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Oilers » Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)

Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34) [message #749401 is a reply to message #749399 ]	Fri, 13 December 2019 09:38

Kr55
Messages: 10404
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

Adam wrote on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:32

Kr55 wrote on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:22

Adam wrote on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:18

Hibernia wrote on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:10

As bad as the goaltending has been the past few games - and make no mistake, the goaltending has been pretty bad, the Oilers defensive coverage has been equally horrid. Too many players have no idea how or who to cover in most situations.

I don't know about anyone else, but the pass to Staal last night before he ripped home the winner was so obvious. He was just stood there for a few seconds while Dumba played with the puck. No one was close to him.

Two nights before, those two goals that Carolina tapped in on the backdoor... was anyone close to those players? How do you let someone just roam around your net and pay no attention to them?

I don't know if players are cheating for offence cause they feel they have to, or if they simply aren't aware of what/where they need to be. But until the team tightens up in their own end, the mediocre goalies that the team is putting out there don't stand a chance.

It's too bad that Shane Starett is still recovering. This would be the perfect opportunity to see what he's capable of at this level. He carried Bakersfield last year through the middle of the season. The Oilers could use that kind of support now.

I'd agree with that. There's been a few pretty scrambly plays the last couple of games. Worth noting though, the Oilers dominated the stats last night - so while they had some glaring errors, they were pushing the play the other way most of the night - it's pretty deflating when you can't allow shots, knowing every fourth or fifth one is going to hit the back of the net.

Same thing as the Buffalo game - the Oilers overcame a rough start and played pretty well in attack, but when they break down, they break down hard.

5 on 5 numbers still are pretty awful for the whole team - even 97 & 29 aren't shining there any more (although I suspect exhaustion plays a role there - hopefully they get a good break over Christmas).

Think it's a feedback loop. When the players start realizing they aren't getting saves anymore, we start going into an scared panicky mode in our zone, which just leads to more mistakes.

This is not a team that can consistently overcome weak goaltending. Just not enough good players. We are stuck waiting now for one of these goalies to reinstill confidence in the players. Let us all pray to the hockey gods.

It's true - and Smith wasn't just bad, he was horrible. Here's the take from Bruce McCurdy:

Quote:

#41 Mike Smith, 1. He fought the puck and the puck won. Allowed 2 goals in each period, never facing more than 10 shots in any of them. Failed to catch an eye high wrist shot from distance on his first test, instead whacking the puck off of Greenway and into the net. Was beaten cleanly on the glove side for the next four tallies, just above the leather in all four cases. No chance at all on the final tally, a one-time rocket to the stick side by an uncovered opponent. But on a night the Oilers desperately needed a couple of big saves, none were forthcoming. His stretch of weak play has now entered its second month, during which time he has posted a save percentage of .870 or below in 7 of his last 9 appearances (all Edmonton losses). Heck, in three of them he was below .770, including this one. 26 shots, 20 saves, .769 save percentage.

https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey /player-grades-oilers-pump-home-five-goals-but-still-find-a- way-to-lose-to-wild

There's some other glaring holes on the roster - the depth forwards aren't good enough, but we've said that all year. And the defence have two youngsters, two guys in Larsson & Russell who struggle to make plays with the puck many nights, and then Nurse and Klefbom. Klefbom's played almost 20 minutes more than any other player in the league - so there's probably a fair bit of exhaustion there too.

It's a little crazy to look at the TOI leaders and see:

#1 - Oscar Klefbom
#15 - Leon Draisaitl (#1 among forwards - 15 mins more than McDavid)
#17 - Darnell Nurse
#21 - Connor McDavid #2 among forwards - 50 mins more than #3 Eichel)

Tippett is playing the wheels off these guys, which is as damning a statement as you can make about the team's depth. It's not that surprising that those four are struggling to continue their early season form - they're being played too much and it takes its toll.

From the stats, it looks like Klef, McDavid and Drai were still our best players. And they keep racking up points. Certainly looks like Nurse/Bear struggled, but that's not unexpected to happen now and then. I didn't watch the game, just going by Corsi % which Drai dominated, Mcdavid not far behind.

Same issue as it's been for a while, depth sucks, and a return to goalies not making any saves. Our depth players sure as heck should not be experiencing any exhaustion :) Neither should the goalies.

[Updated on: Fri, 13 December 2019 09:40]

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Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: OilFans on Thu, 12 December 2019 20:30
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Mike on Thu, 12 December 2019 20:45
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: K.McC#24 on Thu, 12 December 2019 20:48
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Adam on Thu, 12 December 2019 21:38
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Kr55 on Thu, 12 December 2019 21:53
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: stemhovlichski on Thu, 12 December 2019 22:31
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Skookum Jim on Fri, 13 December 2019 02:54
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Adam on Thu, 12 December 2019 23:09
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Goose on Fri, 13 December 2019 00:08
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Adam on Fri, 13 December 2019 13:40
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Gator21 on Fri, 13 December 2019 14:21
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: g2k on Thu, 12 December 2019 21:22
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Ragnarok73 on Thu, 12 December 2019 21:31
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Kr55 on Thu, 12 December 2019 21:34
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: philly boy on Fri, 13 December 2019 16:59
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: inverno76 on Thu, 12 December 2019 22:15
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: McDavid97 on Fri, 13 December 2019 07:56
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Hibernia on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:10
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Adam on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:18
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Kr55 on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:22
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Adam on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:32
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Adam on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:35
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Kr55 on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:38
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Adam on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:49
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Kr55 on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:51
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Adam on Fri, 13 December 2019 10:03
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Kr55 on Fri, 13 December 2019 10:05
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Kr55 on Fri, 13 December 2019 10:50
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: WhoreableGuy on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:42
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: CrudeRemarks on Fri, 13 December 2019 09:52
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: WhoreableGuy on Fri, 13 December 2019 10:18
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: overdue on Fri, 13 December 2019 11:17
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Magnum on Fri, 13 December 2019 11:33
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: RDOilerfan on Fri, 13 December 2019 12:50
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Oscargasm on Fri, 13 December 2019 13:12
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Adam on Fri, 13 December 2019 13:32
Re: Review: Edmonton @ Minnesota (Game #34)	By: Xombie on Fri, 13 December 2019 20:34

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