Tag Archives: Edmonton Oilers Post Game Report

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BLH Post Gamer G47 Oilers VS Panthers: Nuge Down!

Gudbranson hadn't even thrown a punch and Hendy was bracing himself.
Gudbranson hadn’t even thrown a punch and Hendy was bracing himself.

As I was watching this game I thought that the Atlantic Division leaders looked eerily similar to the Oilers of not-so-old. What I mean by that is they just looked uninterested, at least until the third period where they summoned the power of the score effects god, and I wonder if both teams were jacked to play an honest good old-fashioned hockey game until Hendricks went ahead and took on Gudbranson in the first period there. It seems to me that the fight sucked the life out of whatever intensity the rest of the match was going to have.

Apparently Erik Gudbranson injured a hand or shoulder in this fight with Hendy and Ekblad hasn’t played since Hendricks tried to put him into the 1st row last week. So I guess we could start calling him “The Giant Killer” or maybe “Captain Cajones” because it takes some pretty big balls to do what he’s done in the last two games versus Florida. I’m pretty certain Alex Petrovic and Erik Gudbranson are ranked in the heavyweight division of the NHL while Hendy plies his trade in the middleweight division.

I was happy to see that the big names for the Oilers were producing again. Hall, Nugent-Hopkins (before injury), Purcell, Eberle and Draisaitl were all on the scoreboard but it was Cam Talbot who stole the show yet again making 31 out of 33 saves. Also Brandon Davidson was the man! He almost single-handedly shut down the Jagr/Barkov/Huberdeau line.

As we can see below in Walter’s post-game shooting metrics, the Oilers were outplayed in every category except on the powerplay. They didn’t score on their one chance mind you but they did create some chances.

On the other hand, the penalty kill was outstanding for the Oilers leaving the Panthers with an 0-4 in their PP stat line.

There’s talk from the Oilogosphere that a lot of people would like to see McDavid come back early and I can certainly understand that but the Oilers DO in fact have other players that can play center to tide the team over until after the All-Star break. I reckon it’ll be Matt Hendricks or Anton Lander going with Eberle and Pouliot but I’d sure like to see Nail Yakupov get a promotion if he continues to score high on the Corsi%. Would it be so hard to put Yak and Ebs on a line together maybe with a defensively responsible center like Lander?

Another point on the roster, Chiarelli did talk about Griffin Reinhart during his availability after the Talbot signing and the message was Reinhart will be coming up after the AS break. Does that mean someone will need to be sent down? If so, I get the feeling that the player going down could be Darnell Nurse. He’s been having a tough go for quite some time now and I wonder if he could use the “break”, if you can call it that. Nurse has done and admiral job but perhaps the load is a bit too much at this point in his career.

Chiarelli also talked about the Oilers first rounder in 2016 and how it will NOT be traded. I want to believe him but there’s a part of me that believes he would deal it if the right deal came around for say a big upgrade on the blue line. But if the season ended today, the Oilers would have the 4th overall pick and would be in the market for some really dynamic forwards and possible a franchise defenceman.

  • Matthew Tkachuk, LW, London (OHL), 6-1, 188 lb (Complete power forward)
  • Alexander Nylander, LW, Mississauga (OHL), 6-0, 172 lb (Skills galore! Better than his bro?)
  • Jakob Chychrun, D, Sarnia (OHL), 6-2, 194 lb (Denis Potvin clone)
  • Olli Juolevi, D, London Knights (OHL), 6-2, 180 lb (Shades of Olli Maatta)
  • Clayton Keller, C, USNTDP (USHL), 5-9, 170 lb (Crafty pivot with big time vision)

Personally I’d like to see the team add more character to the team and perhaps pass on the skill, in the first round at least. Three names I like off the bat are Tkachuk, Chychrun, and Max Jones.

Next game is in Tampa Bay versus Steven Stamkos and co. Anders Nilsson will most likely be starting and I think it’s a safe bet that Anton Lander draws into the lineup to cover for RNH. The Lightning are on a six game winning streak and the Oilers will have the work cut out for them. Vladimir Namestnikov is on fire recently and that’s the tip of the iceberg for Tampa who also have Kucherov, Johnson, the aforementioned Stamkos, and Victor Hedman (who burnt the Oilers for three points during their previous meeting).

