Tag Archives: Philadelphia Flyers

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Shuffling the Deck

Two games at home and two wins. Is it possible that the Oilers could make it three in a row against the Sabres on Sunday? Jack Eichel is coming to town and what was previously billed as the McEichel showdown is now a face-off between former WHL rivals Sam Reinhart and Leon Draisaitl. It would’ve been something if Griffin didn’t get sent down eh?

Trade me right f*cking now!

I just wanted to touch on a few rumblings this evening and then let you get back to your Christmas shopping and your hockey.

  • Pouliot and Ference were put on IR. Don’t ask me what’s wrong with Ference. Maybe he got a splinter from riding the pine. As for Pouliot, there’s been something wrong with him for sometime but I suspect that hit from Dion Phaneuf didn’t do him any favors.
  • Ryan Hamilton was called up to replace Benny Pouliot today. He stands over 6ft and 200lbs and plays a physical game.
  • The Oilers are 4-4-2 in their last 10… Beauty!
  • I’m just watching the Sens/Islanders game and Bob Cole is calling it. Do you get mesmerized every time you hear his voice like I do? I think he’s the greatest play-by-play man in hockey history.
  • I read of a few teams that are targeting Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle since they were called out by Todd McLellan this past week. Namely Nashville, Minnesota, and New Jersey.
  • If we’re looking at the Predators, there are only two players I could accept, well three, in a trade for Nuge. Seth Jones, Roman Josi, and Shea Weber and I can’t see David Poile being silly enough to move any of those players.
  • Minnesota also has a few defensemen that tickle me fancy. Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, and Matt Dumba. Charlie Coyle is a very good two-way forward as well but would making a deal with the Wild me more or less two steps back and one step forward?
  • I see nothing in New Jersey apart from Adam Larsson and with the Devils have Adam Henrique and Travis Zajac to cover the center position. The team only has prospects to offer and the Oilers simply do not need any more “potentials”. Although Pavel Zacha and Mackenzie Blackwood are tempting.
  • Eberle is being connected with the Habs and Flyers. Both teams need some more complimentary scoring on the right side.
  • I don’t reckon the Oilers would get anything apart from prospects and picks in return for Eberle due to his salary. Unless of course they’re taking salary back.
  • Perhaps a player like Wayne Simmonds (PHI) or Brendan Gallagher (MTL) fit the McLellan mold. But why make that deal when the Oilers potentially have players in the same vein in Braden Christoffer and Jujhar Khaira. Prioritize the defence.
  • Nothing will get done mid-season. It’s just too hard to make a trade with so many teams up against the cap.
  • Griffin Reinhart is doing fair to midland down in Bakersfield so far. Two games in no goals, one assist, +1, and two PIMs. It’s nothing to write home about but the scorelines in both of those games were 7-6(L) and 6-4 (W). I suppose you can draw your own conclusions.
  • Speaking of Bakersfield, keep an eye on Josh Winquist. He’s played in 8 games so far and has 3 goals and 4 assists. He’s also managed to find a way to rack up 20 minutes in the sin bin too.

That’s it for now. Take it easy and we’ll see you tomorrow night!

BLH

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

BLH Post Gamer-G13 Edmonton Oilers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Uh oh… The Oilers rookie injury curse rears it’s ugly head again.

Well have you ever felt disappointed after winning a game? Connor McDavid goes down with what looks like a clavicle injury at the end of the 2nd period doesn’t feel good at all. The Oilers out shot the Flyers 49-22 which is a plus and they dominated the game at times with ease. Let’s go through the game a little bit here:

First Period:

Anders the Giant gets the nod in place of Cam Talbot and proceeds to bounce back from a poor performance. The first period was dominated by the Oilers top 6 and by the 10 minute mark they were up 12-1 in shots on goal. Griffin Reinhart had three of those shots which was a bit of a surprise to me. I didn’t expect the Flyers to be this bad to be honest.

The one scare for the Oilers in that period was when former Oiler Nick Schultz creeped in to the slot and nearly scored on a tip in. I missed the center that should’ve had him covered but I did see Sekera covering that post… Lucky it was only Nick Schultz.

Other notable hightlights in that period include Hendricks missing right in close after some great work behind the net by Teddy Purcell to get him the puck. Gryba’s hit on Matt Read along the boards got the crowd going and Nuge scoring on the PP to end the period really got the team fired up!

Second Period:

I’ll be honest, I missed the first ten minutes of the second so that means I missed the Laughton goal but I got back to the game at the Vandevelde goal… Another former Oiler bites the team in the ass. Not only that but the 2nd periods are killing the Oilers so far this season.

Then it happened…

That happened at the end of the period. If this isn’t the worst second period of the year so far, I’m not sure what game’s was worse. What will happen to Yakupov? Will Leon Draisaitl get moved to the 2nd line? Will Jordan Eberle be inserted into the lineup versus Pittsburgh?

How many of the players are stoked to be leaving Rexall? I mean Hall and Nugent-Hopkins have both missed games due to shoulder injuries… How long will Connor McDavid be out?

https://twitter.com/Sun_Tychkowski/status/661763034503757824

So those two tweets kind of sum up the whole ordeal but here’s the bright spot. The team finally has some depth to which they can draw from. Eberle will come back and hopefully pick up where McDavid left off.

