Tag Archives: Leon Draisaitl

NHL

BLH Edmonton Oilers Weekly Recap Dec 6-12th

Oh what a week for the Edmonton Oilers!

Last week the Edmonton Oilers did something we have not seen since 1987: they won all five games in a five game homestead. Last week, the Oilers went 3-0, beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-2, beating the San Jose Sharks 4-3 in Overtime and beating The New York Rangers in a firewagon-like hockey game, 7-5.

Even better: The Oilers are only two points away from being second in the Pacific Division. Remember last December? Where they won two games all month? Where Dallas Eakins finally got fired?

It’s night and day between last year and this year. That said, need to stay grounded, especially for the highs and the lows. Only a couple weeks ago, people wanted to blow up the core and now we are talking about the P word for the first time  in a long time. Expectations should still be tempered.

That said, we should enjoy every last second of it. This is without McDavid, Pouliot or Yakupov either.

Edmonton Oilers Three Stars

3. Leon Draisaitl: Oh Leon. You only have 26 points in 20 games now, outscoring names like Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Ho hum. You’re in the top twenty for NHL scoring right now, despite playing the first ten games in the AHL. You have been easily the silver lining of the McDavid injury where you’ve stepped your game up to a level that nobody saw coming. Sure, your extremely high shooting percentage is bound to go down, but what do you do? Just post four assists against the New York Rangers. You only had 1 goal and 6 assists for 7 points in three games.  He’s only 20. 

2. Taylor Hall: Every week I chuckle because there’s actually some people out there that wanted Taylor Hall gone from the team because of attitude problems or character problems. Every week Hall just continues to prove those people horribly wrong. Taylor Hall is the heart and soul of this Hockey Team and is currently fourth in the NHL scoring race. You know what’s the best part of Taylor Hall’s game right now? He’s +15. I don’t really like +/- as a stat, but boy is he ever shining. Hall had the Overtime winner against San Jose and had 4 goals, 4 assists for 8 points in three games. I think he’s the future captain of the Edmonton Oilers, if not Connor McDavid

1. Glen Sather: Yes, I’m stealing a note from the Sportsnet crew and giving current New York Rangers President and former longtime GM, Glen Sather the first star of the week. Sather was honoured on Friday night before the game for his contributions with the Edmonton Oilers. Like him or not, Glen Sather was just as instrumental as the Hall of Fame players he had under his roster. He combined a swagger and fierceness into his Edmonton Oilers. It was great seeing him walk all the way down and through the crowd, interacting with fans and giving a great speech. It was a fitting night too: The Rangers and Oilers combined for 12 goals as his former team won the game. I even included a video for you guys to watch, in case you missed the ceremony. It was really a top notch effort.

Edmonton Oilers Rumors and News

One horrible nugget during that thrilling 7-5 win: The Oilers lost Oscar Klefbom to injury. He reportedly has a broken finger. That’s a really tough break (no pun intended).

That’s a huge hole to lose in the lineup. He’s been a beast 5v5 as Woodguy55 has pointed out. Very bad news.

Also: Mark Fayne was put on waivers and cleared. Nikita Nikitin was also called back up. Apparently Nikitin has been playing quite well in the AHL….so maybe we can give him the benefit of the doubt?

I tore into Nikitin during the pre season in a stinging article. I’ll hold my tongue for now.

Around the League

 

Highlights

Connor McDavid was featured on 60 Minutes. Here’s the link on YouTube

 

A bit late, but TSN recently did a Top 10 3v3 Overtime Goals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gso4yyRgGg

 

Brayden Holtby is a Jedi.

 

The Week Ahead

The Edmonton Oilers play FOUR times this week and it’s a tough four game road trip.

Monday they visit Boston and Tuesday face the New York Rangers in back to back games.

Thursday they visit the Madhouse on Madison and the Chicago Blackhawks and finally Saturday they visit the very beatable Colorado Avalanche.

That’s the week that was! Follow me on Twitter and have a wonderful week Oil Fans.

