EDMONTON 5
VS.
NEW YORK Rangers 3
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My comments tonight should be read with the knowledge that I didn't see most of the second period. A friend happened to be in a suite this evening so we stopped by for snacks and refreshments. Got to get me one of those things...though I think paying the $29 for warm potato chips (which ARE delicious, but COME ON) would be a little crazy after a while.
Seeing the roster that was posted before the game I thought that despite the fact that we had a decent enough preseason squad put together, the team would get kicked around pretty good tonight. The Rangers didn't ice that squad though so it was a much different contest.
It was a tad easier to follow tonight's game than the last because some of the familiar combinations were back. I think at this point because of injuries and such we are locked in to seeing the top two lines from tonight's group in the season opener. I've been disappointed that Eakins hasn't wanted to try Yakupov in Smyth's spot but at least he has a plan and when those guys are on the ice they don't get beat. They don't produce like the would if they had another dynamic force instead of an aging one, but they do just fine against good opponents.
The second line has morphed out of necessity, but despite the fact that Arcobello is certainly not the second best Oilers center I suspect he stays in place as well. This is far from ideal, but Kassian had other plans so I guess we're stuck with this. I'm really hoping that some interesting players come across the waiver wire and we're not too loaded up with lunkheads at the bottom of the roster to pick up a useful player.
I'm not happy with the way the bottom six is shaping up. While there is improved depth and competition, it is mostly a group of 12-14 slot forwards rather than say, 8-11 slot forwards. I'm hoping that due to the new coach mainly there will be no loyalty to past sacred cows and changes will come quickly and decisively. You can easily replace most of a bottom six with interchangeable parts if your squad isn't one of the top five in the league. The first test of if there is indeed a new sheriff in town is whether Ryan Jones is cut loose.
I am cautiously optimistic when it comes to our D. While we lack a dominating force at the Pronger, or even Pitkanen/Visnovsky level, we have a solid group that could very well all rank as top 4 type defencemen if they perform well. Belov is a very pleasant surprise and as I've noted previously the only thing I really bemoan is that we couldn't get Ranger for free as well. Think about it - we just sent the first round draft pick who fired a no-look pass for a beautiful assist back to his junior team - that is progress compared to where this team has been. I look forward to seeing how this group shakes out.
In net I am not convinced these will be the two goalies at the end of the season. More on that ahead.
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LaBarbera
- Pretty hit and miss effort. There were some good saves and some times when he looked really shaky. I'm getting the impression that he's just not that comfortable yet. Maybe he settles in and maybe he doesn't. I'm really hoping that this is finally our lucky day and that they've found a legit goaltending prospect in Ty Rimmer. I only saw him for the one game, but it wouldn't shock me if he first lights up OKC and then makes his way to Edmonton for a time (assuming contract details are worked out). Just looked like he had 'it' whereas I haven't seen any of that from the designated backup yet.
Belov
- Another really strong game. So far in the progression of the 3 games I've seen, he has expanded his repertoire and comfort level during each and you'd have to think he's just going to get stronger and more in tune with his teammates. Strong passes, good positioning, blockng plays and hitting. I like that a lot. He's also got a reputation for going a little crazy from time to time and he nearly jumped in to bail out a teammate in the third period. I suspect there's some mean there to be exploited once he knows where the line is.
Petry
- Had what I'd classify as a typical Petry game. Some great and some not so much. Hope he's tuned up and ready to get the intensity level high this season. I'd say you have to make a very important call with him this year and either he is an anchor for years or you deal him while his value is on the upswing. Either situation can be a winner for the team.
Fedun
- Pretty blah game which unfortunately for him will likely leave him out of the conversation. There's a lot of flash at the bottom of the Oilers blue line and that's just not his game. He's also not so far ahead defensively of the other players in the discussion that it vaults him ahead in any special way. I suspect he's headed down to be a surprising rock on the OKC D and will be called up by the Oilers during the year.
J. Schultz
- A quiet game interlaced with some really nice plays. Very well done on his assist in terms of waiting in position for the play to develop and then executing. Defensively he was okay. Will be very interesting to see how he is deployed as you didn't really get any sense of that during the preseason and there is depth on the blue line that we didn't have last year. Perhaps we mostly roll 3 pairs?
Nurse
- Tonight's game ends a great run at camp for a guy who I had very little expectation of going in. Really liked the read and the play he made for his assist. That showed a lot of confidence and skill for a guy in his position. Certainly not shy about joining the rush despite not exactly being known as an offensive juggernaught. I truly hope he dominates the OHL but cannot find a place on the Oilers until 2 camps from now because our D is that good. I doubt that will happen but a guy can hope. The muscle mass gain begins NOW!
Larsen
- I get why people like this guy. He can certainly motor around the ice and once again made some beautiful passes but didn't manage an assist somehow. It is very interesting that not very long ago we would have really needed this kind of defenceman and now he's useful but we have redundancies in place. I suspect he'll make the team and perform fairly well, but be moved on during the season because someone from OKC will have emerged and stolen his spot due to a more complete skill set (Marincin isn't as far away as a lot of people thought, for instance). We shall see and I hope he's strong enough defensively to make a positive difference.
Hall
- Again good but had some struggles with the puck for whatever reason. Lovely tip. Everything suggests that as the pace rises and the intensity of real games comes, he'll be more than ready. He looks more comfortable (in a good way) than I've seen him despite the position change and he should start the season really strong.
Hemsky
- Looking very ready and fitting in well with Hall and Smyth. The patience he showed on and after the PP that led to Hall's goal was just perfect and he made an excellent read to get Schultz that puck. I wonder if he'll try going low more often now. Hall at C seems to suit Hemsky well in terms of the flow of the play up the ice which is something I wasn't sure would happen. These guys could be pretty excellent together all year if both hang in there.
Smyth
- I'm beginning to wonder if he did indeed take on the fitness challenge during the offseason. I'm not saying this is his proper place because it certainly is not, but he is not holding these guys up and the team MAY be able to survive until some of the injured return even with Smyth in his current role. He'll probably be worn out and done by the time that happens but at least he's using all the tools in the box for now.
Eberle
- Looks better than I've ever seen him. Suspect this is because he's completely healthy. Another really strong night with Perron capped by the goal in the third where he was in the exact right spot despite a defenseman being in on the rush. He's going to tear it up this year.
Perron
- Fits right in with this hockey team while providing something a little different than what they have. Again tonight I saw him going back at the opposition when they took liberties as well as instigating on his own. We need a guy like that who plays just a bit on edge but wanders around tipping pucks into the net and lazering shots. They picked the right guy (much as I think they actually needed David Backes but we all know that isn't happening). Really wonder who centers this pair...maybe it doesn't even matter.
Arcobello
- I will give him that he had a pretty good offensive game. He shows some nice sparks and with the state of the Oilers C depth right now I suspect it was enough to make the team. The thing is that he is also making mistakes, including bad passes and getting caught out of position, against non-NHL rosters. He will be exposed once the real games come along and I hope the wingers are able to carry him. Needs to add a lot of things to his game, the most important one being cosistency, in order to have any shot at a permanent NHL job.
Eager
- He wasn't that bad tonight, which seems to be a step up for him. I wonder if I have too high of expectations for him. I see a guy who has a bunch of skill and a large frame. That should get you pretty far in the NHL. While his goal was a bounce of the post and Biron's legs, it was still good to see him put a strong effort on net and get the job done. I'm sure his confidence is absolutely in the junker at this point. He had a much better camp that I thought he would and may very well make the team based on what we've heard from Eakins. I'm not sure how long that lasts, but good for him. There's a lot to work with there despite the 10-cent head.
Pitlick
- Faded from his performance last night into one of the guys blending into the background again. Too bad for him as I suspect if he'd strung together even two of those games he would've made it because he's got higher potential and is more likely to convert a chance than a Hamilton, Acton or others. That may be by the wayside now. This year he will either get back on a true prospect track or begin the path that ends for most with a career in Europe, making lots of tax-free coin and living an interesting life, but coming short of your dream.
Acton
- Pretty invisible tonight for me. Again I see he won a bunch of faceoffs and maybe that's enough for him to stay but I hope the same hope I did with Arcobello in terms of our ability to replace him. Nothing about him suggests to me that he has long term NHL potential.
Hamilton
- Really tailed off the past two after a strong effort. Just not noticable tonight. Even if you're not running around crazy or lighting up the offensive zone you have to do something to be noticed and he just didn't. If he was being judged as Omark was he'd be gone but he isn't so who knows.
Jones
- Another really weak performance. In addition to the bad decisions he's been making with the puck for a couple games this preseason and generally iffy positioning, he was getting himself caught cheating again including on the PK. He won't have that ace to play this year if Eakins remains committed to playing his top guys on the PK. The competition is better now and Ryan Jones may well have played himself off this team due to his totally lacklustre performances including in tonight's game.
Lander
- I think I expect a lot more from Anton than he will be able to provide. I still see the guy who was fairly skilled for Sweden's junior team and a good leader etc. That he cannot separate himself at this level of play means that he's wandered off the path. He was another guy who just blended into the background tonight. If he's not winning faceoffs, not killing penalties and not an ace in the defensive zone...what is he?
----------------------
One more game until the final decision are made. Should be fun! Really hoping to see a couple additions in the coming days that aren't lunkheads. We need centers who can play. There are a number out there and likely some teams waiving useful players due to cap issues. Perhaps the solution will make itself obvious.
9/24/13
2014 LMHF Report - Preseason Game #3
EDMONTON 2
VS.
WINNIPEG 1
---------------
It was actually quite difficult to follow the game tonight. Between the fact that none of the on-ice Oilers combos were recognizable and also that the game itself was kind of disjointed and unexciting there just wasn't a whole lot to sink your teeth into.
This is more of the type of lineup I would expect in a preseason. Lots of guys competing for spots on the squad. It is good to see this many guys who are fighting for an NHL job. They aren't as good as I'd like to see for the most part, but at least the competition is there.
When it comes to the Jets, we certainly didn't see a lot. The only really noticeable guy was Kane and he really wasn't doing anything special. Their goaltender was really nothing to write home about either.
For most of the night each team's D was keeping everything to the outside and there were not a lot of quality shots. I'm guessing this was mainly a function of the forward lineups but it is harder to see a good defenseman playing a solid game unless he does it Pronger-style.
I'm definitely not used to the Jets in these newer colors. Even though it has been a long time, I keep looking for the royal blue rather than the navy. I'm sure that will change but it is funny the things that stick with you. Kind of like how the Oilers orange actually stands out less than the previous generation of white on dark numbers.
SO let's get to the individual players which are what we're really interested in at this point.
--------------
Dubnyk
- Very good night for Devan. He wasn't tested like crazy, but looked poised, ready and well-positioned throughout the entire game. I'm not sure what exactly it is but he just looks more sure of himself this year. Whether that is because of another year of experience, being given the #1 tag or a combination of things I don't know, but there's just a different vibe coming from him. Make no mistake, that goal was an ugly one that would have went wide if he hadn't got it with the knob of his stick, but I wouldn't count it as a mistake under pressure goal. There was a weird one immediately after that which also almost went in but he really settled in subsequently. Strong game.
Belov
- He makes this team in the top 6. No doubt. Tonight was filled with steady plays, strong passes, good decisions and excellent positioning. This is two games in a row where he made it look pretty easy as a veteran NHLer would. I can't wait to see what he looks like after 20 games. We could have a real gem here. If we'd have been able to snag Paul Ranger as well, we might have gotten 2 top-4 defensemen for nothing. Oh well. Funny note of the night - Belov didn't know what to do with the hat when he was named a star at the game. He just kind of waved it around and went back down the tunnel. Bit of a language barrier there I guess. Hahaha.
Ference
- He looked like a vet who is simply out there getting ready for the reason. There's nothing really wrong with that I suppose but it doesn't give us a lot to work with. He is usually in the right place though I have noticed between this game and one on TV that he doesn't seem to play the man very well in front of the net. He gets caught away from the man and can't close the gap fast enough. I hope we're not counting on him to be a superstar shutdown guy.
Smid
- Looked a little off to me in that he got beat a couple times and took a pretty weak penalty. I really have no problem with a vet having a game like this. Maybe a touch off the pace especially on the WPG goal as he reached with his stick rather than getting in front of the man as he usually would.
Larsen
- I get that the guy is talented. Tonight he moved around the ice pretty quickly and you can certainly see his puck talent in the offensive zone. I kept asking though if he was better than Brad Hunt (who can't make this team) was and I don't think he is in the offensive zone. His reads are good but not great. He made several strong passes across the zone, but didn't really get the puck to the net effectively aside from one slapper and contributed very little elsewhere. It will really come down to what kind of lineup Eakins wants. He has options.
Fedun
- Ho-hum boring kind of game. Not a stand-out performance like last night but if that was the norm he'd already be in the league. Didn't see a lot of negatives from him but also didn't see any really strong passes, hits or reads. He probably needs more spark in his game if he wants to displace Larsen/Grebeshkov because those guys have been in the NHL before.
Schultz
- I honestly saw him twice. That means he didn't do anything amazing but also didn't have serious mistakes. I don't recall him getting beat wide, which was a problem for him later. I'll be interested to see who he is paired with.
Jones
- Bloody invisible. I remember a hit a one good forecheck. Aside from that he really struggled. If there's a guy who is playing his way out of a previously guaranteed spot, it is him. Eakins likely doesn't have the loyalty that Jones would have gotten from another coach and so the guy can't be coasting. Games like tonight prove to me that he really has forgotten why he was originally brought in. He can't drift around the ice waiting for something to happen because he isn't that type of player. He needs to be out there busting it and he simply isn't. If camp is all that's being judged, he'd be cut.
Acton
- Another goal for him tonight which is nice to see. I didn't catch a lot of flashy details but he did seem to be in the right places on the ice. The one thing I struggle with is that because we've been so bad for a number of years, judging the marginal players by eye has become more difficult. We've gotten used to a lower standard. Thing is, given that Sam Gagner looks like a horror movie actor at this point, this guy might make the opening night squad.
Hamilton
- After last night's stronger performance you'd expect the guy might get rolling. That wasn't the case and I was fairly disappointed at the lack of jump in his game tonight.
Joensuu
- Well at this point I'm betting this guy makes the team and I'm not really complaining. A world-beater he is not, but he's a big guy who can skate some, take a pass and seems to have a bit of a nose for the net. I liked his goal as a textbook example of how and why you drive the net. He hits from a strong skating position and seemed to chose his spots well. He needs to work on positioning some but that can come with coaching. Ideally he'd be on the 4th line but I'm guessing he'll start on the third. Worth giving him a chance though I would like to see if he can keep up against a more NHL ready roster. We shall see.
Pitlick
- I went in expecting not to like his game because his story has been quite frustrating and I was wondering why everyone's still bothering to talk about him. The game on TV the other night did nothing to change this for me but I try not to form my picture from how the game looks there because you can't see the flow of the play. I don't know how much better he was tonight but the guy put together a pretty solid game. He made sure to finish his check more than any other player on the ice, got the puck to the net, got over his freezing with the puck problem and ended up with an assist for his trouble. If he could actually keep that game up I suspect he'd make the team out of nowhere because he is more talented than most of the other options but he just doesn't have a track record. We'll have to see if he keeps going, but I was impressed.
Lander
- Quiet but decent game I'd say. Made a couple nice plays in the offensive zone which is an important thing to see. Didn't catch him breaking up a lot of plays or hitting anyone like his competition was. The only reason he's in the conversation is the position he plays.
Arcobello
- He was the strongest of the marginal C's in the offensive zone tonight. There's no doubt he's reasonably talented. The thing I can't get past in his game which was on display again tonight was that he doesn't try to get to the slot and makes plays from the outside. You have to be truly elite to make plays from there at the NHL level and he is not. The guy needs to shift more of his game to the middle of the ice. It was good that he got the shots he did and he's a better PP player than most, but if anything Omark is the guy you need as a PP extra. Again, this is a guy who is only in the conversation because of his position.
Brown
- Same old. Ran around laying mediocre hits. I did like some of his forechecking and the fact that he got under Kane's skin some. Thing is, if you want toughness that does something, you want the Pitlick and Joensuu types, not this guy.
Eager
- I don't get it. This is a huge opportunity for him and he's doing nothing. Eager throws in a nifty stickhandle and some good skating every now and again, but where are the hits? Where is the getting in people's faces? Where is his positioning in the offensive zone? It is really unfortunate that any game he had appears to be gone, because it would be great if the guy found the ability to be a useful player again. I don't see how he will.
Yakupov
- Looked kind of lost tonight. There were some strong rushes on the boards but that was about it. He is rushing the shot on the 5-on-3 a bit. Trying to do this means you have to beat the goalie clean rather than having him moving around a bunch or screened. Not many NHL goalies get beaten this way with any regularity. Really liked that Eakins had him PKing. There is potential there because of his high skill level, high speed and willingness to work very hard.
Omark
- Didn't do much of anything. It almost seemed like he was concentrating really hard on positioning and taking his man. I agree that he needs to learn that but games like this are not the time. He needs to be out there being a dynamic offensive guy. We didn't see much of that. Part of the issues was that the line as a whole didn't work out very well but that can't be an excuse when you're trying to make a team. Hope he plays again tomorrow because one bad night shouldn't doom his chances. He should switch to C!
Gordon
- Honestly he did his normal job just fine but looked totally lost combined with Yakupov and Omark. This was a little strange to me because he didn't seem to have this issue in his last game but it was certainly the case tonight. Doesn't worry me. I'd class him with Ference in terms of what a preseason game looks like to him.
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Pretty boring game really, but I love getting a win whenever.
VS.
WINNIPEG 1
---------------
It was actually quite difficult to follow the game tonight. Between the fact that none of the on-ice Oilers combos were recognizable and also that the game itself was kind of disjointed and unexciting there just wasn't a whole lot to sink your teeth into.
This is more of the type of lineup I would expect in a preseason. Lots of guys competing for spots on the squad. It is good to see this many guys who are fighting for an NHL job. They aren't as good as I'd like to see for the most part, but at least the competition is there.
