| Who are the "real Oilers"? [message #829839] |
Fri, 16 February 2024 11:18  |
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 HamBlaster
Messages: 926
Registered: June 2007
No Cups
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Last night's game against St. Louis was rough. Really rough.
There are some pretty clear behaviours that we see with this team, and last night was a microcosm of the season.
This squad WILL NOT commit to playing a full 60 minutes. Not even close. Last night, I think they managed maybe 30 minutes of solid play, and the rest of it was close to a tire fire. It gets even worse against fast, pressuring opponents like St. Louis. They make the Oilers look like pylons, and break them by skating circles around our team until our guys just flat out give up completely on D zone coverage.
When the Oilers feel inspired, everyone is skating, players are positionally sound and supportive and they drive the net and score goals. When the Mr. Hyde version of the squad shows up instead, they are bordering on brutally lethargic, don't look inspired and are lackadaisical on the forecheck, at the defensive blueline and in their own defensive zone coverage. The gulf between the good and the bad is so catastrophically huge though, and that's a massive problem.
What does this team need to feel consistently inspired? Regular coaching changes? Has the shine of the Woodcroft firing and Knoblauch hiring started to fade?
They looked lazy and tired last night, and only McDavid had any real jump to his game. It's disappointing watching a team with so much ability play so far below their capacity.
The biggest problem that I see is that Connor is starting to get really PO'd. He skated off the ice a number of times shaking his head as 18 was playing awful and 93 wasn't all that much better. The line shakeup was demanded by McDavid, I'm sure... and lo and behold... Hyman starts trying again! We need guys to not feel too comfortable on the top two lines. If you want to play with Connor and Leon, you HAVE to produce. Every game, you have to make an impact, one way or another. If you don't, you slide down in the lineup and give someone that deserves the opportunity a shot to see if they can stick.
I get it, I'm overreacting. But I'm also not. They played like garbage to start the season, got their HC canned, played inspired for a while... and are now sliding back into garbage dump territory against stronger teams. The Oilers can play better than this. A lot better.
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