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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765127 is a reply to message #765122 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 10:10 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
Messages: 6765
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Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

g2k wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 08:00

The damage Chiarelli did to this club has very long reaching tentacles.

And the goofball that sat on the sidelines FOR AGES and watched this twit dismantle what little depth they had behind 97 and 29 is still the face of this management team.

For the love of god. Fire Bob now.


(And Kevin).

Looking through some stats again and it is goaltending that really did us dirty, no matter what the other flaws on this roster are. The Oilers outshot and outchanced the ‘Hawks through the series but had the worst goaltending stats of anyone in the play-in. Smith’s stats were horrendous, but Koskinen was still among the very worst too. 15 goals in 4 games is pretty respectable (would have been better if depth guys did anything) but they could not get the saves.

I wonder if they could escape Koskinen’s deal if a KHL team wants him...



"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765136 is a reply to message #765127 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 11:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mightyreasoner  is currently offline mightyreasoner
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Registered: October 2005
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No Cups

Adam wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 10:10

g2k wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 08:00

The damage Chiarelli did to this club has very long reaching tentacles.

And the goofball that sat on the sidelines FOR AGES and watched this twit dismantle what little depth they had behind 97 and 29 is still the face of this management team.

For the love of god. Fire Bob now.


(And Kevin).

Looking through some stats again and it is goaltending that really did us dirty, no matter what the other flaws on this roster are. The Oilers outshot and outchanced the ‘Hawks through the series but had the worst goaltending stats of anyone in the play-in. Smith’s stats were horrendous, but Koskinen was still among the very worst too. 15 goals in 4 games is pretty respectable (would have been better if depth guys did anything) but they could not get the saves.

I wonder if they could escape Koskinen’s deal if a KHL team wants him...


Koskinen was okay during the season though. I don't know if he'll be a bonafide #1, but he can one half of a tandem... provided that second half is better than Mike Smith.

I hesitate to turf someone strictly on a four-game series; that's Chiarelli-esque when he shipped Eberle out. Koskinen wasn't good enough this series, but he probably was during the season.

That said, they need another goalie, and they need him to be a 1A to Koskinen's 1B. I'm concerned Koskinen's contract may make that difficult.

Matt Murray (or Tristan Jarry) would be an ideal target, but I don't know if they have the assets to get that done or not. Grabbing Jarry and Reimer last summer would be preferable to re-signing Koskinen and signing Smith.



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765142 is a reply to message #765136 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 14:15 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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6 Cups

mightyreasoner wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 11:18

Adam wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 10:10

g2k wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 08:00

The damage Chiarelli did to this club has very long reaching tentacles.

And the goofball that sat on the sidelines FOR AGES and watched this twit dismantle what little depth they had behind 97 and 29 is still the face of this management team.

For the love of god. Fire Bob now.


(And Kevin).

Looking through some stats again and it is goaltending that really did us dirty, no matter what the other flaws on this roster are. The Oilers outshot and outchanced the ‘Hawks through the series but had the worst goaltending stats of anyone in the play-in. Smith’s stats were horrendous, but Koskinen was still among the very worst too. 15 goals in 4 games is pretty respectable (would have been better if depth guys did anything) but they could not get the saves.

I wonder if they could escape Koskinen’s deal if a KHL team wants him...


Koskinen was okay during the season though. I don't know if he'll be a bonafide #1, but he can one half of a tandem... provided that second half is better than Mike Smith.

I hesitate to turf someone strictly on a four-game series; that's Chiarelli-esque when he shipped Eberle out. Koskinen wasn't good enough this series, but he probably was during the season.

That said, they need another goalie, and they need him to be a 1A to Koskinen's 1B. I'm concerned Koskinen's contract may make that difficult.

Matt Murray (or Tristan Jarry) would be an ideal target, but I don't know if they have the assets to get that done or not. Grabbing Jarry and Reimer last summer would be preferable to re-signing Koskinen and signing Smith.


The problem is that his contract isn't that of an adequate back-up - which might be where he is. He's also on the wrong side of 30, so I don't anticipate him developing much.

If we want to get a new starting goalie, Koskinen's contract is an issue so while we don't NEED to dump him, it would be nice to free up that money. I think we can probably find an equivalent netminder cheap.

Is Murray a great replacement? Really tough year in Pittsburgh this year. It's a gamble, although maybe one worth making if you can get him for the right price. I definitely think some of those teams with goaltending dilemmas are the best target. There's too many good goalie in NYC for the Rangers too...



"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765146 is a reply to message #765142 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 14:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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Kr55 wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 14:22

travgwhite wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 02:14

I wish we had played this team like we played Calgary. Aggressive and hitting. We played the way a small team needed us to. Usually we crash and bang and then loose pucks go in cause Drai or McDavid pounce. We are out because we tried to be fancy.


Nurse gave that in a quote, that the game they played with the most intensity was vs Calgary. Almost would have been better if they lost that game. Their first game against Chicago was a clown show.


Moving my response to this so as not to clutter the thread about when we win Lafreniere.

Koskinen was really good against Calgary. I'm still just at a loss as to what Tippett was thinking in this series. He really failed:

- Starting Smith was a terrible decision. Leaving him in to get destroyed for 5 goals in under half a game was even worse.

- Where were the adjustments? I understand that this is a tougher playoff to adjust in than usual, but we were getting killed with point shots and the Oilers didn't modify their approach. They were passive rather than pressuring the puck carrier there, and they seemed more intent on trying to have the defence block than the forwards...that seems a recipe for disaster. You can't be square to the shooter AND cover the guy in front of the net.

- We didn't adapt our powerplay to deal with what adjustments Chicago was making - they were very high pressure and the Oilers efficacy dropped as a result. The team seemed to just try to continue doing what they'd been doing and it stopped working. Not only was their powerplay less deadly in scoring later in the series, but they weren't getting as many shots and were getting more often disrupted.

Frustrating.



"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765147 is a reply to message #765146 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 14:50 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Kr55  is currently offline Kr55
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Adam wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 14:41

Kr55 wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 14:22

travgwhite wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 02:14

I wish we had played this team like we played Calgary. Aggressive and hitting. We played the way a small team needed us to. Usually we crash and bang and then loose pucks go in cause Drai or McDavid pounce. We are out because we tried to be fancy.


Nurse gave that in a quote, that the game they played with the most intensity was vs Calgary. Almost would have been better if they lost that game. Their first game against Chicago was a clown show.


Moving my response to this so as not to clutter the thread about when we win Lafreniere.

Koskinen was really good against Calgary. I'm still just at a loss as to what Tippett was thinking in this series. He really failed:

- Starting Smith was a terrible decision. Leaving him in to get destroyed for 5 goals in under half a game was even worse.

- Where were the adjustments? I understand that this is a tougher playoff to adjust in than usual, but we were getting killed with point shots and the Oilers didn't modify their approach. They were passive rather than pressuring the puck carrier there, and they seemed more intent on trying to have the defence block than the forwards...that seems a recipe for disaster. You can't be square to the shooter AND cover the guy in front of the net.

- We didn't adapt our powerplay to deal with what adjustments Chicago was making - they were very high pressure and the Oilers efficacy dropped as a result. The team seemed to just try to continue doing what they'd been doing and it stopped working. Not only was their powerplay less deadly in scoring later in the series, but they weren't getting as many shots and were getting more often disrupted.

Frustrating.


Yeah, whole series our forwards were in no mans land in an area between the points and the front of the net. It was just so ridiculously easy for Chicago to not only get point shows through near the net, but then they also had forwards open around the net to try tips and look for rebounds. The D were all obsessed with blocking shots rather than tying guys up and making sure the goalies could see shots. Forwards seemed to enjoy getting out the popcorn and standing around our D behind out net too, leaving lots of chances for wide open guys in front of the net.

