Tag Archives: Devils

Edmonton Oilers, Michael Sifeldeen, NHL

The Half-Season Report Card

So now that we have 41 games in the books, how has the Oilers’ season fared thus far? Some lists, as of this writing:

**BLH’s Note** – I was a bit slow (read as hungover) to get this post out before the Sens/Oilers game tonight but the gist of Mike’s post remains the same. Please enjoy! – BLH**

THE WEST


EVERYONE ELSE

As I type this, the Edmonton Oilers are the 2nd best team in the Pacific Division, and the 9th (NINTH) best team in the NHL. Holy crap. When was the last time the Oilers were in the top-third in the league at the halfway mark of a season? I’m not even going to look that stat up because I know how depressing and awful it will be.

Wheel, snipe, celly, boys. We are officially basement-dwellers no longer. (Speaking of snipes and cellys, congrats to Matt Benning on his first career NHL goal tonight! Always stoked to see a newbie get his first. Here’s hoping to a long future with Benning on the Oilers blueline.)


THE FACTS

Man, it’s been an emotional roller coaster of a season, hasn’t it? There’s something about being vaguely in playoff contention for most of a season make the highs feel really high, and the lows really low. There have been multiple points in the season where I’ve felt that we’ll never lose a game again, and just as many where it seems like we’ll never be able to squeak out a win.

There are consistency issues with this group, but, like this evening, they’re pulling it together and finding ways to win more often than not, and at this point in our team’s development, that’s a promising thing.

As we watch the Pacific play out, it’s seeming more and more likely that this is a good year for us to see some postseason play for the first time in over a decade, and if we can keep this general pace up through the second half of the season (which features a much more Oilers-friendly travel and game schedule), I don’t see why we can’t make it happen with this group, especially as some usual Pacific heavyweights struggle.

We need to take advantage of the situation we’ve been presented with and keep the pressure going into February and through April.


MY THOUGHTS

  • McDavid is McDavid, that much goes without saying. He’s perfect and I love him.
  • Draisaitl is a horse game in and game out, and I won’t even flinch if Pete gives him $6M this offseason.
  • Larsson is a big, mean, minute-eating machine and hasn’t made me miss Taylor Hall once since the season began.
  • Kris Russell — despite the continued and relentless naysaying from nerds on Twitter with their noses in stat sheets — has been good.
  • Lucic I’m undecided on; I think he needs this season to get up to speed with the way he’s going to have to play going forward if he’s going to be on McDavid’s wing in the future.
  • Thankfully, Patrick Maroon just continues to be a goddamn beauty and make up for Looch’s shortcomings so far this season. (And congrats to him on his first hatty a couple nights ago!) I’d be happy protecting Maroon for expansion and exposing Davidson with the way he and Benning have been playing, and in my little fantasy land where everything is happy and people get what they deserve, Maroon and Pouliot’s contracts would be straight swapped.
  • Nuge has been clutch in a few key situations in the last month or so, but I think both he and Ebs need to get their lives together a little bit and start producing at-or-near where they were in seasons past. (Uh, hello, have these guys forgotten that they were our top line guys for like four years? They aren’t even really producing at a solid second line pace through 41 this season.)
  • Puljujarvi needs to go to the AHL immediately and start playing big minutes. He needs seasoning and we are truly treating him even worse than we did Draistail in 2013. I’m quite concerned with how Chiarelli and McLellan are utilizing him, and why he hasn’t been sent down as of like last month is a mystery to me. We have a Finn in Bakersfield who can befriend the guy and help him out if it’s a language-barrier thing. I just want that big pizza-eating goof to turn into the stud we know he can be. :]
  • Caggiula is great! (I told you guys he would be.) Sort of reminds me of an early-2010s Eberle back when he gave a shit, with regard to his agility and general skill in tight situations with the puck. He’s sneaky, unusually strong on the puck for a little guy, and has some pretty silky mitts. Give this kid another season or two of solid third line minutes and some PP time and I don’t see why he doesn’t become a 60-point scorer by his mid-20s.
  • You’ll recall, dear BLH readers, I also predicted Mark Letestu as a regular in the lineup because of his good attitude and solid 3/4 line stats. The only thing I missed was neglecting to type his full name: Mark “Shootout and Overtime Specialist” Letestu.

