Ziggy is not at all concerned about the Edmonton Oilers in this series against the Dallas Stars. She knows full well that the opposition is good enough to carry the day, and that Jake Oettinger has already made some ridiculous saves through two games. Ziggy has talked with the rabbits and all agree that complaining about the gap in penalties called isn’t going to do any good at all. It’ll even out or it won’t, absolutely zero anyone can do about it.
She feels tonight might be a moment in time when Connor McDavid finds that extra gear and demolishes NHL defensemen. She thinks adding in Adam Henrique is a grand idea.
A note: This photo was taken many moons ago and brings me happy memories. In a lifetime, a 14-pound dog can see you through the best of times and the worst of times. We don’t deserve dogs, you know. Most impressive pile of fluff I’ve ever known.
SOME THINGS TO WATCH FOR
In the playoffs, Ryan McLeod has played 163 minutes five-on-five, has a SA-60 of 20.92 (4th best among forwards) and an expected goal share of 55 percent. He is a 1-6 on-ice goals in those minutes, and some of those GA were authored in whole or in part by Mr. McLeod. I am always stubborn on young players who have shown well for extended periods. Recent stubbornness has been necessary when names like Evan Bouchard and Stuart Skinner came under fire. I did the same thing when Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto were being criticized heavily, and still believe those two men are NHL players. I think running McLeod and his all-world speed on a line with Henrique might be a good way to go.
We talked yesterday about the Oilers second and third pairs. I don’t know how many options Kris Knoblauch has here, the six men he has deployed from the start are all he really knows. In the year of ‘anyone but Broberg’ would Knoblauch take a chance? It worked out with Dylan Holloway, but the coach gave the winger some track to prove himself during the regular season. That did not happen with Broberg.
I’m interested in something Woodguy wrote in the comments section not long ago. It was about giving Stuart Skinner a rest when tremors enter the chat. It’s funny, I’m back in a fantasy baseball league and can’t believe how much has changed in 20 years. When you follow something closely for most of your life, then step away for 20 years, the furniture is not only in a new place, it’s new furniture!
Here’s an example: The Chicago Cubs have a brilliant starting pitcher named Shota Imanaga, who is playing in his first MLB season. The Japanese hurler owns an 0.84 ERA, and has a 5-0 record. The Cubs skipped his start this weekend, not because of performance but rather worry over his getting too many innings in a short period. He threw just 88 pitches in his last start, that’s about 75 percent of a Steve Carleton start.
Rest is a big deal and we don’t know what we don’t know about it. I have no idea if Woodguy pulled the thought out of the ether or whether this has been discussed at length somewhere. Maybe there’s a story out there that I haven’t seen (my ability to spend time reading is far less now), but I think it might be a big damn deal.
I wrote about Connor McDavid today at The Athletic, I do hope you read it. He’s such a fascinating hockey player, easily the most interesting subject I’ve written about over these last 20+ years. He’s a combination of other-worldly and laser-focused, with a touch of the stubborn and a stunning ability to add another stack to his arsenal each season. Enjoy him, ladies and men. The pedestrian is evident everywhere, the brilliant so rare it must be observed closely and preserved in the mind’s eye. What an incredible talent.
A big show today, as we preview Game 3 of a fantastic series. The Stanley Cup is available to these Oilers, can they grab it? Rachel Doerrie from Staff and Graph Podcast will guide us through questions about Ryan McLeod, the lack of power plays and Jake Oettinger. Jason Gregor will give us the latest, including updates on Adam Henrique and who he’ll replace. We’ll also talk Elks and CFL. You can reach me at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section or on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly. Question: Would you like to see an updated 2024 Lowetide draft list later this week?
BET THE BEST WHEN UPU KNOW YOU GOT EM
When your best players want to cheat instead of win, you lose
When you can’t find players that can finish like an NHL player in the playoffs and don’t play inside you double down
If you can’t tell smart hockey players from those that aren’t, you triple down
It’s down to luck all the way, so everyone do their superstitious things and don’t forget!
