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GDT: Game 75: Sharks vs. Oilers 7:30pm ESPN+/Hulu/Disney+

weastern bias said:
They just totally lack depth

Even last year they rode the historical play of an all time great and the typical playoff heroics of another future HOFer to the closest you can get to the top without winning, but the rest of their team basically contributes nothing

Their best depth players are low event players at best, the rest of them are actively detrimental, it's legitimately impressive how poor of a job they have done building around these two all-time scoring talents, their team construction really sucks
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Yes for sure, it's a little puzzling how ineffective that offensive depth has been. Nuge even stinks this year.

Part of me thinks they are saving it for the playoffs (again, offensively, because defensively they have been fine), becuase I refuse the believe that everyone except Draisaitl has fallen off a cliff
 
vortexx said:
We still play the Oilers two more times and it scares me a bit how close this game was as we expect the Oilers to roll over us.... Really hoping Mcdavid and/or Draisaitl are back by the time we play again
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Oilers are at half intensity; it happens.

Seems like no fuss at all was made about this being Walman's return to SJS.
 
Paywall, but the basic messages:
  • "youngsters need to value the puck more". This has been said multiple times and Warso has said it publicly often, but it's Celebrini's second or first biggest flaw. He's rushing so much to make stuff happen that he forces plays and gives the puck up too easily. Wennberg is a good role model of really valuing possession in the OZ. He and Eklund both do well here and that creates chances more than forcing a Hollywood pass.
  • Eklund - major growth, lots of hustle, and pretty good possession, but still needs to get his nose dirty a bit more and go to the hard areas. I think this is true - you think about Eklund at his best currently, and it's being slippery on the wall and then trying to find a sneaky pass into a danger area, but he rarely (sometimes) drives to the net or takes a shot from the slot. If he can manage to do this and not get injured, it'll make him a whole lot more threatening and dynamic.
  • Warso did mention in the puck possession convo that the D have significantly improved in their value of possession and I've definitely seen it over the course of the season. Last year was all panic dumps up the wall leading to turnovers and extended DZ time. This year, around games 10-20 we saw a marked shift where the D were being more patient to try to control puck in corner and look for the right play, being comfortable chipping pucks back behind the net or going D to D to find a clean exit. We still do the stretch pass thing out of the zone which I don't love, but especially Ferraro, Lily, Mukh have been more patient on pucks than last year. Still more improvement needed, obviously.
 
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Positives: Georgi Romanov played great, I'm happy he got a start and proved himself more than capable. He is also a very nice guy (and super tall, he makes me feel short and I'm 6'2"!). Good game Georgi!
 
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vortexx said:
We still play the Oilers two more times and it scares me a bit how close this game was as we expect the Oilers to roll over us.... Really hoping Mcdavid and/or Draisaitl are back by the time we play again
Click to expand...
McDavid may return by the 11th and almost assuredly returns by the 16th. Oilers need to keep winning if they want to avoid playing LA without home ice or fall into the WC in a worst case scenario. Other than the Kraken and Canucks (they’re finished), all our opponents will be desperate to win. CGY x2, EDM x 2 and MIN x 1.
 
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Celebrini looks cooked. Not surprising given how young he is, how much responsibility has been thrown at him, and how long the NHL season is. Playing the 1C role as an 18 yr old is insane.

He also looks increasingly upset after his mistakes. His entire hockey career he has been one of the if not the best player on the ice. That is obviously no longer the case in the NHl, and it’s clear he is hitting some walls. Teams have figured him out a bit and he now needs to make some adjustments to his game.

This will be the first true test of his long term potential. How does he adjust?

My money is on him getting angry that he can’t compete at the level he wants to, and tirelessly working on his game until he is once again one of the if not the best player on the ice.

Can’t wait to see more of the young prospects join the group with Celebrini leading the way.
 
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coooldude said:
Paywall, but the basic messages:
  • "youngsters need to value the puck more". This has been said multiple times and Warso has said it publicly often, but it's Celebrini's second or first biggest flaw. He's rushing so much to make stuff happen that he forces plays and gives the puck up too easily. Wennberg is a good role model of really valuing possession in the OZ. He and Eklund both do well here and that creates chances more than forcing a Hollywood pass.
  • Eklund - major growth, lots of hustle, and pretty good possession, but still needs to get his nose dirty a bit more and go to the hard areas. I think this is true - you think about Eklund at his best currently, and it's being slippery on the wall and then trying to find a sneaky pass into a danger area, but he rarely (sometimes) drives to the net or takes a shot from the slot. If he can manage to do this and not get injured, it'll make him a whole lot more threatening and dynamic.
  • Warso did mention in the puck possession convo that the D have significantly improved in their value of possession and I've definitely seen it over the course of the season. Last year was all panic dumps up the wall leading to turnovers and extended DZ time. This year, around games 10-20 we saw a marked shift where the D were being more patient to try to control puck in corner and look for the right play, being comfortable chipping pucks back behind the net or going D to D to find a clean exit. We still do the stretch pass thing out of the zone which I don't love, but especially Ferraro, Lily, Mukh have been more patient on pucks than last year. Still more improvement needed, obviously.
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I legit love watching Wennberg play. Like the way his upper body and lower body are basically independent from each other and compound that with a really beautiful and effective skating and puck handling/possession. Just super aesthetically pleasing, and I agree that he's a guy to model patience and poise off of.
 
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Wedontneedroads said:
Celebrini looks cooked. Not surprising given how young he is, how much responsibility has been thrown at him, and how long the NHL season is. Playing the 1C role as an 18 yr old is insane.

He also looks increasingly upset after his mistakes. His entire hockey career he has been one of the if not the best player on the ice. That is obviously no longer the case in the NHl, and it’s clear he is hitting some walls. Teams have figured him out a bit and he now needs to make some adjustments to his game.

This will be the first true test of his long term potential. How does he adjust?

My money is on him getting angry that he can’t compete at the level he wants to, and tirelessly working on his game until he is once again one of the if not the best player on the ice.

Can’t wait to see more of the young prospects join the group with Celebrini leading the way.
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Yeah, I think it's mental fatigue of trying too much and carrying the team mentality more than physical fatigue. And I agree, I think he takes the off-season to reset, train, watch a ton of video, I think he comes out blasting in the first 15 games of next season.
 
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StrawHatEklund said:
McDavid may return by the 11th and almost assuredly returns by the 16th. Oilers need to keep winning if they want to avoid playing LA without home ice or fall into the WC in a worst case scenario. Other than the Kraken and Canucks (they’re finished), all our opponents will be desperate to win. CGY x2, EDM x 2 and MIN x 1.
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It might be too late - they're 4? Points back. If they're close they'll be fighting hard, but if they're not, could go the other way.
 
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coooldude said:
Yeah, I think it's mental fatigue of trying too much and carrying the team mentality more than physical fatigue. And I agree, I think he takes the off-season to reset, train, watch a ton of video, I think he comes out blasting in the first 15 games of next season.
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Would rather that happen sooner than later but knowing this org's luck on anything....
 
Celebrini's recent struggles are 100% line construction. Put Eklund on his line and he's running circles around the other team like always. It's why Wennberg has so much room to work right now.

Celebrini "rushes" plays because that's how to break defenses and score in the modern game. You don't want him holding pucks and getting neutralized or even bodied. He needs a player that can rush with him.
 
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