2017 LMHF Report - Game #9 22 Nov 2016 9:22 AM (8 years ago)

EDMONTON 5

VS.

CHICAGO 0
-----------------

Well, that was refreshing.

It's been forever since I went to a game and at the end simply thought "they took care of business tonight".

This team did that.

I've missed a number of home games already this year due to a number of factors but was quite thankful to have seen this in person.

Early on in the game you could see the potential for what happened. Various Oilers forwards were pushing the Chicago defence backwards and either bobbling the puck away, or making a misstep. It was clear though that the Hawks would struggle against that forward group for the game. They never figured out how to shut the Oilers down. Once the first puck went in, the game started to change.

That's not to say the Oilers dominated early. They were giving up chances and needed some time to find the game. By the third they were in control. It took some excellent work from Talbot, especially at 2-0, to get there. This is how games tend to go against a team with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. There are very few nights where you will keep those men from getting a good number of chances.

Once they made it through the 10 or so minutes where Chicago pressed, the game was over.

One thing that was quite noticeable all night was that the Oilers were forcing hooks, holds and slashes from the Hawks. This is usually a good sign, even if it doesn't generate a parade to the box. The referees certainly were calling to the score from 3-0 onward. The entire 3rd period should have basically been an Oilers powerplay.

What I liked most was that the effort and push came from throughout the lineup. There were essentially no passengers last night. The Oilers are now talented enough that most games will be determined simply by whether the applied effort is there. Are they attacking the middle? Are they creating shooting lanes and then taking advantage? It really looks that simple so far. If they do this, they will score enough goals to beat most any team.

I loved the shooting from the defence tonight. They were making a concerted effort to move the puck or themselves into areas where the screens provided from the suddenly huge forward group would be most effective. They varied their shooting as well - everything from the classic bomb, to wristers at the corner, to slap passes and shooting for tips. It was great to see from a group that is usually so lacking in this area. I imagine that they've been working on this in practice. They're still 1 man away from being able to talk about using the forwards pushing the play low and dropping the puck back to someone dangerous - but they're getting better at least.

The powerplay was a sight to behold. I know the Hawks PK struggled mightily, but watching the home team actually control the puck for the majority of powerplay time was so refreshing. They may have finally figured out the key to the whole thing - get the damn puck to McDavid and move into space. They still haven't figured out the shot from the right circle (the player there is too low for an angled pass and too high for the cross-crease), but they'll get there.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed feeling like the Oilers were in control of this game. I'm honestly not the sort who wants to see last minute heroics. Blow em out and lets all spend the third partying.
------------

Talbot
- Outstanding performance. I enjoyed the basic saves more than the few spectacular ones to be honest. Why? Because when Talbot's positioning and movement control is on, he's near unbeatable. He was square to essentially every good chance a Hawk got. He was ready, steady and completely unfazed. There were clean breaks where they didn't have a hope. That's just great goaltending. He made the big saves when he needed to, but more importantly, made the easy saves easily. Such a lovely change from the first few games of the year. He had this locked down. There were not going to lose that lead.

Larsson
- I didn't notice him in the same way as the other defencemen, but what I did notice I liked. He was physical and mean again while maintaining position on the Hawks forwards. That's most of his job on this team. Looked like he moved the puck okay too.

Klefbom
- He's certainly looking like he's taking a step forward. Especially in the offensive zone. His reads on when to step up and what to do with the puck have improved significantly. That goal he scored is gold for a defenceman. The only thing better would have been if he'd gone bar-down. Hammering it through a goalie is pretty damn satisfying though. His shot that was tipped was a great read - he saw and timed the double screen so perfectly. Crawford had absolutely zero chance to see that puck. Defensively he looked good as well.

Sekera
- Just another solid game from him. Loved the point shot as again it was another clear read and timing a screen beautifully. He picked the exact right shot for the spot and that's an art. No major screwups.

Russell
- For whatever reason, he makes the difference for this group. I don't know whether it's decision-making, how he skates with the puck or that he just doesn't make a lot of passing mistakes. Some combination of both. When he laid out that Hawk in the second we all assumed it was a Lucic hit - seriously impressive for a guy that small to step up and just nail a guy. You have to be really strong on your skates to do that the way he did. Don't be fooled by the lack of board clatter either - getting hit like that HURTS. Very nice game.

Benning-Nurse
- I group them together because I didn't see a ton from either, but that's okay. They moved the puck a little bit and didn't get caught out of place. On a night when your forwards are going and your top 4 has things under control. That's really all you need. It's also somewhat impressive for an offensive guy and a wanderer to have a boring game together as a pair.

Lucic-McDavid-Puljujarvi
- Had trouble picking up on how good these guys were 5-on-5. McDavid did his damage on the powerplay and of course created chances with his outrageous speed (as he does every game). I still see Lucic struggling to know where exactly to go. I wonder if Boston and LA have gotten him used to an attack that comes from the blue line rather than on the rush or from speed. He should be able to simply move to the slot and wait a lot of the time. He flies by too much. McDavid and JP both had several strong defensive efforts, including 97 going 1-on-1 with Toews for a time. That was a sight. #98 keeps getting better with every game. The reason he's been able to stick is that, unlike most rookies, he doesn't make many mistakes and is strong positionally. He's also just massive, which helps.

Maroon-Hopkins-Eberle
- Is it wrong to pick on a guy who had a 2-point night? I don't care because I'm going to. Eberle has completely lost his shooting touch. I think back to the game where he couldn't finish his hat-trick despite a ton of chances before finally putting one in. Since then I've not seen him wiring the puck like before. He couldn't make one-times work last night and just didn't have any snap on the wrist shot. That's his moneymaker and it needs to work. He had a ton of chances which is mostly a credit to his linemates. He did get his stickhandling and rush skills going in the third, which was nice to see. Eberle's struggled with imposing himself on the game in the last couple years. Hopefully that ability is coming back. Maroon did an excellent job keeping up and getting to the net. I've been very impressed with his consistent game this season and the fact that he's able to work with skilled players so well. Love that he does it all with a big grin on his face too - you can really tell he enjoys his job out there. Hopkins had an excellent game as the backbone of this line, getting it done at both ends of the ice. He's adapting to his new role right now and I'll be interested to see how he settles in. I'd like to see more shooting from him though. He looked like he'd scored a couple times last night and didn't. Just needs to keep jamming away.

Slepyshev-Draisaitl-Kassian
- What a group to be dealing with. All solid, all can skate, all can burn you at any given time. This is my kind of third line. Loved watching these guys work. Leon did what he does best - get to the right spots in a way that leaves him able to apply his strength and skill to get things done. Lovely simple goal to cap the night and a perfect screen+tip for his first. Made some nice passes and other plays too. I was impressed Slepyshev was able to get a off a shot period, much less with that release and scoring a lovely tough angle goal. Having random big guys who can skate and fire the puck is a wonderful luxury. The next shift he pulled out some fancy moves as well. People are really underestimating this hockey player and what he could mean moving forward. Kassian rang a post and drove the net hard all night. Great, simple, focused game. I'd like to see this group stay together - they're smart, big, can skate and everyone on the line can score goals. If they get teams' weaker defenders they will eat them for lunch.

Hendricks-Caggiula-Pitlick
- Had some struggles but thankfully not many that led to danger. They were giving up shots but not too many difficult ones. Caggiula impresses the hell out of me. 2 points in your first 2 after coming back from a crummy injury that could have derailed your rookie year is lovely. Pitlick had a set of sequences in the third where his forecheck dominated the Hawks defenders. It was a thing of beauty. The guy will be just fine if he *knocks* stays healthy. Let's hope. Another of the right sort of depth player to have around. I liked that Hendricks won some draws and whacked that Hawk who hung around the goalie too long. Would rather see a younger player there though.
------------------

So...are they trading Pouliot? He's going to struggle to break through if the young and cheap guys keep impressing.

Had a lot of fun watching them play that way. Could really get used to those performances. Even though Chicago was at the end of 3 in 4, part of proving you're a good team is dispatching a group like that when you get the chance, and making a statement while you do it.

They did.

Thank gawd.

2017 LMHF Report - Game #2 16 Oct 2016 8:21 PM (8 years ago)

EDMONTON 2

VS.

BUFFALO 6
------------------------

Sunday 'night' games are always weird. I swear the team never looks ready on these nights. Tonight was no different in many ways, but the team was good enough to overcome the early nap and get back in the game. Indeed, when Kassian broke through the line with under a minute to go, I swore he was going to pick the top corner and the Oilers would be ahead going to 2. He missed by a little bit, but that wasn't the killer, far from it.

A year ago, a few more games in, many of stood and watched as the goaltender anointed to be the future was failing. Thankfully, a part-time fill in was ready to rock and the team eventually got things moving - at least for a while.

Here we are again. I haven't watched a period yet this year where Cam Talbot looks to be ahead of the puck and making easy saves. Even the most basic shots are vexing him right now. This is truly disturbing as there is no Anders Nilsson this year. I saw a small glimmer of hope in the third when Talbot finally made some saves on yet another Buffalo PP, but even then he wasn't his usual, well-positioned self.

Make no mistake - I believe that despite all the issues tonight they win this game if Talbot doesn't stink out the second the way he did. That was brutal. It turned the game. I can't blame the team too much for not thinking it could run down Buffalo tonight. The pucks were just going in to fast.

The coaches didn't help either. I understand benching Pouliot. I truly do. This guy needs to figure out how to play the game without taking weak, useless penalties. How much are the refs looking for him? I'd imagine quite a bit. That doesn't excuse him, but I imagine it is a big problem.

Now, you bench Pouliot - sure...you don't mess up the lines as a result. You replace Pouliot with another winger and that's it. The change they made completely threw off the Oilers' attack and it wasn't the same at all for the rest of the night. Because the Oilers committed so strongly to the Lucic-McDavid-Eberle group, they don't have a lot of immediate versatility there. This is something you have to build, and they haven't.

The special teams are still struggling. Tonight they didn't generate powerplays but their PK was on display again. I've said it probably dozens of times now - until they ditch that absolutely stupid setup at the top where their forwards cross sides and wind up blocking no one and no lane, their PK will be a joke. Giving up such easy gimme chances is not excusable the way it happened tonight.

A word on a couple of Buffalo players - Rasmus Ristolainen and Ryan O'Reilly are certainly a couple of the finer players in the league. Risto had multiple points, and was an absolute beast in the D-zone. SO unfortunate the Oilers narrowly missed out on him. He would have been the absolutely perfect piece on that blue line right now. O'Reilly gave the Oilers fits too.

Random arena finding for the night - they don't have butter for the damn popcorn. Are you kidding me???

I don't know how much I want to even break down the goals so much. It was kinda ugly.
--------------------

Talbot
- Like I said, his game is dpeely flawed at the moment. Tonight he was late to essentially every puck and struggled to be square to shots. I'm having trouble picking up on why - there's nothing obvious other than that he doesn't look sharp or controlled in the net. Maybe he's unfocused, I don't know.

Klefbom-Larsson
- Oscar had some struggles tonight and gave the puck away more than usual. He also wasn't particular physical and didn't do anything offensively. Rather disappointing. Larsson at least made a diffence with some physical play. He got mad and punished some Sabres, which was more than you could say about some players tonight. He made some odd skating choices later in the game but seemed to be okay.

Sekera-Russell
- There was a play that Russell made in the second period that was one of the few bright spots in the game for me - he broke in from the point and made a strong move with the puck. Unfortunately the shot he got on net appears to have been blocked by Kassian. This could have made a difference in the game. I didn't see #4 as strong as in the first home game, but thought he was generally fine. Sekera was just okay for me. He has to create offence to be effective and it wasn't there so much tonight.

Gryba-Nurse
- Ugh...I really don't like watching this pair play hockey. Nurse simply isn't ready. He got beat again on a weak PK effort tonight in the first period where he waived his stick instead of taking a step. This is nearly universal in sport - if you get caught not taking a step, you pay. In tennis, basketball, hockey and pretty much everything else. It's just the way the games are played. I like having Nurse as a tough - but if that is all he becomes, that's an epic waste of talent. Gryba is simply too slow and takes too many penalties to play for this team. He can be the #8 or 9, but not 6. So many on this blue line can get the puck moving quickly. Time to weed out the player who can't in a more permanent way. Unfortunately, McLellan has adopted the flaw so many NHL coaches have. He has favorites. Comfortable players who he goes back to, whether they're any good or not. On this team, that's Eric Gryba and Mark Letestu. They play too much, get bumped up too easily, and get prime opportunities they don't deserve.

Now I'm going to try to cobble together the forwards - it was all over the place tonight.

Pouliot-Lander-Pitlick
- Otherwise known as "the benched and his unfortunate friends". Pouliot scored a nice goal but man...he just has to get this penalty thing under control. Shorter stick maybe? I'm serious. Lander was just okay. He ran into a few people, but that was about it for me. Pitlick was a little better - he landed a nice hit of course, but he also skated hard and was in decent position. He was more nervous with the puck than last game. Still holding his own.

Kassian-Letestu-Puljujarvi
-Jesse probably played his best game despite limited ice time. He was getting to pucks and beating defenders in a way I haven't seen him do thus far. This was the first night where I really saw him as a #3 rated prospect on the ice. He still needs to calm down with the puck a touch, but at least he's using his size and skating ability now. I'm still in favor of sending him to the AHL. Kassian had some moments. I have generally liked his game as a depth winger who can move around the lineup in the preseason and games thus far. The guy can play hockey and seems to have decided that is indeed his priority now. Like I said earlier, good chance in the first and got in some Sabres' faces throughout the game. Good stuff. Letestu had a nothing game by my eye.

Maroon-McDavid-Draisaitl
- Hmm...Didn't work for me. Even though I quite like Maroon with McDavid, they need a bit of a speed demon or at least a quick player to play with. I could see Leon on McDavid working well together, but not with Maroon. The combo just ruined the flow for me. Of course both #s 97 and 29 still got chances because that is what they do, but there wasn't the sustained pressure and balanced attack that you get when players like McDavid and Draisaitl especially are deployed correctly. Liked some of the fight in McDavid tonight as he got into some scrums. Maroon was a bit off for me. He usually gets better looks.

Lucic-Hopkins-Eberle
- As I noted earlier - didn't work for me. Yes Hopkins got a couple chances but something is off. Tonight he looked a step slow, and just wasn't that strong with the puck. He took a quick shot when a deke would have resulted in a goal. I don't know if he's being tasked with something different from the Coach or what. His game just looks off. Eberle? Didn't seem him a bunch to be honest. Again, with the flow thrown off this line looked slow and disorganized to me, especially Eberle. Lucic was okay - he at least kept doing what he does.
-----------------------

Honestly I think the focus tonight has to be on the coaching and goaltending. Without the problems there, we see a different game tonight.

2017 LMHF Report - Game #1 12 Oct 2016 11:16 PM (8 years ago)

EDMONTON 7

VS.

CALGARY 4

----------------------------------------

And away we go.

That was some kind of show on the ice tonight. Lots of entertaining moments and lots of "uh oh", but never any give up, which was huge.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on details of the new arena - it is too easy for me to drift into negativity and missed expectations there. Let's focus on the fun for a while if we can.

I will share a bit about the game going experience - it does feel new. It feels more upscale in many ways now, though that effort is concentrated in the lower bowl. I could easily see us moving seats to the lower bowl in the next year or two because the atmosphere down there seems great.

Where my seat is right now is very similar to the Rexall experience in a lot of ways, but the old routines are completely gone. There will be a settling in period of course - that can be expected, but it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. We've already noticed that it is a bit harder to track the game from where we are. The players mannerisms and detail such as helmets etc aren't as obvious so you have to be more active in terms of looking for players. Every now and again you mistake Pouliot for McDavid for instance. It will take some getting used to.

Got there very early tonight - mainly just due to the absurdly late start (seriously, who thought that was okay? I've got a flight at 8 tomorrow morning...). Wandered around a bit - found my way to my seat and settled in. The pre-game was fairly over-hyped and oddly shorter than I thought. It basically ended with Connor McDavid in the spotlight, charging in and putting a puck into the net. I was quick to point out that this was the wrong net, and despite the fact that the Flames had come out before the end of the presentation (who does that??), Connor should have charged the other net anyway. Make a statement. One that begins with F and ends with you.

Once the game started - many interesting things happening.

To my dismay, the Oilers are still using the systems play that was shown not to work last season. There are several better players trying to do it, but it still doesn't work. A couple specific areas leap out at me:

- Both 5-and-5 and on the PK, the forwards are way too low in the offensive zone. Especially against a team like the Flames those wingers have to be high. So many chances for the Flames D to blast away and create chances. How the coaching/video staff isn't catching this and adjusting I have no idea. It generates multiple chances every game including this one.

- That power play is just atrocious. Needs a complete system reboot. They don't control the puck or make things happen unless McDavid and to a much lesser extent Draisaitl make an outstanding play. This is no way to deploy talented players and win games. They were very fortunate this didn't cost them tonight.

With that said - this is a different team in terms of the player makeup. The two most striking differences right off the bat were the amount of large players who can also skate and forecheck, as well as a number of quick releases on the squad. The first change meant that Calgary couldn't withstand the fact that the Oilers kept coming. The forechecked and skated so well that the Flames never had time to get a foothold. This despite two horrendous SH goals against. Puljujarvi and Pitlick showed very quickly what a strong release can do.