Third Period:

The first shift of the period felt depressing but the Oilers went on the power play and absolutely bossed it. My problem with it was they were being kept to the outside a bit too much and I hoped they would make the Flyers penalty killers move around a bit more.

By the 15 minute mark the Oilers were kicking the Flyers asses on the shot clock 37-16 and momentum was slowly bring regained by Edmonton. I was worried about the effect of McDavid’s absence might have on Yakupov but he showed the same vigor and confidence as before, I think the difference being he didn’t have anybody to get him the puck which is what McDavid was doing till now.

Photo courtesy of Andy Devlin

Around the 14 minute mark Matt Hendricks potted one in his return to the lineup! He was absolutely delighted too. A point shot took a bounce off the glass behind Flyers goalie Michael Neuvirth and fortuitously bounced right to Hendy for an easy tap in.

One minute and twenty seven seconds later Taylor Hall took the puck from Leon Draisaitl at the Flyers blue line and broke into the middle of the ice and made a shot on net that took a deflection off a Philly stick and dribbled past the Flyers goalie with Draisaitl tying up the dman. That turned out to be the game winner for the Oilers.

The Flyers tried to change the game by getting more physical but it was to no avail as the Oilers fended them off and Nuge potting the empty netter sealed the deal! Oilers win!!

General Thoughts:

I think the Oilers dominated the Flyers for the most part. They played a very sound and simple game. I’m hoping this is something they’ll continue versus Pittsburgh. The third line also showed up a bit more and I couldn’t imagine how this game would’ve turned out if Todd McLellan couldn’t’ve shortened the bench in the third to preserve that lead.

  • Taylor Hall continued his all-star play and he’s up to 3rd in scoring for the entire league.
  • Leon Draisaitl picked up two more points to take his tally up to seven in three games.
  • Teddy Purcell had 7 shots to lead the team and has really picked up his play of late.
  • Matt Hendricks had 5 shots, 7 hits, and a goal to boot in his return from injury! Love my energy guys!
  • Nuge picked up a pair including an empty net and a power play goal.
  • Eric Gryba had 3 shots, 3 blocks, and an assist
  • Nail Yakupov didn’t score but he had 4 shots and 3 hits. Well done!
  • Pakarinen and Gazdic didn’t break the 6 minute mark in TOI this evening…

Three Cheers

  1. Taylor Hall – Beast mode versus the Flyers! A goal and two assists and 5 shots… Beastly
  2. Matt Hendricks – refer to the General thoughts above
  3. Radko Gudas – An assist, a penalty, two shots, three blocks and five hits. Old School Hockey!

The Next game is versus the Pittsburgh Penguins who are coming in 7-4-0 and will be a whole new ball of yarn for the Oilers. This is a team that has Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, and Kris Letang to deal with. Not only that they have an elite goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury… The Oilers will have their work cut out for them to say the least and without McDavid no less.

Let’s hope the boys can continue to dig deep and pull one out!

Good Night!

Edmonton Oilers, Zach Laing

Oilers vs Flyers Preview – Beating The Broad Street Bullies

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (4-8-0) vs Philadelphia Flyers (4-5-2)

Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton

Time: 7:00 PM MT

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

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

What Todd McLellan is doing as head coach is quite interesting, and I think he is still unsure of what he has with this team.

For the second game in a row, Mark Fayne is sitting in the press box and we are featuring another weird defence.What McLellan is doing is that he’s sending a strong message to players like Fayne by making him a healthy scratch. The new regime has no connection to any of these players, so I am glad to see they are not being kind. This teams needs like nice guys.

I was looking at some stats and Brandon Davidson leads the Oilers in 5v5 CF% with 51.5% which is impressive; next on the list, Mark Fayne at 51%.

We have seen some good things from Davidson this season, and he has slowly begun to grow on me. His two goals this year are more than any other Oilers defencemen. His first was against Montreal two games ago where he scored early in the third which was a big part of that comeback game. His second goal was against Calgary Saturday night and was a huge slapshot from the point to aid in our comeback. At 24 years old, Davidson has been a fighter his whole career after being doubted at every level and after beating cancer only a few years ago. Tonight, he draws in on the top pairing beside Oscar Klefbom.

Here’s to hoping he can keep it up.

Matt Hendricks will return to the lineup tonight after missing seven games with a foot injury. The bottom six of this Oilers roster has become quite a concern and Hendricks will be a welcome addition back to that group. On top of Hendricks returning, Griffin Reinhart is off the IR after missing six games with an undisclosed injury.

Tonight, the key to the game is getting off to a strong start which is something Todd McLellan stressed during his pregame interview. You should really go listen to it here.

