Post-Game Talk: Oilers are good at shootouts now?

[McTonyBrar]

This thread lol. Which goals were on Skinner?

Third one

 

[Cloned]

Good post game interview with Ekholm. He's always pretty direct and shares some early-ish impressions of Coffey's coaching and who's hiring has been controversial.

Credit too to Mark Stuart for a rejuvenated PK which has been great. And a missed game shoutout to Janmark who's steady two-way game I love. Buzzed the blue paint for a big goal and solid support on a buzzing McDavid led line. Very solid PK work getting in lanes and using his anticipation to turnover pucks.

Coffey coaches like Sather did.

 

[TheNumber4]

Ekholms comments on what Coffey has been preaching to the defence are quite illuminating. I like what I’m hearing with Coffey always preaching for the D-men to make a play, avoid dump ins, don’t make your forwards have to chip and chase, serve your forwards and set them up to use their elite talent. I think we are seeing it in spades when we hem teams in their half of the ice very consistently now, probably more than I’ve ever seen an Oilers team be able to do.

Also, Ekholms leadership and hockey smarts are very apparent in this interview. I bet he has a very important voice in the room. Well worth his cap hit and then some considering the total package we are getting.

 

[snag]

Ekholms comments on what Coffey has been preaching to the defence are quite illuminating. I like what I’m hearing with Coffey always preaching for the D-men to make a play, avoid dump ins, don’t make your forwards have to chip and chase, serve your forwards and set them up to use their elite talent. I think we are seeing it in spades when we hem teams in their half of the ice very consistently now, probably more than I’ve ever seen an Oilers team be able to do.

Also, Ekholms leadership and hockey smarts are very apparent in this interview. I bet he has a very important voice in the room. Well worth his cap hit and then some considering the total package we are getting.

I detest dump and chase. Just like I hate giving up solid posession for a line change only to piss the energy away retrieving.

 

[subnet]

Haven’t read through all the comments in this thread yet. Here goes mine

We were solid. Great play for most of the game. The first 2 periods I wasn’t even clenching when they had a shot on goal, unlike many, many games this year. We DOMINATED them.

Then our #1 goalie decided he was an ECHL-level Backup. No great saves when we needed it the most. Typical as of late. Unfortunate as well.

OH - and the Ref’s SUCKED. I guess it’s OK to pick one of our players, but not them. Apparently, it’s OK to grab the stick of our best player and not call it because…

So it went to overtime and then shootout. Meh. We DESERVED to win but we almost didn’t.

We NEED a #1 goalie at or before the trade deadline. McCloud, Mccleod, McClowd needs to grow a set of balls. So disappointed. Having him and the other Conner was comical in Overtime. Like really expecting them to score In an actual game?

I’ve believed in them to make the playoffs for a number of weeks now. I‘m not the only one (shout out to @Drivesaitl). We are too good to miss. I really do believe.

There’s no where to go but up - we are too good to miss. Yeah, we have a LOT to overcome to make it, but thankfully we are in a crap division and we still have the talent and time to make it.

That being said, who can we realistically get as a #1 goalie? I don’t care losing picks or players - we need something or we’ll be out early if not before the playoffs.

 

[TKB21]

Yep he's never made a hard save ever.

This isn't recency bias, it's just bias. Again I ask, did he burn down your garage or something?

This isn't a logical analysis and has no basis in fact. This is just pure emotion.

We need a real goalie and we need one now. Arguing over what piece of shit smells a little better is comical. Skinner? Campbell, Pickard? Doesn’t matter who’s in net, it won’t be good enough if this team has aspirations of doing anything.

 

[oilers4life5]

refs are complete trash. That is all.

 

[Ol' Jase]

Thank Christ this game went into OT, because the way the Oilers played tonight, this would be a two page PGT.

Fourth line was very, very good tonight.

 

[M Ace]

Will take the 2 points but it's becoming obvious that in a 7 game series against a team like Vegas or Colorado, you're not winning with Skinner in net. He's not going to deliver the big save when the team needs it.

Thought he made at least 4-5 big saves. I think people is blinded and don't look at this shit defence we got. Espacially poor backchecking by our forwards and keeping the slot clean by the weak defencemen...

It’s sad we‘ll give Campbell another look before Rodrigue. Give a young tendy the chance

The young tendy is blocked by Jacky down there. He hasn't played a game in over a month....