When it comes to the Jets, we certainly didn't see a lot. The only really noticeable guy was Kane and he really wasn't doing anything special. Their goaltender was really nothing to write home about either.
For most of the night each team's D was keeping everything to the outside and there were not a lot of quality shots. I'm guessing this was mainly a function of the forward lineups but it is harder to see a good defenseman playing a solid game unless he does it Pronger-style.
I'm definitely not used to the Jets in these newer colors. Even though it has been a long time, I keep looking for the royal blue rather than the navy. I'm sure that will change but it is funny the things that stick with you. Kind of like how the Oilers orange actually stands out less than the previous generation of white on dark numbers.
SO let's get to the individual players which are what we're really interested in at this point.
--------------
Dubnyk
- Very good night for Devan. He wasn't tested like crazy, but looked poised, ready and well-positioned throughout the entire game. I'm not sure what exactly it is but he just looks more sure of himself this year. Whether that is because of another year of experience, being given the #1 tag or a combination of things I don't know, but there's just a different vibe coming from him. Make no mistake, that goal was an ugly one that would have went wide if he hadn't got it with the knob of his stick, but I wouldn't count it as a mistake under pressure goal. There was a weird one immediately after that which also almost went in but he really settled in subsequently. Strong game.
Belov
- He makes this team in the top 6. No doubt. Tonight was filled with steady plays, strong passes, good decisions and excellent positioning. This is two games in a row where he made it look pretty easy as a veteran NHLer would. I can't wait to see what he looks like after 20 games. We could have a real gem here. If we'd have been able to snag Paul Ranger as well, we might have gotten 2 top-4 defensemen for nothing. Oh well. Funny note of the night - Belov didn't know what to do with the hat when he was named a star at the game. He just kind of waved it around and went back down the tunnel. Bit of a language barrier there I guess. Hahaha.
Ference
- He looked like a vet who is simply out there getting ready for the reason. There's nothing really wrong with that I suppose but it doesn't give us a lot to work with. He is usually in the right place though I have noticed between this game and one on TV that he doesn't seem to play the man very well in front of the net. He gets caught away from the man and can't close the gap fast enough. I hope we're not counting on him to be a superstar shutdown guy.
Smid
- Looked a little off to me in that he got beat a couple times and took a pretty weak penalty. I really have no problem with a vet having a game like this. Maybe a touch off the pace especially on the WPG goal as he reached with his stick rather than getting in front of the man as he usually would.
Larsen
- I get that the guy is talented. Tonight he moved around the ice pretty quickly and you can certainly see his puck talent in the offensive zone. I kept asking though if he was better than Brad Hunt (who can't make this team) was and I don't think he is in the offensive zone. His reads are good but not great. He made several strong passes across the zone, but didn't really get the puck to the net effectively aside from one slapper and contributed very little elsewhere. It will really come down to what kind of lineup Eakins wants. He has options.
Fedun
- Ho-hum boring kind of game. Not a stand-out performance like last night but if that was the norm he'd already be in the league. Didn't see a lot of negatives from him but also didn't see any really strong passes, hits or reads. He probably needs more spark in his game if he wants to displace Larsen/Grebeshkov because those guys have been in the NHL before.
Schultz
- I honestly saw him twice. That means he didn't do anything amazing but also didn't have serious mistakes. I don't recall him getting beat wide, which was a problem for him later. I'll be interested to see who he is paired with.
Jones
- Bloody invisible. I remember a hit a one good forecheck. Aside from that he really struggled. If there's a guy who is playing his way out of a previously guaranteed spot, it is him. Eakins likely doesn't have the loyalty that Jones would have gotten from another coach and so the guy can't be coasting. Games like tonight prove to me that he really has forgotten why he was originally brought in. He can't drift around the ice waiting for something to happen because he isn't that type of player. He needs to be out there busting it and he simply isn't. If camp is all that's being judged, he'd be cut.
Acton
- Another goal for him tonight which is nice to see. I didn't catch a lot of flashy details but he did seem to be in the right places on the ice. The one thing I struggle with is that because we've been so bad for a number of years, judging the marginal players by eye has become more difficult. We've gotten used to a lower standard. Thing is, given that Sam Gagner looks like a horror movie actor at this point, this guy might make the opening night squad.
Hamilton
- After last night's stronger performance you'd expect the guy might get rolling. That wasn't the case and I was fairly disappointed at the lack of jump in his game tonight.
Joensuu
- Well at this point I'm betting this guy makes the team and I'm not really complaining. A world-beater he is not, but he's a big guy who can skate some, take a pass and seems to have a bit of a nose for the net. I liked his goal as a textbook example of how and why you drive the net. He hits from a strong skating position and seemed to chose his spots well. He needs to work on positioning some but that can come with coaching. Ideally he'd be on the 4th line but I'm guessing he'll start on the third. Worth giving him a chance though I would like to see if he can keep up against a more NHL ready roster. We shall see.
Pitlick
- I went in expecting not to like his game because his story has been quite frustrating and I was wondering why everyone's still bothering to talk about him. The game on TV the other night did nothing to change this for me but I try not to form my picture from how the game looks there because you can't see the flow of the play. I don't know how much better he was tonight but the guy put together a pretty solid game. He made sure to finish his check more than any other player on the ice, got the puck to the net, got over his freezing with the puck problem and ended up with an assist for his trouble. If he could actually keep that game up I suspect he'd make the team out of nowhere because he is more talented than most of the other options but he just doesn't have a track record. We'll have to see if he keeps going, but I was impressed.
Lander
- Quiet but decent game I'd say. Made a couple nice plays in the offensive zone which is an important thing to see. Didn't catch him breaking up a lot of plays or hitting anyone like his competition was. The only reason he's in the conversation is the position he plays.
Arcobello
- He was the strongest of the marginal C's in the offensive zone tonight. There's no doubt he's reasonably talented. The thing I can't get past in his game which was on display again tonight was that he doesn't try to get to the slot and makes plays from the outside. You have to be truly elite to make plays from there at the NHL level and he is not. The guy needs to shift more of his game to the middle of the ice. It was good that he got the shots he did and he's a better PP player than most, but if anything Omark is the guy you need as a PP extra. Again, this is a guy who is only in the conversation because of his position.
Brown
- Same old. Ran around laying mediocre hits. I did like some of his forechecking and the fact that he got under Kane's skin some. Thing is, if you want toughness that does something, you want the Pitlick and Joensuu types, not this guy.
Eager
- I don't get it. This is a huge opportunity for him and he's doing nothing. Eager throws in a nifty stickhandle and some good skating every now and again, but where are the hits? Where is the getting in people's faces? Where is his positioning in the offensive zone? It is really unfortunate that any game he had appears to be gone, because it would be great if the guy found the ability to be a useful player again. I don't see how he will.
Yakupov
- Looked kind of lost tonight. There were some strong rushes on the boards but that was about it. He is rushing the shot on the 5-on-3 a bit. Trying to do this means you have to beat the goalie clean rather than having him moving around a bunch or screened. Not many NHL goalies get beaten this way with any regularity. Really liked that Eakins had him PKing. There is potential there because of his high skill level, high speed and willingness to work very hard.
Omark
- Didn't do much of anything. It almost seemed like he was concentrating really hard on positioning and taking his man. I agree that he needs to learn that but games like this are not the time. He needs to be out there being a dynamic offensive guy. We didn't see much of that. Part of the issues was that the line as a whole didn't work out very well but that can't be an excuse when you're trying to make a team. Hope he plays again tomorrow because one bad night shouldn't doom his chances. He should switch to C!
Gordon
- Honestly he did his normal job just fine but looked totally lost combined with Yakupov and Omark. This was a little strange to me because he didn't seem to have this issue in his last game but it was certainly the case tonight. Doesn't worry me. I'd class him with Ference in terms of what a preseason game looks like to him.
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Pretty boring game really, but I love getting a win whenever.
9/22/13
2014 LMHF Report - Preseason Game #2
EDMONTON 5
VS.
VANCOUVER 2
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Well, here we are one game later than expected but back in the same old comfortable place and thankfully with a positive result.
The night didn't get off to the greatest start. I'm glad it didn't turn out to be an omen. First, while I know the Oilers and Northlands aren't exactly on friendly terms at the moment, it is rather ludicrous that the parking lot wasn't ready for hockey season. The exit off of 112 ave was closed. If it is the City's fault then I could see it and maybe it is, but someone should be pulling those strings properly. Then Jason LaBarbera had his name spelled wrong for his first game at Rexall in an Oilers uniform. Yikes. Luckily, the night got better from there.
When it comes to preseason games, there are a few different things going on for me. It is really weird to have to consult a roster to make sure I can track the players. It means I don't watch as instinctually as I usually do and sometimes it is harder to follow the play. When you watch a lot of games and the same players for a good bit of time, you pick up things and I don't really track any of them by number. It is by skating stride, stick position, helmet, whatever. Something else anyway. I'm usually paying more attention to new guys and bubble players of course because that is where the battles are being waged. This camp and preseason appears to be different than most in that we're seeing the coach run lines of vets out there pretty regularly and they've been carrying the play. I suppose having support players play a support role makes a lot sense as well.
This game rolled out as many games do - not an exceptional amount of rust but certainly some in spots. A number of guys had more struggles with the puck than you'd normally expect but that isn't exactly abnormal. I'll need some more time to study it but it was clear that the Oilers are playing a new system. Being able to see the whole ice surface gave an interesting look into how they were attacking in the offensive zone and how they were defending specifically. I liked a lot of what they did when they really got focused on the forecheck. It was very difficult for the Canucks to stop them.
As for the goals:
Gagner's goal came not long after he'd missed another great chance generated by his linemates. After Yakupov made a really strong play to keep the puck in and get it to Eberle, Jordan walked in slowly off the side as he tends to do and made a quick pass low to Perron. It was a nice little read which allowed Perron the time to make a tiny move and force a pass through to the wide open Gagner. He'd usually finish with more authority than he did, but no problem.
Perron's goal came after a brilliant PK shift by Hall and Hemsky had pushed the Canucks back on their heels. Perron led the charge in continuing this momentum, getting the puck on a rush and finding Fedun, who had made a great little read and joined the rush. The puck went towards the net and eventually wound up on Perron's stick as he headed toward the net. No mistake.
Smyth's goal was set up by another solid offensive read by Fedun. While Hemsky delayed and surveyed the options from the wing, Fedun got his attention and snuck in as a lane opened up through the middle. Hemsky put it on his tape and Smyth went to the net. Fedun again put it toward the net and Smyth, despite making a gimme look about as tough as he possibly could, shoveled it in.
Yakupov's goal was a long time coming. He'd been firing all night - maybe a little too much actually - and hadn't been rewarded. He got himself to exactly the right place again, which is something a lot of people will begin to notice a lot more often about his game, and got ready. Ryan Hamilton got the work started in the corner, Khaira made a nice move behind the net to set up a pass to Yakupov who tapped it in. Beauty.
Acton made no mistake after being sent in alone by Hemsky, who bounced the puck off a Canuck stick and got his own pass back. It was headed to Ryan Smyth originally but certainly worked out for the best.
PLAYER REPORTS
-----------------
LaBarbera
- Oh boy...not a good start to his Oilers career. It started with the previously mentioned name screw-up, then he lets in that Santorelli shot which he had a clear look at and went right through him. After that he didn't allow another goal but was REALLY shaky and seemed to be intimidated by the Canucks players getting to the crease. A big guy like him needs to stand in there and make saves while dishing out some blockers if necessary. I'm hoping tonight was just nerves or rust, because if not then the backup job should go to...
Rimmer
- I knew absolutely nothing about this guy coming into tonight. I had never seen him play a minute. From the very start of his night, he was positionally solid, confident in the net and ahead of the play to make saves look easy. He got tested a number of times and passed all of them except 1) forgetting that he couldn't handle the puck in the corner in the NHL and 2) the Canucks second goal, which while it was not a bad goal, could have been avoided with better rebound control. Petry and Nurse were pretty ugly on that shift though.
Petry
- Some good things and some iffy things. You can certainly tell that he's stronger and has been working hard on his shooting. Petry got a hard slapper away a lot faster than I've seen him able to in the past. If this keeps up it makes him a much more effective player in the opposition's zone. He was also better in the corners and positionally for most of the game. He still made a few passes to absolutely nobody and skated past the play a couple times, but for the most part he was excellent.
Nurse
- He's a really interesting defenseman and a ton of why was on display tonight. I really enjoyed seeing him go back at the Canucks players who were trying to take liberties with him. A stick here...elbow there...it is a necessary part of being an imposing defenseman in the NHL and despite the fact that he's still got 50lbs to gain before doing that full-time, he wasn't scared of the Canucks goon squad. That's impressive. He was also pretty solid with the puck and can certainly skate. He needs to work on positioning for sure as well as some of his offensive instincts based on what we saw tonight. While I like where he is, I'd also like to see him go back to junior after tonight so that he can get focused on being a dominant player in the OHL and start gaining a bunch of muscle mass rather than trying to keep up with the NHLers at this point.
Belov
- Like many of you I was quite intrigued to see what we'd get from Belov tonight. It is important to keep in mind that his performance tonight is in less than ideal circumstances due to visa troubles. He wasn't adequately prepared and yet, he looked very smooth and relaxed on the blue line. I was expecting some panic and saw none. In the first he had two shots in a row blocked by forwards who I imagine were closer than he is used to. He adjusted immediately and didn't have that problem again. Defensively he was solid and made the game look pretty simple. He skated and passed very well, seemingly never having to rush anywhere on the ice. He reminded me of Joni Pitkanen without the top-gear speed and the beauty flip pass. We could really use a guy like this if his performance tonight is an indication of the starting line. He didn't even get to show off much of his offensive skill tonight because other players were given a focus in that area.
Grebeshkov
- Make no mistake, Denis had an ugly first period. Also make no mistake, I like Grebeshkov a lot as a hockey player, always have. He came back pretty strong in the second period including a gorgeous pass to send Hemsky in alone on Lack. I'm still trying to figure out if there was a hook or what on that play because Hemsky never misses chances like that. The pass was just stunning. In the third he was just okay. There were a number of rather ugly giveaways tonight including a backhand pass in the first that made absolutely no sense. Here's the thing: If he's willing to put in 20 games in the AHL and get settled back into playing in NA for this organization, I bet he'd be really useful the rest of the way. I don't know if he's willing to do that or if the team is thinking this way, but that is the route I'd go. There's still genius there.
Hunt
- He's an interesting player. Someone I was reading compared him to Bergeron and I certainly get it. Tonight he was aggressive, quick and confident in the offensive zone. He can definitely play in the other team's zone. He does struggle in his own zone and lacks the physicality that Bergeron brought to the table. I see a lot of positive things and you all know I love an offensive defenseman, but on a team with so many guys who can contribute in that way, he isn't on an elite level and therefore can't quite compete. Hopefully he'll tear it up in OKC.
Fedun
- Did a great job covering for Hunt when it was necessary. I've noted some of his offensive plays above. The most impressive part of his game is his decision-making. He's just an overall well-balanced dman but he pinches at the right time, goes to the corner at the right time, passive at the right time and aggressive at the right time. You've got all day for guys like that because they make things really easy on the rest of the team. He's come a long way and he's almost there. Will certainly play some NHL games this year.
Jones-Acton-Brown
- I have a hard time watching a line like this. I don't like the way Jones or Brown play the game and have never seen Acton play. I know there will be those who liked Brown's game tonight. He did draw a penalty and fought Wiese (though not very well) after he'd been running around. Credit to him for that but it changed nothing as the rest of the game and the Gagner hit clearly illustrate. The issue with Brown is that no one's actually scared of him. His hits looked better than they were because he's running around...no one was rattled. A player of marginal impact like this needs to play a solid game to go with the other stuff. He can't. There was a sequence in the first period where he turned the puck over in the offensive zone, got it back off a lucky bounce, then immediately lost it again and the Canucks were headed the other way. It was so ugly. Acton's game was pretty blah for me. Nothing really stood out despite trying to watch him. When it comes to guys like this, I'm usually looking for things that suggest to me they have the same things that guys like Kyle Brodziak, Jason Chimera and the like had. Something that elevates them above the other 500 or so guys who could get a look from an NHL team. I don't see it but this was only one game to be fair. Jones had a shift in the third period where he made the same pass to absolutely no one twice in a row...I'm not sure whether this drove me more nuts than the fact that people cheered or not. He also took two totally unnecessary penalties. There was less cheating in his game and he did do some solid forechecking for sure, but if there is a true blank slate then he is probably getting passed in these games.
Hamilton-Khaira-Yakupov
- A curious combination. You almost get the idea that Yakupov asked the coach to play and got plopped on a line he wouldn't otherwise be with but who knows. Nail was his usual self, firing all kinds of shots, ringing a post in the second period, speeding by pretty much everyone and dishing out some hits and trash talk for good measure. His goal was noted above and he certainly could have had more. Looked pretty good on the powerplay which is no surprise. Khaira was a guy I was very interested in. During the warmup I noticed that he appeared to have a lot of skill with the puck and is certainly already larger than a lot of his teammates. The one thing I've heard about this guy from a bunch of people is that he's mean on the ice and we didn't see that tonight. He seemed almost too focused on playing the positional game. While he did connect on a couple really solid his that knocked guys down, I was looking to see him get in Canuck faces and maybe cause some trouble. He didn't really do that. We'll have to see if he has that edge to his game. At least he's already a better hitter than a couple of the guys the Oilers currently designate that role to, while having much more offensive potential and a bigger frame. More than anything else he looked like a player who is probably about 2 camps from making the team. Hamilton is an interesting player. He looks to be in better position than some of the guys vying for a spot on this team. I'd chalk that up to being a vet and maybe knowing more of what Eakins wants. He can play a heavier game if tonight is an indication but certainly isn't a big-time hitter. His skating leaves much to be desired from a technical perspective and if anything holds him back that will probably be it. Worth another look, but I honestly hope we're too good for him to make the squad.