You never felt the Oilers would lose this one, which was nice. The fans are still quite nervous though and when combined with what seems to be a noise-dampening building, meant it was fairly quiet a lot of the time. This will go away if they win and do so regularly. It's really that simple.

This was an odd game in that it could easily have been a blowout for the Oilers, but wasn't, and it felt like the Flames had more chances than they really did. Let's talk a little more about that below.

Lucic-McDavid-Eberle
- Honestly, the only one who brought his 'A' game was McDavid. He essentially willed this team to a sure victory tonight. I had a hunch that especially after Matthews did what he did, #97 would mean business tonight. I'm not sure what you even say about him anymore. He's a force of nature. That penalty shot goal was something else - being able to elevate the puck from that position at that speed? Just crazy. He could've had at least 3 more points as well. Eberle was just okay. He had a couple of chances he should have been able to finish. The most obvious one was in the third when McDavid left a puck in the crease for him and he simply didn't put enough weight on his stick to finish. There were a number of instances where he just didn't seem ready. Lucic was not good. Didn't really blow anyone up, didn't move the puck well and couldn't finish any chances except one into his own net. Ugh. I know he's a slow starter, but that looked really really rough on a night when most of the Oilers forwards played pretty well.

Pouliot-Hopkins-Slepyshev
- This line did solid, if unspectacular work. I liked watching Slepyshev look pretty comfortable as he did at the beginning of last season. So long as people don't expect him to light the world on fire offensively, he'll do well. The guy has an excellent skillset for a depth player - he's large, shoots well and can skate. Hopkins played like a vet. I liked his leadership on the ice and the way he was able to shut down some Flames chances. I'm not sure if he'll find the high gear offensively again. It's really hard to know at this point. Pouliot had a couple very nice chances and didn't take any dumb penalties - that's a solid night for him really. He didn't need to be an offensive star tonight either.

Maroon-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi
- 2/3 of this line was excellent. Maroon got the first goal with a classic tip-in that you could call a mile away. Lovely in its simplicity. The rest of his game I really enjoyed as well. He got to pucks and the front of the net all night. He played at least one shift with McDavid after Lucic fought and looked much more at home than #27. I hope he's finally found his consistency here in Edmonton because if he strings together nights like that, he's such a useful player. Leon looked great. He really moves like a veteran out there and has succeeded in adding more power elements to his game. I like him a bunch at C and don't really see how he could be better on the wing. I'd like to see him get set up for more shooting chances on the PP though. I didn't much like Puljujarvi's game though. He seemed behind the play or fumbly and rushed all night. Even his goal (which was a phenomenal release) was rushed. He went by pucks a lot, turned some over and didn't really impose himself much. Great little hit on Brodie I think it was in the third but that's it. I'm of the opinion that he's not ready and should be in the AHL, but oh well. Glad to see one go in for him soon, and maybe that gives him a big confidence boost.

Pitlick-Letestu-Kassian
- Great games for the wingers on this line. Pitlick's goal was the result of an excellent, assertive decision to shoot off the rush. To then see our most injury-prone player go careening into the boards was rather alarming, but somehow he jumped up. He was generally effective during the rest of his time as well, earning some extra ice at the end of the game and looking like an NHL-level player for sure. Good for him. I just feel like his leg is going to fall off at any moment. Kassian too played an excellent game. He was all over the ice - skating really well and getting in some faces along the way. Absolutely beautiful deke on his goal. There might be 3 or 4 guys on the team that can do that. Beauty. Letestu was just okay by my eye and I didn't notice him a lot other than being behind the play on the PK.

Larsson-Klefbom
- Good night for this pairing generally. They led the D group as a whole in simply moving the puck out faster and smoother than the last number of years. The forwards are such that if you just get the puck up quick, they can run. This needs to continue so, so badly. I was alarmed at one thing Larsson did on a number of occasions though - he has a tendency to just throw the puck to areas without looking first. This resulted in 4 or 5 losses of possession. Oddly enough one of them turned into Pitlick's goal because Calgary was turning to attack so hard and bungled it. He was fairly physical though, which was great to see because he does it in a positionally responsible way. Klefbom was rock solid - shocking precisely no one at this point. That laser to Kassian was MINT.

Sekera-Russell
- This pair did fairly well. I'm not a huge fan of the Russell signing, but he looked pretty good tonight. Got pushed around and beat a little bit, but he made some excellent first passes and some very smart defensive plays as well. I hope he finds his place here as we're committed to him now. Sekera looked to be in midseason form. You can definitely tell the World Cup helped him out a bunch. Really led the play when he was on the ice and I enjoyed watching him very much. The one thing I would like to see better than tonight were his shooting choices.

Nurse-Davidson
- This pairing didn't really work. As good as Davidson is, he couldn't bail out Nurse's wandering which cost them early as he wasn't covering anyone on a number of occasions including the goal. Real shame to see Davidson go down on a dirty play from a dirty piece of trash like Keith's kid. Someone needs to re-arrange his face on Friday. Nurse or Kassian are my bets, but it needs to happen. This guy can't be allowed to run around. Thankfully the refs aren't fooled but they can't save you from injuries.

Talbot
- He was not good. It wasn't so much about the goals either - a couple weren't really his fault. The thing was, he turned a bunch of easy saves into hard stops. He was late to almost every puck until the third period which isn't a good sign for a goalie who's usually so square. He needs to get things righted in a hurry. A sharper team could've hung 8 on him tonight and sent us all home sad.
---------------

Great to get that win. People really wanted to smile after this one. Great to see.

Great to be back. I hope this is a happy year filled with a ton of these reports. Night!

2016 LMHF Report - Game #20 4 Jan 2016 9:07 PM (9 years ago)

Edmonton 1

vs.

Carolina 0
----------------

What a terrible hockey game. Not all 0-0 games are necessarily bad. Some feature amazing goalies and great defensive play. This was not that. At all. Ever.

For the first 50 minutes especially, neither team did much of note at all. I guess Carolina may have been playing their system well? I honestly don't know but up to that point the highlight of my evening was likely the Bandera Bread I had at BP.

The Oilers picked up the attack a little bit after that, but couldn't manage to break through. They kept trying to break out along the boards and were shut down many, many times. The D group's inability to skate the puck or make stretch passes was completely on display this evening.

I'm also wondering if the players had a little bit of a team event shall we say after Saturday's game. The trap is the trap but they looked like they were skating in mud.

The powerplay is still terrible - just a new kind of terrible. They keep trying to funnel the puck to Brad Hunt and it isn't working well at all. He can't find lanes and deliver a bomb at the NHL level. Davidson is a superior shooter and should be given a chance if this is the play they want to make.

The winning goal was pretty goofy - which is usually the case on a night like this. Aside from a couple Eberle backhanders, the Oilers didn't generate much but seemed like they would win. Sekera does a good job in OT of getting a shot on and going to the net. I've already seen it a few times this year. His rebound got Ward thinking he could clear the puck, but he hesitated and that was enough.

It's a relief to watch this team win some of these games when they've been losing them so long. It is alarming how many of the games have gone to OT, but it is an improvement on the way they were making losses out of wins early in the year.

We await the return of McJeebus, and hope that will being enough in the way of goals and winning to inspire the acquisition of a defenceman.

Player reports will be up when I get home. I'm taking a rare LRT ride and posting on my BlackBerry Priv tonight. Wanted to get this bit up earlier than usual. More to come!

Talbot
- Obviously a solid game for him. It is great to see him rebounding. I recall a couple shaky moments where the puck got away from him for no good reason, and some glove hand struggles but that's all really. Made the key saves in the 2ND and 3Rd when the team broke down a bit. One thing I have noticed - his issue with sharp angle shots appears to be technical and not mental. When he's covering his post, he is both crouched and wholly inside the net rather than overlapping the post. This is surely better for moving side to side, but means there will always be an angle to score from. No good. I'm now watching other goalies to see if this might be a new technique being taught. If so, it needs to stop.

Hunt
- I think many of you know I don't care much for Hunt as a hockey player. Frankly he's Bergeron with a worse shot, no hitting and no wheels. He's not helping the powerplay and is in fact taking shooting chances from more skilled players. He had one shift tonight with a muffin shot (effectively a turnover), a whiff, got beat wide twice and took a penalty. That's the Andrew Ference special! He was okay 5-on-5 in that he survived, but he's not better than Fayne (or Reinhart for that matter). Shouldn't be playing. That's not his fault though.

Gryba
- Aside from the occasional attempt at being some sort of superstar pinching defenceman (and failing), as well as his usual struggles moving the puck, he was okay. No major mistakes that hurt and that's all you're really hoping for from him.

Nurse
- He's been struggling and wasn't great tonight either. That's not to say he's in Hunt's class. He helps the team but is playing too many minutes and with an iffy partner. I'd like to see him skate the puck more than he did tonight. Against the trap, skating through is your best attack and he's one that can do that. Not a lot of jump on a night they could have used some. Oh well. He's a rookie being asked to do a vet's job.

Schultz
- I saw nothing from him tonight that suggests any kind of a corner is being turned. He continues to make weak passes from his back foot, and lazy "saucer" passes that don't land flatly and we're unnecessary to begin with. I'll say again that I don't know what Eakins did to this guy but it will likely prove fatal for his game. I've never seen a guy who was a competent defender at one point so unsure of himself when trying to defend the cycle. The "swarm" got to him. He remains ineffective on the opposing blue line as well, rendering him useless.

Davidson
- Solid defensive game. No sparks but did well enough to matter. He's looked a tad off the pace since returning from injury which is typical. Want to see him let his shot go.

Sekera
- Despite a couple of mistakes, he led his group and ultimately scored the winner. Really like his game in OT. Like others he's being asked to bear too much burden but what can you do? Seriously, Chiarelli, help these guys out!

Klinkhammer-Lander-Khaira
- I sure hope Klinkhammer isn't playing once Iiro is back from injury. I suspect they'll send Khaira down instead unfortunately. I'm not sure what anyone sees in Klinkhammer's game. He doesn't really do much of anything. He's just there. He's better than Gazdic, sure, but aside from being an okay skater in terms of being fast (but not quick) he just doesn't bring much and did that tonight. Lander is lost out there. Tonight he was behind the play, took a couple wild stabs at the net and that was about it. I must confess I don't get it. This is a talented hockey player who's shown some smarts. He can't seem to find a place. Khaira was probably the best on the line but that's not saying much. He made a couple nice plays but also had a couple near-costly bobbles in his own zone and didn't bring enough of the physical element of his game this evening.

Korpikoski-Letestu-Hendricks
- A lot more not much. They didn't get beat defensively, I will give them that. Letestu probably had a good night in the circle as he tends to (must confess I haven't looked to see if he did), but didn't really get to the net or help the powerplay much. Hendricks appears to be in the process of losing a step or two this season. Tonight you could see he wasn't getting to hits or pucks he may have last year. The effort is still there, but it isn't getting him anything lately. The occasional scoring chances and SH breaks just aren't coming because he can't seem to beat anyone. Korpikoski was invisible for most of the game, then looked like he was going to fluke the winner in for two shifts and that was pretty much it.

Pouliot-Hopkins-Eberle
- These guys were a bit confusing for me tonight. On one hand, most of the solid chances (limited though they were) seemed to come from this group. Eberle had at least 3 backhand chances and just missed a couple clear break-ins, Pouliot could have had a couple and Hopkins generated some with passing, but they also had a ton of moments where they did bizarre things like not chasing pucks, turning away or just bobbling the puck to Carolina like it was the game plan. It was very confusing. I figured they would score in overtime and they did I suppose only I thought it would be Eberle. What's missing from this group? In this game, and in many this year, Hopkins for some reason won't or can't drive the center of the ice and is not making cross-seam passes. He's doing fine behind the net and down low, but is not attacking with aggressiveness. This throws his line off as this is clearly his role - push the D back and then hit Pouliot and Eberle who are excellent opportunists and shooters but not exactly transporters. I don't know if he's being asked to play a different game or what, but something's missing by my eye. Got to let him run a bit. Suspect he will get a decent bounce once McDavid returns. Pouliot disappeared for much of the night, which happens. Thankfully he avoided some of the characteristic penalties we're used to seeing. He actually looked aware and took his stick away from the opposition player a couple times. I suspect this will last precisely one game, but oh well. As noted above, Eberle was decent enough and I could have sworn he was going to get a couple but no dice.

Hall-Draisaitl-Purcell
- These guys struggled some despite having the home matchup that usually works so well for them. Leon was the best of the group, using his strength on his skates to make some plays down low. He got a couple chances off of drives to the net by Ward shut him down. Hall was really quiet for me. Normally in a game like this you would see him kick it into high gear at least attempting to win it himself and that really didn't show up. He actually looked quite tired at the end of the game. Maybe the games and icetime are catching up with him a bit. Purcell had a shooter's chance at the end but put it into Ward's midsection. He is very much the opportunist on the line and because his linemates weren't really generating a ton of good passing lanes, he didn't see much.

2016 LMHF Report - Game #20 4 Jan 2016 8:18 PM (9 years ago)

Edmonton 1

vs.

Carolina 0
----------------

What a terrible hockey game. Not all 0-0 games are necessarily bad. Some feature amazing goalies and great defensive play. This was not that. At all. Ever.

I'm also wondering if the players had a little bit of a team event shall we say after Saturday's game. The trap is the trap but they looked like they were skating in mud.

We await the return of McJeebus, and hope that will being enough in the way of goals and winning to inspire the acquisition of a defenceman.

Player reports will be up when I get home. I'm taking a rare LRT ride and posting on my BlackBerry Priv tonight. Wanted to get this bit up earlier than usual. More to come!

2016 LMHF Report - Game #15 11 Dec 2015 11:14 PM (9 years ago)

EDMONTON 7

VS.

NEW YORK 5
-------------------

I want to thank Henrik Lundqvist, for he played a role in setting in motion the events that have led us to this wonderful night. I can't help but think that his laughing at the organization after barely having to show up for a shutout last year irked someone something fierce. Soon, the poison that was Dallas Eakins as Oilers Coach was gone. Things could begin again.

I also got to have a moment I really enjoyed - last year after an unimportant and lucky win at home while the team was mired in another joke of a season, I witnessed Craig MacTavish come down the catwalk. He was smiling like a smug idiot about the win. It was so annoying to see someone so obviously satisfied with himself after such a small victory. Tonight I saw Peter Chiarelli as I walked by the same spot. All business. I gave him props and went on my way. I'd much rather have a guy who doesn't have that smile in his repertoire (even when he might deserve to wear it) moving this team forward. The GM and the Coach know that the work isn't done until a banner is hanging in the rafters. That's huge.

What a night. Got there really early as directed to witness the Sather banner raising and a number of the best hockey players to wear the jersey honor a man who brought them all together. I thought people would be a little more into it honestly, and wish they would have had Slats talk for longer, but oh well. If you've followed my writing for any length of time, you know I have a deep admiration for Sather. The way he did things. His inventiveness. His attitude. The guy was everything to this organization in a way only #99 can surpass. I wish he'd never left and had been able to hold his squad together. I can only imagine the sad day when it dawned on him that he'd never have what he had again no matter how he tried. That has to be soul crushing on a professional and personal level - but he soldiered on. Had it not been for some unfortunate run-ins with the Oilers post-Pocklington owners we may have seen much more from the man, but with that said, what he has accomplished is truly amazing.

And then came the game - it did not start well. Usually taking an immediate penalty and putting a skilled team on the powerplay is a recipe for absolute disaster. That the Oilers were able to turn that around into a very productive period where they set the early tone of outshooting and out chancing the Rangers was exceptional. It is an indicator of what has happened through the course of this homestand and more broadly through this year. In all honesty I never once had a thought of them losing tonight. They were challenged more with the loss of Klefbom, but they had it in them.

The second period honestly wasn't much worse. The shots shifted a tiny bit and it happened that the Rangers were scoring. The Oilers had chances and Lundqvist held the Rangers in. Nothing in that period looked to be a fundamental breakdown that would carry over. I thought it was a shame they couldn't make it 4-3 before the end of the 2nd. But...

Then they come out first thing in the third and immediately take the lead. If you were doubting, this was honestly the time to cease. These are the things good teams do. Sure, they were pretty awful at times in the third. They got pinned down, tired and couldn't transport the puck. Teams know that you can take it behind the net against the Oilers and wear them down. That's the scouting report. The Rangers also have a big, fast, talented hockey team. I haven't seen Rick Nash play like that in YEARS. He was on fire and giving the Oilers all they could handle as a team. One day, a guy like Nurse will be able to saw-off with a guy like that, but we're not there yet.

So the game was tied again. Everyone was pretty aggravated with how it happened. But then there's a play on the boards...and another...and suddenly these guys wearing 29 and 4 are in with only one man back.

Done. Over. Finished. No damn chance.

That was inspiring. That was poetic. That FINALLY got a nervous Rexall to unabashedly cheer. There had been good moments during the game, but people can still feel that coldness...the losing...the fear seeping in at most games. We've all been trained not to trust. This group is showing us we may finally be able to let that go on home ice. Suddenly this is a very good home ice hockey club. I'll take that any day.

