EDMONTON 0
VS.
LOS ANGELES 2
-----------------
We're almost there people. I feel at this point that even I am dragging a couple limbs that have given out behind me and staggering towards a finish line that is guaranteed to be there but at so many points this season has seemed so far away and so pointless all at the same time. It reminds of hobbling the last 6 miles of the half marathon I ran in Vegas because I had leg cramps the likes of which I couldn't have previously imagined. I wonder if the players feel that way. I imagine that for them the cramp is located several feet higher in a part of the body safely ensconced in a large plastic helmet.
This isn't going to be the usual game report. There was far to little of any consequence, either positive or negative, to write in the conventional fashion tonight. A ton of games this year have been listless and borderline painful, but this one joined the select few that featured almost nothing worth watching and were an effort to keep your attention on. It was really sad that they put THAT effort out for Rod's last game. Also, when you give a radio guy a banner, it's supposed to have a microphone on it, not the number of games he called. Sitting next to numbers such as 99 and 31 will now be 3542...yeah...
The goals we allowed fit with the game in that they were sad. LA didn't look like the kind of team that wanted a playoff spot in that they were almost as bad as we were. Their second goal came because Jason Strudwick somehow managed to have Theo Peckham deke him out...that's an accomplishment I never thought I'd see for several reasons. The other was some sort of slow-developing play that left Ladislav Smid laying there awkwardly in the crease. That's never good. Smid made more exceptionally strange plays tonight than I've seen from him in the last 20 home games combined I'm guessing. It was just strange.
I felt bad for Jordan Eberle because it looked like tonight the weight of trying to carry the team right now finally came crashing down on him. I saw him dump a puck to the middle of the opposition zone during a 5-on-5 situation...you'd never see that from him during "go time". He looked tired and a little lost tonight. I hope we're not beginning the process of ruining a sublime talent and sublime hockey mind somehow.
Once again, Teemu Hartikainen was one of the only decent reasons to watch the game. He made a couple really excellent plays; one was a drive to the net that started with a between the legs move to get past an LA defender and ended with a shot from his knees, then he made a beautiful rush play in the third that somehow found the post and bounced out to VandeVelde, who failed miserably on the conversion. It wasn't a night for goal scoring. #56 didn't thump anybody tonight, but did match up well physically with several large Kings, including Matt Greene. There seems to be at least 2 times a game so far where you could very well think that his last name should be Selanne.
Our goaltender looked like he was sleepwalking through the game. As I mentioned, the goals were iffy and LA put forth a pretty sad effort, so he wouldn't have had to do a lot to stop everything. Tonight's another one of those games that shows just how much relying on shots for a picture of a game is a mistake.
Looking down the lineup, there wasn't too much else to see really. Linus set up some nice plays but none were converted and he just missed out on a third period goal; Magnus skated a mile and didn't generate chances as LA played sturdy D; Andrew skated a bunch as well...but I was randomly watching some clips of 2008 compared to then, this guy has fallen so far back. It's really unbelievable.
We couldn't even get a good fight going tonight to at least provide some spark or entertainment...not from MacIntyre, Peckham, Strudwick, Jacques (we're so bad he was out during the final minutes trying to score btw...all he did was hit Liam Reddox) Jones or anyone. This game was totally devoid of any passion whatever. I had a feeling they wasted the last of what they had against Calgary and it appears that was true. Perhaps the only way for us to beat Vancouver next week is to dress a lineup of goons and chuck batteries on the ice.
I certainly don't enjoy writing such a bitter account of what is usually, even on a bad night, a much better experience than most other things. But there are times when it might as well have been on the TV or radio...and this was one of them.
3/29/11
3/26/11
LMHF Report - Game #38
EDMONTON 4
VS.
CALGARY 5
In a stinking shootout...
-----------------------
Damn...
This one hurts...this one stings...this one sucks.
If you were in the building tonight, you remembered what it was like to be a fan of a hardworking hockey club. The Oilers busted it for a substantial part of the game. The fans were there from the word go urging them on. It was truly fun to be an Oilers fan again tonight, even if just for a while.
Before delving too far into the final result, I have to give most of these guys a ton of credit; they were outclassed severely in terms of talent on the ice tonight, but they showed what effort can make up for in the first 50 minutes of the game. That style of play will win you a ton of games with a proper lineup on the ice. I hope those players who were either watching from the press box or sitting on the bench with some of these guys fighting for careers took notice of what guys that have no business being in the NHL just yet (or in some cases, are just barely cracking the surface and should be struggling, not thriving and blowing people away) did on that ice to a team fighting for its playoff life.
What should have been the turning point of the game was Devan Dubnyk's utter robbery in the first period. Their were two candidates for POTW in this game and that was just an amazing save. It turned out that wasn't to be, but at least we got to see it.
We also got to see the first NHL goal from a guy who I believe will come to define this team's future in a much more meaningful way than any of us could have thought. There was another FInnish guy whose name ended in "nen" that did a ton of good work for us and was a big part of championships. His modern counterpart looks to be well on his way. More on that later.
I'm going to hang part of the loss tonight on the coach. That might seem a bit goofy, but he underplayed some guys in the third (specifically #56), sent MacIntyre back out after his first stupid penalty to hurt the team dearly, and he needed very badly to call a timeout when it was 4-2 and didn't. He could have guided these guys to a win tonight and didn't.
Some of this is also on the referees; I have never seen such bad and inconsistent reffing in all my years of watching games as I've seen this year. It was absolutely abhorrent that we didn't get a PP until OT. It was an absolute joke that the linesmen were missing offside calls. Those guys should be absolutely embarrassed after that disgusting display. They might as well have been deflecting Calgary the puck.
Lastly, we lost because we are undermanned and just not very good. Our goalie, who looked ready to lock it down in the first, came apart as the game went on. Though I'm not saying goalies should have an easy time with breakaways and the third goal is squarely on Jim Vandermeer, I'm convinced that Dubnyk got way too amped up on that goal and whiffed. The same thing happened on the Staios goal, as Dubnyk overreacted in his reset and wasn't ready for a quick shot. Everyone was overplaying every single play at that stage, but Dubnyk's got to be calm there. I don't know why he wasn't. Getting beat on point shots like he did also stinks. Don't remind me of Mr. Salo.
I really hated losing to those guys tonight. We had victory in our sights and absolutely blew it. In a year when we've had almost nothing to cheer about, there was a chance for a massive cheer against a massive rival on a Saturday night on national TV and we blew it...not to mention they blew the first Sports Select ticket I've played in probably a year (thanks DET and WSH for doing your part). UGH....anyway, let's go through the PLAYER REPORTS
---------------
Dubnyk
- As I said, he looked really good early but you could feel it slipping away from him from the second period onward. He was overplaying the puck and making easy saves look difficult. I don't know why he suddenly got nervous but it was painfully obvious. It's really too bad; he's played well and deserved better so many times this year, but then his team shows up and he cracks. Crummy.
Vandermeer
- You cannot make a mistake like he did to allow that Glencross goal when all you do is play a simple game. I don't know what precisely crossed his mind when that happened but I hope it haunts his dreams tonight. I couldn't believe it when Renney had him out there for the 4-on-3. At what point do you say "no coach, that's stupid, play Linus or Teemu"? I know you don't do that but COME ON. He didn't hit anyone tonight which really surprised me. I thought he'd be in Calgary's face more often.
Petry
- Very mixed tonight. He made some really nice plays with the puck on his stick when he decided to skate it, but he didn't get the job done at the offensive blue line and gave the puck away in his own zone when he tried to move it. He overplayed moreso than just about anyone else and got caught trying to bat the puck awkwardly several times. It cost us. I feel bad for the guy, but he needs to be better and IS better than that. I won't dog him for the closing his hand on the puck call; he tried to bat it straight down and the puck got stuck. Not sure if you could see that angle but it was evident live.
Peckham
- I liked the physicality he brought in tonight's game; as he certainly went looking for hits and landed some. Was surprised he didn't fight anyone. He didn't make any spectacular plays with the puck or do much at the offensive blue line, which was disappointing.
Strudwick
- Struggled through it tonight. The refs missed some calls that should have gone against him as he did a lot of grabbing, but thankfully he managed to not make any huge mistakes that wound up in our net. I guess that's a plus.
Gilbert
- Tom played an absolutely phenomenal game for much of tonight. He was defending like a mad man and making a lot of simple plays with sticks and positioning that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. This made it even more puzzling when he decided to play like a colossal idiot in OT. On the powerplay, he rushed a pointless and impossible shot to the net with more than enough time left to set up a 4-on-3 play that should have at least had a chance to end the game. I don't know what happened. So very frustrating...
Smid
- He was excellent in the defensive zone. Beat on the Flames forwards all night and made their life in the corners brutal. When the play got crazy, he was the guy to grab the puck, skate it, slow down and make a pass. Got to keep this guy as we grow; they don't just show up out of nowhere.
MacIntyre
- Get this idiot off my team right now. It wasn't bad enough that he takes a stupid penalty putting Jokinen in a headlock for no apparent reason...but then he tries to make some convoluted sort of hockey play and crosschecks a guy offside???!?!?!?! That's an automatic penalty you moron...He doesn't fight, doesn't defend his teammates, doesn't deter anyone...send this idiot to that Quebec goon's league where he belongs. He could be the nicest guy in the world, but he was a big part of costing the team the game tonight.
Jacques
- Is a terrible, terrible hockey player. Watching him do his once-per-game miss-a-hit routine always makes me laugh. I'll give him credit for a decent shift filling in for Magnus, but trying to watch him and MacIntyre on the same shift made it want to wretch.
Fraser
- Well, as someone pointed out, he's almost caught Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen in points now...He did work hard tonight on the PK and made some decent plays; I just can't get enough out of his game to really say much because he doesn't really make defensive or offensive plays that often. I nearly forgot though, that hit he laid in the first was probably the best thing he's done all year. That was textbook and beautiful. Show that to kids learning how to hit people away from the boards.
O'Marra
- He did some nice things even if he was outclassed by a decent margin. There was a sequence in the second where he came of the boards with a little deke and made an offensive chance. He went to the right spot and took a really smart low shot to set up the Reddox goal. He didn't land any really big hits but he always gets to his man and makes contact. The thing about O'Marra is that you can tell his baseline skillset is higher than a lot of the pluggers we have floating about. I hope he works his butt off in the summer and takes a good run at our 4th line C job. He's working like he wants it.
Jones
- You know, I'm kind of torn here...he did a bunch of really good things tonight. There was his goal obviously; and he made a great defensive play to break up a dangerous Flames chance in the second period, he hustled and got his stick in the way of many sequences tonight. Jones is at his best when he's in a leadership role on his line as "the talented one" rather than backing up some skilled guys and that's what he was most of tonight. The only issue I have is that his game tapered off at the end and he didn't seem to have any push left to finish this one off. Maybe he just got too much icetime? Also, again on the coach, why in hell was he in the SO? It's all well and good to be able to break the glass with a wrister like he did, but we have much more talented players that sat this round out on a night when we should have been all in for the win.
Reddox
- He will never get the credit he deserves, but that was a truly superlative effort on his part. He hit people, he made offensive plays, he made a ton of defensive plays, he PK'ed well, got the puck out of our zone, skated like a madman. The guy made every single shift count. His play to set up the Jones goal was one of the smartest sequences you'll see: he pushed the Flames d-man into the boards at just the right time to avoid a penalty AND get the puck, then he settles the play down, walks out and finds O'Marra in perfect positioning. That was an absolute thing of beauty. I'm very sad he didn't get a goal tonight; he really deserved better and took a leadership role in this one through his effort. Give the guy a contract and start him in the NHL. He doesn't lose us games (a lot of the others do).
Paajarvi
- I must admit I missed what happened in the corner that led to him skating off the ice woozy; what exactly was that play? I will say though, for him to then get up and not only make it to the bench but actually stop to try to take a pass and negate an icing while barely able to stand up was one of the most courageous efforts I've seen. The rest of the night he was really good; flying down the wings and skating the puck to safety. He also used his shot a little more than usual and JUST missed a couple really nice ones. Once he realizes all he can do on those plays, he will be unstoppable. Really too bad his first period deke chance had to be pulled off the goal line by a Calgary defender; that was a great little move. He appeared to not even know he scored, but that was an excellent second effort and a well earned goal.
Cogliano
- Had an absolutely phenomenal shift in OT. I saw more hard work and confidence in that effort of keeping the puck alive and getting a chance than I have most of the season. He actually kept up to his linemates most of the night and was a positive influence, which was good to see. Worked really hard on his PKing, but needs to stop overskating and use his speed more appropriately.
Omark
- I'll note the mistake he made first: in the second period he fumbled a puck at the blue line that could have ended in a really good chance because it led to a turnover in a dangerous area. The thing about that play was if the puck doesn't bounce on him, he's got Paajarvi on a clear breakaway on the far wing, which is what he was trying to set up. Other than that he was excellent. He owned the corners as usual; was all over the Flames' puck carriers, made a nifty little pass to Cogliano that set up a Magnus' goal, and was dangerous in the offensive zone all night. Renney screwed up in not using him enough late, on the PP, or in the SO. Just stupid. If you were watching, you saw that Linus did a great job of gaining the red line and making simple plays deep into the zone later in the game, as well as not passing to the blue line but instead making a safer play down behind the Flames net. Lots of maturity already.
VandeVelde
- This guy should be in way over his head but somehow found a way to swim tonight. I think he's a very strong contender to make the team out of camp next year. Though his game is a lot quieter than his linemates from tonight, he went to all the right places and made some really strong plays either for the puck or with the puck. If he continues to develop, he'll be an NHLer and probably a pretty decent one. I hope he can find a niche and exploit that. His overall game is very balanced and he just needs to find a way to elevate something.
Eberle
- I really liked what I saw from Jordan tonight in that he showed he could lead a line. I'm not sure if it was obvious on TV, but the support and safety that he gave his linemates, while still making solid plays with the puck and doing a ton of things right, was astounding. He's so poised and wanted to win this game so badly...I can't imagine how bad he feels after this one. It's really a shame that they don't hand out automatic penalty shots when penalties are taken as late as the last Flames call was, because he was absolutely locked in on that play; no way bonehead was making that save. We've got our future captain and it is always a joy to watch him perform; I just hope that before too long I get to see him leading a line of disturbingly talented players with the same kind of effort to victory in a playoff series.
Hartikainen
- We have seriously hit the jackpot. If you want to teach someone how to play hockey, find tape of this guy in tonight's game and show them. I don't know how you come into the NHL so early and do what he's doing. In that second period, you'd swear he was the second coming. He was churning away, making plays and getting chances all night, then he beats a Cgy defender, goes around another, skates into two players and shoots while both of them have stick position and are interfering but scores...such an amazing play. Go watch it somehow if you haven't yet. Mere minutes later, he just PASTES Sarich. You should have seen the boards flex on that hit. Sarich nearly wound up in the 10th row. He skates hard, he knows his position, he can toe drag and nearly scored another beauty with that move, he makes passes and backchecks...the kid is just tremendous. If we can find one more hockey genius to add to he and Eberle, we will probably have the smartest and most unique line in the NHL in only a couple years. It's one thing to see these uber-talented guys like Hall, but the Teemu Hartikainens of the world are often just as important when championship time rolls around. This might seem like hyperbole and a bit much for a guy I've only seen a couple times, but seriously people, this guy is something very special. They don't build em like this anymore. If I knew what number he was going to wear, I'd go out and buy a jersey right now. I saw someone say "I'd take a whole team of Hartikainens" earlier tonight. Couldn't agree more.
-----------------------
Crazy night, wild ride, but found some positivity in it. It hurts that we couldn't celebrate as big a win as we're going to see this year, but I guess that's why they call it the blues...
VS.
CALGARY 5
In a stinking shootout...
-----------------------
Damn...
This one hurts...this one stings...this one sucks.
If you were in the building tonight, you remembered what it was like to be a fan of a hardworking hockey club. The Oilers busted it for a substantial part of the game. The fans were there from the word go urging them on. It was truly fun to be an Oilers fan again tonight, even if just for a while.
Before delving too far into the final result, I have to give most of these guys a ton of credit; they were outclassed severely in terms of talent on the ice tonight, but they showed what effort can make up for in the first 50 minutes of the game. That style of play will win you a ton of games with a proper lineup on the ice. I hope those players who were either watching from the press box or sitting on the bench with some of these guys fighting for careers took notice of what guys that have no business being in the NHL just yet (or in some cases, are just barely cracking the surface and should be struggling, not thriving and blowing people away) did on that ice to a team fighting for its playoff life.
What should have been the turning point of the game was Devan Dubnyk's utter robbery in the first period. Their were two candidates for POTW in this game and that was just an amazing save. It turned out that wasn't to be, but at least we got to see it.
We also got to see the first NHL goal from a guy who I believe will come to define this team's future in a much more meaningful way than any of us could have thought. There was another FInnish guy whose name ended in "nen" that did a ton of good work for us and was a big part of championships. His modern counterpart looks to be well on his way. More on that later.
I'm going to hang part of the loss tonight on the coach. That might seem a bit goofy, but he underplayed some guys in the third (specifically #56), sent MacIntyre back out after his first stupid penalty to hurt the team dearly, and he needed very badly to call a timeout when it was 4-2 and didn't. He could have guided these guys to a win tonight and didn't.
Some of this is also on the referees; I have never seen such bad and inconsistent reffing in all my years of watching games as I've seen this year. It was absolutely abhorrent that we didn't get a PP until OT. It was an absolute joke that the linesmen were missing offside calls. Those guys should be absolutely embarrassed after that disgusting display. They might as well have been deflecting Calgary the puck.
Lastly, we lost because we are undermanned and just not very good. Our goalie, who looked ready to lock it down in the first, came apart as the game went on. Though I'm not saying goalies should have an easy time with breakaways and the third goal is squarely on Jim Vandermeer, I'm convinced that Dubnyk got way too amped up on that goal and whiffed. The same thing happened on the Staios goal, as Dubnyk overreacted in his reset and wasn't ready for a quick shot. Everyone was overplaying every single play at that stage, but Dubnyk's got to be calm there. I don't know why he wasn't. Getting beat on point shots like he did also stinks. Don't remind me of Mr. Salo.
I really hated losing to those guys tonight. We had victory in our sights and absolutely blew it. In a year when we've had almost nothing to cheer about, there was a chance for a massive cheer against a massive rival on a Saturday night on national TV and we blew it...not to mention they blew the first Sports Select ticket I've played in probably a year (thanks DET and WSH for doing your part). UGH....anyway, let's go through the PLAYER REPORTS
---------------
Dubnyk
- As I said, he looked really good early but you could feel it slipping away from him from the second period onward. He was overplaying the puck and making easy saves look difficult. I don't know why he suddenly got nervous but it was painfully obvious. It's really too bad; he's played well and deserved better so many times this year, but then his team shows up and he cracks. Crummy.
Vandermeer
- You cannot make a mistake like he did to allow that Glencross goal when all you do is play a simple game. I don't know what precisely crossed his mind when that happened but I hope it haunts his dreams tonight. I couldn't believe it when Renney had him out there for the 4-on-3. At what point do you say "no coach, that's stupid, play Linus or Teemu"? I know you don't do that but COME ON. He didn't hit anyone tonight which really surprised me. I thought he'd be in Calgary's face more often.
