Oilers are good at hockey again: Back in the plofs

[Czechboy]

 

[Fourier]

oliers fans thinking oilers will continue this torrid pace when they face real teams coming up and the playoffs lol.


progress isnt continous or linear- if anything they obv will start losing games, playoffs are another animal as well as injuries trades etc. you just cannot know. howd boston do last year?

No one expects the Oilers to never lose. That was not the point of my post at all. The point was that their play has been better for a lot longer than people seem to think. Of course, injuries could make a huge difference. But what team does that not apply to?

Similarly with your comment on the playoffs. But its not like the Oilers have not made gains in this regard. They went to the conference finals in 2022 then lost to a real juggernaut. That Avs team was completely stacked. The Oilers also played them with Draisaitl on one leg and Nurse playing with a torn hip flexor. So injury's do matter. But even with those two healthy the Oilers were not going to win that series.

The narrative seems to be that Vegas dominated the Oilers. That simply is not true. That series went 6 games and if not for a 3 minute stretch in game 5 it could easily have gone the other way. I'd argue that the current version the Oilers is a better team than the one that lost to Vegas. Would it be good enough to have won that series? We will never know. But its not like that would have been an impossibility.

Adding Ekholm was a major improvement since the Avs' series where the Oilers definitely needed it. Outside of the start of this season, where he was obviously still hurt after having missed the whole pre-season with an injury, he has been fantastic. But as I said he means more than just his own play. His impact on the rest of the defense is significant.

The Oilers went into this season as serious contenders. Their play in the first 12 games was shocking. But they are now playing like the team people expected to see. Does that mean that they will sail to an easy cup win. No. There is not a single team in this league that could not be beat in the first round. And that is a real possibility for the Oilers if they are not on their game. Would it be a major shock if Vancouver or Winnipeg or Colorado or Vegas or Dallas lost in round one given that there really no dominant teams in the league right now?

I am an old man. I was a STH with the Oilers through the 80's. That team as great as it was had to learn to win. So does this version of the Oilers. Lessons from the last few years can help them do that. We will see if that is the case.

 

[McSuper]

Not going to get high and mighty over the 16 games winning streak or the bad start. Over an 82 game season things have away of balancing out. I will wait to see how they do against the heavy weights, like Vegas, Avs and a few others.

 

[Danarqhy]

Oilers fans, doesn't it worry you that Knob started playing McDrai together again? I feel like it'd be in your best interest to have the team win while McDrai are on different lines to balance out the lineup and ice time as that is the recipe to win in the playoffs.

 

[ijuka]

Oilers fans, doesn't it worry you that Knob started playing McDrai together again? I feel like it'd be in your best interest to have the team win while McDrai are on different lines to balance out the lineup and ice time as that is the recipe to win in the playoffs.

You can win in many ways in the playoffs. There is no secret "recipe".

 

[McSpecial DraiBlend]

Oilers fans, doesn't it worry you that Knob started playing McDrai together again? I feel like it'd be in your best interest to have the team win while McDrai are on different lines to balance out the lineup and ice time as that is the recipe to win in the playoffs.

Everyone seems to expect that they will be back apart when we face Vegas after the break. For me RNH just isn't a strong enough 2C in my opinion. If they had another strong 2C you could run them together more after but prior to the last couple games I think Knobbers utilization of McDrai has been perfect.

 

[TheOrangeDesk]

Oilers fans, doesn't it worry you that Knob started playing McDrai together again? I feel like it'd be in your best interest to have the team win while McDrai are on different lines to balance out the lineup and ice time as that is the recipe to win in the playoffs.

I imagine they will be split back up for the Vegas game after the break (the games when they were together were our 2 worst games) coach said he did it because team was looking stale. Bad habits creep in during winning streaks

 

[McPoyle]

An interesting thing about this 16 game streak. During it McDavid had his longest stretch without a multipoint game in his career (9 games). The Oilers have been winning games with contributuions up and down the line up, good defensive play, good special teams. Its hard to find any weakness with this roster right now.

