 RDOilerfan
Messages: 3786
Registered: January 2016
3 Cups
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At the start of March when it looked like it was going to be the Oilers and Kings, I was worried about the Kings. I thought they had the Oilers number. I was worried they would push the Oilers around. The goaltending was OK not great, the PK wasn't great and the defense was suspect.
But since March 1:
- They are 18-2-1 and have the best record in the NHL since Jan.
-The Oilers defense has tightened up big time. In the last 7 games, they have give up 6 goals. The whole team including the big boys have committed to playing defense.
- The defense with the addition of Ekholm has solidified. Nurse has settled down knowing he doesn't have to do it all anymore. Ceci I think has been a lot better, he supposedly has been dealing with an injury and maybe that's better. Ekholm gives you another big min playing, really good dman. Bouchard with the help of Ekholm is becoming the dman everyone expected. Then you have Kulak who's a damn good 3rd pairing guy and a nasty SOB in Deharnhais to make life miserable. The defense is big, mobile, has some puck moving and offense in every pairing, has physicality and toughness in every pairing and can defend. There is no covering your eyes and hoping for the best with any of the pairings in my opinion like in past years.
- The PP hasn't cooled off, even with turning it over to Bouchard after trading Barrie. If you take a penalty, you will be scored on. They set an NHL record for
- The PK has been excellent, I think they killed off something like 19 or 20 in a row before last night. Plus they are an extreme threat to score shorties. I think they have 18 that leads the NHL.
- They played the Kings twice and beat them playing Kings hockey twice.
- The Oilers have been the physical aggressor and it's not just from a couple of guys, it's all of them.
- The top guys scoring wise haven't cooled off at all but they are no longer reliant on McD and Leon to score. If you look at the 12 forwards that are mostly likely playing in game 1, everyone of them has 10 or more goals. I can't remember an Oilers the last Oilers team that has had that much scoring depth. Gone are the days when once McD and Leon step off the ice, they are in trouble. Their bottom 6 out scorers other teams.
I am trying not to be over confident but I don't see the Kings being able to hang with the Oilers.
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