THE GRADE

B+

We’ve got a good thing going here, boys. Keep it up.

Please.

Dig skateboarding? Click the pic and grab this new “Thrasher Magazine” inspired tee!
Breaking News, Edmonton Oilers, Michael Sifeldeen, NHL

Hallsy Still Salty

2 Comments

One podcast and two of my last three articles have been about Taylor Hall in some way. Everyone knows by now I was never the biggest fan of him or his play, and I’d love to stop writing about the guy, but he just can’t stop inserting himself into the Edmonton media and inviting commentary.

Enter David Staples and his latest hot take: reporting on some news from NJ.com and the Fire & Ice hockey blog about Hall’s latest comments on his inability to get over and move forward from his trade to New Jersey, David says,

“Hall’s resentment… still isn’t going away, nor is the very real and clearly bitter resentment that many of his biggest fans in Edmonton feel about the trade. They’re not even close to being over it and won’t be, I suspect, until the day Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli is fired.”

Ok. Well, that sentiment may be present in his fans, but I’d say it’s far and away not, in fact, the sentiment of many, many more Oilers fans who can understand and appreciate nuance in hockey trades and the extracurricular factors that sometimes surround them.

Regardless, Edmonton Oilers fans aren’t who Taylor Hall needs to be concerning himself with now. It’s New Jersey Devils fans. And frankly, if I were a Devils fan, I’d be pretty pissed off at Hall by this point, since all he can seem to talk about his how bummed he is to have been traded.

“But Mike, it isn’t his fault. He keeps getting asked these questions. It’s the media’s fault for beating a dead horse.”

Who cares? The media asks athletes all sorts of questions all the time, and mostly the answers they get back are lame and vague and platitudinous. But Hall has relished every opportunity that has come his way since July to wax poetic about his hurt feelings and the ill will still left in him.

Listen, I understand the emotional turmoil that can result from a sudden move and uprooting of a life. I’m a big proponent of talking through feelings and getting to root causes and doing proper psychological healing. But Hall needs to do that on his own time, in the proper setting. What he needs to be doing when the media comes to his door and fishes for headlines is start spouting the canned PR nonsense we all know and love from hockey players. (“Well, we gotta just start putting the puck in their net and keeping it outta ours, y’know?”) Because every time he bitches and moans about how hard-done-by he was by the Oilers brass, he implicitly complains about his new home and team in New Jersey, and it’s not a good look.

Taylor, I feel for you, buddy. This has been a weird summer. But to David Staples and Taylor Hall, you (Hall) had 6 years to do something with this team and city which handed you the keys, and nothing happened. This was a move we needed to make for the future of our hockey team. And whether you can rationalize it right now or not, you needed this, too.

Grab a Grinning Finn tee by clicking on the pic!!
Click the pic and grab a 16-bit McDavid tee for the summer!
If you’re a fan of Lowetide, you need this shirt! Click the pic and get yours today!

Armchair GM, Breaking News, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Zach Laing

Oilers vs Devils Preview – Is Justin Schultz about to be moved?

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (21-26-5) at New Jersey Devils (26-21-7)

Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey

Time: 6:00 PM MT

Where to find it: TV: Sportsnet – Radio: 630 CHED

BREAKING:

Very interesting news coming out at the noon hour. If Schultz is about to be moved, it is not going to come as a surprise. HIs struggles are well noted and he has not progressed well during his time in Edmonton. I wrote about Schultz and a potential move here.

We will keep our ears on the ground and let you know of anything coming. If I had to put money down, I would imagine the Buffalo Sabres are heavy in the mix for Schultz. Tim Murray was a big fan of Schultz during his tenure in Ottawa prior to the Oilers signing him.