LT called it, although they aren’t showing enough gumption to get to OT
Still in it, pretty disappointing though. It was sitting right there
Nuge mcdavid Hyman
Kane mcleod drai
Holloway henrique brown
Janmark Carrick Ryan/foegle
Final answer
Simply put:
1. Drai is drowning away from mcdavid and super top d-pairing. I think mcleod can carry mail.better defensive zone wise or at least as good. Give drai more leeway to focus on 2nd line attacking. He can get Kane the kind of passes to use Kanes best skill.
2. I trust that third line to get puck up ice into offensive zone pretty consist and even have 1-3 good quality scoring chances a game (henrique taking dzone draws with fast solid controlled offensive zone entry wingers who can get off ice quickly after rush chandmce for ozone attack unit wingers)
3. Janmark Carrick Ryan also can eat defensive turd minutes respectively
Worst broadcast moment of the game was the Boston Pizza integrated fan promotion thing that featured two green men and the “Winnipeg” and “Toronto” fans from the commercial – as if they had paid to cheer for Edmonton. And Sportsnet is such a fraud of a broadcast it needs to leave the ethics of the spectacle to the colour commentator to provide some off script context. Thank you Craig Simpson.
Between betting and shilling and projected ads… what a cheap product. That’s why Ron McLean needs to ham fist some generic nationalist sentimentality into every game to distract from the fact that the biggest threat to our enjoyment of the game is in fact THEM.
And Cuthbert provided the voiceover for said BP commercial.
———————————–
This is like when Pepsi sponsored that contest for a new Team Canada cheer about 15 years ago during the WJHC (IIRC). The winning entry “Hey Ho Canada Go” went over like a lead balloon. So wretched, and especially when TSN piped the chant in during a game to make it sound like fans were actually using it. Awful.
Bill Hicks has some advice.
I was extremely disappointed with the second period. For the first time this year I almost stopped watching. They deserved to lose that hockey game. You can’t fold like that. Despite, my reason for optimism:
This team has a kink. We’ve seen it all season. They play best with their backs against the wall. We can be frustrated with it and if they do bow out point to the self-inflicted wounds. But they need to put a complete effort together in game 4 and make it a best of 3. Everyone knows they can. Time to do.
I wouldn’t mind if they made a few changes: Perry in but I don’t know who comes out. This series and last night especially weren’t nearly as physical as I expected and I would like to see more bastard behaviour. Pickard would also be welcomed. Let’s stick with the bit. It worked for Vancouver. Keep Nurse and Ceci separated and don’t lose your coaching mind in the final minutes and remember you haven’t used the time out.
And big dogs gotta play D. The biggest difference when this team is winning or losing (even off and on within games like last night) is when the forwards are coming back low in support. It’s either there or it isn’t. Been that way allllllll season.
We have seen, with absolute certainty, that the Oilers can dominate the Dallas Stars for stretches – play committed and structure hockey, strong on the back-track and stick in all lanes and pushing the pace and looking like they are two tiers above the Stars.
We saw it in the first period of each of the last two games.
I’m not sure why they haven’t been able to just not sustain it but have the script flip for the next 20 minutes, twice now.
Conclusion: I know this team can beat the Stars – they’ve proven they can outplay them, and handily. I look for a repeat of last night’s first period tomorrow and for the 2nd period to not be a 180.
I see a solid 5-2 win on Wed.
Please.
Its funny right. Dallas craps the bed in the first, the Oilers the 2nd and then it comes down to one shot in the 3rd.
Vinny hits the post. Stu doesn’t seal his post. Its that tight ladies and men.
In an odd way I’m harkened that it was McD, Nuge and Ekholm/Bouch who got burned oh so badly in the 2nd. Yes there was a shift earlier, but that was bend but not break territory. Nobody got scored on and Coach K was able to get his top line out next for what should have been a pushback shift.
But Bouch and Ekholm flubbed it down low and McD inexplicably stick waved at Robertson instead of doing something, anything to tie him up. Ditto for Nuge and to a lesser extent McD on the 2-2 goal. They were both there, but just starring at the puck instead of picking up a guy. Gotta be better than that gents. Can’t let your team down with lazy defense.
Anyways. Same sort of catastrophizing happened in the Van series. The same angst and anger.
It ain’t over, calm your tits. Its not a straight line process. They’ll find their way.
