EDMONTON 3
VS.
SAN JOSE 4
In a freaking shootout....
------------------------
Unacceptable shall be the word of the night.
Another home lead going into the third...another loss. Incredibly unacceptable.
Tonight the chances slipped through our fingers at times. The 4 minute powerplay after Havlat went stupid comes to mind. We made more errant passes than I've seen in a while. A lot of that was on us but SJ also happens to have very aggressive and skilled penalty killing forwards who forced the play and hurt us badly. Until Gagner shifted things a bit and got a good screened shot away we looked pretty sad.
San Jose wasn't particularly good at the other parts of the game. In fact, until they killed off Havlat's penalty they looked like a whiny old team who wasn't dealing with losing very well and wanted no part in the effort of correcting their current trajectory. We had them on the mat and then let them up rather than kicking them in the ribs.
I have to single out our coaching decisions again tonight. I don't enjoy it but these are now repeated mistakes and that is not right in a professional sport where everything is broken down over and over. People are paid a lot of money to get this stuff right. Having Mike Brown out there again late, playing with a modified fourth line of Smyth and Petrell (with the only youthful player in Hartikainen riding the pine for no damn reason AGAIN) late in the game, paired up with Whitney who was having a horrible game and Fistric who couldn't pull all that dead weight was a recipe for disaster. Many people knew it. Our coaches for whatever reason did not. That is the third straight game the Brown, and more importantly the coach's decision to play Brown, has played a significant negative part for the Oilers in the third period. Unacceptable.
Once again Yakupov and Hartikainen pay the price for unseen crimes and a goon and a slow old vet get the benefit. Once again it costs us. Unacceptable.
I also don't know why this team cannot possibly figure out 4-on-4. This isn't rocket surgery.
The refereeing was atrocious tonight. In the first period, when a couple iffy calls went our way I mentioned to LMHF#2 that we'd pay for this later if we didn't capitalize. Come the third period that came true. There were a ton of picks, holds and interference plays that went uncalled while SJ got an opportunity and capitalized. I don't ask for much from the zebras because of the BS internal politics that is rife in their profession and the speed at which the sport moves, but I do ask for consistency rather than this back and forth, score-based calls crap. It is an insult to the game. Unacceptable.
Those searching for positives can speak all they want about "points in five" and whatever other barfle they wish to spew. It's not going to matter at the end of the season. This team being "close" to the playoffs isn't going to matter either. Management and the coaching staff have put this squad in a place where it is constantly walking a tightrope with no net. Any mistakes, missing players or bad turns and they are sunk. There's no cushioning to fall back on. There's no excuse for that.
Niemi was terrible. We should have lit him up bad.
Worst three stars picks I've seen in forever. Should have been 1. Couture 2. Gagner Easily. 3. Another Shark, maybe Boyle. Not an Oilers player.
------------------
Player reviews will likely be a tad short tonight. I'm not happy. Feel free to add details you saw in the game.
Dubnyk
- No good tonight. The first goal he was completely lost on, regardless of how it eventually wound up in the net. Goal #2 was the same story with a little more help from a confused defence. He still should have covered the puck and not be sitting there doing nothing in his net. Goal #3 is from way too far out to beat him clean. The Couture SO goal I'll give him, but the Boyle goal was embarrassing. Getting faked out and laying there on the ice while a defenceman casually slides it into the open net is just brutal. It was like watching a power hitter who has never seen a curve ball before...except it was a 10-year-old's curve ball. I'm sure he'll bounce back, but he did the team no favours tonight. They still should have been able to win him a game for a change.
Whitney-Fistric
- Not the right pairing. The Oilers coaches seemed to be trying to match size with size and it worked briefly but fell apart. Whitney continued his points streak but that was the only positive. He was on the ice and guilty for two of the goals and in the penalty box when the other was scored. He went back to being bad in the corners and bad with the puck in his own zone tonight. Fistric was just okay trying to back him up. Disaster on the first goal though.
Smid-Petry
- Smid was okay and his usual physical self. I'm getting really tired of watching Petry stumble all over himself though. For a supposedly offensively gifted player, he had multiple chances tonight to either score or get a great shot on net and did nothing with those chances. Hemsky found him in the slot with all the time in the world and he couldn't do a damn thing.
J.Schultz-N.Schultz
- Don't like these two being put back together much at all. They were struggling when we last saw them together and weren't much better tonight. Justin made a great little play in OT to break up the rush but was lacklustre otherwise. He didn't hit anyone, got beat in the corners, missed even seeing a streaking Hemsky for a sure breakaway in the third period and was just generally sluggish. Nick wasn't really much better. He certainly made a good play to get the puck to the net for Horcoff to score his goal, but aside from that he was just too passive AGAIN tonight. How are these mistakes not being corrected? Since when did Nick Schultz not hit people to separate them from the puck?
Hartikainen-Petrell-Brown
- Teemu effectively didn't play so it would be wrong to say much about his game other than that he was okay while he was out there. Petrell had a rough night. He was way out of position on the second SJ goal and part of the myriad of mistakes that led to the third. He doesn't bring enough other things to the table to be making mistakes out there. Brown didn't fight anyone when some of the SJ goon squad were giving us problems. He didn't keep his hitting game up. He couldn't clear the puck out of our zone. Unacceptable and the third game in a row that he has had a pronounced negative impact on our ability to win. Again, more on the coaches than him. It is not his job to PK and to be playing important minutes in the third.
Jones-Smyth-Eberle
- This was a weird combination. Basically what it came down to was, get the puck to Eberle and hope something good happens. The other two either couldn't keep up, or in Jones' case were too busy cheating in the wrong direction (AGAIN). This very nearly led to a goal similar to the third goal on a couple occasions. Credit to Jones on his goal, he did the work, took the puck and beat a completely asleep Antti Niemi. Very good play but that was all he did. I do note that Gagner took that faceoff for some reason. I can't help but think the Jones we originally acquired would have dropped the gloves during that little skirmish he got himself involved in. I know he's got eye issues now or something, but the fact that he has basically dropped the physical part of his game and seems to think he can coast by on his offence and penalty killing is a pretty sad inditement of our depth (or coaching or management depending on your perspective). Smyth was pretty slow and weak along the boards. He got beaten for a lot of pucks in our end. He fared better in the offensive zone, but I still can't understand why there isn't always an Oilers forward standing at the side of the net opposite him when he goes for that slow wraparound. You know the puck gets there most of the time so why not be ready to bang it in? We could have had three of these tonight. Eberle was okay. He showed some good things but didn't really get a lot of time and space. One of his best plays was a sneaky little low shot that generated a rebound and should have got us a goal.
Paajarvi-Gagner-Yakupov
- Probably our best line in the offensive zone...which didn't stop our coach from messing with it yet again. Yakupov played a pretty solid game. In the first he came in with the puck on a 2-on-1 with Gagner. I'm still not too sure why he didn't just walk in and beat the goalie as he was given all kinds of time and space. He did make a good pass that Gagner could have finished but no reason to take the risk when you're as good as #64. Finish that play. Nice little pass to set up Gagner's PP goal later. No major mistakes and a fantastic hit in the third period. You could tell he was a little miffed and he took it out on the Sharks. Also had a second hit that shift. Beautiful. Paajarvi was pretty solid as well. I really liked the way he drove the net with the puck and got back to make some solid defensive plays. I do wish that he would stop burying his head on the rush though. Again tonight (as last game) he missed passing chances as he entered the zone because he was already winding for a shot. Gagner was our best player by a fair bit tonight. He scored his goal obviously, rang a great shot off the far bar in the third that Niemi is still looking for, beat players and carried speed into the offensive zone all night. He was the one guy who was taking the puck into trouble and coming away with it. Even made that bloody spin move delay pass in the second period that could easily have resulted in a goal. Great effort. Is it time to talk contract extension with #89?
Hall-Horcoff-Hemsky
- Something was very wrong with Taylor Hall tonight. I can't help but think he may also have been stricken with the flu. He was slow, really slow. He was getting knocked over at every turn. He couldn't beat anyone (with or without the puck) all night. I admire the guy's effort but if there's something that wrong with him he needs to sit or have a very limited role. You could see during the breaks that his face was sagging and there was no extra energy at all there. With Hall lagging, Horcoff and Hemsky were required to adjust. They've been playing a very fast and dynamic game lately that didn't change enough to accomodate their ailing teammate. One of the most common plays we see recently is Hemsky coming down the right wing with the puck, he'll cut in and pass as Hall breaks through the middle with speed. They also make this play just inside the zone at a slightly different angle. This play was mangled tonight because you could see when Hall when to apply the afterburner it just wasn't there. This is why you had so much chaos at the blue line and why the PP struggled. Hemsky was pretty good despite this, though his SO effort was not his best (either forehand wrist to top shelf or backhand roof ALWAYS). Horcoff did okay for himself on the draw but was largely missing in the offensive zone. His goal was obviously a solid read and drive and I applaud him for the timing.
---------------
It is going to be tough to win when Hopkins is out at the last minute and something is clearly wrong with Hall...BUT, we still should have come away with this one rather than snatching defeat from the claws of victory again. While the effort was far from perfect, I can't help but note that the effort was sabotaged yet again by ill-timed and illogical changes to the lineup/gameplan. Making these mistakes to lose, rather than simply being best or outworked, is unacceptable.
3/21/13
3/17/13
2013 LMHF Game Report #12
EDMONTON 3
VS.
NASHVILLE 2
--------------------
To be honest, we were better against Detroit. I am certainly a results man as any of you who have read for a significant period know, so I'm much happier with a number of things tonight. Nashville certainly isn't as good of a team as Detroit though and that's a big part of why we got the win. The two points are what matters in the end and we did some nice things in terms of execution during tonight's game.
The first ten minutes were an absolute no effort, no organization snooze fest. It really felt like an early game for everyone in the building. The Oilers were sluggish, behind the play and couldn't complete a pass to save their lives. The Predators had no jump whatever and were sloppy. The fans were silent. It was about the farthest thing from riveting.
The good news was that after that we picked up the play significantly. Our lines started producing some chances and we just sort of plodded along from there. Nothing electrifying but certainly the prospect of a victory.
It is no mystery that Nashville is about as exciting as drying paint. They play a system honed to allow a mediocre team with a solid goalie and a franchise defenceman to compete. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with this, but it doesn't so much lead to entertainment. The scoring was exactly the same in the last two games but this was much less interesting.
Krueger did okay for himself tonight against another pretty strong coach. For most of the game things were kept organized. I still hate that Mike Brown was asked to PK and that he and Jones were out there for a disastrous sequence that resulted in Shea Weber's goal. I also hate that he chopped the bench at the end of the game and sat Yakupov again. That didn't help us win - it made us more vulnerable. It also sends the wrong message to a top rookie who was having a solid period.
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Dubnyk
- Quite good through most of the game and especially the sequence late in the third where things got scrambly in front of him and he made several very nice saves. I would like to point out though that on both the goals he allowed he got caught reaching out an arm rather than moving his body to stop the puck. This is a bad habit that he displays fairly regularly and results in a lot of the "one bad goal" commentary on #40 (along with going down WAY too soon). You'd hope the goalie coach would catch this and be working on it, but who knows with the guy who was 4th string behind Red Light Racicot and JC Bergeron as the man with the plan.
Smid-Petry
- Smid was a mean presence in the corners and net once again. After more than one whistle he drove guys out of the crease and was warned by the refs (but never penalized which is the key of course). Just like last game he skated the puck out of trouble on numerous occasions. He even had a nice little foray into the offensive zone but forgot the key to any Ladislav Smid rush - move the puck before the faceoff dot. He always loses the puck once he's beyond the faceoff dot. I was very meh on Petry's game tonight. A couple nice carries but generally was running around in the defensive zone and requiring Smid to cover for him again. It didn't lead to the type of chances that occurred last game but it wasn't pretty either. Needs to work on his positioning and using his skating effectively from that positioning rather than leaning on it as a crutch.
N.Schultz-Fistric
- Why can't Schultz play odd man situations properly? You'd think an NHL veteran of this long would know what to do by now. He's had a number this year, but the 3-on-1 that he encountered tonight was just awful. He did absolutely nothing to prevent the scoring chance. You have to either attack aggressive and early or take away the highest percentage pass. Two on ones he doesn't seem to come out very well either. Just don't get it. Aside from that play he was pretty average. Good to see Fistric back in as an upgrade on Peckham or Potter. He threw his weight around a bit and was generally very good on the PK. Had a little bit of trouble with the puck, especially in the neutral and offensive zones but it happens. Hopefully he improves next game.
Whitney-J.Schultz
- I think this is the first game where I'm going to say Schultz was really off. That's quite an accomplishment for a rookie but we're not going to take it easy on him. The delay of game penalty was a loss in focus combined with likely trying to miss the referee which is no good. He made a couple horrible pinches including one in the third that could really have been decisive. No really strong offensive chances and both his positioning and passing left something to be desired. I'm sure he'll bounce back fine. Whitney mostly had a solid game. He wouldn't go into corners and punish people even when he had them lined up which frustrates the hell out of me, but he did play very well in the offensive zone and put some strong pucks toward the net including one that resulted in Paajarvi's goal. Good to have that reliable presence back and will likely increase his trade value as we approach the deadline.
One thing to the defence as a unit - take some shot blocking lessons from Smid. This sideways-one-knee crap is going to get you hurt.
Smyth-Petrell-Brown
- This line annoyed me on a number of fronts tonight. For one, if you watch they will always overskate their checks on the forecheck. A line that isn't going gangbusters for goals and succeeding cannot attempt this sort of play. It leads to what happened tonight, which was a bunch of slower than average skaters chasing the other team back down the ice. That doesn't help anyone. Brown was not particularly physical other than a couple of sequences where he tried to hold the puck in the corner. His PK effort was terrible, but then again he has no business being there. Smyth was slow and useless most of the night. He gave the puck away a ton of times including a real stinker in his own end. I will credit him for faking that stupid slap shot and passing to Eberle for a great scoring chance though. Petrell was the best of this group. He was moderately physical and of course made no mistake on his SH scoring chance. Lennart has a really nice shot but unfortunately is not talented enough to set it up very often. When he gets a chance like that he'll convert more often than not. PK'ed well.
Jones-Hopkins-Eberle
- Ryan Jones made a good play in the first period to win a battle with a Nashville defender and send Jordan Eberle in alone. I state this off the top because that was pretty much all he did. He was all over the place, overskating his man on the penalty kill and it could have cost us more than the one goal that it did. He has no business playing like that. He also left the offensive zone early on nearly every breakout and slowed the play down if he got the puck. You cannot be doing that on a line with Eberle and Hopkins. In the offensive zone, he kept backing away to the point where one of the defencemen would then have to pinch in reply (rather than a forward covering for a previously pinched defenceman). This completely screws up the offensive flow for his other forwards and made Hopkins and Eberle have to go into the corners far more often than you'd like to see. Thankfully, Eberle brought one of his best games in a while and evened out most of that performance. It is true that he missed two chances that should have been goals. The turnover Jones created left Eberle to walk in completely alone. I submit to you that last year and the previous year, Eberle makes one move and fires it by Rinne. Tonight he tried to outweight a giant goalie with a bunch of deke moves. He actually had the five hole briefly but waited past that too. Strange. I also submit he would've buried Smyth's pass last year. Got caught second guessing himself on that one. The thing was, he was moving and bouncing around, hitting, deking and making plays tonight. He'd gotten back to the game he plays well. This led to a great quick little pass to a WIDE open Paajarvi for a PP goal, then even more importantly, he took the puck from Taylor Hall (in past games he would have backed off), walked in and decisively fired one past the goalie. THAT was an Eberle play. Very well done. Hopkins was just average. I don't say this to criticize it is just that I did not see what I look for from a good Hopkins game: some excellent passing through small gaps, a nifty shot or two and big defensive break ups. He didn't really do any of that but also didn't make mistakes and moved the puck forward. Not bad, just not great.
Yakupov-Gagner-Paajarvi
-I liked what these guys did again tonight. They struggled on a couple of shifts in their own end but I suppose that is to be expected as they're not the greatest defensive unit. Magnus made some really nice backchecking plays during the game though and Gagner moved the puck out better than he usually does. Gagner also had a really nice night on the penalty kill, including the play to set up the second Oilers goal. First he outworked Kostitsyn and probably should generated a delayed penalty, then after Kostitsyn completely bailed on the play (I figure he thought that a defender could jump from one end of the bench and do better than an offensive forward could. Horrible judgement but I think there was actually thought at work there) he had Weber dead and took his sweet time to make a play. It is a really neat thing to watch the thought process of a gifted offensive player when he has time like that. It looked like Sam actually wanted to get Rinne to cheat towards to the pass and then let go that half-slapper thing he loves so much. I'm sure he would've scored too. Instead Rinne forced the pass and good ol Lenny made no mistake. Great little pass it was too. #89 made some other nice things happen too and I enjoyed that. Yakupov was a little quiet but got two very nice shots in on Rinne that required toe saves. He just needed to be a little closer to the net. His positioning was better but he oddly seemed to get caught a little flat footed at times. No real mistakes in terms of giveaways or anything. Magnus had another solid game both positionally and effort wise. He's settling in (in a good way).
Hall-Horcoff-Hemsky
- Relatively quiet night for this crew but they still looked quiet good for me. The best scoring chances for Hall and Hemsky actually came on a shift where Gagner jumped in as C. They also had another phenomenal shift where Horcoff just wasn't sure what to do in the offensive end as #s 83 and 4 dummied the opposition. Not a lot to add to that really. They did their job mostly and while they didn't put up a goal as a unit, they certainly had a part in winning this game. Credit to Horcoff for his PKing.
----------
A win is a win is win. We'll take it.
I would however like you to imagine what this forward roster could do for a moment:
Hall-(Better version of Horcoff-Hemsky
Yakupov-Gagner-Paajarvi
(Big scoring winger)-Hopkins-Eberle
Hartikainen-(Better Petrell)-(Younger, Faster version of old man Smyth)
That's what we need to shoot for if we want to make the dance. I'm not optimistic of the top line happening this year, but the rest could if there was any desire at all to make it happen.
VS.
NASHVILLE 2
--------------------
To be honest, we were better against Detroit. I am certainly a results man as any of you who have read for a significant period know, so I'm much happier with a number of things tonight. Nashville certainly isn't as good of a team as Detroit though and that's a big part of why we got the win. The two points are what matters in the end and we did some nice things in terms of execution during tonight's game.
The first ten minutes were an absolute no effort, no organization snooze fest. It really felt like an early game for everyone in the building. The Oilers were sluggish, behind the play and couldn't complete a pass to save their lives. The Predators had no jump whatever and were sloppy. The fans were silent. It was about the farthest thing from riveting.