Petry
- Very mixed tonight. He made some really nice plays with the puck on his stick when he decided to skate it, but he didn't get the job done at the offensive blue line and gave the puck away in his own zone when he tried to move it. He overplayed moreso than just about anyone else and got caught trying to bat the puck awkwardly several times. It cost us. I feel bad for the guy, but he needs to be better and IS better than that. I won't dog him for the closing his hand on the puck call; he tried to bat it straight down and the puck got stuck. Not sure if you could see that angle but it was evident live.
Peckham
- I liked the physicality he brought in tonight's game; as he certainly went looking for hits and landed some. Was surprised he didn't fight anyone. He didn't make any spectacular plays with the puck or do much at the offensive blue line, which was disappointing.
Strudwick
- Struggled through it tonight. The refs missed some calls that should have gone against him as he did a lot of grabbing, but thankfully he managed to not make any huge mistakes that wound up in our net. I guess that's a plus.
Gilbert
- Tom played an absolutely phenomenal game for much of tonight. He was defending like a mad man and making a lot of simple plays with sticks and positioning that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. This made it even more puzzling when he decided to play like a colossal idiot in OT. On the powerplay, he rushed a pointless and impossible shot to the net with more than enough time left to set up a 4-on-3 play that should have at least had a chance to end the game. I don't know what happened. So very frustrating...
Smid
- He was excellent in the defensive zone. Beat on the Flames forwards all night and made their life in the corners brutal. When the play got crazy, he was the guy to grab the puck, skate it, slow down and make a pass. Got to keep this guy as we grow; they don't just show up out of nowhere.
MacIntyre
- Get this idiot off my team right now. It wasn't bad enough that he takes a stupid penalty putting Jokinen in a headlock for no apparent reason...but then he tries to make some convoluted sort of hockey play and crosschecks a guy offside???!?!?!?! That's an automatic penalty you moron...He doesn't fight, doesn't defend his teammates, doesn't deter anyone...send this idiot to that Quebec goon's league where he belongs. He could be the nicest guy in the world, but he was a big part of costing the team the game tonight.
Jacques
- Is a terrible, terrible hockey player. Watching him do his once-per-game miss-a-hit routine always makes me laugh. I'll give him credit for a decent shift filling in for Magnus, but trying to watch him and MacIntyre on the same shift made it want to wretch.
Fraser
- Well, as someone pointed out, he's almost caught Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen in points now...He did work hard tonight on the PK and made some decent plays; I just can't get enough out of his game to really say much because he doesn't really make defensive or offensive plays that often. I nearly forgot though, that hit he laid in the first was probably the best thing he's done all year. That was textbook and beautiful. Show that to kids learning how to hit people away from the boards.
O'Marra
- He did some nice things even if he was outclassed by a decent margin. There was a sequence in the second where he came of the boards with a little deke and made an offensive chance. He went to the right spot and took a really smart low shot to set up the Reddox goal. He didn't land any really big hits but he always gets to his man and makes contact. The thing about O'Marra is that you can tell his baseline skillset is higher than a lot of the pluggers we have floating about. I hope he works his butt off in the summer and takes a good run at our 4th line C job. He's working like he wants it.
Jones
- You know, I'm kind of torn here...he did a bunch of really good things tonight. There was his goal obviously; and he made a great defensive play to break up a dangerous Flames chance in the second period, he hustled and got his stick in the way of many sequences tonight. Jones is at his best when he's in a leadership role on his line as "the talented one" rather than backing up some skilled guys and that's what he was most of tonight. The only issue I have is that his game tapered off at the end and he didn't seem to have any push left to finish this one off. Maybe he just got too much icetime? Also, again on the coach, why in hell was he in the SO? It's all well and good to be able to break the glass with a wrister like he did, but we have much more talented players that sat this round out on a night when we should have been all in for the win.
Reddox
- He will never get the credit he deserves, but that was a truly superlative effort on his part. He hit people, he made offensive plays, he made a ton of defensive plays, he PK'ed well, got the puck out of our zone, skated like a madman. The guy made every single shift count. His play to set up the Jones goal was one of the smartest sequences you'll see: he pushed the Flames d-man into the boards at just the right time to avoid a penalty AND get the puck, then he settles the play down, walks out and finds O'Marra in perfect positioning. That was an absolute thing of beauty. I'm very sad he didn't get a goal tonight; he really deserved better and took a leadership role in this one through his effort. Give the guy a contract and start him in the NHL. He doesn't lose us games (a lot of the others do).
Paajarvi
- I must admit I missed what happened in the corner that led to him skating off the ice woozy; what exactly was that play? I will say though, for him to then get up and not only make it to the bench but actually stop to try to take a pass and negate an icing while barely able to stand up was one of the most courageous efforts I've seen. The rest of the night he was really good; flying down the wings and skating the puck to safety. He also used his shot a little more than usual and JUST missed a couple really nice ones. Once he realizes all he can do on those plays, he will be unstoppable. Really too bad his first period deke chance had to be pulled off the goal line by a Calgary defender; that was a great little move. He appeared to not even know he scored, but that was an excellent second effort and a well earned goal.
Cogliano
- Had an absolutely phenomenal shift in OT. I saw more hard work and confidence in that effort of keeping the puck alive and getting a chance than I have most of the season. He actually kept up to his linemates most of the night and was a positive influence, which was good to see. Worked really hard on his PKing, but needs to stop overskating and use his speed more appropriately.
Omark
- I'll note the mistake he made first: in the second period he fumbled a puck at the blue line that could have ended in a really good chance because it led to a turnover in a dangerous area. The thing about that play was if the puck doesn't bounce on him, he's got Paajarvi on a clear breakaway on the far wing, which is what he was trying to set up. Other than that he was excellent. He owned the corners as usual; was all over the Flames' puck carriers, made a nifty little pass to Cogliano that set up a Magnus' goal, and was dangerous in the offensive zone all night. Renney screwed up in not using him enough late, on the PP, or in the SO. Just stupid. If you were watching, you saw that Linus did a great job of gaining the red line and making simple plays deep into the zone later in the game, as well as not passing to the blue line but instead making a safer play down behind the Flames net. Lots of maturity already.
VandeVelde
- This guy should be in way over his head but somehow found a way to swim tonight. I think he's a very strong contender to make the team out of camp next year. Though his game is a lot quieter than his linemates from tonight, he went to all the right places and made some really strong plays either for the puck or with the puck. If he continues to develop, he'll be an NHLer and probably a pretty decent one. I hope he can find a niche and exploit that. His overall game is very balanced and he just needs to find a way to elevate something.
Eberle
- I really liked what I saw from Jordan tonight in that he showed he could lead a line. I'm not sure if it was obvious on TV, but the support and safety that he gave his linemates, while still making solid plays with the puck and doing a ton of things right, was astounding. He's so poised and wanted to win this game so badly...I can't imagine how bad he feels after this one. It's really a shame that they don't hand out automatic penalty shots when penalties are taken as late as the last Flames call was, because he was absolutely locked in on that play; no way bonehead was making that save. We've got our future captain and it is always a joy to watch him perform; I just hope that before too long I get to see him leading a line of disturbingly talented players with the same kind of effort to victory in a playoff series.
Hartikainen
- We have seriously hit the jackpot. If you want to teach someone how to play hockey, find tape of this guy in tonight's game and show them. I don't know how you come into the NHL so early and do what he's doing. In that second period, you'd swear he was the second coming. He was churning away, making plays and getting chances all night, then he beats a Cgy defender, goes around another, skates into two players and shoots while both of them have stick position and are interfering but scores...such an amazing play. Go watch it somehow if you haven't yet. Mere minutes later, he just PASTES Sarich. You should have seen the boards flex on that hit. Sarich nearly wound up in the 10th row. He skates hard, he knows his position, he can toe drag and nearly scored another beauty with that move, he makes passes and backchecks...the kid is just tremendous. If we can find one more hockey genius to add to he and Eberle, we will probably have the smartest and most unique line in the NHL in only a couple years. It's one thing to see these uber-talented guys like Hall, but the Teemu Hartikainens of the world are often just as important when championship time rolls around. This might seem like hyperbole and a bit much for a guy I've only seen a couple times, but seriously people, this guy is something very special. They don't build em like this anymore. If I knew what number he was going to wear, I'd go out and buy a jersey right now. I saw someone say "I'd take a whole team of Hartikainens" earlier tonight. Couldn't agree more.
-----------------------
Crazy night, wild ride, but found some positivity in it. It hurts that we couldn't celebrate as big a win as we're going to see this year, but I guess that's why they call it the blues...
3/17/11
LMHF Report - Game #36
EDMONTON 1
VS.
PHOENIX 1
VS.
Team Kimmerly/Meier 3
-------------------
Truly amazing. I don't know if I've ever seen a game where the referees make a 3-goal difference. Maybe one of those playoff games versus Dallas long ago where we got 14 straight penalties or whatever it was, but this one takes the cake. Trying to make up for it with a phantom "closing hand on the puck" penalty just made it look even worse. How exactly he called Whitney's in, I have no idea. They showed an angle at the game that clearly showed it outside the net and not moving...though from what I recall when hearing about the rules on overturning a refs decision, I believed it was mentioned that there must be more than 1 angle to verify? Stupid process. It's also a stupid process when, if the video proves the puck couldn't physically have been in the net, but we can't see it not in the net, it's a goal (based on the on-ice call). What silly rules this league has. Legal hits on stupid players who like to stare at their own skates will get you 5 games but a swinging chop with a stick will get you the equivalent of a minor. Omark was tripped. The guy takes more beatings than just about anyone along the boards and now he has to deal with this garbage? Unbelievable. Obviously the chance late was not covered...but that was not the reason they gave at the game...they announced that it was called off due to interference on the goaltender...a) where's the penalty then? b) Jones was clearly shoved it. That was a completely legit goal.
What a stupid series of events to decide a hockey game...
There were other chances and things that could have changed of course, but rarely do you see a spectacle as sad as that so I thought it deserved a lot of commentary. Tonight's game was actually a fair bit more entertaining than a lot of the game this year. I say that because the young guys and callups really played like they were after jobs. There were strong and enthusiastic efforts all over the ice. There was a fair bit more hitting that usual and most of it was done well as part of the play and with strong positioning (unlike Jacques-style hitting). This was really nice to see. Obviously we weren't equipped to take on a team that may be playoff bound, but we made due.
Anyone else find it incredibly sad and amusing that the OKC guys on the PP had a better system and more success generating chances than the full time Oilers? Wow...
Phoenix isn't going to make the playoffs if they put forth too many efforts like this. We outworked them pretty badly with our AHL affiliate playing. I was betting on these guys coming in here and being motivated...but it appears they were looking past us. They got by with some help from the stripey people.
PLAYER REPORTS
--------------------
Hartikainen
- I quite liked his game from the beginning of the second onward. You could tell it took him some time to settle in. In the first, he got a great chance on the PP for his first NHL goal and instead tried to pass through multiple defenders to GIroux...he was obviously a tad nervous. Once he settled in, he was more forceful. I really like the way he lines up and hits people. It's a very proper hockey hit and it sounds HEAVY. The sound of the first hit really impressed those in attendance. His assist wasn't flashy, but he also contributed to that goal by going to the net and providing a bit of a screen. After this he started to skate with some real force to the net and nearly scored on a quick play down low. He was a decent part of driving the Oilers' momentum in the third and got rewarded with a couple extra shifts. I can see why this guy might be a player. If I had to say something about his game that needs to improve, it's that he sets up to drive the net but doesn't seem to want to follow through. No reason he can't.
Giroux
- He's such an odd player to watch. I really liked the way he hit a number of people tonight. If he did this more often he'd probably be an NHLer taking a couple shifts 5-on-5 and then as a powerplay specialist with a team. He couldn't convert on a couple chances that he got for shots, but his best chance came off a tip play that he and Omark were successful as setting up. You can tell they've run it before. What I don't get about Giroux is why his positioning is so atrocious. If you're a bad skater, you really need to be good positionally. He is not. He will literally stop in the area he thinks in the scoring area and leave everything else to his teammates. Unless you're scoring 40, that's not acceptable. To be 100% honest, it's hard for me not to be mad at Giroux...physical gifts, clearly talented, just clearly hasn't ever given enough of a damn to capitalize on his talents. That's a special kind of brutal.
VandeVelde
- To be honest, he was pretty invisible to my eyes. I didn't see him do anything exceptional, especially in the offensive zone. I don't think any of us were expecting miracles, but you never know what will stand out. I'd like to watch him play again, but on initial impression I don't think he'll be good enough unless it's a long road.
O'Marra
- He did what he's done in his appearances in that he's not an amazing skater but works hard, hits and takes care of himself. I thought he might have a better performance on the line he was playing with, but the lines didn't stay together for very long so that went out the window. I still like him better than Colin Fraser...
Omark
- He played a really solid game in the offensive zone; dominated the corners, got the assist on Magnus' goal, found him for another great chance in front and generated some shooting chances off the boards on the PP. He made some iffy passes (though the whole squad seemed obsessed with the drop pass tonight). For a guy who has so many non-calls when he is abused, held, sticked, crosschecked and other things in the corners to be given a diving penalty while driving the Oilers offensive bus to what probably would have been a 2-2 score was really aggravating. Should have had multiple points tonight.
Paajarvi
- Probably spent more time playing the defensive position than playing forward tonight. His goal was really nice because he was in position and took a really smart shot on goal. Also had a couple other chances but couldn't seem to find any sort of dynamic deking. As always, he used his speed pretty well.
MacIntyre
- Actually made a couple passes and tried to play his position tonight. Very weird. No fight without Mr. TwitterFamous from PHX in the lineup, but he should have beaten up Boedker without asking after that hit on Hartikainen. Watching him stand there and do nothing proved just how useless he really is. I could put a 20-goal scorer there who could do nothing for cheap.
Cogliano
- I stood up and yelled that Cogliano was a bum tonight. Seriously, this guy has lost all of his scoring ability. Gets a breakaway...skates past the goalie and takes a weak backhand. Gets a penalty shot...skates straight at the goalie and shoots straight at him. Gets the puck in front of the net on a great feed from Eberle...takes time to wind watch...contemplates existence...shudders a little bit...remembers he's playing hockey...remembers there's a black thing on his stick...calmly returns black thing to the nice man in the large pads. What did he think he was doing??? He was brutal in the defensive zone and disrupted offensive rushes as well. UGH...
Eberle
- He played a really nice offensive game despite not getting any real support. He drove the net and nearly scored off his knees generating a PP, and made a few really nice passes into dangerous areas. He's the best forward on the ice right now and that should only be true this season if he was leading the OKC team to the playoffs. He ain't.
Jones
- He started off quicker than most of the rest of the squad, including drawing a penalty with some nice work behind the net, but he was one of the few guys who seemed to tail off as the game stretched on. Kind of a strange effort from him. Not at home on the PP.
Reddox
- Same ol same ol. Solid effort, never quits, hit some people and made a couple diving/extra-effort type plays that some people love him for. Pisani 2.0 finally?
Fraser
- Took a couple really weak shots on net and that was about it I guess...but at least he showed some toughness. Sad when he can't even stand out among this crowd.
Gilbert
- He was okay but couldn't seem to contribute anything whatever to the PP. The PP breakout, which used to be a strong suit of his, is now a mess. He used to make a strong pass from the D zone or skate all the way into the opposition zone and give to a forward. Now he skates to the red line, stops awkwardly and forces a play. Not exactly a finesse defenceman at his finest. He's being asked to do too much of course and is okay defensively, but his offence just isn't coming back, which is really unfortunate because that is what initially made him special.
Petry
- Chased the puck a little too much tonight. He looked nervous and a little twitchy as opposed to smooth and flowing like he had before. The major mistakes that had crept into his game weren't really present and he recovered well from the minor ones he made, but nothing special sadly.
Foster
- He'd be better as a forward getting in on the forecheck and hitting people (as he did once tonight). Did absolutely nothing with a boatload of PP time. How could he have fallen so far so fast??
Vandermeer
- Did a pretty solid job tonight. I really liked the couple times he took advantage of positioning and made a safely executed play towards the net. He could've scored on a couple of occasions tonight. Solid defence as well.
Smid
- Wore the 'A' tonight and did a pretty good job. Nothing flashy really, but solid.
Strudwick
- There was a point tonight where he took a puck in the ankle and was severely hobbled...if you hadn't seen it you wouldn't have noticed much difference in his play. The usual.
Khabibulin
- Two of the goals never should have happened so it's hard to blame him for those. He kind of moved out of the way awkwardly on the other though...wasn't pretty. He did make some nice stops.
-----------
I will unfortunately be missing Saturday's game, so no report then. I really hope we don't resort to pulling goalies and intentionally missing the net in a knock-down-drag-out battle for 30th....
VS.
PHOENIX 1
VS.
Team Kimmerly/Meier 3
-------------------
Truly amazing. I don't know if I've ever seen a game where the referees make a 3-goal difference. Maybe one of those playoff games versus Dallas long ago where we got 14 straight penalties or whatever it was, but this one takes the cake. Trying to make up for it with a phantom "closing hand on the puck" penalty just made it look even worse. How exactly he called Whitney's in, I have no idea. They showed an angle at the game that clearly showed it outside the net and not moving...though from what I recall when hearing about the rules on overturning a refs decision, I believed it was mentioned that there must be more than 1 angle to verify? Stupid process. It's also a stupid process when, if the video proves the puck couldn't physically have been in the net, but we can't see it not in the net, it's a goal (based on the on-ice call). What silly rules this league has. Legal hits on stupid players who like to stare at their own skates will get you 5 games but a swinging chop with a stick will get you the equivalent of a minor. Omark was tripped. The guy takes more beatings than just about anyone along the boards and now he has to deal with this garbage? Unbelievable. Obviously the chance late was not covered...but that was not the reason they gave at the game...they announced that it was called off due to interference on the goaltender...a) where's the penalty then? b) Jones was clearly shoved it. That was a completely legit goal.
What a stupid series of events to decide a hockey game...
There were other chances and things that could have changed of course, but rarely do you see a spectacle as sad as that so I thought it deserved a lot of commentary. Tonight's game was actually a fair bit more entertaining than a lot of the game this year. I say that because the young guys and callups really played like they were after jobs. There were strong and enthusiastic efforts all over the ice. There was a fair bit more hitting that usual and most of it was done well as part of the play and with strong positioning (unlike Jacques-style hitting). This was really nice to see. Obviously we weren't equipped to take on a team that may be playoff bound, but we made due.
Anyone else find it incredibly sad and amusing that the OKC guys on the PP had a better system and more success generating chances than the full time Oilers? Wow...
Phoenix isn't going to make the playoffs if they put forth too many efforts like this. We outworked them pretty badly with our AHL affiliate playing. I was betting on these guys coming in here and being motivated...but it appears they were looking past us. They got by with some help from the stripey people.
PLAYER REPORTS
--------------------
Hartikainen
- I quite liked his game from the beginning of the second onward. You could tell it took him some time to settle in. In the first, he got a great chance on the PP for his first NHL goal and instead tried to pass through multiple defenders to GIroux...he was obviously a tad nervous. Once he settled in, he was more forceful. I really like the way he lines up and hits people. It's a very proper hockey hit and it sounds HEAVY. The sound of the first hit really impressed those in attendance. His assist wasn't flashy, but he also contributed to that goal by going to the net and providing a bit of a screen. After this he started to skate with some real force to the net and nearly scored on a quick play down low. He was a decent part of driving the Oilers' momentum in the third and got rewarded with a couple extra shifts. I can see why this guy might be a player. If I had to say something about his game that needs to improve, it's that he sets up to drive the net but doesn't seem to want to follow through. No reason he can't.