That Korpikoski got the last, and the way he did it - desperate but perfect - was so fitting. I always advocate that players practice full length empty net shots. When I took my hockey classes at the UofA, Eric Thurston always had us do this to begin and said he does it with his players as well. It is simple - but easy to practice and can make the difference. This is even more true when you're worn down and short a man like the Oilers were.

We all stood and cheered the last 20 seconds. The last of many standing ovations on the night. What you feel in the building isn't joy - yet. It is relief. It is the letting go of a weight and a shame we've all been carrying for so long. That is a damn hockey team down there on the ice.

I really wanted to mention a couple of the goals specifically:

On the first Rangers goal, both Oilers defencemen made horrible passes to no one that wound up on the Rangers point man's stick. These were always my favorite opportunities when I played. Such a gift. Everyone's out of position. You probably have a lane and a screen. Rip the bomb or make a slap pass. Easy to make things happen. You can't do that for the other team. Gryba and Klefbom should be ashamed of their efforts on that play.

On the third Oilers goal, Draisaitl made a little play that will get overlooked because Hall made such a nice read. Instead of rushing the zone because Hall was moving in fast, he made a little loop in the neutral zone that meant he had 4 Oilers in total rushing in. These are the subtleties in his game that are making the difference right now. He did that without letting any Rangers close off the play, or losing the flow of the attack. Just masterful.

-----------------------------

Nilsson
- Certainly not his finest hour by any stretch. I don't think he necessarily played badly. There wasn't an obvious softy out there, but he also lacked some of the big saves he's made lately. He didn't control rebounds as well. Part of that was obvious breakdowns and blown coverages on behalf of those in front of him. The thing is, if he's just a little better they win this game in a runaway. The Rangers pushed, but they were not flying. They kept messing up passes to the point and really failed to keep the Oilers out of the middle of the ice. His team owed him one of these though, and they got it. He also took the cue to cover the puck more in the third when his team needed breaks and stops. That's one of the ways you know a goalie is in the game.

Sekera
- Probably one of his strongest games. The Rangers goals he was on for didn't seem to be his fault. His passes and skating with the puck started a number of plays tonight including the game winner. He was all over the place, logged a ton of minutes and fought off the Rangers as the vet on a blue line that really pushed tonight. I actually want to give credit to the entire blue tonight. Even though they gave up 5, they were pushed hard with their most complete defenceman out as the Rangers pushed back with fury. They bent, and maybe broke a tiny bit, but did enough. That was a challenge tonight but they made it to the finish line.

Nurse
- Looked like he struggled in the defensive zone tonight and had to rely on pure athleticism a little too much. Not a positionally strong game for Darnell. Great little read on his goal and even though he whiffed the shot a bit, it was the right shooting choice. Not all guys know how to sneak in and make themselves a target like that. I can't help but think Nurse's attitude helps on a night like this. He doesn't strike me as a guy who ever gets down and is plenty arrogant about his game (in the best possible way).

Klefbom
- Aside from that one ugly sequence I mention above, he was having a whale of a game. He was getting pucks through on a level I've never seen from him before. This is such a key for a two-way defenceman like Oscar. You could see the difference when he was gone. Some stepped up, while others weren't able to. I hope he's not out long as this squad needs him very badly.

Schultz
- Ya know, in a shootout you think you'd notice a guy like Schultz but I really didn't. I suppose this means he didn't make too many mistakes but he's a guy who needs to contribute to the transition and PP if he's to be effective. His powerplay game has slumped to a point where he should actually be the second-last option only to Gryba. The guy just isn't making anything happen, and often makes weak passes that compromise the blue line. This isn't good. Not too bad defensively, but not great either.

Gryba
- Honestly? Another weak game by my eye. He was getting beat wide a bunch and barely recovering. Didn't impose his will in the corners. Made a number of errors with the puck. I remember a good pinch in the third, but that's the only positive play I can think of. He needs to come out of the lineup, but unfortunately that can't happen now that Klefbom is hurt. He's not great, but he's nowhere near Ference bad.

Davidson
- A quieter game from Davidson than usual. I'd really like to see him on the powerplay in a game like this. He needs more chances to fire that shot. Some physicality from him which is an added bonus. He struggled a bit like the others in terms of not breaking up the Rangers cycle game though. The Coach needs to work with these guys to alleviate that weakness to some extent.

Hall-Draisaitl-Purcell
- Whirlwind game for Tedward. Great little shot from the slot for a goal. Great quick play along the boards to set up another...and another. He was borderline TOUGH tonight. Think about that! BUT, he also blew some coverages and then takes one of the most utterly stupid "you're asking for it" penalties you will ever see. That is exactly what not to do late in a game when your team has a lead. Smart players on the other team will try to goad you into that penalty. I couldn't believe it was him that did it. And also, I'll say it, I would have benched him. No chance from an outsider's view that he sees the ice after that - BUT - the Coach knows the room. He made a call. It turned out. This is a good thing. I suppose without all of his up and downs, we don't wind up with this wonderful script. Hall and Draisaitl are flat out killers. I don't know how well they showed it at home, but after the 6th goal, they go to Hall on the bench and he's just locked on. He knew exactly what was going to happen when he hopped the boards the prior shift. That goal happened like it was nothing. Probably one of the best games I've seen Hall play. He won every single race to a corner puck. He won every single physical battle. He knocked guys around. He got open constantly. He passed like a wizard. The read to Purcell was perfect. The read to Nurse was even better, and after he'd already bounced a guy off to create space, moved into it, then got the puck and moved it seamlessly. What a freaking game he played. Leon? He's my favorite right now. The guy is making amazing players on the other team look horrible and his teammates like gods. That spin play on the boards to set up the two-on-one with Hall...amazing. Then he's marching in there and Raanta has no hope. Either he plays shot all the way and Hall's going to beat him because Draisaitl's going to pass it perfectly, or if he cheats even a touch we know Leon just roofs it before the guy can even think. That is the level he is playing at right now. Leon was outstanding in the corners and this line as a whole pushed the puck forward all night against formidable opposition. A huge hat tip to them.

Khaira-Hopkins-Eberle
- I'm conflicted with reference to these guys. I thought they played better than they looked...then I started thinking about the times they were trapped in their own zone. It happened too much. They can't be that weak at getting the puck out. Some of that was the D, but not all. Hopkins was too easily shut down tonight. Part of that is trying to be responsible as he's taking on some of the league's best lately, but you can also see that he's lacking confidence. I remember a play in the third where he was leading a rush down the right wing...and once he got the zone instead of going hard to the net or making a move he just kind of offered up a weak pass. That's not #93. He's struggling a bit in the offensive zone at the moment. Eberle and Khaira were pretty decent on the forecheck. I kept expecting them to score and it just never came. Luckily they didn't need to tonight. They did both struggle defensively though. Hopefully this was just a bit of an off game where they weren't matched up all that well. I'm not sure.

Korpikoski-Letestu-Hendricks
- What a night for the former Ranger. He kept it really simple and went to the net. Korpikoski isn't going to give you many amazing games and is rather streaky, but the one thing he seems to be able to do consistently is go to the net and make good if he gets a chance. It was great to see those go in for him and even greater for him to provide the icing on the cake. He played alright on the PK, but this line also appeared to me to be struggling to clear the zone against a heavy Rangers forecheck. Have you ever seen a better hockey player who's such a bad shooter as Letestu? He just never gets one away. Positionally, he was okay, but just okay. I didn't see too much from him to be honest except for on the powerplay a little bit. That unit does a very good job of going to the net quickly if they get possession. I thought Hendricks should be dropped off this line for Pakarinen. As the pace has picked up recently, Hendricks can't quite keep up and is missing pucks and checks because of it. That continued tonight. He was able to contribute an assist, but I can see plays passing him by. He needs to remedy that or be demoted to the fourth line.

Gazdic-Lander-Pakarinen
- Pretty solid game for Gazdic I'd say. He struggled in the defensive zone (as many did) but also made a couple decent plays in the offensive zone and got in the faces of the Rangers. That's all he needs to do really. Pakarinen got away his one really good shot per game and it generated another goal. Love this guy as a depth player. Couple hits too. Lander? He had some defensive struggled and seemed out of step with his linemates. He's the clear leader at this point to find the pine when McDavid returns. That's really too bad - especially with his faceoff skills, but you can't cover up his lacklustre play. This is a guy with intelligence and some dynamic skill - I really wonder what's wrong.
---------------------------------

So, the Oilers are FINALLY filtering pucks through shooting lanes to the net. Through the course of this home stand, they have gotten more and more aggressive at attacking the middle of the ice in the offensive zone. This has been and will always be the key for the type of offensive players the Oilers have. It is beautiful to see it in action. Wins will keep coming if this reality remains.

Loved how none of the Oilers took any crap at the faceoffs tonight. Every one either instigated or pushed back with the Rangers wingers. Sticks were in backs. Gloves were in faces. This is attitude and they need more of it.

Lastly, I just have to say, damn it is fun to care again some times. That was great.

2016 LMHF Report - Game #14 9 Dec 2015 10:39 PM (9 years ago)

EDMONTON - 4

VS.

SAN JOSE - 3

------------------------------
It's been a few games since I wrote anything but I figured I needed to after this one. Skipped a couple games, been sick lately and just generally unenthused. This home stand has seen building momentum and a team able to get it done in different ways. This is all happening with an entire first line's worth of forwards missing and a still-suspect group of defencemen. There's something in that group on that ice right now though.

I don't remember seeing many games like that in the previous 9 years - definitely not the last 5. This team had made art out of turning one unfortunate happening or mistake into an utter disaster. The Dallas Eakins squad of the past couple seasons would have managed to lose this game 5-2 and spent the night whining about how they just couldn't do it. That attitude is gone. A lot of those players are in fact gone. Is it perfect? Far from it. But it is something. It is something we can cheer for and get excited about from time to time. Now is a great time. They are staring at the possibility of a 5-0 homestand against a fine group of opponents at a point of the season that could have spelled the end and a return to desperate hopelessness. We are not there. We're not even close to there.

Weird game for a long time tonight. Lots of flipping the puck to an area, or wonky passes. Multiple fights. Multiple reviews. Just odd.

For quite a while tonight I thought this game would end 2-0. Nilsson was playing like nothing would pass and the Oilers, though allowing SJ some zone control, were keeping chances to a minimum and actually should have been up more than the 1 goal they were before SJ struck. The Sharks cranked up their play and took advantage of some mistakes. There are still some holes in this Oilers team surely - but there is no albatross taking the ice that will for sure give the other team a chance to win. Removing Andrew Ference from the lineup is one of the most important things that has happened to create this momentum that has built into this home winning streak.

Brent Burns might be one of the most underrated players in the league. He was absolutely fantastic tonight even if he was on for the final GA. The can and does play everywhere. He gets open. He hits. He FIRES the puck. Just a thing of beauty to watch him play. If the Oilers have any chance to add him, they must pursue that to the end.

You can see the Sharks aren't what they were a number of years ago - some are older, some are less talented and the D just doesn't stack up, but they have the saavy to usually pull out a win in a game like this against a team like the Oilers and bust a losing streak of their own. That wouldn't be the case tonight.

The 4 Oilers goals were all excellent in their own way.

Leon's goal was awesome because it looked like a nothing play, but he had room and a shooting lane. One quick move and a simple shot later it was in the net. A one shot scorer. He's one of those.

Eberle's goal? Man. Great plays by all on the line, then Khaira shows excellent patience and vision behind the net, finds Eberle on a perfectly timed pass and Eberle executes the backhand that only he and Malkin apparently have. My gawd what a shot.

Speaking of what a shot, Iiro can fire the puck. He had several other chances and almost scored, then took advantage of the Khaira benching to score a huge goal. Great work out of the corner, settled himself and fired a hard shot at a spot. Such strong fundamental hockey.

And Hall's winner - I'll tell you this: whenever I see Leon charge up the wing with the puck and a star-calibre player near him, I almost expect a goal at this point. This man is rising to the occasion in a way that I've only seen from McDavid. You just know good things are going to happen when he drops his head and starts lugging that puck. He wasn't intimidated by Burns. He didn't throw some stupid shot with no lane. He waited, drifted around Burns just enough, and flicked a perfect pass to Hall's stick. In the net like it was nothing. Those guys took down Thornton-Pavelski-Burns. That's amazing.

------------------------------------------

Nilsson
- Another very solid game in a good string for the #1 goalie in this town. He looked so calm and almost stunned when pucks got past him. I don't think you can fault him on 2 of the 3, and Pavelski's goal was a really weird play (though he could have stopped it). The guy has run with his opportunity in a way that we haven't seen in a good while. Good on him. He gives this team a chance to win every night.

Sekera
- Sekera still looks slow to me. I don't know whether he's tentative or just very deliberate. Either way he's got to move out there and get the puck going where he wants it to faster. Didn't make a bunch of mistakes or anything though.

Nurse
- Nurse was good again. He was challenged by some big, strong boys tonight. At one point, he and Burns came together at nearly full speed in the Oilers zone. I thought there might be an earthquake. Wow. Very thankful Nurse is now a fixture and hoping he's watching tapes of Souray and Pronger for tips on how to be an even bigger pain near his own net without taking penalties.

Klefbom
- Well, he made a big mistake pinching before the Marleau goal. You can't make that read late in a game when you're one of only 2 back. He knows better. Aside from that I thought he had a strong game generally.

Davidson
- Quieter night for Davidson aside from some physical play in front of his own net. I like that he mixes it up and seemed to have some tricks up his sleeve for dealing with Burns and Thornton. Wasn't perfect, but that's okay. Did he get one really good shot off that rang the post or am I imagining things?

Schultz
- Well, he was just okay. Too many coverage mistakes and looked slow to the corners. Didn't have the glaring turnovers that might characterize a bad Schultz game, but also got beat at some key times and didn't take his man. I swear he used to be better in the corners.

Gryba
- Not a great game. He's been passed on the depth chart since an early streak of strong play and has never really recovered. Some mistakes with the puck and struggled to keep up with the Sharks cycle. They all did really, but Gryba most of all.

Hall-Draisaitl-Purcell
- Purcell managed to play his way off this line for a time due to a number of puck mistakes and bad passes, as well as getting stuck in no man's land during the first 2 periods. It was pretty ugly. He seemed okay by the end of the game, but certainly struggled for a while there. Nothing to write home about in his game. That may have been Hall's best game in several years. He was flying. Still rushed some passes and shots, but was intense in all aspects of the game and really willed this team to a win. The motor just kept on going. He took a bit of a beating too, but gave back as well. Great finish on the OT winner. Love the reaction too. Almost like he knew that was how the game would end. Leon? What a hockey player. Seriously. I've watched this guy and just been amazed. Part of me isn't surprised per se, because he's clearly a late bloomer with little development until his late teens who happens to be supremely talented and built like an ox, but for it to just come pouring out like this has been a joy to watch. I would have made him first star tonight. So many big, strong, smart players on that SJ team just couldn't handle him. We haven't had a C like that since Jason Arnott - and I think Leon is better.

Khaira-Hopkins-Eberle
- This line was having a really good game even before the goals. Khaira is showing that he's a dynamic skater who gets in on the forecheck and can distribute the puck. Loved his hit that led to the fight. That SJ player is lucky he partially dodged that train. Then in the fight, he overpowered his combatant and came over the top to free his left hand. I haven't seen that in a long while. It is unfortunate that after his assist and a number of scoring chances (including a backhander he probably should have scored on), he makes an ill-advised back pass, then changes his mind too many times when backchecking (you have to go to and stay with Marleau, allowing Nilsson to play the shooter) and gets benched. He deserved it and I'm sure took the message well. Aside from that one shift? Great game. Eberle's back in a real way. The goal was amazing. He made a third period drop-the-shoulder and drive play I haven't seen him make in forever. Solid work to set up Pakarinen's goal and dangerous at other times as well. Great game. Hopkins was the quietest of the three, but provided the support Eberle needed to have that great game.

Korpikoski-Letestu-Pakarinen
- Iiro was certainly the standout from this group. I didn't see much if anything from the other two. Pakarinen would up with the goal, a couple other strong chances and some physical play that is important as a depth option for this squad. Very well done and properly rewarded with shifts on both the first and second lines.

Gazdic-Lander-Hendricks
- Gazdic unfortunately had his combatant turtle almost immediately during their fight. Too bad. He also had a decent scoring chance though. Lander was a beast in the faceoff circle and played one of the more complete games I've seen from him in quite a while. All very good to see. Hendricks has gone quiet for some time now and that continued tonight. I'm not sure if he's hurt or if his role has been usurped by younger versions of him that can fire a puck.
--------------------------

So - what now? First things first, you need to be New York. That would be so huge.

Next - the time has come to send a message to your team that you mean business THIS YEAR. There is an opportunity here. If you are in a playoff spot or very close by the time McDavid returns, you can make it. So what does that mean? It means you need to take the steps necessary to move out Gryba and Schultz, and bring in some superior defenders to take those spots. That would send a message of positive confidence to your team and really give them a shot in the arm for the next stretch of games. You make these moves when you are WINNING, not LOSING. This is the time. Get it done Peter Chiarelli. This is when your earn your dough.