The good news was that after that we picked up the play significantly. Our lines started producing some chances and we just sort of plodded along from there. Nothing electrifying but certainly the prospect of a victory.
It is no mystery that Nashville is about as exciting as drying paint. They play a system honed to allow a mediocre team with a solid goalie and a franchise defenceman to compete. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with this, but it doesn't so much lead to entertainment. The scoring was exactly the same in the last two games but this was much less interesting.
Krueger did okay for himself tonight against another pretty strong coach. For most of the game things were kept organized. I still hate that Mike Brown was asked to PK and that he and Jones were out there for a disastrous sequence that resulted in Shea Weber's goal. I also hate that he chopped the bench at the end of the game and sat Yakupov again. That didn't help us win - it made us more vulnerable. It also sends the wrong message to a top rookie who was having a solid period.
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Dubnyk
- Quite good through most of the game and especially the sequence late in the third where things got scrambly in front of him and he made several very nice saves. I would like to point out though that on both the goals he allowed he got caught reaching out an arm rather than moving his body to stop the puck. This is a bad habit that he displays fairly regularly and results in a lot of the "one bad goal" commentary on #40 (along with going down WAY too soon). You'd hope the goalie coach would catch this and be working on it, but who knows with the guy who was 4th string behind Red Light Racicot and JC Bergeron as the man with the plan.
Smid-Petry
- Smid was a mean presence in the corners and net once again. After more than one whistle he drove guys out of the crease and was warned by the refs (but never penalized which is the key of course). Just like last game he skated the puck out of trouble on numerous occasions. He even had a nice little foray into the offensive zone but forgot the key to any Ladislav Smid rush - move the puck before the faceoff dot. He always loses the puck once he's beyond the faceoff dot. I was very meh on Petry's game tonight. A couple nice carries but generally was running around in the defensive zone and requiring Smid to cover for him again. It didn't lead to the type of chances that occurred last game but it wasn't pretty either. Needs to work on his positioning and using his skating effectively from that positioning rather than leaning on it as a crutch.
N.Schultz-Fistric
- Why can't Schultz play odd man situations properly? You'd think an NHL veteran of this long would know what to do by now. He's had a number this year, but the 3-on-1 that he encountered tonight was just awful. He did absolutely nothing to prevent the scoring chance. You have to either attack aggressive and early or take away the highest percentage pass. Two on ones he doesn't seem to come out very well either. Just don't get it. Aside from that play he was pretty average. Good to see Fistric back in as an upgrade on Peckham or Potter. He threw his weight around a bit and was generally very good on the PK. Had a little bit of trouble with the puck, especially in the neutral and offensive zones but it happens. Hopefully he improves next game.
Whitney-J.Schultz
- I think this is the first game where I'm going to say Schultz was really off. That's quite an accomplishment for a rookie but we're not going to take it easy on him. The delay of game penalty was a loss in focus combined with likely trying to miss the referee which is no good. He made a couple horrible pinches including one in the third that could really have been decisive. No really strong offensive chances and both his positioning and passing left something to be desired. I'm sure he'll bounce back fine. Whitney mostly had a solid game. He wouldn't go into corners and punish people even when he had them lined up which frustrates the hell out of me, but he did play very well in the offensive zone and put some strong pucks toward the net including one that resulted in Paajarvi's goal. Good to have that reliable presence back and will likely increase his trade value as we approach the deadline.
One thing to the defence as a unit - take some shot blocking lessons from Smid. This sideways-one-knee crap is going to get you hurt.
Smyth-Petrell-Brown
- This line annoyed me on a number of fronts tonight. For one, if you watch they will always overskate their checks on the forecheck. A line that isn't going gangbusters for goals and succeeding cannot attempt this sort of play. It leads to what happened tonight, which was a bunch of slower than average skaters chasing the other team back down the ice. That doesn't help anyone. Brown was not particularly physical other than a couple of sequences where he tried to hold the puck in the corner. His PK effort was terrible, but then again he has no business being there. Smyth was slow and useless most of the night. He gave the puck away a ton of times including a real stinker in his own end. I will credit him for faking that stupid slap shot and passing to Eberle for a great scoring chance though. Petrell was the best of this group. He was moderately physical and of course made no mistake on his SH scoring chance. Lennart has a really nice shot but unfortunately is not talented enough to set it up very often. When he gets a chance like that he'll convert more often than not. PK'ed well.
Jones-Hopkins-Eberle
- Ryan Jones made a good play in the first period to win a battle with a Nashville defender and send Jordan Eberle in alone. I state this off the top because that was pretty much all he did. He was all over the place, overskating his man on the penalty kill and it could have cost us more than the one goal that it did. He has no business playing like that. He also left the offensive zone early on nearly every breakout and slowed the play down if he got the puck. You cannot be doing that on a line with Eberle and Hopkins. In the offensive zone, he kept backing away to the point where one of the defencemen would then have to pinch in reply (rather than a forward covering for a previously pinched defenceman). This completely screws up the offensive flow for his other forwards and made Hopkins and Eberle have to go into the corners far more often than you'd like to see. Thankfully, Eberle brought one of his best games in a while and evened out most of that performance. It is true that he missed two chances that should have been goals. The turnover Jones created left Eberle to walk in completely alone. I submit to you that last year and the previous year, Eberle makes one move and fires it by Rinne. Tonight he tried to outweight a giant goalie with a bunch of deke moves. He actually had the five hole briefly but waited past that too. Strange. I also submit he would've buried Smyth's pass last year. Got caught second guessing himself on that one. The thing was, he was moving and bouncing around, hitting, deking and making plays tonight. He'd gotten back to the game he plays well. This led to a great quick little pass to a WIDE open Paajarvi for a PP goal, then even more importantly, he took the puck from Taylor Hall (in past games he would have backed off), walked in and decisively fired one past the goalie. THAT was an Eberle play. Very well done. Hopkins was just average. I don't say this to criticize it is just that I did not see what I look for from a good Hopkins game: some excellent passing through small gaps, a nifty shot or two and big defensive break ups. He didn't really do any of that but also didn't make mistakes and moved the puck forward. Not bad, just not great.
Yakupov-Gagner-Paajarvi
-I liked what these guys did again tonight. They struggled on a couple of shifts in their own end but I suppose that is to be expected as they're not the greatest defensive unit. Magnus made some really nice backchecking plays during the game though and Gagner moved the puck out better than he usually does. Gagner also had a really nice night on the penalty kill, including the play to set up the second Oilers goal. First he outworked Kostitsyn and probably should generated a delayed penalty, then after Kostitsyn completely bailed on the play (I figure he thought that a defender could jump from one end of the bench and do better than an offensive forward could. Horrible judgement but I think there was actually thought at work there) he had Weber dead and took his sweet time to make a play. It is a really neat thing to watch the thought process of a gifted offensive player when he has time like that. It looked like Sam actually wanted to get Rinne to cheat towards to the pass and then let go that half-slapper thing he loves so much. I'm sure he would've scored too. Instead Rinne forced the pass and good ol Lenny made no mistake. Great little pass it was too. #89 made some other nice things happen too and I enjoyed that. Yakupov was a little quiet but got two very nice shots in on Rinne that required toe saves. He just needed to be a little closer to the net. His positioning was better but he oddly seemed to get caught a little flat footed at times. No real mistakes in terms of giveaways or anything. Magnus had another solid game both positionally and effort wise. He's settling in (in a good way).
Hall-Horcoff-Hemsky
- Relatively quiet night for this crew but they still looked quiet good for me. The best scoring chances for Hall and Hemsky actually came on a shift where Gagner jumped in as C. They also had another phenomenal shift where Horcoff just wasn't sure what to do in the offensive end as #s 83 and 4 dummied the opposition. Not a lot to add to that really. They did their job mostly and while they didn't put up a goal as a unit, they certainly had a part in winning this game. Credit to Horcoff for his PKing.
----------
A win is a win is win. We'll take it.
I would however like you to imagine what this forward roster could do for a moment:
Hall-(Better version of Horcoff-Hemsky
Yakupov-Gagner-Paajarvi
(Big scoring winger)-Hopkins-Eberle
Hartikainen-(Better Petrell)-(Younger, Faster version of old man Smyth)
That's what we need to shoot for if we want to make the dance. I'm not optimistic of the top line happening this year, but the rest could if there was any desire at all to make it happen.
3/16/13
2013 LMHF Report Game #11
EDMONTON 2
VS.
DETROIT 3
------------------
Well, where to start...for the first game back from a road trip (which has a cliche as a snoozer where the home team comes out flat) this was certainly an interesting game. Many, many things to cover which always makes these discussions more interesting.
The night started off with mild annoyance...I'd read that the Oilers were having an equipment sale and checked it out in hopes of scoring a brand new stick. They had a bunch of them, many interesting models and at fairly reasonable prices for most. Thing was...despite this being an "Oilers' Store" operation, they wouldn't take my Oilers money. Not impressed.
The game started fairly slowly but soon the home team picked up the pace. Once the Oilers did this and at any time during the game where they put forth a smart and consistent effort, they made the Wings look really really old. This was very refreshing and I would say that for 3/4 of each of the first two periods, this was the case. That's not perfect but if you do it for three periods you'll usually take the game going away with no problems. We didn't do that in the third.
One thing that was really noticeable in the first two periods was the way the Oilers were not going to stand for any of Detroit's usual crap. For the inexperienced, Detroit plays hard in the corners, uses a lot of well placed (and illegal) sticks, picks and other borderline plays that many other squads are penalized for. Usually the Oilers either let this play get to them and take penalties or get worn down by it and essentially pack it in. Tonight was different. For two solid periods the Oilers went into the corners with their elbows up, their sticks drawn and gave Detroit everything the could right back. It was really refreshing and hopefully a model for the type of play we'll see from this team going forward. That was a huge reason they had a two-to-nothing lead that should have probably been four-to-nothing.
Another reason was our attack. The lines that seem to have worked themselves out since Horcoff and Hartikainen got back in the lineup really give this team three lines that can put pressure on and a fourth line that (when it stays focused) can really beat on the other team's defencemen in the opposition's end. Many of us have called for an approach like this for some time and it does indeed work when you don't fiddle with it. Detroit couldn't handle our speed, couldn't match lines and couldn't break up the quick, short passing game that was deployed. This was a beautiful thing.
But that couldn't stay set now could it?
It wasn't the beginning of the end, it just sealed the deal. In the third the Oilers were not quite the same team. They back off too far (some units worse than others) and the fourth line suddenly decided its job was not to punish the opposition puck carrier but to sit back defensively. That line is nowhere near good enough to skate from a laid-back defensive posture. They're sitting ducks. After the game had become a one-goal game, Krueger shrunk his bench exactly the same way he did against the Blackhawks. The result was more of the same only worse. The lines lost any offensive momentum they had and inferior players who had already been having their weakest period were given more prominent roles. Mike Brown took a penalty (whether it was weak or not is irrelevant, he plays a game that can take a penalty like that at any time) in the place of Nail Yakupov, who was having a pretty decent game and had made a truly sublime effort on our second goal. Then a puck is directed into our net by our own defender and there is no lead any longer. Suddenly it is back to what was, you know, working...but it was too late.
This issue actually started in the second after Brown's fight. It is one thing to make interim adjustments and it did result in Hall being out there with Gagner and Yakupov to combine for a goal, but getting back to our regular lines and regular flow of play seemed to take forever. That's on the coach.
In the end I do pin this one on Krueger in a lot of ways. He screwed up at key points in the game, including repeating past mistakes. Were his players perfect? No. That doesn't mean he gets a pass for the decisions he made that were a detriment to the team's efforts.
Detroit IS indeed old and slow. They're dying as a team. They have some truly elite talent but otherwise are beginning to whither. It has helped that they have not been able to attract unrestricted free agents the way they have in the past. The only reason they were in it to even come back tonight was Jimmy Howard's play. He kept this thing close with some excellent stops off of some of our best players. It was very strange to watch the Wings struggle with systems play and overcommitment at times during this game. Can't say I remember much of that in previous games.
The Oilers really had no excuse not to win this game. We say this after every close loss, but those were HUGE points up for grabs tonight and the team gave this one away pretty damn badly. Shame. I don't know whether this team makes the playoffs, but the points that would put them in have certainly been attainable.
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Dubnyk
- He was only tested for a few brief flurries during this one. Aside from those times the Oilers D did a pretty decent job of keeping the scoring chances to a minimum. He was screened on the Filppula shot, sure, but he probably should have made that save. The Petry goal was obviously strange and Datsyuk's shot beat him well. Pretty solid effort. Definitely enough to win.
Smid-Petry
- Let's get right to it, shall we? Smid was excellent tonight. He was tough as Souray or Pronger used to be in the corners. He skated several pucks out of very dangerous situations when his forwards had struggled to move the puck out. He was just tremendous and even fired the puck a time or two. I thought Petry was having a strong game through most of the first forty. I've since realized it was likely that Smid was covering for his mistakes and just doing an incredible job of it. Seriously #5 was just all over the ice. Petry's trouble started in the third as he looked lost and made several questionable decisions with the puck. Then of course he scored on himself (which frankly happens to the best of us, just not usually as he did it). Then in OT, after struggling to the finish of the the third, he faced Pavel Datsyuk. The thing is, Petry had position, he was lined up, and moving at a decent enough speed that making a play on the forward should have been completely doable. Causing a turnover was even a pretty decent possibility. At absolute worst, he should have been able to haul down or hold Datsyuk to take a penalty. Instead he hesitated and might as well have been a pylon. A lot of people are on him about the 2nd goal. Even though it is Datsyuk the play I have a massive problem with is the OT goal. Not because it ended the game, but because it continued a trend of Petry getting beat cleanly when in good position and not being able to recover at all. This should be of great concern to all of us. On one hand he is receiving too much responsibility for sure, but there are no good excuses for some of the plays he's made in the defensive end (the Chicago OT loss comes to mind).
J. Schultz-Whitney
- Whitney wasn't great but was better than usual. You could see him being more decisive with the puck, deciding to press forward in instances where he wouldn't have earlier this year, and also playing physically in the corners. He was not as punishing as he's been in the past but he did commit himself a lot more to contact and did not fail on most occasions to get into the play. This was an effective approach for much of the game. I still suspect Fistric would play this style much better. Whitney did play the Filppula goal pretty badly, but he was also dealing with a miscue by his defensive partner and a forward we'll get to later. Justin Schultz was just okay for me tonight. He had some chances to be more physical and only sort of capitalized. While he took some good shots at the net, his passing seemed off and a tad indecisive. He overskated and made the above noted mistake on the Filppula goal. Overall I just expect more from #19 already and to see such a bland game from him is strange.
N. Schultz-Potter
- Potter's game was even more all over the place than Petry's but just happened to be missing the big blowup. In the first and second he was pretty decent, keeping the puck in and making some good passes and defensive plays. Through part of the second and into the third though, he kept backing away from pucks he should have won the race to, or not making a play he could clearly see was there. Again, he didn't really make any big defensive mistakes so I can't be too hard on him, but every now and again you think you see the Corey Power Potter Play guy returning and then he disappoints you which is sad. Nick Schultz was just okay. Yeah, just okay.
Smyth-Petrell-Brown
- Certainly an interesting combo and as I noted they were very solid through most of the first and second. Aside from a few sequences spent in the defensive zone (where they are NOT good), they forechecked hard, hit people, made simple plays and generally gave Detroit some trouble. I liked that Mike Brown made solid contact on his hits, controlled the puck okay and beat on Jordan Tootoo again. I did not like that he'd go into the corner the was he did that late in the game and take a penalty though. To be fair to him, he had no business being on the ice, but still. You've got to keep that under control and if Ben Eager could do it (he seemed to have figured it out) then so can Mike Brown. Smyth did some nice things and won more puck battles than I can remember in a while. There was an interesting sequence where he took that stupid slapper of his (which impressed everyone but me), but then he followed up and made a no-look pass attempt to the front of the net. If anyone had been paying attention that could easily have been a goal. As it was, the rest of the crowd saw it as a bad play...crazy people. I liked it. Petrell built on Brown's momentum and laid some hits of his own. He also had a couple nice shooting chances but couldn't convert. Of all the guys whose game changes sometimes, he needs to remember the hard-hitting hard-shooting version of himself, rather than the one who plays too far off his man and gets caught because of it.
Hartikainen-Hopkins-Eberle
- Hell of a luxury having this as the "third line". Though maybe that is the next line...who knows. Anyway, Eberle had a better game than when we saw him at home last. He played his defined role of shooter and playmaker off the drive fairly well for most of the game. He could easily have scored at least one but didn't quite manage it. I know some will remember his attempted no-look to Whitney on the powerplay more than the decisive plays he made at times in the offensive zone, but he's back in the right direction. Made a couple great passes including one to Paajarvi in the third that should have been a goal. Hartikainen didn't do anything too flashy. I liked his (penalized) hit and that he seemed focused on getting the puck past the defender then chasing it down. He's very good at that. He also had a couple chances in front of the net, but continued a trend of what I'd call rushing his shot. It doesn't really get away any quicker and you're never precise when this happens. He needs to bear down and relax, if that makes any sense. Hopkins made some nice things happen in both the offensive and defensive ends but was missing any real 'WOW' in his game tonight. The passes were not as slick and he couldn't get his shots through for whatever reason. Not a bad game by any means but he just wasn't dynamic.
Paajarvi-Gagner-Yakupov
- This is fun line to watch play. They have very different styles, all look very different on the ice and each brings a unique skillset every shift. Magnus was focused on driving the goalie tonight and did so both wide and up the middle with more success than I can recall. His confidence is clearly elevated and he's finally using his size properly on that wide drive. Howard had to make a good stop on him. The one thing I will dog him for a bit is not having the same confidence in his passing. Twice he had a lane to Yakupov in the slot, looked up, saw him, and hesitated rather than making the pass. He shot the puck on net both times but these were much lower percentage plays than Yakupov from the slot. Aside from that I liked what he did a lot. Gagner was about what we'd expect this year. He got a little dirty in front of the goalie to pop one in the net nicely. He challenged multiple Red Wings physically, either in scrums or through hitting. He played a strong support role and got some good shots away. Overall he was really solid. Yakupov put together a nice game. He made two great plays on the Gagner goal, with his drive into the slot, and ability to maintain puck control then put a really nice shot on for the rebound to Gagner. Loved how he jumped in celebration even though it was Gagner who scored. The kid plays with such intensity and joy. That's a winning combo any day of the week. He also made some excellent passes, some mediocre passes and only a couple passes to no one. Half the time it is simply because he's moving too fast for everyone else. I hope they're able to start catching up a bit now that they are becoming more familiar with what his game looks like. Still didn't get #64 the puck on the PP near enough.