During the streak this is the Oilers offensive producers:

McDavid 9-17-26

Draisaitl 10-13-23

Hyman 12-5-17

Foegele 6-9-15

RNH 5-10-15

McLeod 7-5-12

Bouchard 3-8-11

Ekholm 0-8-8

Kane 3-4-7

Nurse 1-6-7

 

[Kerberos]

Oilers fans, doesn't it worry you that Knob started playing McDrai together again? I feel like it'd be in your best interest to have the team win while McDrai are on different lines to balance out the lineup and ice time as that is the recipe to win in the playoffs.

No. They've only been together the past 2 games during this extended run. A little bit of rust but our first line had gone extremely quiet and a shakeup was needed.

The 2nd (Foegele, RNH, Kane) and 3rd (Holloway, McLeod, Perry) lines are showing signs of chemistry too so it's worked for the most part during this small sample size... sure Knoblauch isn't going to stick with it however.

 

[Cup or Bust]

Win or lose at this point, how the Oilers are playing is what matter, the win streak is fun and helps make up for the terrible start but it means absolutely nothing. The 24 wins in 27 games and how much better defensively they have been and how they have been able to make adjustments to different game situations is what matters after the horrific start. What matters is the long term results and getting ready for the playoffs. 2 or 3 seasons ago having a great regular season or having a 16 game winning streak might matter to the Oilers and their fans but not now. Oiler haters are certainly triggered by the winning streak, they care about it far more as is shown by how much effort they put into telling Oilers fans that half the league is crap teams and easy wins.

 

[russ99]

No one expects the Oilers to never lose. That was not the point of my post at all. The point was that their play has been better for a lot longer than people seem to think. Of course, injuries could make a huge difference. But what team does that not apply to?

Similarly with your comment on the playoffs. But its not like the Oilers have not made gains in this regard. They went to the conference finals in 2022 then lost to a real juggernaut. That Avs team was completely stacked. The Oilers also played them with Draisaitl on one leg and Nurse playing with a torn hip flexor. So injury's do matter. But even with those two healthy the Oilers were not going to win that series.

The narrative seems to be that Vegas dominated the Oilers. That simply is not true. That series went 6 games and if not for a 3 minute stretch in game 5 it could easily have gone the other way. I'd argue that the current version the Oilers is a better team than the one that lost to Vegas. Would it be good enough to have won that series? We will never know. But its not like that would have been an impossibility.

Adding Ekholm was a major improvement since the Avs' series where the Oilers definitely needed it. Outside of the start of this season, where he was obviously still hurt after having missed the whole pre-season with an injury, he has been fantastic. But as I said he means more than just his own play. His impact on the rest of the defense is significant.

The Oilers went into this season as serious contenders. Their play in the first 12 games was shocking. But they are now playing like the team people expected to see. Does that mean that they will sail to an easy cup win. No. There is not a single team in this league that could not be beat in the first round. And that is a real possibility for the Oilers if they are not on their game. Would it be a major shock if Vancouver or Winnipeg or Colorado or Vegas or Dallas lost in round one given that there really no dominant teams in the league right now?

I am an old man. I was a STH with the Oilers through the 80's. That team as great as it was had to learn to win. So does this version of the Oilers. Lessons from the last few years can help them do that. We will see if that is the case.

This narrative that the Vegas series was close is incorrect. Bruce Cassidy took Woodcroft to school with rolling 4 lines and 3 pairings and line matched to get a significant advantage, and Woodcroft shortened his bench and overplayed McDrai. Also they took advantage of holes in the Oilers system to get wide open chances in the crease.

We'll see if Knoblauch fares better this year.

 

[Kerberos]

Yeah, you're proving my point about how easy Edmonton's schedule has been.

Playing Toronto was probably our easiest game of the streak, honestly. Only team that really folded over and got dominated to that extent.

The shift where we scored the GWG by pinning Matthews & Marner in and exposing their terrible defensive play sums up the issues with your team pretty well.

 

[Coffey]

An interesting thing about this 16 game streak. During it McDavid had his longest stretch without a multipoint game in his career (9 games). The Oilers have been winning games with contributuions up and down the line up, good defensive play, good special teams. Its hard to find any weakness with this roster right now.

During the streak this is the Oilers offensive producers:

McDavid 9-17-26

Draisaitl 10-13-23

Hyman 12-5-17

Foegele 6-9-15

RNH 5-10-15

McLeod 7-5-12

Bouchard 3-8-11

Ekholm 0-8-8

Kane 3-4-7

Nurse 1-6-7

So what you're saying is... CARRIED BY MCDAVID AND DRAISAITL

 

[FiveFourteenSixOne]

No one expects the Oilers to never lose. That was not the point of my post at all. The point was that their play has been better for a lot longer than people seem to think. Of course, injuries could make a huge difference. But what team does that not apply to?