Perron-Gagner-Eberle
- I like this line a lot. They did have some issues figuring each other out at times and looked a little off, but then it would click and the opposition was just dead in the water. Eberle appears to be healthy and relaxed based on tonight's game, which is all he needs to be a force of nature out there. He ran the play a bunch of times tonight and looked really solid. The only thing I'll dog him for is not finishing that chance in the first in a way that wouldn't have allowed the idiot refs (who were bloody awful for most of the game - it took me all of 6 minutes to get completely pissed at them) to take it away from him. Got to make that cleaner. He controlled the puck, skated and passed well. He was the main reason that this line could easily have had 3 more goals. Perron is going to be a revelation for a lot of Oilers fans. In addition to being able to keep up with the skill of this team based on tonight's adventure, he gets in there and hits people, plays really calmly with the puck and is very versatile. I wouldn't put him on the point during the powerplay, but it will be criminal if he doesn't PK. The guy makes it look easy in terms of pressuring the opposition. Loved watching that. Gagner was a little off his game early on but was settling in nicely when Kassian went moron on him. I hope he's okay - especially because we're already a C short.
Smyth-Hall-Hemsky
- #s 83 and 4 drive this bus for sure and they were both quite strong all night but both also struggled some with the puck. Hall had trouble pulling the trigger and Hemsky was a little rusty in close battle situations but most of the plays still got made. When they get going they play a real flow game that moves all over the ice and ends up in the offensive zone with a chance. It is a pleasure to watch. With Hemsky I'd say the mistakes were rust...for Hall I'd guess either a new stick or concentrating a little too much on learning to play C. If anything I actually like that he can roam around a lot more to find passing angles as this kind of thing works really well for him. These two were dynamite on the PK. Absolutely scary for the other team to be dealing with. Smyth certainly looked to be giving an effort out there, but he just can't keep up. I'd like to see him in a more appropriate role with Yakupov joining this line instead, but who knows what Eakins' plan is.
----------------
Certainly a fun game to watch with lots to learn and much to still be discovered. The beginning of another adventure. I'm already having much more positive thoughts about this one. Liked hearing that Eakins sought out a unique viewing angle for tonight's game to make sure he was seeing things at a certain speed. This guy is going to be very fun to follow as he tries to implement his ideas in the NHL.
Glad to be back writing guys. Here's to a great year.
VS.
VANCOUVER 2
--------------
Well, here we are one game later than expected but back in the same old comfortable place and thankfully with a positive result.
The night didn't get off to the greatest start. I'm glad it didn't turn out to be an omen. First, while I know the Oilers and Northlands aren't exactly on friendly terms at the moment, it is rather ludicrous that the parking lot wasn't ready for hockey season. The exit off of 112 ave was closed. If it is the City's fault then I could see it and maybe it is, but someone should be pulling those strings properly. Then Jason LaBarbera had his name spelled wrong for his first game at Rexall in an Oilers uniform. Yikes. Luckily, the night got better from there.
When it comes to preseason games, there are a few different things going on for me. It is really weird to have to consult a roster to make sure I can track the players. It means I don't watch as instinctually as I usually do and sometimes it is harder to follow the play. When you watch a lot of games and the same players for a good bit of time, you pick up things and I don't really track any of them by number. It is by skating stride, stick position, helmet, whatever. Something else anyway. I'm usually paying more attention to new guys and bubble players of course because that is where the battles are being waged. This camp and preseason appears to be different than most in that we're seeing the coach run lines of vets out there pretty regularly and they've been carrying the play. I suppose having support players play a support role makes a lot sense as well.
This game rolled out as many games do - not an exceptional amount of rust but certainly some in spots. A number of guys had more struggles with the puck than you'd normally expect but that isn't exactly abnormal. I'll need some more time to study it but it was clear that the Oilers are playing a new system. Being able to see the whole ice surface gave an interesting look into how they were attacking in the offensive zone and how they were defending specifically. I liked a lot of what they did when they really got focused on the forecheck. It was very difficult for the Canucks to stop them.
As for the goals:
Gagner's goal came not long after he'd missed another great chance generated by his linemates. After Yakupov made a really strong play to keep the puck in and get it to Eberle, Jordan walked in slowly off the side as he tends to do and made a quick pass low to Perron. It was a nice little read which allowed Perron the time to make a tiny move and force a pass through to the wide open Gagner. He'd usually finish with more authority than he did, but no problem.
Perron's goal came after a brilliant PK shift by Hall and Hemsky had pushed the Canucks back on their heels. Perron led the charge in continuing this momentum, getting the puck on a rush and finding Fedun, who had made a great little read and joined the rush. The puck went towards the net and eventually wound up on Perron's stick as he headed toward the net. No mistake.
Smyth's goal was set up by another solid offensive read by Fedun. While Hemsky delayed and surveyed the options from the wing, Fedun got his attention and snuck in as a lane opened up through the middle. Hemsky put it on his tape and Smyth went to the net. Fedun again put it toward the net and Smyth, despite making a gimme look about as tough as he possibly could, shoveled it in.
Yakupov's goal was a long time coming. He'd been firing all night - maybe a little too much actually - and hadn't been rewarded. He got himself to exactly the right place again, which is something a lot of people will begin to notice a lot more often about his game, and got ready. Ryan Hamilton got the work started in the corner, Khaira made a nice move behind the net to set up a pass to Yakupov who tapped it in. Beauty.
Acton made no mistake after being sent in alone by Hemsky, who bounced the puck off a Canuck stick and got his own pass back. It was headed to Ryan Smyth originally but certainly worked out for the best.
PLAYER REPORTS
-----------------
LaBarbera
- Oh boy...not a good start to his Oilers career. It started with the previously mentioned name screw-up, then he lets in that Santorelli shot which he had a clear look at and went right through him. After that he didn't allow another goal but was REALLY shaky and seemed to be intimidated by the Canucks players getting to the crease. A big guy like him needs to stand in there and make saves while dishing out some blockers if necessary. I'm hoping tonight was just nerves or rust, because if not then the backup job should go to...
Rimmer
- I knew absolutely nothing about this guy coming into tonight. I had never seen him play a minute. From the very start of his night, he was positionally solid, confident in the net and ahead of the play to make saves look easy. He got tested a number of times and passed all of them except 1) forgetting that he couldn't handle the puck in the corner in the NHL and 2) the Canucks second goal, which while it was not a bad goal, could have been avoided with better rebound control. Petry and Nurse were pretty ugly on that shift though.
Petry
- Some good things and some iffy things. You can certainly tell that he's stronger and has been working hard on his shooting. Petry got a hard slapper away a lot faster than I've seen him able to in the past. If this keeps up it makes him a much more effective player in the opposition's zone. He was also better in the corners and positionally for most of the game. He still made a few passes to absolutely nobody and skated past the play a couple times, but for the most part he was excellent.
Nurse
- He's a really interesting defenseman and a ton of why was on display tonight. I really enjoyed seeing him go back at the Canucks players who were trying to take liberties with him. A stick here...elbow there...it is a necessary part of being an imposing defenseman in the NHL and despite the fact that he's still got 50lbs to gain before doing that full-time, he wasn't scared of the Canucks goon squad. That's impressive. He was also pretty solid with the puck and can certainly skate. He needs to work on positioning for sure as well as some of his offensive instincts based on what we saw tonight. While I like where he is, I'd also like to see him go back to junior after tonight so that he can get focused on being a dominant player in the OHL and start gaining a bunch of muscle mass rather than trying to keep up with the NHLers at this point.
Belov
- Like many of you I was quite intrigued to see what we'd get from Belov tonight. It is important to keep in mind that his performance tonight is in less than ideal circumstances due to visa troubles. He wasn't adequately prepared and yet, he looked very smooth and relaxed on the blue line. I was expecting some panic and saw none. In the first he had two shots in a row blocked by forwards who I imagine were closer than he is used to. He adjusted immediately and didn't have that problem again. Defensively he was solid and made the game look pretty simple. He skated and passed very well, seemingly never having to rush anywhere on the ice. He reminded me of Joni Pitkanen without the top-gear speed and the beauty flip pass. We could really use a guy like this if his performance tonight is an indication of the starting line. He didn't even get to show off much of his offensive skill tonight because other players were given a focus in that area.
Grebeshkov
- Make no mistake, Denis had an ugly first period. Also make no mistake, I like Grebeshkov a lot as a hockey player, always have. He came back pretty strong in the second period including a gorgeous pass to send Hemsky in alone on Lack. I'm still trying to figure out if there was a hook or what on that play because Hemsky never misses chances like that. The pass was just stunning. In the third he was just okay. There were a number of rather ugly giveaways tonight including a backhand pass in the first that made absolutely no sense. Here's the thing: If he's willing to put in 20 games in the AHL and get settled back into playing in NA for this organization, I bet he'd be really useful the rest of the way. I don't know if he's willing to do that or if the team is thinking this way, but that is the route I'd go. There's still genius there.
Hunt
- He's an interesting player. Someone I was reading compared him to Bergeron and I certainly get it. Tonight he was aggressive, quick and confident in the offensive zone. He can definitely play in the other team's zone. He does struggle in his own zone and lacks the physicality that Bergeron brought to the table. I see a lot of positive things and you all know I love an offensive defenseman, but on a team with so many guys who can contribute in that way, he isn't on an elite level and therefore can't quite compete. Hopefully he'll tear it up in OKC.
Fedun
- Did a great job covering for Hunt when it was necessary. I've noted some of his offensive plays above. The most impressive part of his game is his decision-making. He's just an overall well-balanced dman but he pinches at the right time, goes to the corner at the right time, passive at the right time and aggressive at the right time. You've got all day for guys like that because they make things really easy on the rest of the team. He's come a long way and he's almost there. Will certainly play some NHL games this year.
Jones-Acton-Brown
- I have a hard time watching a line like this. I don't like the way Jones or Brown play the game and have never seen Acton play. I know there will be those who liked Brown's game tonight. He did draw a penalty and fought Wiese (though not very well) after he'd been running around. Credit to him for that but it changed nothing as the rest of the game and the Gagner hit clearly illustrate. The issue with Brown is that no one's actually scared of him. His hits looked better than they were because he's running around...no one was rattled. A player of marginal impact like this needs to play a solid game to go with the other stuff. He can't. There was a sequence in the first period where he turned the puck over in the offensive zone, got it back off a lucky bounce, then immediately lost it again and the Canucks were headed the other way. It was so ugly. Acton's game was pretty blah for me. Nothing really stood out despite trying to watch him. When it comes to guys like this, I'm usually looking for things that suggest to me they have the same things that guys like Kyle Brodziak, Jason Chimera and the like had. Something that elevates them above the other 500 or so guys who could get a look from an NHL team. I don't see it but this was only one game to be fair. Jones had a shift in the third period where he made the same pass to absolutely no one twice in a row...I'm not sure whether this drove me more nuts than the fact that people cheered or not. He also took two totally unnecessary penalties. There was less cheating in his game and he did do some solid forechecking for sure, but if there is a true blank slate then he is probably getting passed in these games.
Hamilton-Khaira-Yakupov
- A curious combination. You almost get the idea that Yakupov asked the coach to play and got plopped on a line he wouldn't otherwise be with but who knows. Nail was his usual self, firing all kinds of shots, ringing a post in the second period, speeding by pretty much everyone and dishing out some hits and trash talk for good measure. His goal was noted above and he certainly could have had more. Looked pretty good on the powerplay which is no surprise. Khaira was a guy I was very interested in. During the warmup I noticed that he appeared to have a lot of skill with the puck and is certainly already larger than a lot of his teammates. The one thing I've heard about this guy from a bunch of people is that he's mean on the ice and we didn't see that tonight. He seemed almost too focused on playing the positional game. While he did connect on a couple really solid his that knocked guys down, I was looking to see him get in Canuck faces and maybe cause some trouble. He didn't really do that. We'll have to see if he has that edge to his game. At least he's already a better hitter than a couple of the guys the Oilers currently designate that role to, while having much more offensive potential and a bigger frame. More than anything else he looked like a player who is probably about 2 camps from making the team. Hamilton is an interesting player. He looks to be in better position than some of the guys vying for a spot on this team. I'd chalk that up to being a vet and maybe knowing more of what Eakins wants. He can play a heavier game if tonight is an indication but certainly isn't a big-time hitter. His skating leaves much to be desired from a technical perspective and if anything holds him back that will probably be it. Worth another look, but I honestly hope we're too good for him to make the squad.
Perron-Gagner-Eberle
- I like this line a lot. They did have some issues figuring each other out at times and looked a little off, but then it would click and the opposition was just dead in the water. Eberle appears to be healthy and relaxed based on tonight's game, which is all he needs to be a force of nature out there. He ran the play a bunch of times tonight and looked really solid. The only thing I'll dog him for is not finishing that chance in the first in a way that wouldn't have allowed the idiot refs (who were bloody awful for most of the game - it took me all of 6 minutes to get completely pissed at them) to take it away from him. Got to make that cleaner. He controlled the puck, skated and passed well. He was the main reason that this line could easily have had 3 more goals. Perron is going to be a revelation for a lot of Oilers fans. In addition to being able to keep up with the skill of this team based on tonight's adventure, he gets in there and hits people, plays really calmly with the puck and is very versatile. I wouldn't put him on the point during the powerplay, but it will be criminal if he doesn't PK. The guy makes it look easy in terms of pressuring the opposition. Loved watching that. Gagner was a little off his game early on but was settling in nicely when Kassian went moron on him. I hope he's okay - especially because we're already a C short.
Smyth-Hall-Hemsky
- #s 83 and 4 drive this bus for sure and they were both quite strong all night but both also struggled some with the puck. Hall had trouble pulling the trigger and Hemsky was a little rusty in close battle situations but most of the plays still got made. When they get going they play a real flow game that moves all over the ice and ends up in the offensive zone with a chance. It is a pleasure to watch. With Hemsky I'd say the mistakes were rust...for Hall I'd guess either a new stick or concentrating a little too much on learning to play C. If anything I actually like that he can roam around a lot more to find passing angles as this kind of thing works really well for him. These two were dynamite on the PK. Absolutely scary for the other team to be dealing with. Smyth certainly looked to be giving an effort out there, but he just can't keep up. I'd like to see him in a more appropriate role with Yakupov joining this line instead, but who knows what Eakins' plan is.
----------------
Certainly a fun game to watch with lots to learn and much to still be discovered. The beginning of another adventure. I'm already having much more positive thoughts about this one. Liked hearing that Eakins sought out a unique viewing angle for tonight's game to make sure he was seeing things at a certain speed. This guy is going to be very fun to follow as he tries to implement his ideas in the NHL.
Glad to be back writing guys. Here's to a great year.
9/14/13
Advisory - No Report Tonight - Sept. 14
Hi all, my apologies for not compiling a year-end report. I got working on it and it just didn't come along fast enough to be relevant.
Normally I'd be very pumped for tonight and on my way to the game. Sadly I am working (boo!) in Jasper (yay!) and will miss the game tonight. Looking forward to the next game in a week though.
Normally I'd be very pumped for tonight and on my way to the game. Sadly I am working (boo!) in Jasper (yay!) and will miss the game tonight. Looking forward to the next game in a week though.
4/28/13
2013 LMHF Report Game #24
EDMONTON 7
VS.
VANCOUVER 2
------------------
Well thank jeebus for that.
Our season draws to a close with a victory against what should be considered our most hated rival. Qualifiers notwithstanding I'm going to take full enjoyment out of this.
Let's get the short negatives out and move on to a positive close to our year.
1. The Oilers still can't get "chips for everyone" right. That's sad. If we'd lost I may have lost it at that point.
2. Why has Mike Brown either self-neutered or been neutered by the coaching staff? There is no point to playing a player so bad if he isn't going to light people up or at least scrap in a game like this. There were many deserving Canucks out there and he wasn't interested in any of them. That Tom Sestito was allowed to mess with Yakupov and #64 had to do his own fighting back (though he did that well, more later) is an utter shame.
3. Some of those Dubnyk rebounds were just AWFUL. The Sestito goal set up by Kassian was about as juicy of a rebound as you'll ever see. He gave out two more of these in the period and got bailed out. He really needs to work on handling his angles. Two major weaknesses remain for him: low shots off the wall and high blocker shots. Hopefully these areas are a major focus in the offseason.
4. Eric Belanger demeans the Oilers jersey by wearing it. The guy spent the entire game avoiding the play. He wouldn't go into the corners. He wouldn't fight for the puck. He wouldn't even lean in on the faceoffs. I've never seen a guy loop out of the play that much during a hockey game. He should be absolutely ashamed of himself. If he ever plays another game as an Oiler I will be appalled.
I think that was about it. I'm not going to dwell on the rest of the season tonight. Let's enjoy what we got to see in this one.
One of the first things we got to see is how pathetic we know the Canucks are. Henrik playing 22 seconds is one of the most cowardly things I've ever seen. That "streak" should be voided. Kesler as always went whining to the bench after every single shift and didn't go face to face with anyone as per usual. Sesito tries to throw a knee on Yakupov. Bieksa spends the evening swinging his stick then breaks it over the bench like a whining child. Luongo goes headcase and starts letting in Jarred Smithson shots. Vigneault is too dumb to pull his likely playoff starter and save him the embarassement. It was lovely. I truly hope they exit in four games as they and their fans deserve to.
This game of course took a long while to get going. For much of tonight a lot of us were not sure if either team was going to do much in the way of showing up. The little bit of feistiness that appeared at the end of the second might have gotten things going a big. I still don't see why taking liberties against our players (Yakupov, Hall was crosschecked multiple times, Eberle took some abuse) is tolerated so readily by our coaching staff but at least these was some push back from individual players in little ways.
Let's go through the Oilers goals:
1 - Gagner breaks hard to the area behind the net and wins a battle to get the puck to Hall who makes a nice little backhand flip to the blue. Schultz to Schultz for a good, low, tippable shot and Eberle is in perfect position to get the job done. This goal was a big deal because the Oilers were really struggling to get a good offensive chance.