 

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

BLH Post Gamer G30 Oilers VS Rangers: Slats Sees Hats

Who’s laughing now Henrik? Who’s laughing now? I AM! The Oilers chased that meatball’s ass out of the net yesterday and I couldn’t be happier or more surprised for that matter. 7-5? WTF?! If you guys don’t remember the interview from last year, almost to the day, where Henrik Lundqvist was having a good ‘ol chuckle at the expense of the Oilers after a Rangers win, check it out below:

The amount of games that the Edmonton Oilers have had control of can be counted on one hand. This one barely falls into that category. The New York Rangers weren’t in this game for long stretches of the game and the feeling I got was like that of the one I had when the Oilers were in Carolina recently. I predicted on The Oilers Rig Podcast this week that the Rangers would have too much for the Oilers because I guess I didn’t have faith in the boys that they could continue beating the teams there were in fact beating (Boston, Dallas, and San Jose). Egg on my face why don’t ya?

The Kingston Cannonball went through the Rangers like a hot knife through butter. Photo courtesy of Andy Devlin.

I had class today so I missed the first 30 minutes about, so when I turned on the boob tube I got to witness Derrick Brassard tie the game up at 3. I wondered in digital form whether this was a good game or if both teams’ defenses decided to take the night off? I think going from the latter half of the match one could argue that it was a little from column A and a little from column B.

I went over to a New York Rangers blog to check out the post game report and their comments section was filled with rage directed at Dan Girardi. I remember asking myself if Girardi and McDonagh were even playing as they’re usually stand out blueliners. I guess tonight wasn’t their night.

I do have a question for you though. Dan Girardi is normally a pretty decent right-handed defenseman. He’s 31 years old, has four years left on his deal after this season and his cap hit is $5.5M per year. If the Oilers could acquire him, would you see that as an upgrade on what the team has currently? Or do you think he’s just be Mark Fayne/Nikita Nikitin 2.0?

Now according the  , period one belonged to the Oilers, period two to the Rangers and then period three was a bloody shootout. But whether you were an Oilers fan, a Rangers fan or a neutral; the game was very entertaining! So much scoring!

Somebody call the Nurse!

If you were alive and/or can remember the Oilers dynasty days, did tonight not feel like a throwback game? I mean it’s fitting that on Glen Sather Banner Night that the Oilers and Rangers combine for 12 goals, right? All that was missing was a few throw downs as the Rangers were definitely looking for one. Tanner Glass had a couple of opportunities and the Rangers were all over Darnell Nurse. Well until his goal chased “King” Henrik out of the net.

Getting goals from the bottom 6 has been a problem for the Oilers until recently, so is it just coincidence that as soon as they start producing the team begins winning? Lauri Korpikoski has been less than stellar this season and when I seen that he had scored two goals in the first period, I knew it was going to be a good night. I was happy for him when that third went into the open net. A hat-trick is not an easy thing to pull of in today’s NHL, so good on him and good on McLellan for putting him out there and giving him the opportunity.

When the bottom 6 is humming along and the top 6 decides to get in on that act, that’s amore! Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl, and Teddy Purcell combined for 11 points versus the hapless Rangers. That puts Hall in 4th place in scoring and 2nd place in plus/minus (+15). Draisaitl is up to 25th in the league now with 26 points and is sitting above the likes of Alexander Ovechkin, Max Pacioretty, and Nathan MacKinnon.

I think it was refreshing for the boys to save Anders Nilsson’s butt as oppose to Nilsson always saving theirs. Anders didn’t have a good night and you had to know it was coming. His .853 Sv% on any other night would have had fans in a huff wondering when Laurent Brossoit would be called up.

On a shitty note, it seems we have lost Oscar Klefbom to injury. He seems to have injured a digit or two according to Joanne Ireland.

https://twitter.com/jirelandej/status/675556062397792256

I’ve seen K-Bom take pucks off the ankles and be the victim of a couple og big hits over the course of the last week or two and I think he’s earned a rest. He’s played really well to date and he very well could be the Seabrook-type player fans have been looking for.

The Oilers are one point out of a playoff spot right now and they’re keeping their heads above water whilst Sir McDavid is on the comeback trail. Benoit Pouliot is out, Rob Klinkhammer is still not ready, and Nail Yakupov will be back around the new year. We’re in full “What If…” mode right now folks and it’s hard not to get overconfident but I think it’d be prudent to just pull back on the reins a little bit. My advice to you my fellow fan is to just enjoy the ride. Keep the expectations manageable and don’t make the mistake of being surprised when the Oilers do a great thing, like win, because this is a very talented team that is seemingly putting the pieces of the puzzle together, slowly.