Hall-Horcoff-Hemsky
- Through two this line was gold. They took on the best Detroit has to offer and were routinely blowing right by like the opposition was not even there. It was a thing of beauty. Hall was great and Hemsky very good for the entire game. Why in hell Krueger wouldn't see the absolute necessity of playing them together in OT after the way they'd played in regulation I have no idea. Hall was a man possessed tonight. He skated straight past, around and through various Detroit defenders. He scored a lovely goal on a nice move in the slot while Hemsky drove hard as a decoy. Hall did a double toe drag and nearly scored. He did all kinds of great things and was unfortunately only rewarded with two points. Hemsky wasn't blowing by as many people, but his passing was excellent, his reads spot on, and his defensive effort strong. He nearly scored the goal of the year when he broke into the Detroit zone, played a perfect bank pass by a Detroit defender to himself, then was robbed by Jimmy Howard's stick. THAT was a play. Hall and Hemsky also set up Horcoff for what should have been an absolute gimme in the third and Horcoff didn't even get a shot away. I was really looking forward to giving the captain a strong grade tonight and through two periods he was indeed strong. He did overskate his check and get caught on the Filppula goal, but his strong support efforts while #s 4 and 83 worked their magic were more than balancing that out. Then the third game. He was all over the place in a terribly bad way. Missed passes, missed checks, turnovers, bad PK work...it was just a mess. He was useless in OT. Sour finish for what started as a sweet night. This trio will be really useful if the Oilers start to make a run. Hall and Hemsky are dominant together and a healthy Horcoff provides comfort and support (which sounds really funny) to both of them. We shall see.
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Damn disappointing evening is what it really comes down to.
Also a note - I wouldn't recommend staying up late to wait for the report as I know some of you have mentioned you have done in the past. It is often feeding or changing time for my son during my writing and an extended break could mean a LONG wait for you guys. Enjoy it with the morning coffee (or Rockstar in my case) would be my suggestion.
VS.
DETROIT 3
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Well, where to start...for the first game back from a road trip (which has a cliche as a snoozer where the home team comes out flat) this was certainly an interesting game. Many, many things to cover which always makes these discussions more interesting.
The night started off with mild annoyance...I'd read that the Oilers were having an equipment sale and checked it out in hopes of scoring a brand new stick. They had a bunch of them, many interesting models and at fairly reasonable prices for most. Thing was...despite this being an "Oilers' Store" operation, they wouldn't take my Oilers money. Not impressed.
The game started fairly slowly but soon the home team picked up the pace. Once the Oilers did this and at any time during the game where they put forth a smart and consistent effort, they made the Wings look really really old. This was very refreshing and I would say that for 3/4 of each of the first two periods, this was the case. That's not perfect but if you do it for three periods you'll usually take the game going away with no problems. We didn't do that in the third.
One thing that was really noticeable in the first two periods was the way the Oilers were not going to stand for any of Detroit's usual crap. For the inexperienced, Detroit plays hard in the corners, uses a lot of well placed (and illegal) sticks, picks and other borderline plays that many other squads are penalized for. Usually the Oilers either let this play get to them and take penalties or get worn down by it and essentially pack it in. Tonight was different. For two solid periods the Oilers went into the corners with their elbows up, their sticks drawn and gave Detroit everything the could right back. It was really refreshing and hopefully a model for the type of play we'll see from this team going forward. That was a huge reason they had a two-to-nothing lead that should have probably been four-to-nothing.
Another reason was our attack. The lines that seem to have worked themselves out since Horcoff and Hartikainen got back in the lineup really give this team three lines that can put pressure on and a fourth line that (when it stays focused) can really beat on the other team's defencemen in the opposition's end. Many of us have called for an approach like this for some time and it does indeed work when you don't fiddle with it. Detroit couldn't handle our speed, couldn't match lines and couldn't break up the quick, short passing game that was deployed. This was a beautiful thing.
But that couldn't stay set now could it?
It wasn't the beginning of the end, it just sealed the deal. In the third the Oilers were not quite the same team. They back off too far (some units worse than others) and the fourth line suddenly decided its job was not to punish the opposition puck carrier but to sit back defensively. That line is nowhere near good enough to skate from a laid-back defensive posture. They're sitting ducks. After the game had become a one-goal game, Krueger shrunk his bench exactly the same way he did against the Blackhawks. The result was more of the same only worse. The lines lost any offensive momentum they had and inferior players who had already been having their weakest period were given more prominent roles. Mike Brown took a penalty (whether it was weak or not is irrelevant, he plays a game that can take a penalty like that at any time) in the place of Nail Yakupov, who was having a pretty decent game and had made a truly sublime effort on our second goal. Then a puck is directed into our net by our own defender and there is no lead any longer. Suddenly it is back to what was, you know, working...but it was too late.
This issue actually started in the second after Brown's fight. It is one thing to make interim adjustments and it did result in Hall being out there with Gagner and Yakupov to combine for a goal, but getting back to our regular lines and regular flow of play seemed to take forever. That's on the coach.
In the end I do pin this one on Krueger in a lot of ways. He screwed up at key points in the game, including repeating past mistakes. Were his players perfect? No. That doesn't mean he gets a pass for the decisions he made that were a detriment to the team's efforts.
Detroit IS indeed old and slow. They're dying as a team. They have some truly elite talent but otherwise are beginning to whither. It has helped that they have not been able to attract unrestricted free agents the way they have in the past. The only reason they were in it to even come back tonight was Jimmy Howard's play. He kept this thing close with some excellent stops off of some of our best players. It was very strange to watch the Wings struggle with systems play and overcommitment at times during this game. Can't say I remember much of that in previous games.
The Oilers really had no excuse not to win this game. We say this after every close loss, but those were HUGE points up for grabs tonight and the team gave this one away pretty damn badly. Shame. I don't know whether this team makes the playoffs, but the points that would put them in have certainly been attainable.
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Dubnyk
- He was only tested for a few brief flurries during this one. Aside from those times the Oilers D did a pretty decent job of keeping the scoring chances to a minimum. He was screened on the Filppula shot, sure, but he probably should have made that save. The Petry goal was obviously strange and Datsyuk's shot beat him well. Pretty solid effort. Definitely enough to win.
Smid-Petry
- Let's get right to it, shall we? Smid was excellent tonight. He was tough as Souray or Pronger used to be in the corners. He skated several pucks out of very dangerous situations when his forwards had struggled to move the puck out. He was just tremendous and even fired the puck a time or two. I thought Petry was having a strong game through most of the first forty. I've since realized it was likely that Smid was covering for his mistakes and just doing an incredible job of it. Seriously #5 was just all over the ice. Petry's trouble started in the third as he looked lost and made several questionable decisions with the puck. Then of course he scored on himself (which frankly happens to the best of us, just not usually as he did it). Then in OT, after struggling to the finish of the the third, he faced Pavel Datsyuk. The thing is, Petry had position, he was lined up, and moving at a decent enough speed that making a play on the forward should have been completely doable. Causing a turnover was even a pretty decent possibility. At absolute worst, he should have been able to haul down or hold Datsyuk to take a penalty. Instead he hesitated and might as well have been a pylon. A lot of people are on him about the 2nd goal. Even though it is Datsyuk the play I have a massive problem with is the OT goal. Not because it ended the game, but because it continued a trend of Petry getting beat cleanly when in good position and not being able to recover at all. This should be of great concern to all of us. On one hand he is receiving too much responsibility for sure, but there are no good excuses for some of the plays he's made in the defensive end (the Chicago OT loss comes to mind).
J. Schultz-Whitney
- Whitney wasn't great but was better than usual. You could see him being more decisive with the puck, deciding to press forward in instances where he wouldn't have earlier this year, and also playing physically in the corners. He was not as punishing as he's been in the past but he did commit himself a lot more to contact and did not fail on most occasions to get into the play. This was an effective approach for much of the game. I still suspect Fistric would play this style much better. Whitney did play the Filppula goal pretty badly, but he was also dealing with a miscue by his defensive partner and a forward we'll get to later. Justin Schultz was just okay for me tonight. He had some chances to be more physical and only sort of capitalized. While he took some good shots at the net, his passing seemed off and a tad indecisive. He overskated and made the above noted mistake on the Filppula goal. Overall I just expect more from #19 already and to see such a bland game from him is strange.
N. Schultz-Potter
- Potter's game was even more all over the place than Petry's but just happened to be missing the big blowup. In the first and second he was pretty decent, keeping the puck in and making some good passes and defensive plays. Through part of the second and into the third though, he kept backing away from pucks he should have won the race to, or not making a play he could clearly see was there. Again, he didn't really make any big defensive mistakes so I can't be too hard on him, but every now and again you think you see the Corey Power Potter Play guy returning and then he disappoints you which is sad. Nick Schultz was just okay. Yeah, just okay.
Smyth-Petrell-Brown
- Certainly an interesting combo and as I noted they were very solid through most of the first and second. Aside from a few sequences spent in the defensive zone (where they are NOT good), they forechecked hard, hit people, made simple plays and generally gave Detroit some trouble. I liked that Mike Brown made solid contact on his hits, controlled the puck okay and beat on Jordan Tootoo again. I did not like that he'd go into the corner the was he did that late in the game and take a penalty though. To be fair to him, he had no business being on the ice, but still. You've got to keep that under control and if Ben Eager could do it (he seemed to have figured it out) then so can Mike Brown. Smyth did some nice things and won more puck battles than I can remember in a while. There was an interesting sequence where he took that stupid slapper of his (which impressed everyone but me), but then he followed up and made a no-look pass attempt to the front of the net. If anyone had been paying attention that could easily have been a goal. As it was, the rest of the crowd saw it as a bad play...crazy people. I liked it. Petrell built on Brown's momentum and laid some hits of his own. He also had a couple nice shooting chances but couldn't convert. Of all the guys whose game changes sometimes, he needs to remember the hard-hitting hard-shooting version of himself, rather than the one who plays too far off his man and gets caught because of it.
Hartikainen-Hopkins-Eberle
- Hell of a luxury having this as the "third line". Though maybe that is the next line...who knows. Anyway, Eberle had a better game than when we saw him at home last. He played his defined role of shooter and playmaker off the drive fairly well for most of the game. He could easily have scored at least one but didn't quite manage it. I know some will remember his attempted no-look to Whitney on the powerplay more than the decisive plays he made at times in the offensive zone, but he's back in the right direction. Made a couple great passes including one to Paajarvi in the third that should have been a goal. Hartikainen didn't do anything too flashy. I liked his (penalized) hit and that he seemed focused on getting the puck past the defender then chasing it down. He's very good at that. He also had a couple chances in front of the net, but continued a trend of what I'd call rushing his shot. It doesn't really get away any quicker and you're never precise when this happens. He needs to bear down and relax, if that makes any sense. Hopkins made some nice things happen in both the offensive and defensive ends but was missing any real 'WOW' in his game tonight. The passes were not as slick and he couldn't get his shots through for whatever reason. Not a bad game by any means but he just wasn't dynamic.
Paajarvi-Gagner-Yakupov
- This is fun line to watch play. They have very different styles, all look very different on the ice and each brings a unique skillset every shift. Magnus was focused on driving the goalie tonight and did so both wide and up the middle with more success than I can recall. His confidence is clearly elevated and he's finally using his size properly on that wide drive. Howard had to make a good stop on him. The one thing I will dog him for a bit is not having the same confidence in his passing. Twice he had a lane to Yakupov in the slot, looked up, saw him, and hesitated rather than making the pass. He shot the puck on net both times but these were much lower percentage plays than Yakupov from the slot. Aside from that I liked what he did a lot. Gagner was about what we'd expect this year. He got a little dirty in front of the goalie to pop one in the net nicely. He challenged multiple Red Wings physically, either in scrums or through hitting. He played a strong support role and got some good shots away. Overall he was really solid. Yakupov put together a nice game. He made two great plays on the Gagner goal, with his drive into the slot, and ability to maintain puck control then put a really nice shot on for the rebound to Gagner. Loved how he jumped in celebration even though it was Gagner who scored. The kid plays with such intensity and joy. That's a winning combo any day of the week. He also made some excellent passes, some mediocre passes and only a couple passes to no one. Half the time it is simply because he's moving too fast for everyone else. I hope they're able to start catching up a bit now that they are becoming more familiar with what his game looks like. Still didn't get #64 the puck on the PP near enough.
Hall-Horcoff-Hemsky
- Through two this line was gold. They took on the best Detroit has to offer and were routinely blowing right by like the opposition was not even there. It was a thing of beauty. Hall was great and Hemsky very good for the entire game. Why in hell Krueger wouldn't see the absolute necessity of playing them together in OT after the way they'd played in regulation I have no idea. Hall was a man possessed tonight. He skated straight past, around and through various Detroit defenders. He scored a lovely goal on a nice move in the slot while Hemsky drove hard as a decoy. Hall did a double toe drag and nearly scored. He did all kinds of great things and was unfortunately only rewarded with two points. Hemsky wasn't blowing by as many people, but his passing was excellent, his reads spot on, and his defensive effort strong. He nearly scored the goal of the year when he broke into the Detroit zone, played a perfect bank pass by a Detroit defender to himself, then was robbed by Jimmy Howard's stick. THAT was a play. Hall and Hemsky also set up Horcoff for what should have been an absolute gimme in the third and Horcoff didn't even get a shot away. I was really looking forward to giving the captain a strong grade tonight and through two periods he was indeed strong. He did overskate his check and get caught on the Filppula goal, but his strong support efforts while #s 4 and 83 worked their magic were more than balancing that out. Then the third game. He was all over the place in a terribly bad way. Missed passes, missed checks, turnovers, bad PK work...it was just a mess. He was useless in OT. Sour finish for what started as a sweet night. This trio will be really useful if the Oilers start to make a run. Hall and Hemsky are dominant together and a healthy Horcoff provides comfort and support (which sounds really funny) to both of them. We shall see.
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Damn disappointing evening is what it really comes down to.
Also a note - I wouldn't recommend staying up late to wait for the report as I know some of you have mentioned you have done in the past. It is often feeding or changing time for my son during my writing and an extended break could mean a LONG wait for you guys. Enjoy it with the morning coffee (or Rockstar in my case) would be my suggestion.
2/22/13
2013 LMHF Report Game #9
EDMONTON 1 (again, yep)
VS.
MINNESOTA 3
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SO, I find it really amazing and revealing that the post game conversations I've had the opportunity to look at while relaxing with my son before writing this report have taken the tone that they have. I knew that the main topic for discussion would be the one thing that was actually accomplished this game - someone, namely Taylor Hall, finally had a shot at that skating piece of trash Cal Clutterbuck, took it, and hammered him. It is about damn time. In an era where this type of "hockey player" is allowed to run around without fear of the traditional method of response to his type of "game" (that being a thinly veiled elbow to the teeth that netted you no penalty), you have to take your shots when they come and #4 did. Kudos to him for seeing the opportunity and trying to blow up that loser. I'm guessing there will be people around the league thanking him. I'm frankly a little sad the moron's leg isn't busted up. If Hall had been coming the other way, that moron would have jumped a foot off the ice, went for the head, then ran to the nearest official he could find to hide. This is because he's a coward. He's a coward who can't handle the repercussions of the way he plays the game. He's a coward who tried his damndest to make what is apparently a charley horse look like a career ender. Our guy went for a hard hit and kept playing the game. Respect earned tonight Mr. Hall.
I can't believe the reaction of some people. Edmonton Media, bloggers, twitters (emphasis on the twit) and forum posters who think this was "stupid" and other such things. What is wrong with you right now? Have you actually lost your minds? I'm inclined to say the past number of years have rotten your brains at this point. Yeesh. Get a damn grip. A guy went for a hard hit on a dirty player. Messier used to clothesline guys and get props afterwards. Scott Stevens would have ran Clutterbuck out of the league. The game has changed in a bad way when it is the Steve Otts, Cal Clutterbucks, Steve Downies and others who are defended by officials, fans and from the other players.
Credit to Ales tonight as well for not taking any of that moron's crap at the end of the first period. Shoulda dropped the gloves and shown everyone what kind of pansy the Wild have playing such an integral role on their team.
Speaking of the Wild...not impressed. Weak squad, boring hockey, no attack to speak of and didn't do anything defensively to write home about. They're strong in the neutral zone but that's just about it. Where were Bouchard and Parise? Crazy that they'd be so invisible out there. Maybe it is just a function of the game they play.
We made some mistakes tonight but our main malfunction was just having no speed or desperation heading into the Wild zone. We didn't drive anyone back, dazzle with passes or draw any penalties. We need to draw penalties with our speed to win hockey games. The first line kept slowing down. The second line had no rhythm. The third line was mildly effective. Why did Krueger bench line 4?
I'm starting to doubt our new coach some - especially now that there is a rather attractive coaching option on the open market. I liked the adjustment in the third period that saw the HHH line put together some really solid shifts. Everything else was kind of in shambles. 91 and 56 saw almost no ice on a night when there were a number of our higher end players that didn't get it going. We are sticking with a system that clearly doesn't play to our strengths and doesn't generate 5-on-5 offence. How many stretch passes have you seen this year? Forwards flying the zone with speed to an opening? Innovative breakout plays? Effective zone entry tactics? Changes need to be made and our coach is adopting far too much of a stay the course attitude. This was epitomized by the lifelessness of tonight's game. I may sound a little crazy for saying this...but didn't Ben Eager look like a guy who might get a line going tonight? He won't on most nights, but a guy like Bowman could always read when a guy like that was on and his star players needed either a kick in the ass or just a different set of skating lines to think about. It was worth a shot when we had nothing to lose. This is not a 2-1 team. We all know that. Why doesn't our coaching staff? I doubt the head man is getting much from his 2 Assistants and that might be a place to start to see some change. I think we all also see that management could have reacted to the challenges we've faced this year with subtle moves to blunt the impact of injuries while shoring up roster depth and has not. To me this means that they have no intention of winning anything this year or are completely incompetent. One of the two. Of course...I also find the idea of winning nothing this year to be something an absolute incompetent would try.
SO, on to the players.
----------------
Dubnyk
- Can't allow either the second or third goals. Still dipping his blocker shoulder and you can tell the video guys have it pegged. He's allowed a bunch of goals in that exact same spot this year. He must have been completely asleep on the second as he was not in a proper butterfly and barely even moved. I'll give him a pass on the first but not those two. Subpar performance. Not that it would have mattered too much but we could win 2-1 in an SO once in a while I guess.