Man that game didn’t go the way I thought it would. I know this team can beat dallas. Edmonton loves playing against the wall is the only thing I noticed.
I would inject a motivated McLeod and Perry. slight shift.
I think putting Broberg in is too much for him. if they would have gave him 20 games in reg season, maybe … but not now.
this is the team. They have to find a way.
Drai needs to be better. RNH, Nurse. that alone will get us a win in game 4.
Draisaitl has a broken finger. We can’t expect him to put up points at a rate similar to earlier rounds.
Interesting how we all see it differently. I thought Desharnais was the weak link tonight, though that’s not his fault. Not sure why we haven’t tested Kulak with Nurse, surely one of them can play RD better than Ceci/Des. Nurse likes to wander over to that side anyway. I think Kulak’s wheels could help Nurse spend less time defending, he’s lost in zone right now. Broberg/Ceci could implode, but something has to give. The definition of insanity and all that.
Honestly not sure what to do with forwards. Could put 19 with 97/18, then 93 on 2nd or 3rd. But if 2nd then it’s Kane I’d move with McCleod. Mostly just get more pucks to net with sticks down, we’ve scored 2 that way and could have more, Dallas D are pretty stationary at times.
The 2nd period is the exact period that cost us the series against Vegas last year. For a team that talks about how mature they are, that level of inconsistency between the 1st and 2nd period is hard to understand. Had an opportunity to put a strangle hold on a series and blew it. Good teams like Dallas will make you pay for that.
Another Nurse theory before I forget, maybe he’s really struggling with zone d.
He does stand around a lot and usually in the wrong places. For a guy who’s big and strong, he doesn’t seem to box out players well either.
Maybe he thrived more in the man-to-man d zone system where he could keep his feet moving.
Yeah, his positioning is strange for a vet. The box really reduces his aggressiveness, and doesn’t play to his strength and mobility. Box+1 isn’t intended to be that passive. He is often so close to the crease, but without taking away the pass, a stick, or the shot. Or he’s trying to block when on the edge of the crease instead of closing on the shooter first. As Tocchet said, ‘get out of the blue, nothing good happens there’.
He did some nice transition defending today, but his in zone play is a detriment and he’s not contributing anything on offense. Maybe injury, but a couple years ago he was probably better than this with a torn hip flexor.
You are onto something here.
It’s been a very emotional night. I hope we can wake up tomorrow and have just another day. Move on from this and look to the next game with fresh eyes.
Hope is a powerful drug. Miracles can happen.
Business 101. Hope is not a plan.
I still think Edm is ok. reality is they have to win game 4 ,but that is possible. Get it to a best of 3 …
Professional hockey is certainly a business, however, the play on the ice, and the fandom connected therewith, is spot – I have immense hope!
Can’t wait for tomorrow night!
Jonathan Willis
@JonathanWillis
I’m not saying Cody Ceci is actually Edmonton’s eighth-best 5v5 defenceman, but he’s *much* closer to being their eighth-best than he is their best.
And reuniting Nurse/Ceci (out-chanced 8-1 tonight, 11 xGF%) is absolutely indefensible.
Having no #7 Dman is indefensible..
EV TOI
Bouchard 20:53
Ceci 20:03
Ekholm 19:11
Nurse 19:05
Kulak 15:09
Desharnais 13:05
Maybe I’m missing something, but that TOI summary doesn’t refute the main point that re-uniting the pairing was a mistake. The two have been a sinkhole when together this playoffs (both GA% and xGA%, so not just bad luck). It was entirely predictable a GA was coming.
I was merely reinforcing that Knoblach continues going all in with a pair of 7s.
Heiskanen played 23:55 at evens..Lindell played 23:36.
It’s obvious that Ekholm-Bouchard should play more and those minutes should come from Nurse-Ceci
PJ Stock
@PJStock28
Remember this period if the #oilers lose this series. It will be the period that started the end of their run for years. Might be the demise of this great talented group.
Somthing changed in this team/season during that second period.
Could see it coming from a mile away. I’ve watched a lot of hockey in 65 years. I understand ebbs and flows. Momentum shifts.
But the change in play from period one to period two is beyond my comprehension. I can’t fathom how the entire team can stop playing at the same time. Dallas wasn’t that good. The Oilers WERE that bad.