The wave of oil is building and it’s going to crest. Just be there when it happens.

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

BLH Post Gamer G29 Oilers VS Sharks: Suck it San Jose!

Can I get an AMEN! Oilers win! Oilers win! Oilers win! Oilers win! Glory to the gord! The hockey gods have finally seen the light and within that light are a German Gretzky and a Canadian Kurri! Man does it feel good to be on the right side of a four game winning streak! Given it’s been 7. Long. Years since the Oilers streaked this well, we should be celebrating like madmen.

Hall Day Long Baby! Bow to the King Chewbacca! Photo courtesy of Andy Devlin.

I tell ya what. The game was decent with the boys in white and teal having the upper hand for longer portions of the game than the E-Town Entertainers. Once Edmonton scored I didn’t think they would let it get away from them like they did. They seemed to have the Sharks in their back pocket for a short time but as all good teams do, San Jose found a way to get back into the game and actually take the lead. Luckily the Nuge and Ebs were on their games and did their team a giant favor by tying it up.

Locking down a game when the Oilers have the lead is something they’re going to have to work on. I know it’s unfamiliar ground going into the final period of a game with the lead for the Oilers but they’re going to have to learn how to put the final nail in the coffin. Good teams do this. They get the lead going into or in the third period and they suffocate the life out of the other team’s offense. Edmonton needs this ability.

How about the goals?

First off, did anybody else get the feeling that when Draisaitl picked up that puck behind the Oilers net six minutes into the second period that a goal would follow shortly? Die Deutsch ist gold. For some reason there was just too much time and space and when you see that and it’s completely obvious to Joe Hockeyfan PLUS the likes of Hall and Draisaitl are on the ice, good things are about to go down.

PS: Terrible change by the Sharks on this goal…

I’m really liking that line right now of Thorny (JJ Khaira), RNH, and Eberle. I think we this could be something going forward. Khaira can play the game and he can play THE GAME. Throwing down with Brendan Dillon after squashing Justin Braun was no problem for the big fella and he held his own too. This guy… I like this guy but I wished he would keep the lip sweater. No more moustache rides…

Secondly, eat your heart out Evgeni Malkin! Jordan Eberle matched your spin-o-rama backhand goal and raised you a spin-o-rama goal in traffic. It was Khaira who set up Eberle for that beauty. JJ’s very strong on his stick and excellent grinder along the boards. He’s very much a poor man’s Lucic in that they play a similar game but he (Khaira) doesn’t have the offense touch Lucic has and he’s not quite as menacing physically… Yet. But the size and the drive are all there, he just needs to work on his positioning and decision-making.

The top two lines are rolling versus the Sharks. Not dominating but rolling. And this is something the team needs desperately. Depth scoring is of the utmost importance, along with playing defense… Right? I mean there’s no sense in scoring all those goals if you’re going to leave a guy like Joe Pavelski wide open in front of the net.

So how about that umbrella formation? I guess Nilsson has the man in front?

So the teams made that third period very entertaining as the teams were swapping leads like they were playing a game of hot potato. First Braun scored, then Eberle, then Marleau (of course), then Pavelski with his best impression of Lionel Messi, and finally RNH tipped one past Marty Jones. Then to top it off it went to 3-on-3 overtime where Leon and Taylor would combine again to make beautiful Rexall babies. It’s almost getting to when every time Leon touches the puck I’m expecting something amazing to happen. These two are just unstoppable right now.

Psst. Don’t say anything Gene…

I’m jealous of my friend Dave Gordon (@rustyknuckler) because he was at the game with his wife. This would’ve been a really fun game to go to. Ah the pros of living on the other side of the planet… Some day my friends, some day…

https://twitter.com/hg_personal/status/674839888718532608

Will Taylor Hall end his career as the greatest LW in Oilers history?

So the Oilers win their 4th in a row and the Rangers are up next on Glen Sather appreciation night. Expect a trade to go down in tribute to the creator of the last great uber-dynasty. I wonder if he’ll be toking from his signature stogie?