You make that move, get the team over the hump, reinsert your injured 1A/1B line when McDavid is healthy, and scream towards a playoff spot.

Also - breaking up that unit would be insanity and anyone who's reviewed their stats together and concludes otherwise is delusional. Most haven't reviewed their stats.

Look at this:

Hall-Draisaitl-Purcell
Pouliot-McDavid-Yakupov
Khaira-Hopkins-Eberle
Pakarinen-Lander/Letestu-Hendricks

That's a really solid group! That's a playoff group.

2016 LMHF Report - Game #6 31 Oct 2015 11:25 PM (9 years ago)

EDMONTON 4

VS.

CALGARY 5

Seriously...
------------------------

After thinking about the game for a while over some pizza I needed as I had skipped dinner, I came to the conclusion that this game was a little bit like an extremely weird football play. It's a broken play and the ball's be been fumbled. For whatever reason, all of your team's hands are covered in grease and every time you think you have the ball it just slips out again. The other team is fat, kinda lazy, not really looking at what's going on or trying to grab the ball, and then the dumb guy with the dry hands has it bounce into his lap.

Dammit.

They really needed to win that game. For a bunch of reasons but mostly to stomp on Calgary's heads and show that this year is different right from the start. They failed. I would have actually considered a 5-4 win a failure as well. That is a putrid Calgary team with no goaltending that's capable of generating nothing off the rush. They're brutal. The Oilers should've smacked them around all night and coasted to this one.

Instead they put themselves behind the 8-ball early. There's really no excuse for that two games in a row. Especially after the last game was a win. They had to know the opportunity was there to make a statement on Saturday night on HNIC against the Flames and they flopped. That's really sad.

With that said, they still had this game almost all the way. They were the only ones generating anything. Even this bad effort on their part should have been enough.

I hold 3 people primarily responsible for this loss. In order with the worst going first: McLellan, Ference, Talbot.

Let's talk about Talbot first. He can't turn that puck over behind the net. He can't let that shot in from behind the goal line. Plain and simple. That was horrid goaltending. I haven't seen him fight the puck that bad in any of his previous starts. Even lazy shots from the point were getting through and challenging him. This was a goalie falling apart tonight and he needed to be pulled. Badly. It was plain to see. He did make one big save off of Frolik but other than that...man. I don't worry about him long term because he's mentally strong, but that was a bad game and he knows it.

On to Ference. He is easily the worst hockey player on this roster. I counted one completed pass. I counted at least 9 turnovers. It was entirely routine for him to have time and space, two short range passing options and simply look up ice and turn it over to Calgary. He made two low percentage pinches in a tie game in the third period (while being a player who should essentially NEVER pinch). He chased all over his own zone and lost every single race he got into. He was on for multiple GA, with his inability to clear the zone being the primary reason for multiple goals against. He was, and is, an albatross that means this team has the possibility of losing every single night he plays no matter what the rest of them do. He is that bad. Scott Ferguson and Jason Strudwick looked like heroes by comparison to what this guy is doing right now. I'd trust Luke Gazdic to drop back and fill in on the third pairing before Andrew Ference would ever see a second of icetime if I had my way. Why am I continuing to harp on this? 1 - because he's that bad and 2 - because the media will not call him or the coach or anyone else out on it. If you can't ask the question about why this guy is in the lineup after a night like that, it's never going to get asked.

Which bring me to McLellan. Don't get me wrong - I like a lot of what he's doing. If he ever plays Ference again it is a mistake. Period. He could see what was going on and kept sending him over the boards to hurt this team's chances to win. I couldn't believe he got back out there after some of the plays he made. It wasn't just one at a time either and it was so rarely under pressure. For McLellan to not see that and sit Ference down is unconscionable if you want to win the game. I don't care about sending a message to Fayne if THIS is the result. The decision to play him and keep playing him in all likelihood cost the Oilers the game. The other D didn't set the world on fire by any means, but they could all pick up a puck in the corner and make some kind of play with it without turning it over to CGY AND throwing themselves out of position. Ference can't. His game is over. This showed that to anyone who wasn't on the trolley before. My gawd it makes me mad to watch him play hockey.

It's worth noting as well that after the comeback had been made complete, the exact guy I'd want to have a chance to win this thing had the puck on his stick. Pouliot made a sublime play and pass to set up McDavid in front of a wide open net. I still don't understand how he missed that puck. It seems impossible that that could have happened just then. He was even due.

That game made me shake my head, curse and wonder what we did to deserve to watch it.

Anyway, on to the other players.
-------------------------------

Hall-Hopkins-Draisaitl
- Hall played an amazing hockey game - no two ways about that. He scored, made amazing passes, even blew up Goudreau for good measure. The only thing I could possibly see him needing to do differently is to occasionally throw in a cut to the middle at the blue because the Flames were reading his play off the rush by the end and cheating for coverage. He's suddenly caught right up in scoring. Good for him. I hope he is fueled by his quest to keep up with #97. He won't for long, but the effort will push his game higher. My favorite play was actually the second assist on Davidson's goal. That was a great read. Draisaitl's goal was very nice. He looks like he just knows what to do in those situations. Also made some plays tonight using his strength and patience which were missing in the first game. Amazing to come up and throw 5 points on the board in two games like it's no big deal. Great job. Hopkins was very good on a night when he really only needed to be support. Excellent game.

Pouliot-McDavid-Yakupov
- This was the first game where there were some real misfires for this crew. With that said, they did score one and should have had another. The fact they didn't wind up on the board is neither here nor there in reference to the first and inexplicable in reference to the second. McDavid just never go going. This was the first time I've seen where he could be described as awkward. He still blew by people and still looked amazing, but when the puck came to him it just wasn't the same. If this had been any other night he probably has 3 points and we're talking about how the Oilers scored 7. Yakupov was okay. Nothing about his game blew me away but he had moments. Pouliot should have had a goal and an assist, but instead wears the goat horns with that late penalty. The team was revving up and really looked like Calgary was dead there. If not by McDavid's overdue point, then one more Taylor Hall rush away from an Oilers win. You know you're getting these penalties from Pouliot but that doesn't help dull the feeling when they happen. That was a useless hook.

Pakarinen-Lander-Purcell
- Wasn't impressed that this line got changed so early as I liked the Lander-less look early on. Lander got promoted after drawing a penalty, which I would say was his only real noticable moment. He just can't seem to get himself space with the puck right now. Too many easy turnovers, no really dangerous shots. He's definitely struggling at the moment. Purcell? I have to give him credit for the pass to set up Davidson and for cashing his goal. To me, he looked the same otherwise. He's a bit like the players in the really old table hockey games where they don't even move, but if you spin them just right they fire it in the net. Pakarinen was okay. He his some people and was noticable at least. Nothing special.

Gazdic-Letestu-Slepyshev
- Slepyshev wound up on this line far too soon. He was doing fine and then had no ice time. Too bad. Letestu got hosed on that goalie interference call and I'm sure that had him a little down. I'm starting to think he's the kind of player who can do a little bit of everything but can't shoot. There were at least two instance tonight where he had time and space from dangerous areas but what looked like his best wrister was just piss poor. That's no good, but thankfully something that can be improved on until the day you hang em up. Hopefully he's willing to work on it. Gazdic didn't hurt the team, which is really all he has to do. I would have rather seen his spot go to Fayne so that the coach could have more easily benched Ference - but who knows if he would have.

Gryba
- Well, a couple ugly ones in a row now from him. That high stick was especially inexcusable. Part of it is certainly his D partner but he's also just lost a lot of momentum. All over the place positionally. Got beat routinely. One big hit is all I can credit him for really. We had to know he was playing over his head though. Just coming back to earth. He's a 6/7. That's that.

Davidson
- Definitely riding a wave of confidence right now. He's the only guy the Oilers have on the back end who's actively looking to shoot and really knows how. Great little goal he scored. He's the anti-Brad Hunt in that he's actually making the most of his chance. He was better defensively tonight, though I suspect he too will come back to earth. He's being asked to do too much at the moment because of the injuries and how bad his company is, but thankfully he's hanging in.

Klefbom
- Better, but still not himself. Isn't making the skating or physical plays yet.

Sekera
- Underwhelming is the word. You keep expecting more from this guy and he's just not delivering yet. I liked that he did more skating with the puck, but man did he ever make some awkward plays and turnovers. Yuck. Needs to pick it up in a big way.

Nurse
- Good, solid game from him. Didn't blow you away but played steady. That's something for a rookie. Shame they need him to be this good and more right now. He doesn't deserve or need that pressure.

-------------------

C'mon Chiarelli - this has gone on long enough. Time to find a way to retire Ference or notify your coach that he's only got 22 to choose from. Time to move some defencemen out and bring some in. Time to cash in a pick and a prospect. You can't let the top six suffer under this group. It has to pain your soul like it does mine to watch two first overall picks and a strong veteran winger lugging Andrew Ference and Eric Gryba all over the ice like two Denver boots. You owe them and the team and the fans better than that.

2016 LMHF Report - Game #5 29 Oct 2015 9:13 PM (9 years ago)

EDMONTON 4

VS.

MONTREAL 3
-----------------

Now THAT was a hockey game.

This represented the opposite of last game in many ways but especially the caring bit. These nights feel so good when you're into it. For some reason there was always a glimmer - and for once they scored right before the end of the second when they needed to and then hammered down on the accelerator the rest of the way. No nerves, maybe one bad shift the rest of the game, just GO.

I said after the first tonight that was probably the worst period they've played this season. If not it was really close to that. They had nothing out there after the first five minutes and MTL was taking the opportunity to simply run them out of the rink. It was ugly and it lay squarely with the 7 defencemen in the lineup tonight. They were horrid in the first. I'll try to focus on the last two periods when analyzing them because I don't want much negativity on a night like tonight.

The Oilers did what good teams have been doing to them for years now - looked up at the clock and said "We're down 3, but there's 40 left. Get the next one." They repeated that exercise until the game was theirs. Man that was something.

It was all the more sweet to be surrounded by the usual throng of Habs fans at Rexall while this all went down. After the first they were fat and happy - much like their team. The Habs then tried to play lock down hockey and coast on to Calgary with two points. Probably would have worked in the past. Not against McDavid. As he establishes a pattern and repeats performances like tonight the league and we as fans will learn. He just doesn't go away. You can see it in his game already - the sheer force of will that all great athletes have. Tonight he moved into fourth place in NHL scoring as an 18-year-old who started cold. He has his new best friend are on 7-game point streaks. Already. Think about that.

Unlike LA, MTL couldn't restart their engine with the McDavid train headed down the tracks. They got run over. They had barely any shots in the second half of the game and were shut down on the couple of chances they got.

The Oilers scored four unanswered against a formidable group of defenders that are backstopped by the very best goalie in the world. That's something to put on the board for the rest of the year and remember and learn from. Make no mistake - without Carey Price the Oilers could have ran up 7 or 8 goals tonight without much changing. A couple of players could have had multiple goal nights in addition to the one that actually did. It was something to see - the transition from being stuck in the mud to suddenly flying into the attacking zone with the puck or bashing into the MTL defenders and taking it away. The forwards and a couple of young dmen grabbed this game by the neck and hauled it over to their side. Frankly, the way that was done was impressive as hell. There were some truly sublime sequences. Let's talk about a couple:

Pouliot's goal was magic. It started with Nail Yakupov, improperly maligned as a "crummy board player", beating two MTL forecheckers for a loose puck and getting it to the best 18 year old hockey player I've ever seen. McDavid then reached back to grab the puck before PK Subban of all people could grab it, then flicked it around another Hab to the absolute perfect spot on the ice. Pouliot already knows his job on this line - get to the middle, be ready. He was flying into that perfect pass and made no mistake in beating Price. That play was board battle perfection.

The winner was also a beauty but in a more subtle way. Hall makes a great dump-in with Hopkins already on his horse. Hopkins gets perfect position on Desharnais and wins the puck battle. The Oilers won a ton of battles all of a sudden starting in the second, this just happened to be the one that finished the job. He then came around the net with the puck. Hall cut across with a perfect block out of the defender who could have blocked the pass. Now, Leon hadn't been on the ice at the last faceoff. Letestu had been out to take the faceoff and Draisaitl had to jump on and into the play - strong players know that this timing and angle difference can be used to their advantage. Leon went to the perfect spot and for probably the first time this evening, held the puck rather than trying to immediately whack it somewhere - he was rewarded. A perfect shot to beat price and make the fans go crazy. Great goal.

And that was that. They hung on and beat the best team in the league with the best goalie in the world after spotting them 3. Holy ****.
---------------------

Pouliot-McDavid-Yakupov
- Detailed their goal up above. McDavid was unstoppable in this game. When he's 23 he'll draw 2 or more holding penalties a night from dmen trying to stop his rushes with no hope. He blew by every MTL defender. He nailed a guy near the Oilers bench. He was mean sometimes, great all the time and made the type of play I suspect we'll come to know him for to set up the winner. It's just a treat watching this guy play and we're barely into his first season. Wow. Yakupov played a really solid game as well, winning several board battles, getting quality shots only to be robbed by Price, and forechecking at a high pace all night. He's seeing passing lanes really well and making his linemates better. Pouliot did exactly what he needs to do, with the added bonus of getting MTL a little riled up. Just a great game from this line.

Hall-Hopkins-Draisaitl
- Well, these boys carried the mail even if it wasn't perfect. The EV icetime for this group was off the charts. I often saw Hall and wondered if there was something wrong but now I'm betting he was just bagged. He really wants things to get going offensively and I think he's actually overskating the puck more than anything. If he gears down a bit and lets the play come to him he should be fine. Great efforts on a number of shifts but some frustrating ones as well. Part of it is just that I expect a lot from him. Hopkins too had some challenges but delivered in terms of icetime and the knockout punch. I may be underestimating the job he's doing against better players this year as well. What can you really say about Leon? Talent shines through I guess. He was horrible and nervous early. He was set up for a number of chances and either made bad passes away or simply whacked at the puck. This is not his game. The PP goal was so huge for him. People will call that a lucky play - but you can see him check and see Price is exposed and a bank shot is there. Credit to Emelin for nearly saving it but that was a great choice. Delivering the dagger in the third after such a long and crazy day had to be something else. Wow.

Slepyshev-Purcell-Pakarinen
- I'm not actually sure who played the middle for this group, but they made a contribution to tonight's game that will likely be forgotten and missed by most. In the third they provided strong, reliable minutes after McLellan shortened his bench. These guys really stepped up and moved the puck in the right direction - especially Slepyshev and Pakarinen. These are the types of guys you want as your depth players because they are talented enough to contribute, but work really hard during their limited ice time and can push just hard enough to beat good teams. They were mostly mediocre the rest of the night with Purcell being very disappointing on the powerplay, but that effort in the third should not be overlooked. I know I noticed.

Lander-Letestu
- Anton Lander got benched in this one and as he should have been. His defensive blunder leading to a goal was the second in two games on plays he has to be better with. Anton's not performing to his potential right now. Letestu got caught in the bench shortening, but did his job in terms of winning faceoffs and working hard. No complaints.

A word in general about the forwards - they carried the mail and did EVERYTHING tonight. They came back and got the puck, they checked MTL in all zones, they played great in the neutral zone and generated a bunch of chances in the 2nd and 3rd. Truly this victory was theirs.

Ference-Gryba-Fayne
- Sucked. They got blown by like a broken down old car on the side of the road as a Ferrari comes ripping past. Ference did his usual routine of too many turnovers instead of passes, too many weak shots and too many pinches. He managed to make about 4 passes in the third which was an accomplishment, but he took so much time it is a wonder MTL didn't get him. Gryba and Fayne were just stuck in the mud more than anything. They couldn't move to keep up when the game was pushed by either MTL or EDM for that matter. I suspect Gryba will bounce back but I think Fayne might be headed out of town.

Davidson
- Struggled in the first and definitely has challenges defensively. How much of this is because of his partners I don't know. He needs to stabilize his game a little bit and be stronger positionally. Once he started skating with the puck things changed. Then he fired a shot and that built some momentum. Then he got a perfect feed on a flowing play from Nurse and saw a perfect Yakupov screen. Hammered the puck into the net. Great shot. You could see he was feeling it after that. Got another good shot away and was strong the rest of the game. Very nice.

Sekera
- Kind of all over the place. He too started skating the puck out and this helped immensely. MTL wasn't ready for it and didn't adjust. Many of his rushes were ultimately unsuccessful but the puck was moved away from Talbot and MTL couldn't attack. Still some weird passes and giveaways that I don't expect from a player of his calibre. Hoping he's settling in and it is a style issue rather than substance thus far.

Klefbom
- All over the map. I'm not even sure how to describe the game he played. Horrible coverage at times, shut down beautifully at others. Wasn't moving, then rushed the puck up ice multiple times. Couldn't pass and then got an assist and started hitting his man. His game was still below my standards for him, but this really could have spiralled out of control and he managed to get it together. Good to see him fight it out.

Nurse
- Well, I don't think he's going back to California. What I saw tonight was a patient, aggressive defencemen who picked his spots all night and figured out he could drive the play forward. Then, he took flight. It is a beautiful thing to watch him fly up the ice with the puck. He also owned several Habs in the corners and used his reach effectively as well. He does so many things that the Oilers are lacking in their other blue liners. He was not perfect, but man have we been missing a player like this for a long time. I would like to know who has been getting his game focused - it is a beautiful thing.