Dallas did the same in game two. But somehow Edmonton was unprepared for a big push from the Stars to start the second. I mean, What???
It’s going to cost Draisaitl to shed Nurse and his contract.
I would rather play him in the 3rd pairing for around 9-10 ev strength mins against the Dregs.
He would thrive in that role & then it would be more like having $6M dead cap space instead of $9.5
Keep 29 at all cost
Not much different from game two. It was 5-3 instead of 3-1.They just scored more goals .
Great news for the Oilers in that Seattle is hiring another retread in Bylsma. The coach who probably cost Crosby a couple of more cups.
Thanks HH
Who cares? No one.
I’m not placing blame solely on Nurse or Ceci or anyone else but at some point, the coaching staff needs to respond to what’s happening on the ice. Among all of the remaining Dmen in the NHL playoffs, the non-Oiler Dman with the lowest on-ice goal share is Esa Lindell at 40% (8-12). Lindell is also the non-Oilers Dman who has been on the for the most goals against with 12. EDM has 3(!!!) Dmen who are both lower in goal share and have been on the ice for at least 12 goals and you know who they are.
I know that Nurse is better player than what we’re seeing, but whatever he’s doing simply isn’t working and I’m wholly unconvinced that we’d be losing much of anything by sitting him for a game. Give him the chance at a reset while giving Broberg a shot. Who knows, maybe the infusion of a new look can be the catalyst for taking over the series.
Well, that would require someone to admit the problem and even some fans can’t get there…
Well, how about Nurse posing for the Dallas player to get a “hole in one?”
Huh?? That is dedication right?
I still like Nurse, I have no idea why he’s slipping this much. Maybe he’s battling an injury.
Must be some injury
Nurse played that fine.
Robertson is a left shot on his strong side and Nurse reads where the opposing Dallas player is on the 2v1 just fine. His job is to cut off the pass which he did and the angle is even better as Robertson takes himself lower. Stu takes the shooter on this play and Stu cheated off his post just a bit.
Blames goes to the turnover up high that set it all in motion and to Stu for cheating.
This is bang on.
Seems people have their whipping boys and always blame the same guy. (I know i do too… its human nature i think)
Some its nurse.
Some its ceci
Some its skinner
Some its ____
The reality is most plays have a couple players at fault. The oilers had a lot of players at fault on a lot of plays tonight.
Was a sad game to watch as the whole team got trounced in the second period. Got their crap together a bit in the third and then credit to robertson to find the hole…
Sometimes it is the player finding a hole… sucks for sure and i want skinner to seal thst post. But i agree thst nurse is not the guy on that shift.
Robertson was obviously feeling it tonight. He said he probably wouldn’t have even attempted the shot if he hadn’t already scored twice. He credited there goalie coach for his input on how to score goals.
No doubt they have pre scouted Skinner.
Three and a half minutes of suck. That’s all it was. Unfortunately, not the first time with this group. They got rattled. They panicked. Job done. Flush that shit and move on to game 4. That’s all that matters now.
That, and another Pacifico Clara or two, a nice indica, and some Jane’s Addiction. Onward and upward people!
Takeaways in the game were Dallas 17 Edmonton 7.
That did not all happen on 1 shift.
Thanks Godot.
Three and a half minutes? Lol, not even close.
Yeah, you know that brief period during the 2nd when the Stars scored 3 of their goals and completely switched the momentum from all Oilers to all Stars? That’s when the game was lost. Anything outside that is pretty much meaningless to me.
Really……
Yes, really. Pacifico, indica and Jane’s Addiction go very nicely together.
Let’s take out the Dallas top TOI D of Heiskanen and Lindell…
Harley
GF 14 / GA 8
Tanev
GF 11 / GA 9
Suter is almost 40 years old
GF 9 / GA 8
How big is the drop off when Heiskanen is on the bench?
Weren’t we talking about that before the series even started?
We were….but I think even the few remaining Nurse fans are in shock at some of the shifts they are seeing…
I didn’t realize we were discussing Nurse . We’re talking about taking out the Dallas defense.
Three straight one goal games with empty betters and you’d swear to god the scores were 10-0 each and every game hahaha.
