Have you ever heard the story of when Joe Thornton made everyone on the ice laugh when he called out Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid for not settling his scores by himself?
Recently over at The Athletic, a piece was penned by Joshua Kloke about Joe Thornton’s time in the NHL to date. The scribe interviewed former teammates and others who worked closely with Jumbo in an attempt to let the reader know what makes Joe Thornton so “Jumbo”.
The following story is one that should interest Oilers fans,
Mike Aldrich, head equipment manager, San Jose Sharks, 2005-20: In 2019, there was a collision at centre ice between Connor McDavid and Tommy Hertl. Neither one of them had the puck. Zack Kassian pushed Tommy near the glass. So Tommy gets the penalty, and a couple of shifts later, we’re back at full strength. And there just so happens to be a faceoff in the neutral zone, right in front of our bench. Kassian is lined up with his back to our bench and Jumbo is right in front of him. Jumbo is literally leaning over Kassian’s shoulder and he’s yelling “Hey, Connor.” Connor was not acknowledging him, so Jumbo keeps yelling, “Hey, Connor.” Finally, the puck’s ready to get dropped and Connor kind of looked over at him. Jumbo says to him, “When I was the best player in the world, I used to take care of that shit on my own. I didn’t need this middleweight to come in and take care of me.” And then he’s listing a couple of players that he fought when he was a kid, like Mark Tinordi. “The best player in the world” is how he referred to himself. I’m not kidding: Kassian and everybody who was on the ice and on our bench were laughing. He wasn’t being mean to Connor.
I don’t imagine the legendary chirps and epic laughs are going to stop now that Thornton will be seeing the Oilers NINE times this year.
I can’t wait for this year to get going and reading these kinds of stories just gets me even more pumped!
Do you know any hilarious stories that involve two of the league’s biggest names? Throw them up in the comments and share them with the world!
Just like Kass protects his boys, you can protect yourself with this sweet mask! Click the pic and get yours today!Classic Captain Wendel taking care of business once more! Click the pic and grab a shirt for yourself!Pick up the NEW “Beat His Ass” shirt right now!!
Missing: One broom – Last seen in the hands of a Duck on its way to Calgary.
THE DRAISAITL INCIDENT
Yesterday the punishment for Leon Draisaitl’s spear was handed down and as expected it was only a fine but wow, did hockey fans go batshit over the punishment handed down. For me, I didn’t expect Leon would be handed a suspension, why would he? He has no history of this kind of behavior nor has he ever been suspended unlike Joe Thornton, who also was given a game misconduct in January for a spear on the St.Louis Blues’ Paul Stastny but also escaped a mandatory vacation for his action.
Here’s my contention though. Jumbo Joe actually speared a guy. I mean he took his hockey stick and thrust it into the midsection of the opponent and that my friend IS intent to injure. Look at the pic above! Thornton actually puts enough force into the spear to create a bow in his stick…
Betcha a lot of Sharks fans forgot about that eh?
Leon Draisaitl merely brought his stick up between Tierney’s legs to cause some temporary discomfort and it must not have been hard enough because Tierney came back to play.
I understand that what Draisaitl did is within the NHL’s definition of what a spear is but that’s not a spear. Check out this quick clip I made where I compared Leon Draisaitl’s spear with Thornton’s spear and then the mother of all spears, Marty McSorley on Mike Bullard and then tell me what Draisaitl did was THAT severe…
GAME FOUR and FIVE
7-0… But it could’ve been a lot different had Larsson’s shot went into the net and not off of the crossbar and if Nuge had buried that open net chance… Move on to game 5.
She’s a best of three and the Oilers have home ice advantage!!
The rubber match is tonight and I expect a fiery Oilers squad to come out and absolutely hand the Sharks a spanking. Nobody likes to be embarrassed like the Oilers were on Tuesday and everyone on that team will be fired up not to mention the fans. I don’t think it’s going to be a low-even game at all but I do have some questions going in.
Questions:
Will we see a timid game from Zack Kassian or will we get the human wrecking ball?
In games 3 and 4 Kassian was as much a passenger as the rest of the team. Personally, I think the fans are going to rev this team up like crazy and that first 10 minutes we’ve been seeing where the Oilers are on their heels, I think it’ll be the Sharks who will be on their fins.
How will Todd McLellan address Pat Maroon’s slump?
I wrote about Maroon’s lack of production after game 4 and we seen him dropped in the lineup in the latter stages of the game. Should the Oilers try using some more speed with McDavid? I mean, he’s looked okay with Cagguila at times and the Drake does have a gritty side to his game.
With the last change, will Draisaitl be up with McDavid again?
No doubt the Oilers are going to take advantage of having the last change but who should they deploy to stop the Marleau/Thornton/Pavelski line? Not sure I’d have Nuge’s line against them as RNH is literally the only real defensive player on that line. How about tossing Pouliot/Letestu/Kassian against them as those players are the team’s primary penalty killers. Surely they’d have success in that role.
