Tag Archives: McDavid

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!
Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Oilers Post Game Report, Michael Sifeldeen

Post-Game Report: Oilers vs Calgary (10/12/2016)

Game result: Oilers 7-4 Calgary

Apparently it was “80s Night” over at Rogers Place for our first ever NHL game at the new barn. What a racket! 11 goals! What era even is this? So there were a whole lot of things to like about this game, and some head-scratchers. Let’s go through them in point-form because it’s too late to worry about complete sentences:

Things that were awesome:
– Chiefly, Captain Connor showing up for 2G-1A-3P in his first game of the year is a pretty damn good look at what’s to come for his sophomore season. CANNOT wait to see it unfold
– Maroon getting the first goal in Rogers Place was really cool. He was so stoked on it. Love this guy
– Kris Russell was really good. Guys. Can someone direct me to the nearest bakery serving humble pie? I was shitting on this guy as much as the rest of them because of how awful he is from a fancystats point of view, but he really shone tonight with 2 assists and several solid defensive plays that directly saved very likely Calgary goals. (In case you weren’t confused enough yet, his all-situations Corsi For on the night was 41.67%, and 5v5 was 48.28%. Apparently he is cursed on paper.)
– Larsson looked pretty good, too. Poised. Doesn’t panic. Klef needs to settle in a bit still, I think, but when he does, these two will be mint together
– Here are some more misleading stats since we’re on it: Larsson had a 34.38% all-situations Corsi For on the night, but could you tell by watching? I sure couldn’t. Could’ve been because he played 47% of his TOI against the Gaudreau/Monahan line, as per WheatNOil on Twitter (https://t.co/GqjIhEuD8r). He also started 75% of his shifts in the defensive zone. Leaning on him heavy already, I like it
– Poolparty got his 1st NHL goal on a beauty snipe under Elliott’s wide-open right arm. That’s nice. :] He also lead the team with a ridiculous 76.19% Corsi For rating in all situations, which came back down to earth a little bit at 5v5 with 58.33%, but still really good for the rookie’s first game in the bigs
– Brandon Davidson single-handedly saved, at least from what I saw, 3 sure Calgary goals. Some went off a well-positioned skate, some off his stick, some from getting his body in the way of a player in front of the net. BDavey is just so good and so solid, and that leads me into the other part of the night…

Things that sucked a little:

– So Tkachuk Jr is kind of a shithead, hey? He straight up slew-footed BDavey and he never returned for the 3rd. Still awaiting word on his condition/timeline for return. Fingers crossed it was precautionary. This kid just has no luck
– The Oilers allowed two pretty sloppy short-handed goals there in the 2nd, in what was just a classic #HereComeTheOilers 2nd period. I’d like to know the statistical metric that describes how we’re just so bad in the middle of games when we can start and end so strong
– Talbot was not the sharpest. He did stop 37 shots, but let 4 in for a .902 SV% in his first start of 2016-17. I mean, it’s no Brian Elliott .778 SV%, but we know he can be better. I chalk this up mostly to opening night/new building/don’t screw up this game of all game jitters
– Lucic played just okay. He sure made his presence felt early on when the Calgary goon squad figured they could throw McDavid around without repercussion, so that was good of him. But he gave up a really bad 2-on-1 opportunity and actually accidentally knocked one of those Calgary shorties in. So it’s just a matter of finesse at this point for him, I think. I hope.

Anyway. Numbers and analysis aside, we won 7-4 and start the year on a good note, and almost as importantly, Calgary starts the year on a lame note and that feels just as good if I’m honest.

Edmonton Oilers, Kris Hansen, NHL

BLH Edmonton Oilers Weekly Recap March 24-April 2nd

The Week that Was

Hahahaha, no. This week was terrible for the Edmonton Oilers. I mean the game against Anaheim wasn’t awful, still lost 2-1. Then came the giant stinker from last night: a 5-0 loss to the dreaded Calgary Flames.

Why are people upset? It’s game 80, Oilers aren’t making the playoffs for a tenth straight year. Well, that stinker was the last Battle of Alberta game at Rexall Place and the Edmonton Oilers failed to show up to the damn game.

Edmonton Oilers Stars of the Week

After that effort, there is not going to be any stars given this week except for one: Todd McLellan. Boy has this guy gone through a lot this season and it’s recapped by this awesome press conference from last night’s post game.