Giroux
- He's such an odd player to watch. I really liked the way he hit a number of people tonight. If he did this more often he'd probably be an NHLer taking a couple shifts 5-on-5 and then as a powerplay specialist with a team. He couldn't convert on a couple chances that he got for shots, but his best chance came off a tip play that he and Omark were successful as setting up. You can tell they've run it before. What I don't get about Giroux is why his positioning is so atrocious. If you're a bad skater, you really need to be good positionally. He is not. He will literally stop in the area he thinks in the scoring area and leave everything else to his teammates. Unless you're scoring 40, that's not acceptable. To be 100% honest, it's hard for me not to be mad at Giroux...physical gifts, clearly talented, just clearly hasn't ever given enough of a damn to capitalize on his talents. That's a special kind of brutal.
VandeVelde
- To be honest, he was pretty invisible to my eyes. I didn't see him do anything exceptional, especially in the offensive zone. I don't think any of us were expecting miracles, but you never know what will stand out. I'd like to watch him play again, but on initial impression I don't think he'll be good enough unless it's a long road.
O'Marra
- He did what he's done in his appearances in that he's not an amazing skater but works hard, hits and takes care of himself. I thought he might have a better performance on the line he was playing with, but the lines didn't stay together for very long so that went out the window. I still like him better than Colin Fraser...
Omark
- He played a really solid game in the offensive zone; dominated the corners, got the assist on Magnus' goal, found him for another great chance in front and generated some shooting chances off the boards on the PP. He made some iffy passes (though the whole squad seemed obsessed with the drop pass tonight). For a guy who has so many non-calls when he is abused, held, sticked, crosschecked and other things in the corners to be given a diving penalty while driving the Oilers offensive bus to what probably would have been a 2-2 score was really aggravating. Should have had multiple points tonight.
Paajarvi
- Probably spent more time playing the defensive position than playing forward tonight. His goal was really nice because he was in position and took a really smart shot on goal. Also had a couple other chances but couldn't seem to find any sort of dynamic deking. As always, he used his speed pretty well.
MacIntyre
- Actually made a couple passes and tried to play his position tonight. Very weird. No fight without Mr. TwitterFamous from PHX in the lineup, but he should have beaten up Boedker without asking after that hit on Hartikainen. Watching him stand there and do nothing proved just how useless he really is. I could put a 20-goal scorer there who could do nothing for cheap.
Cogliano
- I stood up and yelled that Cogliano was a bum tonight. Seriously, this guy has lost all of his scoring ability. Gets a breakaway...skates past the goalie and takes a weak backhand. Gets a penalty shot...skates straight at the goalie and shoots straight at him. Gets the puck in front of the net on a great feed from Eberle...takes time to wind watch...contemplates existence...shudders a little bit...remembers he's playing hockey...remembers there's a black thing on his stick...calmly returns black thing to the nice man in the large pads. What did he think he was doing??? He was brutal in the defensive zone and disrupted offensive rushes as well. UGH...
Eberle
- He played a really nice offensive game despite not getting any real support. He drove the net and nearly scored off his knees generating a PP, and made a few really nice passes into dangerous areas. He's the best forward on the ice right now and that should only be true this season if he was leading the OKC team to the playoffs. He ain't.
Jones
- He started off quicker than most of the rest of the squad, including drawing a penalty with some nice work behind the net, but he was one of the few guys who seemed to tail off as the game stretched on. Kind of a strange effort from him. Not at home on the PP.
Reddox
- Same ol same ol. Solid effort, never quits, hit some people and made a couple diving/extra-effort type plays that some people love him for. Pisani 2.0 finally?
Fraser
- Took a couple really weak shots on net and that was about it I guess...but at least he showed some toughness. Sad when he can't even stand out among this crowd.
Gilbert
- He was okay but couldn't seem to contribute anything whatever to the PP. The PP breakout, which used to be a strong suit of his, is now a mess. He used to make a strong pass from the D zone or skate all the way into the opposition zone and give to a forward. Now he skates to the red line, stops awkwardly and forces a play. Not exactly a finesse defenceman at his finest. He's being asked to do too much of course and is okay defensively, but his offence just isn't coming back, which is really unfortunate because that is what initially made him special.
Petry
- Chased the puck a little too much tonight. He looked nervous and a little twitchy as opposed to smooth and flowing like he had before. The major mistakes that had crept into his game weren't really present and he recovered well from the minor ones he made, but nothing special sadly.
Foster
- He'd be better as a forward getting in on the forecheck and hitting people (as he did once tonight). Did absolutely nothing with a boatload of PP time. How could he have fallen so far so fast??
Vandermeer
- Did a pretty solid job tonight. I really liked the couple times he took advantage of positioning and made a safely executed play towards the net. He could've scored on a couple of occasions tonight. Solid defence as well.
Smid
- Wore the 'A' tonight and did a pretty good job. Nothing flashy really, but solid.
Strudwick
- There was a point tonight where he took a puck in the ankle and was severely hobbled...if you hadn't seen it you wouldn't have noticed much difference in his play. The usual.
Khabibulin
- Two of the goals never should have happened so it's hard to blame him for those. He kind of moved out of the way awkwardly on the other though...wasn't pretty. He did make some nice stops.
-----------
I will unfortunately be missing Saturday's game, so no report then. I really hope we don't resort to pulling goalies and intentionally missing the net in a knock-down-drag-out battle for 30th....
2/27/11
LMHF Report - Game #33
EDMONTON 2
VS.
BOSTON 3
---------------
NOTE: I'm missing the next 2 home games, which is unfortunate. I'll be in Palm Springs, which is not exactly unfortunate. This late garbage blast of winter only makes that prospect nicer.
I have a feeling that if the Oilers played the Bruins more often they'd be a better hockey team. The way Boston approaches the game seems to bring the toughness in many of our guys to the forefront. They also brought the speed out in our lineup. I'm guessing that if we retain the way we played against BOS in the next game, it will look to our boys like the other team is standing still. I'm not sure they will because consistency isn't exactly our middle name, but it's a possibility.
Boston is a really good hockey team that plays well positionally and has plenty of talent. That'd be a hard combination to beat for many teams in the league. The Bruins (not BROONS, Stauffer) play what I'd describe as a western conference style game; I could see them being very difficult to beat in the east. They are so deep up front and yet their strength is in net. Honestly I think they could have played better tonight, but did enough.
The Oilers had a chance to win tonight; even though the shots were what they were. We got the first goal, and also had a number of good chances that were not capitalized on. Specifically, our powerplay and the sequence surrounding this in the second period could have been a turning point. The puck went through Omark and dangerously towards the net on several occasions (including a missed tip by either 89 or 91, I couldn't tell who) and we definitely should have scored there. Other chances followed and there were a decent amount in the third as well though we didn't show as much drive as we could have. It's hard to complain about losing a game like this, especially when we lost Peckham early and had to lean so heavily on Strudwick and Foster, but we really did have the chances and a couple specific things were off. More on that in Player Reports...
------------
Dubnyk
- None of the goals he allowed were particularly bad, though he certainly could have done a little more on the Ryder play (though he was screened). He made a lot of stops, some of them were very good. Nothing to complain about and a good effort.
Strudwick
- I didn't mind Strudwick as much tonight (even though he got caught standing still on one of the goals) because he was mean as hell. Every guy who got to the front of the net against him got a stick in the back or a glove in the mouth. He should be doing this in every single game he plays, but often doesn't. At least he did something to make a difference tonight.
Vandermeer
- This was not a night where he went unnoticed. He hit people. He got the puck on net and generated a goal. He had his fight with Lucic after #17 took one too many pokes at Dubnyk. He was really really solid tonight and I would be surprised if one of the scouts in attendance for the last game or two doesn't convince their GM to trade a draft pick to the Oilers to acquire him as a depth guy.
Foster
- He was terrible. Specifically, what was he doing on the Peverley goal? Unbelievable, and yet the coach keeps sending him out there at crunch time. I know he's had a little offensive outburst lately, but he's so bad defensively that nothing can justify him being on at crunch time. Smid would have been a much more solid choice.
Smid
- I love how in games like this one Smid elevates the meanness in his game to another level. The forearm he laid late in the game at the Bruins blue line was both deserved and a beauty. He got himself to the net a couple times; predictably not scoring but at least he gave the effort. He was also really solid defensively. I think it would be a mistake to deal him tomorrow because he's the kind of 4-6 defenceman we need and he's not going to be very expensive.
Gilbert
- He made a lot of really solid plays with the puck, and certainly fought hard as the leader to keep his short-staffed crew in the game. The problem he had tonight was that he had a very difficult time contributing to the transition and rush. He wouldn't move the puck really quickly and he wouldn't skate with it. This led to indecisiveness and mistakes. I think we all know this is a little too much for Gilbert at the moment, but he's doing a decent job. He really needs to learn a slapper in the offseason. The one-timer he got off tonight was really pathetic.
Peckham
- He would have been a big part of this game as it gained in pace and got more physical. It is very unfortunate that he got hit with a tough punch and hopefully he comes back soon. I think Theo playing might have led to us winning.
MacIntyre
- Playing him proved his worthlessness tonight. The other guys stepped up; he did nothing but make on-ice mistakes. Sorry Steve, you're useless and having guys either losing icetime or languishing in OKC because of you makes me sad.
Brule
- Certainly came back with a strong effort tonight. I liked his goal as he took his best shot at the right time and with the flow of the rush rather than awkwardly as he sometimes forces that shot. He's certainly a better fourth line C than some of our other options, but I don't know if we can afford him in that role at this stage. I liked the physicality he brought, including taking a run at Chara. His best time was when Cogliano was in the box and he got to play with Hall and Eberle. They looked really solid together because Brule can both keep up and take/give a pass. There was absolutely no good reason for Renney to send him back to his original line when Cogliano's penalty was over. He wasn't AMAZING, but he contributed positively.
Jones
- This was a quieter game from Jones, but he still got some hits in and a scoring chance or two. I sometimes wonder if he's just not strong/physical/mean enough to play the role he needs to. He's not talented enough to be a power forward; but if he played with a little more edge or a little more smarts, he could be quite valuable. This contrasts with nights where he looks to have solid scoring instincts.
Hemsky
- He had a really nice game tonight, and was moving his feet quickly as well as getting into dangerous areas the whole game long. Unfortunately his linemates weren't too amazing tonight and failed to convert on some of the chances he created. Ales could have been more selfish tonight and might have gotten more points (which isn't normal because usually his line is good enough + his passing instincts are excellent). I'm thinking specifically of the example where he took the puck off the boards, drove to the middle and dropped for Penner. If Penner one-times, he scores, but he didn't. Ales should have faked the drop, kicked it to his stick and shot. He had enough room. If anyone even needs to ask my opinion on what should happen tomorrow, barring someone nearly literally offering the moon, you haven't read these reports long enough. He's our best player and should be part of our next stage of winning just as he was important in 2006. He's much more complete and better now. Use it.
Horcoff
- Quiet game from Shawn. I was very surprised when Brule got a shift in his place in the third. He wasn't bad; but he wasn't great either. Was missing some of the jump I noted in the last home game I attended. His scoring instincts really aren't very sharp right now.
Penner
- #2 asked quite honestly if Penner is playing to not be traded. He was a little better than the bottom of his efforts tonight, but he still looked way off. He was constantly too slow to react to the puck, didn't skate, didn't bull towards the net or run anyone over save for one shift in the third, and just did nothing exceptional. There's nothing in his skating, lines, positioning or any other technical detail I can see that looks to be off...he just isn't all there. Needless to say, we need him to be in order for the team to be effective.
Omark
- He did some really nice things tonight, and was one of the most consisten Oilers in terms of getting the puck to the net and slot to create offensive danger. If his linemates or PP teammates had been on tonight, he would have had several assists. As usual, he had a couple phenomenal sequences in the corners, but that sequence where he stuck the puck under his skate and defended it, then made a kick pass was just amazing. Only once did he make a questionable pass (across his own zone) and that didn't cost us. Very nice bounceback game after being benched. Should have been on when we needed a goal late instead of some of the guys that were out there.
Paajarvi
- I saw him drive wide a couple times tonight without much success at the net, and also covered up defensively a couple times when the D that were supposed to be backing him up made mistakes in the offensive zone. He really uses his talent and instincts on these plays and that's a valuable thing.
Gagner
- I wasn't as impressed with Sam tonight, as he seemed to be weak on the puck and unable to do anything from shooting areas. He wasn't dangerous offensively or physical and he needs to be one of those things on each night.
Eberle
- This was one of his weaker games. I'm not exactly sure what happened on the Nathan Horton goal, but Eberle was in no man's land, made a horrible play and couldn't recover. At one point, he got a pass in front of the net on the rush and sort of stopped skating towards the net when he normally would have taken a great little shot. I didn't think he could have done much on the Peverley goal, but usually his positioning on Peverley would have prevented him from being caught like that. I liked that he tried to be physical and both set up then screened on the Brule goal, but #14 had one of his only rough nights and one of his only horrid defensive mistakes.
Cogliano
- I liked his approach in getting into that fight, but I think he also revealed where his role should be if he's here and on a good team. If Cogliano is going to play C (which he should not), then he's a fourth line C who must use his speed and play physically. He made some hits which was good, but the offensive struggles he's had in terms of passes (both taking and giving from Eberle and Hall) were there again. Part of me hopes he is traded tomorrow, because if he won't play wing, he's taking up a C spot that shouldn't be occupied by a guy like him, even on our team.
Hall
- I really expected Hall to burst out offensively after that episode in the second period where he got pushed around some. The penalty he got was utterly silly...not only had he been hooked previously, but he was jumping around the player to get to the puck rather than committing a roughing offence. I think Boston was watching him quite closely, as there were times when Chara guarded him particularly close. He never could shake loose and got some puck towards the net but never really challenged Rask.
-------------
Tough loss, but this is a game that shows how much better we need to be. Boston was tired, had accomplished most of what they wanted on their western swing and still dispatched us when they were decently ripe for the picking.
VS.
BOSTON 3
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NOTE: I'm missing the next 2 home games, which is unfortunate. I'll be in Palm Springs, which is not exactly unfortunate. This late garbage blast of winter only makes that prospect nicer.
I have a feeling that if the Oilers played the Bruins more often they'd be a better hockey team. The way Boston approaches the game seems to bring the toughness in many of our guys to the forefront. They also brought the speed out in our lineup. I'm guessing that if we retain the way we played against BOS in the next game, it will look to our boys like the other team is standing still. I'm not sure they will because consistency isn't exactly our middle name, but it's a possibility.
Boston is a really good hockey team that plays well positionally and has plenty of talent. That'd be a hard combination to beat for many teams in the league. The Bruins (not BROONS, Stauffer) play what I'd describe as a western conference style game; I could see them being very difficult to beat in the east. They are so deep up front and yet their strength is in net. Honestly I think they could have played better tonight, but did enough.
The Oilers had a chance to win tonight; even though the shots were what they were. We got the first goal, and also had a number of good chances that were not capitalized on. Specifically, our powerplay and the sequence surrounding this in the second period could have been a turning point. The puck went through Omark and dangerously towards the net on several occasions (including a missed tip by either 89 or 91, I couldn't tell who) and we definitely should have scored there. Other chances followed and there were a decent amount in the third as well though we didn't show as much drive as we could have. It's hard to complain about losing a game like this, especially when we lost Peckham early and had to lean so heavily on Strudwick and Foster, but we really did have the chances and a couple specific things were off. More on that in Player Reports...
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Dubnyk
- None of the goals he allowed were particularly bad, though he certainly could have done a little more on the Ryder play (though he was screened). He made a lot of stops, some of them were very good. Nothing to complain about and a good effort.
Strudwick
- I didn't mind Strudwick as much tonight (even though he got caught standing still on one of the goals) because he was mean as hell. Every guy who got to the front of the net against him got a stick in the back or a glove in the mouth. He should be doing this in every single game he plays, but often doesn't. At least he did something to make a difference tonight.
Vandermeer
- This was not a night where he went unnoticed. He hit people. He got the puck on net and generated a goal. He had his fight with Lucic after #17 took one too many pokes at Dubnyk. He was really really solid tonight and I would be surprised if one of the scouts in attendance for the last game or two doesn't convince their GM to trade a draft pick to the Oilers to acquire him as a depth guy.
Foster
- He was terrible. Specifically, what was he doing on the Peverley goal? Unbelievable, and yet the coach keeps sending him out there at crunch time. I know he's had a little offensive outburst lately, but he's so bad defensively that nothing can justify him being on at crunch time. Smid would have been a much more solid choice.
Smid
- I love how in games like this one Smid elevates the meanness in his game to another level. The forearm he laid late in the game at the Bruins blue line was both deserved and a beauty. He got himself to the net a couple times; predictably not scoring but at least he gave the effort. He was also really solid defensively. I think it would be a mistake to deal him tomorrow because he's the kind of 4-6 defenceman we need and he's not going to be very expensive.
Gilbert
- He made a lot of really solid plays with the puck, and certainly fought hard as the leader to keep his short-staffed crew in the game. The problem he had tonight was that he had a very difficult time contributing to the transition and rush. He wouldn't move the puck really quickly and he wouldn't skate with it. This led to indecisiveness and mistakes. I think we all know this is a little too much for Gilbert at the moment, but he's doing a decent job. He really needs to learn a slapper in the offseason. The one-timer he got off tonight was really pathetic.
Peckham
- He would have been a big part of this game as it gained in pace and got more physical. It is very unfortunate that he got hit with a tough punch and hopefully he comes back soon. I think Theo playing might have led to us winning.
MacIntyre
- Playing him proved his worthlessness tonight. The other guys stepped up; he did nothing but make on-ice mistakes. Sorry Steve, you're useless and having guys either losing icetime or languishing in OKC because of you makes me sad.
Brule
- Certainly came back with a strong effort tonight. I liked his goal as he took his best shot at the right time and with the flow of the rush rather than awkwardly as he sometimes forces that shot. He's certainly a better fourth line C than some of our other options, but I don't know if we can afford him in that role at this stage. I liked the physicality he brought, including taking a run at Chara. His best time was when Cogliano was in the box and he got to play with Hall and Eberle. They looked really solid together because Brule can both keep up and take/give a pass. There was absolutely no good reason for Renney to send him back to his original line when Cogliano's penalty was over. He wasn't AMAZING, but he contributed positively.
Jones
- This was a quieter game from Jones, but he still got some hits in and a scoring chance or two. I sometimes wonder if he's just not strong/physical/mean enough to play the role he needs to. He's not talented enough to be a power forward; but if he played with a little more edge or a little more smarts, he could be quite valuable. This contrasts with nights where he looks to have solid scoring instincts.
Hemsky
- He had a really nice game tonight, and was moving his feet quickly as well as getting into dangerous areas the whole game long. Unfortunately his linemates weren't too amazing tonight and failed to convert on some of the chances he created. Ales could have been more selfish tonight and might have gotten more points (which isn't normal because usually his line is good enough + his passing instincts are excellent). I'm thinking specifically of the example where he took the puck off the boards, drove to the middle and dropped for Penner. If Penner one-times, he scores, but he didn't. Ales should have faked the drop, kicked it to his stick and shot. He had enough room. If anyone even needs to ask my opinion on what should happen tomorrow, barring someone nearly literally offering the moon, you haven't read these reports long enough. He's our best player and should be part of our next stage of winning just as he was important in 2006. He's much more complete and better now. Use it.
Horcoff
- Quiet game from Shawn. I was very surprised when Brule got a shift in his place in the third. He wasn't bad; but he wasn't great either. Was missing some of the jump I noted in the last home game I attended. His scoring instincts really aren't very sharp right now.