The Otherside:

Philadelphia enters having lost its past four games (0-3-1). The skid continued Monday when the Flyers dropped a 3-1 decision at the Vancouver Canucks. Philadelphia is 1-3-1 on the road this season. “We have to come back. It’s a quick turnaround for [Tuesday night],” coach Dave Hakstol said. “A tired group, as they always do, stick together and come back with a similar effort [Tuesday.” Michal Neuvirth could get the start in goal after Steve Mason made 30 saves Monday. Neuvirth is 2-1-0 with a 1.91 goals-against average and .939 save percentage. – nhl.com

Walter Foddis’ Pre-Game Shooting Metrics

Line Combos:

Oilers via oilers.nhl.com:

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Leon Draisaitl
Benoit Pouliot – Connor McDavid – Nail Yakupov
Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Teddy Purcell
Luke Gazdic – Anton Lander – Iiro Pakarinen

Brandon Davidson – Oscar Klefbom
Darnell Nurse – Andrej Sekera
Griffin Reinhart – Eric Gryba

Anders Nilsson

Flyers (Via Left Wing Lock):

The website I use for my line projections is down for some reason, so I will update the Flyers lines when I find them.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2ZjPVsALx0]

Edmonton Oilers, Kris Hansen, NHL

The Weekly Round Up September 20-26

Hey everyone, this is Kris here and here is the weekly round up for the week that was September 20th-September 26th. With pre-season underway, we inch ever so close to the debut of what should be, an exciting, 2015-16 season.

My Top Three Oilers of the Week:

Honorable Mention: Leon Draisaitl. It was a toss up between Draisaitl and McDavid for the three spot. Draisaitl has arguably been one of our best players this pre-season, although he did not look as effective last night as he has in prior games. He’s going to make it a really tough decision for Todd McLellan and that’s a great thing.

3. Connor McDavid. He had two assists in his pre-season debut with the Oilers on Monday against Calgary. McDavid looked (and even he admitted it) shaky at the start but McDavid is exciting to watch every time he touches the ice. His skating is really something else and his defense was really underrated.

2. Griffin Reinhart. A surprising pick but his game against Winnipeg on Wednesday was superb. He did everything right, not flashy, but right. He’s basically the yin to Nurse’s yang: opposites in style but each offering a unique game that the Oilers sorely need. Reinhart was effective in all areas and hence why he earns my number two spot. I wrote about Reinhart on Oilonwhyte.com yesterday and I think we should definitely be supporting the young man.

1. Justin Schultz. Oh boy, I really hope this is the Justin Schultz that we get for the regular season. Forget the goal he scored but look at the Klefbom hit: Schultz of all people was the first one in the scrum! Finally some resilience from the man. He’s been playing like a top four defenceman. Perhaps he could surprise everyone with a rock solid year.

TSN Had a recent feature on Schultz

Connor McDavid to Play Against Minnesota in Saskatoon Tonight

There has been much talk about Connor McDavid and his lack of Pre-Season play, but this confirms that he will be playing in Saskatoon tonight rather than Winnipeg last night. This makes sense on a couple fronts: Yesterday’s squad was mostly filled with AHL players and players fighting for their roster lives and tonight’s squad is playing in an Edmonton Oilers market. It also makes sense on the front where Saskatoon has a large Oilers fanbase. Might as well treat them to one of the best stars in the league.

 

Lowetide’s Rollerball

Lowetide has always been a favorite of mine. He’s THE icon of the Oilers blogging community and he constantly produces quality content. This one stands out however, as he looks at the big three on the back end (Klefbom, Nurse and Reinhart) and their potential offensive production. Lowetide urged that some of the comparables for offense was a good Steve Staios and that we should not be disappointed with that especially if they are rock solid defensively. I think it’s important to stress the defensive side of the game here since quite frankly, the Oilers have had very ineffective defenseman who can play quality defense. Lowetide also hints that maybe Klefbom’s potential might be hidden due to the invisible Swedish Secondary Assists (where they do not count the secondary assist, just the primary).

Patrick Kane’s Case is Bizarre 

Patrick Kane’s Rape Accusation case took a really bizarre turn of events this week when the accuser’s lawyer, Thomas Eoannou, held a press conference declaring that the Rape Kit was delivered to the Accuser’s Mother’s doorstep and that it had been tampered (the evidence bag was empty, was supposed to hold the rape kit). Eoannou, the very next day no less, resigned from the case stating that it was within ethical reason for him to leave the case as he did not believe the Mother’s story.

This is downright confusing. I have no opinion on whether Kane is innocent or not and that is not up to me to decide. I am purely neutral in this case and without anymore evidence or news related to the story, I will remain neutral. That said, this is just plain nutty and confusing.

Even ESPN’s first take had talked about it (although I do warn you, tolerating Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith takes a lot of patience)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfkleAuOl1I

 

Flyers Brothers on Trading Block?

According to NBC hockey, both Braydon and Luke Schenn are on the trading block from the Flyers. It’s not really surprising: I find both players to be blunt, mediocre at best. Luke Schenn is fighting for a job with a log jam of defensiveman and Braydon Schenn has not produced to the levels that were expected of them. One thing though, I really hope that the Oilers stay far away from both of these players. They are not what the Oilers need in my opinion: We are set at Center and I would rather have Lander over Braydon Schenn and Luke Schenn would just be another 5-6 Defenceman that the Oilers don’t need.