Did they just totally forget how to play defense during the break? I swear we were not THIS bad during the season. But, maybe we were, and Chicago did a good job scouting us and building a game plan to exploit our bad habits. In the end, we never figured out what we were doing wrong.

PP for sure got figured out. The cute stuff between Nuge and Klef. They started to just ignore our guy on the right wall and looking for the little plays on the left side, and boy did that start to work well for them. We just kept on trying it.

Was there just some collective mentality by our team that Chicago should have been easy to beat?



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- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765148 is a reply to message #765147 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 15:10 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Oscargasm  is currently offline Oscargasm
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Kr55 wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 14:50


Was there just some collective mentality by our team that Chicago should have been easy to beat?


Rumour has it they heard Bobby Mac saying he’d be utterly shocked if Pittsburgh or Edmonton didn’t move on.



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765129 is a reply to message #765122 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 10:28 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Leia  is currently offline Leia
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No Cups

g2k wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 08:00

The damage Chiarelli did to this club has very long reaching tentacles.

And the goofball that sat on the sidelines FOR AGES and watched this twit dismantle what little depth they had behind 97 and 29 is still the face of this management team.

For the love of god. Fire Bob now.



Quote:

Yeah, I don't know how much of this I would put on Koski...

The Oilers played horrid D in front of him. Sure, it would have been nice to have a couple of out of this world saves, however that's not Koskinen. Put him behind a nice D corps and he's be a steady, consistent goalie


Let's not just throw the blame on Chiarelli, we had Tambellini prior to that. We've not been run properly for a good few years, Holland has had 12 months in the job, yeah he's made some calls some of us don't agree with, but as I said straight after the game we are in a better position than we were last year.

I'm sure that Holland and his scouting staff are looking for a netminder to come in and do a job, but world class goalies aren't cheap or easy to find. Koski has improved on last season for sure, with a better D in front of him he'll be okay. We have Bouchard and Broberg to come into the D corps, they'll be young and make mistakes if they come up next year, so it might be a little rough again, but in the long term this team and club is going in the right direction.

Defeat hurts, this defeat hurts, every 30 to 40 minutes I'm cursing at the fact we lost and are out even now, but we have to look forward and be positive as this season apart from the qualifiers has been positive compared to the vast majority since 06.

In fact that's just the 4th time since 06 we've been above .500, and only the second time since then that we've won more than 10 games more than we've lost. We also had a plus goal difference for only the second time since 06..

So many things this team got right this year, the fact that we failed when it meant the most sucks for sure, but if Holland can bring in a few more better tools for Tipp and he can build on the structure he's put in place this season, we'll be laughing.



If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765130 is a reply to message #765129 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 10:34 Go to previous messageGo to next message
CrusaderPi  is currently offline CrusaderPi
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Prior to Chiarelli and Tambellini the Oilers had MacTavish and Lowe. They have not been a well run hockey organization for 20 years. #cyclical


Please do not feed the bears. Feeding the bears creates a dependent population unable to survive on their own. Bears.

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765154 is a reply to message #765129 ]
Sun, 09 August 2020 10:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
GabbyDugan  is currently offline GabbyDugan
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No Cups

Some random thoughts on the 32nd anniversary of the Wayne Gretzky giveaway.

Pretty disappointing and frustrating that the Oilers sabotaged this golden opportunity by being arrogant and sloppy from the top down. They got out coached by a guy who wasn't even born when Tippett began his coaching career. And when was the last time the Oilers actually signed and developed a young goalie in the system? I hope we don't see another over-the-hill old timer signed to try to keep pucks out of the net. Maybe I'm just bitter because Cam Talbot is thriving now after struggling in Edmonton the last few years he was here. Maybe that fight in Calgary got him going again.

The organization is too cocky from the top down. Have to give Katz credit for spending the money for players and management, but some of the people he has running the Oilers use questionable judgment. Guys like Nicholson should take a good look in the mirror.

The 50/50 fiasco is just another example of Oiler fans following Oiler "leadership" to the abyss. Greed over performance and integrity. The Oiler brand takes a real hit for this mess. Maybe Kr55's idea of breaking it down into a number of million dollar draws should have been implemented.

I'm frustrated by the performance of the players, but they had good chemistry during most of the regular season. Draisaitl and Nurse and several others were so good during the season, but were stuck in low gear against the Hawks. The prospects should be able to replace the passive guys in the lineup in the next couple of years, but we've been down this road so many times before.

I'm pretty impressed by former Oilers who are thriving in these playoffs on other teams. I know that we had zero influence at oilfans on how those players were treated here before they were traded for magic beans, but the attitude when most of them left was pretty much good riddance. I consider the group here as very knowledgeable about NHL hockey, but we have ragged on several players that have thrived elsewhere.

The people who have serviced the playoffs in Edmonton have done a fantastic job. For most of the past week it was in the range of +30 in Edmonton and three games a day was par for the course, but the players seem to be okay with the condition of the ice. I would be going crazy after weeks in isolation even at a luxury hotel, but the players seem to be okay in their bubbles. The hotel people deserve credit for being in the background but keeping the show going.

The medical staff have been so responsive in a situation where the games have been very physical and chippy.

The people who change the advertising on the boards between games must have tough work with a short turnaround time.

Except when Ron McLean and the Calgary media fan club are on, the television coverage has been pretty good. Sportsnet leaves most of the coverage to the US feeds, and for the most part the US broadcasters are quite good. The only Sportsnet guys I find to be great are Friedman and Burke.





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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765134 is a reply to message #765059 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 11:06 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Kr55  is currently offline Kr55
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Did this qualifier put to rest the theory that the Oilers play like a bunch of panicky turds in their own end because our fans are all quiet and putting out bad scared vibes?

They do this all on their own.



"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

"In Brad we trust"
- All Oilers fans, Present Day

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765139 is a reply to message #765059 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 13:14 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Rocksteady  is currently offline Rocksteady
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No Cups

This team... Nurse is highly overrated...

Defensive responsibility on this team is severely lacking

Ugh.. still grumpy about this team.



The very definition of insanity is doing the exact same thing expecting different results.

Generally Disappointed.

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765140 is a reply to message #765139 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 13:31 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Oscargasm  is currently offline Oscargasm
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Rocksteady wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 13:14

This team... Nurse is highly overrated...

Defensive responsibility on this team is severely lacking

Ugh.. still grumpy about this team.



Woke up totally bitter... feeling hasn’t lessened.

Team needs compete. The guys in the room care, they obviously want to win, but they need guys who compete.

And Tipps response to not paying Nuge-Drai-Yam line baffles me. Says you don’t win as a 1 line team. I take that as disrespect to Connor honestly as he’s shown you can put a water bottle and a roll of tape on his wings and they’ll be productive BC of Connor. You’re never a 1 line team with Connor unless it’s Connor’s line you load up. Hindsight. Obviously. But I chalk this series loss up to a combo of team compete, coaching and goaltending.

We’re not winning the lottery, or anything of significance anytime soon. We’re picking 13th, still an alright player but this team needs a makeover. Another year of Connor, wasted.



Survivor CHAMP S52 | S66
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Category 3 - Considerably Musty
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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765141 is a reply to message #765140 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 13:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
nullterm  is currently offline nullterm
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Oscargasm wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 12:31

Rocksteady wrote on Sat, 08 August 2020 13:14

This team... Nurse is highly overrated...

Defensive responsibility on this team is severely lacking

Ugh.. still grumpy about this team.



Woke up totally bitter... feeling hasn’t lessened.

Team needs compete. The guys in the room care, they obviously want to win, but they need guys who compete.

