Personally I doubt they move off Emberson. They've run basically a top 4/5 d most of the year with their #6 protected. Emberson is a support piece for a PK that's finally stabilized over the past couple of games. He may get low EV minutes but fresh for PK time to help stall out what's been a lethal and series setting Power Play is critical to hopes of winning.
If that was a fluke, then 3/4 of LA's goals this series were flukes. That 3rd period and OT was the first time the Oilers looked like they could beat any team in the league again. The Oilers were in a completely different class than LA and played the best hockey of either team to that point in the series.
Its OK. All views within reason can be here. Doesn't mean we're snowflakes or non fans. It doesn't escape me that we were 36secs removed from peril and desperately needed that and a crucial Byfield mistake etc.
Everything that takes place in a series is game and score effects. The team behind in a series will play harder. The team behind in a series AND in the score will play harder. Its what playoffs tend to be no matter what and this pretty visible in Cap parity era. The Oilers were outplayed in first two periods and then enormously switched the table in final two periods. But still the OT wouldn't have existed with the goal with 36secs left. The Oilers came that close, I don't think the goal was a fluke, but Byfield getting stripped, Fialla hitting post late in game, Pickard making crucial stops, all those things were needed for that to even be the tying goal.
I don't see the massive concern with Emberson. If he was in the LA lineup damn straight he'd be playing. He'd probably be their 5 D.
Agree, and most posters should, that our season was hanging by the slightest of threads in Game 3 and in Game 4 for sure. However, I'm not going to mute my elation at a couple of miracle comebacks because another random poster says it's not fun lol.
I don't think this is the right way to look at it. On paper between Oilers and Kings theres around 8 good D in the series. Maybe even a few very good D. But its the playoffs man and you've got teams digging for gold with everything they got to get to goals. Look at the determination of players like Kane trying to bull pucks in net, look at the plays made etc.
I think I saw the stat sheet this referenced, and Nurse was like 16%xGF. He's f***ing horrible.
Honestly, and its just me. The third period was stressful. It felt that way. But thats subjective and everybodies individual response.
These are results of game specific, unit specific matchups. I don't know that everything can be taken from such short sample stats.
That sheet was all strengths, it’s no surprise that a guy who plays on the PK and not the PP will have a lower xGF%
And I was once told by a Tampa fan that Brayden Point was and would be going forward a better playoff performer than either McDavid or Draisaitl.
100 percent