Tampa Bay is another potential destination.

Could there be something there? We shall see.

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

Tonight, no matter who is in the lineup, the Oilers need to show up and “ball out.” After two embarrassing losses this past weekend, Darnell Nurse and Adam Clendening draw into the lineup. While still a work in progress I was happy with Clendening’s first game. He clearly has the ability to make smart decisions with the puck, but his foot speed is a bit of a concern.

Iiro Pakarinen gets a well deserved shot with Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl. I have been very happy with his play this season, and so has Todd McLellan.

“Pakarinen has been a bit of a workhorse for us and I think he stirs the drink on whatever line he’s playing on,” McLellan said. “He’s physical and does some of the grunt work. I’m not overly concerned about his ability to work and his commitment level to doing things right.”

That edge he brings to the top six is one that has been missing in Edmonton. Despite being big bodies, Pouliot and Purcell do not play a overly physical game at all. Pakarinen is fourth amongst rookies in hits, with 106.

Right now, there really isn’t much the Oilers could do worse than what they did this weekend. Seriously. Thus, I am not going into much more detail before tonight’s game.

It’s up to the Oilers to come out and show everyone this team is progressing in the right direction.

Predictions for tonight:

  1. Pakarinen scores.
  2. The Oilers ruin Martin Brodeur’s jersey retirement by winning.
  3. The Oilers don’t give up five, or eight goals.

 

Line Combos and Starting Goalies c/o Left Wing Lock:

Oilers (Cam Talbot):

Benoit Pouliot – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle
Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Iiro Pakarinen
Teddy Purcell – Mark Letestu – Nail Yakupov
Zack Kassian – Matt Hendricks – Lauri Korpikoski

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne
Darnell Nurse – Adam Clendening
Brandon Davidson – Eric Gryba

New Jersey Devils (Cory Schneider):
Joseph Blandisi – Adam Henrique – Lee Stempniak
Sergey Kalinin – Travis Zajac – Kyle Palmieri
Reid Boucher – Jacob Josefson – Tyler Kennedy
Bobby Farnham – Stephen Gionta – Jordin Tootoo

Andy Greene – Adam Larsson
Damon Sverson – David Schlemko
Seth Helgeson – John Moore

Any ideas on how to improve my game previews? Send me an email at zjlaing@gmail.com.

 

Edmonton Oilers, Zach Laing

Oilers vs Devils Preview – Dancing with the Devil

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (6-12-1) vs New Jersey Devils (10-7-1)

Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta

Time: 7:30 PM MT

Where to find it: TV: Sportsnet Oilers – Radio: 630 CHED

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

Coming off the heels of a heartbreaking loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Oilers will look to bounce back against a Devils team that has surprised many this season. They have jumped off to a 10-7-1 start, and show no signs of slowing down. Mike Cammalleri has led the charge offensively, scoring six goals and twelve assists in the team’s first eighteen games of the season

Not bad for a player the Flames didn’t want to pay. On top of that, the Oilers need look out for young center Adam Henrique, who has scored fourteen points in the teams first eighten games.

I was quite impressed with the fight the Oilers showed on Wednesday night. Slowly, the Oilers are gaining respect around this league for a team that shows no quit. Again, I understand the record doesn’t show what I personally see, but trust me when I say this team’s record will improve this season.

Todd McLellan has done a great job thus far with what he has in front of him. The defence is still hot garbage, so hopefully a trade can be facilitated to help improve that aspect. Goaltending has been sub-par at best this season, but with a bad defence how can you expect the goalies to play well?

One of the more impressive things this season is that the Oilers currently have eight players with over ten points which in and of itself has been quite impressive. Teddy Purcell has been one of the hottest Oilers of late, scoring six points in his last five games while Leon Draisaitl is currently on a four game, seven point scoring streak.

The Oilers hold a 4-2-4 record in their last 10 games against the Devils, earning points in seven of their last eight games against New Jersey. Four of the last six meetings between these two teams have been settled in overtime or a shootout.