And Tipps response to not paying Nuge-Drai-Yam line baffles me. Says you don’t win as a 1 line team. I take that as disrespect to Connor honestly as he’s shown you can put a water bottle and a roll of tape on his wings and they’ll be productive BC of Connor. You’re never a 1 line team with Connor unless it’s Connor’s line you load up. Hindsight. Obviously. But I chalk this series loss up to a combo of team compete, coaching and goaltending.

We’re not winning the lottery, or anything of significance anytime soon. We’re picking 13th, still an alright player but this team needs a makeover. Another year of Connor, wasted.


I’m slightly down the Oilers are bout, but probably more happy that hockey is back. With all the crap happening, I’m just gonna enjoy this for as much as I can.

.... except for the fact the Canucks and Flames are still in it.



Illegitimi non carborundum.

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765149 is a reply to message #765059 ]
Sat, 08 August 2020 15:12 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Skookum Jim  is currently offline Skookum Jim
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Andreas Athanasiou, Your Current Opinion[ 19 vote(s) ]
1.Future Top Six, winger for McD or LD 4 / 21%
2.Future Star, c'mon give the kid a chance! 1 / 5%
3.Future Bottom Six Plumber 3 / 16%
4.Toby Rieder 2.0, Wheels of Lightening, Hands of Stone 6 / 32%
5.Future Swiss League/Spengler Champ 3 / 16%
6.On Waivers 2021 2 / 11%

Look into your crystal balls, who do you think Andreas Athanasiou will be?



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P. Chiarelli math.. T. Hall = A. Larsson, Yak= bag o'pucks (OK he got one right...) K. Russell = $4.1 M+NMC, G. Reinhart= M. Barzal + A. Beauvillier, J. Eberle = R. Spooner,

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765164 is a reply to message #765059 ]
Sun, 09 August 2020 20:51 Go to previous messageGo to next message
smyth260  is currently offline smyth260
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No Cups

I have just found out about the results after returning from a camping trip that was planned well before game 4. It surprises me every year how much it hurts. It happens every year with this team, and it doesn't get easier to digest.

McDavid, Draisaitl, Nuge...they deserve better.

Nuge has one year left on his deal. Hard to see him being an Oiler much longer. He hasn't complained about all the losing he's been through in his. A single playoff appearance in 9 years. He's done his job, and gotten little reward.

I feel that every year the Oilers miss the playoffs, they roll the dice on Connor McDavid making a trade request. He wants to win and he's smart. Even Elliotte Friedman says he thinks once Ken Holland signed up, that the Oilers had 2 years to right the ship. I hate seeing him and Draisaitl carrying the team night after night, grinding out hundreds of brilliant games for no team success in the end. If Connor leaves, I'm cheering for his next team. I'm just so over cheering for an organization that turns all these gifts into never ending disappointment. So many low hanging fruit decisions such as not playing the goalie with a .902 save percentage in game 1, or not signing Zack Kassian for 3.2 million per year for 4 years. This team, it's coaches, it's managers still make many easily avoidable mistakes. Roll the dice again Oilers.




Clean house or bust

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765167 is a reply to message #765164 ]
Sun, 09 August 2020 21:08 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Skookum Jim  is currently offline Skookum Jim
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3 Cups

smyth260 wrote on Sun, 09 August 2020 19:51

I have just found out about the results after returning from a camping trip that was planned well before game 4. It surprises me every year how much it hurts. It happens every year with this team, and it doesn't get easier to digest.

McDavid, Draisaitl, Nuge...they deserve better.

Nuge has one year left on his deal. Hard to see him being an Oiler much longer. He hasn't complained about all the losing he's been through in his. A single playoff appearance in 9 years. He's done his job, and gotten little reward.

I feel that every year the Oilers miss the playoffs, they roll the dice on Connor McDavid making a trade request. He wants to win and he's smart. Even Elliotte Friedman says he thinks once Ken Holland signed up, that the Oilers had 2 years to right the ship. I hate seeing him and Draisaitl carrying the team night after night, grinding out hundreds of brilliant games for no team success in the end. If Connor leaves, I'm cheering for his next team. I'm just so over cheering for an organization that turns all these gifts into never ending disappointment. So many low hanging fruit decisions such as not playing the goalie with a .902 save percentage in game 1, or not signing Zack Kassian for 3.2 million per year for 4 years. This team, it's coaches, it's managers still make many easily avoidable mistakes. Roll the dice again Oilers.




Me as well. 😬



McDAVID! Oh YEAH Baby!!
Tic-Tac-Tao!
Keep on Rockin' in the Free World
P. Chiarelli math.. T. Hall = A. Larsson, Yak= bag o'pucks (OK he got one right...) K. Russell = $4.1 M+NMC, G. Reinhart= M. Barzal + A. Beauvillier, J. Eberle = R. Spooner,

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765174 is a reply to message #765059 ]
Mon, 10 August 2020 08:24 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Kr55  is currently offline Kr55
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Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

Tippett crapping on Koskinen and basically saying the difference was goaltending. Yeah, Chicago was tipping pucks around Crawford for us too, and leaving our guys wide open 8 ft from the net to snipe shots top corner. Everything was even but the goaltending. We did have our chances, but we had a lot of fun trying to hit Crawford in the crest and everything low and along the ice into his pads. And jerk Blackhawks defenders just refused to tip anything up for us.

Think he's just mad that there was so much pressure on him to not play Smith and now he has to throw Koskinen under the bus for his boy. He doesn't seem to want to mention Smith just tossing Chicago a free goal in game 1. That game was all the skaters fault.

[Updated on: Mon, 10 August 2020 08:27]


"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

"In Brad we trust"
- All Oilers fans, Present Day

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765180 is a reply to message #765174 ]
Mon, 10 August 2020 10:24 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ragnarok73  is currently offline Ragnarok73
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2 Cups

Kr55 wrote on Mon, 10 August 2020 08:24

Tippett crapping on Koskinen and basically saying the difference was goaltending. Yeah, Chicago was tipping pucks around Crawford for us too, and leaving our guys wide open 8 ft from the net to snipe shots top corner. Everything was even but the goaltending. We did have our chances, but we had a lot of fun trying to hit Crawford in the crest and everything low and along the ice into his pads. And jerk Blackhawks defenders just refused to tip anything up for us.

Think he's just mad that there was so much pressure on him to not play Smith and now he has to throw Koskinen under the bus for his boy. He doesn't seem to want to mention Smith just tossing Chicago a free goal in game 1. That game was all the skaters fault.

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765183 is a reply to message #765174 ]
Mon, 10 August 2020 11:03 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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Kr55 wrote on Mon, 10 August 2020 08:24

Tippett crapping on Koskinen and basically saying the difference was goaltending. Yeah, Chicago was tipping pucks around Crawford for us too, and leaving our guys wide open 8 ft from the net to snipe shots top corner. Everything was even but the goaltending. We did have our chances, but we had a lot of fun trying to hit Crawford in the crest and everything low and along the ice into his pads. And jerk Blackhawks defenders just refused to tip anything up for us.

Think he's just mad that there was so much pressure on him to not play Smith and now he has to throw Koskinen under the bus for his boy. He doesn't seem to want to mention Smith just tossing Chicago a free goal in game 1. That game was all the skaters fault.


Where are these quotes?

Tippett should be throwing himself on his sword here. That would be real leadership. Say that you didn't make the right adjustments and that you feel you can be better. Try to save the players from the heat as much as possible.

Wait until behind closed doors with Holland to say goaltending was an issue. This guy is signed for years with the team yet, so not ideal if he feels that his coach scapegoated him (even if he does deserve some of the blame).