I think the adjustment that changed the complexion of this game was that the D started skating with the puck - specifically these last 4. MTL had no answer for it, as the forwards were attacking at speed. That top 6 in flight is a nightmare. The challenge has been the D so far. Chiarelli needed to watch this game closely. It is time to make a move to support your elite young forwards. They will set the world on fire with 2 more D that can move the puck.

Talbot
- Good enough. Could have maybe made one more stop, but didn't need to in the end. Great when tested a couple times in the third. You can see the team is comfortable with him back there and he just doesn't get rattled. That's everything for a goalie. Many guys would have been shaking wondering if the hook was coming. Not Talbot.
-------------

That was awesome. You live for nights like that as a fan. There's something here guys. Time to seize the opportunity.

2016 LMHF Report - Game #4 25 Oct 2015 10:30 PM (9 years ago)

EDMONTON 3

VS.

LOS ANGELES 3

As far as I'm concerned, we're in a rain delay.
-----------------------

Ya know, caring again really sucks sometimes.

There's a hockey team playing in that rink. It's even wearing the right color jerseys. They're very close even with some obvious holes in the lineup that could be filled. They don't need the guys in stripes and the Toronto replay crew ganging up on them. With a replacement level defence this team is probably 6 and 3, at least.

Good move having this game at 730 instead of the usual 6. Made the atmosphere a lot more 'Saturday night' as opposed to Sunday. The crowd is starting to get into it again. If this team can streak through the next homestand, this place will be cooking again.

All the focus will be on the goal Connor McDavid scored with 5 seconds left and that will detract from what was an interesting hockey game even with not a lot going on. It is true that the Kings weren't setting the world on fire - they also weren't completely shut off either. The fact is that despite being outshot, the Oilers were never more than one shot from the game being even. That's something against this Kings team.

I swear Quick has done this before with the glove backwards across the line. Maybe even to the Oilers. He knows he got beat.

Why would a ref reverse his own call on the ice? I'm thinking that must be disallowed going forward. It looks way too fishy for one thing. It screwed them over badly tonight and the guy probably wasn't even thinking about it. Too bad he was on the wrong side of the net too. Little things. It should have never come down to that, but it did.

McLellan managed his bench well to the point where I barely missed Schultz being gone. He rewarded Gryba and rightly so. The guy made plays. Oscar Klefbom got a PP assist. That's a role he should get to try. They played the sort of game that the Kings couldn't exploit or run away in. That's saying something. That's important. It will serve this team well going forward.

The fate of this season may come down to whether Chiarelli is ready, willing and able to pull the trigger on a deal or two for defencemen. If they were able to cash in Fayne and a pick for a more two-way player of slightly better pedigree than Fayne, then grab another supporting player, and have Nurse play his way onto the team, you've got a group that could probably support the forwards and goalie - who are playoff calibre. We'll see if that happens. I sure hope it does.

----------------------------

Talbot
- He can't get beat by that bank shot. Not good at all. What I've noticed so far about Talbot though is that ugly goals don't get him down. He was excellent after that goal and you certainly can't fault him for the loss. He could have stole this one for them though and came up just short. Too bad.

Gryba
- The surprise of the year so far for me. I didn't see it in training camp - really didn't. I must've expected a defencemen of his size and facial hair to play a different sort of game I guess. What he's done is not run around crushing people, but played a steady positional game, moved the puck simply and effectively with very few 'glass and out's, and taken care of his defensive partners. Honestly, that's damn impressive compared to where my expectations were. I still suspect we're seeing him good because of the company he keeps, but thankfully we're not seeing him as one of them or worse. This team would be in big trouble if we were. Had one bad giveaway in a ton of icetime.

Davidson
- Got beat a couple times, but skated well and made generally good choices with the puck. He knows how to get it, skate to a productive spot and pass. He was also on near the end trying to get a goal and did just fine. He's a much better option than Ference. Simple as that. He should keep playing as long as a spot is there.

Schultz
- Didn't see him do much of anything before he got hurt. Didn't see him get hurt for that matter.

Klefbom
- Much better game than last. He was much more into this one and I suspect he got a wakeup call from McLellan that helped with that. The thing is, he still didn't step up and look unique or better than his teammates. That's an issue. He should be making plays every night that make him look like he's not just another defenceman. Those have been missing this year. Too comfy? Nicked up? Adapting to the new system? I'm not sure yet, but I'm watching.

Sekera
- Ugh...this guy is starting to frustrate me. I know a lot is being asked of him, but you can't blow coverage like he did on the third LA goal. You have to have that man. He screwed up in this regard multiple times against Washington too. Is this a weakness of his game? It's starting to look like it. The thing is - he was advertised to me as an offensively capable player and yet I'm not seeing the passes or the shooting that was indicate this. My hope is that he's just adjusting and things will be okay, but I'm starting to get a little concerned.

Fayne
- Okay. Again. I don't think that's enough with the group around him. Plain is not a luxury we have at the moment.

Pouliot-McDavid-Yakupov
- These guys are producing offence with relative ease on a consistent basis against tough opponents. This is in terms of both goals and chances. You've got to love watching these guys attack. They played more of a rush game than a turnover game tonight and it still generally worked. I don't think McLellan expected their success and is honestly having a bit of an issue deploying them because he thought the Hall-Hopkins line would be his #1. They're not. McDavid was fabulous again. Watching him blow by excellent NHL defencemen with ease will never get old. He attacks the net like no one I've seen live. Great job getting open and setting up Pouliot, and creating chances the rest of the game. I'm struggling a little bit with how he didn't put the chance at the end in the roof. Quick is so good along the ice. Yakupov and Pouliot were both good again, getting open, keeping up and distributing. Two things to note - Yakupov is routinely making better plays from his own zone that spring linemates with speed, and Pouliot has found his money spot in the slot. The way these guys bared down and produced three chances from their work at the very end of the game was a delight to see. You're never out of it with guys like McDavid and Yakupov on the ice. Really too bad there was no one close enough in a 6-on-5 to tap in Yakupov's point shot as that was a ripper that Quick barely got. If things stay in place, these guys are going to make it rain all year. So long as injuries are avoided and the team doesn't tank, I'm predicting 100 for McDavid. If you combine what he's doing now with the fact that he's improving and hasn't even had a big game yet - and yes I know how tough 100 is these days - I see it happening. What a treat!

Hall-Hopkins-Klinkhammer
- A better night from these guys for sure, but they're still not 'humming'. Part of that can be attributed to Klinkhammer for sure. I'm not bagging on the guy - he did his best, skated well, got a couple of chances and landed some hits. For him, that's a great game. The thing is that his presence on the line means that LA essentially sends three to guard Hall and Hopkins. This severely limits what they can do. They combined on a nice goal that I think we'll see more of as the season goes on. Hall was better tonight - though he's lucky he didn't get a really untimely penalty in the third. He looked closer to getting things rolling tonight. Hopkins was good again. He's just extremely consistent and is really coming along as a guy who can play against the very best. Credit to Hall as well for getting the best of Doughty on a few occasions - that ain't easy.

Korpikoski-Lander-Purcell
- Not a lot of forecheck from Korpokoski tonight which is basically how I judge his game. Penalties didn't look great to me but one of them also looked like a weak call so who knows. I suspect his lack of consistency has been what has held his career back. They fact that he hasn't gotten a shot with Hall and Hopkins is probably saying somemthing. Lander's had more noticeable games and I like to see him attacking more than he did tonight. It's not something that's 'needed' per se, but it can push you over the edge in marginal games and Lander is capable. Remember that he has a tendency like Paajarvi did to drift into cheating for defence. Hopefully the coach is on him for not being as aggressive as he could be. Purcell? Again, fired the puck and missed the net. If you're going to be known for only having a shot you can't be missing.

Gazdic-Letestu-Pakarinen
- Not a lot of time for this crew which was to be expected. Gazdic fought a solid fight, stood up to a really nice hit attempt and was decent enough out there. Letestu got called upon a couple of times in terms of powerplay and at the end of the game and did just fine for himself. I like Iiro - have since last year. He plays a nice game. Even though he wasn't out there much, you noticed a little bit of skill and he wasn't just another number. Would love to see a fourth line that swaps Slepyshev for Gazdic. Would let you roll four with ease.
-------------------

Like I said. Caring sucks sometimes. I'm bitter about losing this one tonight. They could have turned it many different times. Was it a sublime effort? Hell no. But good teams win all kinds of games in all kinds of ways. They're getting close though - and that's something. This feels different for sure.

2016 LMHF Report - Game #3 23 Oct 2015 10:04 PM (9 years ago)

EDMONTON 4

VS.

WASHINGTON 7

The pigeon's gone and so is the winning.
-------------------------------------------

There are losses that are hard to watch. This really wasn't one of them. That is one hell of a hockey team they have in Washington, and for a while the Oilers actually hung in with them. I wager if they had a group of 6 NHL defensemen they may well have beaten them, but they don't.

It amazing to watch a team capable of attacking that quickly. They're truly a treat. Kuznetsov is something else. When you can make Ovechkin look like an afterthought you must be. When the time came to clamp down they were able to do so as well.

I'm not seeing how I could fault the coaching tonight. They made some adjustments and did some things better as the game went on, but combining lack of talent with getting caught up ice and taking some bad penalties meant that there were too many pucks going into the net.

The team just didn't have enough to give. I'm more okay with that than I would've been if they hadn't just won 3 in a row for sure and at least you got to watch an entertaining hockey game. That was a damn fine hockey team beating a flawed but rising hockey team that showed some fight. I can deal with that.

--------------------

Nilsson
- He didn't really allow any bad goals. They were either breakaways or tic-tac passing plays from side to side with little defensive coverage. Sure, he didn't make a number of big saves that he maybe could have, but it wasn't on Nilsson tonight.

Talbot
- He played okay, though he didn't face the chances that Nilsson did. The shot from Kuznetsov was pretty far out but he was also screened pretty badly. Tonight really hangs on this next group of guys.

Klefbom
- Maybe the worst game I've seen him play. He had nothing. Couldn't defend positionally, couldn't move the puck, couldn't hit. He had no hope against the skilled Capitals players. Very disappointing for a guy you'd expect to step up in a game like this. His offensive game is really slumbering right now and to see the rest of it bottoming out too is disturbing. They have no one to replace him with, so he needs to keep playing, but he almost needs to take a seat.

Schultz
- Oh boy. That was something else. Schultz had no hope when the Capitals stretched the neutral zone. He couldn't read the passes, couldn't anticipate, couldn't block the lanes or recover to get back. You might as well have had a pylon back there tonight. The "jump ball" play was a classic example but I think it's being over-emphasized. Terrible that he didn't get the puck out for sure, but there was a lot of bad play throughout the whole night.

Ference
- What can you say at this point? Brutal. Gave the puck away over and over. Took stupid penalties. Cost his team. What a waste. There were at least two specific instances where Eric Gryba circled around with the puck to wait and avoid passing it to Ference. You don't see a player with limited skills do that unless his defensive partner is a total trainwreck.

Gryba
- One of the only guys who played okay on the back end. He showed patience with the puck on a number of occasions and actually fought off some Capitals charges, but still could have been better.

Sekera
- Yeah, he performed way below expectations tonight. Again, this was a big game and a big opportunity. You need your big money D men to step up. He along with Klefbom were easily the most disappointing defencemen. That screen of Kuznetsov's shot was weak. You either need to get out of the way or block that shot. You could attack the puck. You can't just stand there. Where's the passing? Where's the transition to the attack?

Fayne
- I don't remember seeing him really. Suspect he could have defended better. Didn't catch how many SH goals he was on for.

Pouliot-McDavid-Yakupov
- The only continuously dangerous line, but they couldn't find the gear in the third period. Loved the goals they scored. One hard working forecheck goal and one off a rush to the net sort of play. Very nice. Needed more. I'm glad they got more ice time. Pouliot has come around a ton. Some very nice plays. Yakupov has learned a very important lesson - he still makes mistakes but he often recovers from them very well and gets the puck back. This is really important. McDavid was McDavid. That's the new line. He makes Hopkins' top gear look slow. That's amazing. Could have done more tonight, but that's okay. What they did should have been enough really.

Hall-Hopkins-Klinkhammer and a cast of thousands.
- McClellan is struggling with his Eberle deficit combined with the fact that the above line is producing consistently. Klinkhammer actually played pretty well in the first, scoring a goal and playing a fast, physical game. I'm not sure what he did to get demoted. Maybe I missed it. Or maybe they just wanted to try to get some more offense because both Slepyshev (who again I thought looked quite good in limited time) and Purcell (who looked okay but couldn't hit the damn net) got chances. Hall I thought was okay. I'm starting to think the refs are getting in his head and that he also might be getting a bit of a reputation among the officials. He's not getting any breaks despite being a hard skating player who goes into high traffic. This is unusual. He wasn't that great with the puck though. Hopkins played another consistently even game. I'm waiting for a higher gear but he is playing well.

Korpikoski-Lander-Purcell
- Weird night for this group. Korpikoski got himself benched for something, though i'm not sure what. Bad PK work maybe? Lack of forecheck? Lander was just okay. Didn't have a good faceoff night and didn't generate offence but wasn't really making mistakes. Purcell was okay and got himself promoted. He is such a strong shooter but the accuracy is WAY off at the moment. He was better with the puck too.

Gazdic-Letestu-Slepyshev
- These guys didn't play much tonight aside from Slepyshev's promotion and Letestu on the powerplay. I can't really bag on them because their roles were so varied.

Any idea who the McLellan 4-5 were? I'd guess Klefbom, Ference, Schultz and Korpikoski based on deployment but due to the skill with which he delivered his comments, we don't know!
------------------------------------

The Oilers need to be better. They can't have plays going up the middle and sneaking in behind the defence like that. Hopefully this isn't a matter of the team getting comfortable. I don't sense that from the top line or from some of the new additions, but MAYBE from some of the remaining D and remaining forwards. I guess we'll see. I think this is just a bump in the road.

2016 LMHF Report - Game #2 21 Oct 2015 10:20 PM (9 years ago)

EDMONTON 3

VS.

DETROIT 1

Yes, you read that right. They beat the Red Wings in regulation.
------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing to mention from tonight is the pigeon. There was a pigeon flying around Rexall all night. I hereby propose that he be kept in the building, fed, kept, named and appointed the official Oilers' mascot. He must be a good omen.

You could feel that there was more energy in the building tonight, which is totally understandable. The couple of wins gave a bit of optimism and that was built on. The crowd still isn't ready to rock and that's understandable as well. People got excited for goals and big plays, but no general atmosphere. Again, I'm a part of this. I want to see it continue. I want to see this team go on a run, suffer a loss, and bounce back to run again. That hasn't happened in forever.

A technical point - this is now a streak. 3. It is impossible to "increase your streak to 3", 2 wins is not a streak. The third win creates it. Get it right.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Comparing this game to the last one I saw on home ice was night and day and that starts with the approach and Coach. There are lines that are working well together now, the team is more dynamic in its approaches and there appears to be accountability in place. We'll have to see how this plays out and if old habits creep in, but I liked what I saw.

If there was anything to nitpick about, it was the third period. That's too much of a tightrope approach for me. Got to be aggressive for longer and then maybe play a little more cautiously. With that said - it wasn't a 'lazy cautious', but an intentional one. Nowhere near the same level, but the sort of thing that Team Canada would do with a 2 goal lead at the Olympics - clamp it down, simple shots, avoid turnovers and penalties. There were some mistakes in this regard, but largely it never felt in jeopardy which EVERY 2 goal lead felt like it was last year.

The break in has adapted. There are still chip ins, but tonight the team now carried the puck through the neutral zone with speed. This makes all the difference in the world. They still struggled at times because the passes from the back end are still hit and miss, but it was very noticeable that different tactics were in play.

Another thing - this team applied back pressure on the puck carrier in a way I haven't seen an Oilers team do in years. Because of their skillset, if this keeps up they will be very successful. It allows forward-only transition play leading to odd man rushes. That's everything for a group this good that lacks talent to pass the puck up from their own end.

After a lackluster first powerplay, they went to a different breakout and in. For a guy who's watched coach after coach bang his head against the wall in a "dammit I'm right!!!" war to implement their system at all costs, this is so refreshing. The players had clearly practiced multiple methods and flipped like a switch.

Also really liked what McClellan said pre-game about getting the practice up to snuff and after the game regarding working through tonight's mistakes. Enjoy the win, but it wasn't perfect. It's nice that it didn't have to be.
------------------------------

Talbot
- Brilliant. A couple bad rebounds but many, many excellent saves. Didn't even look tested because he was so calm and positionally sound. Too bad one breakdown and a bad rebound cost him the SO.

Ference
- Spent the first period making at least one truly ugly play every shift. He was also very lucky the referees weren't in a mood to call all his hooks and holds tonight. Played better in the 2nd and 3rd, but was bailed out routinely by Talbot and to a lesser extent Gryba. Why he insists on taking bad long-range shots during sustained offensive pressure and killing the momentum I'll never know.

Gryba
- Credit to him for saving Ference on a number of occasions. He handled the puck well, made a few passes and maintained position well. Good night for Gryba. He appears to be growing within McClellan's defensive system.