See you tomorrow!

BLH

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Oilers Post Game Report, NHL

Hendricks for Captain and the Oilers/Panthers Post Gamer!

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Hendy could be gone for a game or two from that hit on Ekblad but his actions get a thumbs-up from me.

WOW! Of all the games for the Oilers to have their balls drop it’s the one versus the Florida Panthers. I absolutely loved what I saw from Edmonton yesterday! It’s something I’ve been waiting for for a VERY long time but I’m disappointed that it took an aging Matt Hendricks to go out there and do something.

No, the team isn’t made up of power forwards or guys that will go out there and muck it up on a game-by-game basis but this is hockey not figure skating. Every player that laces up and heads out onto the ice has at one point or another been in an altercation in their hockey careers. Hell, we saw the softest player on the Panthers stick up for a teammate and go after Eric Gryba. Not the smartest of decisions but a decision nonetheless and his teammates respected him for it.

So if this is a “respect” issue does that mean there’s a lack of mutual respect amongst the Oilers? I mean how many of the team’s stars have to get manhandled for one of their teammates to stick up for them? Now, you’ll here coaches say that the game isn’t played that way anymore, meaning players don’t go after each other every time a big hit is laid out, but I disagree. Watch any other team in the NHL, especially the good ones. If one of their players is hit in a manner that is deemed unacceptable by a teammate, someone steps in and it’s not even a question. So with the Oilers, every time something like this comes up it’s usually taken care of by Matt Hendricks, who was given a standing ovation from his teammates when he left the penalty box after the fight with Petrovic by the way, and it’s almost sickening that a player on his last legs has to go out there and do that because nobody else has the nut sack big enough to do it.

Hall getting hit at center ice by Erik Gudbranson was a clean hit. Although it looked pretty bad it was clean. Was Hendricks’ hit clean? No. Not by a country mile. It was predatory and painfully obvious he was looking to even the score. If I were coach would I bench him? No. Would I pat him on the back? No. It’s something that is part of the game or at least it used to be…

Friend of the blog Ryan Robinson puts everything in perfect perspective in his latest vlog. Check it out below!

It’s time for the Oilers to lose some of these soft players (Pouliot, Purcell, Eberle, Schultz, Fayne) and bring in some players that will instil some team unity to this club. It can’t always be the team’s eldest statesman, the team’s youngest defender or a no.6/7 blue liner going out there and sticking up for their teammates. Apart from Hendricks, the bottom six is soft as baby shit even when Gazdic is in the lineup. Rob Klinkhammer gets 5 minutes a night, how is he supposed to contribute? Although I noticed their TOI peaked sharply last night in response to how the game was flowing.

Now we’re not going to see any major moves until the deadline I believe. So there’s no real advantage in crying over spilt milk but I fully expect GM Peter Chiarelli to go out and acquire 1-3 players between the deadline and the beginning of next season that will bring some toughness to the squad. I’m talking about players such as Travis Hamonic, Dustin Byfuglien, Kyle Okposo, Milan Lucic, David Backes, Andrew Ladd, or Troy Brouwer.

Now the purists would’ve hated that game last night and the analytics folks would say that all that rough stuff did nothing to help the Oilers’ cause. They should’ve concentrated on putting the puck in the net because that’s the real way to get back at the team that just destroyed your best player. This is the type of thinking that will turn professional hockey into a pussified melding of lunch time shinny and figure skating.

Do I like to see a nice end-to-end rush? Yes, I loved it when Paul Coffey did it back in the day. I loved it when Ovechkin did it the other night. My favourite player of all time is Mario Lemieux! I like skill but I respect those that go out there and put their bodies on the line for their teammates like a Wendal Clark or a Mark Messier would have.