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765185 is a reply to message #765183 ]
Mon, 10 August 2020 11:10 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Kr55  is currently offline Kr55
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Adam wrote on Mon, 10 August 2020 11:03

Kr55 wrote on Mon, 10 August 2020 08:24

Tippett crapping on Koskinen and basically saying the difference was goaltending. Yeah, Chicago was tipping pucks around Crawford for us too, and leaving our guys wide open 8 ft from the net to snipe shots top corner. Everything was even but the goaltending. We did have our chances, but we had a lot of fun trying to hit Crawford in the crest and everything low and along the ice into his pads. And jerk Blackhawks defenders just refused to tip anything up for us.

Think he's just mad that there was so much pressure on him to not play Smith and now he has to throw Koskinen under the bus for his boy. He doesn't seem to want to mention Smith just tossing Chicago a free goal in game 1. That game was all the skaters fault.


Where are these quotes?

Tippett should be throwing himself on his sword here. That would be real leadership. Say that you didn't make the right adjustments and that you feel you can be better. Try to save the players from the heat as much as possible.

Wait until behind closed doors with Holland to say goaltending was an issue. This guy is signed for years with the team yet, so not ideal if he feels that his coach scapegoated him (even if he does deserve some of the blame).


Hear a clip on the radio this morning.

Think quote I heard is around 2min in here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh1z1yWiiB8

Complains about 2GA in game 3 in the 3rd. Both were tips, not sure what exactly you expect there.

Game 4, Russell starts it off tipping a puck over Koskinen's pad as he's about to save the wrap around. Then wide open top corner shot from in close for the winner after a sad puck battle loss. I mean, I guess Koskinen could have been standing up, but then that leaves the far side and lots of other places for Kubalik to shoot. Don't let people like that take 1-timers completely uncontested 10 feet away on lost puck battle pass from behind the net maybe. Just to note, Toews had his stick in the middle Bear's hands to make that steal to pass to Kubalik. Ref looking right at it of course.


I'm probably overreacting in thinking he believed the goaltending was the main costly factor in the last couple games. He concedes errors were made, although he goes back to goaltending not making a save later again.

I just really hope his solution isn't to lobby for a Smith extension and getting rid of Koskinen :)

[Updated on: Mon, 10 August 2020 11:31]


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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765188 is a reply to message #765185 ]
Mon, 10 August 2020 11:42 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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Kr55 wrote on Mon, 10 August 2020 11:10

Adam wrote on Mon, 10 August 2020 11:03

Kr55 wrote on Mon, 10 August 2020 08:24

Tippett crapping on Koskinen and basically saying the difference was goaltending. Yeah, Chicago was tipping pucks around Crawford for us too, and leaving our guys wide open 8 ft from the net to snipe shots top corner. Everything was even but the goaltending. We did have our chances, but we had a lot of fun trying to hit Crawford in the crest and everything low and along the ice into his pads. And jerk Blackhawks defenders just refused to tip anything up for us.

Think he's just mad that there was so much pressure on him to not play Smith and now he has to throw Koskinen under the bus for his boy. He doesn't seem to want to mention Smith just tossing Chicago a free goal in game 1. That game was all the skaters fault.


Where are these quotes?

Tippett should be throwing himself on his sword here. That would be real leadership. Say that you didn't make the right adjustments and that you feel you can be better. Try to save the players from the heat as much as possible.

Wait until behind closed doors with Holland to say goaltending was an issue. This guy is signed for years with the team yet, so not ideal if he feels that his coach scapegoated him (even if he does deserve some of the blame).


Hear a clip on the radio this morning.

Think quote I heard is around 2min in here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh1z1yWiiB8

Complains about 2GA in game 3 in the 3rd. Both were tips, not sure what exactly you expect there.

Game 4, Russell starts it off tipping a puck over Koskinen's pad as he's about to save the wrap around. Then wide open top corner shot from in close for the winner after a sad puck battle loss. I mean, I guess Koskinen could have been standing up, but then that leaves the far side and lots of other places for Kubalik to shoot. Don't let people like that take 1-timers completely uncontested 10 feet away on lost puck battle pass from behind the net maybe. Just to note, Toews had his stick in the middle Bear's hands to make that steal to pass to Kubalik. Ref looking right at it of course.


Yeah, I really didn't like the Oilers approach to point shots the whole series. The 'Hawks killed us with them and we just let it happen. Defencemen trying to also play goalie is just stupid, and it repeatedly burned us.

I think Koskinen wasn't good enough, but three own goals from Russell and at least one more from Bear, and none of them were just random deflections off the side of the leg, but rather all ones where they tried to stop the puck and deflected it over the netminder instead. In most of those cases, Koskinen makes the save if they didn't throw their leg or stick out at the last second.

The way we defended point shots all series makes it seem much more likely a system-based issue rather than simply missed assignments. I think Tippett wants his forwards deeper to help the defence, rather than forcing the blueliners. The theory clearly is that they should be able to stop the long shots and out-man the attackers down low, but it wasn't working and we didn't change up at all despite that so Slater Koekkoek and others end up looking like stars...

It does create an interesting situation if he's throwing the only goalie under contract under the bus...It would be interesting if they were able to cut loose Koskinen and could then focus on upgrading the position across the board. I'd love to see us try to get one of the young Rangers goalies...Hopefully Lundqvist wants one more year in New York...he's got one more year on his deal. Georgiev or Shersterkin would be a good fit and both wouldn't be expensive yet - so we could afford them even if we do have to keep Koskinen's deal on our books.

By the way, came across this email from Matheson while trying to find the Tippett quotes:

https://edmontonsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/edmonton-oilers/ed monton-oilers-head-coach-dave-tippett-has-two-solid-options- in-goal

Ugh...that didn't age well.



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765270 is a reply to message #765059 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 13:25 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Kr55  is currently offline Kr55
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Somehow Mike Smith and his 0.902 sav% during the year and helping to toilet game 1 of our series is finding himself getting a vote of confidence from Holland and media guys like Spector, suggesting our goal-tending overall was a strong point this year.

I remain concerned. Are they using some kind of sav% stat that excludes goals that Smith single-handed created against us with stupid plays? Maybe he looks better if you look at it that way. Possibly would get him up near Koskinen's 0.917.



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765271 is a reply to message #765270 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 13:43 Go to previous messageGo to next message
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If the Oilers can find another good back up to split the games much like they did this year, then Koskinen while not great is middle of the pack and their goaltending could be fine. I just don't know how they can go out and get that true #1. Teams aren't trading them and the few guys that are available are too expensive. What they need to happen is go and find a young guy not playing much who finds a way to become that guy. Smith is 38, turns 39 in March. Even if the Oilers like him as a person and have some stat we don't know. He's going to be 39!!!


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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765279 is a reply to message #765271 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 16:05 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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RDOilerfan wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 13:43

If the Oilers can find another good back up to split the games much like they did this year, then Koskinen while not great is middle of the pack and their goaltending could be fine. I just don't know how they can go out and get that true #1. Teams aren't trading them and the few guys that are available are too expensive. What they need to happen is go and find a young guy not playing much who finds a way to become that guy. Smith is 38, turns 39 in March. Even if the Oilers like him as a person and have some stat we don't know. He's going to be 39!!!


There are a few better options out there:

1) NY Rangers - Georgiev & Shersterkin. The Rangers have one more year of Lundqvist at $8.5MM, Georgiev is a RFA and Shersterkin has one more year on his rookie deal. The Rags are going to have to pick someone eventually, and unless King Henrik is retiring, then they have the three-headed monster in goal this year.