Penner
- #2 asked quite honestly if Penner is playing to not be traded. He was a little better than the bottom of his efforts tonight, but he still looked way off. He was constantly too slow to react to the puck, didn't skate, didn't bull towards the net or run anyone over save for one shift in the third, and just did nothing exceptional. There's nothing in his skating, lines, positioning or any other technical detail I can see that looks to be off...he just isn't all there. Needless to say, we need him to be in order for the team to be effective.
Omark
- He did some really nice things tonight, and was one of the most consisten Oilers in terms of getting the puck to the net and slot to create offensive danger. If his linemates or PP teammates had been on tonight, he would have had several assists. As usual, he had a couple phenomenal sequences in the corners, but that sequence where he stuck the puck under his skate and defended it, then made a kick pass was just amazing. Only once did he make a questionable pass (across his own zone) and that didn't cost us. Very nice bounceback game after being benched. Should have been on when we needed a goal late instead of some of the guys that were out there.
Paajarvi
- I saw him drive wide a couple times tonight without much success at the net, and also covered up defensively a couple times when the D that were supposed to be backing him up made mistakes in the offensive zone. He really uses his talent and instincts on these plays and that's a valuable thing.
Gagner
- I wasn't as impressed with Sam tonight, as he seemed to be weak on the puck and unable to do anything from shooting areas. He wasn't dangerous offensively or physical and he needs to be one of those things on each night.
Eberle
- This was one of his weaker games. I'm not exactly sure what happened on the Nathan Horton goal, but Eberle was in no man's land, made a horrible play and couldn't recover. At one point, he got a pass in front of the net on the rush and sort of stopped skating towards the net when he normally would have taken a great little shot. I didn't think he could have done much on the Peverley goal, but usually his positioning on Peverley would have prevented him from being caught like that. I liked that he tried to be physical and both set up then screened on the Brule goal, but #14 had one of his only rough nights and one of his only horrid defensive mistakes.
Cogliano
- I liked his approach in getting into that fight, but I think he also revealed where his role should be if he's here and on a good team. If Cogliano is going to play C (which he should not), then he's a fourth line C who must use his speed and play physically. He made some hits which was good, but the offensive struggles he's had in terms of passes (both taking and giving from Eberle and Hall) were there again. Part of me hopes he is traded tomorrow, because if he won't play wing, he's taking up a C spot that shouldn't be occupied by a guy like him, even on our team.
Hall
- I really expected Hall to burst out offensively after that episode in the second period where he got pushed around some. The penalty he got was utterly silly...not only had he been hooked previously, but he was jumping around the player to get to the puck rather than committing a roughing offence. I think Boston was watching him quite closely, as there were times when Chara guarded him particularly close. He never could shake loose and got some puck towards the net but never really challenged Rask.
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Tough loss, but this is a game that shows how much better we need to be. Boston was tired, had accomplished most of what they wanted on their western swing and still dispatched us when they were decently ripe for the picking.
2/24/11
Advisory - No Game Report Friday
Hello all, i am at a work conference in Banff and wont be back in time for the Stl game. Reports will resume as usual for the Boston game.
2/19/11
LMHF Report - Game #31
EDMONTON 5
VS.
ATLANTA 3
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And the thundering herd marches on to yet another glorious victory...well not quite but at least this is officially a winning streak (3 wins required rather than 2).
This was a very different win than the last two but does a good job of illustrating why "how" doesn't really matter. We got it done today and finished with a bit of style actually. I think a lot of the Oilers early struggles can be attributed to the awkwardness of an afternoon game. That first period was pretty brutal all over the ice but if this thing had started at 8pm I think we may have seen a serious drubbing. This team has just enough confidence at the moment that superlative efforts of the young will not be denied. The last two games also saw stellar goaltending bail out mediocre D. Tonight the goaltending was horrid at both ends and certainly led to an interesting game.
The central point of debate in this game, whether we won or lost, would have been Renney's decision to bench Penner, Jacques and Omark then run with 3 lines in the third. I thought he went to the short bench a little early and might pay for it, but thankfully Hall took off like a rocket and we overwhelmed any possibility of an ATL rebound. It helped that our usually anemic EN efforts were again successful. Obviously the boldest benching was Penner; but he certainly deserved it. I'm also debating whether Jacques and Omark were actually benched or just didn't get any time because Renney needed Reddox for D on line one, but didn't want Jones to not be on the ice .
ATL is an interesting team; they have a lot of talent floating around but don't look very organized at all. I guess that fits being that their best player is in effect a throwback to the days of the rover combined with the modern athlete. #33 is an interesting guy to watch and I certainly would've poached him for the Oilers if we'd ever had a reasonable chance. He could make the difference on a lot more nights than a guy like Penner, but appears to cost a similar amount. ATL was let down by their goaltending as well today, but we don't always take advantage of a goalie who's fighting it like that, so I'll definitely take it.
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Devan Dubnyk
- One of his absolute worst performances of the year. Even though there were distinct breakdowns on two of the goals he allowed, if his D wasn't covering people and getting pucks away the Thrashers would have had a disturbing amount of great chances. I lost count of the number of ugly rebounds he generated at around 10. Devan didn't look confident at all today and fought hard to stay on the horse. Thankfully he made just enough saves, but he's got to be better than that.
Penner/Reddox-Horcoff-Hemsky
- I think this game confirms my initial thought from last game that Penner was making Hemsky and Horcoff look a lot more iffy than they actually were. Early in this one, Penner missed several Hemsky set ups and simple pass plays from both 10 and 83 (who looked quite solid early). Then he went offside a couple times. Then Penner skating past his check led to both the Ladd goal (where he actually bumped into Ladd and just kept going) and the Kane goal (where he made some half-hearted hooking attempt and stopped in the middle of nowhere, not only missing Kane but blocking out Chorney). He was absolutely horrible today and I agreed with Renney benching him. The sequence after his benching was rather unfortunate, because I'd have bet you $100 he'd have scored a goal today if he hadn't got that somewhat unlucky penalty after a really nice chance. He was fired up so at least he had the right reaction to the benching. I'd play him on a different line to start next game and tell him his job is to get some hits and get the puck deep. Simplify a bit. Ales wasn't at his absolute best but certainly made some nice plays. The little give and go that Hall worked with him was pretty nifty (great pass through a player while Horcoff took the stick of the man in front of the net so he couldn't block the pass) and he managed to get the EN goal again which is good to see. He's really productive right now even though I don't think this is the 'A' game aside from Dallas the other night. Loved the play he made where he entered the zone 1-on-5, held off the ATL players and made a pass to his winger. Horcoff had a pretty solid game and definitely has his wheels under him again. He and Hemsky are really reading off each other well right now. I'd also like to cover Reddox here because he did some really nice things playing with Hemsky and Horcoff, mainly related to working along the boards and showing some real jump into openings on the ice. You could tell he was pumped for the chance at that stage of the game and he did what he could. He was also quite good on the PK and good enough with his line. Liked the bit of feistiness he showed in the first too, getting into a scrum in front of the net. With all that said, I would not support starting him with Horcoff and Hemsky next game. Hall and Eberle need either Horcoff or Gagner so things need to be shook up.
Hall-Cogliano-Eberle
- I hope the thing that Taylor Hall remembers about this game is that all it really took for him to score those three goals was deciding he was going to do it. Two of those plays were simply Hall willing the puck into the back of the net. The first he certainly took advantage of a mistake by Mason, but he just kind of decided he was going to score that one. The second was a beauty play by he and Hemsky; one they could run a million times over. By the third goal, his team knew he was hot so the puck was headed his way; rather than taking wild shots or doing something goofy, Hall found his spot and drove that puck right through a goalie who he had to know he owned at that point. It was great to watch Taylor finally realize the types of goals he's going to score a ton of in this league. Even before that, the ATL was shifting towards him and opening up others. If this had happened in period 2, Eberle would have scored 2 in the third because he'd be so alone he could wind his watch. Cogliano might even have popped one. I don't remember the last time an Oilers player had a natural hat trick in a period...but I have a feeling his name might have ended in zky. It's not easy to do. Taylor Hall sure made it look easy. That's a dominant a short stretch as you're going to see. You don't have to be going end-to-end at a billion miles an hour or make a whole team look silly, but you do have to know that the puck will go in if you make your play. That's what Hall did. Cogliano played the exact same game I've seen him play for several in a row now where he's really making an effort, but when it comes time to be productive, either through a pass high in the offensive zone or a shot down low, he just can't do it. Better on the PK though. Eberle played a really solid game, and the little flip pass he made to set up Hall on a rush before Taylor had any goals was disturbingly good. Not a night where he shines too bright, but a night where you notice how solid of a support player he can be.
Jacques-Omark
- These two wound up benched in the third but I didn't think either was having a particularly bad game. Jacques was okay in the corners, had a solid fight to stick up for a teammate and didn't make many mistakes. Omark generated some offensive chances and did a good job of getting to the net on a couple of occasions. I think both fell victim to the numbers game, but that Jacques will be in next game and hopefully Omark will benefit from some different line combos (play him w/Penner and see if you can't get that combo going). I didn't appreciate how good the rush pass to Magnus was until I saw the replay...that was nice.
Paajarvi-Gagner-Jones
- Sam wasn't amazing today but he did distribute the puck well in the offensive zone. His powerplay efforts have improved significantly of late mainly because he's found better ways to use those around him. Jones joined this line in the third period and kept up what was already a strong effort. Regardless of this guy's shooting percentage and debates around that, you can't argue with how hard he skates and that he's usually a guy you at the very least notice in a positive way. Had a couple scoring chances. Magnus was a little quiet but strong enough defensively. He got his goal but I think the thing to notice was his solid positioning and overall play. He got that goal at a key time in a game that seemed to be going away from the team, so it was certainly helpful.
Gilbert
- Pretty decent effort from Tom tonight though not as excellent as a couple games recently. He was still decisive and aggressive with the puck, including great stretch pass he made, but he could've wowed me more.
Peckham
- Theo fought hard to salvage a good game from one that didn't start out too great. Early on he was trying to make too many plays with his stick rather than body positioning and hits. This resulted in some bad mistakes and nearly a goal (Little hit the post). Thankfully he simplified, went back to hitting and closing gaps, and got in the faces of people like Kane and Byfuglien. He went from a negative impact on the game to a positive one and even got a couple shots towards the net. I really liked how much effort he brought and that he didn't get frustrated despite an odd start and a non-penalty called on him. That was a really bad stretch for the refs, where Theo got his non-penalty, then they tried to give Smid a phantom Delay of Game. It was really bad.
Smid
- A tough, solid bounce back game after Thursday's awkward injury. Glad to see him on the scoreboard as well. He was really composed on the opposition blue for most of the night, which is an improvement.
Foster
- Though he continues to baffle me entirely due to the fact that every single time he is open with the puck in the offensive zone he shoots high (including a great chance to put the game out of reach today), at least Foster made a defensive effort today. He landed more hits than usual, got to pucks and just generally got in the way of people. I'm all for not letting him join the rush anymore though as it is way too frustrating.
Chorney
- His teammates seemed more reluctant to give him the puck than in the last 2 games, so Chorney wasn't able to make the offensive impact he has lately. He didn't really make a bad effort defensively in any noticeable way, though his positioning on the goal ATL scored 4-on-4 was somewhat questionable.
Vandermeer
- He played okay other than a couple times where he got too aggressive and had to scramble back into position. Thankfully ATL didn't take advantage. I have a feeling if scouts of a team who feels they need depth on D have been watching us, he may leave at the deadline.
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Afternoon games are always strange and this one could have really gone sideways, instead we're left with a memorable day and a victory. That's why I keep going I suppose! You never know when it's going to happen.
VS.
ATLANTA 3
------------
And the thundering herd marches on to yet another glorious victory...well not quite but at least this is officially a winning streak (3 wins required rather than 2).
This was a very different win than the last two but does a good job of illustrating why "how" doesn't really matter. We got it done today and finished with a bit of style actually. I think a lot of the Oilers early struggles can be attributed to the awkwardness of an afternoon game. That first period was pretty brutal all over the ice but if this thing had started at 8pm I think we may have seen a serious drubbing. This team has just enough confidence at the moment that superlative efforts of the young will not be denied. The last two games also saw stellar goaltending bail out mediocre D. Tonight the goaltending was horrid at both ends and certainly led to an interesting game.
The central point of debate in this game, whether we won or lost, would have been Renney's decision to bench Penner, Jacques and Omark then run with 3 lines in the third. I thought he went to the short bench a little early and might pay for it, but thankfully Hall took off like a rocket and we overwhelmed any possibility of an ATL rebound. It helped that our usually anemic EN efforts were again successful. Obviously the boldest benching was Penner; but he certainly deserved it. I'm also debating whether Jacques and Omark were actually benched or just didn't get any time because Renney needed Reddox for D on line one, but didn't want Jones to not be on the ice .
ATL is an interesting team; they have a lot of talent floating around but don't look very organized at all. I guess that fits being that their best player is in effect a throwback to the days of the rover combined with the modern athlete. #33 is an interesting guy to watch and I certainly would've poached him for the Oilers if we'd ever had a reasonable chance. He could make the difference on a lot more nights than a guy like Penner, but appears to cost a similar amount. ATL was let down by their goaltending as well today, but we don't always take advantage of a goalie who's fighting it like that, so I'll definitely take it.
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Devan Dubnyk
- One of his absolute worst performances of the year. Even though there were distinct breakdowns on two of the goals he allowed, if his D wasn't covering people and getting pucks away the Thrashers would have had a disturbing amount of great chances. I lost count of the number of ugly rebounds he generated at around 10. Devan didn't look confident at all today and fought hard to stay on the horse. Thankfully he made just enough saves, but he's got to be better than that.
Penner/Reddox-Horcoff-Hemsky
- I think this game confirms my initial thought from last game that Penner was making Hemsky and Horcoff look a lot more iffy than they actually were. Early in this one, Penner missed several Hemsky set ups and simple pass plays from both 10 and 83 (who looked quite solid early). Then he went offside a couple times. Then Penner skating past his check led to both the Ladd goal (where he actually bumped into Ladd and just kept going) and the Kane goal (where he made some half-hearted hooking attempt and stopped in the middle of nowhere, not only missing Kane but blocking out Chorney). He was absolutely horrible today and I agreed with Renney benching him. The sequence after his benching was rather unfortunate, because I'd have bet you $100 he'd have scored a goal today if he hadn't got that somewhat unlucky penalty after a really nice chance. He was fired up so at least he had the right reaction to the benching. I'd play him on a different line to start next game and tell him his job is to get some hits and get the puck deep. Simplify a bit. Ales wasn't at his absolute best but certainly made some nice plays. The little give and go that Hall worked with him was pretty nifty (great pass through a player while Horcoff took the stick of the man in front of the net so he couldn't block the pass) and he managed to get the EN goal again which is good to see. He's really productive right now even though I don't think this is the 'A' game aside from Dallas the other night. Loved the play he made where he entered the zone 1-on-5, held off the ATL players and made a pass to his winger. Horcoff had a pretty solid game and definitely has his wheels under him again. He and Hemsky are really reading off each other well right now. I'd also like to cover Reddox here because he did some really nice things playing with Hemsky and Horcoff, mainly related to working along the boards and showing some real jump into openings on the ice. You could tell he was pumped for the chance at that stage of the game and he did what he could. He was also quite good on the PK and good enough with his line. Liked the bit of feistiness he showed in the first too, getting into a scrum in front of the net. With all that said, I would not support starting him with Horcoff and Hemsky next game. Hall and Eberle need either Horcoff or Gagner so things need to be shook up.
Hall-Cogliano-Eberle
- I hope the thing that Taylor Hall remembers about this game is that all it really took for him to score those three goals was deciding he was going to do it. Two of those plays were simply Hall willing the puck into the back of the net. The first he certainly took advantage of a mistake by Mason, but he just kind of decided he was going to score that one. The second was a beauty play by he and Hemsky; one they could run a million times over. By the third goal, his team knew he was hot so the puck was headed his way; rather than taking wild shots or doing something goofy, Hall found his spot and drove that puck right through a goalie who he had to know he owned at that point. It was great to watch Taylor finally realize the types of goals he's going to score a ton of in this league. Even before that, the ATL was shifting towards him and opening up others. If this had happened in period 2, Eberle would have scored 2 in the third because he'd be so alone he could wind his watch. Cogliano might even have popped one. I don't remember the last time an Oilers player had a natural hat trick in a period...but I have a feeling his name might have ended in zky. It's not easy to do. Taylor Hall sure made it look easy. That's a dominant a short stretch as you're going to see. You don't have to be going end-to-end at a billion miles an hour or make a whole team look silly, but you do have to know that the puck will go in if you make your play. That's what Hall did. Cogliano played the exact same game I've seen him play for several in a row now where he's really making an effort, but when it comes time to be productive, either through a pass high in the offensive zone or a shot down low, he just can't do it. Better on the PK though. Eberle played a really solid game, and the little flip pass he made to set up Hall on a rush before Taylor had any goals was disturbingly good. Not a night where he shines too bright, but a night where you notice how solid of a support player he can be.
Jacques-Omark
- These two wound up benched in the third but I didn't think either was having a particularly bad game. Jacques was okay in the corners, had a solid fight to stick up for a teammate and didn't make many mistakes. Omark generated some offensive chances and did a good job of getting to the net on a couple of occasions. I think both fell victim to the numbers game, but that Jacques will be in next game and hopefully Omark will benefit from some different line combos (play him w/Penner and see if you can't get that combo going). I didn't appreciate how good the rush pass to Magnus was until I saw the replay...that was nice.
Paajarvi-Gagner-Jones
- Sam wasn't amazing today but he did distribute the puck well in the offensive zone. His powerplay efforts have improved significantly of late mainly because he's found better ways to use those around him. Jones joined this line in the third period and kept up what was already a strong effort. Regardless of this guy's shooting percentage and debates around that, you can't argue with how hard he skates and that he's usually a guy you at the very least notice in a positive way. Had a couple scoring chances. Magnus was a little quiet but strong enough defensively. He got his goal but I think the thing to notice was his solid positioning and overall play. He got that goal at a key time in a game that seemed to be going away from the team, so it was certainly helpful.
Gilbert
- Pretty decent effort from Tom tonight though not as excellent as a couple games recently. He was still decisive and aggressive with the puck, including great stretch pass he made, but he could've wowed me more.
Peckham
- Theo fought hard to salvage a good game from one that didn't start out too great. Early on he was trying to make too many plays with his stick rather than body positioning and hits. This resulted in some bad mistakes and nearly a goal (Little hit the post). Thankfully he simplified, went back to hitting and closing gaps, and got in the faces of people like Kane and Byfuglien. He went from a negative impact on the game to a positive one and even got a couple shots towards the net. I really liked how much effort he brought and that he didn't get frustrated despite an odd start and a non-penalty called on him. That was a really bad stretch for the refs, where Theo got his non-penalty, then they tried to give Smid a phantom Delay of Game. It was really bad.
Smid
- A tough, solid bounce back game after Thursday's awkward injury. Glad to see him on the scoreboard as well. He was really composed on the opposition blue for most of the night, which is an improvement.
Foster
- Though he continues to baffle me entirely due to the fact that every single time he is open with the puck in the offensive zone he shoots high (including a great chance to put the game out of reach today), at least Foster made a defensive effort today. He landed more hits than usual, got to pucks and just generally got in the way of people. I'm all for not letting him join the rush anymore though as it is way too frustrating.