Fayne
- Didn't see a lot from him which is usually good. Some of the slow moments were gone. Not great with the puck, but pretty good otherwise.

Sekera
- He needs to create with his passing and he didn't really do that tonight. I expect better from him even though there weren't really glaring mistakes or blown coverages. Needs to be pushing the offence forward and that wasn't happening.

Schultz
- Pretty good game from him. I can't recall a specific bad defensive mistake and that's good. Certainly played a lot of minutes and didn't allow the Wings many great chances. Expected a little more offensively I suppose.

Klefbom
- Really solid game all around. I remember him getting beat once in the first period and then really clamping down his game. Good to see. He's not jumping out a lot but I'm wondering if that relates more to McLellan's system given that it looks like something I may be observing on a regular basis.

As a unit the impressive thing is that the group isn't making the big mistake. They did have a couple problems when Detroit tried to open up the middle ice for the stretch pass. Klefbom in particular got caught chasing the play up and was nearly burned for a goal. Got to not get stuck staring at the puck like that.

Pouliot-McDavid-Yakupov
- What a line tonight. They were all excellent. What makes these guys work? Many things, but I'll key on one - all of them force the other team to turn the puck over and are capable of quickly turning the play around. Pouliot had easily his best game of the year. He'd really done nothing thus far and was suddenly everywhere. On several occasions I mistook him for McDavid with the way he was moving and passing the puck. Just a beautiful game from him. especially the heads up play to spring McDavid. Yakupov was great tonight. Setting up that Letestu goal with a nice delay and pass, making a little bump play to set up the transition to McDavid's goal and many other chances generated. I'd like to key on the play where he sent Pouliot in alone. Just a simple and lovely play. He headed up ice and saw there was nothing available to him and instead of forcing the play he calmly circled back, found time and space, lulled the DET players into a defensive lapse and hit Pouliot with a lazer. That's exactly how you do it. McDavid? He was McDavid. He's their best player. He blew by everybody. He got a chance and scored. He set up Letestu like it was nothing. He sprung his linemates multiple times and PKed like a champ. They should have played some more in the third to keep the pedal down.

Hall-Hopkins-Miller
- Honestly I expected these guys to step up after seeing what McDavid's crew were doing and they really didn't. Don't get me wrong - they weren't bad - but nothing really leapt out at you. Hall took a penalty out of frustration that was rather annoying to see. I know he was skating through getting beat up most of the night, but you can't get undisciplined like that. It was also too easy for him to shoot from out wide tonight. He needs to get to the net more than he has. Hopkins was himself - consistent and pretty good including a couple of strong shots but didn't find a way to hit the scoresheet. Miller was a victim of McLellan's impatience with trying to get this line going and found himself on the fourth line early. Didn't see much from him other than maybe one scoring chance but again, nothing horrible. I still see Slepyshev as the choice for this line because of the combo of skill and size - he can also keep up - but the Coach doesn't seem to at this point.

Korpikoski-Lander-Purcell
- I liked this line a lot and viewed their strength as an extension of what McDavid's group was doing. They forechecked really hard and forced turnovers. They can't transition as dramatically, but they controlled the flow of the play in their time on the ice. Purcell wasn't perfect, but he was better than he has been. That late penalty can't happen but thankfully the team didn't pay for it. Lander was excellent in many roles including the PK and PP. He's doing basically everything that's asked of him. He's also doing it with a tenacity and fiestiness that were lacking in his early NHL days but he has now embraced. When a smart, talented guy gets after it like that he is very tough to stop. Korpikoski? Simple game - use his speed, attack the puck, get it to the net. I have to say, he does it well. He had another strong game tonight.

Klinkhammer-Letestu-Slepyshev
- Only one member of this line really managed to make his mark on the game and that was Letestu on special teams. I was underwhelmed by his efforts early as he appeared to be coasting but perhaps that was just a veteran being a veteran. He was really good as a role player tonight. Scored the PP goal by going to the right place. Got a great chance off the rush from McDavid and had a couple others as well. It is really nice to have two players that can help your PP and two who can help your PK on the fourth line. Very valuable.
-------------------------------

Strong goaltending and quick-strike offence. Who knew?

That and pigeons. Long may our pigeon friend oversee home wins.

2016 LMHF Report - Game #1 15 Oct 2015 9:26 PM (9 years ago)

And we're back!

EDMONTON 2

VS.

ST. LOUIS 4
----------------------

Hello again everyone. A long period of relaxation combined with the changes that have come to the Edmonton Oilers has inspired me to begin doing the Report once more. I hope that this season reignites the fun we've had in this place for many years before.

For those of you who are new to this thing, a quick note - this is mostly intended as my immediate reaction and take on the game. I don't sit down and watch the game 3x over, I don't try to dampen emotion, I don't try to be a journalist. This is here for fun, for discussion and hopefully you happen to enjoy the way I break down a game. You'll likely see a bunch of regulars show up - if they've managed to hang around through the recent disasters - and we like it that way, but don't be intimidated or think this is a closed discussion. The more the merrier. Please always feel free to share your thoughts and make this a place to share your one-line, brief, or extended take on what the heck our team did on a given night. It's often more focused on one thing or a few things than the scattershot, easy-to-get-lost-in GDT.

----------------------

Well, that didn't go as I had hoped. After watching the Oilers game in St. Louis on TV, my expectations weren't amazing, but usually the first game at home in a new season means a high energy level, some early success and a higher likelihood of victory. That obviously didn't happen tonight.

It's early - and I really want to like McClellan because we're going to be watching him coach this team for a long time - but tonight's game showed some early flaws that he's going to have to correct urgently if this team is to have any success.

When it comes to the forecheck and zone entries, the chip-and-chase system that McClellan used in San Jose will not work for this squad. Even just through a few games this can be seen. Giving the puck away when it is being carried by the likes of COnnor McDavid, Taylor Hall, Nail Yakupov and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is insanity. The support players won't be crashing the boards with speed and getting the puck back either. This team is unfortunately not very fast and isn't a bang-and-crash squad. I lost count of the amount of times tonight that St. Louis simply grabbed a dump in and started to transition. While not every team will be as good as STL in transition, the system itself is flawed.

Next, the powerplay. The horrid, ugly powerplay. I remember a couple of chances late and that's about it. The units are incorrectly put together. Schultz can't QB the powerplay himself - at least not a first unit. Yakupov needs to be playing with McDavid. Pouliot needs his role simplified. Even with these changes, if they don't change the break in - which appears to be slightly modified version of the 5-on-5 - they will have no success. They need to attack the middle of the ice with speed. Full stop.

The Oilers haven't scored a goal yet off the rush or through sustained pressure in the offensive zone. These are the keys to winning. Why is this not happening? It was on display tonight - they can't transition and they can't attack with speed because of it. This is because 5 of their 6 defencemen couldn't make a tape-to-tape pass. The forwards are being asked to drop WAY back into their own zone, supply all the speed and then dump and get the puck. This doesn't work.

The goals they scored? Korpikoski driving hard and taking advantage of a sleeping Bouwmeester, then Hall getting a bounce of the draw after finally waking from his season-opening sleep. That's not good.

The goals they allowed? Lazer shots from scoring areas. At least twice McLellan had made what he thought was a defensive substitution and the team couldn't win the draw or clear the zone. The puck should have been out three times on Stastny's goal. The final one was a frustrated and fumbling team.

The Oilers didn't control the play at any point tonight. That's a huge problem. They had small bursts of energy, but nothing that could be sustained. It was too little too late again. They didn't win a puck battle until the third period. They were always reaching with their sticks instead of getting to the man. These are signs of a bad hockey team.

I'm not saying it was all bad. They are staying in games. They're making fewer mistakes. They have goaltending which really helps and gives you more chances to take leads. That they haven't taken advantage is a problem, but less of one than being hopeless.

Where it might be hopeless is the defence. I see no way that group can supply the puck to the forwards and begin to attack from transition.

----------------------

Talbot
- He didn't light the world on fire, but made some nice saves at times to keep the game close. Big key - no stupid mistakes or bad goals. The puck was ripped by him from high-quality scoring areas. Did exactly what was needed from him but his team gave up too many pucks and didn't supply the offence.

Sekera
- The only half-decent defenceman in the lot. Even he struggled early. Backes owned him at least twice in the first period. He got much better as the game went on, settling in and making some nice plays. He's being misused not playing with the first PP unit.

Fayne
- Possibly the worst game I've seen him play. He had a brutal giveaway that was nearly an assist on an STL goal, got beat to pucks routinely and just looked lost. When you're a defenceman who's the good kind of boring, this is not the type of game you need to play. He also joined the "bounce it out and give it away" club tonight. That's bad. Fayne is not a world class passer, but he's okay most of the time.

Reinhart
- I remember a sequence distinctly where he overskated his check twice in a row and turned the wrong way both times. These are not things you can get away with in the NHL. While I admire his effort to carry Gryba around, he has to be more efficient and better with the puck. Gave it away multiple times into the neutral zone and showed none of his supposed passing or shooting skill.

Gryba
- He's really got no business playing, but has been firmly placed in the #5 spot. Multiple times he wasted chances to clear the zone with a simple pass. He wasn't positioned well enough or moving fast enough to hit anyone. For a supposedly defensive defenceman, he really didn't control his man or the puck in his own zone.

Schultz
- Oh boy...I was optimistic after the preseason. I guess he hit someone tonight and had a couple good pinches. Defensively and in terms of transition passing he was a disaster. Another guy chasing around rather than controlling his gap and taking his man out of the play. I don't know when he became so overwhelmed, but that's the main image he projects on the ice.

Klefbom
- Rough night for him. I remember one strong play early on and then a lot of little mistakes. It's hard to figure what he should be doing because he's stuck with Schultz, but he should still be better on his own. One positive note - he showed tonight an increased ability to get the puck to the net. This is something he seems to have been working on.

Pouliot-McDavid-Yakupov
- Kind of all over the place with these guys. Nail got some strong shots away that could have paid off but also had some spin-outs, fall downs and misreads. I like the way he's skating with the puck but think he needs to focus on giving the puck to McDavid and getting open. McDavid really struggled tonight as he just couldn't seem to get anything going. I don't recall any great scoring chances or shots. He did smoke a Blue with a pretty good hit but that's not what we're looking for. I keep waiting for him to grab the puck at the blue line and blow by three defenders. I'm thinking it is the lack of passes from the D that is causing this not to happen. This unit kept getting stuck with Gryba and Reinhart - which doesn't work. Pouliot finally made a couple things happen in the third, but was rather invisible. I expect him to be a physical presence and got to the net but he just wasn't doing it. The big slapper isn't there yet either. Not sure we'll see these guys together much longer, though I really like the McDavid-Yakupov dynamic.

Hall-Hopkins-Hendricks
- Very low expectations going into the game for this line and up until the third period they certainly delivered. Hendricks can be all the try-hard he wants - he's a boat anchor on this line. The puck can't go to him and the defenders don't bother to defend against him. You can't have a primary offensive line with that big of a hole in it. It's nothing against Hendricks really - he did what he could - but that is very limited. I do have a problem with the game Hall played. He turned it on in the third period late - there's no doubt on that. Before that he was playing like a tired, frustrated rookie who thinks the game owes him something. He must be better than he was, both with and without the puck for this team to succeed. Hopkins was Hopkins - pretty good and moving well, but he had to try to do it all himself so the Blues simply keyed on him and shut him down. Hopkins needs Eberle back so badly - hell they all do.

Korpikoski-Lander-Purcell
- A big MEH for this group. They had moments. Lauri got his goal which was nice to see. I think he did more in this game than in the preseason and regular season games to date combined. I see why he gets chances but not really why he lasts. Lander needs to be better than this. Tonight's game reminded me of many others in his career where he just seems to drift around. On the PK he wAS fine enough but the team needs more than that from him. Purcell's possible contribution is really limited at this point so again my expectations are low. He should still be better about both puck pursuit and getting his shot away. Didn't see a lot of that tonight.

Gazdic-Letestu-Slepyshev
- Maybe the one line that over-achieved. I've already let it be known that I'm a huge Slepyshev fan so far and he had some really strong shifts tonight in terms of driving into the corners. He drew a penalty and had a couple chances. If McClellan was in the mood he should have been promoted. Aside from a couple crucial draw losses, Letestu also impressed me. He seemed much more into the game and using his skating ability than I've seen previously. Gazdic is Gazdic - I barely watch him really.

------------------------

Thanks again to everyone for coming back and giving this another shot. I doubt there will be a Report every single game as I simply don't get to as many as I did in say, 2006 when I attended every preseason, regular season and playoff game as well as game 5 in NC. I will do what I can and hope we have great discussions.

Disappointing result. Some good. A lot of questionable. Some bad. I think it is going to become very obvious very quickly that this team needs a re-tool on the back end and/or a strategy re-think and FAST. That and Eberle. They need him so badly.

Shut down for the year 22 Mar 2014 1:52 PM (11 years ago)

Good afternoon all,

As you may have guessed from the lack of posting lately - I've shut things down for the year. I've just got to much on the go at the moment and let's be honest, even with the Oilers' newfound goaltending and some wins, there aren't a lot of great things to talk about. I'm hoping the motivation strikes to do some sort of year end (probably a web radio show version) and then go from there, but we shall see.

Thanks again to everyone for reading this year. It has been a tough grind. Here's hoping we see some good things through the final games and then don't endure another year like this for a long, long time.

Advisory - No report tonight 6 Mar 2014 6:39 PM (11 years ago)

No game report tonight guys. Technical difficulties and I'm still sick. Til next time.

2014 LMHF Report - Game #28 Live post game 4 Mar 2014 7:32 PM (11 years ago)

Good evening everyone. Tune in approximately 15 minutes after the game on Spreaker (search LMHF) for the live post game show. I believe the plug-in at the top of the blog should also work. Talk to you then.

Advisory - No Report Tonight 27 Feb 2014 12:54 PM (11 years ago)

Good evening all,

I'm in the Ottawa airport at the moment and due to the failure of supersonic transportation to gain widespread acceptance, can't make it back in time for tonight's game. As such, there will be no report.

2014 LMHF Report - Webcast - Game #25 29 Jan 2014 9:53 PM (11 years ago)

Hey guys, I forgot to post here the details on the live version of the webcast. My apologies.

Here's a link to the recorded version. We're using a website/app called Spreaker that has some really interesting features I'm still learning about. Enjoy! http://www.spreaker.com/user/6937911

2014 LMHF Report - Game #24 24 Jan 2014 10:07 PM (11 years ago)

EDMONTON 3

VS.

PHOENIX 4
------------

Well the team almost salvaged one here. I'd care and think it meant more if this was the beginning of the season rather than at a point when barring "we'll never lose again", the season is over.

Fact is I want to be entertained and I want the team to win. For half the game tonight that just wasn't the case. They were terrible. LMHF#2 were strongly considering leaving for pizza and Madden. I still think we should have even after the third. It's just more painful when the game is made close and there will be excuses made.

Eakins started making them immediately in his post-game. You can't say that team made no mistakes. They gave the puck up like crazy the whole game save for five minutes. What you can say is that for a good while they shut down PHX's ability to get shots on net. That's a very good thing of course.

The D got better after Ference left...just saying. The thing about the remaining group is, although they're not that good when compared to the better teams in the league, they are both better (when playing decently) and bigger than the Oilers usually ice.

The forwards were strongest on the rush. Phoenix basically shut down the Oilers' attempts to cycle and get the puck to the net. Despite this the Oilers kept chipping it in rather than repeat the success of the Hopkins goal. Now, I guess you could argue that the PHX D got worn down but I don't really buy that. There wasn't enough hitting for that to have happened. They were giving away possession to a team that plays back rather than using the gap to generate speed and attack the net. During the times of the night when they did have chances and pressure, it was because they exploited the fact that PHX likes to hang back.

Interesting to watch PHX's PP. They consciously try not to skate with the puck.

The game was lost in the first. Much like the season was lost very early on.
---------

Bryzgalov
- Not good enough tonight at all. He settled in during the second period but this was too little too late.

Ference
- Got caught on another PP goal. Putting he and Petry out there on the PP against a competent opponent is like giving them a goal.

Petry
- Got better during the second half of the night. Had one of the ugliest shifts I've seen from him in the early second when he gave the puck away at least 3 times and headed the wrong way as well. Did have some strong defensive moments and was more physical than usual.

Marincin
- Overcame a couple first period mistakes to have a really strong game. Won a ton of corner battles and stood up at the opposition blue line. Doesn't matter who his opponent is - he played like a competent defender again and showed no signs of being tired late. The guy is a horse.

Potter
- One of his best games in a long time. Why? He used his size defensively. Sometimes he gets tentative and backs off. Tonight his gaps were very small and he slowed down the PHX players. Could have been better with the puck but the point was that he was getting to those pucks.

Schultz
- No magic offensively but he did try to push to the slot in the third when they needed the third and fourth goals. Kept waiting for an amazing pass but it never came. Made some mistakes but also made some really good defensive plays which was great to see.

Belov
- Very good when he didn't drift out of position. This happened a few times but other than that he was strong and controlled a lot of PHX forwards. He and Potter both drifted out of place on the first PHX goal...though Bryzgalov could've stopped that if he'd come out further.