2) Penguins - Murray & Jarry. Matt Murray is only 26 years old with a Stanley Cup to his name. He's coming off a tough year, but his career save percentage is .914 even with this dreadful season (.899) bogging it down. If the Penguins want to keep him due to a sense of loyalty towards a goalie who's been pretty key in a couple of Cup wins, then even better - Jarry is younger and probably better. .921 in 33 regular season games this year.

3) Golden Knights - Robin Lehner is a unrestricted free agent and a pretty darn good one at that. He made $1.4MM this year and is likely in line for a significant raise.

4) Bruins - Rask is likely going to win the Vezina. His back-up is Jaro Halak, who's a pretty solid goalie in his own right. He's getting a little long in the tooth (35), but still putting up solid numbers - .919 save percentage this year in 31 games. One more year left on his deal.

5) Stars - Anton Khudobin played in 30 games this year with a .930 save percentage. Another older pick (34) who hasn't spent time as a #1, but could be a nice fit and his track record is really solid. He's a UFA.

6) Avalanche - Francouz/Grubauer - another impending goaltending debate - who's better? Both had great numbers this year playing 34 and 36 games respectively. Both under contract for another year or two so nice cost controlled goalies at reasonable ages if you can get one.

7) Columbus - Korpisalo/Mrzlikins - see Colorado - almost the exact same situation. Both have signed extensions which kick in next year.

Any of the goalies on the above list are an upgrade over what the Oilers rolled out this year.




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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765280 is a reply to message #765279 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 16:13 Go to previous messageGo to next message
CrudeRemarks  is currently offline CrudeRemarks
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Adam wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 16:05

RDOilerfan wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 13:43

If the Oilers can find another good back up to split the games much like they did this year, then Koskinen while not great is middle of the pack and their goaltending could be fine. I just don't know how they can go out and get that true #1. Teams aren't trading them and the few guys that are available are too expensive. What they need to happen is go and find a young guy not playing much who finds a way to become that guy. Smith is 38, turns 39 in March. Even if the Oilers like him as a person and have some stat we don't know. He's going to be 39!!!


There are a few better options out there:

1) NY Rangers - Georgiev & Shersterkin. The Rangers have one more year of Lundqvist at $8.5MM, Georgiev is a RFA and Shersterkin has one more year on his rookie deal. The Rags are going to have to pick someone eventually, and unless King Henrik is retiring, then they have the three-headed monster in goal this year.

2) Penguins - Murray & Jarry. Matt Murray is only 26 years old with a Stanley Cup to his name. He's coming off a tough year, but his career save percentage is .914 even with this dreadful season (.899) bogging it down. If the Penguins want to keep him due to a sense of loyalty towards a goalie who's been pretty key in a couple of Cup wins, then even better - Jarry is younger and probably better. .921 in 33 regular season games this year.

3) Golden Knights - Robin Lehner is a unrestricted free agent and a pretty darn good one at that. He made $1.4MM this year and is likely in line for a significant raise.

4) Bruins - Rask is likely going to win the Vezina. His back-up is Jaro Halak, who's a pretty solid goalie in his own right. He's getting a little long in the tooth (35), but still putting up solid numbers - .919 save percentage this year in 31 games. One more year left on his deal.

5) Stars - Anton Khudobin played in 30 games this year with a .930 save percentage. Another older pick (34) who hasn't spent time as a #1, but could be a nice fit and his track record is really solid. He's a UFA.

6) Avalanche - Francouz/Grubauer - another impending goaltending debate - who's better? Both had great numbers this year playing 34 and 36 games respectively. Both under contract for another year or two so nice cost controlled goalies at reasonable ages if you can get one.

7) Columbus - Korpisalo/Mrzlikins - see Colorado - almost the exact same situation. Both have signed extensions which kick in next year.

Any of the goalies on the above list are an upgrade over what the Oilers rolled out this year.



Mind boggling that Chiarelli was allowed to hamstring the goaltending situation for several years on his way out the door.



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765306 is a reply to message #765279 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 19:46 Go to previous messageGo to next message
PlusOne  is currently offline PlusOne
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Adam wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 16:05

RDOilerfan wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 13:43

If the Oilers can find another good back up to split the games much like they did this year, then Koskinen while not great is middle of the pack and their goaltending could be fine. I just don't know how they can go out and get that true #1. Teams aren't trading them and the few guys that are available are too expensive. What they need to happen is go and find a young guy not playing much who finds a way to become that guy. Smith is 38, turns 39 in March. Even if the Oilers like him as a person and have some stat we don't know. He's going to be 39!!!


There are a few better options out there:

1) NY Rangers - Georgiev & Shersterkin. The Rangers have one more year of Lundqvist at $8.5MM, Georgiev is a RFA and Shersterkin has one more year on his rookie deal. The Rags are going to have to pick someone eventually, and unless King Henrik is retiring, then they have the three-headed monster in goal this year.

2) Penguins - Murray & Jarry. Matt Murray is only 26 years old with a Stanley Cup to his name. He's coming off a tough year, but his career save percentage is .914 even with this dreadful season (.899) bogging it down. If the Penguins want to keep him due to a sense of loyalty towards a goalie who's been pretty key in a couple of Cup wins, then even better - Jarry is younger and probably better. .921 in 33 regular season games this year.

3) Golden Knights - Robin Lehner is a unrestricted free agent and a pretty darn good one at that. He made $1.4MM this year and is likely in line for a significant raise.

4) Bruins - Rask is likely going to win the Vezina. His back-up is Jaro Halak, who's a pretty solid goalie in his own right. He's getting a little long in the tooth (35), but still putting up solid numbers - .919 save percentage this year in 31 games. One more year left on his deal.

5) Stars - Anton Khudobin played in 30 games this year with a .930 save percentage. Another older pick (34) who hasn't spent time as a #1, but could be a nice fit and his track record is really solid. He's a UFA.

6) Avalanche - Francouz/Grubauer - another impending goaltending debate - who's better? Both had great numbers this year playing 34 and 36 games respectively. Both under contract for another year or two so nice cost controlled goalies at reasonable ages if you can get one.

7) Columbus - Korpisalo/Mrzlikins - see Colorado - almost the exact same situation. Both have signed extensions which kick in next year.

Any of the goalies on the above list are an upgrade over what the Oilers rolled out this year.




Yep as usual the folklore of "it's almost impossible to just FIND a good goalie" is complete BS. Every year multiple goalies change teams, multiple teams have two decent or better starters and multiple goalies lose startin jobs during the season.

It is a cop out by not just fans, but GM's as well to shrug their shoulders and use the tired old excuse that has been proven wrong time and time again by multiple teams.

Of goalies who played at least 15 games our goalies were 15th and 47th in SV%, 26 and 40 in GAA.

That is simply not good enough and I cant believe Mike Smith is being defended by anyone.




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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765317 is a reply to message #765279 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 22:27 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Gator21  is currently offline Gator21
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Adam wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 16:05

RDOilerfan wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 13:43

If the Oilers can find another good back up to split the games much like they did this year, then Koskinen while not great is middle of the pack and their goaltending could be fine. I just don't know how they can go out and get that true #1. Teams aren't trading them and the few guys that are available are too expensive. What they need to happen is go and find a young guy not playing much who finds a way to become that guy. Smith is 38, turns 39 in March. Even if the Oilers like him as a person and have some stat we don't know. He's going to be 39!!!


There are a few better options out there:

1) NY Rangers - Georgiev & Shersterkin. The Rangers have one more year of Lundqvist at $8.5MM, Georgiev is a RFA and Shersterkin has one more year on his rookie deal. The Rags are going to have to pick someone eventually, and unless King Henrik is retiring, then they have the three-headed monster in goal this year.