Chorney
- His teammates seemed more reluctant to give him the puck than in the last 2 games, so Chorney wasn't able to make the offensive impact he has lately. He didn't really make a bad effort defensively in any noticeable way, though his positioning on the goal ATL scored 4-on-4 was somewhat questionable.
Vandermeer
- He played okay other than a couple times where he got too aggressive and had to scramble back into position. Thankfully ATL didn't take advantage. I have a feeling if scouts of a team who feels they need depth on D have been watching us, he may leave at the deadline.
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Afternoon games are always strange and this one could have really gone sideways, instead we're left with a memorable day and a victory. That's why I keep going I suppose! You never know when it's going to happen.
2/17/11
LMHF Report - Game #30
EDMONTON 4
VS.
MONTREAL 1
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I'm always very glad to beat these guys, but mostly to beat their strange edmonton-based fans that try to own the rink every time they play here. It's one thing to be loud and maybe even obnoxious, but I still find booing the home team sad and distasteful. I still don't understand why so many season ticket holders give up their tickets without at least accompanying these strange folk to the game to even out the numbers. I was very happy with the guys tonight for a) getting the first goal to keep the Habs fans relatively quiet and b) winning by more than 1 to keep the fans from getting too noisy and excited during the end. It really seems as though the Montreal fans that are Edmonton-based lack the supposed hockey IQ of their Quebec-based counterparts, but do possess the same attitude of being above other fanbases. Needless to say I don't enjoy dealing with that.
I think there were some pretty clear keys to the win tonight that most people got:
- Our goalie was much better than their goalie.
- The D, which is already weak, suffered an injury and made our pathetic blue look formidable.
- In the third after the Oilers got the lead, they played a simple game, got the puck deep, and made the necessary effort to hold the lead. They played like a playoff team holding a lead (other than lacking killer instinct on the PP, though at least they didn't take any exceptionally stupid or wild shots).
Montreal plays a very interesting style that seems reliant on forcing the other team into turnovers. They do this by having active, well placed sticks and clogging lanes. Early on we had a ton of trouble with this and several promising rushes or chances were foiled by a Montreal stick that would look random or flukey if it weren't so consistent. Credit to them on their execution of this plan generally and I can see why it would work for them. They do have a lot of players who can jump to chances and make something happen. In addition to their currently weak D, they missed Mike Cammalieri tonight a ton. He might've made this a closer game.
The reffing tonight was intriguing to say the least in that it was pretty much prison rules for the first 2 periods. Not that it was an ugly game, but there was some stuff that probably should've been called in today's league and was let go. If games were consistently reffed like this, I'd love it and we'd have a much more entertaining game, but they aren't. When we were finally able to convince the ref that yes indeed we were playing the game too and got a PP, we may not have converted but you certainly felt something slip away from MTL.
A few words on Mr. Subban:
- I don't think he's really a defenceman. He's most effective at the opposition blue line while rushing, looks for the hit too much, and doesn't get to use his skating. He's a power forward.
- A small play some may have missed, but I think he helped Eberle who had fallen near the net by making sure his head didn't whack the post. Very gentlemanly of him. Much more than I can say for a bunch of his teammates.
- Players certainly know he's there and adjust on the ice, but both Hall and Eberle figured out how to go right at him with success. He'll need to work on that.
LMHF#2 is having a particularly psychic run lately; not only did he call the scores and result of the last 2 wins, but he called what type of pop I was going to have tonight and a couple other things. If anyone wants a prediction I'd suggest getting into contact with him. Crazy.
On to the players...
---------
Khabibulin
- His best game of the year. He was on and flat robbed MTL on several occasions. They executed successful cross-crease plays (including one which would have been a game-changer in the second) and #35 made the save and made it look easy. He was way ahead of the play tonight and showed his confidence late by playing the puck a little more than usual. I'm not sure where these performances have come from, but he was certainly the biggest reason we won tonight. The only goal MTL scored was because he was hit on the play and didn't recover.
Foster
- Though his feet were still moving slowly and he took an awkward bunch/forearm to head in the third, Foster managed to have a decently strong game defensively. He was more committed to his coverages than usual and especially in the third. When we win it will often be because guys like he and Vandermeer push their effort in the defensive zone just a little higher.
Vandermeer
- Mixed game from him but mostly in the positive due to some stronger defensive play in the second half of the game. I'd count his mistakes as two ill-advised pinches and a couple ugly giveaways, but he covered up for most of them alright. He did a solid job of being in the right position and went out of his way to make some hits, which is something the Oilers D hasn't done near enough of when it has had the chance as a unit to grate on opposition forwards.
Chorney
- He got two really solid shots on net tonight, both while on the move. One nearly went in on its own and another was nearly tipped in. He's much much more confident this time around. I didn't notice him a lot in the defensive zone, which is generally a good thing. He certainly wasn't perfect, but this was a solid effort
Smid
- I hope Ladislav is okay. he was having a decent enough positional game and did some solid things with the puck on his stick. He's always best when he does a decent amount of skating with the puck and he was doing that tonight. Quite composed. The only glaring error I'll point out is that he put a really bad screen on Khabibulin once or twice that could have cost us big.
Peckham
- Though this wasn't an extremely physical effort, Montreal certainly knew he was there. He played a pretty solid game for the most part and came away in the positive. I think many of the Oilers learned early from MTL's approach to the game and more shots were blocked. Peckham being one of the best at that.
Gilbert
- Another excellent, albeit quieter, effort from the man who needs to be our #1 D right now. Solid with the puck, took his time and got into the right positions all night long.
Jacques-Reddox-Jones
- This was probably the best game I've seen Jacques play in terms of actually contributing to a win. He got a chance in the third on a bit of a rush with Reddox and Jones to make a solid NHL play, took his time, located Jones and made a really nice pass to set up the huge 3-1 goal. It was simple but for Jacques it was a victory and I appreciated the play. He also laid some some hits and got in the way productively at other times. There were still shifts where I felt he'd be better either ignoring the puck totally or playing without a stick, but he made a contribution to the win. Jones created problems for MTL's tired D at several junctures tonight, using his strong N-S skating and drive for the puck to pressure them, then finally capitalizing on his best clear chance in the third. He could have had at least 2 tonight, as a couple of his other chances were pretty good. Liam got beat down pretty hard on the faceoff dot, but I liked his effort 5-on-5. He does a really solid job of skating in the proper lane as well as driving the net. If you noticed on Jones goal, Reddox befuddled Subban and was actually in behind Price ready for a leaked puck if need be. These guys really helped the cause tonight
Paajarvi-Gagner-Omark
- Magnus had a shift in the third that I think really speaks to his potential as a strong two-way 5-on-5 guy. He made a great little backcheck play to break up an initial Montreal rush, then after some milling about, grabbed a loose puck, skated it out of danger and dumped it deep. It was a fairly simple shift but a great example of hockey IQ + skill + effort. Magnus had some chances to do offensive damage, but either didn't get the shots off or was stymied by MTL's active sticks. Linus got even sweeter chances, including a wonderful breakaway pass from Magnus (which me made a good choice and shot on but just missed) and a screen/tip/rebound play that was thwarted by an MTL defender. He does need to start converting on some of these. He drew the first MTL penalty, which was no small feat tonight. He struggled a little in the defensive and neutral zones, but also had a really nice backchecking play in the third that I hadn't seen from him before yet and would indicate him learning to use his skills at both ends of the ice, which is a plus. I truly think he's a guy you can refine into an excellent defensive winger. Too many tools to waste. Sam was a little quieter than usual tonight, but seemed to play a pretty strong supporting game. This line wasn't leaned on heavily with the rookies going and Hemsky's line dealing with many minutes, but they were certainly not a hindrance and could have scored a goal or two.
Hall-Cogliano-Eberle
- Try as I might, I just don't think I can give Cogliano a passing grade. His result was okay, but there were just way too many times in all zones that the play died with him. He missed a phenomenal chance that should have been a gimme goal in period 2. Thankfully he wasn't forced to defend much sustained pressure from MTL. If some people have some positives on Cogliano besides the one really hard shot he fired at the net, I'd love for you to add them to the discussion. I just can't see it right now. Hall seemed to have the game an always-effective star has when he's not on full go. Hall found a way to exploit the MTL D, and drove wide all night, either beating them clean or punishing them through a little physicality and hard work. He put forth a big effort even if the stats were understated and didn't give the puck away near as much as he might have usually. I liked his effort a lot. The play he made to feed Eberle on his goal was sick. Taylor needs to remember that he's an excellent and creative playmaker who can give his teammates great chances and especially so off the rush. He's been locked in shooting mode too often. Eberle was excellent as always. Positionally brilliant. The goal an example of a guy who knows how to score and is patient as hell with the puck on his stick. If Hall (or anyone) can get him the puck in that spot, he's a goal scoring machine. I say he gets 40 next season.
Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
- On what should have been a rather good night for these guys to do some damage (and they looked good early) they struggled some. I'm going to pin a lot of that on Penner. He was very either lazy, tired or unfocused tonight. Way too many times he was either given the puck and frittered it away, or the puck was put in a position he'd usually get it and didn't. I think this play from Penner made it look like Horcoff and Hemsky were playing worse than they actually were. A bunch of pucks that were actually solid fundamental plays wound up as turnovers. Both were far from perfect, with Hemsky having more turnover struggles and Horcoff willing but unable to convert offensively, but the main laggard was Penner. Because of the way Montreal plays, the whole group needed to be going to look good and they didn't at many times. With that said, they still come out plus and Hemsky still finds a way to score two (including an empty netter for once! YAY!). These guys should be much better Sat. I'm predicting a really good game from them. Of course, I'm no LMHF#2.
-----------
That was fun if not perfect. I love winning!
VS.
MONTREAL 1
--------------
I'm always very glad to beat these guys, but mostly to beat their strange edmonton-based fans that try to own the rink every time they play here. It's one thing to be loud and maybe even obnoxious, but I still find booing the home team sad and distasteful. I still don't understand why so many season ticket holders give up their tickets without at least accompanying these strange folk to the game to even out the numbers. I was very happy with the guys tonight for a) getting the first goal to keep the Habs fans relatively quiet and b) winning by more than 1 to keep the fans from getting too noisy and excited during the end. It really seems as though the Montreal fans that are Edmonton-based lack the supposed hockey IQ of their Quebec-based counterparts, but do possess the same attitude of being above other fanbases. Needless to say I don't enjoy dealing with that.
I think there were some pretty clear keys to the win tonight that most people got:
- Our goalie was much better than their goalie.
- The D, which is already weak, suffered an injury and made our pathetic blue look formidable.
- In the third after the Oilers got the lead, they played a simple game, got the puck deep, and made the necessary effort to hold the lead. They played like a playoff team holding a lead (other than lacking killer instinct on the PP, though at least they didn't take any exceptionally stupid or wild shots).
Montreal plays a very interesting style that seems reliant on forcing the other team into turnovers. They do this by having active, well placed sticks and clogging lanes. Early on we had a ton of trouble with this and several promising rushes or chances were foiled by a Montreal stick that would look random or flukey if it weren't so consistent. Credit to them on their execution of this plan generally and I can see why it would work for them. They do have a lot of players who can jump to chances and make something happen. In addition to their currently weak D, they missed Mike Cammalieri tonight a ton. He might've made this a closer game.
The reffing tonight was intriguing to say the least in that it was pretty much prison rules for the first 2 periods. Not that it was an ugly game, but there was some stuff that probably should've been called in today's league and was let go. If games were consistently reffed like this, I'd love it and we'd have a much more entertaining game, but they aren't. When we were finally able to convince the ref that yes indeed we were playing the game too and got a PP, we may not have converted but you certainly felt something slip away from MTL.
A few words on Mr. Subban:
- I don't think he's really a defenceman. He's most effective at the opposition blue line while rushing, looks for the hit too much, and doesn't get to use his skating. He's a power forward.
- A small play some may have missed, but I think he helped Eberle who had fallen near the net by making sure his head didn't whack the post. Very gentlemanly of him. Much more than I can say for a bunch of his teammates.
- Players certainly know he's there and adjust on the ice, but both Hall and Eberle figured out how to go right at him with success. He'll need to work on that.
LMHF#2 is having a particularly psychic run lately; not only did he call the scores and result of the last 2 wins, but he called what type of pop I was going to have tonight and a couple other things. If anyone wants a prediction I'd suggest getting into contact with him. Crazy.
On to the players...
---------
Khabibulin
- His best game of the year. He was on and flat robbed MTL on several occasions. They executed successful cross-crease plays (including one which would have been a game-changer in the second) and #35 made the save and made it look easy. He was way ahead of the play tonight and showed his confidence late by playing the puck a little more than usual. I'm not sure where these performances have come from, but he was certainly the biggest reason we won tonight. The only goal MTL scored was because he was hit on the play and didn't recover.
Foster
- Though his feet were still moving slowly and he took an awkward bunch/forearm to head in the third, Foster managed to have a decently strong game defensively. He was more committed to his coverages than usual and especially in the third. When we win it will often be because guys like he and Vandermeer push their effort in the defensive zone just a little higher.
Vandermeer
- Mixed game from him but mostly in the positive due to some stronger defensive play in the second half of the game. I'd count his mistakes as two ill-advised pinches and a couple ugly giveaways, but he covered up for most of them alright. He did a solid job of being in the right position and went out of his way to make some hits, which is something the Oilers D hasn't done near enough of when it has had the chance as a unit to grate on opposition forwards.
Chorney
- He got two really solid shots on net tonight, both while on the move. One nearly went in on its own and another was nearly tipped in. He's much much more confident this time around. I didn't notice him a lot in the defensive zone, which is generally a good thing. He certainly wasn't perfect, but this was a solid effort
Smid
- I hope Ladislav is okay. he was having a decent enough positional game and did some solid things with the puck on his stick. He's always best when he does a decent amount of skating with the puck and he was doing that tonight. Quite composed. The only glaring error I'll point out is that he put a really bad screen on Khabibulin once or twice that could have cost us big.
Peckham
- Though this wasn't an extremely physical effort, Montreal certainly knew he was there. He played a pretty solid game for the most part and came away in the positive. I think many of the Oilers learned early from MTL's approach to the game and more shots were blocked. Peckham being one of the best at that.
Gilbert
- Another excellent, albeit quieter, effort from the man who needs to be our #1 D right now. Solid with the puck, took his time and got into the right positions all night long.
Jacques-Reddox-Jones
- This was probably the best game I've seen Jacques play in terms of actually contributing to a win. He got a chance in the third on a bit of a rush with Reddox and Jones to make a solid NHL play, took his time, located Jones and made a really nice pass to set up the huge 3-1 goal. It was simple but for Jacques it was a victory and I appreciated the play. He also laid some some hits and got in the way productively at other times. There were still shifts where I felt he'd be better either ignoring the puck totally or playing without a stick, but he made a contribution to the win. Jones created problems for MTL's tired D at several junctures tonight, using his strong N-S skating and drive for the puck to pressure them, then finally capitalizing on his best clear chance in the third. He could have had at least 2 tonight, as a couple of his other chances were pretty good. Liam got beat down pretty hard on the faceoff dot, but I liked his effort 5-on-5. He does a really solid job of skating in the proper lane as well as driving the net. If you noticed on Jones goal, Reddox befuddled Subban and was actually in behind Price ready for a leaked puck if need be. These guys really helped the cause tonight
Paajarvi-Gagner-Omark
- Magnus had a shift in the third that I think really speaks to his potential as a strong two-way 5-on-5 guy. He made a great little backcheck play to break up an initial Montreal rush, then after some milling about, grabbed a loose puck, skated it out of danger and dumped it deep. It was a fairly simple shift but a great example of hockey IQ + skill + effort. Magnus had some chances to do offensive damage, but either didn't get the shots off or was stymied by MTL's active sticks. Linus got even sweeter chances, including a wonderful breakaway pass from Magnus (which me made a good choice and shot on but just missed) and a screen/tip/rebound play that was thwarted by an MTL defender. He does need to start converting on some of these. He drew the first MTL penalty, which was no small feat tonight. He struggled a little in the defensive and neutral zones, but also had a really nice backchecking play in the third that I hadn't seen from him before yet and would indicate him learning to use his skills at both ends of the ice, which is a plus. I truly think he's a guy you can refine into an excellent defensive winger. Too many tools to waste. Sam was a little quieter than usual tonight, but seemed to play a pretty strong supporting game. This line wasn't leaned on heavily with the rookies going and Hemsky's line dealing with many minutes, but they were certainly not a hindrance and could have scored a goal or two.
Hall-Cogliano-Eberle
- Try as I might, I just don't think I can give Cogliano a passing grade. His result was okay, but there were just way too many times in all zones that the play died with him. He missed a phenomenal chance that should have been a gimme goal in period 2. Thankfully he wasn't forced to defend much sustained pressure from MTL. If some people have some positives on Cogliano besides the one really hard shot he fired at the net, I'd love for you to add them to the discussion. I just can't see it right now. Hall seemed to have the game an always-effective star has when he's not on full go. Hall found a way to exploit the MTL D, and drove wide all night, either beating them clean or punishing them through a little physicality and hard work. He put forth a big effort even if the stats were understated and didn't give the puck away near as much as he might have usually. I liked his effort a lot. The play he made to feed Eberle on his goal was sick. Taylor needs to remember that he's an excellent and creative playmaker who can give his teammates great chances and especially so off the rush. He's been locked in shooting mode too often. Eberle was excellent as always. Positionally brilliant. The goal an example of a guy who knows how to score and is patient as hell with the puck on his stick. If Hall (or anyone) can get him the puck in that spot, he's a goal scoring machine. I say he gets 40 next season.
Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
- On what should have been a rather good night for these guys to do some damage (and they looked good early) they struggled some. I'm going to pin a lot of that on Penner. He was very either lazy, tired or unfocused tonight. Way too many times he was either given the puck and frittered it away, or the puck was put in a position he'd usually get it and didn't. I think this play from Penner made it look like Horcoff and Hemsky were playing worse than they actually were. A bunch of pucks that were actually solid fundamental plays wound up as turnovers. Both were far from perfect, with Hemsky having more turnover struggles and Horcoff willing but unable to convert offensively, but the main laggard was Penner. Because of the way Montreal plays, the whole group needed to be going to look good and they didn't at many times. With that said, they still come out plus and Hemsky still finds a way to score two (including an empty netter for once! YAY!). These guys should be much better Sat. I'm predicting a really good game from them. Of course, I'm no LMHF#2.
-----------
That was fun if not perfect. I love winning!
2/15/11
LMHF Report - Game #29
EDMONTON 4
VS.
DALLAS 1
-------------
Well, I guess the Generals were finally due...
In all seriousness, this is going to be a positive report. I enjoyed an Oilers game for the hockey played on the ice for the first time in what seems like forever. There were a ton of really solid efforts I'm going to highlight and I hope everyone that's been subjected to the "hockey" that's been played by the Oilers, and especially at home, got to see that game tonight. I once again fought the urge to stay home. I've got a lot I could be spending my time on, but I decided (as always) that tonight had potential, and went. I'm very glad I did.
Dallas was certainly understaffed tonight, but the Oilers have made a habit out of not showing up for these type of games in the recent past, allowing a couple guys to get their first NHL goals and losing in a sluggish and depressing fashion. Not so tonight. Aside from some errors that required actual NHL saves from our goalie early in a game (something we haven't had with this goalie in ages), the Oilers had their foot on the gas from the start. Dallas was lucky not to be down more than they were early, and lucky again that they weren't run out of the building to the tune of 7 or 8 to 1 instead of the humble 4 we still managed to put up.