Fistric-Peckham
- I see this pairing two separate ways tonight. First, they did some really nice things in terms of standing up at the opposition blue line and keeping the puck in. They generated multiple scoring chances this way in the first and I give special credit to Mr. Peckman for handling the puck so well in his season debut and getting solid shots away cleanly. They were also pretty decent in their defensive end in terms of positioning and playing the man. They could have been more physical but that is okay. The flip side of all of that is that they don't move the puck effectively. We need even our third pair to get the puck to our forwards effectively. Fistric has the talent to do that but rarely takes the time or has the confidence and tonight was no exception. Peckham probably doesn't. At least they're playing better than Whitney...damn is that sad.
J.Schultz-N.Schultz
- Goat horns to Nick tonight. Two absolutely brutal sequences leading to two Wild goals. I don't know how a veteran NHL defenceman noted for his defensive play can be so horrible at the 2-on-1. Doesn't take away the puck carrier effectively at all and no aggression to force a mistake whatsoever. He also did nothing offensively and didn't hit anybody. Not good. Justin had a pretty quiet night with only a couple offensive adventures that could have actually resulted in anything at all. I'd like to see him go riverboat more early in games and at the end of games where we need a goal. He has the skill to play rover at those times.
Smid-Petry
- I'm going to give a collective MEH to these two. A couple giveaways but nothing too horrible. Also nothing that stood out in a big way which is too bad in a game where we needed a spark. I'll reiterate my call from last game - why hasn't Smid absolutely buried someone lately???
Hartikainen-Vandevelde-Paajarvi
- Barely played. A mistake to use them this way in this game. Much as the third line picked it up the fourth line wasn't doing anything wrong in its limited icetime and #56 specifically was showing some jump.
Smyth-Belanger-Eager
- Certainly the strongest game from this group that we've seen. Smyth scored of course and also made the play to set up his goal by getting the puck free and to Belanger. He was also in on the forecheck much better than in past games and didn't get caught chasing so much. Belanger played mainly a support role and did it pretty well. If only he could actually shoot the puck. I like that he got in the faces of some of the Wild players from time to time as well. Eager had the best game of the three. He was looking for his and landed some good ones including and absolutely crunch-job behind the wild net on Brodin. He carried the puck well. Got some pucks off and generally mixed things up while staying out of the penalty box. A fine job.
Yakupov-Gagner-Hemsky
- Nail had a weird game. Got a couple good shooting chances and didn't convert. Made a great play to Gagner who couldn't handle the puck (a common theme tonight). Also made a couple of really weird passes to a Wild player in the first and to absolutely no one in the third. He's really struggling to find his spots at the moment. I just wish he'd float a bit more (seems like an odd thing to say I know) because he'd probably find more open ice that way. Gagner was pretty bad tonight. He couldn't do anything well with the puck. Yakupov gave him a gift and he missed. He was sent in on a breakaway and rushed himself so bad he lost the puck despite having time and space. He couldn't corral the puck on numerous shooting chances. Very very weird game from #89. Looked like he'd grabbed the wrong hand of stick or something. And what was with that goofy spin in his own zone and skating himself into corners? Ales didn't have a great game either. While he was a little better in the offensive and neutral zones than his linemates and showed some real life when bumped up with Hall and Hopkins, his reverse play in the third was ill-timed and resulted in an unfortunate goal when combined with Dubnyk's weak effort. I get trying to make something happen in a game that was going like this one but that wasn't the time for that play.
Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- #14 is in a genuine slump. He's not getting to his usual shooting lanes, is slowing down in the offensive zone and just generally not playing the game he knows. It is very odd to watch. I recall a play in the second (I think) where he had the puck along the goal line with both Hall and Hopkins WIDE OPEN in perfect shooting position and instead he shoots with zero chance to score...for a guy with supreme hockey awareness that's just terrible. He's not trusting his instincts at all at the moment. Might need a fresh look on a different line to do it. Or at least some strong practice time. Hopkins was just okay to me. He missed the net on his best shooting chances (again), was decent defensively and could have made some things happen. I did notice a few times that he was skating to the wrong side of players when attempting to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Not sure why he'd do that. Hall was frustrated and rightly so. He didn't make a lot happen tonight despite a lot of effort. I expounded at length on the hit above.
------------
Disappointing and frustrating. The most important home stand of the year. Crummy. Not "lose your minds" crummy like some are making it out to be, but crummy nonetheless.
VS.
MINNESOTA 3
----------------------
SO, I find it really amazing and revealing that the post game conversations I've had the opportunity to look at while relaxing with my son before writing this report have taken the tone that they have. I knew that the main topic for discussion would be the one thing that was actually accomplished this game - someone, namely Taylor Hall, finally had a shot at that skating piece of trash Cal Clutterbuck, took it, and hammered him. It is about damn time. In an era where this type of "hockey player" is allowed to run around without fear of the traditional method of response to his type of "game" (that being a thinly veiled elbow to the teeth that netted you no penalty), you have to take your shots when they come and #4 did. Kudos to him for seeing the opportunity and trying to blow up that loser. I'm guessing there will be people around the league thanking him. I'm frankly a little sad the moron's leg isn't busted up. If Hall had been coming the other way, that moron would have jumped a foot off the ice, went for the head, then ran to the nearest official he could find to hide. This is because he's a coward. He's a coward who can't handle the repercussions of the way he plays the game. He's a coward who tried his damndest to make what is apparently a charley horse look like a career ender. Our guy went for a hard hit and kept playing the game. Respect earned tonight Mr. Hall.
I can't believe the reaction of some people. Edmonton Media, bloggers, twitters (emphasis on the twit) and forum posters who think this was "stupid" and other such things. What is wrong with you right now? Have you actually lost your minds? I'm inclined to say the past number of years have rotten your brains at this point. Yeesh. Get a damn grip. A guy went for a hard hit on a dirty player. Messier used to clothesline guys and get props afterwards. Scott Stevens would have ran Clutterbuck out of the league. The game has changed in a bad way when it is the Steve Otts, Cal Clutterbucks, Steve Downies and others who are defended by officials, fans and from the other players.
Credit to Ales tonight as well for not taking any of that moron's crap at the end of the first period. Shoulda dropped the gloves and shown everyone what kind of pansy the Wild have playing such an integral role on their team.
Speaking of the Wild...not impressed. Weak squad, boring hockey, no attack to speak of and didn't do anything defensively to write home about. They're strong in the neutral zone but that's just about it. Where were Bouchard and Parise? Crazy that they'd be so invisible out there. Maybe it is just a function of the game they play.
We made some mistakes tonight but our main malfunction was just having no speed or desperation heading into the Wild zone. We didn't drive anyone back, dazzle with passes or draw any penalties. We need to draw penalties with our speed to win hockey games. The first line kept slowing down. The second line had no rhythm. The third line was mildly effective. Why did Krueger bench line 4?
I'm starting to doubt our new coach some - especially now that there is a rather attractive coaching option on the open market. I liked the adjustment in the third period that saw the HHH line put together some really solid shifts. Everything else was kind of in shambles. 91 and 56 saw almost no ice on a night when there were a number of our higher end players that didn't get it going. We are sticking with a system that clearly doesn't play to our strengths and doesn't generate 5-on-5 offence. How many stretch passes have you seen this year? Forwards flying the zone with speed to an opening? Innovative breakout plays? Effective zone entry tactics? Changes need to be made and our coach is adopting far too much of a stay the course attitude. This was epitomized by the lifelessness of tonight's game. I may sound a little crazy for saying this...but didn't Ben Eager look like a guy who might get a line going tonight? He won't on most nights, but a guy like Bowman could always read when a guy like that was on and his star players needed either a kick in the ass or just a different set of skating lines to think about. It was worth a shot when we had nothing to lose. This is not a 2-1 team. We all know that. Why doesn't our coaching staff? I doubt the head man is getting much from his 2 Assistants and that might be a place to start to see some change. I think we all also see that management could have reacted to the challenges we've faced this year with subtle moves to blunt the impact of injuries while shoring up roster depth and has not. To me this means that they have no intention of winning anything this year or are completely incompetent. One of the two. Of course...I also find the idea of winning nothing this year to be something an absolute incompetent would try.
SO, on to the players.
----------------
Dubnyk
- Can't allow either the second or third goals. Still dipping his blocker shoulder and you can tell the video guys have it pegged. He's allowed a bunch of goals in that exact same spot this year. He must have been completely asleep on the second as he was not in a proper butterfly and barely even moved. I'll give him a pass on the first but not those two. Subpar performance. Not that it would have mattered too much but we could win 2-1 in an SO once in a while I guess.
Fistric-Peckham
- I see this pairing two separate ways tonight. First, they did some really nice things in terms of standing up at the opposition blue line and keeping the puck in. They generated multiple scoring chances this way in the first and I give special credit to Mr. Peckman for handling the puck so well in his season debut and getting solid shots away cleanly. They were also pretty decent in their defensive end in terms of positioning and playing the man. They could have been more physical but that is okay. The flip side of all of that is that they don't move the puck effectively. We need even our third pair to get the puck to our forwards effectively. Fistric has the talent to do that but rarely takes the time or has the confidence and tonight was no exception. Peckham probably doesn't. At least they're playing better than Whitney...damn is that sad.
J.Schultz-N.Schultz
- Goat horns to Nick tonight. Two absolutely brutal sequences leading to two Wild goals. I don't know how a veteran NHL defenceman noted for his defensive play can be so horrible at the 2-on-1. Doesn't take away the puck carrier effectively at all and no aggression to force a mistake whatsoever. He also did nothing offensively and didn't hit anybody. Not good. Justin had a pretty quiet night with only a couple offensive adventures that could have actually resulted in anything at all. I'd like to see him go riverboat more early in games and at the end of games where we need a goal. He has the skill to play rover at those times.
Smid-Petry
- I'm going to give a collective MEH to these two. A couple giveaways but nothing too horrible. Also nothing that stood out in a big way which is too bad in a game where we needed a spark. I'll reiterate my call from last game - why hasn't Smid absolutely buried someone lately???
Hartikainen-Vandevelde-Paajarvi
- Barely played. A mistake to use them this way in this game. Much as the third line picked it up the fourth line wasn't doing anything wrong in its limited icetime and #56 specifically was showing some jump.
Smyth-Belanger-Eager
- Certainly the strongest game from this group that we've seen. Smyth scored of course and also made the play to set up his goal by getting the puck free and to Belanger. He was also in on the forecheck much better than in past games and didn't get caught chasing so much. Belanger played mainly a support role and did it pretty well. If only he could actually shoot the puck. I like that he got in the faces of some of the Wild players from time to time as well. Eager had the best game of the three. He was looking for his and landed some good ones including and absolutely crunch-job behind the wild net on Brodin. He carried the puck well. Got some pucks off and generally mixed things up while staying out of the penalty box. A fine job.
Yakupov-Gagner-Hemsky
- Nail had a weird game. Got a couple good shooting chances and didn't convert. Made a great play to Gagner who couldn't handle the puck (a common theme tonight). Also made a couple of really weird passes to a Wild player in the first and to absolutely no one in the third. He's really struggling to find his spots at the moment. I just wish he'd float a bit more (seems like an odd thing to say I know) because he'd probably find more open ice that way. Gagner was pretty bad tonight. He couldn't do anything well with the puck. Yakupov gave him a gift and he missed. He was sent in on a breakaway and rushed himself so bad he lost the puck despite having time and space. He couldn't corral the puck on numerous shooting chances. Very very weird game from #89. Looked like he'd grabbed the wrong hand of stick or something. And what was with that goofy spin in his own zone and skating himself into corners? Ales didn't have a great game either. While he was a little better in the offensive and neutral zones than his linemates and showed some real life when bumped up with Hall and Hopkins, his reverse play in the third was ill-timed and resulted in an unfortunate goal when combined with Dubnyk's weak effort. I get trying to make something happen in a game that was going like this one but that wasn't the time for that play.
Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- #14 is in a genuine slump. He's not getting to his usual shooting lanes, is slowing down in the offensive zone and just generally not playing the game he knows. It is very odd to watch. I recall a play in the second (I think) where he had the puck along the goal line with both Hall and Hopkins WIDE OPEN in perfect shooting position and instead he shoots with zero chance to score...for a guy with supreme hockey awareness that's just terrible. He's not trusting his instincts at all at the moment. Might need a fresh look on a different line to do it. Or at least some strong practice time. Hopkins was just okay to me. He missed the net on his best shooting chances (again), was decent defensively and could have made some things happen. I did notice a few times that he was skating to the wrong side of players when attempting to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Not sure why he'd do that. Hall was frustrated and rightly so. He didn't make a lot happen tonight despite a lot of effort. I expounded at length on the hit above.
------------
Disappointing and frustrating. The most important home stand of the year. Crummy. Not "lose your minds" crummy like some are making it out to be, but crummy nonetheless.
2/20/13
2013 LMHF Game Report #8
EDMONTON 1
VS.
LOS ANGELES 3
--------------------
First things first - this Game Report was made possible by my wonderful wife, who suggested that I should head to the game tonight. We're working on routine as I'll be at work on Monday and she is figuring things out but it was great of her to do. Thankfully her family was also in town to help out as well. For those interested, things are going pretty well and thank you again for all the congratulations and well wishing.
Back to business - So tonight was a pretty interesting game in the sense that we did come out fairly strong. Every indication early on was that we'd overwhelm an LA team that for whatever reason doesn't generate a lot of goals (it really doesn't make much sense as they certainly have the players). The shots were coming we were getting to a lot of the right spots even against LA's stingy defensive setup. We should have generated at least four powerplays in the first period. There were multiple stick infractions and some holding/interference as well. They weren't cheap would-be penalties either - we drew them and deserved a pay off. It didn't come.
After that we got frustrated and backed off the game plan a little bit. At the same time, Los Angeles returned to their disciplined system play in their own zone. LA plugs up the middle of the ice and uses their sticks better than any other team I can think of right now. They are quite tough to beat in that area. The thing is; this is nothing new. Los Angeles has been doing this for some time. The Oilers video guys should have this system picked apart by now. I don't know why we don't have a specific plan for attacking the zone against the Kings. It really handicaps our high level scoring lines ability to generate the high quality shots we need. There were a ton of times tonight where our top six drove the middle well but were shut down by LA's efforts. We needed to adjust.
After the first (some of the commentators and Krueger said the first 45. I don't agree) they did not appear to spend as much time in the Kings' end and certainly did not spend as much dangerous time there. Where you'd think we'd be up at least a couple after the first you did not have that impression after the second. Things had ground to a halt and the Kings controlled the pace. They also scored an ugly goal to take the lead.
We certainly didn't exhibit the push back I've seen in other games. Even the ones we lost and ones where it was only a couple shifts long. We sort of just kept playing iffy hockey. Not a lot of sustained pressure and not a lot of rush pressure either frankly. After Gagner's goal and into the third we didn't get the jump I still thought we might. The attitude seemed to be that we'd missed the boat in the first and the game was done. I highly doubt we would have won in OT...possibly in a shoot out.
While you can't leave a game to the last 60 seconds and blame a referee's skate for a loss, it sure does stink. That was an interesting looking rush with fresh enough legs that Hall was leading. He would have at least had the opportunity. Instead we get semi-caught and a shot through several players winds up in our net. Crummy.
It's not that we deserved a better fate. It is that good teams often deserve to lose and manage to squeak one out with an elite play at the right time or JUST enough pressure and a defensive mismatch or some such thing. Not our night. We're not there yet.
-----------------
Khabibulin
- He played pretty well. Kind of has to stop at least one of the LA goals though. Both were strange and neither was great. He made a couple great saves (and I actually looked away on the play where he made a great stop on the weird bounce off the glass) and certainly did enough that we had a shot. He looked really confident in the net - almost to the point of too much confidence because he was knocking rebounds into some pretty iffy areas. It wasn't a control problem either as he was directing the puck to these places. I liked the way he played the puck but unfortunately Khabibulin and Dubnyk's style of playing the puck is so different that our defence struggled to adapt to the goalie they've seen so little of this season.
J.Schultz-N.Schultz
- Justin has kind of drifted into the background in the past couple games to my eye. He's not skating the puck as much from his own zone and is not picking his spots as well in joining the rush. He has also been caught multiple times (including tonight at least twice) standing still around the opposition blue line on 40/60 sort of plays. In the AHL I bet he turned a bunch of these into great chances. In the NHL the wingers he's facing pull up and make a pass or blow by him. He's got to watch that and got bailed out on these plays tonight. Not so lucky against Colorado. He didn't get an assist on a great backcheck-to-quick-up play and made some things happen, but he's backed off the aggressiveness a little bit. I'd like to see him amp it up. This might require him to be moved onto a pairing with Smid. I say this because I'm not a huge fan of the work Nick Schultz is doing. Too much indecisive play at the blue line. Too few offensive efforts, not a lot of physicality and not a lock-the-barn kind of guy either. This was all going on this evening. I'd much rather have Tom Gilbert.
Fistric-Whitney
- I will give Ryan Whitney some credit. He made a few great passes and even better reads tonight. He fired the puck when he needed to and paused, changed angle, then found his man on others. It was nice to see him do that. What he cannot do is fail to finish checks in the corners. He cannot have bad giveaways trying to exit his own zone. He can't drift around and lose positioning. He did all of those things. Fistric had a pretty decent game. He fought hard and punished people in the corners. He wasn't the greatest at moving the puck but also didn't make any mistakes he couldn't recover from. The one thing that was missing from the Colorado game if my limited TV viewing was correct is that he didn't really keep the puck in the offensive zone as well tonight. Those plays made a big difference against Colorado.
Smid-Petry
- Right now Jeff Petry is playing well from the offensive side of the neutral zone to the other team's faceoff circle. He made two fairly memorable and solid offensive plays in this area - one in the second and one in the third. Outside of those areas he is struggling. His first passes, ventures into the deep offensive zone and positioning around our net leave something to be decided. Smid on the other hand was pretty simple and solid. I wonder where his big hitting game is right now though.
Hartikainen-Vandevelde-Paajarvi
- I wanted to highlight these guys even though they were only a line briefly. They did some nice things as individuals and in the third period. Teemu specifically had a really great shift that generated scoring chances with great work behind the net. He didn't have as good of a night where he started, with Gagner and Hemsky. Instead of creating room he struggled to transition and make a quick pass to either #83 or #89 and failed to capitalize on shooting chances. I'd also like to see him return to focusing on the hitting game more, because he does it so well and in a way that makes offence happen. I'm guessing he was still hurting some today. Magnus was just okay. He had a couple bursts where he challenged the Kings D but nothing sustained. Couldn't find any real lanes either. Again, not a bad effort just nothing to write home about. Vandevelde continues to plug away and do his job as best he can. He hit a few people, caused some turnovers and went to the right places in the offensive zone. Unfortunately he could not capitalize on a couple very good scoring chances. In the first he received the puck in the slot and only had to take one more stride to be facing a completely open net and instead simply whacked it into Quick. Classic 4th line move. Too bad.