2 - The Oilers powerplay was moving the puck around really well and more movement through the middle of the ice meant the Canucks had a harder time dealing with the flow of the play. Yakupov is set up right beside the net (which I'm really thinking is the key to a ton of powerplay goals and might be worth doing some research on in terms of what % come from that spot. Has to be a bunch). Schultz does a good job of getting the puck to the net and of course Yakupov makes no mistake with that kind of chance. He was so excited. As usual. Worth noting that Sestito tried to mock him after his own goal. That worked out really well for him...
3 - This play starts as Eberle gets absolutely robbed when he can't finish off a rush led by Hall. No one quits on the play including Fistric who makes a great little play to keep it in at the blue line. Eventually the puck heads behind the net where Hall works it out and Schultz has smartly snuck to the front. Once again, no mistake.
4 - Horcoff makes a solid play in the neutral zone and smartly gets the puck deep as Magnus is carrying speed and can get in on the forecheck quickly. He takes advantage of an ugly mistake, then looks and sees Yakupov standing right in front of an open net. Bing-bang, it is in the net. As Yakupov was skating to the bench he was pointing enthusiastically at the Oilers bench. I think someone told him to get himself to the front of the net for the rest of the game. His next goal only cemented that for me.
5 - Starts with a forced turnover to Schultz in the neutral zone. He finds Hall moving down the wing who makes an excellent read to find a trailing Eberle in the slot. Eberle dummies the Canuck defender, then Luongo. Gagner, whose role on the play might have been missed on TV, played a part in generating the turnover and then was a great decoy who got thrown into the boards as Eberle scored.
6 - Nail finishes what he started. This play was all him. Made a great little play to keep things alive in the offensive zone initially, Magnus got the puck to Fistric. As this is happening, Yakupov heads straight to the front of the net, perfect screen, Fistric fires, Yakupov takes the rebound off his chest then deftly beats Luongo low. It was an absolutely stunning sequence from a tremendous hockey player. Couldn't see the celebration live so I'm glad they got it on the highlights. It was borderline subtle for him!
7 - Smyth crashes behind the net, Jones gets the puck and centers to Smithson who misses with his stick, barely gets it with his feet, then shoots without looking and scores. You know you're having a night when...
I'm just very happy to be able to count that many goals against that team and especially that goalie.
--------
Dubnyk
- Made some nice stops but also gave out some nasty rebounds as noted above. For the most part he was in control and cut back on the puck handling which helped his team out in the end.
Smid
- Good enough performance from him tonight, though I thought he dialed back the physicality at times which was a little mystifying. There were opportunities to really lay out some Canucks players and he didn't take them. He was caught up ice on Sestito's goal, but that shouldn't have mattered as he was elbowed in the head and the rush never should have happened in the first place. Aside from that lapse he was defensively solid.
Petry
- Quieter game than usual from him but that meant fewer mistakes. I'm okay with that. He landed a really nice hit in the second period which was something to see. Puck movement was just okay.
Fistric
- Certainly one of his better games. He kept several offensive sequences alive with his play at the opposition blue line and was also rewarded with two assists by getting the puck headed toward the net. I also liked that he went at Lapierre and a couple other Canucks as the game wore on. I'm not sure why he didn't go after Sestito when he tried to knee Yakupov though. That was a little strange.
J. Schultz
- It is about time he had a game where the offence flowed so freely. His goal and passing game were great examples of the high level of skill he can bring to any game. He also bailed out a couple Nick Schultz mistakes including one ugly pinch that generated a 3-on-1. He was offensively effective without having to jump in too much. That's the mark of a strong offensive defenceman.
Potter
- He had a weird game. There were several instances where I couldn't really figure out what he was doing. No really exceptional moments in the positive but he did come out ahead so that's something.
N.Schultz
- He was okay much of the night. I'm still not sure exactly what he was thinking on that ugly pinch given that Justin Schultz had refused to pinch on the other side not long before that. Some good work behind the net.
Brown
- Yeah, I really don't know why he dresses if he effectively does nothing in a game like this one. He went to the front of the net and forechecked I suppose, but he always gets caught deep in the zone and tonight was no different. He also looped away rather than finish his check. Disappointing. He should've at least administered some bruises.
Smithson
- I'm glad the guy scored. It has to have been a weird ride for him over the past couple weeks. It doesn't change the way I think about him, but he actually scored that goal and had another good chance. Good for him.
Smyth
- I'm glad that what may have been his final game as an Oiler was a better effort than we've gotten used to this year. He forechecked hard, drove the front of the net and nearly tipped a couple in. Generated a couple penalties and some scoring chances for others. Didn't take any crap and specifically had words with Kesler which is at least something.
Belanger
- I've said all I want to say about him already. I hope he's never in another one of these reports.
Lander
- Uninteresting game. Didn't really stand out other than being thrown into the net by a Canucks defender at one point.
Jones
- I'll give him that he put out a good effort tonight. He hit people, went hard into the corners and did what he needed to do. Good plays to set up some chances and also got involved physically in pushing back a touch against the Canucks.
Horcoff
- Pretty solid tonight actually. While he wasn't able to be anywhere near keeping up with Yakupov and Hall/Paajarvi, he instead contributed by moving the puck well in the defensive and neutral zones while also picking off a few passes. This helped the transition game immensely. It was good to see him adapt his game and help his teammates out.
Paajarvi
- A quietly successful game. He didn't do the things that I always watch for from him (using his speed to find openings, going to shooting areas in the offensive zone) but he did forecheck well and play off Yakupov to some extent once that line became the norm. Supported Eberle decently as well. If only we could get him to be a better player with the puck in front of the net. He had a couple really good chances to score in close tonight and just couldn't do much of anything with the puck.
Eberle
- Easily could of had four or five tonight. He was robbed by Luongo and his defence at least 4 separate times including a couple beautiful backhand plays. This was the Eberle we need to see. He wanted the puck on his stick and drove the slot to look for shooting opportunities. When Eberle forces the play to the slot, good things happen either in terms of great shooting chances or a pass to a wide open teammate. His goals were covered above but just from a general standpoint he was excellent tonight.
Gagner
- Worked really hard and took a lot of abuse tonight. While he wasn't rewarded the same way the other high profile young guys were, he did pick up some points and did certainly make things happen. He was strong in the corners and made some very nice passes and decoy plays when the offence got going. Always good to see him contribute. I will also note that #89 never shies away from the scrum. He was in there multiple times tonight and I have a lot of respect for that.
Hall
- What else can you really say? He was tremendous as the Oilers offensive play pick up. He made so many things happen behind the net and off the rush specifically. I've said for some time that he plays his best games when he treats his primary offensive responsibility as being a rush passer. He showed why again tonight on several occasions and especially on Eberle's third period goal. Just a beautiful read. Kind of surprised he didn't score as well on a night when he's jumping around like that, but he didn't wind up needing to.
Yakupov
- We've covered his wonderful goals above but there was a little play I saw that I really wanted to highlight. Yakupov was around the low circle with the puck on the powerplay. Not much was happening in terms of movement and many other players would have been stuck, forced a pass and made a mistake or taken a stupid shot to the chest. Yakupov, without looking at all, made a subtle move then fired a laser shot-pass off of Luongo's pads right to Eberle. #14 was so shocked he couldn't score but MAN what a simple, utterly brilliant play. No one on the ice saw that and I don't think any other player could have done it the way he did either. I'm sure he knew what he needed to do to catch Huberdeau and he just went out there and made it happen. He engaged physically with Tom Sestito, hitting him when he had the chance and swinging his stick a little bit. He was all over the ice and passed the puck to himself off of the boards several times. It was an absolute treat watching someone that excited play the game in such an impressive way.
----------------
I'm hoping to put together a year in review, something that's been missing the past couple years, relatively shortly. There's a lot to say and a lot of decisions to be made.
The one thing I will say is that I've been mulling it throughout the season and while Hall surpassed Eberle this year in the "best of the group" race, I will say that Nail Yakupov is on his way to greater things than even Hall. Why?
1. He loves the game so damn much.
2. He appears to work harder than any of the group.
3. Sheer talent. The guy will score 50.
4. He's focused.
5. His game is versatile and we'll be talking about him as a complete player within a season.
#64 is bloody amazing. Period. Can't wait to watch this guy win a Richard Trophy.
Thank you all again for sticking with this throughout another trying year. We all hope for a tremendous offseason and better days ahead. You readers are the reason I plow through the horrible losses and why I so relish getting home to write after a massive win. Thank you once again for the encouragement, reads, discussion and everything else.
VS.
VANCOUVER 2
------------------
Well thank jeebus for that.
Our season draws to a close with a victory against what should be considered our most hated rival. Qualifiers notwithstanding I'm going to take full enjoyment out of this.
Let's get the short negatives out and move on to a positive close to our year.
1. The Oilers still can't get "chips for everyone" right. That's sad. If we'd lost I may have lost it at that point.
2. Why has Mike Brown either self-neutered or been neutered by the coaching staff? There is no point to playing a player so bad if he isn't going to light people up or at least scrap in a game like this. There were many deserving Canucks out there and he wasn't interested in any of them. That Tom Sestito was allowed to mess with Yakupov and #64 had to do his own fighting back (though he did that well, more later) is an utter shame.
3. Some of those Dubnyk rebounds were just AWFUL. The Sestito goal set up by Kassian was about as juicy of a rebound as you'll ever see. He gave out two more of these in the period and got bailed out. He really needs to work on handling his angles. Two major weaknesses remain for him: low shots off the wall and high blocker shots. Hopefully these areas are a major focus in the offseason.
4. Eric Belanger demeans the Oilers jersey by wearing it. The guy spent the entire game avoiding the play. He wouldn't go into the corners. He wouldn't fight for the puck. He wouldn't even lean in on the faceoffs. I've never seen a guy loop out of the play that much during a hockey game. He should be absolutely ashamed of himself. If he ever plays another game as an Oiler I will be appalled.
I think that was about it. I'm not going to dwell on the rest of the season tonight. Let's enjoy what we got to see in this one.
One of the first things we got to see is how pathetic we know the Canucks are. Henrik playing 22 seconds is one of the most cowardly things I've ever seen. That "streak" should be voided. Kesler as always went whining to the bench after every single shift and didn't go face to face with anyone as per usual. Sesito tries to throw a knee on Yakupov. Bieksa spends the evening swinging his stick then breaks it over the bench like a whining child. Luongo goes headcase and starts letting in Jarred Smithson shots. Vigneault is too dumb to pull his likely playoff starter and save him the embarassement. It was lovely. I truly hope they exit in four games as they and their fans deserve to.
This game of course took a long while to get going. For much of tonight a lot of us were not sure if either team was going to do much in the way of showing up. The little bit of feistiness that appeared at the end of the second might have gotten things going a big. I still don't see why taking liberties against our players (Yakupov, Hall was crosschecked multiple times, Eberle took some abuse) is tolerated so readily by our coaching staff but at least these was some push back from individual players in little ways.
Let's go through the Oilers goals:
1 - Gagner breaks hard to the area behind the net and wins a battle to get the puck to Hall who makes a nice little backhand flip to the blue. Schultz to Schultz for a good, low, tippable shot and Eberle is in perfect position to get the job done. This goal was a big deal because the Oilers were really struggling to get a good offensive chance.
2 - The Oilers powerplay was moving the puck around really well and more movement through the middle of the ice meant the Canucks had a harder time dealing with the flow of the play. Yakupov is set up right beside the net (which I'm really thinking is the key to a ton of powerplay goals and might be worth doing some research on in terms of what % come from that spot. Has to be a bunch). Schultz does a good job of getting the puck to the net and of course Yakupov makes no mistake with that kind of chance. He was so excited. As usual. Worth noting that Sestito tried to mock him after his own goal. That worked out really well for him...
3 - This play starts as Eberle gets absolutely robbed when he can't finish off a rush led by Hall. No one quits on the play including Fistric who makes a great little play to keep it in at the blue line. Eventually the puck heads behind the net where Hall works it out and Schultz has smartly snuck to the front. Once again, no mistake.
4 - Horcoff makes a solid play in the neutral zone and smartly gets the puck deep as Magnus is carrying speed and can get in on the forecheck quickly. He takes advantage of an ugly mistake, then looks and sees Yakupov standing right in front of an open net. Bing-bang, it is in the net. As Yakupov was skating to the bench he was pointing enthusiastically at the Oilers bench. I think someone told him to get himself to the front of the net for the rest of the game. His next goal only cemented that for me.
5 - Starts with a forced turnover to Schultz in the neutral zone. He finds Hall moving down the wing who makes an excellent read to find a trailing Eberle in the slot. Eberle dummies the Canuck defender, then Luongo. Gagner, whose role on the play might have been missed on TV, played a part in generating the turnover and then was a great decoy who got thrown into the boards as Eberle scored.
6 - Nail finishes what he started. This play was all him. Made a great little play to keep things alive in the offensive zone initially, Magnus got the puck to Fistric. As this is happening, Yakupov heads straight to the front of the net, perfect screen, Fistric fires, Yakupov takes the rebound off his chest then deftly beats Luongo low. It was an absolutely stunning sequence from a tremendous hockey player. Couldn't see the celebration live so I'm glad they got it on the highlights. It was borderline subtle for him!
7 - Smyth crashes behind the net, Jones gets the puck and centers to Smithson who misses with his stick, barely gets it with his feet, then shoots without looking and scores. You know you're having a night when...
I'm just very happy to be able to count that many goals against that team and especially that goalie.
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Dubnyk
- Made some nice stops but also gave out some nasty rebounds as noted above. For the most part he was in control and cut back on the puck handling which helped his team out in the end.
Smid
- Good enough performance from him tonight, though I thought he dialed back the physicality at times which was a little mystifying. There were opportunities to really lay out some Canucks players and he didn't take them. He was caught up ice on Sestito's goal, but that shouldn't have mattered as he was elbowed in the head and the rush never should have happened in the first place. Aside from that lapse he was defensively solid.
Petry
- Quieter game than usual from him but that meant fewer mistakes. I'm okay with that. He landed a really nice hit in the second period which was something to see. Puck movement was just okay.
Fistric
- Certainly one of his better games. He kept several offensive sequences alive with his play at the opposition blue line and was also rewarded with two assists by getting the puck headed toward the net. I also liked that he went at Lapierre and a couple other Canucks as the game wore on. I'm not sure why he didn't go after Sestito when he tried to knee Yakupov though. That was a little strange.
J. Schultz
- It is about time he had a game where the offence flowed so freely. His goal and passing game were great examples of the high level of skill he can bring to any game. He also bailed out a couple Nick Schultz mistakes including one ugly pinch that generated a 3-on-1. He was offensively effective without having to jump in too much. That's the mark of a strong offensive defenceman.
Potter
- He had a weird game. There were several instances where I couldn't really figure out what he was doing. No really exceptional moments in the positive but he did come out ahead so that's something.
N.Schultz
- He was okay much of the night. I'm still not sure exactly what he was thinking on that ugly pinch given that Justin Schultz had refused to pinch on the other side not long before that. Some good work behind the net.
Brown
- Yeah, I really don't know why he dresses if he effectively does nothing in a game like this one. He went to the front of the net and forechecked I suppose, but he always gets caught deep in the zone and tonight was no different. He also looped away rather than finish his check. Disappointing. He should've at least administered some bruises.
Smithson
- I'm glad the guy scored. It has to have been a weird ride for him over the past couple weeks. It doesn't change the way I think about him, but he actually scored that goal and had another good chance. Good for him.
Smyth
- I'm glad that what may have been his final game as an Oiler was a better effort than we've gotten used to this year. He forechecked hard, drove the front of the net and nearly tipped a couple in. Generated a couple penalties and some scoring chances for others. Didn't take any crap and specifically had words with Kesler which is at least something.
Belanger
- I've said all I want to say about him already. I hope he's never in another one of these reports.
Lander
- Uninteresting game. Didn't really stand out other than being thrown into the net by a Canucks defender at one point.
Jones
- I'll give him that he put out a good effort tonight. He hit people, went hard into the corners and did what he needed to do. Good plays to set up some chances and also got involved physically in pushing back a touch against the Canucks.
Horcoff
- Pretty solid tonight actually. While he wasn't able to be anywhere near keeping up with Yakupov and Hall/Paajarvi, he instead contributed by moving the puck well in the defensive and neutral zones while also picking off a few passes. This helped the transition game immensely. It was good to see him adapt his game and help his teammates out.
Paajarvi
- A quietly successful game. He didn't do the things that I always watch for from him (using his speed to find openings, going to shooting areas in the offensive zone) but he did forecheck well and play off Yakupov to some extent once that line became the norm. Supported Eberle decently as well. If only we could get him to be a better player with the puck in front of the net. He had a couple really good chances to score in close tonight and just couldn't do much of anything with the puck.
Eberle
- Easily could of had four or five tonight. He was robbed by Luongo and his defence at least 4 separate times including a couple beautiful backhand plays. This was the Eberle we need to see. He wanted the puck on his stick and drove the slot to look for shooting opportunities. When Eberle forces the play to the slot, good things happen either in terms of great shooting chances or a pass to a wide open teammate. His goals were covered above but just from a general standpoint he was excellent tonight.
Gagner
- Worked really hard and took a lot of abuse tonight. While he wasn't rewarded the same way the other high profile young guys were, he did pick up some points and did certainly make things happen. He was strong in the corners and made some very nice passes and decoy plays when the offence got going. Always good to see him contribute. I will also note that #89 never shies away from the scrum. He was in there multiple times tonight and I have a lot of respect for that.
Hall
- What else can you really say? He was tremendous as the Oilers offensive play pick up. He made so many things happen behind the net and off the rush specifically. I've said for some time that he plays his best games when he treats his primary offensive responsibility as being a rush passer. He showed why again tonight on several occasions and especially on Eberle's third period goal. Just a beautiful read. Kind of surprised he didn't score as well on a night when he's jumping around like that, but he didn't wind up needing to.