Big guys had a face plant in the 2nd aided by a very bad no good Vinny shift. But that was after delivering the exact same
level of spanking to Dallas in the 1st.
Vinny rings the iron in the 3rd and Stu cheats off his post ever so slightly.
Neither team has played 60 minutes. Both got breaks and/or have been lucky and unlucky.
Enjoy the ride.
And holy crap folks the Nurse bashing tonight is weird considering he was least to blame on any of the GAs. Vinny, Ek, Bouch and too a lesser extent Ceci on the GWG had way worse outings at critical moments. The one bad Nurse shift, like frick they didn’t even score!
Take a pill folks. Lots of hockey left and if you’re coming away from these games thinking Dallas is invincible you should give your head a shake.
Yes. I’ll remain a fan but am also a realist. Odds are not in our favour now. Have to win 3 of 4 now against a team in which every game has been a coin toss.
Now, if McDavid or Draisaitl were a weighted coin for us, perhaps I could get on board, but outside of the first period, they were victimized far more than we’d like. Not the ace in the hole we have come to expect
This is defeatist not realist. Same as many did last series.
McD and Drai are weighted coins. Neither had great games tonight. Started off well but faltered pretty hard in the 2nd. Hopefully they pay a bit more attention to detail. I hope Stu hugs that post a bit tighter next time.
Dont catastrophize and don’t draw epic conclusions from a one goal game. It’s tight and this matchup still favors the Oilers but they have to play a full game. Same as it ever was.
It’s not defeatist to state facts.
I am squarely in this team’s corner. The task just got a lot harder than it should have been. The same team that was defensively more sound in games 1/2 let things slip big time.
And yes, Drai and McDavid were not good enough tonight, whether due to injury, illness, or other reason.
They are likely exhausted and playing a team that got an extra 3 days rest between series.
They were dominant in the first period and then ran out of gas….again.
They were down 2-1 against the Canucks too.
What do you mean holy crap, folks? Darnell Nurse has been on the ice for 18 GA at 5v5. Next closest dman in the playoffs is at 12.
Nurse makes 9.25 million dollars and in 9 months he will be 30 years old….
Can’t wait to see him at 34
And, for these keeping track at home, his contract is effectively buyout proof with the final 4 years being almost all signing bonuses.
You remind me of Matty Tkachuk circling a scrum looking for someone to sucker punch…
Something really dark must have happened to you. I hope you find the help you need some day, I truly do.
I’ve never been a huge fan of his game, but something is really really off even for him.
One theory I had previously was that he’s playing a lot without 97. How much can be explained only by that, I’m not sure.
-2 on the night. xGF% 23%.
Still, he’s either eroding in real time or injured.
Nurse
15 games played
0 goals , 1 ( secondary) assist for 1 point
The loss is not “on” Skinner, but certainly he went one game too many. Why does the coach have to let it happen before correcting. In hindsight a performance dip seemed predictable. Need Pickard for at least one game now.
I think we need more from RNH and Nurse. 2 vets that are good players and key to our depth.
I could see McLeod and Perry in for game 4.
We wait. Edm is still in a Good spot. Have to win Game 4, but if so we are down to best of 3 in the Western Conference Final. How good would that be?
Who could have seen this coming…
15 playoff games.
Nurse
GF 8 / GA 18
Ceci
GF 6 / 12 GA
Meanwhile has Heiskanen – ever – been on for a goal against these playoffs?
They based entire strategy around him. He is so mobile they let him get the puck and just wait up I’ve for the stretch pass.
Oilers did not make it hard on dmen that play 30 minutes.
Yes he was a -4 heading into the series.
Tanev is 1-4 in GF/GA this series.
Its tight. try to enjoy yourself.
Tanev is positive goal differential these playoffs against some pretty good forwards….either way, not sure that should make anyone feel better about what Nurse is doing for us
Wow, that was terrible. Nothing else to say tonight. Let’s see how thenOilers respond, or dom’t. Tonight may very well be a defining moment for the organization.
I’m surprised to read it was this player or that player. Come on.
There we’re 5 Oilers around the net, not one of them picked up a man. Not one Star ended up on the ice. Soft, soft, soft.
