Post-Game Talk: Montreal - where the people are beautiful and Oilers hockey is ugly

[Dazed and Confused]

• Hyman's shooting 6% while usually standing within 10ft of the net.
• Nuge is down at 2.6%
• Bouchard's 7.8% looks better than it should with how often he misses the net... 6 apples in 19 games despite being stapled to McDrai is the bigger concern there.

I expect all 3 of them to work their way through this, but at this point it's more than a cold streak. All 3 should move down in the lineup and earn their way back to their current roles.


Skinner-McDavid-Arvidsson
Henrique-Drai-Hyman
Podz-RNH-Brown
Janmark-Ryan-Perry

PP
Hyman-McDavid-Drai
Arvidsson-Ekholm


It might also be worth a look breaking up Ekholm-Bouch at 5v5.

Ekholm-Emberson
Kulak-Bouchard
Dermott-Stecher

 

[The Panther]

(Thank goodness Skinner didn't start or we'd have had 187 posts from @Drivesaitl by now blaming him.)

This inability to score is becoming a problem.

Can anyone explain why a team with a talented forward roster and a good offensive D-man needs 493 shots on average before they can score 1 goal?

 

[The Panther]

Well if Knob wants to get himself fired he can keep on scoring at this rate then.

Todd McLellan doubled down on the same idea with Ryan Strome ... refused to let him play in the top 6 even when the team was dying for goals, got himself fired as head coach thinking he was invincible because of 16-17. Strome got traded and immediately scores at a 20 goal rate in NY.

Yes. Not only was Strome a 20-goal guy, he was nearly a point-per-game player and a 1st-unit PP player for a very good NY Rangers' team. Yet the Oilers' "brain"-trust (I think it was Dave 'I-love-Mike-Smith' Tippett) couldn't find a way to give him any ice-time on an Oilers' club that lacked quality forwards. Then Chiarellli traded him for Spooner, who didn't play at all. Can't make this stuff up. Seriously, they're just idiots most of the time.

This past summer, they seemingly wanted to impress Draisaitl (pre-contract signing) by getting a winger or two to play with him. So, sure, signing Arvidsson or J. Skinner makes some sense. But why TWO guys, who have a similar skill-set? The obvious thing would have been to sign one of those guys (I prefer Arvidsson) rather than signing two and barely playing one.

Then, there's the Perry-Ryan insanity. It was pretty clear last season that Corey Perry was done. He had great hands, yes, but he moves at 10 meters an hour and doesn't backcheck. Derek Ryan has been wonderful for Edmonton, but when his contract expired (I think?) last season, he was done, too. He faded last season and was healthy scratched here and there. Right now, he should at home, watching the games, like us. So, again, I could at least understand maybe signing one of those guys, but BOTH? Nuh-uh.

So, if nothing else, not signing (say) Perry and J. Skinner would have freed up a couple million that could have been used to keep McLeod or Broberg.... You know, players who aren't over 50. I get that Henrique is (was?) a good player and their "win now" mentality made him seem preferable to McLeod, but you can't ice a line-up of all old guys in today's zippy NHL.

Anyway, despite the usual managerial lunacy, the Oilers should still not be losing or being shut-out by Montreal. This is just crazy. They have way too much talent for that. I'm starting to get the impression that Knoblach and Coffey are a little too nice. This can be a problem with a veteran team, which starts to feel a sense of entitlement. "We're veterans... we play the way we want to... the coach can't tell us what to do, and anyway he's very nice and supportive so we can get away with anything". Kind of getting the impression that this might be a problem.

Previous old-man Ken Holland clubs (2002 Red Wings; 2008 Red Wings) had a bunch of old guys and decorated veterans also, but they had hard-ass coaches that the players were wary of and scared of. This might be necessary.

 

[Fishy McScales]

I think the Oilers feel a bit cursed. They can't hold a third-period lead to save their lives and they consistently don't get rewarded for their offense to a tune of a 28th-overall PDO.