I said it last night in a chat with The Oilers Rig’s Alex Thomas, I guarantee you that the majority of the fans leaving the game last night were absolutely jacked with the effort and response showed by the Oilers and less worried about the loss. Why? Because it’s respectable. You lose respect for the team when you see them get pushed around.

I do not and will not endorse a game where physicality isn’t encouraged. This is hockey, it’s physical, it’s emotional, it hits you hard and it hits you fast. Don’t like it? Go watch curling.

Walt’s post game shooting metrics are below. It looks like the Oilers did in fact have a really good game. 

 

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BLH Post Gamer G34 Oilers VS Avalanche: Nikitin-Jultzed

That’s exactly how tonight’s game felt like.

*Please excuse some of the language in the post tonight. I tend to prefer the use of colorful language to the throwing of TV remotes through the TV.*

All I could do was chuckle when Colorado scored their first goal. I knew it was Jultz that was burned and I also knew that the rest of the game would be me tweeting about how much of tire fire he is. I’d love to have been in the meeting between Chiarelli and McLellan where they discussed the possibility of a Justin Schultz/Nikita Nikitin Pairing. By the way the team is deploying the two everyone must’ve been breaking out the champagne and cigars.

The Burger Baron summed it up perfectly tonight…

BB you say what we’re all thinking and there’s honor in that.

But why IS Justin Schultz on this team year after year? Every coach has utilized him in the same way resulting in the same disappointments. If the team is showcasing him, Jultz isn’t doing anybody any favours. I was wondering at what point is Brad Hunt a better option than Schultz? Surely Reinhart or Fayne would be better, no?

The replies…

@TheAndyBabic: over hyping?
@tsn75: being careful what you wish for.
@VicL011: making bad GM decisions.
@GoopyFunSeeker: A very generous organization giving him 4 years to prove himself and getting nothing in return.

There were quite a few entries but the gist of it was more or less agreeing with my eye’s assessment of Jultz’s performance.

With that said, Schultz did come out of this game with the best Corsi +/- (+17) and Fenwick +/- (+13) out of all the Oilers’ defensemen. So there is that… I’ll conclude with this: There’s no way that Schultz get’s anything close to what he’s being paid now by the Oilers this summer. There are and will be better options by the time July 1st rolls around and I would not lose an ounce of sleep if the Oilers walked away from Justin Schultz.

Oilers were outplaying the Avs all night long. Where was the defence and goaltending?

Taylor Hall’s line was balling throughout the whole game. 4/29/16 were responsible for 17 shots on the evening! If not for Varlamov this game would’ve been over in the first period. Edmonton outshot the Avalanche 40-29 but just couldn’t get more than one to beat the Russian.

Not a night to remember for Anders the Giant. Photo Courtesy of Doug Pensinger.

Not leaving out Nuge’s line but I found them less prevalent. Eberle had 1 shot on net and Nuge was a -3. Pouliot’s return was pleasing though. He had one or two really nice chances to score. His size is very much welcome on the RNH line but I’m not sure the coach was happy with his offensive zone penalty…

If nobody is going to fight Gazdic why are we keeping him up? Yes, he’s a big body but he’s just lacking in the technical areas. Khaira is a better player all-round and performs the same duties. Just saying.

The line of John Mitchell, Jarome Iginla, and Alex Tanguay were the best with Girgorenko, McLeod, and Skille following them. I found that the rest of the Avs looked complacent. Also the Avalanche’s best d-pairing was Redmond and Guenin.

I suppose this is the Oilers getting a little bit of their own medicine after getting some hot goaltending during their 6-game winning streak.

If Cam Talbot was looking for a sign, this is it. Nilsson’s play has petered off considerably as of late and tonight was the cherry on top. The net goes back to Talbot just in time to play the Jets and then have a layoff… lol. As Lowetide always says, goalies are voodoo and the Oilers are no different.

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Oilers Post Game Report, NHL

BLH Post Gamer G33 Oilers VS Blackhawks: Running on Fumes

What a great effort by Matt Hendricks and his linemates vs. the Hawks! Photo Courtesy of Bill Smith

A 4-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks is not generally a bad thing. I mean a loss is a loss but usually there’s some moral ground you can stand upon when it’s a loss to a team like the Hawks. I’m not sure if the Oilers could say that was the case with a straight face.