Smyth-Belanger-Eager
- It is not good when Ben Eager is really the only guy who impresses you compared to his relative performance but that was tonight's game. Ben kept himself out of the penalty box, laid some hits (though he strangely let up on Dustin Brown twice) and got a couple scoring chances. I can't help but think if he played a more patient, positional game he'd have more nights like this. At least he was focused. Just couldn't capitalize on a couple rebound chances either. Belanger was okay. He took a couple solid shots on the net and played a tight positional game. Smyth won a couple puck battles which is great, but I cannot help but seeing him continually behind the play. He's not the type of guy that could ever get by being a stride behind and he sure isn't that guy now.
Yakupov-Gagner-Hemsky
- Again, this crew wasn't together all that long but for convenience sake we'll group them here. Yakupov managed to find himself a couple decent scoring chances and took good shots. He could not beat Quick and was never really in alone. Also didn't manage a one-timer. I've started to notice that while #64 has a powerful, accurate wrister release, it is actually fairly slow. Goalies seem to be able to read it. I've also noticed that he is anticipating hits too early and either leaving himself vulnerable or missing the puck. He needs to work on his patience and hiding his release a little better. Gagner was pretty meh to me tonight. Hemsky and the defencemen got him the puck in his wheelhouse on several occasions but he seemed reluctant to fire that goofy half slapper. He scored but let's be honest it was not a great goal. He had better chances and was just a little off tonight. Hemsky started well, driving the net and should have drawn at least two penalties in the first period. He spent the first and some of the second absolutely dummying Keaton Ellerby. Unlucky for us, his D partner was Drew Doughty who had a stellar game swooping in to shut Hemsky down. Unfortunately neither Yakupov nor Gagner seemed to clue in and follow up on the play so that when Hemsky forced Doughty across he could dump it to one of them or get the rebound. He tailed off a bit after the first but was pretty decent overall. Still looking shot which is great on that line. Still needs to go to the low post a little bit more.
Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- Very frustrating night for Hall and understandably so. He crushed a guy near the end of the game but that was probably the most satisfying moment he had. It was he who was going up the wing and had the puck take a bad bounce off the linesman. He carried decent enough speed in the neutral zone tonight, though the line as a hole kept slowing down right at the opposition blue line and trying to pass for some reason. When Hall did head for the scoring zone he had an old, familiar problem: he carried the puck much too far from his body with his stick at a low angle. This meant an already active and strong Kings D could strip the puck and shut him down fairly easily and before he was able to look shot and pass off. He never corrected which, again, is something the video guys should be doing. Being that I believe this is part of Buchberger's role, I don't see it as likely this will happen. The good news is these games have been few and far between this year. I wish he'd adjust and carry closer to his feet the way elite players that aren't huge do. He'd be absolutely unstoppable. Hopkins was just okay. He fired a really nice shot off a Hemsky set up in the first that really could have gone. In the second he broke in and was robbed by Quick. His passing was off though and he didn't carry speed well. He also got beat up by hits which isn't good to begin with and especially when you have a shoulder issue. Defensively he made the effort out there and broke up some plays. Eberle was also just okay by my eye. He had a great chance in the first that I believe he rang off the bar. That stunk because it would have really fired up the crowd and the team to start the game. After that he was decent enough but quiet in the offensive zone.
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So all in all just a game we didn't win. We're starting to lose too many of these to make the playoffs for sure. The good news is we've been in pretty much every game. This is indeed a team that, if it hits a roll on this road trip for instance, may turn into one of those "they may never lose again" sort of teams, but they need a lot of things to go right, and probably a personnel change to make that a more realistic option. We'll see where we go from here.
I think we almost need a Chicago visit...crazy as that may sound.
VS.
LOS ANGELES 3
--------------------
First things first - this Game Report was made possible by my wonderful wife, who suggested that I should head to the game tonight. We're working on routine as I'll be at work on Monday and she is figuring things out but it was great of her to do. Thankfully her family was also in town to help out as well. For those interested, things are going pretty well and thank you again for all the congratulations and well wishing.
Back to business - So tonight was a pretty interesting game in the sense that we did come out fairly strong. Every indication early on was that we'd overwhelm an LA team that for whatever reason doesn't generate a lot of goals (it really doesn't make much sense as they certainly have the players). The shots were coming we were getting to a lot of the right spots even against LA's stingy defensive setup. We should have generated at least four powerplays in the first period. There were multiple stick infractions and some holding/interference as well. They weren't cheap would-be penalties either - we drew them and deserved a pay off. It didn't come.
After that we got frustrated and backed off the game plan a little bit. At the same time, Los Angeles returned to their disciplined system play in their own zone. LA plugs up the middle of the ice and uses their sticks better than any other team I can think of right now. They are quite tough to beat in that area. The thing is; this is nothing new. Los Angeles has been doing this for some time. The Oilers video guys should have this system picked apart by now. I don't know why we don't have a specific plan for attacking the zone against the Kings. It really handicaps our high level scoring lines ability to generate the high quality shots we need. There were a ton of times tonight where our top six drove the middle well but were shut down by LA's efforts. We needed to adjust.
After the first (some of the commentators and Krueger said the first 45. I don't agree) they did not appear to spend as much time in the Kings' end and certainly did not spend as much dangerous time there. Where you'd think we'd be up at least a couple after the first you did not have that impression after the second. Things had ground to a halt and the Kings controlled the pace. They also scored an ugly goal to take the lead.
We certainly didn't exhibit the push back I've seen in other games. Even the ones we lost and ones where it was only a couple shifts long. We sort of just kept playing iffy hockey. Not a lot of sustained pressure and not a lot of rush pressure either frankly. After Gagner's goal and into the third we didn't get the jump I still thought we might. The attitude seemed to be that we'd missed the boat in the first and the game was done. I highly doubt we would have won in OT...possibly in a shoot out.
While you can't leave a game to the last 60 seconds and blame a referee's skate for a loss, it sure does stink. That was an interesting looking rush with fresh enough legs that Hall was leading. He would have at least had the opportunity. Instead we get semi-caught and a shot through several players winds up in our net. Crummy.
It's not that we deserved a better fate. It is that good teams often deserve to lose and manage to squeak one out with an elite play at the right time or JUST enough pressure and a defensive mismatch or some such thing. Not our night. We're not there yet.
-----------------
Khabibulin
- He played pretty well. Kind of has to stop at least one of the LA goals though. Both were strange and neither was great. He made a couple great saves (and I actually looked away on the play where he made a great stop on the weird bounce off the glass) and certainly did enough that we had a shot. He looked really confident in the net - almost to the point of too much confidence because he was knocking rebounds into some pretty iffy areas. It wasn't a control problem either as he was directing the puck to these places. I liked the way he played the puck but unfortunately Khabibulin and Dubnyk's style of playing the puck is so different that our defence struggled to adapt to the goalie they've seen so little of this season.
J.Schultz-N.Schultz
- Justin has kind of drifted into the background in the past couple games to my eye. He's not skating the puck as much from his own zone and is not picking his spots as well in joining the rush. He has also been caught multiple times (including tonight at least twice) standing still around the opposition blue line on 40/60 sort of plays. In the AHL I bet he turned a bunch of these into great chances. In the NHL the wingers he's facing pull up and make a pass or blow by him. He's got to watch that and got bailed out on these plays tonight. Not so lucky against Colorado. He didn't get an assist on a great backcheck-to-quick-up play and made some things happen, but he's backed off the aggressiveness a little bit. I'd like to see him amp it up. This might require him to be moved onto a pairing with Smid. I say this because I'm not a huge fan of the work Nick Schultz is doing. Too much indecisive play at the blue line. Too few offensive efforts, not a lot of physicality and not a lock-the-barn kind of guy either. This was all going on this evening. I'd much rather have Tom Gilbert.
Fistric-Whitney
- I will give Ryan Whitney some credit. He made a few great passes and even better reads tonight. He fired the puck when he needed to and paused, changed angle, then found his man on others. It was nice to see him do that. What he cannot do is fail to finish checks in the corners. He cannot have bad giveaways trying to exit his own zone. He can't drift around and lose positioning. He did all of those things. Fistric had a pretty decent game. He fought hard and punished people in the corners. He wasn't the greatest at moving the puck but also didn't make any mistakes he couldn't recover from. The one thing that was missing from the Colorado game if my limited TV viewing was correct is that he didn't really keep the puck in the offensive zone as well tonight. Those plays made a big difference against Colorado.
Smid-Petry
- Right now Jeff Petry is playing well from the offensive side of the neutral zone to the other team's faceoff circle. He made two fairly memorable and solid offensive plays in this area - one in the second and one in the third. Outside of those areas he is struggling. His first passes, ventures into the deep offensive zone and positioning around our net leave something to be decided. Smid on the other hand was pretty simple and solid. I wonder where his big hitting game is right now though.
Hartikainen-Vandevelde-Paajarvi
- I wanted to highlight these guys even though they were only a line briefly. They did some nice things as individuals and in the third period. Teemu specifically had a really great shift that generated scoring chances with great work behind the net. He didn't have as good of a night where he started, with Gagner and Hemsky. Instead of creating room he struggled to transition and make a quick pass to either #83 or #89 and failed to capitalize on shooting chances. I'd also like to see him return to focusing on the hitting game more, because he does it so well and in a way that makes offence happen. I'm guessing he was still hurting some today. Magnus was just okay. He had a couple bursts where he challenged the Kings D but nothing sustained. Couldn't find any real lanes either. Again, not a bad effort just nothing to write home about. Vandevelde continues to plug away and do his job as best he can. He hit a few people, caused some turnovers and went to the right places in the offensive zone. Unfortunately he could not capitalize on a couple very good scoring chances. In the first he received the puck in the slot and only had to take one more stride to be facing a completely open net and instead simply whacked it into Quick. Classic 4th line move. Too bad.
Smyth-Belanger-Eager
- It is not good when Ben Eager is really the only guy who impresses you compared to his relative performance but that was tonight's game. Ben kept himself out of the penalty box, laid some hits (though he strangely let up on Dustin Brown twice) and got a couple scoring chances. I can't help but think if he played a more patient, positional game he'd have more nights like this. At least he was focused. Just couldn't capitalize on a couple rebound chances either. Belanger was okay. He took a couple solid shots on the net and played a tight positional game. Smyth won a couple puck battles which is great, but I cannot help but seeing him continually behind the play. He's not the type of guy that could ever get by being a stride behind and he sure isn't that guy now.
Yakupov-Gagner-Hemsky
- Again, this crew wasn't together all that long but for convenience sake we'll group them here. Yakupov managed to find himself a couple decent scoring chances and took good shots. He could not beat Quick and was never really in alone. Also didn't manage a one-timer. I've started to notice that while #64 has a powerful, accurate wrister release, it is actually fairly slow. Goalies seem to be able to read it. I've also noticed that he is anticipating hits too early and either leaving himself vulnerable or missing the puck. He needs to work on his patience and hiding his release a little better. Gagner was pretty meh to me tonight. Hemsky and the defencemen got him the puck in his wheelhouse on several occasions but he seemed reluctant to fire that goofy half slapper. He scored but let's be honest it was not a great goal. He had better chances and was just a little off tonight. Hemsky started well, driving the net and should have drawn at least two penalties in the first period. He spent the first and some of the second absolutely dummying Keaton Ellerby. Unlucky for us, his D partner was Drew Doughty who had a stellar game swooping in to shut Hemsky down. Unfortunately neither Yakupov nor Gagner seemed to clue in and follow up on the play so that when Hemsky forced Doughty across he could dump it to one of them or get the rebound. He tailed off a bit after the first but was pretty decent overall. Still looking shot which is great on that line. Still needs to go to the low post a little bit more.
Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- Very frustrating night for Hall and understandably so. He crushed a guy near the end of the game but that was probably the most satisfying moment he had. It was he who was going up the wing and had the puck take a bad bounce off the linesman. He carried decent enough speed in the neutral zone tonight, though the line as a hole kept slowing down right at the opposition blue line and trying to pass for some reason. When Hall did head for the scoring zone he had an old, familiar problem: he carried the puck much too far from his body with his stick at a low angle. This meant an already active and strong Kings D could strip the puck and shut him down fairly easily and before he was able to look shot and pass off. He never corrected which, again, is something the video guys should be doing. Being that I believe this is part of Buchberger's role, I don't see it as likely this will happen. The good news is these games have been few and far between this year. I wish he'd adjust and carry closer to his feet the way elite players that aren't huge do. He'd be absolutely unstoppable. Hopkins was just okay. He fired a really nice shot off a Hemsky set up in the first that really could have gone. In the second he broke in and was robbed by Quick. His passing was off though and he didn't carry speed well. He also got beat up by hits which isn't good to begin with and especially when you have a shoulder issue. Defensively he made the effort out there and broke up some plays. Eberle was also just okay by my eye. He had a great chance in the first that I believe he rang off the bar. That stunk because it would have really fired up the crowd and the team to start the game. After that he was decent enough but quiet in the offensive zone.
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So all in all just a game we didn't win. We're starting to lose too many of these to make the playoffs for sure. The good news is we've been in pretty much every game. This is indeed a team that, if it hits a roll on this road trip for instance, may turn into one of those "they may never lose again" sort of teams, but they need a lot of things to go right, and probably a personnel change to make that a more realistic option. We'll see where we go from here.
I think we almost need a Chicago visit...crazy as that may sound.
2/13/13
2013 LMHF Game Report #6
EDMONTON 1
VS.
DALLAS 4
-----------------
If you've read these for a decent while you will know that I often wind up slightly to the other side of the commonly held opinion about the game we all just witnessed. A lot of nights that means I am a tad more positive than many others. This is usually due to little things that I saw in the game and impressed me. Tonight I suspect I'll come off a tad more negative than the prevailing opinion, which seems to be that the Oilers played pretty well and simply got unlucky/ran into a "hot goalie". You will know if you are a regular reader that these two cliches don't hold water for me.
Tonight the Oilers did indeed do a bunch of very good things. They started out with a solid set of powerplays that should have resulted in a goal or two. The main difference tonight was the urgency with which the players drove (either themselves or the puck) towards the shooting lanes and quickly took advantage. They slowed down a little later in the game unfortunately and also the coaches did not realize that we had our best powerplay when the line led by #83 took the first shift.
The Oilers were physical tonight. Many players hit in areas and on plays I have not seen them finish off in some time. It was impressive but they were not able to back the Stars off of the puck or create turnovers to the extent you'd like to see. This is after all the main point of playing a hitting game. The other result can be that the opposition wears down and collapses near the end of the game. Unfortunately it was the Oilers that did this after a night of grinding away and coming up with nothing.
I liked that our powerplay was using a variety of break-ins, including dumping it along the boards with a winger speeding along the other side. Hemsky is especially good at this and Hall did it too.
I commend Ralph Krueger for sitting Smyth and Whitney. It was absolutely the right thing to do. I'd hope he keeps both out next game, or Smyth at the very least. Team-wide accountability demands it. The unfortunate thing for Ralph is he simply does not have enough to work with at the bottom of the order. Thinking about it tonight, we have become too used to bad players being in our lineup and are seeing some positives or assets where there really aren't any. Eric Belanger, while certainly improved over last year is nowhere near the player we thought we were getting. Chris Vandevelde is not an NHLer. Neither is Lennart Petrell despite his best efforts. Ben Eager should be an optional accessory rather than a necessity and nearly a given. In T.O. David Steckel can't get into the lineup. In New York, Brian Boyle finds himself in a similar position. We don't have these kind of players to move in and out of the lineup.
Dallas is not a great team. They seem to have a ton of confidence rolling into Edmonton and that makes sense given their past results I suppose. Lehtonen was very good tonight, but we made him look like the best goalie in the league. We had some minor breakdowns but make no mistake, when Dallas scores the goals that meant anything by playing some weird sort of hockey-racquetball hybrid and bouncing the puck off everything but the cheerleaders' rear ends, they don't exactly get much credit.
But the thing is, we shouldn't either. The thing that matters in this game is finishing. You must close. This is not horseshoes or hand grenades. This is hockey. You need to score more than one goal. It is nice that we suddenly seem to be able to pop the first one...but the second one appears incredibly elusive. There is no good reason for that to continue.
Crazy thought - in a game like this where one line is clearly in high gear but seems to be cursed, I think you spread them around for a couple shifts and hope their game rubs off on some other guys or they find a match. Can't help but think that might have worked out tonight.
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Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- So, straight to the heart of the matter. These guys were both amazing and disappointing tonight. The way they drove the play was stupendous. They shredded the Dallas neutral zone defenders like they were not even there. High in the offensive zone their work was beautiful. Behind the net they controlled the play. The thing was, they did not get to the middle of the ice as much as they needed to, and when they did, things somehow went horribly wrong. They took a lot of good shots on net but also rushed at times. Hall's goal was a smart decision - 1-on-3 he takes a hard wrister, down low to the corner of the net rather than his usual five-hole. It goes in. Good. Nothing profound but might get the ball rolling. He did many other more impressive things throughout the game. Hall showed how he can lead the team tonight. He didn't pass the puck as much as he could have on a night when the rush was cruising. I loved the way this line responded to the first Dallas goal. Their next two shifts were brilliant and could have each resulted in a goal. For me, the game turned on Eberle's chance at the very end of the second period. He'd had a great chance in the slot and fanned earlier in the second, and also received a great feed at the side of the net in the first, but this was IT. Hopkins made an absolutely wonderful pass as Eberle grabbed a lane and then cut in his direction, opening up on the backhand and leaving Lehtonen dead...then Eberle did not roof his backhander. I still can't figure out why he went low. With the way he's shooting right now I suspect he may have half-whiffed even if he said he didn't later. Last year that's under the bar every time. #14 needs to bear down and finish there. The game is ours if he scores that goal. He had more chances later but they didn't work out either. I can't believe he can't shoot smoothly this year. Back to the old lumber. Hopkins had the best chance in the third. He got a great chance to tie the game at the right side of the net. Again, he didn't go upstairs. I wonder if he might be overthinking it because he is missing the net high so much at this point but I don't know. These guys were everything we need them to be in terms of appearances tonight, but could not close the deal. I'm amazed they didn't score 3 or 4, but they have to bear down in close and they aren't.