Similarly with your comment on the playoffs. But its not like the Oilers have not made gains in this regard. They went to the conference finals in 2022 then lost to a real juggernaut. That Avs team was completely stacked. The Oilers also played them with Draisaitl on one leg and Nurse playing with a torn hip flexor. So injury's do matter. But even with those two healthy the Oilers were not going to win that series.

The narrative seems to be that Vegas dominated the Oilers. That simply is not true. That series went 6 games and if not for a 3 minute stretch in game 5 it could easily have gone the other way. I'd argue that the current version the Oilers is a better team than the one that lost to Vegas. Would it be good enough to have won that series? We will never know. But its not like that would have been an impossibility.

Adding Ekholm was a major improvement since the Avs' series where the Oilers definitely needed it. Outside of the start of this season, where he was obviously still hurt after having missed the whole pre-season with an injury, he has been fantastic. But as I said he means more than just his own play. His impact on the rest of the defense is significant.

The Oilers went into this season as serious contenders. Their play in the first 12 games was shocking. But they are now playing like the team people expected to see. Does that mean that they will sail to an easy cup win. No. There is not a single team in this league that could not be beat in the first round. And that is a real possibility for the Oilers if they are not on their game. Would it be a major shock if Vancouver or Winnipeg or Colorado or Vegas or Dallas lost in round one given that there really no dominant teams in the league right now?

I am an old man. I was a STH with the Oilers through the 80's. That team as great as it was had to learn to win. So does this version of the Oilers. Lessons from the last few years can help them do that. We will see if that is the case.

Not to mention, the Oilers outplayed Vegas the entire series. Adin Hill standing on his head, and Skinner playing terrible is the reason VGK won. Credit to them for sure, but there's no way in hell anyone, especially Vegas could have expected Hill to get as hot as he did. If they did, he wouldn't have been their 3rd option in net when entering the playoffs.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

This narrative that the Vegas series was close is incorrect. Bruce Cassidy took Woodcroft to school with rolling 4 lines and 3 pairings and line matched to get a significant advantage, and Woodcroft shortened his bench and overplayed McDrai. Also they took advantage of holes in the Oilers system to get wide open chances in the crease.

We'll see if Knoblauch fares better this year.

That and Eichel absolutely brutalized Nick Bjugstad, who Woodcroft kept throwing out against him to horrible results. The one guy on the Oilers that really shut down Eichel was Ryan McLeod.

Oilers fans, doesn't it worry you that Knob started playing McDrai together again? I feel like it'd be in your best interest to have the team win while McDrai are on different lines to balance out the lineup and ice time as that is the recipe to win in the playoffs.

Not really no. Things were getting a little stale and we didn't have a very good game against CBJ. Knob's just trying to find a spark. Shouldn't have any problem getting fired up for the Golden Knights after the break, though.

 

[Paralyzer]

That and Eichel absolutely brutalized Nick Bjugstad, who Woodcroft kept throwing out against him to horrible results. The one guy on the Oilers that really shut down Eichel was Ryan McLeod.


Not really no. Things were getting a little stale and we didn't have a very good game against CBJ. Knob's just trying to find a spark. Shouldn't have any problem getting fired up for the Golden Knights after the break, though.

That is key IMO. Oilers are not playing hockey for 9 days straight, and they will be itching to play again, especially when they know it's against Vegas of all teams. I think playing McDrai together is good as long as it's not used in a panic move. And Knob didn't do that with this win streak. I really think he anticipates we will lose eventually, but with how hot we are playing, it doesn't hurt to mix things up a little bit once in a while, so long as it doesn't disrupt the chemistry (And Knob is HUGE into keeping that Chemistry)

 

[ManofSteel55]

oliers fans thinking oilers will continue this torrid pace when they face real teams coming up and the playoffs lol.

Its a good thing the Oilers played ECHL teams and the rest of the league only played top 5 teams in their past 16 games.