There wasn't a big difference in the system play or the approach of the Oilers tonight; it was a bunch of little things coming together combined with the biggest thing, a solid effort from nearly everyone. Tonight was a success because the players made sure they had control of the puck before they passed or shot, were sure of themselves when making a deke, skated very hard to get back and pick up trailers and did it pretty much all game save for maybe a couple minutes early in the second. When you get that kind of buy-in from that much of the group, you're going to win in this league a fair amount of the time. While we are lacking in the lineup department this year, our main problem has been a lack of effort and/or focus with the worst games seeing neither of both. You saw both in the positive tonight for the first time in a long time.
The only thing I want to point out in the negative about the way the team played is that three times they allowed Dallas to set up slowly behind the net while backing off to the blue line. Two of these times Dallas rushed untouched to a clear chance and the other time they allowed a partial break. This setup has been a feature of Oilers teams for some time now and needs to be thrown in the bin. It only ends in pain.
The game could have gone just as the last one did. Just as in the last one, the 91-89-23 line had a great forechecking shift in the middle of the first period. Last game, the rest of the team did nothing with this shift and got beat down. Tonight they built upon it, managed to get a first period goal, and never really looked back. The team also could've folded up their tent when DAL made it 2-1; but unlike this year's typical performance, they bore down and took advantage of a late second period PP, then pounded the final nail with a goal early in the third. That's how winners do it.
Looking at our goals, the first of the night was certainly pretty. Sam Gagner has had some confidence issues lately, and that Sam (as well as 90% of the crowd as usual) would have taken a weak shot from where he stood and created absolutely nothing. Instead he stayed calm, realized he had room and a man in a weak spot, and used his superior talent to make a great move and pass to Eberle, who as usual was in the perfect position with his stick ready to fire. He does this better than anyone on the squad right now. Since returning, Eberle has 7 points in 7 games and hasn't even been at his top gear. It's almost scary to think this guy might be establishing himself as capable of PPG for next season...I still maintain he might wind up the better player over his career when compared to Hall. He's always been the guy with IT and hasn't lost it at any level.
The second goal was the result of solid movement on the PP for a change. As usual the rabble were busy screaming for an early shot from a man standing still with a Star planted firmly in front of him, but the Oilers changed things up by moving both the puck and their feet to set up Taylor Chorney, who certainly looked more comfy on the PP than he has in previous NHL sojourns. He got a smooth shot off and beat Lehtonen because he was forced to move. I hope the Oilers remember everything about this play. Great read by Horcoff on this one as well. Penner and Hemsky did some great work that shift and weren't rewarded on the sheet but were certainly noticed.
The third Oilers goal was again because of great passing and movement of skates while the rabble once again called for a wasteful shots. I loved the composure the guys showed in setting that play up and Hemsky's read+pass to an open Horcoff who deceived his defender and got into the open ice to tip it in were both beauty. Perfect example again of what we need to do on the powerplay.
Ales Hemsky had been demanding what resulted in the fourth goal for much of this game. He was motoring all night and finally Horcoff found him with a nifty little pass to spring him, then he finished as only he can. He'd already missed a breakaway so I was glad to see that he wasn't gripping too tight and went for the deke instead of the shot.
It's worth noting that we could've had several more tonight. Eberle hit bar and had a couple bad bounces. Hall got a couple good shots off but also got caught sleeping beside the net on beauty sets from his linemates a couple times. Kurtis Foster actually hit the net with some degree of danger and used a shot-pass for the first time in forever. Linus Omark created a couple brilliant chances on his own and even the fourth line (specifically Reddox and Jones) had their try. We also had an exploding stick session that cost a few guys great chances. It was a very different game tonight and I'm delighted to be able to break it down by player.
----------
Khabibulin
- This team has not gotten the key early saves from Khabibulin that they got tonight in a long time. For once he actually looked zone in. His glove and blocker were alert, ready and batting everything away. He was even taking swipes at pucks outside the net with his stick and getting them, which is something he doesn't normally do. On other nights I don't think the Oilers get going because they did indeed make some mistakes early that could have wound up in their net. The thing is that tonight their goalie actually looked like a #1. I recommend immediately going to Dubnyk against MTL because I don't see this repeating and he deserves an effort from the players like Khabibulin got tonight. Goalies shouldn't last long enough as starters to see the streak he had in the L column.
Gilbert
- So much better from Tom tonight. Why? That stupid twitchy head move was gone and he was passing, skating and pinching with authority. Perhaps the change of partners to Smid helped him, because he really looked like a whole new (and by new I mean what he used to look like) man out there tonight. When this guy shows up, he's a massive asset. Earned those two assists and played an underrated and possibly unnoticed by many role in getting the 27-10-83 line going. He did a great job of getting them the puck quickly and smoothly.
Smid
- Though he had a couple early adventures (two ugly turnovers and two instances of skating himself way out of position), Ladislav then calmed down a bunch and had a pretty good game. The change he allowed in Gilbert's game alone was enough to make this a worthy effort. Could've been more physical I suppose.
Peckham
- I liked that he went at Steve Ott early and then after about 2 shifts Ott was invisible. This is something Theo can do that our other defencemen and our goons cannot. #49 is a scary guy when he wants to be and that had the desired impact tonight. He wasn't great with the puck and got caught defensively at least twice (including an awkward sequence in the second where he had position but stopped skating and let the DAL forward past him for a chance) but overall he played a decent game especially considering he was with Chorney.
Chorney
- I'd like to applaud Taylor on coming back with some confidence; especially in the offensive zone. The strength of his game is to take the puck with his feet moving and then either direct a solid shot or pass while keeping the flow going. When he's on he essentially doesn't stop moving. He made some UGLY defensive errors early, but kept his composure to contribute positively to the win. There are other times Chorney and most offensively gifted defenceman would have taken that early start as a rebuke, backed off their game and played rather badly. He did not and for that he deserves credit.
Vandermeer
- Efforts like this from him perplex me. He was mean, a little physical, and dished the puck well. He didn't do anything exceptional, but played a simple game and got the job done. There's zero reason he shouldn't be able to do this most nights. I really don't get it. I'm not saying this in the same way I'd say that the Oilers as a team should be able to at least make a decent effort, what I'm saying quite frankly is that Vandermeer's job is actually pretty easy, he's qualified to do it, and struggling to do it makes little to no sense.
Foster
- He was definitely better tonight, as he managed to keep his shot under control and his wits about him. I don't believe he was pressed much defensively, but a lack of big mistakes counts as a positive compared to the rest of his year. He had a lot of help from his forwards today, but still credit to him for a better, more calm effort.
Hemsky
- I think Ales is confident in his health again. It started late in the last game with some really strong shifts and spilled over to tonight. While his offensive effort, creating numerous chances, getting his goal and showing an insane amount of jump was impressive, I was actually more impressed with his effort on D. He was phenomenal in his own zone, breaking up several plays including one early where he was forced to play D. Tonight the transition game ran through him, and the Oilers win when the play is flowing that way. It was a beautiful thing to watch. Great game. His best plays didn't even result in points. Check out his second period dangle if you can find it somewhere. The only thing I'm scared of is that he took a couple really solid pops (including one that left him squinty) in this game and I hope that they didn't impact him negatively.
Horcoff
- The rapid acceleration to loose pucks and scoring zones was back in Horcoff's game tonight. It made a huge difference. When he's reading off of Hemsky like tonight and playing decisively, he can be a big part of the offence. Some nights he doesn't need to do what he did tonight because Penner's also very good at it, but if you have 10 and 27 swapping nights with 83 stirring the drink (as he did ruthlessly tonight) then you've got one of the better lines out there. He was very good in all zones just like Hemsky was, with just a little less pop.
Penner
- Didn't blow the roof off like either Horcoff or Hemsky, but also got a couple bad breaks that prevented goals. While he wasn't running people over like crazy, he did a good job in the role of providing positional support to his linemates as well as getting to the slot for shooting opportunities. He had a stick blow up, at least two get deflected wide, and was also stopped. Underrated game from Penner tonight. I also really like to see him on the PK. Think he'd be interesting playing with Magnus there.
Jacques
- Not much to complain about in his game, and he certainly got a couple of nice hits in. I still didn't see value for having him in the lineup really.
Reddox
- He pushed the limit of his game a bit tonight to include a little bit more hitting, which was good to see and I think made an impact against Dallas due to them missing some of their more physical players. Very much liked his work on the PK and he generated a couple of offensive chances.
Jones
- Not a loud night by any stretch of the imagination, but he had a couple decent hits and was a minor threat offensively a couple times. Jones' positioning was very good as well. I hope he likes Edmonton enough that a reasonable contract can be agreed upon.
Hall
- I'm still not quite sure what he was looking at on the couple cross-ice chances he got from Eberle and Gagner tonight. I would have thought he'd be ready to finish on those but he wasn't; also had a couple pucks bounce on him. In the second period he made a wide drive and took what has become a typical shot at the net that was stopped. I'd really like to see him either hook to set up a pass or make an Eberle play and bounce one off the far pad to a linemate on those, even if only to open up the wide drive roofjob goal and make him a threat in multiple ways. I really liked the way he took the physical play to Fistric in the third period and frustrated him into taking a penalty. He had a really physical shift that was great to see.
Cogliano
- Andrew was one of the only Oilers I was disappointed in tonight, in that he couldn't seem to catch the wave of solid play riding through the team. He made and effort and I did like his play on the PK, but he made too many giveaways and disrupted several dangerous-looking rushes that Hall or Eberle started. Maybe he did a better job in puck support than I saw, but I really thought he could've had a dynamic night and he didn't.
Eberle
- Another great night from Jordan where it was an absolute travesty he only got one point. He set up a number of chances for linemates but was only rewarded on the play Gagner made. I can't stress enough how much this guy knows about where to be and when to be there. He's an incredibly smart hockey player who is calm at all times.
Gagner
- Effectively drove the bus for 2 lines tonight (Eberle and Hall looked best when with him on the PP, then Omark and Paajarvi looked good as well), Sam played probably his best game of the year. The difference tonight was his confidence with the puck, willingness to drive to the shooting areas and confidence to let it rip (he really should have scored). When Sam plays like this you sure don't notice that he's a fairly small guy compared to the others. How do we keep his level of play up this high.
Omark
- An understated but solid night. He doesn't necessarily have to put up points when he's a positive impact like this. Most nights like this he would, but it didn't happen tonight. He's really improving in his reads from the PP point and made a couple very inventive fakes. At least twice he drove alone to the front of the net and created some very dangerous chances. The best players on the team definitely trust him with the puck. Good as gold in the corners fighting for the puck as always; should have drawn at least two penalties.
Paajarvi
- Fairly quiet night for Magnus, I'm guessing mainly due to limited icetime. Nothing to be ashamed of surely, just nothing jumping off the page.
--------------------
Well, that was definitely different! I hope like hell we can do that Thursday. Would make for a fun night! I also hope the horrid (and French) ref we appear to have had for the past 4 games now is gone by then. For him not to be may prove disastrous.
VS.
DALLAS 1
-------------
Well, I guess the Generals were finally due...
In all seriousness, this is going to be a positive report. I enjoyed an Oilers game for the hockey played on the ice for the first time in what seems like forever. There were a ton of really solid efforts I'm going to highlight and I hope everyone that's been subjected to the "hockey" that's been played by the Oilers, and especially at home, got to see that game tonight. I once again fought the urge to stay home. I've got a lot I could be spending my time on, but I decided (as always) that tonight had potential, and went. I'm very glad I did.
Dallas was certainly understaffed tonight, but the Oilers have made a habit out of not showing up for these type of games in the recent past, allowing a couple guys to get their first NHL goals and losing in a sluggish and depressing fashion. Not so tonight. Aside from some errors that required actual NHL saves from our goalie early in a game (something we haven't had with this goalie in ages), the Oilers had their foot on the gas from the start. Dallas was lucky not to be down more than they were early, and lucky again that they weren't run out of the building to the tune of 7 or 8 to 1 instead of the humble 4 we still managed to put up.
There wasn't a big difference in the system play or the approach of the Oilers tonight; it was a bunch of little things coming together combined with the biggest thing, a solid effort from nearly everyone. Tonight was a success because the players made sure they had control of the puck before they passed or shot, were sure of themselves when making a deke, skated very hard to get back and pick up trailers and did it pretty much all game save for maybe a couple minutes early in the second. When you get that kind of buy-in from that much of the group, you're going to win in this league a fair amount of the time. While we are lacking in the lineup department this year, our main problem has been a lack of effort and/or focus with the worst games seeing neither of both. You saw both in the positive tonight for the first time in a long time.
The only thing I want to point out in the negative about the way the team played is that three times they allowed Dallas to set up slowly behind the net while backing off to the blue line. Two of these times Dallas rushed untouched to a clear chance and the other time they allowed a partial break. This setup has been a feature of Oilers teams for some time now and needs to be thrown in the bin. It only ends in pain.
The game could have gone just as the last one did. Just as in the last one, the 91-89-23 line had a great forechecking shift in the middle of the first period. Last game, the rest of the team did nothing with this shift and got beat down. Tonight they built upon it, managed to get a first period goal, and never really looked back. The team also could've folded up their tent when DAL made it 2-1; but unlike this year's typical performance, they bore down and took advantage of a late second period PP, then pounded the final nail with a goal early in the third. That's how winners do it.
Looking at our goals, the first of the night was certainly pretty. Sam Gagner has had some confidence issues lately, and that Sam (as well as 90% of the crowd as usual) would have taken a weak shot from where he stood and created absolutely nothing. Instead he stayed calm, realized he had room and a man in a weak spot, and used his superior talent to make a great move and pass to Eberle, who as usual was in the perfect position with his stick ready to fire. He does this better than anyone on the squad right now. Since returning, Eberle has 7 points in 7 games and hasn't even been at his top gear. It's almost scary to think this guy might be establishing himself as capable of PPG for next season...I still maintain he might wind up the better player over his career when compared to Hall. He's always been the guy with IT and hasn't lost it at any level.
The second goal was the result of solid movement on the PP for a change. As usual the rabble were busy screaming for an early shot from a man standing still with a Star planted firmly in front of him, but the Oilers changed things up by moving both the puck and their feet to set up Taylor Chorney, who certainly looked more comfy on the PP than he has in previous NHL sojourns. He got a smooth shot off and beat Lehtonen because he was forced to move. I hope the Oilers remember everything about this play. Great read by Horcoff on this one as well. Penner and Hemsky did some great work that shift and weren't rewarded on the sheet but were certainly noticed.
The third Oilers goal was again because of great passing and movement of skates while the rabble once again called for a wasteful shots. I loved the composure the guys showed in setting that play up and Hemsky's read+pass to an open Horcoff who deceived his defender and got into the open ice to tip it in were both beauty. Perfect example again of what we need to do on the powerplay.
Ales Hemsky had been demanding what resulted in the fourth goal for much of this game. He was motoring all night and finally Horcoff found him with a nifty little pass to spring him, then he finished as only he can. He'd already missed a breakaway so I was glad to see that he wasn't gripping too tight and went for the deke instead of the shot.
It's worth noting that we could've had several more tonight. Eberle hit bar and had a couple bad bounces. Hall got a couple good shots off but also got caught sleeping beside the net on beauty sets from his linemates a couple times. Kurtis Foster actually hit the net with some degree of danger and used a shot-pass for the first time in forever. Linus Omark created a couple brilliant chances on his own and even the fourth line (specifically Reddox and Jones) had their try. We also had an exploding stick session that cost a few guys great chances. It was a very different game tonight and I'm delighted to be able to break it down by player.
----------
Khabibulin
- This team has not gotten the key early saves from Khabibulin that they got tonight in a long time. For once he actually looked zone in. His glove and blocker were alert, ready and batting everything away. He was even taking swipes at pucks outside the net with his stick and getting them, which is something he doesn't normally do. On other nights I don't think the Oilers get going because they did indeed make some mistakes early that could have wound up in their net. The thing is that tonight their goalie actually looked like a #1. I recommend immediately going to Dubnyk against MTL because I don't see this repeating and he deserves an effort from the players like Khabibulin got tonight. Goalies shouldn't last long enough as starters to see the streak he had in the L column.
Gilbert
- So much better from Tom tonight. Why? That stupid twitchy head move was gone and he was passing, skating and pinching with authority. Perhaps the change of partners to Smid helped him, because he really looked like a whole new (and by new I mean what he used to look like) man out there tonight. When this guy shows up, he's a massive asset. Earned those two assists and played an underrated and possibly unnoticed by many role in getting the 27-10-83 line going. He did a great job of getting them the puck quickly and smoothly.
Smid
- Though he had a couple early adventures (two ugly turnovers and two instances of skating himself way out of position), Ladislav then calmed down a bunch and had a pretty good game. The change he allowed in Gilbert's game alone was enough to make this a worthy effort. Could've been more physical I suppose.
Peckham
- I liked that he went at Steve Ott early and then after about 2 shifts Ott was invisible. This is something Theo can do that our other defencemen and our goons cannot. #49 is a scary guy when he wants to be and that had the desired impact tonight. He wasn't great with the puck and got caught defensively at least twice (including an awkward sequence in the second where he had position but stopped skating and let the DAL forward past him for a chance) but overall he played a decent game especially considering he was with Chorney.
Chorney
- I'd like to applaud Taylor on coming back with some confidence; especially in the offensive zone. The strength of his game is to take the puck with his feet moving and then either direct a solid shot or pass while keeping the flow going. When he's on he essentially doesn't stop moving. He made some UGLY defensive errors early, but kept his composure to contribute positively to the win. There are other times Chorney and most offensively gifted defenceman would have taken that early start as a rebuke, backed off their game and played rather badly. He did not and for that he deserves credit.
Vandermeer
- Efforts like this from him perplex me. He was mean, a little physical, and dished the puck well. He didn't do anything exceptional, but played a simple game and got the job done. There's zero reason he shouldn't be able to do this most nights. I really don't get it. I'm not saying this in the same way I'd say that the Oilers as a team should be able to at least make a decent effort, what I'm saying quite frankly is that Vandermeer's job is actually pretty easy, he's qualified to do it, and struggling to do it makes little to no sense.
Foster
- He was definitely better tonight, as he managed to keep his shot under control and his wits about him. I don't believe he was pressed much defensively, but a lack of big mistakes counts as a positive compared to the rest of his year. He had a lot of help from his forwards today, but still credit to him for a better, more calm effort.
Hemsky
- I think Ales is confident in his health again. It started late in the last game with some really strong shifts and spilled over to tonight. While his offensive effort, creating numerous chances, getting his goal and showing an insane amount of jump was impressive, I was actually more impressed with his effort on D. He was phenomenal in his own zone, breaking up several plays including one early where he was forced to play D. Tonight the transition game ran through him, and the Oilers win when the play is flowing that way. It was a beautiful thing to watch. Great game. His best plays didn't even result in points. Check out his second period dangle if you can find it somewhere. The only thing I'm scared of is that he took a couple really solid pops (including one that left him squinty) in this game and I hope that they didn't impact him negatively.
Horcoff
- The rapid acceleration to loose pucks and scoring zones was back in Horcoff's game tonight. It made a huge difference. When he's reading off of Hemsky like tonight and playing decisively, he can be a big part of the offence. Some nights he doesn't need to do what he did tonight because Penner's also very good at it, but if you have 10 and 27 swapping nights with 83 stirring the drink (as he did ruthlessly tonight) then you've got one of the better lines out there. He was very good in all zones just like Hemsky was, with just a little less pop.