Keep Nurse/Benning away from the Sharks top 6.
Just going from the eye test, Benning and Nurse had a shit time trying to stop the Sharks skillers.
Edmonton has called up seven players from Bakersfield right? Reinhart, Ellis, Lander, Oesterle, Fayne, Laleggia, and Khaira.
I can’t see any of them getting any action to be honest unless some real injuries take some of the top 6 out. But if I had to go from most likely to play to least likely I’d go Lander, Khaira, Oesterle, Reinhart, Laleggia, Ellis, Fayne.
The computer boys will have Fayne at the top of course but I can’t see it at all. He lacks a certain element of determination that McLellan likes in his bottom pairing dmen and he’s certainly not replacing Kris Russell. The thought alone makes me chortle aloud.
Now, Anton Lander can take faceoffs at least and Khaira can be a large presence on the wall but let’s be frank, Iiro Pakarinen and Anton Slepyshev are going to get the majority of the TOI because they’ve got size, they hit, they can skate well, and they can shoot. Oesterle and Reinhart shoot left so automatically they’re at a disadvantage and Nick Ellis is a total longshot to play unless Talbot loses a limb.
PULJU TO FINLAND
The Oilers loaned Jesse Puljujarvi to the Finnish men’s team so that he can play in the World Championships in Paris and Cologne. I suspect he’ll be reunited with his old World Junior linemate, Sebastian Aho. Too bad Patrik Laine is taking the tourney off. It would be something to watch this trio play after a year of pro hockey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn3AbZhENRU
Speaking of the Men’s World Championships, keep an eye on Swedish defender Rasmus Dahlin. He’s 17 I believe and is the youngest player to play on the Men’s team in half a century if I’m not mistaken. He’s eligible to be playing in the u18’s that are going on right now to put it into perspective. Some will compare Dahlin to Erik Karlsson or perhaps even Paul Coffey but they don’t do him justice because he’s basically doing what McDavid did to his opposition in junior but Dahlin is doing it versus men in the SHL.
Enjoy the Oilers game tonight folks! It’s going to be a beauty! McDavid is going to break out tonight and Edmonton is going to be electric!
Grab the new Kassian tribute t-shirt now! Click the image above!Click the image and head over to our Teepublic shot to grab some sweet BLH merch.
San Jose Sharks (Head Coach: Peter DeBoer) at Pittsburgh Penguins (Head Coach: Mike Sullivan)
NHL Game #412, CONSOL Energy Center, 2016-06-01 06:00:00PM (GMT -0600)
Penguins 2-1 (OT)
Referees: Wes McCauley, Kelly Sutherland, Dan O’Halloran
Linesmen: Pierre Racicot, Derek Amell, Brian Murphy
Three Stars: Conor Sheary; Phil Kessel; Justin Braun
Another intense game. You’d almost think this was important to the players or something.
I saw someone call it ‘go kart’ hockey – good name!
Penguins up 2-0 – after all the Western dominance, who saw that coming? According to the NHL, the Penguins now have an 88.9% chance of winning the Cup.
Joe Thornton led the Sharks in faceoffs 62.5% (5-3), and on-ice 5v5 shot attempts (59%). He led Crosby head to head. Whatever ails this team, it’s NOT Jumbo Joe, so let’s leave the ‘choke’ narrative on the shelf where it belongs.
Before the series, I recall one commentator (can’t remember who specifically) picking Pittsburgh because he felt their scoring depth would overwhelm the weak Sharks third pairing. Interestingly, that’s exactly what the first goal was, with the Penguin third line exploiting the weak San Jose pairing of Polak and Dillon.
That said, in the first game, it was the top two pairings that had absolutely brutal games. This one, the Sharks D improved their play overall, but pairings two and three were not good.
You can see this especially in the raw vs danger-weighted metrics for the Braun and Vlasic pairing – they did OK on the raw metrics, but got absolutely torched on the danger metrics. They actually were in line with the other pairs as far as shot distance against goes, so it was the inability to create anything remotely dangerous when they were on the ice that was the culprit.
You might retort “but Braun had a goal!” (and was also one of the three stars)… to which I’d say a 51 ft snap shot isn’t exactly frightening. Sometimes that’s how it works. I will admit, I wasn’t watching any specific pairing, including his, all that carefully. Maybe Vlasic was the one struggling. But by danger weighted stats, it was not a good game for them.
Bottom line is that the Sharks can’t win without top rank performances from both the Burns and Vlasic pairings, and only one of those pairings was adequate tonight.
Especially telling is how much of an edge the Penguins had (again) in shot distance.
