Post-Game Talk: Oilers 7, Sabres 2

[KingKhron]

Thing is, I don't even see flashes, dude. Just seems like someone who's way out of their element. And after 130 games to only have 35 pts?
Like I said in other threads, I don't WANT him to fail, but I feel that he won't get much better and we should get as much out of him as we can in a trade.

Not to call you out in particular but you just happened to throw out numbers, so I had a look at some of them. I am of the mindset that people need to calm down a bit regarding JP. It seems that because younger players are making a seemingly much larger impact on today’s game, there seems less tolerance for different career trajectories. We have lost players before their worth was realized before and need to just breathe on this one. Drai turned 19 at the start of his rookie season and had 9 points(2 goals) in 37 games. JP was half a year older when he started his second season and had 20 points(12 goals) in 65 games. I think we could all say we’d be most unhappy if Drai had been moved out for anything other than a fantastic return. We need to give him the minutes to find out what we have. I would be interested to see minutes played by JP compared to our other high picks in the last decade. The others weren’t getting 7 minutes a night(other than Yak at the end) and JP might be significantly less than the others due to more immediacy with the franchise and McDavid.

Chiarelli shouldn’t trade anyone either. I don’t trust him to realize any return ultimately, so why?

 

[dssource]

Finally the Oilers play a team that helps us break bad streaks, like we usually hand out. It was a really good time to play a team with no defense and horrific goaltending. But even when we play bad goalies we still lack scoring so it was nice to see many convert and get a bit of luck. Kassian's goals were obv very important but so was Lucic's first. 4-2 and a 2 on 1. He makes it 5-2. JP had a partial break when it was 3-1 and didn't convert and moments later the Sabres made it 3-2. Same could have happened if Lucic didn't convert that one, so good on him.

Kosk started a little shaky but then was very good as the game progressed.

Team actually won a few battles and played like they cared. Can't just do that when you are scoring lots of goals though. Needs to be an every game type of thing.

No way i trade either goalie at this point. Both know that they are fighting to be starter and playing better bc of that. Once one goes, that's a non issue anymore.

Let's hope this is the game that starts a new good streak for the team and secondary scoring.

 

[Aceboogie]

Solid game, fun to be at, crowd went wild for Lucic

But holy frig Kris Russell is so, so, so, so bad. He is painful to watch. The consistent flipping of the puck out of the zone to noone is infuriating. There was a play when he had 2 different forward outlets and no pressure and went off the glass and out. Just laughably simple decision making. This guy makes plays to not get benched vs making plays to contribute to a good play

Watching McDavid on the ice with Russell is interesting. He does not expetc the pass whatsoever and when Russell gets the puck he turns up ice with his stick off the ice expecting the flip out. With other D, hell have his stick on the ice, in a position to receive the pass. Its crazy that the best defenseman in the league at neutralizing McDavid is probably Kris Russell. You have one of the best attacking forwards in the league, and you play him routinely with one of the worst zone exit D in the league. Its like buying a Lambo and putting sludge in the engine

On the flip side, thankfully we have someone like Jones in the system. Guy is actually looking to make productive plays on the ice. Hopefully this doesnt get coached out of him. Smart D with good tools

Dahlin, is a friggin beast to as a well holy. The plays he was making were so impressive. So calm under pressure, always made smart plays. Then he airs it out 20 feet Tom Brady style to a forward on the break and just about gets him in stride. Imagine Dahlin giving outlet passes to Mcdavid, my god.

 

[Missing smitty]

Solid game, fun to be at, crowd went wild for Lucic

But holy frig Kris Russell is so, so, so, so bad. He is painful to watch. The consistent flipping of the puck out of the zone to noone is infuriating. There was a play when he had 2 different forward outlets and no pressure and went off the glass and out. Just laughably simple decision making. This guy makes plays to not get benched vs making plays to contribute to a good play

Watching McDavid on the ice with Russell is interesting. He does not expetc the pass whatsoever and when Russell gets the puck he turns up ice with his stick off the ice expecting the flip out. With other D, hell have his stick on the ice, in a position to receive the pass. Its crazy that the best defenseman in the league at neutralizing McDavid is probably Kris Russell. You have one of the best attacking forwards in the league, and you play him routinely with one of the worst zone exit D in the league. Its like buying a Lambo and putting sludge in the engine

On the flip side, thankfully we have someone like Jones in the system. Guy is actually looking to make productive plays on the ice. Hopefully this doesnt get coached out of him. Smart D with good tools

Dahlin, is a friggin beast to as a well holy. The plays he was making were so impressive. So calm under pressure, always made smart plays. Then he airs it out 20 feet Tom Brady style to a forward on the break and just about gets him in stride. Imagine Dahlin giving outlet passes to Mcdavid, my god.

I'm assuming Kris Russell kicked your dog, because he's the best defensive defenseman on the team right now. I hate the only measure of a defenseman nowadays is offensive numbers.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

I'm assuming Kris Russell kicked your dog, because he's the best defensive defenseman on the team right now. I hate the only measure of a defenseman nowadays is offensive numbers.