This game they came out flat-out the better team, but here we go again with a mediocre goalie standing on his head for the other team. The frustration on the players was visible, they even had a whole segment of McDavid banging his stick against the boards etc.

They got progressively worse as the game went on instead of digging down. When the Habs predictably got a late lead in the second period off a deflection in a game where they hadn't had much up until that point, the Oilers deflated instead of pushing back.

I know you shouldn't give up rah rah rah but I honestly don't blame them for losing their spirits. This season is tremendously frustrating so far, and I know many like to blame an organizational fringe individual like Dustin Schwartz, but so far this team is largely just really unlucky as they're trying to find their bearings with a new team makeup that has less speed than before.

I'm not too worried but man is this disheartening to watch and they could use a shake-up or two with call-ups. I don't think we can solve our goalie problems easily in the short term unfortunately.

We need one of those MSG third periods in a bad way. Was hoping for one tonight, but instead they let in a stinker to go down 2-0. Oh well, on to the next one.

 

[LemmyUlanov55]

Season just started and I'm already fed up with Oilers hockey, this org knows how to disappoint.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Oilers are the 2nd lowest scoring team in 1st periods this season... just 9 goals in 19 games so far in the opening frame. Outscored 15-9 in the 1st

And on top of those slow starts... the team lets in the 2nd most goals against in the 3rd period as well... 26 against in 3rd periods.

Essentially, they take time to get warmed up and then they get played out in the 3rd... outscored 26-19 there.

Is this a sign of an older/slower/less energetic/less hungry/lower stamina team? Could be... and I also think it's a sign that opposing teams are usually ready from the start as they get up for the Oilers and bring their A games almost every night.

 

[The Panther]

We need one of those MSG third periods in a bad way. Was hoping for one tonight, but instead they let in a stinker to go down 2-0. Oh well, on to the next one.

That MSG third period you refer to was led by McLeod and Foegele, so all we need is for them to... oh, wait...

 

[The Panther]

Geez, I like the Cult of Hockey guys, but David Staples' player-grades for this game are wacko, off-the-charts strange.

It must be said that of the three guys who write game-reviews / player-grades (Staples, McCurdy, Leavins), David Staples' are always the oddest and man, his writing is terrible. Here's one of his sentences that currently appears on EdmontonJournal.com

Edmonton had ten Grade A shots, Montreal eight, with both teams have four of the most dangerous 5-alarm shots.

I mean, I realize probably nobody is editing this stuff, but McCurdy's writing is always professional and accurate, and Leavins' is pretty good, too. Staples is a professional journalist (or commentator... or something), so he really should be able to write a grammatically correct sentence.

Then, his player grades:
-- He gave McDavid a 4 / 10
-- Draisaitl 2 / 10
-- RNH got a 5 / 10 -- so, apparently, he was 2.5 times better than Drai
-- Brown got a 5 / 10 likewise
-- J. Skinner a 6 / 10 ("Edmonton's best forward")

In fairness, he correctly noted that Emberson was good and he said Pickard was their best player overall.

 

[PuckG]

Well…the Bouchard contract should come in cheaper with his abysmal play.

 

[Fishy McScales]

That MSG third period you refer to was led by McLeod and Foegele, so all we need is for them to... oh, wait...

There have been two instances recently of the Oilers coming back from the dead in the third at MSG if I'm not mistaken.

I'm a bit taken aback that you think Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele are the only two players in the league capable of orchestrating such a comeback, however.

 

[tardigrade81]

Well makes even more sense now that McDavid took losing in the cup final so hard. Looking like zero chance they will make it back this year or anytime soon

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

(Thank goodness Skinner didn't start or we'd have had 187 posts from @Drivesaitl by now blaming him.)

This inability to score is becoming a problem.

Can anyone explain why a team with a talented forward roster and a good offensive D-man needs 493 shots on average before they can score 1 goal?

Because the shots they take are perimeter muffins that have virtually no chance of going in. The "We always get more shots" argument falls flat when few are quality.