Look at that fire in his eyes. This is a guy that freaking. hates. losing. He’s not accepting this sad show effort that was given last night. He even swore in the press conference! McLellan does not beat around the bushes to how bad the Oilers were last night. I think he has his own list of players he would love to keep and players he would jet into the sun. It was a horrible team effort and McLellan attacks the issue with the attitude in the room. Did he mention specific players? No. He still doesn’t throw specific players under the bus (well, now that Justin Schultz is gone).

I loved the comment about how they will work on Monday. You can bet your life that they will be bagged skated. Oilers fans are in a very sour mood today and I can’t blame them (personally I’m going to avoid social media today because of that).

It’s a tough loss for sure but remember, it’s a crappy loss for a crappy team. They happen. I know everyone wants to blow up the team but I don’t think that’s quite right. There will be changes, there will be old faces gone replaced by new faces. Yet, dismantling an entire team? When has that ever worked out?

Edmonton Oilers News and Notes

April 30th is the Draft Lottery. I think everyone has that circled in their calendars.

Lowetide continues to bring a level headed approach concerning the Oilers. 

Who is Alex Lyon and why are the Oilers after him?

At the Oilers Rig I’m looking at Chiarelli’s moves One Year In. Latest addition were the summer trades. 

Connor McDavid was named rookie of the month for March.  This was McDavid’s third rookie of the month award and is the only rookie this season to win multiple ones.

Nail Yakupov requested a trade out of Edmonton. 

Around the League

Toronto Media is getting prepared for when Edmonton wins the draft lottery 

Duncan Keith somehow only got 6 games for using his stick as a weapon 

Three players were fined for diving, including Nail Yakupov 

Former NHL Referee Don Wicks passed away at 76. 

The NHL had emails leaked and boy, do they make the NHL look horrible. You can search for them at this article 

Highlights

Dustin Byfuglien destroyed Mark Stone

Wilson destroyed Zadorov too

Maroon is a beauty.

The Week Ahead

The Edmonton Oilers wrap up their season with a back to back games against the Vancouver Canucks including Wednesday for their final game at Rexall Place and Saturday at Roger’s Arena.

That’s the week that was, have yourselves a good week and follow me on Twitter. 

Edmonton Oilers, Kris Hansen

The BLH Oilers Weekly Round Up Oct 11th-Oct 17th

 

Alright so second week of the Edmonton Oilers season was underway and we ended up with a 1-2-0 record.

It is a tough schedule to be playing against teams like St. Louis and Dallas, but low and behold we have our first victory of the season against the Calgary Flames!

The Edmonton Oilers Three Stars of the Week

3. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 

Nuge has been great on both ends of the ice. He tallied a nice goal right on the rebound last night against Calgary and has shown some really impressive back checking ability. Easily our best defensive forward, Nugent-Hopkins looked very comfortable with Taylor Hall on his left side.

2. Taylor Hall

Hall was our second best forward this week. He scored a crucial goal on a nice individual effort against St Louis and tallied a goal and two assists against Calgary. He was one of our most dangerous forwards in both those games.

1. Connor McDavid

Honestly, who else would it have been? The kid had his breakout game in a rival’s home turf. He silenced the boo birds very quickly. He started shooting the puck and ended up with two goals and one assist against Calgary last night. His assist was nice too: working deep behind the net and he just finds Pouliot wide open (who in turns passes it to Yakupov for his first goal of the year). Then there was the move he did on Hiller, on boy. Hiller made a great desperation save and if McDavid rose that puck, he would have had a hat trick and the goal of the year. It’s scary how good this kid is and we finally got a glimmer of what is to come for this amazing young man. He also scored his first career goal in a stinker against Dallas.

 

Edmonton Oilers News and Rumors 

 

 

Interesting that Doug Armstrong was in the pressbox scouting the Flames and Oilers. It’s very interesting. Blues have had a good start to the season while both Edmonton and Calgary have struggled out of the gate.

Also interesting to note, despite being sent down to the AHL, Nikitin and Scrivens have not played a game yet for the Condors. It’s been debunked as Visa issues, but all is quiet right now.

Around The League

 

Highlights

Re-watch the Oilers win over Calgary many times over

 

McDavid’s effort + Hiller’s desperation save = Golden Highlight

 

Colton Parayko’s shot made a nice mark on the glass

 

Hall’s beautiful back hander on Elliot

 

McDavid scored his first career goal against Dallas

 

The Week Ahead

The Oilers have four games this week: Sunday in Vancouver and two home games: Wednesday vs Detroit and Friday vs Washington.

That’s your weekly round up for this week!

Follow me on Twitter!