Jultz had another solid game. I don’t get the hate – it’s not like he didn’t have the occasional run of solid games for the Oilers either. Good on him for bringing it on the big stage.
Reminder: most of the stats below are for 5v5 in regulation time only, not OT; they are also from the San Jose point of view.
Game at a Glance
Leaderboard
Justin Braun led the way for the Sharks with 1 goal (but got torched on the danger weighted shots)
Brent Burns blasted 4 shots on goal, and was most active on the team with 10 shot attempts
Joe Thornton was the faceoff champ at 62.5% (5-3), and led the team in on-ice 5v5 shot attempts at 58.8% (20-14).
Melker Karlsson trailed the team in 5v5 on-ice shot attempts at 29.4% (5-12)
Brenden Dillon, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns each thumped the other team 5 times
Goal Overview
Team
Period
Time
Strength
ShotType
ShotDist
Danger
PIT
2
8:20
EV
Wrist
9.0
2.63
S.J
3
15:55
EV
Snap
51.0
0.29
PIT
4
2:35
EV
Wrist
33.0
0.71
Who Won the 5v5 Shot Battle?
Which Battle
Who Won
By How Much
Shots
PIT
26 to 18 (59.1%)
Average Shot Distance Against (ft)
PIT
33 to 44
Corsi
PIT
50 to 43 (53.8%)
Score & Venue Adjusted Corsi
PIT
50 to 43 (53.7%)
Fenwick
PIT
36 to 29 (55.4%)
Dangerous Fenwick
PIT
33 to 23 (58.5%)
http://i.imgur.com/eLQLWsX.png
Detailed Metrics
Shot Metrics
Strength
CF
CA
CF%
SACF
SACA
SACF%
FF
FA
FF%
DFF
DFA
DFF%
EV
43
50
46.2
43.2
50.1
46.3
29
36
44.6
23.2
32.7
41.5
All
49
59
45.4
49.2
59.2
45.4
35
42
45.5
26.7
36.5
42.3
Other Metrics
Team
PP
PPG
PIM
FO
Hits
Giveaways
Takeaways
Penguins
2
0
2
54.8
36
8
8
Sharks
1
0
4
45.2
43
4
5
How the Players Did (On Ice Shot Attempts)
New chart! Shows how the players did directly comparing raw Corsi with DangerousFenwick. Look for big discrepancies one way or the other.
http://i.imgur.com/CWVWAzy.png
Danger Tables
Forwards are sorted by decreasing CF%. Defensemen and pairs sorted by increasing DFA60. Forward lines by decreasing DFF%. Positions are as listed by the NHL roster page, not necessarily where they played.
Centres
Centre
EVTOI
OZS%2
CF
CA
CF%
SACF%
FF%
DFF%
J. Thornton
17:05
50.0
20
14
58.8
59.3
64.7
50.6
T. Hertl
18:50
50.0
21
15
58.3
58.8
63.2
58.5
J. Pavelski
18:15
47.1
21
16
56.8
57.1
60
58.6
L. Couture
15:08
60.0
11
9
55
54.6
50
46
N. Spaling
07:53
33.3
5
8
38.5
38.4
41.7
30.3
T. Wingels
07:34
33.3
5
8
38.5
38.6
41.7
35.9
P. Marleau
14:50
33.3
6
13
31.6
31.1
31.2
36.4
C. Tierney
12:27
8.3
7
16
30.4
30.3
27.8
30.1
M. Karlsson
09:12
44.4
5
12
29.4
29.1
31.2
36.2
Wingers
Winger
EVTOI
OZS%2
CF
CA
CF%
SACF%
FF%
DFF%
J. Donskoi
15:35
60.0
12
9
57.1
56.5
50
46.7
J. Ward
14:10
37.5
10
15
40
40.3
36.8
32.1
M. Nieto
11:02
0.0
6
14
30
30
30.8
29.2
Defensemen
The DFA/60 (how much how bad the D gave up) are pretty much OK across the board. It’s the terrible DFF% (balance of danger) for Braun and Vlasic that really stands out.
Defense
EVTOI
OZS%2
CF
CA
CF%
SACF%
FF%
DFF%
DFA60
P. Martin
20:00
47.1
18
20
47.4
47.7
48
51.1
32.1
B. Burns
20:19
44.4
19
20
48.7
48.9
48.1
51.5
32.49
J. Braun
17:33
30.8
13
12
52
52.5
38.9
18.7
37.61
M. Vlasic
18:22
33.3
14
13
51.9
52.3
42.1
16.5
37.89
R. Polak
16:09
40.0
12
18
40
39.7
47.6
49
38.64
B. Dillon
15:36
40.0
10
18
35.7
35.1
38.1
44.5
41.92
Defense Pairings
Pair
EVTOI
DFA60
AvgDistA
CF
CA
CF%
SACF%
FF%
DFF%
P. Martin B. Burns
18:55
33.94
31.3
18
19
48.6
48.9
48
51.1
M. Vlasic J. Braun
15:47
39.16
28.2
12
10
54.5
55.1
40
12.9
B. Dillon R. Polak
14:35
39.91
28.2
10
15
40
39.4
44.4
47.4
Forward Lines
Lots of line mixing … what do we call that, the Boerlender?