Sorry for the tardiness on the post. Life… Sometimes it takes precedent.

So I didn’t catch quite all of the game but I re-watched it and by my eye it wasn’t that great of a game. I felt like going back to bed (the games are on in the morning in Taiwan) because it just wasn’t going anywhere for the Oilers.

Darnell Nurse is hitting the glass here but more importantly, he’s hitting a wall with his performances lately. Photo Courtesy of Bill Smith.

But if you look at the numbers, it was a much closer game. I took the chart below from the fine folks at war-on-ice.com and basically it tells us that the Oilers were never that far out of it. That’s a good sign I’d say. If only they could’ve found the net… If only.

What we saw from Chicago was some masterful matching of lines. The Toews line had the Hall line all night long and took advantage of quite possibly the worst defense pairing in the history of the NHL in Justin Schultz and Nikita Nikitin… Woof! I seen that coming as soon as they lines were announced.

I can’t wait until this team is healthy and we’ve got Klefbom back. Some folks who are crying for Fayne or Ference to be re-inserted into the lineup, come on… Really? You can’t fix a flat tire with another flat tire. And possession-wise Nikitin was one of the better players playing that night as much as it pains me to say. He shoots himself in the foot though when he takes two penalties… The only two penalties of the game for either team. HA! That didn’t even occur to me until I read the boxscore. Nikitin… He and Guy Boucher would be the perfect 1-2 villain combo for a 007 movie, right?

It was a tired squad and that was more than apparent. Three games in four nights and the last of the games being versus the reigning Stanley Cup champs. You have to feel sorry for McLellan’s boys but then again these are professional hockey players and they’re paid millions upon million’s of dollars to put up with the rigors of being an everyday NHL hockey player.

I will say though that three things stood out for me:

  1. The play of Mark Letestu, Matt Hendricks, and Lauri Korpikoski. They played a very hard-nosed game and made the Blackhawks work their asses off. Being +8 in the Corsi column is a huge plus as well.
  2. The Patrick Kane line wasn’t as noticeable throughout. So kudos to the Oilers that shut them down. Unfortunately they couldn’t hold them off for the entire 60 minutes but I can applaud the effort.
  3. Cam Talbot had another solid outing. The pendulum is swinging back his way a bit here and I’m completely okay with that and good on him. Too bad his team hung him out to dry… Again.

With Colorado coming up next I reckon it’s a winnable game for Edmonton and a great opportunity to put some pucks in the net. The Avs are 7-3-0 in their last ten so they’re riding… Mile high… If you will. And they lead the league in blocked shots, so it’s going to be of the utmost importance for the Oilers to choose wisely when they’re shooting and take advantage of a Colorado team that is a very poor puck possession team.

Take Care and drive safe during the holidays!

BLH

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BLH Post Gamer G20 Oilers VS. Devils: Connor Who?

Photo courtesy of Andy Devlin

Is there a team you dread more than the New Jersey Devils when it comes to watching an NHL hockey game? Well that’s what I used to think when Lou Lamoriello was running the show in the Garden State. Geez, did you see the list of sh*t that the players were allowed to do and unallowed to do during the telecast last night? I mean honestly, if you’re injured you can’t join the team? Two Stanley Cups… Two! And that necessitates the kind of environment even the strictest of school masters wouldn’t be caught dead in? Good luck Toronto… Woof!

There was a game played and I missed the entire thing because I was teaching… So I’m catching up here.

The First Period

I’m going to go ahead and say that the most impressive part of it was that pass from Taylor Hall to Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers first goal. F’n beauty! I can also say I enjoyed the amount of possession the Oilers had during that period. It really seemed like they were giving the Devils’ young d-core a hard time with the urgency of their forecheck thus handcuffing them every time they tried to exit the defensive zone. On a bittersweet note, Nail Yakupov got four shots in that period which was equal to that of the entire New Jersey team. He wouldn’t have another shot the entire game.