Yakupov-Arcobello-Joensuu
- Kind of a weird line. They had some strong shifts but just couldn't quite convert. I like the way Joensuu goes hard to the net in games like this and he was rewarded with a couple tips. He also annoyed some of the PHX D. Yakupov had a few chances and just didn't get it done. Great opportunity on the PP in the third that went through his legs somehow. He had a shift in the second where the line was actually stuck in the D zone, but he landed two good hits and that seemed to get everyone going. Arcobello has been struggling for a while now and couldn't really get anything done this evening.

Hendricks-Gordon-Jones
- Interesting line. They can certainly grind. I'm not going to give Jones as much credit as others likely will, but at least he's fighting for a job somewhere next year. Had a couple horrible turnovers but did get in on the forecheck. Hendricks was excellent at getting into the offensive zone and causing the PHX D problems. He really drove hard for the puck and was rewarded with a goal for going to the net. Nice to see. Needs to make sure he doesn't get the extra in the scrums. I didn't like that Eakins took out Hendricks rather than Jones when Yakupov stepped up. Old reliable Mr. Gordon was excellent positionally and generally as he almost always is.

Smyth-Gagner-Perron
- Gagner continued his season of being lost in the ocean. He couldn't accomplish anything tonight. Never in the right place, never the right time, couldn't find an extra gear to pass anyone and didn't get any good shots toward the net. Not good. He needs to produce. Perron wasn't much better to be honest. Sure he scored an outstanding goal - but the rest of the night he looked disinterested. I can understand why he's frustrated at this point but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Smyth looked slow and out of place. Why was he on the PP? Were they showcasing for a trade or something?

Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- Well, they had a very up and down night. Early, Hall and Eberle both struggled. Hall especially who couldn't find a giveaway he didn't like. Again I understand the guy is frustrated and probably just goes home to bang his head against a wall and forget, but that's no excuse to pick up the bad habit of firing the puck everywhere. They both improved as the game went on, and when playing the rush at the end were fairly good. Hopkins stayed fairly level all night and was the best of the three.
--------------------

Another home loss. Man this has been a long year and we're not even to the Olympic break. With that in mind...

No game report Sunday. I'm going to take my 11-month-old to his first Oilers game and will be concentrating on that. Distinctly possible there will be an early exit or many breaks so I'm not going to write.

Subsequent to that and for the rest of the season my plan is to test out a live webcast radio show each postgame. I've got something set up and will share the links and directions shortly. I figure this is a good time to test it out so that if it works and I'm still going regularly next year, the Report can evolve as it should. We shall see.

2014 LMHF Report - Game #23 21 Jan 2014 9:53 PM (11 years ago)

EDMONTON 1

VS.

VANCOUVER 2
-------------------

AAANNNnnnndddd we're baaaaaaack!

Though for how long I'm not sure.

Even after a refreshing break, I am having a really difficult time giving a damn about this team. I'm mainly only going to games to hang out with whoever is my guest for the evening. The usual intensity with which I'm studying things on the ice is really waning. I'm not sure how to get it back and games like tonight only serve to annoy me further. If the team isn't going to care for most of the game, then how am I supposed to?

This issue hasn't been a problem in as many games as most think - but it has been increasing in frequency lately. They're showing up expecting to lose, not giving it 100% effort or focus, then realizing they can win at the end and blasting to the finish line but coming up short.

If they put that effort out there from the beginning, or even for 15 minutes, they probably win. The Canucks outside of Luongo were downright lacklustre tonight. It was clear that they were not on their 'A' game and when you get an opponent like that at home, you have to beat them. Not that that sort of thing matters at this point. I would have much rather seen them goon it up ala the Flames. At least that might accomplish something.

The Canucks visibly treat the Oilers and especially the top line like a joke out there. They use sticks and elbows etc with no fear of any pushback. Taylor Hall won't do anything at this point except get frustrated. That injury he got when he fought Dorsett has warped his brain somehow. Eberle and Hopkins aren't exactly feisty. Eakins won't send Gazdic/Hendricks/whoever after the Canucks good players, so there's nowhere to go in this conversation.

You know I'm not usually worried about this kind of hockey. I think you can skate through just about anything. The thing is, you have to be a good team and actually win. It would be more productive at this point for the Oilers to dress a rotating group of 6 goons in the bottom of their lineup with no fear of being suspended against key rivals than doing what they're doing.

Was certainly interesting to see Ben Scrivens' first game. I'm not overjoyed with him but he certainly looked strong enough in the net. He was good positionally and stayed in control of his body throughout the game. He was also active near his crease in terms of both the puck and opposition skaters. I like that we finally have a proper "paddle-down" style goalie. Didn't like the awkwardness on the first goal, but he was strong other than that. Will be nice to watch him attempt to grab his dream of being a #1. He certainly has the opportunity.

Martin Marincin was just okay tonight. The thing is, I realize that in order to make that call after that game means I've raised my standards. He played a ton of minutes and only made a few mistakes. One key one was an ugly pass out front of his own net. He did have a man wide open for a breakaway but he needs to put that pass in the air. Amazing how far he's come so quickly.

Jeff Petry actually took a slapshot tonight! I was freaking amazed. He's actually got a very good shot but takes way too long to get it away.

Justin Schultz made several bad turnovers at the opposition blue line and took weak shots. I'm not sure why he's struggled so much this year.

The thing is, with players like Schultz I'm just starting to think it is all the crap and noise surrounding the team. Who is going to be able to play their best in this mess?

Liked some of the habits that Hendricks has - he works very hard to get the puck in both his own zone and the offensive corners, then makes generally smart plays with the puck in his own zone. Time will tell if this is a repeatable sort of thing and if he'll be able to do anything offensively. Probably not.

Ryan Jones should really work on his fighting. Kevin Bieksa was, as usual, scared of anyone who can actually fight.

David Perron has checked out. He had nothing tonight aside from a couple decent shots on net. These Canucks games should be his bread and butter. He's a competitive guy. This is how you know they're out of it.

Eberle was the best of the young 3 tonight. He was at least getting opportunities. I'm not sure why he couldn't make a better effort on the break he had in the third. That was pretty much the only opportunity they had to win it.

Hall needs to get it together. I get that he's frustrated. I get that he's getting beat up out there. Sulking and throwing errant passes, then trying to win the game with 3 strong shifts isn't going to do anything about that.
-------------

That's about all I'd say was worth it tonight. More might occur to me. I'm going to make a decision pretty quickly on whether or not I shut this down for the season and start again next year as I either need to get into it again and provide you guys what you expect or just start again fresh next year. Will figure that out quickly.

LMHF Report away until January 21 7 Jan 2014 9:29 PM (11 years ago)

Good evening all, too much on the go and I'll be missing the Pittsburgh game on vacation. See you on the 21st!

2014 LMHF Report - Game #20 5 Jan 2014 8:43 PM (11 years ago)

EDMONTON 5

VS.

TAMPA 3
-------------

A lot to see at the game tonight. The first thing I noticed was a ton of empty seats and the quietest start to a game I can remember since the early 90s. It was eery. I suspect it had more to do with the cold weather and early start than anything else but it was still something worth noting.

The game didn't start very well. There's another sport where launching a no-doubter into the crowd early on is a great thing - but Justin Schultz lazily dumping one into the 10th row doesn't work in a hockey game. I didn't take this a positive sign...even less so when Tampa scored to take a lead in the first.

For once the Oilers found a way to turn it around. Mostly it sprung from the efforts of Eberle, but there was also a balance to the Oilers' lineup tonight that made it possible to have offense from pretty much every line. This is a big deal. It will be tested in a big way against STL as they have a truly stellar group of defencemen.

The second period is something to worry about. A team like STL or PIT would have lit the Oilers up for 5 or 6 during that middle frame. I don't know what exactly happened but the team appeared quite sleepy. The three zone pressure that was present in the first and third dropped off a bunch and Tampa pressed. Because they were short players and also not having an amazing game, this only resulted in two goals.

Discipline and the way the referees called the game helped out tonight. When the Oilers don't go to the penalty box a bunch, and frankly when there aren't a lot of penalties called period, they seem to have a much more consistent game. The officials let some sticks and holds go at points during the game that may have been called on other nights. The linesmen did a pretty solid job on offside calls tonight. Gotta love Mike Cvik. He also tossed around J.T. Brown when it looked like he was trying to start something at the end of the second period. Hard to believe Cvik was never a player.

Generally liked the way Eakins ran the bench tonight. Increased icetime for Marincin was the proper choice. He resisted the urge to over-play the fourth line even though they were having a strong game. Still wonder about playing Justin Schultz so much, but it worked out in the end I guess.
-------------------------

Bryzgalov
- Just okay game from him tonight. Looked a little shaky on a few occasions and should have allowed at least one less goal. The thing was, he didn't pack it in and give up on the game. He stayed in and made enough saves in the third for the team to win. He'll need to be better against STL (assuming he starts - and he'd better).

Petry-Marincin
- I would say this was the key pairing tonight even though another featured more in the offensive play. Marincin bailed out Petry defensively on a number of occasions. The two in the third that I remember involved Petry making ill-advised dumps up the boards and creating a scoring chance for the Lightning. On both occasions, Marincin was in good position and used his reach to break up the chance. Aside from one shift in the second period that resulted in a goal, #85 was wonderfully steady. Simply more of the same from previous reports - good in the corners, good with the puck, very responsible. Will be very interesting to see what he can do when he fills out. As for Petry, it wasn't that he was terrible, though he does make a lot of simple mistakes. It was that next to even a rookie in Marincin, Petry's bumbling style with the puck looks third-rate. That can't be your top Dman. One little thing that I noticed that was very illustrative was this - the difference in how each of these two clears the zone when there's no play. Marincin's chip off the boards is at an angle and speed that doesn't allow many interceptions but also doesn't result in icings. Petry normally either rips it all the way down or lofts a softie that's an easy pick. It's the little things that can make a huge difference - especially when they are little fundamentals (if that term makes sense).

Ference-J. Schultz
- HEY! ANDREW FERENCE DID SOMETHING RIGHT! I'm being half-sarcastic as I'm sure you've all figured out that I don't like the way Ference plays much. His slap-pass to Hall was a really nice read and perfectly one-timed. He was actually pretty decent tonight. Didn't get beat wide and made some strong plays with his stick. After Schultz made the bonehead move I noted in the intro, he settled into a fairly steady game. In setting up the Gazdic goal, he did something that has been sorely missing from both his and the Oilers' game this year, as he fired a nice wrister through a screen while moving the play against the grain. All too often the Oilers have simply not moved and bounced that puck off the shot blocker. Not this time. Very well done. Defensively he was just okay. This pair was out for the Hedman goal, but that play came out of the forwards making a mistake and then Ference cheating too far back.

N. Schultz-Hunt
- Interesting to watch Brad Hunt live. My experience watching him tonight was pretty much the same as the preseason. You can see he's offensively somewhat capable. He made a couple good pinches and could be relied upon to move the puck. One of the things that made the Edmonton PP better tonight was that he was getting the puck to the skating forwards much earlier in the neutral zone. The thing is, if you're going to be the kind of defenceman Brad Hunt is, you have to bring some extra. I measure on the Marc-Andre Bergeron scale basically. Always have time for a guy like that on my team. Bergeron could hit, had a really strong shot and would even fight if called upon. I don't see anything extra from Hunt. If the preseason is any indication, he's also not the best OKC callup for the PP - that would be Marincin. In the defensive zone, you can see that he isn't sure of himself yet. He cheats toward his own net in a way that would be taken advantage of by top-flight teams. The good news for him is that this is something that can be corrected with a bit of positioning work. Nick Schultz was just okay. He made some mistakes but nothing glaring.

Gazdic-Arcobello-Jones
- That was probably about as good of a game as you're going to get from Luke Gazdic and he didn't even need to fight. He did what you do as an enforcer when offense happens - go to the net. Good solid screen and tip. He could also have scored in the second after creating good forechecking pressure and getting the puck in front of the net. Only a bad shooting decision kept him from his second there. He was positionally strong and kept skating all night. Jones started the game with a remarkable amount of restraint and focus compared to normal. He was not overskating his check or looking like a flailing forward. This restraint wained as the game went on, but I'd still classify this as a better game for him. Make no mistake though - the reason this line had a strong night was that if Mark Arcobello is your fourth C, you've probably got a decent fourth forward unit. On any given shift if he wasn't working the puck or leading the forecheck, he was in a strong support position to keep the line strong. Because of his effort, these guys only got stuck in the defensive zone a couple of times. Very pleased with his effort tonight.

Yakupov-Gagner-Perron
- A little bit of chaos for this unit tonight. You could see Perron getting a little frustrated trying to figure out where the freelancing Yakupov was going to be after playing with the ultimate "straight-ahead" winger in Hall. It led to #57 having one of his weaker games this season. Part of that was also because this was not a particularly emotional or chippy game, which is what Perron thrives on. Gagner was okay - which is an upgrade on recent performances. He wasn't a defensive liability and got into shooting position on a number of occasions. Both of these things have been missing from his game this year. I also liked the way he carried the puck into the offensive zone with speed. Yakupov had an interesting game. He got a couple nice shots away and played a fairly responsible game. A lot of people are going to note his backhand pass in the third with the goalie pulled - it wasn't a bad play - Perron was breaking to that spot and then just quit. Probably just a misread on #57's part. I really don't like watching Yakupov dump the puck so much. I have a feeling this is a demand of Eakins and don't like that at all. You're much stronger with him either carrying the puck or dishing and heading for a dangerous position.

Smyth-Gordon-Hemsky
- Yet another strong performance from the Smyth-Hemsky pair. They are now a line with the strongest C option for them in Gordon. You don't have to worry about too much with this group on the ice. Hemsky had a strong game including an absolute ripper of a shot that went bar-down but not in. It was a great example of changing the angle on both the defender and the goaltender. Hemsky also backchecked very well. Smyth kept it simple and had a strong game. No lazy play. No energy letdown. Lots of grinding in the corners. That's what works best for him. Gordon continued what has been a really good season especially on a team this bad. His goal was a nice example of getting to the right spot and not quitting on a chance generated by Smyth and Hemsky. You're going to get those chances with those two players and he's done a more than adequate job this year. I wonder if he would have been on pace for 20 with a couple fewer injuries and a slightly better squad overall.

Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- It's funny as I saw their game quite simply. They had Tampa's number in the first and third. They were stifled in the second but still got a few chances. The one thing that was a bit of a problem was getting stuck in their own zone. The unit was not great at moving the puck up. Hall should make the Olympic team, but likely won't. If he doesn't, I'm guessing it will be because of the lazy backhanded giveaway that has leaked into his game this year. There were a couple of examples tonight. Hopkins was the strongest player on this line. Eberle had one of the quieter two-goal games I can remember. Not saying he wasn't good - just saying he wasn't all over the place like a lot of two goal nights look.
--------------

Certainly the Oilers got a break when Bishop went down. Not sure whether it would have mattered or not. You've got to beat these Eastern teams and they did that. Good on them.

2014 LMHF Report - Game #19 28 Dec 2013 10:47 PM (11 years ago)

EDMONTON 3

VS.

PHILADELPHIA 4

In a stinking shootout...
--------------------------

I haven't seen a game where the Oilers have played that badly and yet had seemingly endless chances to win against a non-joke opponent in a long time.

If they cash on the PPs in the first, they win.

If Perron scores on the breakaway (always go forehand kids), they win.

If Perron scores in the shootout, pretty sure they win.

There were others as well. Just couldn't push it over the top with that little bit of individual effort that sometimes bails out a truly bad performance. Make no mistake, I'm not saying the Oilers were good. They were far from good.

Have to go to Eakins' approach before we get to the players. Just to clarify - when I talk about Eakins and criticize his decisions, I am not saying "IT IS HIS FAULT AND IF WE JUST CHANGE EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE!", but what I am saying is that he makes a lot of mistakes that mean the team doesn't start from an optimal position to win, or adjust properly within the game. The lineup he used tonight handicapped his squad to start with - especially that he is still playing Yakupov on the 4th line, still had Lander in as well, and reverts incessantly to 4-93-14. His failure to adjust properly lay with his D. He did not trust the only pair that had a reasonable night - Belov and Marincin. Their icetime needed to be elevated in order to maximize the Oilers' chances tonight and Marincin only played 11+ while Belov got 15+. Unacceptable.

This team is so bad at home, and so bad against the sad sack East...It is truly amazing how bad they are against teams that all of their competitors are beating. Only Nashville also has a losing record against the East. Stunning.

Another stunning thing is the Oilers powerplay - specifically their complete inability to enter the zone. How do you effectively neuter a powerplay driven by skilled forwards and puck possession? Tell the D to bring the puck into the neutral zone and then tell the forwards to dump it. This "system" they are running is disgusting. They can't win the battle for the puck because the timing is completely off. Even when the puck is carried in, they are clearly all directed to stop and attempt a sideways or backward pass, despite the idiocy of trying to make a play where the defenders are concentrated. All that has to happen is for the forwards to drive deep into the zone after receiving the puck near their own blue line. This is in no way difficult.