Yakupov
- We've covered his wonderful goals above but there was a little play I saw that I really wanted to highlight. Yakupov was around the low circle with the puck on the powerplay. Not much was happening in terms of movement and many other players would have been stuck, forced a pass and made a mistake or taken a stupid shot to the chest. Yakupov, without looking at all, made a subtle move then fired a laser shot-pass off of Luongo's pads right to Eberle. #14 was so shocked he couldn't score but MAN what a simple, utterly brilliant play. No one on the ice saw that and I don't think any other player could have done it the way he did either. I'm sure he knew what he needed to do to catch Huberdeau and he just went out there and made it happen. He engaged physically with Tom Sestito, hitting him when he had the chance and swinging his stick a little bit. He was all over the ice and passed the puck to himself off of the boards several times. It was an absolute treat watching someone that excited play the game in such an impressive way.
----------------
I'm hoping to put together a year in review, something that's been missing the past couple years, relatively shortly. There's a lot to say and a lot of decisions to be made.
The one thing I will say is that I've been mulling it throughout the season and while Hall surpassed Eberle this year in the "best of the group" race, I will say that Nail Yakupov is on his way to greater things than even Hall. Why?
1. He loves the game so damn much.
2. He appears to work harder than any of the group.
3. Sheer talent. The guy will score 50.
4. He's focused.
5. His game is versatile and we'll be talking about him as a complete player within a season.
#64 is bloody amazing. Period. Can't wait to watch this guy win a Richard Trophy.
Thank you all again for sticking with this throughout another trying year. We all hope for a tremendous offseason and better days ahead. You readers are the reason I plow through the horrible losses and why I so relish getting home to write after a massive win. Thank you once again for the encouragement, reads, discussion and everything else.
4/24/13
2013 LMHF Report Game #23
EDMONTON 1
VS.
CHICAGO 4
---------------
I don't see any magic recipe for tonight's loss. Chicago is a very good team and the Oilers are following management's lead in terms of tanking at the end of any season where you're not going for the Stanley Cup. The previous couple years have resulted in this being the end to our season, at least in terms of mental outlook.
Weird to see Emery somehow get hurt and pull himself like that. You don't often see the goalie head straight back to the dressing room.
At least there was some action for approximately a period. The Oilers kinda-sorta thought about putting up a fight in this one. I'm not exactly sure what triggered the complete giving up this time. I do know the fans are pretty well done as well. All reaction and the traditional BOOs were saved for the last few seconds and that is it. No reason to expect that they'd put in more effort than the team. This is much worse than last year or the year before because you know there's much less excuse for this garbage now. I've never heard so many people upset to be there, and the number leaving early or not showing up at all is increasing rapidly.
If you're a team that'a actually serious about taking a step forward, you need to be playing well at the end of the season. You don't need to be winning every game, but you need strong efforts and bright lights. There are not many of those right now.
I focused specifically on Bryan Bickell tonight as I think he'd be an interesting offseason pickup for our team. We were discussing it about a week ago and he was a guy LMHF#2 thought would be worth a shot. I'd tend to agree. Bickell is large and plays that way. Tonight he took a big of a run at Mike Brown and got no reply. He also defaults to the front of the net in the offensive zone, which is something we're lacking and especially in the bottom six. He's not a speed demon but is reasonably technically which matters much more anyway. He made some decent passes tonight and could likely get some things done with a little more icetime. He had one break in alone on Dubnyk and I was disappointed to see he went low, but at least he gained position, can clearly take a pass, and held his ground. I'd still take a long look at this guy in the offseason to add some unique things to our bottom six and possibly give him the opportunity to flourish and move up in the order every now and again.
I'm always amazed at how consistently Patrick Kane plays very well against the Oilers. Maybe it is the Gagner thing or maybe he's just really consistent, I'm not sure.
Is there a reason Krueger loves playing the fourth line against Chicago's top line? That was not fun to watch at all.
---------------
Dubnyk
- I'm not saying he played badly, but giving him first star in a 30-shot, 4-goal game is lunacy. Sure he made a great pokecheck. Sure he made some nice saves in the third when nothing mattered. He was not very good in the first. He should've stopped Kane's goal. He could've made a much better effort on Toews'. Oduya's shot was nothing to write home about as he'd already squared after the pass from Kane. He also managed to give the puck away multiple times (including a complete whiff behind the net) which should be pretty impossible for a goalie. Again, not his fault we lost and he did make some very nice saves, but not to the point where his effort tonight should be lauded.
Potter-Fistric
- Maybe Corey Potter's worst game as an Oiler. I lost count of the giant mistakes and bonehead plays at around 10. I'm sure he had more. He just couldn't make a pass to save his life tonight other than to a Blackhawk. He also got beat to multiple pucks and beat clean while defending from a positional advantage rountinely. That's no good. Fistric wasn't much better overall, but at least played a physical game. I don't mind taking that elbow on Shaw at all on the shift after he was giving Dubnyk such a hard time.
N.Schultz-J.Schultz
- Way too many defensive zone breakdowns and getting beat clean on the rush by Chicago forwards without any offensive plays generated whatever. That was the simple story of their night. Justin looks incredibly tired after what has easily been his longest hockey season and Nick just looks disinterested. Not a good combination.
Smid-Petry
- Smid is one of the only guys playing like a warrior to the very end. There's no quit and his game has changed very little. I would say he got caught out of position a couple times tonight and didn't move the puck that well, but you'd never question the effort. Now, on to Mr. Petry. For the most part he had an up and down game. He made passing mistakes but also some nice plays, and had a mixed bag kind of game defensively. If this were it for him tonight I'd be okay with things, but it was not. Watching the way he played Sharp on the Chicago EN goal made me want to vomit. It was eerily similar to Whitney's play along the boards in the last game of the season last year. Petry had position and lost it, didn't take the puck or the man, then in a 50/50 situation gave a sad sack effort and was beaten, then didn't even bother to haul down Sharp to prevent a goal. What in the blue hell was that Jeff? This guy does some great things but boy is he ever frustrating on a lot of nights and I'm not sure he's really improving. That last play is going to stick with me for a long time. Imagine if the playoffs had been on the line and that had happened.
Smyth-Smithson-Brown
- Random fact: I think I discovered why Smithson can't skate. He puts about 18 layers of sock tape on his ankles. They had a close up of him doing it going into the third. Back in the old days the tape was somewhat understandable, but with new skates and the need to be able to turn and flex your ankle, this is a recipe for a clunky clod. I'm not sure I've ever watched a large forward who does less on the ice than this guy. That continued tonight. Brown showed absolutely no push back even after getting hammered. There are plenty of targets on the Blackhawks even if you're not interested in hitting someone who matters but he couldn't be bothered. Watching him freeze in place, then get tripped, then trip over himself as he attempted to take advantage of the chance for a clear breakaway was pretty sad. Smyth? He sauntered around the ice doing not much of anything because he's way too late to the puck. He drew a penalty tonight at least by going to the net. Supposedly he had the second most forward icetime for the Oilers? Sad.
Hartikainen-Lander-Jones
- Credit where it is due, these guys generated good scoring chances in the slot on each of their first three shifts. Unfortunately they managed to bungle all of them but that is still more than most of the rest of the roster did tonight. After that Jones went back to being largely ineffective, unable to take a pass and cheating for offence which caused turnovers in the defensive zone. Aside from some strong PK effort he was the same as ever. Hartikainen struggled with the puck tonight which is too bad because he went to the right spots and worked well in the corners. He also ran over a Chicago player while retaining puck possession in the slot on an impressive little play in the third. Disappointing night for him though as he wasn't able to capitalize and didn't pass the puck very well. Lander was very mediocre. Fine on the PK but did a whole lot of nothing 5-on-5 despite some chances to work of strong plays by his linemates.
Yakupov-Horcoff-Paajarvi
- Unfortunately for these guys, after the first period the puck seemed to be winding up on Horcoff's stick in the far end of the neutral zone and the unit's zone entries were pretty sketchy after that started. Horcoff has visibly lost a step or two and can't seem to beat anyone anymore even if he maintains possession. Yakupov had a very nice first period. The goal itself was classic Yakupov, using his wicked shot from an unorthodox spot and putting it in the net. He also made a very nice sliding backcheck play and nearly finished it off with an offensive one during the same shift. He tailed off a bit in the second and third but was at least still pushing the effort. He easily could have scored a couple more. Magnus was less visible than many nights this year. He did a lot of skating but not much else. Hopefully that's just an off game where he fell back to his old comfort zone and nothing more.
Hall-Gagner-Eberle
- You know something's wrong when Eberle in the second period executes the toe drag around a Chicago D, has Crawford at his mercy, and doesn't bother to look up before he shoots the puck. It looked like a wicked Crawford save but make no mistake, that was an Eberle screw up. That extra second he always takes, that little angle change or move to the backhand would have resulted in a highlight reel play and instead he didn't even look up. Damn. I've written that these guys have pretty much checked out for the year and aside from a brief time in the first tonight where they looked like they were considering jumping back into the game, I stand by that. If you noticed anything exceptional that they did, add it to the comments.
--------------
One left. Please don't embarrass us all against VAN on HNIC like you did against Calgary. Please.
VS.
CHICAGO 4
---------------
I don't see any magic recipe for tonight's loss. Chicago is a very good team and the Oilers are following management's lead in terms of tanking at the end of any season where you're not going for the Stanley Cup. The previous couple years have resulted in this being the end to our season, at least in terms of mental outlook.
Weird to see Emery somehow get hurt and pull himself like that. You don't often see the goalie head straight back to the dressing room.
At least there was some action for approximately a period. The Oilers kinda-sorta thought about putting up a fight in this one. I'm not exactly sure what triggered the complete giving up this time. I do know the fans are pretty well done as well. All reaction and the traditional BOOs were saved for the last few seconds and that is it. No reason to expect that they'd put in more effort than the team. This is much worse than last year or the year before because you know there's much less excuse for this garbage now. I've never heard so many people upset to be there, and the number leaving early or not showing up at all is increasing rapidly.
If you're a team that'a actually serious about taking a step forward, you need to be playing well at the end of the season. You don't need to be winning every game, but you need strong efforts and bright lights. There are not many of those right now.
I focused specifically on Bryan Bickell tonight as I think he'd be an interesting offseason pickup for our team. We were discussing it about a week ago and he was a guy LMHF#2 thought would be worth a shot. I'd tend to agree. Bickell is large and plays that way. Tonight he took a big of a run at Mike Brown and got no reply. He also defaults to the front of the net in the offensive zone, which is something we're lacking and especially in the bottom six. He's not a speed demon but is reasonably technically which matters much more anyway. He made some decent passes tonight and could likely get some things done with a little more icetime. He had one break in alone on Dubnyk and I was disappointed to see he went low, but at least he gained position, can clearly take a pass, and held his ground. I'd still take a long look at this guy in the offseason to add some unique things to our bottom six and possibly give him the opportunity to flourish and move up in the order every now and again.
I'm always amazed at how consistently Patrick Kane plays very well against the Oilers. Maybe it is the Gagner thing or maybe he's just really consistent, I'm not sure.
Is there a reason Krueger loves playing the fourth line against Chicago's top line? That was not fun to watch at all.
---------------
Dubnyk
- I'm not saying he played badly, but giving him first star in a 30-shot, 4-goal game is lunacy. Sure he made a great pokecheck. Sure he made some nice saves in the third when nothing mattered. He was not very good in the first. He should've stopped Kane's goal. He could've made a much better effort on Toews'. Oduya's shot was nothing to write home about as he'd already squared after the pass from Kane. He also managed to give the puck away multiple times (including a complete whiff behind the net) which should be pretty impossible for a goalie. Again, not his fault we lost and he did make some very nice saves, but not to the point where his effort tonight should be lauded.
Potter-Fistric
- Maybe Corey Potter's worst game as an Oiler. I lost count of the giant mistakes and bonehead plays at around 10. I'm sure he had more. He just couldn't make a pass to save his life tonight other than to a Blackhawk. He also got beat to multiple pucks and beat clean while defending from a positional advantage rountinely. That's no good. Fistric wasn't much better overall, but at least played a physical game. I don't mind taking that elbow on Shaw at all on the shift after he was giving Dubnyk such a hard time.
N.Schultz-J.Schultz
- Way too many defensive zone breakdowns and getting beat clean on the rush by Chicago forwards without any offensive plays generated whatever. That was the simple story of their night. Justin looks incredibly tired after what has easily been his longest hockey season and Nick just looks disinterested. Not a good combination.
Smid-Petry
- Smid is one of the only guys playing like a warrior to the very end. There's no quit and his game has changed very little. I would say he got caught out of position a couple times tonight and didn't move the puck that well, but you'd never question the effort. Now, on to Mr. Petry. For the most part he had an up and down game. He made passing mistakes but also some nice plays, and had a mixed bag kind of game defensively. If this were it for him tonight I'd be okay with things, but it was not. Watching the way he played Sharp on the Chicago EN goal made me want to vomit. It was eerily similar to Whitney's play along the boards in the last game of the season last year. Petry had position and lost it, didn't take the puck or the man, then in a 50/50 situation gave a sad sack effort and was beaten, then didn't even bother to haul down Sharp to prevent a goal. What in the blue hell was that Jeff? This guy does some great things but boy is he ever frustrating on a lot of nights and I'm not sure he's really improving. That last play is going to stick with me for a long time. Imagine if the playoffs had been on the line and that had happened.
Smyth-Smithson-Brown
- Random fact: I think I discovered why Smithson can't skate. He puts about 18 layers of sock tape on his ankles. They had a close up of him doing it going into the third. Back in the old days the tape was somewhat understandable, but with new skates and the need to be able to turn and flex your ankle, this is a recipe for a clunky clod. I'm not sure I've ever watched a large forward who does less on the ice than this guy. That continued tonight. Brown showed absolutely no push back even after getting hammered. There are plenty of targets on the Blackhawks even if you're not interested in hitting someone who matters but he couldn't be bothered. Watching him freeze in place, then get tripped, then trip over himself as he attempted to take advantage of the chance for a clear breakaway was pretty sad. Smyth? He sauntered around the ice doing not much of anything because he's way too late to the puck. He drew a penalty tonight at least by going to the net. Supposedly he had the second most forward icetime for the Oilers? Sad.
Hartikainen-Lander-Jones
- Credit where it is due, these guys generated good scoring chances in the slot on each of their first three shifts. Unfortunately they managed to bungle all of them but that is still more than most of the rest of the roster did tonight. After that Jones went back to being largely ineffective, unable to take a pass and cheating for offence which caused turnovers in the defensive zone. Aside from some strong PK effort he was the same as ever. Hartikainen struggled with the puck tonight which is too bad because he went to the right spots and worked well in the corners. He also ran over a Chicago player while retaining puck possession in the slot on an impressive little play in the third. Disappointing night for him though as he wasn't able to capitalize and didn't pass the puck very well. Lander was very mediocre. Fine on the PK but did a whole lot of nothing 5-on-5 despite some chances to work of strong plays by his linemates.
Yakupov-Horcoff-Paajarvi
- Unfortunately for these guys, after the first period the puck seemed to be winding up on Horcoff's stick in the far end of the neutral zone and the unit's zone entries were pretty sketchy after that started. Horcoff has visibly lost a step or two and can't seem to beat anyone anymore even if he maintains possession. Yakupov had a very nice first period. The goal itself was classic Yakupov, using his wicked shot from an unorthodox spot and putting it in the net. He also made a very nice sliding backcheck play and nearly finished it off with an offensive one during the same shift. He tailed off a bit in the second and third but was at least still pushing the effort. He easily could have scored a couple more. Magnus was less visible than many nights this year. He did a lot of skating but not much else. Hopefully that's just an off game where he fell back to his old comfort zone and nothing more.
Hall-Gagner-Eberle
- You know something's wrong when Eberle in the second period executes the toe drag around a Chicago D, has Crawford at his mercy, and doesn't bother to look up before he shoots the puck. It looked like a wicked Crawford save but make no mistake, that was an Eberle screw up. That extra second he always takes, that little angle change or move to the backhand would have resulted in a highlight reel play and instead he didn't even look up. Damn. I've written that these guys have pretty much checked out for the year and aside from a brief time in the first tonight where they looked like they were considering jumping back into the game, I stand by that. If you noticed anything exceptional that they did, add it to the comments.
--------------
One left. Please don't embarrass us all against VAN on HNIC like you did against Calgary. Please.
4/21/13
2013 LMHF Report Game #21
EDMONTON 1
VS.
ANAHEIM 3
--------------
Our opening topic tonight is potato chips. Why is that? you may ask. Well, I'll tell you...the Edmonton Oilers can't even do potato chips right at this point. Seriously. I'll elaborate - there was an announcement made late in the game that "everyone" would be getting chips as we left the building. Great, most of us thought, as at least we could take SOMETHING home from this game. It turns out that those of us who actually stayed until, ya know, the end of the game, were beyond out of luck. They had already been completely out for quite some time. I say a lot of critical things about the Edmonton Oilers, but I can't recall them screwing up something so damn basic. Just amazing. What is wrong with these people??
Anyway, back to hockey, or whatever exactly it was being played at Rexall Place tonight. One team kinda sorta played, another team didn't really bother.
I'd really like to write another legit game assessment before the end of the season. I do really enjoy getting into the nuts and bolts of the game. I'm less than optimistic this will happen though. There's every chance they come out on Wednesday and paste Chicago, just because we're the Oilers I suppose. It just isn't possible to go through assessing players the way they've played the last few games. Everyone is completely checked out mentally.
It was so sad to watch our team with the goalie pulled. We allowed Anaheim I think 5 attempts at the empty net. The Oilers barely got a shot. Not only that, but they turned the puck over in such a sad and pathetic way...it was either in the neutral zone or barely into the offensive zone every time. Really bad when you can't even muster a whimper.
If I'd been thinking of it in advance I suppose I could've done an Anaheim game report. They showed up and did what they needed to do with what appeared to be a roster where players were resting. It is sad but true that our team has, once again, become just an easy checkmark on the schedule at the end of the season.