Penner
- Didn't blow the roof off like either Horcoff or Hemsky, but also got a couple bad breaks that prevented goals. While he wasn't running people over like crazy, he did a good job in the role of providing positional support to his linemates as well as getting to the slot for shooting opportunities. He had a stick blow up, at least two get deflected wide, and was also stopped. Underrated game from Penner tonight. I also really like to see him on the PK. Think he'd be interesting playing with Magnus there.
Jacques
- Not much to complain about in his game, and he certainly got a couple of nice hits in. I still didn't see value for having him in the lineup really.
Reddox
- He pushed the limit of his game a bit tonight to include a little bit more hitting, which was good to see and I think made an impact against Dallas due to them missing some of their more physical players. Very much liked his work on the PK and he generated a couple of offensive chances.
Jones
- Not a loud night by any stretch of the imagination, but he had a couple decent hits and was a minor threat offensively a couple times. Jones' positioning was very good as well. I hope he likes Edmonton enough that a reasonable contract can be agreed upon.
Hall
- I'm still not quite sure what he was looking at on the couple cross-ice chances he got from Eberle and Gagner tonight. I would have thought he'd be ready to finish on those but he wasn't; also had a couple pucks bounce on him. In the second period he made a wide drive and took what has become a typical shot at the net that was stopped. I'd really like to see him either hook to set up a pass or make an Eberle play and bounce one off the far pad to a linemate on those, even if only to open up the wide drive roofjob goal and make him a threat in multiple ways. I really liked the way he took the physical play to Fistric in the third period and frustrated him into taking a penalty. He had a really physical shift that was great to see.
Cogliano
- Andrew was one of the only Oilers I was disappointed in tonight, in that he couldn't seem to catch the wave of solid play riding through the team. He made and effort and I did like his play on the PK, but he made too many giveaways and disrupted several dangerous-looking rushes that Hall or Eberle started. Maybe he did a better job in puck support than I saw, but I really thought he could've had a dynamic night and he didn't.
Eberle
- Another great night from Jordan where it was an absolute travesty he only got one point. He set up a number of chances for linemates but was only rewarded on the play Gagner made. I can't stress enough how much this guy knows about where to be and when to be there. He's an incredibly smart hockey player who is calm at all times.
Gagner
- Effectively drove the bus for 2 lines tonight (Eberle and Hall looked best when with him on the PP, then Omark and Paajarvi looked good as well), Sam played probably his best game of the year. The difference tonight was his confidence with the puck, willingness to drive to the shooting areas and confidence to let it rip (he really should have scored). When Sam plays like this you sure don't notice that he's a fairly small guy compared to the others. How do we keep his level of play up this high.
Omark
- An understated but solid night. He doesn't necessarily have to put up points when he's a positive impact like this. Most nights like this he would, but it didn't happen tonight. He's really improving in his reads from the PP point and made a couple very inventive fakes. At least twice he drove alone to the front of the net and created some very dangerous chances. The best players on the team definitely trust him with the puck. Good as gold in the corners fighting for the puck as always; should have drawn at least two penalties.
Paajarvi
- Fairly quiet night for Magnus, I'm guessing mainly due to limited icetime. Nothing to be ashamed of surely, just nothing jumping off the page.
--------------------
Well, that was definitely different! I hope like hell we can do that Thursday. Would make for a fun night! I also hope the horrid (and French) ref we appear to have had for the past 4 games now is gone by then. For him not to be may prove disastrous.
2/13/11
LMHF Report - Game #28
EDMONTON L
VS.
ANAHEIM W
Does the score even matter anymore?
-----------------------
I like to think of myself as a pretty good writer. I was excellent in my high school and university classes, and while I play pretty fast and loose in writing the Report, I can put together a pretty solid piece of writing when I want to. It's part of my job even and plays into my political life of course.
I could spend an entire college-style all night writing session and not make whatever THAT was, and whatever this "team" is look good. Or interesting. Or exciting.
This has gotten to be just as bad if not worse than last season for a number of reasons. I think the most prominent one for me is that I'm having to watch untainted young talent be exposed to some horrendous habits and practices that will likely limit their potential (or at the very least cause it to develop more slowly or with another franchise).
There was really nothing positive to see out on the ice tonight. I'm pretty much going to skip any pretense of making the best of a bad situation at get straight to the crapulence.
I felt really bad for Devan Dubnyk tonight. He started the game out just fine and certainly could have backstopped a competent team to a win. Skipping the chances that were glaring defensive errors, this pretty much ends 0-0 (as I'm not sure any team would have scored in the SO before a league imposed curfew came into effect). It's not like Anaheim was any good. They were just like 3/4 of the teams who come in here this year; coasting for most of the night and taking advantage of a couple outrageously stupid mistakes to score enough goals to win. I'm sure this point has been raised by others already, but it made me sick that the team who wouldn't pull #35 if he weren't able to stand upright pulled #40. I'm sure it was a "mercy pull" or whatever, but that doesn't really help. Dubnyk should get more respect from the team than Khabibulin and he gets less. Sickening.
This team hasn't played with the proper system they supposedly learned in the preseason in a long time. The last I remember was honestly the first game of the year against Calgary, but they may have done so once or twice since. Probably on the road. The home efforts are just disgusting, with this possibly being the worst. Even the fights went terribly tonight.
I'm a big fan of Tom Gilbert as a player; he has shown me some of the best D play I've seen in all the time I've been an Oilers fan, but tonight (and lately) he was a scared little boy on that ice. I decided to watch him a little closer tonight and noticed that he has developed a tendency to freeze his feet and stick while making awkward neck movements, paranoid that he's missing something. This is not the same as keeping your head on a swivel and/or using peripheral vision to track the play. He's literally frozen except for sideways neck spasms. This tendency on a number of occasions meant he was either late to read a play or late to break toward it even though he had read it. Tom is not playing hockey right now. I imagine that in his brain the game is moving about 1000 mph. Not good. I really hope he can snap out of it, but I'm worried that we have no one (either a teammate who is a leader on D or a coach who can spot the issue and get through to him) to help with this process.
Theo did his best to at least annoy the Ducks somewhat and I think he succeeded. As usual, Mr Giant Wuss himself (Andy "I only fight Eric Brewers" Sutton) tried to take advantage and I'm glad Peckham hung around more than the one pretty large punch Sutton landed. Theo wasn't great in terms of positioning, but again, he's dealing with a defensive partner who is gliding all over the ice, missing free pucks and not taking advantage of his positioning. That's tough even for a vet, much less #49.
Part of our problem is that we have too many defencemen who just plain stink. The two of note this evening were (as usual) Foster and Vandermeer. Vandermeer made so many mistakes tonight that immediately went dangerously towards his own net that I lost count. He was nothing but trouble. It was actually embarrassing to see him out there in our uniform at several points because you KNEW he would lose the puck. Foster wasn't much better, but at least he gave the glass-changers something to do being that the guy who used to make sure they had regular duty just isn't good enough for this 30th place club and must play in Hershey. Would someone tell Foster that it doesn't count as 3 goals every time he fires it over the net? Every single solitary time he's open he does this. EVERY FREAKING TIME. There's a guy wearing #47 in Tampa who scored a nice OT winner the other night on a play that looks like the one Foster gets a chance at at least once a game...just saying. Don't tell me that guy can't play D either; compared to Foster he's freaking Scott Stevens...
Petry spent the night recovering. While I appreciate that he didn't quit on his mistakes, he still made a decent number of them. It really wasn't fun to watch. He's got way too much responsibility right now, and while he was doing fine with it early, I think it's starting to grind him down like sandpaper. His partner wasn't too bad, though the spectacle of him standing up for Penner was a little bewildering. Thought he'd have a better fight than he did.
Andrew Cogliano couldn't check a pile of sand. The play he made to create the first Anaheim goal, where he skated himself completely out of position despite having been in a perfect spot to stop the rush might have been the only thing more embarrassing than some of what Vandermeer did tonight. Add in the fact that he did a great job of wrecking several offensive rushes and I cannot see for the life of me why Renney thinks this guy has any future as a good player for our team. He's completely lost whatever it was he came into the league with. That really stinks because we should have had something. I imagine someone will turn him into a player by taking a proper approach to his successes and mistakes, but have a hard time seeing it as us (he isn't even a regular winger yet).
Taylor Hall had a horrible first period. It was full of giveaways and missed shots. I enjoyed that he finally hit someone...then the missed shots resumed. I don't know what the problem is with his shooting precisely, but he needs to work that out something fierce. It's really costing him. He also whiffed on another PP gimme from the slot...which is an alarming trend. Why can't the golden child score on rebounds or slot passes?
Eberle was Eberle. He made another good defensive stop just like last game and set up some chances (unfortunately to Cogliano mostly). I don't want to lump him in with this pile tonight. I must say though, I really hope he turns out better than Hall (with Hall still being excellent); he deserves it more. Even in bad games he does the little things til the end.
MacIntyre's fight was pretty uneventful and I'm rather disappointed that he didn't get into another one. He knows what he's here to do; get it done. Go beat on Andy Sutton. Don't take a wimpy poke at Perry when intentionally trips the goalie, club him one in the teeth. You won't play for another few games anyway, might as well make it count.
Jones created his normal couple chances but had trouble controlling the puck and couldn't score tonight. If one guy would have broken the SO I'd have bet on him. The Jones on the PP experiment with Penner and Hemsky though was one of the saddest things I've seen, and proved itself that way within about 20 seconds. Who is paying these coaches and what have they learned about a PP ever?
Fraser laid a nice hit and made a couple decent offensive plays. These were offset by some giveaways, but he was fairly neutral this evening.
Magnus couldn't get into a groove tonight. The galloping stride was there but his puck control was off and this hampered his ability to make a difference or get open for 89 or 23 to find him. They struggled a little as well. Gagner made a horrible pass in the second that promptly found his own net and couldn't convert in the offensive zone. The unit had a great shift in the first that could've severely shifted the momentum of the game, but no one could follow up. Omark did some great work in the corners and took a lot of abuse from an Anaheim team that appeared to think he would quit, but he also wasn't able to pop a couple chances and made some suspect passes in his own and neutral zones. Overall, these guys actually created some offence which was nice compared to the other lines.
What kind of moron coach would play Liam Reddox on the wing with Penner and Hemsky? Our moron coach that's who! I couldn't believe this when I saw it, but I really shouldn't be shocked by anything anymore. Why when you've got Penner at C do you not add a young star or at least someone with some talent to that wing? Playing Liam there (and again, I like him) means we're set up to lose. Both Ales and Dustin had off nights. Ales came back angry after his two penalties and was better than I've seen him in a long time for a few shifts, but unfortunately nothing happened. Penner looked plain tired, and got pasted in the neutral zone which isn't exactly normal.
What a steaming pile of junk on display tonight. I wish the fans remembered how to boo. These guys deserve to hear anger and the mass doesn't seem to be wiling to give it to them with any vigour.
-------------
On a FAR side note, Mario Lemieux should shut up. He's whining about probably one of the most entertaining games in a long time in the NHL because his team got beat up (on the scoreboard and in the alley) by the Islanders, yet he employs one of the biggest cheapshot artists going. If his team is going to run around, and his goalie is going to do what Johnson did, then what NYI did is what did and should happen to them. Play with respect and you'll get it. Otherwise, better toughen up.
VS.
ANAHEIM W
Does the score even matter anymore?
-----------------------
I like to think of myself as a pretty good writer. I was excellent in my high school and university classes, and while I play pretty fast and loose in writing the Report, I can put together a pretty solid piece of writing when I want to. It's part of my job even and plays into my political life of course.
I could spend an entire college-style all night writing session and not make whatever THAT was, and whatever this "team" is look good. Or interesting. Or exciting.
This has gotten to be just as bad if not worse than last season for a number of reasons. I think the most prominent one for me is that I'm having to watch untainted young talent be exposed to some horrendous habits and practices that will likely limit their potential (or at the very least cause it to develop more slowly or with another franchise).
There was really nothing positive to see out on the ice tonight. I'm pretty much going to skip any pretense of making the best of a bad situation at get straight to the crapulence.
I felt really bad for Devan Dubnyk tonight. He started the game out just fine and certainly could have backstopped a competent team to a win. Skipping the chances that were glaring defensive errors, this pretty much ends 0-0 (as I'm not sure any team would have scored in the SO before a league imposed curfew came into effect). It's not like Anaheim was any good. They were just like 3/4 of the teams who come in here this year; coasting for most of the night and taking advantage of a couple outrageously stupid mistakes to score enough goals to win. I'm sure this point has been raised by others already, but it made me sick that the team who wouldn't pull #35 if he weren't able to stand upright pulled #40. I'm sure it was a "mercy pull" or whatever, but that doesn't really help. Dubnyk should get more respect from the team than Khabibulin and he gets less. Sickening.
This team hasn't played with the proper system they supposedly learned in the preseason in a long time. The last I remember was honestly the first game of the year against Calgary, but they may have done so once or twice since. Probably on the road. The home efforts are just disgusting, with this possibly being the worst. Even the fights went terribly tonight.
I'm a big fan of Tom Gilbert as a player; he has shown me some of the best D play I've seen in all the time I've been an Oilers fan, but tonight (and lately) he was a scared little boy on that ice. I decided to watch him a little closer tonight and noticed that he has developed a tendency to freeze his feet and stick while making awkward neck movements, paranoid that he's missing something. This is not the same as keeping your head on a swivel and/or using peripheral vision to track the play. He's literally frozen except for sideways neck spasms. This tendency on a number of occasions meant he was either late to read a play or late to break toward it even though he had read it. Tom is not playing hockey right now. I imagine that in his brain the game is moving about 1000 mph. Not good. I really hope he can snap out of it, but I'm worried that we have no one (either a teammate who is a leader on D or a coach who can spot the issue and get through to him) to help with this process.
Theo did his best to at least annoy the Ducks somewhat and I think he succeeded. As usual, Mr Giant Wuss himself (Andy "I only fight Eric Brewers" Sutton) tried to take advantage and I'm glad Peckham hung around more than the one pretty large punch Sutton landed. Theo wasn't great in terms of positioning, but again, he's dealing with a defensive partner who is gliding all over the ice, missing free pucks and not taking advantage of his positioning. That's tough even for a vet, much less #49.
Part of our problem is that we have too many defencemen who just plain stink. The two of note this evening were (as usual) Foster and Vandermeer. Vandermeer made so many mistakes tonight that immediately went dangerously towards his own net that I lost count. He was nothing but trouble. It was actually embarrassing to see him out there in our uniform at several points because you KNEW he would lose the puck. Foster wasn't much better, but at least he gave the glass-changers something to do being that the guy who used to make sure they had regular duty just isn't good enough for this 30th place club and must play in Hershey. Would someone tell Foster that it doesn't count as 3 goals every time he fires it over the net? Every single solitary time he's open he does this. EVERY FREAKING TIME. There's a guy wearing #47 in Tampa who scored a nice OT winner the other night on a play that looks like the one Foster gets a chance at at least once a game...just saying. Don't tell me that guy can't play D either; compared to Foster he's freaking Scott Stevens...
Petry spent the night recovering. While I appreciate that he didn't quit on his mistakes, he still made a decent number of them. It really wasn't fun to watch. He's got way too much responsibility right now, and while he was doing fine with it early, I think it's starting to grind him down like sandpaper. His partner wasn't too bad, though the spectacle of him standing up for Penner was a little bewildering. Thought he'd have a better fight than he did.
Andrew Cogliano couldn't check a pile of sand. The play he made to create the first Anaheim goal, where he skated himself completely out of position despite having been in a perfect spot to stop the rush might have been the only thing more embarrassing than some of what Vandermeer did tonight. Add in the fact that he did a great job of wrecking several offensive rushes and I cannot see for the life of me why Renney thinks this guy has any future as a good player for our team. He's completely lost whatever it was he came into the league with. That really stinks because we should have had something. I imagine someone will turn him into a player by taking a proper approach to his successes and mistakes, but have a hard time seeing it as us (he isn't even a regular winger yet).
Taylor Hall had a horrible first period. It was full of giveaways and missed shots. I enjoyed that he finally hit someone...then the missed shots resumed. I don't know what the problem is with his shooting precisely, but he needs to work that out something fierce. It's really costing him. He also whiffed on another PP gimme from the slot...which is an alarming trend. Why can't the golden child score on rebounds or slot passes?
Eberle was Eberle. He made another good defensive stop just like last game and set up some chances (unfortunately to Cogliano mostly). I don't want to lump him in with this pile tonight. I must say though, I really hope he turns out better than Hall (with Hall still being excellent); he deserves it more. Even in bad games he does the little things til the end.
MacIntyre's fight was pretty uneventful and I'm rather disappointed that he didn't get into another one. He knows what he's here to do; get it done. Go beat on Andy Sutton. Don't take a wimpy poke at Perry when intentionally trips the goalie, club him one in the teeth. You won't play for another few games anyway, might as well make it count.
Jones created his normal couple chances but had trouble controlling the puck and couldn't score tonight. If one guy would have broken the SO I'd have bet on him. The Jones on the PP experiment with Penner and Hemsky though was one of the saddest things I've seen, and proved itself that way within about 20 seconds. Who is paying these coaches and what have they learned about a PP ever?
Fraser laid a nice hit and made a couple decent offensive plays. These were offset by some giveaways, but he was fairly neutral this evening.
Magnus couldn't get into a groove tonight. The galloping stride was there but his puck control was off and this hampered his ability to make a difference or get open for 89 or 23 to find him. They struggled a little as well. Gagner made a horrible pass in the second that promptly found his own net and couldn't convert in the offensive zone. The unit had a great shift in the first that could've severely shifted the momentum of the game, but no one could follow up. Omark did some great work in the corners and took a lot of abuse from an Anaheim team that appeared to think he would quit, but he also wasn't able to pop a couple chances and made some suspect passes in his own and neutral zones. Overall, these guys actually created some offence which was nice compared to the other lines.
What kind of moron coach would play Liam Reddox on the wing with Penner and Hemsky? Our moron coach that's who! I couldn't believe this when I saw it, but I really shouldn't be shocked by anything anymore. Why when you've got Penner at C do you not add a young star or at least someone with some talent to that wing? Playing Liam there (and again, I like him) means we're set up to lose. Both Ales and Dustin had off nights. Ales came back angry after his two penalties and was better than I've seen him in a long time for a few shifts, but unfortunately nothing happened. Penner looked plain tired, and got pasted in the neutral zone which isn't exactly normal.
What a steaming pile of junk on display tonight. I wish the fans remembered how to boo. These guys deserve to hear anger and the mass doesn't seem to be wiling to give it to them with any vigour.
-------------
On a FAR side note, Mario Lemieux should shut up. He's whining about probably one of the most entertaining games in a long time in the NHL because his team got beat up (on the scoreboard and in the alley) by the Islanders, yet he employs one of the biggest cheapshot artists going. If his team is going to run around, and his goalie is going to do what Johnson did, then what NYI did is what did and should happen to them. Play with respect and you'll get it. Otherwise, better toughen up.
2/12/11
LMHF Report - Game #27
EDMONTON 3
VS.
OTTAWA 5
------------
I sat in different seats than usual today which was intriguing as I'm so used to "my view" of the game. Sitting on the side that looks at the players bench is certainly preferable to where I currently sit, but those seats just weren't available when #2 and I last moved. I wish they were. When I make a bit more dough, I'll sit closer to the bottom of the second deck, which was essentially where my seats were. Center ice, second deck across from the benches. Outstanding. It's a lot easier from that level to see some of the plays that require depth...meaning saucer passes and shots at certain heights. You miss a little of the wider play-development aspect but this is more than offset by having a better look at the intricacies of puck battles and shots down low. If you have the funds and can pick any seat in the building, go either row 12 center ice or row 21 center ice.