Russell did have a bad game.

 

[DingerMcSlapshot]

I'm assuming Kris Russell kicked your dog, because he's the best defensive defenseman on the team right now. I hate the only measure of a defenseman nowadays is offensive numbers.

I agree with the OP. Russell sucks. Way to panicky and over rated. Russell wouldn't make 2/3's of the NHL teams roster.

 

[poolparty98]

I agree with the OP. Russell sucks. Way to panicky and over rated. Russell wouldn't make 2/3's of the NHL teams roster.

I do not agree. On a team like Toronto, he would be their 2nd best dman. Kris Russell is the least of this teams worries.

 

[Missing smitty]

I agree with the OP. Russell sucks. Way to panicky and over rated. Russell wouldn't make 2/3's of the NHL teams roster.

So the team was drowning without him, but is at least now treading water, but he sucks? I don't get the hate he gets. Maybe it's from guys who don't know good defensive defenseman, or from people that think Brent Burns is good defensively. Whichever it is, the guy is an excellent defensive defensemen, something there just aren't enough of in the NHL right now.

 

[Aceboogie]

I'm assuming Kris Russell kicked your dog, because he's the best defensive defenseman on the team right now. I hate the only measure of a defenseman nowadays is offensive numbers.

If by defensive defenseman you mean hes the best at doing a starfish impression, then yes.

I dont judge D based on offensive numbers, I judge Russell harshly because of his completely inability to make a breakout pass. Meanwhile, he plays a significant time on the ice with the best player in the world and completely neuters him. Its no wonder McDavids productions sinks like the Titanic when Russell steps on the ice. Connor spends the majority of his shift in the neutral zone trying to track down these chip outs

I guess I am a fan of offensive, possession driven hockey. Russell is the anti thesis of this because all he does is get the puck and shoot it around the boards or out of the zone. Once he does this, hes absolved of all responsibility personally and now its up to the other 4 teammates to try and get the puck back. The whole team is way worse off (they never have the puck), but Russell himself is better off (hey, cant blame me If I never explicitly turn the puck over directly). The team would be better off if we had D that were able to get the forwards the puck

On a side note: I actually understand the game that Russell plays and how he learnt it. I played minor/junior hockey in the same time frame as Russell did. The "off the glass and out" or "keep it simple stupid" method to playing defense is very prevalent in Alberta minor/junior hockey. The coaching and development system is probably the most conservative in Canada (or the world). I cant think of how many offensively gifted D I played with/against that got severally limited by coaches who would bench them on the first instance of a turn over due to a risky play. If you wanted to play, you wanted to get rid of the puck as fast as possible. Going unnoticed was the best thing that could happen to you

Thats how he came up and thats how he was able to stick in pro hockey despite being smaller. So I respect him for it. Many of the coaches out there still have this line of thinking when it comes to evaluating defense, and most fans still dont see the issue with it

 

[Missing smitty]

If by defensive defenseman you mean hes the best at doing a starfish impression, then yes.

I dont judge D based on offensive numbers, I judge Russell harshly because of his completely inability to make a breakout pass. Meanwhile, he plays a significant time on the ice with the best player in the world and completely neuters him. Its no wonder McDavids productions sinks like the Titanic when Russell steps on the ice. Connor spends the majority of his shift in the neutral zone trying to track down these chip outs

I guess I am a fan of offensive, possession driven hockey. Russell is the anti thesis of this because all he does is get the puck and shoot it around the boards or out of the zone. Once he does this, hes absolved of all responsibility personally and now its up to the other 4 teammates to try and get the puck back. The whole team is way worse off (they never have the puck), but Russell himself is better off (hey, cant blame me If I never explicitly turn the puck over directly). The team would be better off if we had D that were able to get the forwards the puck

On a side note: I actually understand the game that Russell plays and how he learnt it. I played minor/junior hockey in the same time frame as Russell did. The "off the glass and out" or "keep it simple stupid" method to playing defense is very prevalent in Alberta minor/junior hockey. The coaching and development system is probably the most conservative in Canada (or the world). I cant think of how many offensively gifted D I played with/against that got severally limited by coaches who would bench them on the first instance of a turn over due to a risky play. If you wanted to play, you wanted to get rid of the puck as fast as possible. Going unnoticed was the best thing that could happen to you

Thats how he came up and thats how he was able to stick in pro hockey despite being smaller. So I respect him for it. Many of the coaches out there still have this line of thinking when it comes to evaluating defense, and most fans still dont see the issue with it

I agree with a lot of your assessment. I just really like defenseman who are actual defenseman. I think he would do great next to a true offensive defenseman, someone who is good at an outlet pass. I think Nurse to just too erratic and makes him rush, or cover for him.

But I've always been a cheat for defense kind of player myself, so I like seeing that in a guy.

 

[Hippasus]

The Oilers have been alternating wins and losses a lot, but I didn't expect such offense from them and from secondary scoring to boot. Good games from Koskinen, Kassian, Lucic, McDavid, and Nurse. According to Drew Remenda, they were effective at controlling the bluelines, especially their own.