2) Penguins - Murray & Jarry. Matt Murray is only 26 years old with a Stanley Cup to his name. He's coming off a tough year, but his career save percentage is .914 even with this dreadful season (.899) bogging it down. If the Penguins want to keep him due to a sense of loyalty towards a goalie who's been pretty key in a couple of Cup wins, then even better - Jarry is younger and probably better. .921 in 33 regular season games this year.

3) Golden Knights - Robin Lehner is a unrestricted free agent and a pretty darn good one at that. He made $1.4MM this year and is likely in line for a significant raise.

4) Bruins - Rask is likely going to win the Vezina. His back-up is Jaro Halak, who's a pretty solid goalie in his own right. He's getting a little long in the tooth (35), but still putting up solid numbers - .919 save percentage this year in 31 games. One more year left on his deal.

5) Stars - Anton Khudobin played in 30 games this year with a .930 save percentage. Another older pick (34) who hasn't spent time as a #1, but could be a nice fit and his track record is really solid. He's a UFA.

6) Avalanche - Francouz/Grubauer - another impending goaltending debate - who's better? Both had great numbers this year playing 34 and 36 games respectively. Both under contract for another year or two so nice cost controlled goalies at reasonable ages if you can get one.

7) Columbus - Korpisalo/Mrzlikins - see Colorado - almost the exact same situation. Both have signed extensions which kick in next year.

Any of the goalies on the above list are an upgrade over what the Oilers rolled out this year.




Lehner made $5 mil this year on a 1 year deal signed by CHI. Also this nonsense that ppl think “the sun rises and sets with Smith” seems like utter hyperbole...don’t know many or anyone who feels that way



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765323 is a reply to message #765317 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 23:19 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Leia  is currently offline Leia
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Whilst it's open season on the netminders it seems, I'm guessing that neither Smith or Koski had anything to do with us conceding 57 goals less than we did last season?

It had to be the defense then, but hearing some of the complaints about them recently I'm not sure if they can be held responsible for this either.


2018–19 2018–19 82 35 38 - 9 79 232 274 7th, Pacific
2019–20 2019–20 71 37 25 - 9 83 225 217 2nd, Pacific

Yes, things weren't right in the play off series and as it stands the Blackhawks are being handed a bit of beating by Vegas, but as I stated straight after end of the series, we've moved on from where we were last year, and yes we have area's where we need to improve on and for sure netminding is one of them.

The goals conceded total was 12th best in the league which is bang average, last season we ended up 26th. So yes if we can find that netminder to improve the tandem again who knows how low our goals against total could be. Holland retooled this team last summer and moved us forward, give him this summer to do the same as with Tipp, he did good during the regular season but lost it in the post. I'm not sure if that his fault the players for not turning up in the games that matter or Chicago's last hurrah with this roster. I'm not going to bash either of them, as I don't think this is either's of them's team, it will be a bit more after this off season and then it will be time to start asking questions.



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765331 is a reply to message #765317 ]
Wed, 12 August 2020 09:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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Gator21 wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 22:27


Lehner made $5 mil this year on a 1 year deal signed by CHI. Also this nonsense that ppl think “the sun rises and sets with Smith” seems like utter hyperbole...don’t know many or anyone who feels that way



You got me, bud! I pulled the number that Vegas is paying of his cap, not his entire contract.
Point still stands - he's an option this summer and a HUGE upgrade on what we've had.

And there are definitely people who've loved and defended Smith through an entire season where he was dogcrap terrible, and we're still seeing it now - even after he single-handedly gave away Game 1 to the 'Hawks and finished the playoffs with a save percentage well below .800 and a goals against average above 11. Hell - Matheson thought the Oilers should have put him back in the nets for Game 4.



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765320 is a reply to message #765279 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 23:07 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mightyreasoner  is currently offline mightyreasoner
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Adam wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 16:05

RDOilerfan wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 13:43

If the Oilers can find another good back up to split the games much like they did this year, then Koskinen while not great is middle of the pack and their goaltending could be fine. I just don't know how they can go out and get that true #1. Teams aren't trading them and the few guys that are available are too expensive. What they need to happen is go and find a young guy not playing much who finds a way to become that guy. Smith is 38, turns 39 in March. Even if the Oilers like him as a person and have some stat we don't know. He's going to be 39!!!


There are a few better options out there:

1) NY Rangers - Georgiev & Shersterkin. The Rangers have one more year of Lundqvist at $8.5MM, Georgiev is a RFA and Shersterkin has one more year on his rookie deal. The Rags are going to have to pick someone eventually, and unless King Henrik is retiring, then they have the three-headed monster in goal this year.

2) Penguins - Murray & Jarry. Matt Murray is only 26 years old with a Stanley Cup to his name. He's coming off a tough year, but his career save percentage is .914 even with this dreadful season (.899) bogging it down. If the Penguins want to keep him due to a sense of loyalty towards a goalie who's been pretty key in a couple of Cup wins, then even better - Jarry is younger and probably better. .921 in 33 regular season games this year.

3) Golden Knights - Robin Lehner is a unrestricted free agent and a pretty darn good one at that. He made $1.4MM this year and is likely in line for a significant raise.

4) Bruins - Rask is likely going to win the Vezina. His back-up is Jaro Halak, who's a pretty solid goalie in his own right. He's getting a little long in the tooth (35), but still putting up solid numbers - .919 save percentage this year in 31 games. One more year left on his deal.

5) Stars - Anton Khudobin played in 30 games this year with a .930 save percentage. Another older pick (34) who hasn't spent time as a #1, but could be a nice fit and his track record is really solid. He's a UFA.

6) Avalanche - Francouz/Grubauer - another impending goaltending debate - who's better? Both had great numbers this year playing 34 and 36 games respectively. Both under contract for another year or two so nice cost controlled goalies at reasonable ages if you can get one.

7) Columbus - Korpisalo/Mrzlikins - see Colorado - almost the exact same situation. Both have signed extensions which kick in next year.

Any of the goalies on the above list are an upgrade over what the Oilers rolled out this year.





The only thing is, for teams that have a solid 1A/1B under contract - especially with younger goalies - they may not be inclined to make any moves until next season when Seattle expansion takes place. For the coming season, they may opt to continue with them, especially if they are a contending team (like Colorado and Columbus).

NYR - I think it's Lundqvist that will be on the move. I'm not sure he's the guy you want though.

Avalanche, Penguins, Blue Jackets - I think they'll hold onto both goalies for another year before looking to make a move.

UFA options - Lehner, Halak, Khudobin, Markstrom, Holtby. Some are better than others; some like Lehner and Halak have been UFAs for a few summers now, and either the Oilers didn't pursue them or there wasn't an interest on their part. Some may be looking to go to a contender, and may or may not view the Oilers as such. Almost all of them likely will be looking for good money (exception maybe being Halak or Khudobin).

There was some smoke during the break of Holtby being interested in Edmonton, but who knows the credibility. I could potentially see that though with Washington ready to break in Samsonov. He had a tough year in Washington, but it's tough to tell if that is the beginning of a trend, or a blip in an otherwise pretty solid record.



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765334 is a reply to message #765320 ]
Wed, 12 August 2020 09:58 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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mightyreasoner wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 23:07

Adam wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 16:05

RDOilerfan wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 13:43

If the Oilers can find another good back up to split the games much like they did this year, then Koskinen while not great is middle of the pack and their goaltending could be fine. I just don't know how they can go out and get that true #1. Teams aren't trading them and the few guys that are available are too expensive. What they need to happen is go and find a young guy not playing much who finds a way to become that guy. Smith is 38, turns 39 in March. Even if the Oilers like him as a person and have some stat we don't know. He's going to be 39!!!