Yakupov-Gagner-Hemsky
- Nail was all over the place, both figuratively and literally at times. He got some excellent looks in front of the net and didn't pop one somehow. I really thought he'd beaten Lehtonen on the backhand in the first after taking a nice pass (from Petry?) and making a great move. It didn't find the corner. He also took a nice wrister in the third that didn't go. Couple outstanding plays in the neutral zone and even a really solid effort on the backcheck. Hemsky was strong in the defensive zone. He won a bunch of battles after iffy passes came up the boards to him. He outmuscled some guys that are much bigger than he. Several solid backchecking plays and lots of puck support plays. You could tell the whole line and especially #83 was trying to support Yakupov by utilizing a more flowing breakout and criss-crossing from time to time. It kind of worked and kind of didn't. Yakupov was out there for Jagr's goal. He'd actually make a nice little breakup play, but was chasing too hard and then Smid dove to block a pass that never made it through and we were cooked. Very unfortunate. I think we have two options with #63 - keep him where he is and tell him to play a simple positional game OR give him a line to run on his own. He could do either job. Gagner was kind of in the background tonight. He had some really good chances including one at the left side of the net in the second but every time the puck came to him he couldn't seem to pull the trigger as fast or effectively as he has been lately. His passing game was not as solid as it has been recently. Certainly not a bad game and laid one of the best hits I've seen in a long time, but he can do better.
Hartikainen-Belanger-Paajarvi
- As I noted above, Belanger is better than last year but still struggling. He is at least taking and making passes solidly. Tonight he did some nice things in that area and also in terms of his position. The thing is, he can't get a good shot away and is not getting anything done either in front of the net or in the corners. This is a necessity for a third line C and we're not getting it. This also creates a giant hole where offence goes to die and #s 56 and 91 suffer for it. They carried speed into the offensive zone but if the puck went through Belanger we were done. His faceoff work was brilliant but it does not appear to have resulted in goals. Magnus and Teemu continued to do the things they need to do, with a little less success than in some previous games. The one thing I'd like to see is this group generating some plays to the slot...but again, if that player is Belanger it isn't going to work.
Eager-Vandevelde-Petrell
- Meh. Eager had one of his better games in that he got in on the forecheck, forced some plays, hit some people and didn't do anything too stupid. I'd like to see him get to the slot a little more though as he can fire it. Twice he was caught out on long shifts. When #55 takes a long shift, he takes a hand off his stick and starts grabbing/shoving. When this happens he takes penalties. Someone drag him to the bench next time. Vandevelde was okay. He hit some people and didn't get caught badly or anything. He isn't an NHLer though. Lennart was okay and good on the penalty kill.
Petry-Fistric
- Odd pairing that wound up working out okay. Petry had another mixed bag of a night but certainly better than some of his recent efforts. He'd made two horrible plays within the first two shifts, then made a brilliant pass and started to turn his game around. He was part in drawing a key powerplay that could have helped greatly. He still got caught out of position a couple times and certainly could have been better, but maybe we're on the way up. Fistric did his job in that he hit people, drew a crowd and a couple penalties, and also got a couple shots toward the net. Really helps out the PK.
Smid-Potter
- Another odd unit. Smid played a whale of a game for much of the night, even inspiring a SMMIIIIIIDDDD! chant at one brief point. He blocked shots and broke up plays like crazy. Not the greatest effort on Jagr's goal as I noted before, though it should not have even mattered at that point. He also got caught on the same side as Potter at times which nearly resulted in a couple of disasters. I'll chalk this up to being a new pair. Brilliant pinches by Smid though. Just wonderful. Potter was just okay. He didn't make too many defensive mistakes, but I'm still waiting for the passing and the self confidence to come back. They were not there tonight.
J. Schultz - N. Schultz
- A relatively quiet game from this pair. Aside from a couple brilliant pinches and follow-ups by Justin, there wasn't really much to write home about aside from some solid defensive play.
Dubnyk
- Should have been a good enough effort for the win. I get why the first goal went in, but not putting his hand up to catch the second one was really strange. I know it was deflected but still. He made some great saves in the second and early third.
----------------
One theme I didn't really find a place to hit on was that the Oilers were overskating the play far too much tonight. They'd blow by players and have to work even harder to get back in the play. They almost worked too hard tonight. Back to basics. Solid positioning and finishing those scoring chances. That's where we need to go.
Well, that and acquiring the center and defenceman we should have months ago of course...
VS.
DALLAS 4
-----------------
If you've read these for a decent while you will know that I often wind up slightly to the other side of the commonly held opinion about the game we all just witnessed. A lot of nights that means I am a tad more positive than many others. This is usually due to little things that I saw in the game and impressed me. Tonight I suspect I'll come off a tad more negative than the prevailing opinion, which seems to be that the Oilers played pretty well and simply got unlucky/ran into a "hot goalie". You will know if you are a regular reader that these two cliches don't hold water for me.
Tonight the Oilers did indeed do a bunch of very good things. They started out with a solid set of powerplays that should have resulted in a goal or two. The main difference tonight was the urgency with which the players drove (either themselves or the puck) towards the shooting lanes and quickly took advantage. They slowed down a little later in the game unfortunately and also the coaches did not realize that we had our best powerplay when the line led by #83 took the first shift.
The Oilers were physical tonight. Many players hit in areas and on plays I have not seen them finish off in some time. It was impressive but they were not able to back the Stars off of the puck or create turnovers to the extent you'd like to see. This is after all the main point of playing a hitting game. The other result can be that the opposition wears down and collapses near the end of the game. Unfortunately it was the Oilers that did this after a night of grinding away and coming up with nothing.
I liked that our powerplay was using a variety of break-ins, including dumping it along the boards with a winger speeding along the other side. Hemsky is especially good at this and Hall did it too.
I commend Ralph Krueger for sitting Smyth and Whitney. It was absolutely the right thing to do. I'd hope he keeps both out next game, or Smyth at the very least. Team-wide accountability demands it. The unfortunate thing for Ralph is he simply does not have enough to work with at the bottom of the order. Thinking about it tonight, we have become too used to bad players being in our lineup and are seeing some positives or assets where there really aren't any. Eric Belanger, while certainly improved over last year is nowhere near the player we thought we were getting. Chris Vandevelde is not an NHLer. Neither is Lennart Petrell despite his best efforts. Ben Eager should be an optional accessory rather than a necessity and nearly a given. In T.O. David Steckel can't get into the lineup. In New York, Brian Boyle finds himself in a similar position. We don't have these kind of players to move in and out of the lineup.
Dallas is not a great team. They seem to have a ton of confidence rolling into Edmonton and that makes sense given their past results I suppose. Lehtonen was very good tonight, but we made him look like the best goalie in the league. We had some minor breakdowns but make no mistake, when Dallas scores the goals that meant anything by playing some weird sort of hockey-racquetball hybrid and bouncing the puck off everything but the cheerleaders' rear ends, they don't exactly get much credit.
But the thing is, we shouldn't either. The thing that matters in this game is finishing. You must close. This is not horseshoes or hand grenades. This is hockey. You need to score more than one goal. It is nice that we suddenly seem to be able to pop the first one...but the second one appears incredibly elusive. There is no good reason for that to continue.
Crazy thought - in a game like this where one line is clearly in high gear but seems to be cursed, I think you spread them around for a couple shifts and hope their game rubs off on some other guys or they find a match. Can't help but think that might have worked out tonight.
----------
Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- So, straight to the heart of the matter. These guys were both amazing and disappointing tonight. The way they drove the play was stupendous. They shredded the Dallas neutral zone defenders like they were not even there. High in the offensive zone their work was beautiful. Behind the net they controlled the play. The thing was, they did not get to the middle of the ice as much as they needed to, and when they did, things somehow went horribly wrong. They took a lot of good shots on net but also rushed at times. Hall's goal was a smart decision - 1-on-3 he takes a hard wrister, down low to the corner of the net rather than his usual five-hole. It goes in. Good. Nothing profound but might get the ball rolling. He did many other more impressive things throughout the game. Hall showed how he can lead the team tonight. He didn't pass the puck as much as he could have on a night when the rush was cruising. I loved the way this line responded to the first Dallas goal. Their next two shifts were brilliant and could have each resulted in a goal. For me, the game turned on Eberle's chance at the very end of the second period. He'd had a great chance in the slot and fanned earlier in the second, and also received a great feed at the side of the net in the first, but this was IT. Hopkins made an absolutely wonderful pass as Eberle grabbed a lane and then cut in his direction, opening up on the backhand and leaving Lehtonen dead...then Eberle did not roof his backhander. I still can't figure out why he went low. With the way he's shooting right now I suspect he may have half-whiffed even if he said he didn't later. Last year that's under the bar every time. #14 needs to bear down and finish there. The game is ours if he scores that goal. He had more chances later but they didn't work out either. I can't believe he can't shoot smoothly this year. Back to the old lumber. Hopkins had the best chance in the third. He got a great chance to tie the game at the right side of the net. Again, he didn't go upstairs. I wonder if he might be overthinking it because he is missing the net high so much at this point but I don't know. These guys were everything we need them to be in terms of appearances tonight, but could not close the deal. I'm amazed they didn't score 3 or 4, but they have to bear down in close and they aren't.
Yakupov-Gagner-Hemsky
- Nail was all over the place, both figuratively and literally at times. He got some excellent looks in front of the net and didn't pop one somehow. I really thought he'd beaten Lehtonen on the backhand in the first after taking a nice pass (from Petry?) and making a great move. It didn't find the corner. He also took a nice wrister in the third that didn't go. Couple outstanding plays in the neutral zone and even a really solid effort on the backcheck. Hemsky was strong in the defensive zone. He won a bunch of battles after iffy passes came up the boards to him. He outmuscled some guys that are much bigger than he. Several solid backchecking plays and lots of puck support plays. You could tell the whole line and especially #83 was trying to support Yakupov by utilizing a more flowing breakout and criss-crossing from time to time. It kind of worked and kind of didn't. Yakupov was out there for Jagr's goal. He'd actually make a nice little breakup play, but was chasing too hard and then Smid dove to block a pass that never made it through and we were cooked. Very unfortunate. I think we have two options with #63 - keep him where he is and tell him to play a simple positional game OR give him a line to run on his own. He could do either job. Gagner was kind of in the background tonight. He had some really good chances including one at the left side of the net in the second but every time the puck came to him he couldn't seem to pull the trigger as fast or effectively as he has been lately. His passing game was not as solid as it has been recently. Certainly not a bad game and laid one of the best hits I've seen in a long time, but he can do better.
Hartikainen-Belanger-Paajarvi
- As I noted above, Belanger is better than last year but still struggling. He is at least taking and making passes solidly. Tonight he did some nice things in that area and also in terms of his position. The thing is, he can't get a good shot away and is not getting anything done either in front of the net or in the corners. This is a necessity for a third line C and we're not getting it. This also creates a giant hole where offence goes to die and #s 56 and 91 suffer for it. They carried speed into the offensive zone but if the puck went through Belanger we were done. His faceoff work was brilliant but it does not appear to have resulted in goals. Magnus and Teemu continued to do the things they need to do, with a little less success than in some previous games. The one thing I'd like to see is this group generating some plays to the slot...but again, if that player is Belanger it isn't going to work.
Eager-Vandevelde-Petrell
- Meh. Eager had one of his better games in that he got in on the forecheck, forced some plays, hit some people and didn't do anything too stupid. I'd like to see him get to the slot a little more though as he can fire it. Twice he was caught out on long shifts. When #55 takes a long shift, he takes a hand off his stick and starts grabbing/shoving. When this happens he takes penalties. Someone drag him to the bench next time. Vandevelde was okay. He hit some people and didn't get caught badly or anything. He isn't an NHLer though. Lennart was okay and good on the penalty kill.
Petry-Fistric
- Odd pairing that wound up working out okay. Petry had another mixed bag of a night but certainly better than some of his recent efforts. He'd made two horrible plays within the first two shifts, then made a brilliant pass and started to turn his game around. He was part in drawing a key powerplay that could have helped greatly. He still got caught out of position a couple times and certainly could have been better, but maybe we're on the way up. Fistric did his job in that he hit people, drew a crowd and a couple penalties, and also got a couple shots toward the net. Really helps out the PK.
Smid-Potter
- Another odd unit. Smid played a whale of a game for much of the night, even inspiring a SMMIIIIIIDDDD! chant at one brief point. He blocked shots and broke up plays like crazy. Not the greatest effort on Jagr's goal as I noted before, though it should not have even mattered at that point. He also got caught on the same side as Potter at times which nearly resulted in a couple of disasters. I'll chalk this up to being a new pair. Brilliant pinches by Smid though. Just wonderful. Potter was just okay. He didn't make too many defensive mistakes, but I'm still waiting for the passing and the self confidence to come back. They were not there tonight.
J. Schultz - N. Schultz
- A relatively quiet game from this pair. Aside from a couple brilliant pinches and follow-ups by Justin, there wasn't really much to write home about aside from some solid defensive play.
Dubnyk
- Should have been a good enough effort for the win. I get why the first goal went in, but not putting his hand up to catch the second one was really strange. I know it was deflected but still. He made some great saves in the second and early third.
----------------
One theme I didn't really find a place to hit on was that the Oilers were overskating the play far too much tonight. They'd blow by players and have to work even harder to get back in the play. They almost worked too hard tonight. Back to basics. Solid positioning and finishing those scoring chances. That's where we need to go.
Well, that and acquiring the center and defenceman we should have months ago of course...
2/7/13
2013 LMHF Game Report #5
EDMONTON 2
VS.
DALLAS 3
---------------
Well, on one hand you've got to beat this Dallas team. Their roster is weak, old and they're missing important players. They didn't show very much tonight that was impressive in any meaningful way. They're not dynamic or particularly effective at anything. They do have a strong goalie which helped them out for sure. Jagr and still do a couple of the things he's always been able to do (win the battles when he has the puck and shoot it when he has any room) and that made the difference for them tonight.
On the other hand, our roster going in to this game stunk. It stunk even more when we lost our fourth center of the year to injury. Get these men some adequate padding or something already...wow. Did we cope very well with the losses we sustained? Well...sort of. The players themselves did a fairly good job of adapting and not getting lost of confused during the game and dealing with ever-changing arrangements. 5-on-5 at least. The powerplay was scary-bad at times this evening. They couldn't get puck control off of a zone entry without great difficulty. The coaches did not adjust so well. It was already bad enough to pull a MacTavish and simply plug Mark Arcobello in a spot where he had no possibility of succeeding to begin with...then to stick with him after a couple periods and an injury to Lander was pretty terrible decision-making on their part. This probably cost us at least one 5-on-5 goal and ultimately the game.
It feels odd to say this about a 3-2 loss where our forward lineup was depleted and generally bad, but the defence really let us down tonight. There were mediocre to bad performances for most of the crew and I can't figure out why exactly. Hmmm.
Let's turn to our goals for a moment.
Our first game after a superlative effort by the Yakupov-Gagner-Hemsky line. There were at least three beautiful shooting chances during this sequence that just didn't turn out. It wasn't for lack of effort or desire to fire the puck though. Eventually Yakupov got the puck in a really nice spot, took a shot that easily could have gone in but deflected to Hemsky who made no mistake on a shot that turned out to be harder to cash than it initially appeared. Great all-around effort to get the 1-0 lead.
The second Oilers goal was an even more beautiful thing. It started with an Eberle pass off to Hall. Rather than simply stand idly, Eberle worked his way down low and behind the net. He then motioned with his head to Hall that Hemsky was open. Hall fired a hard, flat, excellently timed pass across the whole zone to Hemsky, who was WIDE open and had about three years to decide what to do. The made a little fake then teed one up just right for Justin Schultz. All this while, Teemu Hartikainen was battling away in front of the net, and had set up a perfect screen for anyone who needed it. Schultz made no mistake. Perfectly executed powerplay sequence.
We'll look more at the Dallas goals while discussing specific players.
------------
Dubnyk
- He was really good tonight and made some nice stops. He was positionally solid; save for an approximately 10 minute stretch in the second where he was AGAIN dipping his blocker side shoulder and Dallas was simply not able to take advantage. Chabot needs to get a bloody taser and train this out of him during practices. It is going to kill games at key times. Luckily for us he returned to form subsequently. Definitely gave us a chance to win.
Petry-Smid
- Easily the worst game I've seen Jeff Petry play in a long time. He was wandering around his own zone out of position, turned the puck over routinely in every zone, deflected a goal into our net and generally looked terrible. He's lucky Smid was there to bail him out with shot blocks and strong defensive plays for most of the game. I do give Smid a hard time regarding the Benn goal as he was out of position, but that is partly because Ryan Smyth was in the middle of nowhere and threw everything off. Petry usually is, and has to be much much much better than he was tonight. I was starting to fear the times he got the puck. Just ugly.
J. Schultz-N.Schultz
- Similar to what I've seen so far, Nick had a quiet game but his tentativeness cost him at times. Just not aggressive enough on the opposition blue line. He also screened Dubynk pretty badly (along with Ryan Smyth) on the Roy goal. Not good. Also no physical play again tonight. Justin was pretty great. Solid defensively. Worked hard. Skated well. Made crisp passes for the most part. He could have been a little more aggressive to try to augment the Hall-Arcobello-Eberle line's offensive potential but oh well. Really nice goal he scored and could have had another earlier in the game.
Whitney-Potter
- Potter wasn't very good in that he couldn't gain puck possession and make solid passes. The guy who was a pretty decent puck mover at the beginning of last season appears to be long gone. He was the guy who was doing some of the bailing out on this line tonight line. I've run out of ways to feel bad about Ryan Whitney. His game just isn't there. The only thing he can do at this point is make a decent pass and take a slapper on the powerplay. There was a sequence in the second period where he got beat by a Stars player to the corner. He took several strides. The Stars player only had to glide (and hadn't been flying in the zone either). That's just not going to work in this league. Then he goes and messes up badly in overtime after several miscues at the offensive blue line in the third period. This is sad but it is reality. We need to replace Ryan Whitney and we need to do it soon. To watch a player fall from the best skater on our team at times to not even able to make a proper hockey stop is just crushing.