On every goal, another team would have picked up players. oilers forgot defence again. Soft defence.
Dallas dmen playing almost 30 minutes unmolested. They are dam good dmen, but Oilers don’t finish checks, don’t make them tired.
The whole team owned this one.
As Stated at the start of the series…..Pavelski is non existent. Duchene not much.
One player to watch out for…..
Robertson owned some key Oiler player on our own ice no less….
Henrique played well. That’s a positive.
One day in the future a revolutionary coach will refuse to pull the goalie (until the final 30 seconds maybe) and the game will get rid of a terrible strategy.
Haha, you have to protect the empty net better than the oilers do. Lose a draw and then someone has to drop back
I’ve wondered whether there will be a shift to pulling the goalie a bit later (say 60-90 seconds left if down by one). To my understanding, the numbers that support pulling a goalie with more time left were based on the game tactics of the day (if leading, don’t go for the empty net from “wrong side” of centre, as it risked icing). Then, as I understand it, math said it’s fine to go for the empty net from anywhere (reward of winning the game with an empty netter outweighs the risk of an own zone face-off). With the increased rate of attempts at the empty net, do the numbers still say 2 minutes or more is a good idea?
Have we ever gotten confirmation on Stecher’s availability? If he’s healthy I put him in for sure. I definitely consider Broberg as well.
Feed them to the wolves. Good plan.
The alternative is to continue to see the same results we’ve seen for 15 games. At least if they fall short, there’ll be a valid set of reasons why. Nurse, Ceci and to some extent even Desharnais are out of such excuses.
Series still winnable. Oilers had a chance the last two games into the third but couldn’t get it done. Dallas’s 2nd D-pair better than ours, their overall attention to/execution on details has been better, and Otter outplaying Stu, so confidence not high.
Godot please enough with the Bouchard criticism. I wouldn’t criticize Chris Pronger back in that 2006 playoff run when he played the position as well as can be imagined even if he was on for a goal or two against. And crazily, Bouchard’s performance isn’t far off what 44 did 18 years ago. He’s beyond criticism for me.
Just providing a pinch of balance against the Oiler bation and blogosphere hagiography.
You have never once been balanced hahaha
Wait……I need to look that up…..
or not, I think I’ll just scroll along…
You think you’re correcting for something. You’re mistaken.
bouchard is not Chris Pronger. few are. no comparison
The coaching staff has reduced Cody Ceci’s minutes from 22 minutes a night to 17, but I’m still waiting for them to figure out that it need to be zero minutes. This is a stunning number: the scoring chances with him on the ice are 94 for and 181 against, and the goals are 7 GF and 16 GA. Phillip Broberg can easily surpass this.
Ceci had the second most D TOI tonight at 20:58
The defence for Nurse’s play is that he doesn’t get to play with McDavid. Doesn’t this apply to Ceci too?
Nurse
CF% 40
SF% 40
GF 0 / GA 2
That was one of the pathetic periods ( 2nd ) of hockey I have seen in a very long time.
Foggy – Ceci and Nurse started it off with a tire fire shift
“I think I’ve seen this film before, and I didn’t like the ending”
Looks like the Oilers have met this year’s Vegas / Colorado. Eerily similar dynamics: shaky vs solid goaltending, 6 minute stretches of inexcusable lapses in the middle of the game which let the opponent score 2-3 quick goals, guys like Robertson (Eichel, Lehkonen) scoring at will. At least they won one Semi final game!!!!!
It’s still only 2-1 Dallas.
Thanks, pardner!
There was a lot of optimism in these here parts 3 games ago but none of those rosy predictions have been true – Dallas’ “weak bottom 4” D are outplaying the Oilers hugely, Oettinger has been fully excellent, Skinner has reached his ‘4 game limit’ and the Stars are just stronger, more relentless and patient.
Oilers might yet benefit from a bounce or two but this all looks soooooo familiar!
I’ll give you the first two, but I thought actually the Oilers are stronger. We’ll, most of the time…
And after the Oilers beat the ‘nucks, you were here gushing about their performance and how great they looked in games 6 & 7.
Go away.
You bailed on the team last round, too.
You’re the definition of fairweather.
Hate to see you when it rains.