The Rangers are a different beast but if the Oilers can stick with the likes of the Stars, the Sharks, and the Bruins; I don’t see why they couldn’t make a go of the Rangers too. I guess we’ll see won’t we? Hockey Night in Canada would be a great time to make it five!

Beer League Hero

BLH Post Gamer G23 Oilers VS Penguins: #AndersTheGiant

Taylor Hall was on point again versus the Pens. Photo courtesy of Joe Sargent.

From an entertainment standpoint, this was a really fun game to watch. Both teams combined for a grand total of seventy-seven shots! I told you guys yesterday that the Oilers had to be careful with Evgeni Malkin right? Did the Oilers listen? They did not and because of that they allowed a two goal lead on the road evaporate into nothing care of Evgeni Malkin’s two goals, the guy had 11 shots in total for the night! Lucky for them Justin Schultz was back… Err I mean Anders Nilsson was on top of his game.

  • So Jordan Eberle started the game on the third line with Letestu and Hendricks eh? I can only imagine what Coach McLellan had to say to both Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ebs after the Detroit game… I’d say by the looks of both their games in Pittsburgh that the only one that took it to heart was Nuge. Eberle looked flat and not a lot of puck luck was going his way. He finished the game with 1 shot… For a guy that has lead the team in scoring the last few seasons, he’s not doing himself any favors right now. Shoulder still bugging him? Looked pretty good on the shootout winner…
  • Ninja Nuge on the other hand had a couple of very RNH-like rushes up the ice that made you wonder where those have been for the last 10 games. He had an apple, three hits and was 54% on the faceoff dot! That’s better!
  • Great to see Draisaitl and Hall get back on the board tonight! I give most of the credit to the Penguins defence and lack of back checking forwards on that goal though. They were damn near on top of their goalie when Purcell passed the puck over to Hall and then allowed him to walk through all of them to get another chance to which Neon Leon buried the rebound of.

  • It’s good to see the bottom sixers finally putting some points up on the board. Pakarinen’s brace versus the Red Wings was tight and Korpikoski’s PP tip-in off of Sekera’s point shot versus the pens is something the Oilers have been begging for for sometime now.
  • Jujhar Khaira made his Oilers debut tonight. Not a whole lot happened for him tonight apart from a very nice open ice check and a tidy interception that nearly led to a goal. He was also the Oilers best player in CF% and SF%.
  • Paka had five hits on the pens to boot. So he’s starting to gain a bit more confidence as the season continues.

    Thanksgiving SALE is still going on! Everything is up to 30% off! Click the pic and go there now!

  • Speaking of Scandinavians, Oscar Klefbom nearly had a penalty shot  after stripping Sidney Crosby of the puck in overtime and he lead the team in TOI with over 25 minutes!
  • Justin Schultz did actually play tonight and it’s probably a good thing that he wasn’t apparent in the highlights as it’s usually not the kind of play we’d like to re-watch. But nearly 18 minutes in his return and no bad miscues is acceptable. Now let’s see if he can start ramping up that play and doing something to increase his trade value. Or are we at that point where if we trade him he’ll turn into another Jeff Petry or Tom Gilbert or Eric Brewer or any other good defenseman the Oilers have had only to trade him off to another team right before he peaks.
  • Benoit Pouliot shouldn’t be tasked with taking his own penalty shots anymore… What a wasteful opportunity it was. Kudos for McLellan for showing faith in the veteran but I’d have been more than ok if someone with more pedigree on breakaways was asked to shoot.
  • The Oilers were out of the NHL’s basement for a short time but Colorado won their game… Boo! Another win versus the Leafs tomorrow should see them crawl out of last place though. But the Leafs are a tough bunch these days and you can be sure the Oilers won’t be seeing Jonathan Bernier in that one.

I’m going to leave you with Evgeni Malkin’s goal of the year candidate. Revel in this beauty and try not to pick on Mark Fayne too much for being giffed here. Malkin is a rare breed in today’s NHL in that he can take over a game all by himself.

Take Care!

BLH

https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/670774928602497024

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

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.

Click the pic and head over to the BLH Merch Shop to pick up a shirt or a hoodie!

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