Hall-Arcobello-Eberle
- I really wanted to like the guy who came out wearing #62 tonight. They made the right call in asking him to play instead of Vandevelde and I appreciated that. It is always good to see a guy who clearly has a lot of respect from his minor league teammates get the call. That unfortunately was the last good thing that happened to him today. He was very unfortunately placed with Hall and Eberle in a way we've seen guys like Toby Petersen and Liam Reddox placed with the equivalent line of their day by other coaches. He looked completely overmatched the whole game. He turned the puck over nearly every chance he had. He actually made a pass in the third period but the fact that this was surprising was also scary. He couldn't keep up with the speed of the game and if you're as small as he is you actually have to be faster than average NHL speed. Not happening. To give him 18 minutes was absolutely insane. His spot was a giant hole in the middle of this line who was immediately outnumbered as they tried to put up a goal or two. For their parts, Eberle and Hall gave it what they could. Eberle is struggling to find his shooting (or tipping for that matter) rhythm at the moment. He had a wide-open net on a beauty feed from Schultz and missed. He missed on feeds from Hall. He could have tipped at least two pucks in but missed on both. I do give him credit for continuing to fight through though, and making some nice plays including on the powerplay goal and on the feed to Hall in the second after battling like hell and forcing a turnover deep in Dallas territory. I'm not going to bag on Hall for going between the legs there. It must have been the only option he saw. I'm also sure he was intending to go high and failed. If he'd thought he could get across the goalie and finish, he would have. Great pass to Hemsky before the Schultz goal as I noted earlier. He's having his best time on the ice right now whenever he and #83 are together. They really make things happen. Did Hall have several chances he needed to finish tonight though? Yes. The good news is that these guys weren't making defensive mistakes, unlike a player on this next line.
Petrell-Smyth-Hordichuk
-Obviously these guys didn't stay together long but it is still easiest to keep them grouped for discussion purposes. Hordichuk at least didn't take a stupid penalty in his incredibly limited ice time. He's a complete waste of a roster spot as well but the coaches and management don't seem to want to acknowledge that. Petrell played okay, especially when penalty killing, shot blocking and on the forecheck. No offence from him tonight though. And so we turn to Mr Smyth. What a horrible joke of a game he played. In addition to generally being slow to the puck, taking a horrible penalty, getting beat clean by defenders or forwards and not doing a damn thing offensively, Smyth made two of the laziest giveaways (one offensive and one defensive) that I've ever seen during the third period. He's just lazily flopping the puck wherever his stick happens to be pointing. In addition, his laziness (and whatever the heck this lean over and hopelessly half-lunge at the puck thing he's doing right now is) led to missing attempts to grab the puck on both of the goals Dallas scored in regulation. Neither of those would have happened if he wasn't slacking and/or out of position. Once on the boards and once in the middle of the ice. He then committed a double error by also screening the goalie on Roy's slapper, while not being near as close as he should have been to prevent the play in the first place. The way #94 played tonight, on a night when we needed veteran leadership, was absolutely embarassing. He should be sat out next game. I don't care if he can fake playing center. That effort should not go unpunished. What a flipping joke.
Paajarvi-Lander-Hartikainen
- Now on to the mostly positive. Obviously Lander getting hurt is not positive, but before the injury he looked to be continuing what he was trying to do last game and I have no complaints with that. Magnus played a fine game. He used his speed to get in on the forecheck, draw a penalty or two, carry the puck effectively and even hit people. It was really like watching something important finally click in that hockey brain and getting to enjoy the results. He also didn't cheat for defence as much which makes me happy. I really hope he can continue this level of effort and get some good shots away as well. Remember this is a man who can rifle the puck when he puts his mind to it. Hartikainen also did very well for himself. In addition to clogging the front of the net effectively on the Schultz goal, he worked well in the corners, threw some hits and brought the puck to the front of the net for shots. I would take the opportunity during the next couple games while chaos takes hold with injuries and such to elevate #56 to a line where these efforts would be better utilized.
Yakupov-Gagner-Hemsky
- The only consistently dangerous line on the ice tonight for us. They were why we had a chance out there. Hemsky was going as he has been for several games now. The goal was very nicely done and he made the right decision on the Schultz pass. He also checked hard along the boards, made some nice plays to both Gagner and Yakupov that could have wound up in the net and got several really strong shots away himself. I liked that he looked off Eberle and then fired on a 2-on-1 chance that he had. It is too bad that he blocked the puck with his mouth along the boards in the third period. He was in alone and likely would have finished if he'd blocked it with anything else. Gagner was a little medium tonight but effective enough. He was being asked to do a lot as the only decent offensive center on the team and certainly did enough. I don't blame Yakupov at all for the OT goal against. He can't be responsible for guarding Jagr because our former #1 Dman now has zero good feet. Really liked that he was responding physically with a hit and even the penalty to some extent. Can't take any garbage from that loser Morrow. He rang an absolute lazer beam off the bar in the second. Kari is still looking for that puck. Really thought he'd scored an absolute beauty there. Oh well.
----------------------
In the end, we couldn't get it done with only one consistent offensive line and a rickety PP. Not surprising.
Management will reveal its plan for the year by how they respond to this. There is time to pick a C or two and several decent ones that could stay with the team later and help out are available for nothing or practically nothing. We also need a defenceman badly. If they make moves now, they want to make the playoffs. If they don't, they are on board for another year of failure. We shall see.
VS.
DALLAS 3
---------------
Well, on one hand you've got to beat this Dallas team. Their roster is weak, old and they're missing important players. They didn't show very much tonight that was impressive in any meaningful way. They're not dynamic or particularly effective at anything. They do have a strong goalie which helped them out for sure. Jagr and still do a couple of the things he's always been able to do (win the battles when he has the puck and shoot it when he has any room) and that made the difference for them tonight.
On the other hand, our roster going in to this game stunk. It stunk even more when we lost our fourth center of the year to injury. Get these men some adequate padding or something already...wow. Did we cope very well with the losses we sustained? Well...sort of. The players themselves did a fairly good job of adapting and not getting lost of confused during the game and dealing with ever-changing arrangements. 5-on-5 at least. The powerplay was scary-bad at times this evening. They couldn't get puck control off of a zone entry without great difficulty. The coaches did not adjust so well. It was already bad enough to pull a MacTavish and simply plug Mark Arcobello in a spot where he had no possibility of succeeding to begin with...then to stick with him after a couple periods and an injury to Lander was pretty terrible decision-making on their part. This probably cost us at least one 5-on-5 goal and ultimately the game.
It feels odd to say this about a 3-2 loss where our forward lineup was depleted and generally bad, but the defence really let us down tonight. There were mediocre to bad performances for most of the crew and I can't figure out why exactly. Hmmm.
Let's turn to our goals for a moment.
Our first game after a superlative effort by the Yakupov-Gagner-Hemsky line. There were at least three beautiful shooting chances during this sequence that just didn't turn out. It wasn't for lack of effort or desire to fire the puck though. Eventually Yakupov got the puck in a really nice spot, took a shot that easily could have gone in but deflected to Hemsky who made no mistake on a shot that turned out to be harder to cash than it initially appeared. Great all-around effort to get the 1-0 lead.
The second Oilers goal was an even more beautiful thing. It started with an Eberle pass off to Hall. Rather than simply stand idly, Eberle worked his way down low and behind the net. He then motioned with his head to Hall that Hemsky was open. Hall fired a hard, flat, excellently timed pass across the whole zone to Hemsky, who was WIDE open and had about three years to decide what to do. The made a little fake then teed one up just right for Justin Schultz. All this while, Teemu Hartikainen was battling away in front of the net, and had set up a perfect screen for anyone who needed it. Schultz made no mistake. Perfectly executed powerplay sequence.
We'll look more at the Dallas goals while discussing specific players.
------------
Dubnyk
- He was really good tonight and made some nice stops. He was positionally solid; save for an approximately 10 minute stretch in the second where he was AGAIN dipping his blocker side shoulder and Dallas was simply not able to take advantage. Chabot needs to get a bloody taser and train this out of him during practices. It is going to kill games at key times. Luckily for us he returned to form subsequently. Definitely gave us a chance to win.
Petry-Smid
- Easily the worst game I've seen Jeff Petry play in a long time. He was wandering around his own zone out of position, turned the puck over routinely in every zone, deflected a goal into our net and generally looked terrible. He's lucky Smid was there to bail him out with shot blocks and strong defensive plays for most of the game. I do give Smid a hard time regarding the Benn goal as he was out of position, but that is partly because Ryan Smyth was in the middle of nowhere and threw everything off. Petry usually is, and has to be much much much better than he was tonight. I was starting to fear the times he got the puck. Just ugly.
J. Schultz-N.Schultz
- Similar to what I've seen so far, Nick had a quiet game but his tentativeness cost him at times. Just not aggressive enough on the opposition blue line. He also screened Dubynk pretty badly (along with Ryan Smyth) on the Roy goal. Not good. Also no physical play again tonight. Justin was pretty great. Solid defensively. Worked hard. Skated well. Made crisp passes for the most part. He could have been a little more aggressive to try to augment the Hall-Arcobello-Eberle line's offensive potential but oh well. Really nice goal he scored and could have had another earlier in the game.
Whitney-Potter
- Potter wasn't very good in that he couldn't gain puck possession and make solid passes. The guy who was a pretty decent puck mover at the beginning of last season appears to be long gone. He was the guy who was doing some of the bailing out on this line tonight line. I've run out of ways to feel bad about Ryan Whitney. His game just isn't there. The only thing he can do at this point is make a decent pass and take a slapper on the powerplay. There was a sequence in the second period where he got beat by a Stars player to the corner. He took several strides. The Stars player only had to glide (and hadn't been flying in the zone either). That's just not going to work in this league. Then he goes and messes up badly in overtime after several miscues at the offensive blue line in the third period. This is sad but it is reality. We need to replace Ryan Whitney and we need to do it soon. To watch a player fall from the best skater on our team at times to not even able to make a proper hockey stop is just crushing.
Hall-Arcobello-Eberle
- I really wanted to like the guy who came out wearing #62 tonight. They made the right call in asking him to play instead of Vandevelde and I appreciated that. It is always good to see a guy who clearly has a lot of respect from his minor league teammates get the call. That unfortunately was the last good thing that happened to him today. He was very unfortunately placed with Hall and Eberle in a way we've seen guys like Toby Petersen and Liam Reddox placed with the equivalent line of their day by other coaches. He looked completely overmatched the whole game. He turned the puck over nearly every chance he had. He actually made a pass in the third period but the fact that this was surprising was also scary. He couldn't keep up with the speed of the game and if you're as small as he is you actually have to be faster than average NHL speed. Not happening. To give him 18 minutes was absolutely insane. His spot was a giant hole in the middle of this line who was immediately outnumbered as they tried to put up a goal or two. For their parts, Eberle and Hall gave it what they could. Eberle is struggling to find his shooting (or tipping for that matter) rhythm at the moment. He had a wide-open net on a beauty feed from Schultz and missed. He missed on feeds from Hall. He could have tipped at least two pucks in but missed on both. I do give him credit for continuing to fight through though, and making some nice plays including on the powerplay goal and on the feed to Hall in the second after battling like hell and forcing a turnover deep in Dallas territory. I'm not going to bag on Hall for going between the legs there. It must have been the only option he saw. I'm also sure he was intending to go high and failed. If he'd thought he could get across the goalie and finish, he would have. Great pass to Hemsky before the Schultz goal as I noted earlier. He's having his best time on the ice right now whenever he and #83 are together. They really make things happen. Did Hall have several chances he needed to finish tonight though? Yes. The good news is that these guys weren't making defensive mistakes, unlike a player on this next line.
Petrell-Smyth-Hordichuk
-Obviously these guys didn't stay together long but it is still easiest to keep them grouped for discussion purposes. Hordichuk at least didn't take a stupid penalty in his incredibly limited ice time. He's a complete waste of a roster spot as well but the coaches and management don't seem to want to acknowledge that. Petrell played okay, especially when penalty killing, shot blocking and on the forecheck. No offence from him tonight though. And so we turn to Mr Smyth. What a horrible joke of a game he played. In addition to generally being slow to the puck, taking a horrible penalty, getting beat clean by defenders or forwards and not doing a damn thing offensively, Smyth made two of the laziest giveaways (one offensive and one defensive) that I've ever seen during the third period. He's just lazily flopping the puck wherever his stick happens to be pointing. In addition, his laziness (and whatever the heck this lean over and hopelessly half-lunge at the puck thing he's doing right now is) led to missing attempts to grab the puck on both of the goals Dallas scored in regulation. Neither of those would have happened if he wasn't slacking and/or out of position. Once on the boards and once in the middle of the ice. He then committed a double error by also screening the goalie on Roy's slapper, while not being near as close as he should have been to prevent the play in the first place. The way #94 played tonight, on a night when we needed veteran leadership, was absolutely embarassing. He should be sat out next game. I don't care if he can fake playing center. That effort should not go unpunished. What a flipping joke.
Paajarvi-Lander-Hartikainen
- Now on to the mostly positive. Obviously Lander getting hurt is not positive, but before the injury he looked to be continuing what he was trying to do last game and I have no complaints with that. Magnus played a fine game. He used his speed to get in on the forecheck, draw a penalty or two, carry the puck effectively and even hit people. It was really like watching something important finally click in that hockey brain and getting to enjoy the results. He also didn't cheat for defence as much which makes me happy. I really hope he can continue this level of effort and get some good shots away as well. Remember this is a man who can rifle the puck when he puts his mind to it. Hartikainen also did very well for himself. In addition to clogging the front of the net effectively on the Schultz goal, he worked well in the corners, threw some hits and brought the puck to the front of the net for shots. I would take the opportunity during the next couple games while chaos takes hold with injuries and such to elevate #56 to a line where these efforts would be better utilized.
Yakupov-Gagner-Hemsky
- The only consistently dangerous line on the ice tonight for us. They were why we had a chance out there. Hemsky was going as he has been for several games now. The goal was very nicely done and he made the right decision on the Schultz pass. He also checked hard along the boards, made some nice plays to both Gagner and Yakupov that could have wound up in the net and got several really strong shots away himself. I liked that he looked off Eberle and then fired on a 2-on-1 chance that he had. It is too bad that he blocked the puck with his mouth along the boards in the third period. He was in alone and likely would have finished if he'd blocked it with anything else. Gagner was a little medium tonight but effective enough. He was being asked to do a lot as the only decent offensive center on the team and certainly did enough. I don't blame Yakupov at all for the OT goal against. He can't be responsible for guarding Jagr because our former #1 Dman now has zero good feet. Really liked that he was responding physically with a hit and even the penalty to some extent. Can't take any garbage from that loser Morrow. He rang an absolute lazer beam off the bar in the second. Kari is still looking for that puck. Really thought he'd scored an absolute beauty there. Oh well.
----------------------
In the end, we couldn't get it done with only one consistent offensive line and a rickety PP. Not surprising.
Management will reveal its plan for the year by how they respond to this. There is time to pick a C or two and several decent ones that could stay with the team later and help out are available for nothing or practically nothing. We also need a defenceman badly. If they make moves now, they want to make the playoffs. If they don't, they are on board for another year of failure. We shall see.
2/5/13
2013 LMHF Game Report #4
EDMONTON 2
VS
VANCOUVER 3
---------------
Well, that was a weird one. Not just weird but also containing many contradictions and I'm sure there will be violent opinion either way as to how the game should have went. I understand why some people will say the Canucks deserved the win but I'm heavily inclined to disagree. Both of their goals were just garbage. This had serious potential to be a 1-0 game if things didn't get weird numerous times tonight.
Early on, Vancouver was doing a very good job of keeping us to the outside in their defensive zone and also standing up at the blue line on their PK. We took a while to figure out that you have to chip and chase against this strategy. It resulted in a goal pretty damn quick though.
We on the other hand were not very sturdy defensively for much of the game. There was a time in the second where we got really tough in our own end and I really enjoyed that. It continued briefly into the third but not long enough. I really appreciate a team that can separate the puck from the man and defuse a play quickly. We were that team plus some solid checks for a time tonight. It is something we need to work on doing more. It is really too bad our D wound up short staffed. It had a big impact on our ability to finish. I understand and to some extent agree with benching Whitney tonight, but we did miss his ability to make the first pass. There was a time tonight where we really struggled to get moving out of the defensive zone. He makes a difference there, even at 60ish%.
The thing was, we held firm enough against Vancouver efforts that we wound up with enough of a lead to take this thing home. We were right there and did not close. There were an absolute ton of chances to do so. It reminded me a lot of the opening period in Colorado, where we should have staked ourselves to a nice lead. Thankfully we didn't roll over and die at any point tonight so we at least got a single, but with the chances we had, this could easily have been a regulation win.
I know a lot of people will look at the shot clock and think the Canucks controlled the game. Again, I understand this line of thinking but I strongly disagree with it. An absolute ton of those shots were from WAY out and at bad angles. I'll get into why they were doing that a little later.
I think this may have been the first game that Krueger over-coached. I know he was forced to do some different things due to injuries, but that does not excuse him on this one. The fourth line was having a tremendous game with limited ice time and had a ton of energy going into the third. I'd argue they actually were our third line tonight. But instead of forechecking the hell out of the Canucks with that unit (as they had all game), he pops Paajarvi in Yakupov's spot, has Lander center Smyth and Petrell for a time, and benches Hartikainen (who was having the best game of the fourth liners). Terrible. Backing off like that costs games. It was part of why we blew the lead. I get sitting down a rookie every now and again, but in a game like this messing with the equilibrium of lines who are at least all moving the puck north on a routine basis is playing with fire. We ignited late.
One thing I did enjoy is that we were effectively able to shout the Sedins and Burrows. That's always key to playing the Canucks. The lines that did it deserve commendation for the work.
A word on our breakout: It needs to become much more versatile. I can remember Joni Pitkanen's skyhook passes out of the zone when there was trouble, Pronger's stretch pass plays out of nowhere, forwards criss-crossing rather than simply being on rails the whole night...teams really shut us down for extended periods and we need to stop that now.
---------------
Dubnyk
- Ya know, he was tremendous, except when he was not. He made a ton of stops on really good chances that good shooters had from good shooting positions, including a lovely bounce-back save after that first goal. But, let us talk about that first goal. Horrible and inexcusable. Why he's coming off that damn post so much I have no idea. No reason for that. No reason to let that play of all plays handcuff you on a night when you're doing great work. The Canucks recognized this and then began specifically shooting from weird angles. It almost worked multiple times. Don't get me wrong, I'm so glad he bounced back with confidence on the tough chances, but he looked like an monkey falling out of a tree for most of the third period, on horribly weak shots. Why does he get so rattled? The Bieksa goal has to be a save all day long. That was really weak. Stabbing at a puck like that is not NHL goaltender material. He nearly missed another shot high to the blocker side near the very end of the game as well, batting the puck into the air before recovering. Again, don't get me wrong, the diving through the air save on the awkward rebound, the beauty glove to keep it 2-1, the solid stops from great positioning through the first two periods were phenomenal and he kept us in it, but he's so schizophrenic in that net. It's baffling.