The Oilers have been facing real teams. They've been facing some bad teams as well, but 6 of the 16 were against playoff teams, and before this streak, they had another as well, and we played playoff teams then as well. In the time of our current streak, all of the top teams have lost at least one game to a non-playoff team at some point.

Oilers fans, doesn't it worry you that Knob started playing McDrai together again? I feel like it'd be in your best interest to have the team win while McDrai are on different lines to balance out the lineup and ice time as that is the recipe to win in the playoffs.

No, because Knoblauch has shown that he isn't going to keep his lines stagnant. He moves things around. If he just goes back to that as his go-to combination all of the time I would be concerned, but I think he has shown that he will do what is working until he needs to do something else. That's a breath of fresh air.

 

[BurnabyJoe7]

oliers fans thinking oilers will continue this torrid pace when they face real teams coming up and the playoffs lol.


progress isnt continous or linear- if anything they obv will start losing games, playoffs are another animal as well as injuries trades etc. you just cannot know. howd boston do last year?

The Leafs were one of the teams they beat on this streak so at least we can agree the Leafs aren't a real team. They've proven over the last half decade they also aren't a threat come playoffs.

 

[Brookbank]

But in the end, it doesn't even matter.

Why not. Get Skinner some help. Its cruel not to.

 

[AnInjuredJasonZucker]

Why not. Get Skinner some help. Its cruel not to.

Perhaps it's because I've become so numb.

 

[mkatcherin00]

Why not. Get Skinner some help. Its cruel not to.

Is the deadline tonight? They will probably get him some help so he does not play more than 60sh games. I think he will play a tad more.

Edmonton has 8 back to backs coming up.

 

[mkatcherin00]

Oilers fans, doesn't it worry you that Knob started playing McDrai together again? I feel like it'd be in your best interest to have the team win while McDrai are on different lines to balance out the lineup and ice time as that is the recipe to win in the playoffs.

He tried playing them together because things were looking stale recently offensively. Under Woody, they had almost 700 min together. Under Knob, less than 100 minutes. They play together at the end of PK's for the most part.

I don't expect it to continue

Not going to get high and mighty over the 16 games winning streak or the bad start. Over an 82 game season things have away of balancing out. I will wait to see how they do against the heavy weights, like Vegas, Avs and a few others.

Exactly. Oiler fans are smart. We obviously know a season has Ebs and flows. Having a sub 2GAA is not sustainable or a 930+ save %, unless your are Helly lol.

If they keep playing the way they are, and play responsible, they will win more than they lose. That's all that you can ask.

I believe Edmonton has been "outplayed" in 2 games during this streak. CHI and NSH. Especially nashville, Oilers had some missed tap ins, but Nashville also had a lot of chancs. It's rare for Edmonton to be on the lower end of High danger scoring chances.

People also do not give any respect to teams trying to end this streak. They are playing like a playoff game against us. I have been impressed with these "weaker" teams and their effort.

I look forward to facing tougher teams and seeing how much the #'s "fall off", because they will.

 

[Coffey]

Ebs and flows

 

[Fourier]

This narrative that the Vegas series was close is incorrect. Bruce Cassidy took Woodcroft to school with rolling 4 lines and 3 pairings and line matched to get a significant advantage, and Woodcroft shortened his bench and overplayed McDrai. Also they took advantage of holes in the Oilers system to get wide open chances in the crease.

We'll see if Knoblauch fares better this year.

The series was tied 2-2 after 4 games with the Oilers up 2-1 and in control of game 5 into the second. Then Vegas scored 3 goals in a little over a minute and won the game 4-3. If Nurse had not made the boneheaded decision to fight in the last couple of minutes of Game 4 the outcome could well have been different.

Even with Wodcroft's stubbornness, Vegas had one line that did virtually all the damage 5 vs 5. The Eichel line had 7 5 vs 5 goals for vs 1 against though the xGF% was only 58%. Their success was almost explicitly due to breakdowns in the man to man defense. The Oilers dominated Vegas' second line (xGF% 32%) and often their 4th line. They also gave AP's pairing fits. Hill stood on his head for a good part of the series while one would be hard pressed to say that the Oilers got the same.

 

[Washed Up 29YearOld]

This thread was so much more active and entertaining with the “ cup or bust” headline when the trolls came in droves to kick Oilers fans down on the ground. Good times.