San Jose Sharks (Head Coach: Peter DeBoer) at Pittsburgh Penguins (Head Coach: Mike Sullivan)
NHL Playoff Game #411, CONSOL Energy Center, 2016-05-30 06:00:00PM (GMT -0600)
Penguins 3-2
Referees: Wes McCauley, Dan O’Rourke, Dan O’Halloran
Linesmen: Pierre Racicot, Derek Amell, Jonny Murray
Three Stars: Nick Bonino; Conor Sheary; Patrick Marleau
Welcome! This is the “OilersNerdAlert” format statistical breakdown for this game. Beer League Heroes will be publishing these state of the art analyses for each of the Final games.
This was an exciting game. Hope they’re all this intense!
The Sharks are my designated #2 team, since I have family and friends down in Silicon Valley, so … boo. Also the game information below is from the Sharks point of view. If you’re a Penguins fan and want to see the breakdown from a PIT point of view, please comment and we’ll be happy to add a second gamepage.
The score ended up being (and following) the gameflows pretty much exactly – which happens less often than you’d think!
My man BLH is choked that Justin Schultz isn’t wearing #19, so he could make up a half and half jersey shirt. Even as a Penguin, Jultz frustrates Oiler fans!
Grab a 16-bit tee and help keep the BLH ship afloat! We’ve got all the big names playing in the Cup Final! Burns, Malkin, Kessel, Pavelski, etc! Click the pics above or right HERE to go and get yours today!
Forwards are sorted by decreasing CF%. Defensemen and pairs sorted by increasing DFA60. Forward lines by decreasing DFF%. Positions are as listed by the NHL roster page, not necessarily where they played.
Last season the San Jose Sharks missed the playoff for the first time since 2003. In the aftermath we seen the mutual parting of ways between the team and long-time head coach Todd McLellan. Was last season an anomaly or is the long playoff run over for the one mighty Sharks? The core group of players is aging but there should still be a little left in the tank of Jumbo Joe Thornton and Patty Marleau. Enough to get them back to the playoffs? We will see I guess.
Key Additions: RW Joel Ward, D Paul Martin, D Mark Cundari, G Martin Jones
Key Departures: G Antti Niemi, D Matt Irwin, D Taylor Fedun
Roster Hopefuls: RW Timo Meier, RW Nikolay Goldobin, D Jeremy Roy
Last season was a bit of free fall for the once powerful Sharks. They went from 111 points and a second place finish in the Pacific division to 89 points and a fifth place end. The unfortunate part for Sharks fans is that while they did bring in a few nice players this summer they also lost a couple good ones too. Joel Ward is a great addition to the team as is defenseman Paul Martin but I can’t seem to figure out why they walked away from goaltender Antti Niemi. In my opinion opting for a very much unproven Martin Jones as the new starter when you had a more than capable starter already in the fold is beyond me but that is something you would have to ask GM Doug Wilson.
Timo Meier should bring the team some hope. He has a big frame and has excellent instincts in the offensive zone. He is a very capable player when he has the puck on his stick. He is going to head back to the QMJHL this season but should be in the NHL full-time by next season. If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching this kid play I urge you to do so! You won’t be disappointed. Another player on this team that I absolutely love is big defender/ winger Brent Burns. The guy is a stud defenseman and can really supply the offense from the backend. Last season he finished fourth on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 43 assists. That’s pretty damn special for a defenseman!
Potential Lineup:
Patrick Marleau – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Melker Karlsson – Logan Couture – Tomas Hertl
Matt Neito – Chris Tierney – Joel Ward
Raffi Torres – Ben Smith – Tommy Wingels
Brent Burns – Paul Martin
M.E. Vlasic – Justin Braun
Brendon Dillon – Mirco Mueller
Martin Jones
Alex Stalock
The Sharks finished an astounding 11 points out of the playoffs, I know that isn’t “Oilers” astounding but that is pretty huge a change for a perennial playoff team like San Jose. I don’t think last season was an anomaly by any stretch. I think it was a bigger than expected regression but not an unexpected regression. With little in the way of changes from last season I expect the team will regress even further this season and will be in the fifth slot come the end of the season.
Martin Jones is the guy to keep an eye on for this team. He is largely unproven and will be needed to play a hell of a lot more than the fifteen games he played last season. It will be interesting to see if the Sharks guessed right and Jones is in fact ready. Situation sounds very similar to that of the Oilers.