Petry-Smid
- Petry made some great plays including a beautiful third period jump into the rush that should have resulted in a goal. He should have finished it himself however, as he had ideal shooting position and a goalie playing the pass. He also made some stellar defensive plays and an amazing stretch pass to Paajarvi in the second (at least, I think it was Petry). He also turned the puck over in the neutral zone a number of times, got beat clean to the net by rushing Canucks and nearly cost us the game. Far from his best effort, but still flashes of what is to come. I liked Smid's game except for a couple times that he skated himself into corners with the puck. The only disadvantage of playing Smid with Petry is that #5 is too worried about covering for #2 that he doesn't skate with the puck like he used to. That's a distinct strength of Smid and we are missing it. He played a physical game and made several key defensive stops though.
N. Schultz-J. Schultz
- Nick is leaving the zone too early. He had several easy pinch opportunities tonight and passed up most of them. Some of them were nearly no-risk and came in the third when we badly needed a dagger goal. I'm not sure why he's playing so passive. This is a guy with some offensive talent and a partner who can skate like the wind. Not exactly a tightrope situation. I suppose he was pretty decent most of the game, but he's too tentative at times for my liking. Justin has flashes where you really do think he could become a Pronger type defenceman. I don't know if he'll be able to put on the muscle, but the few times tonight where he ranged around in the defensive zone, deftly using his reach to break up the Canucks' opportunities brought back a lot of memories. Beautiful deke and presence of mind to blow by the Canucks defender who'd lost his stick after Hall blasted him in the third period. Needs to finish some of those though. The wrister is just too easy for goalies to read at this stage.
Potter-Fistric
- This was Corey's chance and unfortunately he did not step up. He struggled to get the puck moving on the powerplay and that really hurt his linemates' attempts to do anything. He also tried to be physical in the corners but succeeded on a very limited basis and got caught out of position a number of times. Fistric was playing the kind of game we need him to play against Vancouver until he left. I'm assuming it was the hit he missed that messed up his back? Too bad. He may have made the difference for us tonight.
Hartikainen-Lander-Paajarvi
= Really, really solid game from this crew and especially from #s 56 and 57. They were in on the forecheck harder and more effectively than just about anybody in the game tonight and it nearly paid dividends on a number of occasions. They made the Canucks work more than anything else and you could see it having an impact. They started backing off Hartikainen and that gave him and advantage. Lander started attacking the puck as well and did a good job. He was also pretty excellent on the penalty kill, making a number of key clears while also making physical plays without getting himself out of position. Not the easiest thing to do in the NHL. Paajarvi also had a successful night but on a more limited basis. He used his speed and at times improved positioning to both get scoring chances and move the play forward. He had a couple really nice rushes in the second period. Just needs to work on his in-close shooting some. What I didn't understand was why he played so high in the zone. This is not consistent with the Oilers' system and cost him scoring chances when his linemates won corner battles and he was too high up to receive a pass. He needs to be more aggressive. There is no need to cheat for defence on the fourth line, especially when you are that fast. He looked a little out of sorts with Hemsky and Gagner, which is understandable and not his fault but Krueger's.
Petrell-Horcoff-Smyth
- Horcoff was actually moving his feet much better and took a couple nice shots at the net before he was injured. Not playing great by any stretch of the imagination but certainly an improvement. Petrell managed to land a couple of hits and get himself a great scoring chance where he reminded us all that he's the shooter on that line. They really need to get him the puck some. Smyth worked hard and was again better than the last time out. His goal was classic, hideous Ryan Smyth which is fair enough. The amount of times where he went in on rushes and all you can think of is "he's got NO chance" was rather sad though.
Yakupov-Gagner-Hemsky
- As a line they were a bit ragged at times, but also produced many of the best chances at other times. They were absolutely robbed in the second when Yakupov was given that tripping penalty on what was a clean 3-on-1. Pretty sure we cash that chance at that point in the game and the rest is academic. They also got hosed when Gagner took an elbow to the face and they didn't get a chance at a five-on-three in the third period. Tough breaks at times. They had moments. Yakupov's play to Hemsky who then used positioning and strength for a beauty goal was fabulous. Ales was going most of the night and generated most of the chances this line got. Really liked the play he made when he got stuck out shorthanded and got a key clear with a nice hit. I'm sure there will be people who complain about the fact that he went 1-on-3 in the Canucks zone and didn't get through on a play in the third. You may not have been able to see that Hall had hooked around the other side and they were inches from a clean 2-on-0. You have to take those chances. There was another sequence in the second where the puck whizzed around between the three linemates and I believe it was Gagner who was unable to pull the trigger. It was unfortunate that he was a half-step off the pace tonight. His shots were coming too late, from too far out and he wasn't quite in the right spot for passes. I recall a long powerplay shot that he put on net with no one in front and Luongo having a clear view in the third. Not a one-timer either. Then again, not all his fault. The Dman (Potter I think) had Yakupov wide open for a one-timer at a great angle and didn't look. Idiot. I'm getting the impression some people (and possibly our coach) thought Yakupov was bad tonight...I didn't see it. He didn't do anything too electrifying and there was the penalty he took, but other than that he was certainly okay at the very least. I don't blame him on the OT goal because every person on the ice was busy fiddle-farting on that play. That was just UGLY. Eberle knows much better and so does Smid. Petry was out to lunch in the OT. At least these guys aren't having the issue the next guys are having.
Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- So, here's the real conundrum. You've got a first line who is indeed driving the play forward, getting a bunch of chances and doing it against good opponents. That is all great and would seem to mean you leave them together forever. There is however a substantial problem developing. While it is understandable for even the best players to go through times when they are truly snake-bitten, as long as the players don't believe this is an actual trend, they will be fine. Our flashy franchise players have started to pass off scoring chances. They are not confident in themselves and that spells trouble. Where Hall or Eberle especially would normally fire a shot, they are passing them up. Granted the players they are making passes to are in great scoring position, but it just doesn't work all the time. You need to mix it up. This has been what has always been so great about these guys...you never know what is coming. Right now it is way too telegraphed. They're also doing horribly trying to beat the other team's D 1-on-1 while carrying little speed. Hall had a great shooting chance in the third where he was roaring and had Luongo cheating...he passed it up despite the fact that even if he didn't score we were rebound-ready. Eberle was shooting to the wrong side of the goalie or passing up as well. The good news on Eberle is that was in all likelihood the one bad game in every 30-to-40 we see from him. He should be good for a long while now. I don't know what he was thinking tonight; from missing rebound chances, to wandering around in OT, to passing up shots and stumbling into the back of Canucks defenders...it was WEIRD. I must say as a whole this line falls more than any line I've ever seen. It's like a contagious disease that Hall started with and now they all have. Hall was the best of the three tonight and could have been combined with Hemsky to win this thing. Hopkins is still a little lost. He's looking down while stickhandling and not beating anyone clean. They need him to carry the puck less and be the transition or net guy much more than he is right now. Overall, things need a shuffle even though these guys are pushing a big boulder up a hill. You can not let their confidence be shaken for long.
----------------
Many interesting things to be learned from this one. I understand we're also without Horcoff for some time now. Time to grab a C. There are several out there and I only hope the coaching staff/management doesn't see fit to let the 'D' class take up the bottom two center spots. This could get ugly in a hurry as those lines are not scoring at all. Get someone. Guys like Arnott and Connolly are flawed, sure, but they whup Chris VandeVelde any day of the week.
VS
VANCOUVER 3
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Well, that was a weird one. Not just weird but also containing many contradictions and I'm sure there will be violent opinion either way as to how the game should have went. I understand why some people will say the Canucks deserved the win but I'm heavily inclined to disagree. Both of their goals were just garbage. This had serious potential to be a 1-0 game if things didn't get weird numerous times tonight.
Early on, Vancouver was doing a very good job of keeping us to the outside in their defensive zone and also standing up at the blue line on their PK. We took a while to figure out that you have to chip and chase against this strategy. It resulted in a goal pretty damn quick though.
We on the other hand were not very sturdy defensively for much of the game. There was a time in the second where we got really tough in our own end and I really enjoyed that. It continued briefly into the third but not long enough. I really appreciate a team that can separate the puck from the man and defuse a play quickly. We were that team plus some solid checks for a time tonight. It is something we need to work on doing more. It is really too bad our D wound up short staffed. It had a big impact on our ability to finish. I understand and to some extent agree with benching Whitney tonight, but we did miss his ability to make the first pass. There was a time tonight where we really struggled to get moving out of the defensive zone. He makes a difference there, even at 60ish%.
The thing was, we held firm enough against Vancouver efforts that we wound up with enough of a lead to take this thing home. We were right there and did not close. There were an absolute ton of chances to do so. It reminded me a lot of the opening period in Colorado, where we should have staked ourselves to a nice lead. Thankfully we didn't roll over and die at any point tonight so we at least got a single, but with the chances we had, this could easily have been a regulation win.
I know a lot of people will look at the shot clock and think the Canucks controlled the game. Again, I understand this line of thinking but I strongly disagree with it. An absolute ton of those shots were from WAY out and at bad angles. I'll get into why they were doing that a little later.
I think this may have been the first game that Krueger over-coached. I know he was forced to do some different things due to injuries, but that does not excuse him on this one. The fourth line was having a tremendous game with limited ice time and had a ton of energy going into the third. I'd argue they actually were our third line tonight. But instead of forechecking the hell out of the Canucks with that unit (as they had all game), he pops Paajarvi in Yakupov's spot, has Lander center Smyth and Petrell for a time, and benches Hartikainen (who was having the best game of the fourth liners). Terrible. Backing off like that costs games. It was part of why we blew the lead. I get sitting down a rookie every now and again, but in a game like this messing with the equilibrium of lines who are at least all moving the puck north on a routine basis is playing with fire. We ignited late.
One thing I did enjoy is that we were effectively able to shout the Sedins and Burrows. That's always key to playing the Canucks. The lines that did it deserve commendation for the work.
A word on our breakout: It needs to become much more versatile. I can remember Joni Pitkanen's skyhook passes out of the zone when there was trouble, Pronger's stretch pass plays out of nowhere, forwards criss-crossing rather than simply being on rails the whole night...teams really shut us down for extended periods and we need to stop that now.
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Dubnyk
- Ya know, he was tremendous, except when he was not. He made a ton of stops on really good chances that good shooters had from good shooting positions, including a lovely bounce-back save after that first goal. But, let us talk about that first goal. Horrible and inexcusable. Why he's coming off that damn post so much I have no idea. No reason for that. No reason to let that play of all plays handcuff you on a night when you're doing great work. The Canucks recognized this and then began specifically shooting from weird angles. It almost worked multiple times. Don't get me wrong, I'm so glad he bounced back with confidence on the tough chances, but he looked like an monkey falling out of a tree for most of the third period, on horribly weak shots. Why does he get so rattled? The Bieksa goal has to be a save all day long. That was really weak. Stabbing at a puck like that is not NHL goaltender material. He nearly missed another shot high to the blocker side near the very end of the game as well, batting the puck into the air before recovering. Again, don't get me wrong, the diving through the air save on the awkward rebound, the beauty glove to keep it 2-1, the solid stops from great positioning through the first two periods were phenomenal and he kept us in it, but he's so schizophrenic in that net. It's baffling.
Petry-Smid
- Petry made some great plays including a beautiful third period jump into the rush that should have resulted in a goal. He should have finished it himself however, as he had ideal shooting position and a goalie playing the pass. He also made some stellar defensive plays and an amazing stretch pass to Paajarvi in the second (at least, I think it was Petry). He also turned the puck over in the neutral zone a number of times, got beat clean to the net by rushing Canucks and nearly cost us the game. Far from his best effort, but still flashes of what is to come. I liked Smid's game except for a couple times that he skated himself into corners with the puck. The only disadvantage of playing Smid with Petry is that #5 is too worried about covering for #2 that he doesn't skate with the puck like he used to. That's a distinct strength of Smid and we are missing it. He played a physical game and made several key defensive stops though.
N. Schultz-J. Schultz
- Nick is leaving the zone too early. He had several easy pinch opportunities tonight and passed up most of them. Some of them were nearly no-risk and came in the third when we badly needed a dagger goal. I'm not sure why he's playing so passive. This is a guy with some offensive talent and a partner who can skate like the wind. Not exactly a tightrope situation. I suppose he was pretty decent most of the game, but he's too tentative at times for my liking. Justin has flashes where you really do think he could become a Pronger type defenceman. I don't know if he'll be able to put on the muscle, but the few times tonight where he ranged around in the defensive zone, deftly using his reach to break up the Canucks' opportunities brought back a lot of memories. Beautiful deke and presence of mind to blow by the Canucks defender who'd lost his stick after Hall blasted him in the third period. Needs to finish some of those though. The wrister is just too easy for goalies to read at this stage.
Potter-Fistric
- This was Corey's chance and unfortunately he did not step up. He struggled to get the puck moving on the powerplay and that really hurt his linemates' attempts to do anything. He also tried to be physical in the corners but succeeded on a very limited basis and got caught out of position a number of times. Fistric was playing the kind of game we need him to play against Vancouver until he left. I'm assuming it was the hit he missed that messed up his back? Too bad. He may have made the difference for us tonight.
Hartikainen-Lander-Paajarvi
= Really, really solid game from this crew and especially from #s 56 and 57. They were in on the forecheck harder and more effectively than just about anybody in the game tonight and it nearly paid dividends on a number of occasions. They made the Canucks work more than anything else and you could see it having an impact. They started backing off Hartikainen and that gave him and advantage. Lander started attacking the puck as well and did a good job. He was also pretty excellent on the penalty kill, making a number of key clears while also making physical plays without getting himself out of position. Not the easiest thing to do in the NHL. Paajarvi also had a successful night but on a more limited basis. He used his speed and at times improved positioning to both get scoring chances and move the play forward. He had a couple really nice rushes in the second period. Just needs to work on his in-close shooting some. What I didn't understand was why he played so high in the zone. This is not consistent with the Oilers' system and cost him scoring chances when his linemates won corner battles and he was too high up to receive a pass. He needs to be more aggressive. There is no need to cheat for defence on the fourth line, especially when you are that fast. He looked a little out of sorts with Hemsky and Gagner, which is understandable and not his fault but Krueger's.
Petrell-Horcoff-Smyth
- Horcoff was actually moving his feet much better and took a couple nice shots at the net before he was injured. Not playing great by any stretch of the imagination but certainly an improvement. Petrell managed to land a couple of hits and get himself a great scoring chance where he reminded us all that he's the shooter on that line. They really need to get him the puck some. Smyth worked hard and was again better than the last time out. His goal was classic, hideous Ryan Smyth which is fair enough. The amount of times where he went in on rushes and all you can think of is "he's got NO chance" was rather sad though.
Yakupov-Gagner-Hemsky
- As a line they were a bit ragged at times, but also produced many of the best chances at other times. They were absolutely robbed in the second when Yakupov was given that tripping penalty on what was a clean 3-on-1. Pretty sure we cash that chance at that point in the game and the rest is academic. They also got hosed when Gagner took an elbow to the face and they didn't get a chance at a five-on-three in the third period. Tough breaks at times. They had moments. Yakupov's play to Hemsky who then used positioning and strength for a beauty goal was fabulous. Ales was going most of the night and generated most of the chances this line got. Really liked the play he made when he got stuck out shorthanded and got a key clear with a nice hit. I'm sure there will be people who complain about the fact that he went 1-on-3 in the Canucks zone and didn't get through on a play in the third. You may not have been able to see that Hall had hooked around the other side and they were inches from a clean 2-on-0. You have to take those chances. There was another sequence in the second where the puck whizzed around between the three linemates and I believe it was Gagner who was unable to pull the trigger. It was unfortunate that he was a half-step off the pace tonight. His shots were coming too late, from too far out and he wasn't quite in the right spot for passes. I recall a long powerplay shot that he put on net with no one in front and Luongo having a clear view in the third. Not a one-timer either. Then again, not all his fault. The Dman (Potter I think) had Yakupov wide open for a one-timer at a great angle and didn't look. Idiot. I'm getting the impression some people (and possibly our coach) thought Yakupov was bad tonight...I didn't see it. He didn't do anything too electrifying and there was the penalty he took, but other than that he was certainly okay at the very least. I don't blame him on the OT goal because every person on the ice was busy fiddle-farting on that play. That was just UGLY. Eberle knows much better and so does Smid. Petry was out to lunch in the OT. At least these guys aren't having the issue the next guys are having.
Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- So, here's the real conundrum. You've got a first line who is indeed driving the play forward, getting a bunch of chances and doing it against good opponents. That is all great and would seem to mean you leave them together forever. There is however a substantial problem developing. While it is understandable for even the best players to go through times when they are truly snake-bitten, as long as the players don't believe this is an actual trend, they will be fine. Our flashy franchise players have started to pass off scoring chances. They are not confident in themselves and that spells trouble. Where Hall or Eberle especially would normally fire a shot, they are passing them up. Granted the players they are making passes to are in great scoring position, but it just doesn't work all the time. You need to mix it up. This has been what has always been so great about these guys...you never know what is coming. Right now it is way too telegraphed. They're also doing horribly trying to beat the other team's D 1-on-1 while carrying little speed. Hall had a great shooting chance in the third where he was roaring and had Luongo cheating...he passed it up despite the fact that even if he didn't score we were rebound-ready. Eberle was shooting to the wrong side of the goalie or passing up as well. The good news on Eberle is that was in all likelihood the one bad game in every 30-to-40 we see from him. He should be good for a long while now. I don't know what he was thinking tonight; from missing rebound chances, to wandering around in OT, to passing up shots and stumbling into the back of Canucks defenders...it was WEIRD. I must say as a whole this line falls more than any line I've ever seen. It's like a contagious disease that Hall started with and now they all have. Hall was the best of the three tonight and could have been combined with Hemsky to win this thing. Hopkins is still a little lost. He's looking down while stickhandling and not beating anyone clean. They need him to carry the puck less and be the transition or net guy much more than he is right now. Overall, things need a shuffle even though these guys are pushing a big boulder up a hill. You can not let their confidence be shaken for long.
----------------
Many interesting things to be learned from this one. I understand we're also without Horcoff for some time now. Time to grab a C. There are several out there and I only hope the coaching staff/management doesn't see fit to let the 'D' class take up the bottom two center spots. This could get ugly in a hurry as those lines are not scoring at all. Get someone. Guys like Arnott and Connolly are flawed, sure, but they whup Chris VandeVelde any day of the week.
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