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.
11/22/16
10/16/16
2017 LMHF Report - Game #2
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.
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.
10/13/16
2017 LMHF Report - Game #1
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!
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!
1/4/16
2016 LMHF Report - Game #20
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
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!
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