Bouchard was just extremely awful on those first two goals against. No clue and no effort.
The whole team was bad in the second period.
That’s not much of a rebuttal and doesn’t change what Godot said.
Doesn’t mean it’s accurate either.
I actually feel bad for Darnell Nurse. This was a once proud player that just three years ago wasn’t just our #1 defenseman, he was so far ahead of the others he played 62 minutes in a playoff game. That false bravado look on his face after the game-killing penalty is just so transparent. I can’t imagine the pressure he’s feeling.
He wasn’t though.
The Oilers brass’ false bravado and non-stop belief in their chosen defender despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary sabotaged so much.
He’s never been anywhere near as good as MacTavish and others tried to will him to be.
What has happened to his game? Seriously, he used to be a stud defender who could jump into the play and be a scoring threat. Minus 12 is not a fluke, something ain’t right
Soooo… accountability for Nurse when?
Really tough loss tonight – adds ALOT of pressure to Wednsday night’s game. Hopefully the higher minute players will realize that the defensive commitment need to be the entire game, not just the 1st period.
Meh no need to catastrophize.
The top guys didn’t play tight enough for a period and it bit them square in the ass. They let everyone else down tonight. Stu with a not great play on the winner. But whatever, shake it off and come back with a full effort.
Not to you OP but The Nurse hate tonight is bizarre. On a night you could rag Bouch, Ek or Vinny for directly contributing to GAs this blog tees off in Nurse. Weird stuff.
When are these Oilers going to “learn the lesson”. Sure seems like it keeps repeating itself.
I hate to say it but you gots to split up Bouch and Ekholm. Everyone else other than Kulak is absolutely drowning.
Put Nurse and Bouchard together
Ekholm Desharnais
kulak Ceci
worst thing that can happen is all the Nurse apologists can stop complains about Nurse never getting a good partner
You did see Bouchard on the first two goals against.
Yeah, I am done with defending Nurse.
Room full of people here just begging for Nurse To simply fire the puck down the ice for icing to stop the pain …..he could not even do that.
Kulak was part of that Montreal run. They knew how to play defence.
Didn’t they learn this lesson against Vancouver. A 2-0 lead come on guys.
Total buzz kill.
They haven’t learned this lesson in years.
Just like last game, McDavid faded after the first which doesn’t seem to fit with injury, more illness – its wasn’t as apparent as last game except, well, his non-attention to detail on the defensive side of things.
Is Darnell -20000 now?
Oilers inexcusable loss. Beat themselves again same pattern.
Twenty thousand leagues under the stars.
LOL. Thanks for the laugh.
The only good news I can take from these last 3 periods is that Otter is beatable and it doesn’t have to take an otherworldly play to do it.
Wait. Did they just say that Dallas regained Home Ice Advantage? Edmonton doesn’t get a second game at home?
Dallas did indeed regain home ice. Even if the Oilers win Game 4 (yes, at home) to tie the series, Dallas would host 2 of the final 3 games.
Yes, but they always were heading back to Dallas. Edmonton isn’t up 3-1 in the series. It was just the way they said it.
“Dallas regains home ice but Edmonton gets to relax in town until heading there.”
I don’t think there will be much relaxing going on. There’s still a game to play.
But even if Edmonton wins that one then it s best of three, two of which are in Dallas.
So bad. There are no excuses
IF you think that you can win a Cup
Thx KH
Well it’s still not over yet.
Tough loss tonight,Stu with another backbreaking goal in a tight game. These are hard games to come back from. I hope we see a good response next game.
They may be an old team but they are certainly not a mature group. So much puck watching followed by panic in the defensive zone. Dallas just has to wait patiently knowing the turnovers are inevitable from the Oilers.
Dallas doesn’t like to play the physical in your face type of game. I am not a pugilist but game 3 needs some nastiness rather than a loss with only a faint whimper.
I still can’t get over Dallas’ lack of D depth. Their top 5 D are really good. But the drop off after that is crazy. Haakenpaa isn’t on the road trip, Nils Lundqvist is bad, Petrovic was bad 4 years ago. Hammer. Their. D.
Yes and more yes. Put the Stars off their game. Get in their face already. Our guys like to stick check from 10 feet away.