Usually when this kind of thing happens there are at least people around trying to earn a job that can impress you. I tried to pay more attention to Lander and Hartikainen than anyone else tonight, though even that was a struggle at times.
Hartikainen managed to get himself a couple scoring chances including a nice tip and control the puck in the corners. He didn't capitalize and I really hope he spends some substantial time on his shooting in the offseason. It looks more than anything like he's just rushing it a little bit sometimes. That happens with young guys but learning to focus and finish is very hit or miss. It takes effort. #56 didn't blow anyone up tonight that I recall and I hope he brings that to the table in the pre-season next year as well as the AHL playoffs if he's eligible.
Lander was less noticeable and had some trouble with the puck from what I could see. He was completely out of place in the lineup of course, but at least it gave us all a chance to see him with some decent players. Paajarvi and Yakupov outclassed him by a lot of course. This doesn't mean he was a failure. While he wasn't as good on the PK as he usually seems to be, he was okay positionally and at least put forth an effort out there.
Aside from those two it was pretty much a grab bag for me. It is tough to focus on hockey that bad.
The top line with Gagner added didn't do too much. Sure, Hall scored but even he was surprised that shot beat Hiller. He kinda whiffed or was shooting for a rebound. As a unit they weren't carrying speed into the offensive zone at all. Gagner struggled to get his shot away despite some strong stickhandling. Eberle really didn't look to be into it at all. Hall was at times, and others not. Landed a big check near the end of the game for some reason
The second line was interesting to watch at times. Yakupov was once again probably the most dangerous forward. He got a couple good shots away from the slot and threaded an absolutely perfect pass to Paajarvi whose stick just disintegrated somehow. It was a grade AAA level pass that required a delay, weight shift, perfect speed and timing. Just awesome. #64 could still break for the open ice better. I hope there's a coach around that can see and teach that. Magnus could have been better but could have been worse. He was a half-step away from a lot of plays.
The old men were terrible tonight. Horcoff, Smyth and Smithson didn't contribute at all. Horcoff even managed to take a couple of stupid penalties to salt it. Smyth was behind every play. Smithson can't keep up either. Not worth saying much more. Smyth tried a double-wraparound....seriously.
Jones hit some people I suppose. At least that's something.
Brown took another dumb high sticking penalty. He's great at that.
The D? I dunno. Smid played tough as usual but also made more mistakes than normal. Petry made a really nice play to Hall to get him a goal then passed the puck away a bunch of times. I'm starting to wonder whether it is Petry's passing or whether at this point the forwards are so bad/disinterested that no one is in position to take a pass. Not really sure. The Schultzes? Just okay. Missed some coverages and Justin at least wasn't constantly wandering the offensive zone as he did during the last game I went to. Fistric and Potter spent most of the night giving the puck away as well. It wasn't pretty.
Dubnyk? Good enough if his team had decided to show up.
------------
If you care about sports and consider yourself a competitor, you wonder what impact all this intentional losing has had on the players. I maintain it results in what we've seen at the end of this season. Rather than a team that fights to the bitter end for at least some improvement, the players know that management is okay with losing. There's no accountability. Why would they want to win? Just wrecking the draft pick. This is why the NHL should have nuked the weighted lottery a long time ago. I would have much rather watched a team forced to fight than one taking the most talentless way out to rebuild a team. Watching hockey this listless after knowing your team is capable of more is even worse than watching a horrible team get beat. There's just nothing there to go after and instead of putting forth a professional, strong effort down the stretch and winning a game or two, this team is skating out the string. Make no mistake about that.
I won't be at the game tomorrow, so no report. See you Wednesday.
VS.
ANAHEIM 3
--------------
Our opening topic tonight is potato chips. Why is that? you may ask. Well, I'll tell you...the Edmonton Oilers can't even do potato chips right at this point. Seriously. I'll elaborate - there was an announcement made late in the game that "everyone" would be getting chips as we left the building. Great, most of us thought, as at least we could take SOMETHING home from this game. It turns out that those of us who actually stayed until, ya know, the end of the game, were beyond out of luck. They had already been completely out for quite some time. I say a lot of critical things about the Edmonton Oilers, but I can't recall them screwing up something so damn basic. Just amazing. What is wrong with these people??
Anyway, back to hockey, or whatever exactly it was being played at Rexall Place tonight. One team kinda sorta played, another team didn't really bother.
I'd really like to write another legit game assessment before the end of the season. I do really enjoy getting into the nuts and bolts of the game. I'm less than optimistic this will happen though. There's every chance they come out on Wednesday and paste Chicago, just because we're the Oilers I suppose. It just isn't possible to go through assessing players the way they've played the last few games. Everyone is completely checked out mentally.
It was so sad to watch our team with the goalie pulled. We allowed Anaheim I think 5 attempts at the empty net. The Oilers barely got a shot. Not only that, but they turned the puck over in such a sad and pathetic way...it was either in the neutral zone or barely into the offensive zone every time. Really bad when you can't even muster a whimper.
If I'd been thinking of it in advance I suppose I could've done an Anaheim game report. They showed up and did what they needed to do with what appeared to be a roster where players were resting. It is sad but true that our team has, once again, become just an easy checkmark on the schedule at the end of the season.
Usually when this kind of thing happens there are at least people around trying to earn a job that can impress you. I tried to pay more attention to Lander and Hartikainen than anyone else tonight, though even that was a struggle at times.
Hartikainen managed to get himself a couple scoring chances including a nice tip and control the puck in the corners. He didn't capitalize and I really hope he spends some substantial time on his shooting in the offseason. It looks more than anything like he's just rushing it a little bit sometimes. That happens with young guys but learning to focus and finish is very hit or miss. It takes effort. #56 didn't blow anyone up tonight that I recall and I hope he brings that to the table in the pre-season next year as well as the AHL playoffs if he's eligible.
Lander was less noticeable and had some trouble with the puck from what I could see. He was completely out of place in the lineup of course, but at least it gave us all a chance to see him with some decent players. Paajarvi and Yakupov outclassed him by a lot of course. This doesn't mean he was a failure. While he wasn't as good on the PK as he usually seems to be, he was okay positionally and at least put forth an effort out there.
Aside from those two it was pretty much a grab bag for me. It is tough to focus on hockey that bad.
The top line with Gagner added didn't do too much. Sure, Hall scored but even he was surprised that shot beat Hiller. He kinda whiffed or was shooting for a rebound. As a unit they weren't carrying speed into the offensive zone at all. Gagner struggled to get his shot away despite some strong stickhandling. Eberle really didn't look to be into it at all. Hall was at times, and others not. Landed a big check near the end of the game for some reason
The second line was interesting to watch at times. Yakupov was once again probably the most dangerous forward. He got a couple good shots away from the slot and threaded an absolutely perfect pass to Paajarvi whose stick just disintegrated somehow. It was a grade AAA level pass that required a delay, weight shift, perfect speed and timing. Just awesome. #64 could still break for the open ice better. I hope there's a coach around that can see and teach that. Magnus could have been better but could have been worse. He was a half-step away from a lot of plays.
The old men were terrible tonight. Horcoff, Smyth and Smithson didn't contribute at all. Horcoff even managed to take a couple of stupid penalties to salt it. Smyth was behind every play. Smithson can't keep up either. Not worth saying much more. Smyth tried a double-wraparound....seriously.
Jones hit some people I suppose. At least that's something.
Brown took another dumb high sticking penalty. He's great at that.
The D? I dunno. Smid played tough as usual but also made more mistakes than normal. Petry made a really nice play to Hall to get him a goal then passed the puck away a bunch of times. I'm starting to wonder whether it is Petry's passing or whether at this point the forwards are so bad/disinterested that no one is in position to take a pass. Not really sure. The Schultzes? Just okay. Missed some coverages and Justin at least wasn't constantly wandering the offensive zone as he did during the last game I went to. Fistric and Potter spent most of the night giving the puck away as well. It wasn't pretty.
Dubnyk? Good enough if his team had decided to show up.
------------
If you care about sports and consider yourself a competitor, you wonder what impact all this intentional losing has had on the players. I maintain it results in what we've seen at the end of this season. Rather than a team that fights to the bitter end for at least some improvement, the players know that management is okay with losing. There's no accountability. Why would they want to win? Just wrecking the draft pick. This is why the NHL should have nuked the weighted lottery a long time ago. I would have much rather watched a team forced to fight than one taking the most talentless way out to rebuild a team. Watching hockey this listless after knowing your team is capable of more is even worse than watching a horrible team get beat. There's just nothing there to go after and instead of putting forth a professional, strong effort down the stretch and winning a game or two, this team is skating out the string. Make no mistake about that.
I won't be at the game tomorrow, so no report. See you Wednesday.
4/14/13
2013 LMHF Report Game #19
EDMONTON 1
VS.
ABBOTSFORD 4
-------------
We're going to break from the regular format and go to what was the most important thing that can be extracted from the game tonight. The first line is done. They've shut it down and are going home for the summer. To watch that line go through the motions and simply show up rather than even try to win was really upsetting and completely disheartening. I know the team was going to miss the playoffs heading into tonight's game, but you have to beat Calgary on Saturday on HNIC. You have to at least give all you've got. I've never understood how people just quit on the game myself, but that was exactly what we saw from 4, 14 and 93 tonight. Not one step in their usual extra gear. No push toward the net in the third period. No extra effort anywhere on the ice. No jump. No excited or even frustrated faces. Just blank stares...going through the motions...letting an AHL school them in their own zone then hopping back on the bench to wait for their next turn. How completely and utterly pathetic. If we had the roster space to sit them next game I'd strongly consider it after THAT. Watching Taylor Hall lay on his butt after getting hit...or Jordan Eberle skate slowly back to the bench with no purpose after a play was ended...or Hopkins not even trying to beat defenders...just brutal. Completely brutal.
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! If Ryan Smyth is the man most people seem to think he is, he should watch the tape of his performance tonight and ask the coaching staff to sit him down for the rest of the year. He should spend that time strongly considering either hanging them up for good and preserving his legacy, or immediately begin the kind of offseason regimen that let guys like Chelios and Roberts keep playing for as long as they did. He should truly commit to this team and actually make the effort, rather than whining about his role on the team, not playing during the lockout, then showing up to do THIS in the regular season. I've never seen a veteran player lose that many races to the puck where they had a one, two or even three step head start. He couldn't even be bothered to make it to the boards on most of these plays tonight. He'd simply glide in one direction, then extend his stick weakly and move on. He made one of the most rookie-mistake plays I've seen all year to set up a Calgary goal, poking a puck in desperation right to a waiting Calgary player in the middle of the damn ice when there was nothing but space and time along the boards. How does he respond? Why he rushes into the CGY zone at 3mph and uncorks the 3-three-hour wind up 4mph slapper. This is a guy who has never been my favorite but at least had my respect for his effort on the ice. This year and especially tonight have really impacted my view of him. It'd be one thing if he was leaving it all out there, blocking shots left and right and simply couldn't do it because the body is no longer willing...but he's not putting forth the effort and then I see he's apparently yukking it up on the bench while we're down 3-1 to CGY on HNIC. 20-something Ryan Smyth would punch the current #94 in the face.
I know it was an exceptional night, but it is really crummy when you realize that MAYBE one guy (Horcoff, depending on the moves made in the offseason) is the only guy in the bottom six with any business on this roster. I know that Jones and Petrell at least played a little bit like they were trying to earn jobs tonight...but the fact that this performance and that effort was so noticable is a great indication that they just are not good enough to be here. Smithson hits exactly like J.F. Jacques used to, meaning that because of his weak skating fundamentals he doesn't make near the impact he should and winds up completely out of position. He also spent half the night falling on his butt. It was terrible. Mike Brown landed one decent hit and spent the rest of the night skating around trying to look like he was doing something. I liked Petrell's goal, and his tip attempt later in the game, and that he went out of his way to play physically. Doesn't change my conclusion that he needs to be gone. Jones made a solid play to set up Lennart, then went back to overskating and being out of position as usual. At least he hit some people. Horcoff wasn't great but also had absolutely ZERO to work with out there really. I don't expect miracles from the guy. He wasn't good in the defensive zone though...and made a number of PK mistakes despite the fact that the unit was largely successful.
The only forward unit that did anything right for a decent part of the night was the Gagner line. The Yakupov non-goal was an absolutely magnificent sequence. Magnus skates in to land a hit he never would have thrown a couple years ago...this leads to a lose puck heading to centre ice. From the second Yakupov saw that puck, the lane ahead and started moving, you knew it was headed into the net. Yakupov pounces, Gagner makes a good read and gets the puck, Yakupov drives to the perfect spot, Gagner finds him and damn if Mr. Handeye can't get his stick on the puck. Not our night I guess, but still, what a transition play. Just amazing. All three forwards doing exactly what we needed them to. Yakupov and Paajarvi both landed multiple hits during the game. All these hits came while maintaining position and making a positive impact on the play. The line attacked with speed and was responsible for most of the good chances we had. Yakupov made a brilliant laser pass that should have found Gagner but he missed it by a step. Magnus drove the puck and did pretty much everything we've been asking him to. Sam could have been better, but at least was a step above the rest of the forwards along with his line. I won't excuse their defensive play though, as aside from a couple gems from #s 91 and 64, they did indeed get pinned in the defensive zone and make some mistakes that led to Calgary chances. I do blame the D for some of that, but the unit needed to be better. Gagner also completely blew by the front of the net on the PK leading to a CGY goal (Petrell was also completely out to lunch there I believe).
When it comes to the D tonight I'm not even sure it is worth discussing them. Remember how we spoke about the Calgary D standing around waiting for the game to be over? The Oilers D didn't check anyone tonight. They stood around and let Calgary score. They gave the puck away. They didn't pass well to their forwards or skate the puck out of our zone. A perfect example was the first goal, where Smid sent the puck around the boards, Petry was within a couple steps and couldn't be bothered, and there was no forward there to get the puck. Suddenly Calgary is in on us and scores. Ugly, unacceptable way to start a game. It is one thing to allow a good goal early...it happens, but not that way.
Khabibulin? Yeah he was terrible. Just horrendous. He stopped some tough ones but almost all of these stops generated huge rebounds. He got beat four times by a whole lot of nobodies. It wouldn't have mattered of course...but still you have to note that he wasn't any good.
-------------
So yeah, I'm pissed. I saw this coming but not this bad and not with this much quit.
The thing is, we have had several chances during this season to make a statement about taking a step forward. 75% of the conversation at the deadline was about "sending the wrong message" by...well...doing anything to this team...I wonder what the message was when essentially nothing was done. Make no mistake, adding Smithson was a waste of a fourth round pick. Couldn't you have helped this team and given it a playoff push boost by grabbing a player or two that could actually contribute? It was evident from the other trades that the cost was minimal. Instead we have paralysis as usual.
It is evident at this point that the entire conversation around the Oilers - from management to the media to a wide majority of the fans is completely wrong. They think we simply need to "add size". They think this is all part of the process. They think you can magically wake up one day, acquire everyone you need and be a Stanley Cup contender for a decade with the same people and ideas you had before...it simply does not work that way. It never has and never will.
For the last word I'll turn to the talking about the coach. I've tried to like Ralph Krueger. I like his positive take on most things and I like that he seems to be thoughtful. These are important parts of being a strong coach. The thing is, you also need to be able to get pissed off. You need to have intensity. You need to impose your will. You can't whine about not being able to get players icetime because you steadfastly refuse to take a chance and play offensive players on the PK when you're losing. That's just such a great example of a coach who gets completely stuck in his own groove and can't see the obvious and easy solution to his problem. When you're down in a game late in the season and can't make the playoffs but want your players to grow, you play Hall, Eberle, Yakupov, Hopkins and whoever damn else on the PK, PP, 5-on-5, 4-on-4 and wherever else you can. You just DO IT. This is not complicated stuff. We may very well be at the paralysis through analysis stage here.
Good god is this ever frustrating. I am so thankful that I didn't have to pay for and sit through 41 games of this crap this year. It is painful to say that, but it is true.
VS.
ABBOTSFORD 4
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We're going to break from the regular format and go to what was the most important thing that can be extracted from the game tonight. The first line is done. They've shut it down and are going home for the summer. To watch that line go through the motions and simply show up rather than even try to win was really upsetting and completely disheartening. I know the team was going to miss the playoffs heading into tonight's game, but you have to beat Calgary on Saturday on HNIC. You have to at least give all you've got. I've never understood how people just quit on the game myself, but that was exactly what we saw from 4, 14 and 93 tonight. Not one step in their usual extra gear. No push toward the net in the third period. No extra effort anywhere on the ice. No jump. No excited or even frustrated faces. Just blank stares...going through the motions...letting an AHL school them in their own zone then hopping back on the bench to wait for their next turn. How completely and utterly pathetic. If we had the roster space to sit them next game I'd strongly consider it after THAT. Watching Taylor Hall lay on his butt after getting hit...or Jordan Eberle skate slowly back to the bench with no purpose after a play was ended...or Hopkins not even trying to beat defenders...just brutal. Completely brutal.
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! If Ryan Smyth is the man most people seem to think he is, he should watch the tape of his performance tonight and ask the coaching staff to sit him down for the rest of the year. He should spend that time strongly considering either hanging them up for good and preserving his legacy, or immediately begin the kind of offseason regimen that let guys like Chelios and Roberts keep playing for as long as they did. He should truly commit to this team and actually make the effort, rather than whining about his role on the team, not playing during the lockout, then showing up to do THIS in the regular season. I've never seen a veteran player lose that many races to the puck where they had a one, two or even three step head start. He couldn't even be bothered to make it to the boards on most of these plays tonight. He'd simply glide in one direction, then extend his stick weakly and move on. He made one of the most rookie-mistake plays I've seen all year to set up a Calgary goal, poking a puck in desperation right to a waiting Calgary player in the middle of the damn ice when there was nothing but space and time along the boards. How does he respond? Why he rushes into the CGY zone at 3mph and uncorks the 3-three-hour wind up 4mph slapper. This is a guy who has never been my favorite but at least had my respect for his effort on the ice. This year and especially tonight have really impacted my view of him. It'd be one thing if he was leaving it all out there, blocking shots left and right and simply couldn't do it because the body is no longer willing...but he's not putting forth the effort and then I see he's apparently yukking it up on the bench while we're down 3-1 to CGY on HNIC. 20-something Ryan Smyth would punch the current #94 in the face.
