchard/Skinner, but going a step more abstract: why was that play 4-on-3 in the defensive zone without the puck in the first place?
Where was Nurse?
No question, issue stated with Darnell going for a skate out to centre ice.
It was a 2-1.
But as former coaches and former NHL defencemen have commented – the solution is not
to let Byfield walk down main street and score a goal *uncontested*.
The issue starts with Nurse and only US fans got to see actual analysis of Nurse *bizarre* decision in his own end.
Powerplay differential:
10 Kings PPs to 5 for the Oilers.
Thats hard to overcome when you special teams suck.
The real playoffs begin tomorrow for the Oilers. They have had two games to introduce themselves to each other.
Skinner is going to be traded somewhere and be a good NHL goaltender. The abominable team defense in front of him this season, and particularly in those two games in LA will be hard to replicate elsewhere. Most teams actually try to play a smidgeon of team defense.
What’s the solution? The quality of team defense has been a problem stemming many years and many coaches.
Remember early in the year when the team was the best defensive squad in the league and Skinner’s save % was still sub .900?
Ill gladly make a friendly wager that Skinner is, at best, a 25-30 game backup when it all shake out.
The LA coach said it best when interviewed after the game “during the off season we got grittier and stronger.” As I have said before Edmonton got “smaller, older ,slower and softer” The die was cast on July 1st 2024 ..Thanks JJ
Pretty bad performance really.
Goaltending and D. Just have not been good at all and quite dreadful.
WTF is up with Nuge. He is not a NHL c man period anymore. His faceoff prowess is killing the team on PK’s.
The team is slow.
like you say LT there are no reinforcements coming. Maybe put Ryan in next game for pk’s and draws?
Be nice to see a bunch of these guys show up. Hopefully Pickard has a game tomorrow night. I guess you never know, but it really doesn’t look very positive at this point does it
Go Oil , win Friday and give yourselves and the fans some hope .
You would think Nuge would get better at face-offs after all these years. Most good veterans lose speed or some other part of their game but they make-up by doing the little things well because of experience obviously Nuge never got the memo. We need face-off wins on the P.K bring in Philip or Ryan maybe they can win a draw and L.A then spends the next 30 seconds retrieving the puck like we do every P.P.
For those of you who didn’t have the TBS/TNT American feed, the panel absolutely lambasted Nurse for an entire segment(and it was well deserved) . They highlighted how awful his positioning and play recognition are for a good 5 minutes. It ended with Bissonette screaming “DARNELL, SIMPLIFY YOUR GAME!!!!!!” (of course most of the team should also do this.)
Frankly, it was very refreshing to watch an un-oiler affiliated media team actually do their job and not just pick and choose who they like.
Gregor, Rishaug, Spector and their ilk essentially create narratives about players they don’t like. NOT ONE of them mentioned Skinner or Nurse as being part of the problem last night. It’s infuriating. They would have crucified Koskinen in the town square if he played this poorly in a playoff game, let alone 2 consecutive games. Now? Crickets.
Skinner is one of the worst statistical playoff-goalies on record with this large of a sample size.
Yes, the team can obviously play better, but when every single mistake made goes directly into the net, the goalie is the problem.
That 2006 Stanley Cup final team made mistakes too, difference is Roloson actually stopped the puck occasionally.
Skinner has likely played himself out of the organization.
Management really screwed the pooch this season(and I did like some of the bets they made). But the affinity for “vets” and experience (read: slow and unable to get to the play) skewered the regular season. The asset management has been awful for decades and their failure to recognize that goaltending was an issue at the deadline(when most folks cited statistics as proof of how sub-par it was, not relying on “well, they almost won with him last year, therefore he’s good”) has made the climb to the top nearly impossible. They’ve likely pissed away the prime of 2 of the BEST PLAYERS OF ALL TIME. And unless those 2 can someone elevate their play even more(is it even possible?), it’s looking like they will never win.
Prep yourselves for a MASSIVE overpay for a goalie(probably costing Bouchard in the process and then 20 games later complaining about how they need a player to get the puck to 29/97)
What a F&%ing disaster.
Please, Someone talk me off the ledge
When stepping off the ledge, make sure you are stepping the right way.
this made me chuckle, thanks
It starts with management
1 off season UFA signings were a fail.
2 Poor handling of rfa’s leads to no match on either offer sheet.
3 replace departed rfa’s with lesser players
4 acquire multiple injured players that do not contribute on the ice. Spend assets doing so
5 continue to mishandle prospects generally.
6 Fail to address goaltending issue allowing it to continue to sink a team that expects to contend
then there’s the coach
1 Juggles line up throughout pre season which ensures there is no cohesion going into game one and ends up with a predictable slow start.
2 Continues the blender throughout the season, pre game lines rarely lasting an entire game let alone a 5 or 10 game segment. No chemistry develops on any line other than McDrai
3 Puts an offensively gifted free agent in the penalty box while the team struggles to score goals and other players make the same defensive mistakes as said player. Player then improves defensively while contributing more offense than almost anyone on the team. Player is rewarded with demotion and press box at first opportunity
4 Dresses a non NHL defenseman in game 1. Realizes too late after player unable to perform, so benches player and forces team to play short handed most of the game. Plays an NHL player instead in game 2 48 hours later
5 Maybe should be added to 3, but press boxing Skinner while playing the clearly injured an ineffective Frederic is just awful roster management.
6 Handling of goaltenders makes no sense.
After all this, I’m still not totally writing this team off because McDrai. They have shown many times how they play there best when their backs are against the wall. Gotta have game 3 to get it started
If you were the coach of this tire fire of a roster would you do anything differently
Sometimes less is more. Set some lines and pairings for 5 games and let the team get some chemistry with each other early in the season. Tinker a bit as required. The constant juggling and defaulting to McDrai is a vicious circle in that overplaying McDrai creates more wear and tear on them, and other players are left on the bench, losing confidence and any familiarity of playing in high pressure situations. Fire the coach
Knobber’s tried nothing and he is all out of ideas.
KK’s new PP1 unit:
C. Brown-Henrique-Janmark
Klingberg-J.Brown
Let J. Brown screen the goalie like Chara used to do for the B’s. Second round, here we come