Walter Foddis’ Pregame analytics:

The Otherside:

Forward Mike Cammalleri, who has one goal and four points in the past two games, didn’t practice Thursday because of illness, but coach John Hynes expects him to be available. Forward Patrik Elias, who has yet to make his season debut because of a knee injury, filled in for Cammalleri on a line with Henrique and Lee Stempniak, according to Northjersey.com. Elias is not expected to play. Goalie Keith Kinkaid will make his fourth start of the season. Kinkaid has never faced Edmonton. Forward Tyler Kennedy, who joined the Devils on Wednesday under a professional tryout contract, practiced for the second straight day. He skated as an extra along with forward Stefan Matteau and defenseman Eric Gelinas. Forward Bobby Farnham has goals in consecutive games after scoring in a 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. – nhl.com

Line Combos and Starting Goalies:

Oilers (Anders Nilsson):


Oilers lineup c/o Daily Faceoff

Devils (Keith Kinkaid):

 
Blackhawks lineup c/o Daily Faceoff

Any ideas on how to improve my game previews? Send me an email at zjlaing@gmail.com.

 

Brennen York, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects

6 – New Jersey Devils

With Ray Shero steering Devils ship, we may finally get to see the inevitable rebuild come to fruition. It’s been a long time coming for Devil fans but this may be the year where the Devils move away from adding veterans like Mike Cammalleri and Tuomo Ruutu, and look the way of young skill in guys like Larsson and Boucher to guide the Devils through the next 10 years. One thing Shero has going for him is the fact that the D core is almost solidified with guys like Gelinas, Merrill, Larsson, and Severson making up the top four. Despite the fact they have a good up and coming defensive core, they are exceptionally weak on the front end. After reaching for guys like Matteau and Quenneville in recent drafts, they lack an elite offensive player under the age of 20. This year however, they will be able to change that. With guys like Barzal, Rantanen, and Zacha basically locks to be on the board, they have a wide range of skill sets to choose from. Rantanen is the biggest, has hands and shooting ability. Barzal, though only 5’11 has the potential to be a future number one center who can put up 50 or 60 assists. Zacha brings a grittier goal scoring side, and if there’s one thing we know it’s that LL loves guys with an edge. That being said, an interesting scenario may play out where we see Ivan Provorov slip to that spot. If so, it would be incredibly hard to pass on a guy like that. In the grand scheme of things, it may be better to grab a guy like Provorov, but right now there’s a desperate need for an elite prospect up front. Throughout the draft, the Devils need to look at adding depth at all positions, especially in net. Daniel Vladar may be sitting there in the third, and if he is that’s the guy you use pick 67 on. In my opinion, the Devils will have the most difficult pick in the draft, and it will be extremely interesting to see who Ray goes with come June 26th.

Draft Day Gameplan

– As much as I’d like to say take Rantanen or Barzal, you have to go BPA at 6.

– If the opportunity is there, move some cap. I know Green is more than “cap”, but moving him and adding a late 1st or a good prospect may be in their best interest.

– Move away from the power forwards, even if it’s just for this year. With two picks in the second round you have to look at adding high end skill.

– Take a low risk goalie. Whether it’s in the 3rd or 4th, grab the best goalie available.

Devils Big Board (Without McEichel)

1. Dylan Strome
2. Mitchell Marner
3. Noah Hanifin
4. Ivan Provorov
5. Mathew Barzal
6. Mikko Rantanen
7. Pavel Zacha
8. Kyle Connor
9. Travis Konecny
10. Zach Werenski

Who do they take?

Can I just say BPA? It’s tough to tell who will remain but I’ll say one of Barzal, Zacha, Rantanen, or Provorov are locks. If it were me I’d take Provorov, if he’s off the board I’d go with Barzal, though Rantanens close behind.

Darkhorse?

Kyle Connor. He has the size and skill to be a good NHL player, and though I’m not a huge fan, I’m sure the Devils brass has given him some consideration.