Let’s see that Draisaitl goal though!

The Second Period

Zzzzzzzz… Kyle Palmieri scored on the power play for the Devils. Zzzzzzz…

Did anybody else think that Nilsson went down a tad… Check that. A shat load early? Palmieri had that whole corner to pick from the time he picked up the puck to the moment he shot it.

Just barely a minute later though… Draihalcell striked again! Leon with a deft little pass between the legs of the NJ defender, whilst being hit in the corner, to Teddy Purcell; who sucked Kinkaid in, leaving a pinching Oscar Klefbom WIDE open for Purcell to hit with a no-looker. K-bom tucks it home and Bob’s your uncle! Oilers led 2-1 at this point!

Anders Nilsson made a pretty crucial save not long after that goal. Brandon Davidson tried to skate the puck from his own zone through the neutral but got stopped at center ice by Jordan Tootoo who walked past him and proceeded to partake in a 2v1 with Josefson and Griffin Reinhart. To Davidson’s credit he hauled ass back and attempted a diving block from behind but ultimately failed, leaving Anders the Giant to save the day.

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At around the 10 min mark of the second it dawned on me that the Devils were doing to the Oilers what the Oilers had done to the Devils in the first period. They were suffocating them on the forecheck and not allowing the Oilers to get set or to move the puck efficiently. After a few more minutes of that Anton Lander takes another bad penalty…

What’s the over/under on Lander’s trade from the Oilers at this point? I mean he’s taking bad penalties on a nightly basis it seems and untimely ones to boot.

Edmonton ended the second frame with consecutive man advantages sans goals… Disappointing to say the least.

Earlier I noted that Yakupov wouldn’t get anymore shots on net but he had two glorious chances on the PP in the second stanza. He was set up for one-timers and both missed the net… Boo… At least he looks like he’s working his ass off out there.

The Third Period

The Devils started this period of by lulling the crowd to sleep and killing off the penalty they picked up at the end of the second. But they couldn’t help themselves and they took another penalty around the 3 minute mark for which they were punished accordingly.

SQUEEEEE!!!

Jordan Eberle scored what might be considered a Ryan Smyth Special meaning it was about as ugly as they come for #14 but a helluva bank shot off Stempniak’s skate. Check it out below!

The following shift Bobby Farnham got smoked by Griffin Reinhart and was a tad pissed and decided to take runs at whoever would stay in one place long enough. He was buzzing around all night and as much as it might annoy the hockey purists, I love players like him. The one problem with Farnham is that he’s lacking a moral compass. He’ll fight anybody anytime anywhere. He just doesn’t give a hoot. But as for his physical game. I dig it.

The game went back and forth for another 10 minutes or so until Mike Cammalleri decided to put a pass right on Mark Letestu’s stick in the slot of his own zone whilst attempting to break out. Letestu zipped it past the New Jersey netminder to make it 4-1. That was his first goal in the last 13 games and I’m sure a relief to everyone given Edmonton’s lack of depth scoring this year.

The Oilers scored one more, an empty netter from Taylor Hall to seal the deal.

So all-in-all a great effort from the boys in orange and blue. I think a lopsided victory in favor of the Oilers was really what the doctor ordered and it’s the kind of result that will carry with the boys going into Washington next week. Draisaitl and Hall continued their torrid scoring but Yakupov’s lack of is starting to get worrisome. Anders Nilsson’s performance was stellar and I’m really happy with the way the Oilers defence did given they were without Andrej Sekera. Lastly, when’s the last time the 4th line got over 7 minutes a night? Anton Lander had nearly the same amount of TOI as Leon Draisaitl but LD got 3 points and AL got a penalty.

Washington will be a different beast BUT we’ve seen that the Oilers can hang with the best of them this year and they will be looking to get revenge from the shellacking they took the last time the two teams got together. Is anybody else hoping Anders Nilsson gets the call again?

Have a good one folks!

BLH

Lots of big names on this list… Check out #33… 10 games played… #WheresSamBennett