There are a few better options out there:

1) NY Rangers - Georgiev & Shersterkin. The Rangers have one more year of Lundqvist at $8.5MM, Georgiev is a RFA and Shersterkin has one more year on his rookie deal. The Rags are going to have to pick someone eventually, and unless King Henrik is retiring, then they have the three-headed monster in goal this year.

2) Penguins - Murray & Jarry. Matt Murray is only 26 years old with a Stanley Cup to his name. He's coming off a tough year, but his career save percentage is .914 even with this dreadful season (.899) bogging it down. If the Penguins want to keep him due to a sense of loyalty towards a goalie who's been pretty key in a couple of Cup wins, then even better - Jarry is younger and probably better. .921 in 33 regular season games this year.

3) Golden Knights - Robin Lehner is a unrestricted free agent and a pretty darn good one at that. He made $1.4MM this year and is likely in line for a significant raise.

4) Bruins - Rask is likely going to win the Vezina. His back-up is Jaro Halak, who's a pretty solid goalie in his own right. He's getting a little long in the tooth (35), but still putting up solid numbers - .919 save percentage this year in 31 games. One more year left on his deal.

5) Stars - Anton Khudobin played in 30 games this year with a .930 save percentage. Another older pick (34) who hasn't spent time as a #1, but could be a nice fit and his track record is really solid. He's a UFA.

6) Avalanche - Francouz/Grubauer - another impending goaltending debate - who's better? Both had great numbers this year playing 34 and 36 games respectively. Both under contract for another year or two so nice cost controlled goalies at reasonable ages if you can get one.

7) Columbus - Korpisalo/Mrzlikins - see Colorado - almost the exact same situation. Both have signed extensions which kick in next year.

Any of the goalies on the above list are an upgrade over what the Oilers rolled out this year.





The only thing is, for teams that have a solid 1A/1B under contract - especially with younger goalies - they may not be inclined to make any moves until next season when Seattle expansion takes place. For the coming season, they may opt to continue with them, especially if they are a contending team (like Colorado and Columbus).

NYR - I think it's Lundqvist that will be on the move. I'm not sure he's the guy you want though.

Avalanche, Penguins, Blue Jackets - I think they'll hold onto both goalies for another year before looking to make a move.

UFA options - Lehner, Halak, Khudobin, Markstrom, Holtby. Some are better than others; some like Lehner and Halak have been UFAs for a few summers now, and either the Oilers didn't pursue them or there wasn't an interest on their part. Some may be looking to go to a contender, and may or may not view the Oilers as such. Almost all of them likely will be looking for good money (exception maybe being Halak or Khudobin).

There was some smoke during the break of Holtby being interested in Edmonton, but who knows the credibility. I could potentially see that though with Washington ready to break in Samsonov. He had a tough year in Washington, but it's tough to tell if that is the beginning of a trend, or a blip in an otherwise pretty solid record.


Why hold a valuable asset and then lose it for free to Seattle? You're going to lose something no matter what and you get to protect one goalie no matter what. What it will force many of them to do if they feel they have a really good second goalie, is to make a last second trade next year when they may not be able to get as much.

I'm not positive we'll see Lundqvist shipped off - the Rangers love him, and I think they'd like him to finish his career there, not to mention his salary is basically unmoveable. Both the young guys are good enough to be starters, so only one of them is there long-term anyhow.

Lehner had rehab issues before going to the Islanders, which almost derailed his career and then last year, the Oilers had just signed Koskinen to starter money and were pot-committed. He's straightened out his life and he's a hell of a stopper. Only issue may be that he may want a long-term deal now.

Halak has been constantly underestimated his entire career...almost criminally so. There's only two seasons where he's been under .910 in 15 years. He's 272-168-58 with a .916 save percentage for his career. Not just one of the most underrated goalies of the last couple decades, but one of the most underrated players.

I assume the knock on him is A) his size - he's only 5'11 and B) his playoff win record of 13-16. That's not really fair though to pin on him...his save percentage in the playoffs is .922 and he's played only sparingly, mostly for bad teams. He still dragged the Habs through two rounds against the Pens and Caps in 2010...His age is the only thing that scares me. When it goes for goalies, it can go fast.

I'd bet on Holtby to bounce back, but I'm less bullish on chasing him in free agency. I see someone paying big on term and dollars for him, and I don't know that I see him as a 6 year at $6MM per goalie at this point in his career. He's got a recent Cup win and he's only just 30, so I could see him being the first domino to fall this summer...

I still think the best route is to approach one of those teams with brewing goalie controversies and try to convince them that they'll get more from us now than they will from someone just before the expansion draft next year.



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765339 is a reply to message #765334 ]
Wed, 12 August 2020 11:27 Go to previous messageGo to next message
GabbyDugan  is currently offline GabbyDugan
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Instead of picking castoff goalies from other teams, maybe they should look at developing their own. For such an arrogant organization that believes in it's own way of doing things while going against the grain, they seem blinded by their inability to find solutions to below average NHL goaltending.

Seem to me Edmonton is a goaltending dead end. Cam Talbot went downhill in Edmonton after a solid start after being traded from the Rangers, and he is now having some success with the Flames. Dubnyk and Brossoit were NHL calibre goalies who never got their careers on track in Edmonton.

The Oiler system of developing and maintaining goalies stinks.




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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765351 is a reply to message #765339 ]
Wed, 12 August 2020 14:12 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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GabbyDugan wrote on Wed, 12 August 2020 11:27

Instead of picking castoff goalies from other teams, maybe they should look at developing their own. For such an arrogant organization that believes in it's own way of doing things while going against the grain, they seem blinded by their inability to find solutions to below average NHL goaltending.

Seem to me Edmonton is a goaltending dead end. Cam Talbot went downhill in Edmonton after a solid start after being traded from the Rangers, and he is now having some success with the Flames. Dubnyk and Brossoit were NHL calibre goalies who never got their careers on track in Edmonton.

The Oiler system of developing and maintaining goalies stinks.


Drafting of goalies is horrendous too. The number of guys who've had more than 50 NHL starts is four in 40 years (Moog, Fuhr, Deslauriers, Dubnyk). That's dreadful.

The organization doesn't do a great job identifying talent, and/or they don't develop them properly. You look at Deslauriers and Dubnyk and the Oilers did everything they could to derail those prospects too - not getting either of them enough at-bats during key development years through sheer mismanagement of their prospect system.

Challenge is that there's not a lot of evidence that that's changed and that the Oilers now are going to be any kind of goaltending factory. There is no one in the system that I'd fully pin my hopes on, and we need a goalie next year, so we're going to need to pilfer from someone else at least one more time.

[Updated on: Wed, 12 August 2020 14:16]


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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765273 is a reply to message #765270 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 14:28 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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Kr55 wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 13:25

Somehow Mike Smith and his 0.902 sav% during the year and helping to toilet game 1 of our series is finding himself getting a vote of confidence from Holland and media guys like Spector, suggesting our goal-tending overall was a strong point this year.

I remain concerned. Are they using some kind of sav% stat that excludes goals that Smith single-handed created against us with stupid plays? Maybe he looks better if you look at it that way. Possibly would get him up near Koskinen's 0.917.


I will be livid if the Oilers bring back Mike Smith. He was not good all year, but somehow people still seem to think the sun rises and sets on him - and they'll point to a handful of games where he didn't get skunked as evidence.

We've seen before that the braintrust here doesn't do well with goalies - they sunk a bunch of money in to Gustavsson with ZERO evidence that he'd done anything but sucked for a couple years previously (I believe Holland also signed him to TWO deals, despite the fact he sucked in all those years too) - so I'm a little concerned that they may actually believe that Smith was better than his numbers show. That's always a challenging assumption, and even more so with a 32 year old who's put up .898 and .902 save percentages the last two years.