On to the actual game...and I'm pissed. Angry. Just very mad at many different people right now. I find it very interesting that the only thing more frustrating than the Oilers powerplay (and it's just stupid frustrating) are the Oilers fans during the powerplay. I wonder where all the hockey-knowledgeable people we supposedly have at our games have gone. I know it's a common rant, but the shooting thing was really driving me nuts today. When Penner scored his second goal, one guy actually waited for the celebration to end, and resumed berating 27 for not shooting earlier...what a freaking idiot...I also didn't mind the way they played on the 5-on-3 compared to how bad we've been this year. We controlled the puck, set up several good chances and got hosed by a bouncy puck and an errant stick (the stick disrupted what was shaping up to be a beautiful goal). If you don't understand hockey, here's what you can do when we have a PP -> cheer when we do something brilliant, boo when we stink, and shut up the rest of the time. Let these guys do their thing. The one nice thing about the fans in NC when I was there in '06 was that if they didn't understand something, they didn't yell and scream about it.
I didn't like the way Krueger coached today's game at all. Once again the "never pull #35" rule was in effect despite the fact that after the first 2 goals anyone could see that he was going to absolutely stink today. This, along with the fact that probably our 4th best goalie in the org is starting a game despite no injuries, really reveals that this team is trying to lose. I don't care what the eventual payoff, I don't care what the "plan" (HA!) is, this makes me rage. Playing Reddox with Hemsky and Penner was also a very dumb move. Don't get me wrong, I like Liam as a player and he did what he could, but anyone who's watched this team knows that Reddox plays well with Omark, and Paajarvi plays well with Omark, so he should have been part of that unit with Sam capably stepping up to fill 10's shoes on the top offensive line. The only thing he did today that I liked was to pull the goalie early.
As for the players, they've lost the desire to take that extra step, push that extra foot or reach that extra inch. It just isn't there. Part of me kind of wonders who could blame them, as they've been hung out to dry by management and the coaching staff. The other part knows that as a player, I never quit and neither should they being much much better than I ever was and paid to play. It's very aggravating to see so many guys underperforming at one time. We're certainly not good...but we're not anywhere near this bad either. It's like we have an illness that leads to losing. Lowe-itis anyone?
------------
Khabibulin
- Shouldn't be starting, in Edmonton, OKC or otherwise. It's blatantly obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain when he comes out flat (which is almost every game now). The second goal disgusted me especially, as we'd just tied it and he might as well have shot the puck into his own net. After the scrum with Neil and Peckham, where he could have at least blockered the guy and got thrown out to help his team, he focused briefly, made 2 good saves and then resumed allowing OTT to score on any half-decent shot. Is there even a point to discussing him in these threads anymore? He doesn't care, he's quit, and he's past it. We know exactly what we'll get.
Gilbert
- Started the game very shaky in both his positioning and puck handling but came on better as the game drove on. He executed a very Pitkanen-esque puck retrieval in the second behind our net which is something he's really gotten away from by either trying to hit (and failing) or chasing around out of position. His offensive play was better today, as he directed a couple of really nice shots on net and could've made something happen.
Peckham
- He had a rougher day than most this year. I have to wonder if he's starting to get fatigued. He wasn't expecting this and has never played this much at a high level. I suspect he'll bounce back but he's also a guy who rides on intensity and therefore will have a problem on this team at this time. Needs to be better with the puck in his own end below the goal line.
Foster
- Every single solitary time he gets a lane and space he misses the net. You could bet a million dollars a shot and be stupid-rich by now. The best example in a while was today in the third when he had a clear chance to score on a slightly out of position and tentative Elliot and smashed glass as per usual. If you can't hit the net, that shot of his is completely worthless. Being that he also didn't play any D and took a penalty, I'd argue he generally is quite worthless to this team.
Smid
- Love it when Smid plays the tough guy role, and I was glad to see he didn't take junk from Spezza (who gets angry from time to time. I for one believe his high stick on Omark was reasonably intentional). His defensive play was a little hit and miss. I won't dog him for the two on one that resulted in the late OTT goal. He slid at enough angle that the pass was delayed and Khabibulin had both the angle to block the pass and the time to get across and make a fairly easy save (he of course did neither). Got a couple shots on net, but Kurtis Fostered on the best chance he had.
Vandermeer
- I really liked the hit that got him the penalty. Stepping up like that is something more of our guys need to do. The OTT player also clearly touched the puck so it shouldn't have been called. I'm not sure if you could see on TV, but the ref spent a bunch of time yelling at him after. It was like he was trash-talking Vandermeer. Putrid. We've had that same French ref (can't remember his exact name) 2 in a row now, and he's been both terrible and a bit of a jerk.
Petry
- He hit a couple people tonight which was really nice to see. I can remember one sequence where he wandered way out of position, but other than that he was solid. He's really one of the few Oilers who can make controlled plays at the opposition blue line and knows the value of faking the slap and going wrister when the pressure is on.
Jacques
- He did okay today in limited play. Couple hits, not much else. I would've liked to see him go beat on someone but he doesn't appear to have the ability anymore. He's no Micheal Haley, but didn't make any really nasty plays with the puck today at least.
Fraser
- Invisible as usual. Surprised he didn't get into his fight faster as he was getting abused in the corner. Thought he was more of a fighter than he seems to be.
Jones
- He was okay. He did a lot of skating but couldn't seem to bounce the puck pasy anyone today to create chances like he has been able to this year. Could've been more physical against an OTT team that can play an annoying game when they want to. Had a really strong shift in the third where I honestly though he might tie the game up, but I don't really think he should've been out there at the time.
Omark
- Struggled in the first period then got better as the game went on. He was doing a decent enough job of getting to the blue, but the curl and drop play wasn't working for whatever reason. Having a closer view, it looked to me like he was uncomfortable with something about his stick. He got a nice scoring chance in that period too and unfortunately missed. The second he wasn't too visible from what I saw (though I missed about 6 minutes due to some shoddy concession workers), but he did a solid job of creating chances in the third.
Gagner
- Sam looked better to me today; he had a really nice tip that rang the post and created some chances for others (specifically Magnus) while getting some of his own pucks toward the net. I was relieved to see him get a little less PP responsibility, but I don't think the line with he, Eberle and Hall will work...they are too small for a good PP. His puck distribution was solid today. The one thing I'd like to see from him in games like this are some hits...as he's actually a good hitter but backed off a couple times.
Paajarvi
- Did a good job from his own zone to about the top of the circle in that he used his speed very well, carried the puck with some authority and got some solid outside shots on net. He missed a goal in the second by about an inch on a wide drive. Where he might need to work on his offence is in how he reacts to odd-man situations against him. He went 1-on-3 and 1-on-4 a couple times and had no clue what to do. You obviously don't expect magic from him there, but you need to have a plan and usually delay to gather teammates and create some angles. I'm sure this will come, just something to keep in mind when you see 91 crossing the blue.
Eberle
- He was excellent, what else is new. Generated chances, hit a couple posts, hit some Senators and had what could have been a really key defensive breakup later on in the third. The kid is an absolute beauty even when we stink. He should be getting more feature time with the vets than Hall, he's a better player in both ends of the ice.
Hall
- Nothing too flashy from him today and he missed a couple of pucks in the slot (at least 2 in the third) that could have really changed the game. I've noticed he has more trouble with rebounds than a lot of top goal scorers seem to. Also, a couple times he tried to blow by guys and opted to push the puck straight ahead as opposed to along the boards...he failed both times. I think he gets a little too north-south at times. This can be one of his strengths, especially when he's hitting, but with Eberle on his line he needs to get Jordan the puck and then go own a scoring area. The rushes also need to be 2 and 3 wide, not 1 wide. Defensively he was okay.
Cogliano
- Scored the goal on a nice little play by both Eberle and Hall, but other than that wasn't exactly impressive. He whiffed on a couple of really nice chances early that could have shifted the game. Again, the one time in the game he goes and does his job, he scores a goal, but he doesn't seem to realize what his job should be. The defensive stalwart on this line is Eberle, not Cogliano who can't check an offensive player to save his life.
Reddox
- Gave it the college try, I'll give him that. I liked the shot he took PK'ing in the second, selling the pass to Cogliano then trying to score. With Hemsky and Penner he's just a little bit too far behind in the offensive zone. While he can support them in the other zones, if the puck is in question, he's not quite there offensively.
Hemsky
- Even though he got his 2 assists tonight, my reaction to his game was a definite 'meh'. I really liked the two assists, some of his other setups, what looked like a renewed focus and a number of wins in the corner, but OTT was letting him run wild today and an 'all systems go' Ales would have had a 4 or 5 point night tonight, likely setting up a Penner hat trick in the making. Some of that isn't his fault, but there was a little bit of what I'd call slickness missing from his game. It wasn't from lack of effort, but maybe a lack of quiet focus at times.
Penner
- Went to the right places and cashed in a couple times. While he wasn't the prototypical power guy today, I still liked his game a fair bit. It's true that he whiffed on a couple chances, but he certainly made up for it with some utterly beautiful shooting. I also appreciated the patience required of him to make a few of the passes he did in the third. Very strong skill of his that often gets overlooked. Seeing he and Hemsky on the PK was a relief...they're probably the best Oilers available for the job and yet never receive it.
------------
While this probably wasn't the pure venom it would have been immediately after the game, I'm still quite annoyed. The approach this team is taking is simply asinine and guarantees nothing. We are sacrificing quality years and talented young men's psyches to a hope that has no plan. Wonderful...
VS.
OTTAWA 5
------------
I sat in different seats than usual today which was intriguing as I'm so used to "my view" of the game. Sitting on the side that looks at the players bench is certainly preferable to where I currently sit, but those seats just weren't available when #2 and I last moved. I wish they were. When I make a bit more dough, I'll sit closer to the bottom of the second deck, which was essentially where my seats were. Center ice, second deck across from the benches. Outstanding. It's a lot easier from that level to see some of the plays that require depth...meaning saucer passes and shots at certain heights. You miss a little of the wider play-development aspect but this is more than offset by having a better look at the intricacies of puck battles and shots down low. If you have the funds and can pick any seat in the building, go either row 12 center ice or row 21 center ice.
On to the actual game...and I'm pissed. Angry. Just very mad at many different people right now. I find it very interesting that the only thing more frustrating than the Oilers powerplay (and it's just stupid frustrating) are the Oilers fans during the powerplay. I wonder where all the hockey-knowledgeable people we supposedly have at our games have gone. I know it's a common rant, but the shooting thing was really driving me nuts today. When Penner scored his second goal, one guy actually waited for the celebration to end, and resumed berating 27 for not shooting earlier...what a freaking idiot...I also didn't mind the way they played on the 5-on-3 compared to how bad we've been this year. We controlled the puck, set up several good chances and got hosed by a bouncy puck and an errant stick (the stick disrupted what was shaping up to be a beautiful goal). If you don't understand hockey, here's what you can do when we have a PP -> cheer when we do something brilliant, boo when we stink, and shut up the rest of the time. Let these guys do their thing. The one nice thing about the fans in NC when I was there in '06 was that if they didn't understand something, they didn't yell and scream about it.
I didn't like the way Krueger coached today's game at all. Once again the "never pull #35" rule was in effect despite the fact that after the first 2 goals anyone could see that he was going to absolutely stink today. This, along with the fact that probably our 4th best goalie in the org is starting a game despite no injuries, really reveals that this team is trying to lose. I don't care what the eventual payoff, I don't care what the "plan" (HA!) is, this makes me rage. Playing Reddox with Hemsky and Penner was also a very dumb move. Don't get me wrong, I like Liam as a player and he did what he could, but anyone who's watched this team knows that Reddox plays well with Omark, and Paajarvi plays well with Omark, so he should have been part of that unit with Sam capably stepping up to fill 10's shoes on the top offensive line. The only thing he did today that I liked was to pull the goalie early.
As for the players, they've lost the desire to take that extra step, push that extra foot or reach that extra inch. It just isn't there. Part of me kind of wonders who could blame them, as they've been hung out to dry by management and the coaching staff. The other part knows that as a player, I never quit and neither should they being much much better than I ever was and paid to play. It's very aggravating to see so many guys underperforming at one time. We're certainly not good...but we're not anywhere near this bad either. It's like we have an illness that leads to losing. Lowe-itis anyone?
------------
Khabibulin
- Shouldn't be starting, in Edmonton, OKC or otherwise. It's blatantly obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain when he comes out flat (which is almost every game now). The second goal disgusted me especially, as we'd just tied it and he might as well have shot the puck into his own net. After the scrum with Neil and Peckham, where he could have at least blockered the guy and got thrown out to help his team, he focused briefly, made 2 good saves and then resumed allowing OTT to score on any half-decent shot. Is there even a point to discussing him in these threads anymore? He doesn't care, he's quit, and he's past it. We know exactly what we'll get.
Gilbert
- Started the game very shaky in both his positioning and puck handling but came on better as the game drove on. He executed a very Pitkanen-esque puck retrieval in the second behind our net which is something he's really gotten away from by either trying to hit (and failing) or chasing around out of position. His offensive play was better today, as he directed a couple of really nice shots on net and could've made something happen.
Peckham
- He had a rougher day than most this year. I have to wonder if he's starting to get fatigued. He wasn't expecting this and has never played this much at a high level. I suspect he'll bounce back but he's also a guy who rides on intensity and therefore will have a problem on this team at this time. Needs to be better with the puck in his own end below the goal line.
Foster
- Every single solitary time he gets a lane and space he misses the net. You could bet a million dollars a shot and be stupid-rich by now. The best example in a while was today in the third when he had a clear chance to score on a slightly out of position and tentative Elliot and smashed glass as per usual. If you can't hit the net, that shot of his is completely worthless. Being that he also didn't play any D and took a penalty, I'd argue he generally is quite worthless to this team.
Smid
- Love it when Smid plays the tough guy role, and I was glad to see he didn't take junk from Spezza (who gets angry from time to time. I for one believe his high stick on Omark was reasonably intentional). His defensive play was a little hit and miss. I won't dog him for the two on one that resulted in the late OTT goal. He slid at enough angle that the pass was delayed and Khabibulin had both the angle to block the pass and the time to get across and make a fairly easy save (he of course did neither). Got a couple shots on net, but Kurtis Fostered on the best chance he had.
Vandermeer
- I really liked the hit that got him the penalty. Stepping up like that is something more of our guys need to do. The OTT player also clearly touched the puck so it shouldn't have been called. I'm not sure if you could see on TV, but the ref spent a bunch of time yelling at him after. It was like he was trash-talking Vandermeer. Putrid. We've had that same French ref (can't remember his exact name) 2 in a row now, and he's been both terrible and a bit of a jerk.
Petry
- He hit a couple people tonight which was really nice to see. I can remember one sequence where he wandered way out of position, but other than that he was solid. He's really one of the few Oilers who can make controlled plays at the opposition blue line and knows the value of faking the slap and going wrister when the pressure is on.
Jacques
- He did okay today in limited play. Couple hits, not much else. I would've liked to see him go beat on someone but he doesn't appear to have the ability anymore. He's no Micheal Haley, but didn't make any really nasty plays with the puck today at least.
Fraser
- Invisible as usual. Surprised he didn't get into his fight faster as he was getting abused in the corner. Thought he was more of a fighter than he seems to be.
Jones
- He was okay. He did a lot of skating but couldn't seem to bounce the puck pasy anyone today to create chances like he has been able to this year. Could've been more physical against an OTT team that can play an annoying game when they want to. Had a really strong shift in the third where I honestly though he might tie the game up, but I don't really think he should've been out there at the time.
Omark
- Struggled in the first period then got better as the game went on. He was doing a decent enough job of getting to the blue, but the curl and drop play wasn't working for whatever reason. Having a closer view, it looked to me like he was uncomfortable with something about his stick. He got a nice scoring chance in that period too and unfortunately missed. The second he wasn't too visible from what I saw (though I missed about 6 minutes due to some shoddy concession workers), but he did a solid job of creating chances in the third.
Gagner
- Sam looked better to me today; he had a really nice tip that rang the post and created some chances for others (specifically Magnus) while getting some of his own pucks toward the net. I was relieved to see him get a little less PP responsibility, but I don't think the line with he, Eberle and Hall will work...they are too small for a good PP. His puck distribution was solid today. The one thing I'd like to see from him in games like this are some hits...as he's actually a good hitter but backed off a couple times.
Paajarvi
- Did a good job from his own zone to about the top of the circle in that he used his speed very well, carried the puck with some authority and got some solid outside shots on net. He missed a goal in the second by about an inch on a wide drive. Where he might need to work on his offence is in how he reacts to odd-man situations against him. He went 1-on-3 and 1-on-4 a couple times and had no clue what to do. You obviously don't expect magic from him there, but you need to have a plan and usually delay to gather teammates and create some angles. I'm sure this will come, just something to keep in mind when you see 91 crossing the blue.
Eberle
- He was excellent, what else is new. Generated chances, hit a couple posts, hit some Senators and had what could have been a really key defensive breakup later on in the third. The kid is an absolute beauty even when we stink. He should be getting more feature time with the vets than Hall, he's a better player in both ends of the ice.
Hall
- Nothing too flashy from him today and he missed a couple of pucks in the slot (at least 2 in the third) that could have really changed the game. I've noticed he has more trouble with rebounds than a lot of top goal scorers seem to. Also, a couple times he tried to blow by guys and opted to push the puck straight ahead as opposed to along the boards...he failed both times. I think he gets a little too north-south at times. This can be one of his strengths, especially when he's hitting, but with Eberle on his line he needs to get Jordan the puck and then go own a scoring area. The rushes also need to be 2 and 3 wide, not 1 wide. Defensively he was okay.
Cogliano
- Scored the goal on a nice little play by both Eberle and Hall, but other than that wasn't exactly impressive. He whiffed on a couple of really nice chances early that could have shifted the game. Again, the one time in the game he goes and does his job, he scores a goal, but he doesn't seem to realize what his job should be. The defensive stalwart on this line is Eberle, not Cogliano who can't check an offensive player to save his life.
Reddox
- Gave it the college try, I'll give him that. I liked the shot he took PK'ing in the second, selling the pass to Cogliano then trying to score. With Hemsky and Penner he's just a little bit too far behind in the offensive zone. While he can support them in the other zones, if the puck is in question, he's not quite there offensively.
Hemsky
- Even though he got his 2 assists tonight, my reaction to his game was a definite 'meh'. I really liked the two assists, some of his other setups, what looked like a renewed focus and a number of wins in the corner, but OTT was letting him run wild today and an 'all systems go' Ales would have had a 4 or 5 point night tonight, likely setting up a Penner hat trick in the making. Some of that isn't his fault, but there was a little bit of what I'd call slickness missing from his game. It wasn't from lack of effort, but maybe a lack of quiet focus at times.
Penner
- Went to the right places and cashed in a couple times. While he wasn't the prototypical power guy today, I still liked his game a fair bit. It's true that he whiffed on a couple chances, but he certainly made up for it with some utterly beautiful shooting. I also appreciated the patience required of him to make a few of the passes he did in the third. Very strong skill of his that often gets overlooked. Seeing he and Hemsky on the PK was a relief...they're probably the best Oilers available for the job and yet never receive it.
------------
While this probably wasn't the pure venom it would have been immediately after the game, I'm still quite annoyed. The approach this team is taking is simply asinine and guarantees nothing. We are sacrificing quality years and talented young men's psyches to a hope that has no plan. Wonderful...
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