I will say this for the Flyers - they make breakouts look easy. Theirs move at lightning speed when compared to the Oilers. The wingers carry that speed and gave the D fits trying to slow them down all night. Part of this was because the Oilers were clearly not playing a high pressure system (unlike, say the Philly PK) but still, the skill, timing and positioning involved made the Oilers look like children by comparison. Sad.

-------------------

Dubnyk
- An Oilers player shot the puck softly into the bench. Dubnyk went to catch it. It came out of his glove. I'm not joking. He can't even catch a softball.

Bryzgalov
- Very good night where he was completely left out to dry and still nearly won the game. Many impressive saves including a breakaway pokecheck followed by a sprawling dive. Lots of glove work. A great stop on a shot that hit an Oilers defenseman in front (Dubnyk is still frozen in place looking for that puck). Several stops where he made himself big and it worked out. The only disappointment of the night was the SO, where he was clearly scared of Giroux and guessed wrong on Raffl (moved his blocker under instead of up). Got plenty of applause and deserved it. Didn't come out for his star, which I respect.

Belov-Marincin
- As I said, the only pair playing decently well. Marincin made two dangerous passes up the middle that were bobbled, but was otherwise quite solid and again a strong presence in the corners. He does this better than most of the roster and has shown so over several games now. Belov broke up a bunch of plays in the neutral zone and was definitely one of the best Oilers over the final 40 when most of the team was out back taking a dump. Not the offensive presence I'd like him to be tonight but solid in the other two zones.

J. Schultz-Ference
- Playing this pair for so many minutes is likely what cost the team the game. I blame Ference in a way for all three regulation goals against. He took a stupid penalty that set up the first PP goal. On the Flyers second goal, both he and Schultz were covering nothing. Specifcally Ference because he had to block the passing lane and instead just stood around debating which forward to take in an odd-man situation. On the third Flyers goal, which I know was a 5-on-3, there was zero excuse for whatever the hell Ference was doing in front of the net. Pushups? Squats? I don't freaking know but it wasn't playing hockey and it was pathetic. The only positive things he did were two rush breakups in the third period. Eakins trusts him and he really shouldn't. Right now Corey Potter, Martin Marincin, Taylor Fedun and a number of others who are not regulars would be a much better option any time the play goes to the front of the net. Far from the positive that many thought the addition of Ference might be, unless he is relegated to #6/7 and quick, this contract is going to be a huge blunder. The defensive defenseman who can't play defense. Brilliant. Speaking of defencemen who can't play D, Justin Schultz had an "off in the wilderness" night tonight. Despite a few brilliant passes, his reads were wrong, his pinches ill-timed and his defensive coverage effectively useless...yet he gets 28+ from the coach. This is the state of the D on this team.

Petry-N. Schultz
- Well, that last pair was bad. These guys were only better in that they didn't get lit up. Petry made so many boneheaded plays I can barely count. When he wasn't icing the puck, he was putting a lazy wrister on the opposing goaltender's stick, setting up a horrid line change. He gave the puck away multiple times, got burned clean multiple times and took two penalties to boot. Lovely. Nick Schultz made a number of defensive mistakes and wasn't good with the puck either.

------------------

Have to cut this one short guys as I have a long day ahead tomorrow. Please add what you thought of the forwards. I basically thought Yakupov was brutally mishandled, Lander needs to sit, Gazdic didn't get to do his job, the vet line was just okay, Perron was quiet but solid, Eberle had an off night, Gagner is still wandering, Hopkins was better but still not strong on the puck, Hall never quit but couldn't quite pull through and Joensuu needs to be playing fourth line minutes. The forwards weren't great, but they can't work with the guys who are keeping it out and moving it up. They have no hope.

2014 LMHF Report - Game #18 23 Dec 2013 9:57 PM (11 years ago)

EDMONTON 6

VS.

WINNIPEG 2
----------------

Did we just witness something important?

I'll readily admit that I was considering both not writing and not going to the game at all tonight. I'm not sure what made me head to the arena like always. Whether I'm a glutton for punishment, an eternal optimist or just so turned in circles by this hockey team that I don't know which was is up - it could be any and all. This team is more than enough to make you crazy.

The Jets appear to be an absolute mess. I know it was the second in 2 nights but man...Their best players had awful nights, especially Byfuglien who was victimized on multiple goals and then thought he'd take a couple swings at a small Russian to somehow remedy that...not smart. He needs some serious focusing in if that sort of performance is anything close to typical. The Jets' D as a whole turned the puck over even more than the Oilers D on a bad night. It wasn't that there was no pressure but man were there ever a lot of bad passes. The Jets are supposed to be a further down the road team with some veterans...when you see Andrew Ladd acting like such an unglued moron you know something is truly wrong. A lot of people seem to be bagging on their goalie too...I thought that Pavelec was the only thing that kept this from being a 12-2 hockey game.

I didn't see the complete 60 minute effort a lot of people saw. Don't get me wrong, the team was good enough to win for sure but for a lot of the game the outcome was in doubt and looked a bunch like the first game this season against the Jets. We fumbled that game away and either missed or were denied enough times tonight that I could see the game drifting in that direction.

The thing about this team is, while they have serious trouble with bends and climbing hills, when they see a straightaway and their foot finds the gas, they are not going to be stopped. The execution was ruthless on the goals they scored tonight. Nearly all were things of beauty.

The secret? Nothing special really. They finally went back to sending attackers through the slot and funnelling the puck there. It isn't rocket science but this team seems to have a serious amount of trouble doing it consistently. The Flames of all teams made them look completely incapable. We'll know this is something more than a momentary flash if they come out Friday and get to the middle of the attacking zone effectively. They have enough talent that they will find pucks there most every night and finish enough chances.

For those who were not watching - this is what I think happened leading up to and at the end of the game - in the second period on one of his few shifts, Yakupov was driving hard to create a scoring chance and bumped Pavelec. Nobody really noticed at the time but I'm guessing a WPG coach or player caught the replay where it basically looked like Yakupov clotheslined Pavelec. Yakupov was getting extra shifts in the third and - as he often does - concentrated on skating hard, finishing his checks (the idiot stat man gave him 2...TWO...he probably had 8-10) and trying to create chances. He ran into a number of Jets and on one shift where he was particularly causing a ruckus, Mark Stuart tried to hit him high. Luke Gazdic was only a few feet away and having none of that, so he jumped right in and fought Stuart. Yakupov changed nothing and was still getting shifts from Eakins. Yakupov made the play to Hall at the Oilers blue line, sending them away 2-on-1 to create the 6th Oilers goal. Hall looked for and then made a perfect pass to Yakupov who buried it after beating Byfuglien, and got two big slashes for his trouble. To his credit, Yakupov turned and stared the big moron down. Byfuglien went off giving the Oilers a PP. Eakins sent Yakupov right back out to get another one, probably thinking that things would die down. Then Andrew Ladd decides he's going to blatantly ignore "the code" and go after Yakupov with his stick on the draw. This is the exact opposite of what you expect from a guy like Ladd based on reputation. I really didn't get it. Then for some reason Bogosian thinks he has to stand up for Ladd (??????) and spears Yakupov. Talk about special. The crowd went insane for #64. I was a little disappointed that he neither got a star nor credit for a fighting major.

So there we were, the Oilers won 6-2. Amazing how things can turn over the course of three nights. I have no idea what to think of where this team goes right now.

-------------------

Bryzgalov
- UGLY on both goals. The first shot through the wickets was very Roloson-esque in that he didn't go down in the butterfly properly. He also severely overplayed the second goal, allowing the tip in at the side of the net. It is very true that Lander had no business not having his man, but still no excuse for the goalie to be out of position. Aside from those two he was excellent in terms of both some strong key saves and moving the puck. It makes such a difference to have a good passer back there.

Potter
- Probably the best game I've seen from him since he was injured a couple seasons ago. He broke up several rushes, played well in the corners and settled back into his role on the powerplay decently. It wasn't the Corey Power Potter Play for sure, but it was much improved over other efforts this year.

Ference
- No big mistakes tonight which is about as good as I think he gets. He did alright on the PP and maybe made the forwards think a little harder about their passes to the clue line. I still hate having him back there though. He stood up when called on late, which is certainly something.

Belov
- Struggled with the puck at the opposition blue line which is unfortunate. A lot of bumbling. He was strong defensively, physically and with his pinches though.

J. Schultz
- The first time I can say that he honestly looked dynamic in quite a while. He was jumping into the play at the right times rather than just for the hell of it. Passes were crisp. Good read and pass to set up the Gagner goal. The only thing he needed to do better was to get his shots through from the point. He just wasn't firing it.

N. Schultz
- Invisible, which I've concluded is a good Nick Schultz night. No glaring errors serves him well.

Petry
- I was glad that he was able to convert Yakupov's pass because he'd been given an absolute gift by Hemsky early in the game and somehow missed by a LONG way. I mean it was ugly. He didn't have much chance to miss on his goal, but the read that got him in position was lovely. He needs to do more of that. Pretty solid D on a night when he had some tough forwards to deal with.

Gazdic-Lander-Yakupov
- I honestly didn't see much from Lander aside from his missed check on the second WPG goal. I'd really like to see Arcobello get back in on this line now that the wingers have had a game like this. Yakupov may have had the most produtive sub-7-minute game in history. The setup to Petry will be a matter of debate. It really looked to me like he looked and saw Petry then made an absolutely perfect slap pass to a spot where my grandmother couldn't miss the net, but his reaction was kind of subdued so I'm not sure it may have been a bit of a fan. Either way, that shift with he, Eberle and Perron on the ice changed the game by getting it to 4-2. The floodgates were open after that goal. Yakupov's goal itself was an example of really hard work in his own end, getting the puck to Hall with a second or third effort, then absolutely busting it to the net for the goal. I've already covered some of the shenanigans that ensued but needless to say if you didn't love #64 before, you should now. The guy plays tough, hard hockey and when Eakins figures out how to let that happen, the man will not be stopped. I applaud that Eakins sought to give Yakupov extra ice tonight after the result was becoming clear. He made the most of it and put up a number of solid shifts. He did have one sequence where he struggled in the defensive zone because he was trying too hard, but that can happen quite easily when you've been on the bench most of the game. Gazdic handled an enforcer's job better than I've seen an Oilers player do it in a LONG time. With the score 5-2, he saw a WPG player take a shot at Yakupov and didn't ask nicely, didn't wait, just went at him. Got some good shots in too. That was perfect. Then he kept up the chatter in the penalty box when he knew he had an unstable WPG group in there across the way. Perfect. I just wish Eakins had sent him over the boards for the last shift with Byfuglien on the ice. Question - do you just run up and crosscheck the guy in the neck at that point or do you go hard to the net with a big smile on your face and wait? I'm guessing the latter.

Smyth-Gordon-Hemsky
- Another game where the two vet wingers were excellent. Smyth worked really hard this game and made some things happen that he hasn't in a long time. His damn paddle-stick and slow skating stride kept him from probably 3 or 4 goals and two breakaways, but at least the puck was headed in the right direction all night. Gordon read his role perfectly and was the support man all over the ice for these guys. He just plays the game the right way whether the team is winning or losing. Hemsky was sublime. Every time he is placed on the right side of the PP good things happen. It is incredibly stupid that coaches go away from this. He is more comfortable shooting from that side and showed so tonight by establishing his shot early. That led the WPG PK to expect a shot when he fired a perfect laser pass to Eberle for the first goal of the night. Amazing play. He set up both Smyth and Gordon multiple times the rest of the night. Excellent game.

Joensuu-Gagner-Eberle
- Eberle and Yakupov were the two guys who really impressed me by going after Byfuglien in the corners. They battled him hard for the puck and even though they didn't always win, they muddied the water enough that there was no smooth play for the Jets to make and Byfuglien had to work much harder than he likely does normally. Eberle was very strong in the offensive zone tonight and really seemed into the game. Make no mistake, having only a regular visor made a huge difference for Gagner. I'm convinced he doesn't get his goal with it on, and the bumbles and hesitation that have marked his game lately were gone. Was he perfect? No, but for the most part Joensuu and Eberle covered him defensively and he could play an offensive support role. The puck funnelled to the net and that led to offence. Very nice. Joensuu was up and down. There were times where he fit in very nicely, grinding out the play and finishing checks. He also got behind the play a few times though. He'll need to work at it to keep up with these guys. I'd rather see Yakupov get a shot so long as he knows the kind of game he needs to play. That might lead to defensive issues though. I don't know. It's a tough decision.

Hall-Hopkins-Perron
- Very good line. They were smooth enough all night that I honestly don't have much to say. You knew they would break through eventually and they did. Perron's goal was very nice. Hall's was beautiful - he forced a turnover with his forecheck in the corner then headed straight to the scoring area. Hopkins made a wonderful pickoff and then calmly fed hall the puck. Just perfect.. Liked this combo a lot. I'd rank their performances Hall-Perron-Hopkins. Hopkins can still be better. His shot is still missing.
----------------

The rollercoaster continues. Maybe we just saw a team come together. Maybe we just saw the youngest and most talented of the young forwards achieve a major breakthrough. I don't know...but we'll be there watching I'm sure.

LMHF Report - Game #17 21 Dec 2013 9:59 PM (11 years ago)

EDMONTON - N/A

VS.

St. Louis - 6
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I'm starting to think that most everyone has no clue what's actually going on with this team. I would have thought that everyone watched the Ottawa Senators on their epic adventure from horrendous to decent hockey team that won nothing. At this stage, even that would be a victory for the Edmonton Oilers.

Eakins certainly doesn't get it. The guy with a worse record than George Burnett when he got canned only got two questions from the sad sack Edmonton press core tonight and in his answers managed to reveal that he's wandering in the woods at this point. When you've reached the point of only having questions and no answers, you might as well be done. He also praised the team's play in the first. Sure, they were pretty good. The thing is, if your game plan when played to perfection results in zero goals for and in fact you come out of the period losing, there's something very wrong. It might be that your team is much worse than you think - might be that your plan is wrong - might be that you prioritize the wrong things. No matter which of those or other possibilities it could be, you are not on the right page.

Looking at the first goal against, which effectively was the game (which might be the saddest thing about this "team"), Eakins couldn't even get the analysis of that right...everyone is looking at a bad change. Sure, you don't want to make bad changes. It doesn't come up if Eakins doesn't have Andrew Ference on the PP. This is bonehead-stupid for a myriad of reasons, but mainly because Ference is a bad shooter and passer. Of course he forced an inappropriate shot that rang the boards and went directly to the STL player coming out of the box. He then went back in front of his own net and effectively did nothing while the Blues scored. That choice by the coach and sequence by the captain was the problem. Neither seems interested in taking much responsibility for anything. Eakins is always either silly-positive or asking pointless questions, and Ference can do nothing but talk about the fact that "some guys here have been losing for a long time" despite the fact that he can't play D effectively.

Watching the Oilers play against strong teams this year, specifically those with a strong defensive system that keeps opposition forwards out of the middle, has been amazingly frustrating. There is a complete and utter inability by the Oilers offensive players to break down the defensive walls, and ZERO adjustments in strategy from the coaching staff. The plan is either to hope for a massive breakdown or fire idiotic shots at the opposition's legs all night. Tonight it was the latter. I'm sure some Blues players have mild shin bruising. What a victory...

You knew this one was over at 2-0 if you didn't at 1-0. The way the team had no idea how to respond...as if they knew they must be perfect to beat the Blues...you cannot approach a game that way. Even last year, the team was capable for a decent amount of the season of having an offensive outburst that would bail them out. How many times has that happened this year? How many times at home? Maybe one?

The powerplay is a sad joke at this point. I don't know of another team that shoots so badly from the blue line yet continues to attempt the strategy. The team also won't set up a shot from the middle (which is easier to tip as well as put on net), won't set up in the faceoff circles and won't drive the net. I'm not sure how exactly you hope to score without doing one of those three things. That they also allow so many SH goals is just amazing. I've never seen a team so skilled at letting the puck escape the zone without control while outnumbering the opposition.

In case you haven't figure it out yet, no player reviews tonight. There is no point. Everyone was varying degrees of terrible.

Tonight was one of maybe two or three games I've ever been to where I thought of leaving early. I seriously considered leaving with about 17 minutes to go. I suspect if my wife and son weren't on their pre-Christmas family tour of southern Alberta I probably would have headed out. There's just very little point wasting any time after the first period right now. This is not a team that knows how to win with 10 great minutes. Or 30 decent ones. They have no clue how to swing the pendulum.

I'm seriously considering the status of my season tickets at this point. If you know how bad things have been for the past number of years, you know how far gone things seem to me. It is one thing to sit through bad hockey with some light at the end of the tunnel. I see none right now. I see an organization completely adrift, poisoning any good that comes its way. I highly doubt the high draft picks management is relying on to take them to the top will stick it out much longer. Why would they? With the way that "top line" got beaten on tonight, I don't think they can take anyone to the promised land for quite some time if ever. Why stick it out here?

You know what I miss? The team that scraped and clawed to get in every year. Why? Because the only reason that team didn't improve and win was salary constraints. It had nothing to do with not having #1 draft picks in the lineup. In today's system that team could add in the offseason and the deadline, while keeping good players and challenge for the cup. This embarrassment we must watch cannot. I seriously question whether it ever will.

Not looking forward to Monday.

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