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765274 is a reply to message #765273 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 14:46 Go to previous messageGo to next message
CrusaderPi  is currently offline CrusaderPi
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Adam wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 14:28

Kr55 wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 13:25

Somehow Mike Smith and his 0.902 sav% during the year and helping to toilet game 1 of our series is finding himself getting a vote of confidence from Holland and media guys like Spector, suggesting our goal-tending overall was a strong point this year.

I remain concerned. Are they using some kind of sav% stat that excludes goals that Smith single-handed created against us with stupid plays? Maybe he looks better if you look at it that way. Possibly would get him up near Koskinen's 0.917.


I will be livid if the Oilers bring back Mike Smith. He was not good all year, but somehow people still seem to think the sun rises and sets on him - and they'll point to a handful of games where he didn't get skunked as evidence.

We've seen before that the braintrust here doesn't do well with goalies - they sunk a bunch of money in to Gustavsson with ZERO evidence that he'd done anything but sucked for a couple years previously (I believe Holland also signed him to TWO deals, despite the fact he sucked in all those years too) - so I'm a little concerned that they may actually believe that Smith was better than his numbers show. That's always a challenging assumption, and even more so with a 32 year old who's put up .898 and .902 save percentages the last two years.

I forgot the Oilers signed Koskinen to a 3 year 4.5 million dollar deal. That's a lot of cheese for a guy that's never been trusted and wasn't the #1 going into the playoffs... to me this means they're going to look for a steady hand that can come in whenever and, most importantly, is trusted by the coach and GM.

Mike's getting a 3 year deal.



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765283 is a reply to message #765273 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 16:49 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Kr55  is currently offline Kr55
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Adam wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 14:28

Kr55 wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 13:25

Somehow Mike Smith and his 0.902 sav% during the year and helping to toilet game 1 of our series is finding himself getting a vote of confidence from Holland and media guys like Spector, suggesting our goal-tending overall was a strong point this year.

I remain concerned. Are they using some kind of sav% stat that excludes goals that Smith single-handed created against us with stupid plays? Maybe he looks better if you look at it that way. Possibly would get him up near Koskinen's 0.917.


I will be livid if the Oilers bring back Mike Smith. He was not good all year, but somehow people still seem to think the sun rises and sets on him - and they'll point to a handful of games where he didn't get skunked as evidence.

We've seen before that the braintrust here doesn't do well with goalies - they sunk a bunch of money in to Gustavsson with ZERO evidence that he'd done anything but sucked for a couple years previously (I believe Holland also signed him to TWO deals, despite the fact he sucked in all those years too) - so I'm a little concerned that they may actually believe that Smith was better than his numbers show. That's always a challenging assumption, and even more so with a 32 year old who's put up .898 and .902 save percentages the last two years.


Clearly there is this aura around Smith where old school people just really really want him to do well. And unfortunately, that really screwed us in the worst way. Smith is clearly a blind spot for Tippett. A blind spot that really needs to be removed from the equation. Really hope Holland is just trying to be nice and not throw Smith under the bus with his comments. There is no good reason to sign him again.



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765287 is a reply to message #765283 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 17:30 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adam  is currently offline Adam
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Mark Spector hears all our criticism of the coaching and goaltending and attempts to set the blame where he really believes it belongs - on McDavid and Draisaitl?

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/oilers-need-defensive-le adership-mcdavid-draisaitl/

Pretty incredible take even from a guy known for having poor takes. In the 4 game series:

- McDavid scored 4-5-9, with 11 shots and a +1 rating while playing much of the time against Patrick Kane.
- Draisaitl faced off against Toews and had 3-3-6, +1 with 13 shots.
- for good measure, Nugent-Hopkins had 2-6-8, was -2 and had 22 shots.

The team got zero production and minuses from Sheahan, Athanasiou, Kassian (-4 in 10 mins a night), Yamamoto, Bear, Larsson, and the Oilers only scored twice in the series without McDavid and Draisaitl not on the ice (three minutes apart in game 2).

The goaltending was quite literally the worst that any of the 24 teams in the playoffs had.

But sure - it was McDavid and Draisaitl's fault because they weren't backchecking hard enough...



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765291 is a reply to message #765287 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 18:21 Go to previous messageGo to next message
CrudeRemarks  is currently offline CrudeRemarks
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Spec deciding which article to write.
https://i.imgur.com/6BGfQb5.jpg



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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765315 is a reply to message #765287 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 22:03 Go to previous messageGo to next message
nullterm  is currently offline nullterm
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Adam wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 16:30

Mark Spector hears all our criticism of the coaching and goaltending and attempts to set the blame where he really believes it belongs - on McDavid and Draisaitl?


Don't click the troll.

Dude is literally paid to get people to read his rag thru whatever hot take he can dream up.

Maybe if we stop acknowledging his work he'll quietly disappear in a cloud of his own flatulence and early retirement.



Illegitimi non carborundum.

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765316 is a reply to message #765315 ]
Tue, 11 August 2020 22:21 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
Magnum  is currently offline Magnum
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nullterm wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 22:03

Adam wrote on Tue, 11 August 2020 16:30

Mark Spector hears all our criticism of the coaching and goaltending and attempts to set the blame where he really believes it belongs - on McDavid and Draisaitl?


Don't click the troll.

Dude is literally paid to get people to read his rag thru whatever hot take he can dream up.

Maybe if we stop acknowledging his work he'll quietly disappear in a cloud of his own flatulence and early retirement.


The average person is looking for something to place their confusion on. He's a good source. I don't think a lot of hockey fans really think it through, or care enough to crunch some numbers or even read a full article.

Dudes like Spector are part of the territory.



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2018/2019 - Another round of Drain-O, good sir!

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 Re: Review: Edmonton @ Chicago (Game #86) [message #765345 is a reply to message #765316 ]
Wed, 12 August 2020 12:26 Go to previous messageGo to next message
RDOilerfan  is currently offline RDOilerfan
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Did McDavid and Leon make a few mistakes that may have contributed to the odd goal? Sure. When you play as much as they do and have the puck as often as they do, they are bound to make mistakes. I have no doubt they will improve defensively but that isn't why they lost.

The defense was brutal. I am not sure if I have seen Klefbom play that bad in a long time. Larsson wasn't any good in the 2 games he did play. You'd think with 4.5 months off which is a full offseason that he would be as healthy as he could get and he could last longer than a couple of weeks before the back goes out but apparently not. Nurse struggled and brought ZERO energy and emotion which was shocking to me. Bear looked like a rookie. When Russell is one of your best dmen, that's a problem.

The lack of energy from some of the forwards was shocking to me. I thought Kassian would be good, he is a playoff style of player. Maybe he needs the crowd to get him going because he didn't touch anyone. I had hoped that Khaira would show a pulse. You'd think a bottom 6 guy like Khaira would play with energy because that's part of his job but nope. Sheahan was good on draws, other than that. I heard Gregor mentioned yesterday that supposed Sheahan came to the bubble 5-6 lbs heavier. Not sure if that is true but if he did, that's awful. Stauffer commenting on his show today he thought Sheahan looked sluggish so maybe what Gregor said was true.

I think the coaches made some mistakes as well. Starting Smith in game 1 was a mistake. The team wasn't ready I get that but Koskinen was the better goalie all year. He was the better goalie in camp and while it wasn't all on the goalie in game 1, giving up the first goal like Smith did on a puck playing mistake set the tone. I would have kept the Nuge - Leon - Yamo line together because they were SO dominate. I would have had Neal on McDavid's line because Neal was going, skating as well as I saw him all year, and in limited ice time was creating offense.



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