I know it was an exceptional night, but it is really crummy when you realize that MAYBE one guy (Horcoff, depending on the moves made in the offseason) is the only guy in the bottom six with any business on this roster. I know that Jones and Petrell at least played a little bit like they were trying to earn jobs tonight...but the fact that this performance and that effort was so noticable is a great indication that they just are not good enough to be here. Smithson hits exactly like J.F. Jacques used to, meaning that because of his weak skating fundamentals he doesn't make near the impact he should and winds up completely out of position. He also spent half the night falling on his butt. It was terrible. Mike Brown landed one decent hit and spent the rest of the night skating around trying to look like he was doing something. I liked Petrell's goal, and his tip attempt later in the game, and that he went out of his way to play physically. Doesn't change my conclusion that he needs to be gone. Jones made a solid play to set up Lennart, then went back to overskating and being out of position as usual. At least he hit some people. Horcoff wasn't great but also had absolutely ZERO to work with out there really. I don't expect miracles from the guy. He wasn't good in the defensive zone though...and made a number of PK mistakes despite the fact that the unit was largely successful.
The only forward unit that did anything right for a decent part of the night was the Gagner line. The Yakupov non-goal was an absolutely magnificent sequence. Magnus skates in to land a hit he never would have thrown a couple years ago...this leads to a lose puck heading to centre ice. From the second Yakupov saw that puck, the lane ahead and started moving, you knew it was headed into the net. Yakupov pounces, Gagner makes a good read and gets the puck, Yakupov drives to the perfect spot, Gagner finds him and damn if Mr. Handeye can't get his stick on the puck. Not our night I guess, but still, what a transition play. Just amazing. All three forwards doing exactly what we needed them to. Yakupov and Paajarvi both landed multiple hits during the game. All these hits came while maintaining position and making a positive impact on the play. The line attacked with speed and was responsible for most of the good chances we had. Yakupov made a brilliant laser pass that should have found Gagner but he missed it by a step. Magnus drove the puck and did pretty much everything we've been asking him to. Sam could have been better, but at least was a step above the rest of the forwards along with his line. I won't excuse their defensive play though, as aside from a couple gems from #s 91 and 64, they did indeed get pinned in the defensive zone and make some mistakes that led to Calgary chances. I do blame the D for some of that, but the unit needed to be better. Gagner also completely blew by the front of the net on the PK leading to a CGY goal (Petrell was also completely out to lunch there I believe).
When it comes to the D tonight I'm not even sure it is worth discussing them. Remember how we spoke about the Calgary D standing around waiting for the game to be over? The Oilers D didn't check anyone tonight. They stood around and let Calgary score. They gave the puck away. They didn't pass well to their forwards or skate the puck out of our zone. A perfect example was the first goal, where Smid sent the puck around the boards, Petry was within a couple steps and couldn't be bothered, and there was no forward there to get the puck. Suddenly Calgary is in on us and scores. Ugly, unacceptable way to start a game. It is one thing to allow a good goal early...it happens, but not that way.
Khabibulin? Yeah he was terrible. Just horrendous. He stopped some tough ones but almost all of these stops generated huge rebounds. He got beat four times by a whole lot of nobodies. It wouldn't have mattered of course...but still you have to note that he wasn't any good.
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So yeah, I'm pissed. I saw this coming but not this bad and not with this much quit.
The thing is, we have had several chances during this season to make a statement about taking a step forward. 75% of the conversation at the deadline was about "sending the wrong message" by...well...doing anything to this team...I wonder what the message was when essentially nothing was done. Make no mistake, adding Smithson was a waste of a fourth round pick. Couldn't you have helped this team and given it a playoff push boost by grabbing a player or two that could actually contribute? It was evident from the other trades that the cost was minimal. Instead we have paralysis as usual.
It is evident at this point that the entire conversation around the Oilers - from management to the media to a wide majority of the fans is completely wrong. They think we simply need to "add size". They think this is all part of the process. They think you can magically wake up one day, acquire everyone you need and be a Stanley Cup contender for a decade with the same people and ideas you had before...it simply does not work that way. It never has and never will.
For the last word I'll turn to the talking about the coach. I've tried to like Ralph Krueger. I like his positive take on most things and I like that he seems to be thoughtful. These are important parts of being a strong coach. The thing is, you also need to be able to get pissed off. You need to have intensity. You need to impose your will. You can't whine about not being able to get players icetime because you steadfastly refuse to take a chance and play offensive players on the PK when you're losing. That's just such a great example of a coach who gets completely stuck in his own groove and can't see the obvious and easy solution to his problem. When you're down in a game late in the season and can't make the playoffs but want your players to grow, you play Hall, Eberle, Yakupov, Hopkins and whoever damn else on the PK, PP, 5-on-5, 4-on-4 and wherever else you can. You just DO IT. This is not complicated stuff. We may very well be at the paralysis through analysis stage here.
Good god is this ever frustrating. I am so thankful that I didn't have to pay for and sit through 41 games of this crap this year. It is painful to say that, but it is true.
4/11/13
2013 LMHF Report Game #18
EDMONTON 1
VS.
PHOENIX 3
---------------
So, Fan Appreciation Night huh? Otherwise known as guaranteed loss night? Yeah...not good. I was not optimistic heading into this one. By the end I was just disappointed that more people hadn't prepared for the loss by loading up on free popcorns to litter the ice with.
This one was bad. Really bad. Listless and sad bad.
They didn't deserve two points tonight. That is for sure. Neither did Phoenix really though. This game was one of those that in the old days could have ended in a zero-zero tie and you'd have just said "Yep." and headed on home.
There was no push from practically anyone on the ice until the third period. I don't know what precisely it is about this team that turns the switch off if they don't set the other team on fire in the first period. There's no reason they can't be winning games in any and all periods, but this group seems to have only one way of getting it done and if that doesn't work out they pack it in for the night.
What exactly did they do to that confident team that left the building not that long ago to take on the world on the road? Did they all just jump off the damn pier in Vancouver or what? Have they been replaced with a bunch of drones who just sort of drift through games? To go this silent and listless, when you're finally in the position where you MIGHT make the playoffs is appalling. It's been appalling to watch on TV and I figured at least it would get better at home. If anything it got worse.
I'd like to also highlight what happened to us in the third period. I still don't know exactly what happened with Taylor Hall that inspired such wrath from Phoenix. I saw Michalek, who was perfectly fine after rolling around on the ice like he'd been shot. I saw when he, Yandle, Hanzal and others playing like little whining children afterwards that should have all been sent to the penalty box. I saw our team do...pretty much nothing in response. That was embarrassing. Completely and totally embarrassing. I'm not a guy who says this team isn't big enough and all that like others do, but there are times when you really have to question the players on the ice and especially what the coaches are telling them/who is being put on the ice. Having no response to PHX's chippy play is unforgivable. You send guys out there and you take a run at Ekman-Larsson. You dummy Doan. You go after their skill players. You don't leave the Taylor Halls and Nail Yakupovs of the world to do it on their own. Just stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
And I'm so tired of having to point out the refereeing, but I must again because it was that terrible. Things were bad enough when the two weak tripping calls came in succession, but what went on in the third, where players weren't being protected during a dangerous situation was really upsetting. This league wonders why it has problems...well letting Michalek chop away with his stick for 3 straight shifts with no penalties called is a pretty good example to look at.
Getting back to more game details - does anyone know why the Oilers defencemen insist on simply shooting the puck out of our zone and giving it away so often? They all did that an absolute ton tonight. Almost no solid passing to be found anywhere. When they weren't dumping the puck away, they were letting the PHX forwards skate right by them with the puck...sooo...yeah.
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Dubnyk
- He was terrible. Sure he had stretches of smooth sailing where he made some decent saves but those goals were unforgivable. He's played enough strong games this year that the team should be in a playoff spot so I don't hold that reality against him, but no excuses for tonight's effort. Unfocused and cost us.
Fistric-Whitney
- I did actually see Whitney skate into the corner well and beat an opposition forward in a battle for the puck tonight. That was good but the rest of the night for both of these guys was pretty horrible. Fistric was having a really hard time moving the puck and making any kind of decision. He got caught standing still several times. Whitney had some decent moments with the man advantage but otherwise spent the night passing to the wrong team and making coverage mistakes. He'd just stand around for no apparent reason.
Smid-Petry
- Certainly one of Petry's worst games of the year. He kept passing the puck tape-to-tape to the opposition. He wasn't even close to making plays. I can recall maybe one good skate in the offensive zone that ended in nothing. Smid didn't play well either. He got caught in the offensive zone after giving up an easy possession and creating a Phoenix 3-on-1 the other way that thankfully came to nothing. He was just okay in the defensive zone, which is well below his usual standard. No big mistakes that went in the net but several that could have.
N. Schultz-J. Schultz
- No fireworks from either of these guys and both got caught standing still or out of position several times during the game much like the rest of the D group. Not a lot of crisp passing either.
Brown-Smithson-Petrell
- I was somewhat looking forward to watching Smithson's first game at Rexall to see if maybe there was something I'd missed in past looks at him where he really seemed like nothing special at all. I was disappointed. Smithson seems so far to be Eric Belanger without the positioning or the goofy shooting technique, plus some hit attempts. I stress the word attempts because tonight he couldn't really direct his momentum in any meaningful way and ran into people but didn't really do anything. Petrell at least showed a little bit of fire, skated some and played a decent game. Brown was basically invisible save for a tip in front of the net. I don't know what it is about the Oilers' culture or coaches or what but he sure has toned things down since the first couple games.
Smyth-Horcoff-Yakupov
- Watching this line was really strange. The thing that was most striking was how incredibly slow and out of it Yakupov made Horcoff and Smyth look. They were constantly behind the play. #64 had to freelance all over the ice for the unti to get anything done at all. When they did it was a credit to him and pretty much nothing else. Nail was fairly quiet early, but came on crazy in the third. Loved that he was trying to put the team on his shoulders and didn't take any crap from anyone. Not having him out there at the end of the game, after being the only guy on the ice all night who looked like he might actually win us the game, was a travesty. Horcoff wasn't too bad even if he did look like an ocean liner at times. I don't blame him for the penalty at the very end of the game. It made no sense based on what I saw live or on the replay. If anything Mike Smith should have gotten a penalty for losing his crap. Horcoff did get a great feed from Eberle that needed to be converted. He had all the time in the world and almost looked like he was so shocked he couldn't decide what to do with it. Horrible. Smyth at least took on Doan at the end a bit I guess. The rest of the game he looked useless, slow and uninterested. People give #94 the benefit of the doubt when it comes to effort. If that's all he's got, then he needs to hang em up. Badly.
Paajarvi-Gagner-Hemsky
- Nothing from these guys tonight. Hemsky's obviously hurt and while the spirit was willing, as evidenced by second and third efforts all night to make SOMETHING, ANYTHING happen out there, but the body is not cooperating. He didn't have a very good game and couldn't get passes through where he'd normally have been able to. Still a couple moments that could have swung things but not enough of them. I don't know what's up with Gagner. He's gone completely silent all of a sudden, losing pucks and not playing the compensatory physical game that usually accompanies his offensive lulls. He's just not creating anything and hasn't adjusted to getting open either. Magnus at least hit some holes with speed, hit a couple people and was okay tonight. He really didn't play well with the puck though. That whiffed slapper he took that wound up in the corner was just sad.
Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- I'd say early on Eberle was getting the chances and driving the bus a little. Hall took over this role at the end. The thing was, none of these guys were much good for any more than one shift in a row tonight. I don't know if it was effort with them but their execution was WAY off. Imprecise shooting, sloppy passing, carrying no speed out of our zone or into their zone...just nothing going tonight. Why they also took a bunch of lazy shots from the outside with no drive to the net and no chance of scoring was rather baffling. I'm not sure why these guys have suddenly lost the touch, but this looks eerily similar to earlier in the year when they just sort of short-circuited. They lost their roll at the absolute wrong time.
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I'm not sure whether this team is tired or lazy at this point. It has to be one of them because that effort was pathetic. It is one thing to lose when a team shuts you down...that wasn't this game at all. They had nothing to give, didn't execute on anything and were outcoached badly once again. Way too many mistakes. This team has no excuse for being where there are in the standings right now...much less where they are likely to wind up.
I was never too optimistic that the Oilers would make the playoffs. Management has passed up to many chances to add depth to survive injuries and gives vets and rookies alike a kick in the pants when necessary. There are so many guaranteed jobs on this team right now. It really shouldn't be that way for a squad that has been easily the NHL's worst in the past few years.
And for the record...bouncing up 3 or 4 spots from the very bottom because some of your draft picks aren't 18 years old anymore is not progress.
Ugh...just sad and frustrating at this point.
VS.
PHOENIX 3
---------------
So, Fan Appreciation Night huh? Otherwise known as guaranteed loss night? Yeah...not good. I was not optimistic heading into this one. By the end I was just disappointed that more people hadn't prepared for the loss by loading up on free popcorns to litter the ice with.
This one was bad. Really bad. Listless and sad bad.
They didn't deserve two points tonight. That is for sure. Neither did Phoenix really though. This game was one of those that in the old days could have ended in a zero-zero tie and you'd have just said "Yep." and headed on home.
There was no push from practically anyone on the ice until the third period. I don't know what precisely it is about this team that turns the switch off if they don't set the other team on fire in the first period. There's no reason they can't be winning games in any and all periods, but this group seems to have only one way of getting it done and if that doesn't work out they pack it in for the night.
What exactly did they do to that confident team that left the building not that long ago to take on the world on the road? Did they all just jump off the damn pier in Vancouver or what? Have they been replaced with a bunch of drones who just sort of drift through games? To go this silent and listless, when you're finally in the position where you MIGHT make the playoffs is appalling. It's been appalling to watch on TV and I figured at least it would get better at home. If anything it got worse.
I'd like to also highlight what happened to us in the third period. I still don't know exactly what happened with Taylor Hall that inspired such wrath from Phoenix. I saw Michalek, who was perfectly fine after rolling around on the ice like he'd been shot. I saw when he, Yandle, Hanzal and others playing like little whining children afterwards that should have all been sent to the penalty box. I saw our team do...pretty much nothing in response. That was embarrassing. Completely and totally embarrassing. I'm not a guy who says this team isn't big enough and all that like others do, but there are times when you really have to question the players on the ice and especially what the coaches are telling them/who is being put on the ice. Having no response to PHX's chippy play is unforgivable. You send guys out there and you take a run at Ekman-Larsson. You dummy Doan. You go after their skill players. You don't leave the Taylor Halls and Nail Yakupovs of the world to do it on their own. Just stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
And I'm so tired of having to point out the refereeing, but I must again because it was that terrible. Things were bad enough when the two weak tripping calls came in succession, but what went on in the third, where players weren't being protected during a dangerous situation was really upsetting. This league wonders why it has problems...well letting Michalek chop away with his stick for 3 straight shifts with no penalties called is a pretty good example to look at.
Getting back to more game details - does anyone know why the Oilers defencemen insist on simply shooting the puck out of our zone and giving it away so often? They all did that an absolute ton tonight. Almost no solid passing to be found anywhere. When they weren't dumping the puck away, they were letting the PHX forwards skate right by them with the puck...sooo...yeah.
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Dubnyk
- He was terrible. Sure he had stretches of smooth sailing where he made some decent saves but those goals were unforgivable. He's played enough strong games this year that the team should be in a playoff spot so I don't hold that reality against him, but no excuses for tonight's effort. Unfocused and cost us.
Fistric-Whitney
- I did actually see Whitney skate into the corner well and beat an opposition forward in a battle for the puck tonight. That was good but the rest of the night for both of these guys was pretty horrible. Fistric was having a really hard time moving the puck and making any kind of decision. He got caught standing still several times. Whitney had some decent moments with the man advantage but otherwise spent the night passing to the wrong team and making coverage mistakes. He'd just stand around for no apparent reason.
Smid-Petry
- Certainly one of Petry's worst games of the year. He kept passing the puck tape-to-tape to the opposition. He wasn't even close to making plays. I can recall maybe one good skate in the offensive zone that ended in nothing. Smid didn't play well either. He got caught in the offensive zone after giving up an easy possession and creating a Phoenix 3-on-1 the other way that thankfully came to nothing. He was just okay in the defensive zone, which is well below his usual standard. No big mistakes that went in the net but several that could have.
N. Schultz-J. Schultz
- No fireworks from either of these guys and both got caught standing still or out of position several times during the game much like the rest of the D group. Not a lot of crisp passing either.
Brown-Smithson-Petrell
- I was somewhat looking forward to watching Smithson's first game at Rexall to see if maybe there was something I'd missed in past looks at him where he really seemed like nothing special at all. I was disappointed. Smithson seems so far to be Eric Belanger without the positioning or the goofy shooting technique, plus some hit attempts. I stress the word attempts because tonight he couldn't really direct his momentum in any meaningful way and ran into people but didn't really do anything. Petrell at least showed a little bit of fire, skated some and played a decent game. Brown was basically invisible save for a tip in front of the net. I don't know what it is about the Oilers' culture or coaches or what but he sure has toned things down since the first couple games.
Smyth-Horcoff-Yakupov
- Watching this line was really strange. The thing that was most striking was how incredibly slow and out of it Yakupov made Horcoff and Smyth look. They were constantly behind the play. #64 had to freelance all over the ice for the unti to get anything done at all. When they did it was a credit to him and pretty much nothing else. Nail was fairly quiet early, but came on crazy in the third. Loved that he was trying to put the team on his shoulders and didn't take any crap from anyone. Not having him out there at the end of the game, after being the only guy on the ice all night who looked like he might actually win us the game, was a travesty. Horcoff wasn't too bad even if he did look like an ocean liner at times. I don't blame him for the penalty at the very end of the game. It made no sense based on what I saw live or on the replay. If anything Mike Smith should have gotten a penalty for losing his crap. Horcoff did get a great feed from Eberle that needed to be converted. He had all the time in the world and almost looked like he was so shocked he couldn't decide what to do with it. Horrible. Smyth at least took on Doan at the end a bit I guess. The rest of the game he looked useless, slow and uninterested. People give #94 the benefit of the doubt when it comes to effort. If that's all he's got, then he needs to hang em up. Badly.
Paajarvi-Gagner-Hemsky
- Nothing from these guys tonight. Hemsky's obviously hurt and while the spirit was willing, as evidenced by second and third efforts all night to make SOMETHING, ANYTHING happen out there, but the body is not cooperating. He didn't have a very good game and couldn't get passes through where he'd normally have been able to. Still a couple moments that could have swung things but not enough of them. I don't know what's up with Gagner. He's gone completely silent all of a sudden, losing pucks and not playing the compensatory physical game that usually accompanies his offensive lulls. He's just not creating anything and hasn't adjusted to getting open either. Magnus at least hit some holes with speed, hit a couple people and was okay tonight. He really didn't play well with the puck though. That whiffed slapper he took that wound up in the corner was just sad.
Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- I'd say early on Eberle was getting the chances and driving the bus a little. Hall took over this role at the end. The thing was, none of these guys were much good for any more than one shift in a row tonight. I don't know if it was effort with them but their execution was WAY off. Imprecise shooting, sloppy passing, carrying no speed out of our zone or into their zone...just nothing going tonight. Why they also took a bunch of lazy shots from the outside with no drive to the net and no chance of scoring was rather baffling. I'm not sure why these guys have suddenly lost the touch, but this looks eerily similar to earlier in the year when they just sort of short-circuited. They lost their roll at the absolute wrong time.
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I'm not sure whether this team is tired or lazy at this point. It has to be one of them because that effort was pathetic. It is one thing to lose when a team shuts you down...that wasn't this game at all. They had nothing to give, didn't execute on anything and were outcoached badly once again. Way too many mistakes. This team has no excuse for being where there are in the standings right now...much less where they are likely to wind up.
I was never too optimistic that the Oilers would make the playoffs. Management has passed up to many chances to add depth to survive injuries and gives vets and rookies alike a kick in the pants when necessary. There are so many guaranteed jobs on this team right now. It really shouldn't be that way for a squad that has been easily the NHL's worst in the past few years.
And for the record...bouncing up 3 or 4 spots from the very bottom because some of your draft picks aren't 18 years old anymore is not progress.
Ugh...just sad and frustrating at this point.
4/2/13
2013 LMHF Report Game #17
EDMONTON 4
VS.
CALGARY 1
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Was I watching a different hockey game tonight? I'm really not understanding all these post game comments about Calgary "getting chances" and "taking it to us at points". They really make no sense to me. There was hardly any time tonight where this game wasn't under our control. We also didn't start all that well...even after Schultz had scored we were sitting back a little bit. After Hall's goal that changed. Calgary was terrible all night. They had nothing...especially in the defensive zone where they could not be bothered to stay in strong defensive position. This was glaringly obvious on the first two goals where the defenders essentially backed away from both Schultz and Hall. They did nothing to impede progress whatsoever.
Actual conversation right before the Oilers first goal:
LMHF#2 "You know who hasn't done anything lately?"
LMHF#1 "Justin Schultz?"
LMHF#2 "Yep."
He scored about 15 seconds later. You could kind of see what was going on in the play, but it was still really funny the way that worked out.
Another game where we get hosed by a lack of powerplays. We should have had them (not to the extent of the Vancouver game) and were not getting any calls. This has made a difference in the feel and indeed the score in the last couple of games. They're going to start again eventually as we're still doing what we need to in order that the penalties should be drawn.
Definitely a different feel in the building right now. You can tell people are getting excited again. The thing is that this excitement is fragile. Taking it for granted would be a major mistake, just as taking for granted the steps forward some of the Oilers players are taking by not getting them some reinforcements would be a major mistake.
Calgary fans are at least more respectful than Canucks fans in Edmonton. I love beating them, don't get me wrong, but man that was a horrible roster they had to watch tonight.
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Dubnyk
- The first period was probably his worst in a few games. He didn't allow any goals which is largely a credit to his defencemen. There were a ton of semi-juicy rebounds and no one got any of them in the open. They simply resulted in weak shots on net which he stopped. After the first though, he was very good. He settled in, controlled the puck and was ahead of the play rather than reacting to it. That's huge for a goalie and most evident on a save in the third period where he was across the net well in advance of a solid shooting chance. Great stuff. Not first star great (Schultz), but still exactly what we need.
Smid-Petry
- Very solid. Petry had one bad sequence in the second period where he got turned around and gave the puck away pretty badly (oddly right after nailing somebody) but other than that he was aggressive, well positioned and moved the puck. Can't really ask for much more from him. Smid was really good tonight. He was after all the Flames and especially Blake Comeau for some reason. He didn't take any crap and punished when he could. He was also solid with the puck and shut the play down effectively a number of times. Even blocked a tough one off his foot which the crowd gave him solid props for. Well done #5. Glad you'll be aboard for a few more years.
J. Schultz-N.Schultz
- Nick was probably as good as I've seen him play in a long time. He was a lot more decisive with the puck and didn't get caught out of position defensively. Calgary didn't really push the play so he didn't have to deal with intense pressure very much, but he did what he needed to. Justin was really good. He scored a really nice goal, making a good read to jump into the play, then took advantage of the time to make a nice little move and finish with authority. His assist on the Hall goal was a great little read which teed the play up perfectly. I didn't catch his second assist. What I did catch was a few defensive plays he made, especially in the second period, which were excellent. He was using his body to separate the man and play the puck just like Joni Pitkanen used to. I suspect this will become a larger part of his game as he matures and improves. Really strong and important game for him that will hopefully get his offensive game rolling.
Potter-Whitney
- Whitney had some positive moments tonight mixed in with some instances where he got caught standing around pretty badly. He didn't really make the offensive effort to balance it out but also didn't cost the team so I'd call it just a mixed bag. Potter was pretty much the same way, though more physical in the corners than #6. Good enough, yes, but we need to improve on these two if we're going to get anywhere.
Smyth-Petrell-Brown
- Generally quiet night for these guys. They had a couple productive offensive shifts in the third but were otherwise not particularly interesting. Less physical play than in previous games. Smyth was probably better than he has been lately. More skating to pucks and less reaching out his stick...though he did make some absurdly lazy efforts in the second period. Petrell got a slapper away but otherwise didn't stir up anything interesting. Brown made a nice pass at centre ice that I remember, but otherwise I spent the evening laughing at some of the plays that he made in the corners. Really, really weak puck retrieval.
Jones-Horcoff-Yakupov
- Very glad to see #64 get a goal. It wasn't the greatest shot in the world but it was strong enough to get through and that is all that matters. He was going to the right places more often than usual tonight and was rewarded with some nice shooting chances. He nearly beat MacDonald clean on a good, hard shot in the second period. Picking up an assist on Jones' goal was largely just a bonus I imagine. He is still having some trouble reading the play to use his acceleration and beat people. Too often he waits too long. Sometimes this is just out of caution and trying to be defensively responsible (on one of the shift specifically he dropped back low, stole the puck, then skated it out of trouble very nicely), but other times it is because he is too late to make up his mind to be aggressive. The coaches will hopefully catch this on tape and make a suggestion that he fly the zone every now and again...but I don't exactly think Buchberger will catch that. Horcoff was pretty solid tonight. He was in good position, moved the puck okay and had a couple chances. That full windup slapper he took was pretty weird to say the least. He actually got some power behind that. Those of you who've read for some time know that I am far from Ryan Jones' biggest fan. I will give credit to him for a 2-point night, and especially the quick little pass he made to Yakupov to set him up. The thing is, he was still leaving the zone too early and playing the wrong spot in the offensive zone tonight. He also botched a ton of clean chances to move up ice when the D or one of his linemates got him the puck at center. He had serious problems controlling the puck. Replacing him with a higher quality option could make this line go in a big way.
Paajarvi-Gagner-Hemsky
- Another quiet statistical night for this line but for the most part they were quite strong. They were only credited with 4 shots but that seems really low. Positionally, they were solid in all three zones, not losing the puck in any dangerous spots. They moved the puck around effectively, drove in effectively but just couldn't pull the trigger on the chances they were getting. Magnus was skating well, but does need to keep his head up as the Flames started targeting him to some degree. Gagner was a little out of his usual lanes and that meant that he didn't get the free space to shoot that he usually does. He was very strong on the boards, both in the offensive and defensive zones, clearly making an effort to get there and make plays. Hemsky was pretty decent, getting shots away and moving the puck forward. I don't know what is wrong with him but if it is true he has a nagging injury I'm glad the coaches took the opportunity to get him some rest at the end of tonight's game. He's been hit fairly hard in a couple recent games and I'm hoping it is nothing major. We need #83 and the leadership role he plays on this line going down the stretch.
Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- A bit of an off game for these guys, but certainly good enough which is what matters. I figured Hall would simply one-time the puck or make a quick release play on his goal-producing chance in the first. It was almost awkward to take that backhander but he took a great one so it didn't matter at all. Hall also missed on a great little wrist shot chance in the first, and had Eberle inexplicably rush a pass and miss him later that period. He was free and clear. #4 has definitely been reading these chances to go on the fast break much better as of late. His play calmed down after the first and it looked like he as well as his linemates were rushing passes a little bit for the rest of the game, but you also got the impression that energy was being held back a little bit. I'm fine with that to be honest when the game is going like this one did. Eberle was pretty solid aside from that pass. He got to the slot and had some really good chances to score but just couldn't make it happen. No worries now that he's playing better again. Hopkins was a bit of a mystery. Somewhat like Yakupov, he wasn't beating anyone clean and had more problems getting his shot on net tonight. I hope he's working on that. Defensively though, he was excellent.
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No complaints from me. If we want to spend the rest of the year getting out of the gate like the last two games we'll be fine. Either we'll score a small bunch and then make the other team take the game from us or we'll just keep the pressure up until we collapse them.
One thing to remember is that good teams do indeed ration energy. They take easy wins and often back off a little bit. We've basically played two hard periods in the last two games. That could really pay off in the coming games. The only counter to that is not picking up bad habits. I didn't really see any on display tonight.
VS.
CALGARY 1
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Was I watching a different hockey game tonight? I'm really not understanding all these post game comments about Calgary "getting chances" and "taking it to us at points". They really make no sense to me. There was hardly any time tonight where this game wasn't under our control. We also didn't start all that well...even after Schultz had scored we were sitting back a little bit. After Hall's goal that changed. Calgary was terrible all night. They had nothing...especially in the defensive zone where they could not be bothered to stay in strong defensive position. This was glaringly obvious on the first two goals where the defenders essentially backed away from both Schultz and Hall. They did nothing to impede progress whatsoever.
Actual conversation right before the Oilers first goal:
LMHF#2 "You know who hasn't done anything lately?"
LMHF#1 "Justin Schultz?"
LMHF#2 "Yep."
He scored about 15 seconds later. You could kind of see what was going on in the play, but it was still really funny the way that worked out.
Another game where we get hosed by a lack of powerplays. We should have had them (not to the extent of the Vancouver game) and were not getting any calls. This has made a difference in the feel and indeed the score in the last couple of games. They're going to start again eventually as we're still doing what we need to in order that the penalties should be drawn.
Definitely a different feel in the building right now. You can tell people are getting excited again. The thing is that this excitement is fragile. Taking it for granted would be a major mistake, just as taking for granted the steps forward some of the Oilers players are taking by not getting them some reinforcements would be a major mistake.
Calgary fans are at least more respectful than Canucks fans in Edmonton. I love beating them, don't get me wrong, but man that was a horrible roster they had to watch tonight.
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Dubnyk
- The first period was probably his worst in a few games. He didn't allow any goals which is largely a credit to his defencemen. There were a ton of semi-juicy rebounds and no one got any of them in the open. They simply resulted in weak shots on net which he stopped. After the first though, he was very good. He settled in, controlled the puck and was ahead of the play rather than reacting to it. That's huge for a goalie and most evident on a save in the third period where he was across the net well in advance of a solid shooting chance. Great stuff. Not first star great (Schultz), but still exactly what we need.
Smid-Petry
- Very solid. Petry had one bad sequence in the second period where he got turned around and gave the puck away pretty badly (oddly right after nailing somebody) but other than that he was aggressive, well positioned and moved the puck. Can't really ask for much more from him. Smid was really good tonight. He was after all the Flames and especially Blake Comeau for some reason. He didn't take any crap and punished when he could. He was also solid with the puck and shut the play down effectively a number of times. Even blocked a tough one off his foot which the crowd gave him solid props for. Well done #5. Glad you'll be aboard for a few more years.
J. Schultz-N.Schultz
- Nick was probably as good as I've seen him play in a long time. He was a lot more decisive with the puck and didn't get caught out of position defensively. Calgary didn't really push the play so he didn't have to deal with intense pressure very much, but he did what he needed to. Justin was really good. He scored a really nice goal, making a good read to jump into the play, then took advantage of the time to make a nice little move and finish with authority. His assist on the Hall goal was a great little read which teed the play up perfectly. I didn't catch his second assist. What I did catch was a few defensive plays he made, especially in the second period, which were excellent. He was using his body to separate the man and play the puck just like Joni Pitkanen used to. I suspect this will become a larger part of his game as he matures and improves. Really strong and important game for him that will hopefully get his offensive game rolling.
Potter-Whitney
- Whitney had some positive moments tonight mixed in with some instances where he got caught standing around pretty badly. He didn't really make the offensive effort to balance it out but also didn't cost the team so I'd call it just a mixed bag. Potter was pretty much the same way, though more physical in the corners than #6. Good enough, yes, but we need to improve on these two if we're going to get anywhere.
Smyth-Petrell-Brown
- Generally quiet night for these guys. They had a couple productive offensive shifts in the third but were otherwise not particularly interesting. Less physical play than in previous games. Smyth was probably better than he has been lately. More skating to pucks and less reaching out his stick...though he did make some absurdly lazy efforts in the second period. Petrell got a slapper away but otherwise didn't stir up anything interesting. Brown made a nice pass at centre ice that I remember, but otherwise I spent the evening laughing at some of the plays that he made in the corners. Really, really weak puck retrieval.
Jones-Horcoff-Yakupov
- Very glad to see #64 get a goal. It wasn't the greatest shot in the world but it was strong enough to get through and that is all that matters. He was going to the right places more often than usual tonight and was rewarded with some nice shooting chances. He nearly beat MacDonald clean on a good, hard shot in the second period. Picking up an assist on Jones' goal was largely just a bonus I imagine. He is still having some trouble reading the play to use his acceleration and beat people. Too often he waits too long. Sometimes this is just out of caution and trying to be defensively responsible (on one of the shift specifically he dropped back low, stole the puck, then skated it out of trouble very nicely), but other times it is because he is too late to make up his mind to be aggressive. The coaches will hopefully catch this on tape and make a suggestion that he fly the zone every now and again...but I don't exactly think Buchberger will catch that. Horcoff was pretty solid tonight. He was in good position, moved the puck okay and had a couple chances. That full windup slapper he took was pretty weird to say the least. He actually got some power behind that. Those of you who've read for some time know that I am far from Ryan Jones' biggest fan. I will give credit to him for a 2-point night, and especially the quick little pass he made to Yakupov to set him up. The thing is, he was still leaving the zone too early and playing the wrong spot in the offensive zone tonight. He also botched a ton of clean chances to move up ice when the D or one of his linemates got him the puck at center. He had serious problems controlling the puck. Replacing him with a higher quality option could make this line go in a big way.
Paajarvi-Gagner-Hemsky
- Another quiet statistical night for this line but for the most part they were quite strong. They were only credited with 4 shots but that seems really low. Positionally, they were solid in all three zones, not losing the puck in any dangerous spots. They moved the puck around effectively, drove in effectively but just couldn't pull the trigger on the chances they were getting. Magnus was skating well, but does need to keep his head up as the Flames started targeting him to some degree. Gagner was a little out of his usual lanes and that meant that he didn't get the free space to shoot that he usually does. He was very strong on the boards, both in the offensive and defensive zones, clearly making an effort to get there and make plays. Hemsky was pretty decent, getting shots away and moving the puck forward. I don't know what is wrong with him but if it is true he has a nagging injury I'm glad the coaches took the opportunity to get him some rest at the end of tonight's game. He's been hit fairly hard in a couple recent games and I'm hoping it is nothing major. We need #83 and the leadership role he plays on this line going down the stretch.
Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- A bit of an off game for these guys, but certainly good enough which is what matters. I figured Hall would simply one-time the puck or make a quick release play on his goal-producing chance in the first. It was almost awkward to take that backhander but he took a great one so it didn't matter at all. Hall also missed on a great little wrist shot chance in the first, and had Eberle inexplicably rush a pass and miss him later that period. He was free and clear. #4 has definitely been reading these chances to go on the fast break much better as of late. His play calmed down after the first and it looked like he as well as his linemates were rushing passes a little bit for the rest of the game, but you also got the impression that energy was being held back a little bit. I'm fine with that to be honest when the game is going like this one did. Eberle was pretty solid aside from that pass. He got to the slot and had some really good chances to score but just couldn't make it happen. No worries now that he's playing better again. Hopkins was a bit of a mystery. Somewhat like Yakupov, he wasn't beating anyone clean and had more problems getting his shot on net tonight. I hope he's working on that. Defensively though, he was excellent.
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No complaints from me. If we want to spend the rest of the year getting out of the gate like the last two games we'll be fine. Either we'll score a small bunch and then make the other team take the game from us or we'll just keep the pressure up until we collapse them.
One thing to remember is that good teams do indeed ration energy. They take easy wins and often back off a little bit. We've basically played two hard periods in the last two games. That could really pay off in the coming games. The only counter to that is not picking up bad habits. I didn't really see any on display tonight.
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