 

[M Ace]

I mean we just had an argument where you thought sending Campbell down was a mistake, and now you're a proponent of sitting Skinner in the biggest game of the season, after a decent stretch of games for him.

I don't disagree that the Oilers don't really have a good goalie right now. Skinner is up and down at best over the last ten, and Campbell can't get it going in the minors let alone the NHL. But until a move for a goalie opens up, you have to try to get Skinner going, as he's the best goalie in the system based on NHL results over the last year and a half. You can hate him all you want, but that is a fact.

A move for a goalie won't be possible until the Oilers are back in a good spot and no longer desperate. I think they're good enough to do it with Skinner (and hopefully Campbell at some point).

Spot on and STILL he was a Calder finalist last year.....

 

[DethOfDragnz]

Glad we got the win. Shootouts are always a crap shoot. Even the worst team in the league has a shot of winning in the shootout. It's more luck then skill imo but I still like the shootouts in the regular season, Ties are BS and I am glad they are gone.

 

[tardigrade81]

Came here to let you all know we won last night

Apparently a couple of you know already.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Came here to let you all know we won last night

Apparently a couple of you know already.

Won and played damn well.

 

[Fourier]

Coffey coaches like Sather did.

Ekholm is a beauty.

 

[McSuper]

Every point counts baby

True but you can't be giving divisional teams a free point. Team should've won in regulation

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

True but you can't be giving divisional teams a free point. Team should've won in regulation

Without question, but there are nonsense reason that didn't happen.

 

[Sra1974]

True but you can't be giving divisional teams a free point. Team should've won in regulation

Normally this would be true, but there’s not really a scenario where we are battling it out with the Kinghts this season for position is there? Still would’ve been nice to close out an impressive win that way and shows how goaltending and defence need to still tidy up to prevent leakage like that.

What we saw ws also vintage Knight, they do not go away. Oilers fan should know that by now.

 

[Ninety7]

That defensive play by ekholm on Eichel in the first period was a thing of beauty

Completely manhandled him off the puck negating a grade A scoring chance.

 

[Heavy Dee]

Sorry but Skinner converted a game that we win 90% of the time with even ordinary goaltending and turned it into OT.

like others have said Vegas had as many goals as legit scoring chances in game. Fortunately most of the time the Knights missed the net on better chances.

Really the Vegas offense has been so putrid its absolutely amazing for them to get 4 goals. its tonic for them. Opponents should pay the Oilers to start Skinner.

I often look at Natural stat trick to see if the numbers support what my eyes are seeing.

Vegas had 5 high danger chances and got 4 goals. Oilers 4 on 9. The slant is always the same when Skinner plays. Everyone can check it out for themselves.

We need a goalie.

 

[brentashton]

I often look at Natural stat trick to see if the numbers support what my eyes are seeing.

Vegas had 5 high danger chances and got 4 goals. Oilers 4 on 9. The slant is always the same when Skinner plays. Everyone can check it out for themselves.

We need a goalie.

He is an average back up at best. Problem is the team has no one else right now so everytime he makes a save or gets the win he morphs into being Georges Vezina is some posters’ minds.

This team desperately needs a 1A goalie and coaches until then you can’t play Skinner in b2bs or 3 in succession. He simply sags too much.

 

[The Panther]

Watched this one at my office in Tokyo. Some thoughts:

-- The Oilers were clearly the better team and deserved the win. As I see it, the final score was: Vegas 2, Vegas-Refs 2, Oilers 5. Look, I do NOT single out the refs for blame (I think I have once in my history on this forum), but what the F is up with the refereeing every time the Oil play Vegas? This is seriously getting to be a thing. We all remember last spring's imagined call by the back referee on Broberg, from 175 feet away---which the replay showed was nothing---that led to the series-turning PP goal by Vegas. This game was more of that. At least two Oilers' penalties were complete fabrications, and the 4-4 goal by Vegas should never have existed because the near-ref---staring at the play from 18 feet away---refused to call a penalty when the Vegas D attacked McDavid and pulled the stick from his hands about 30 seconds earlier. That was the second-most egregious non-call of the current era (#1 being that non-call when Ovechkin attacked McDavid with the open net). The League should really be ashamed of this kind of thing. The NHL-level refs cannot be "game managing" and cannot be inventing calls of things they clearly didn't see.

-- Stu was okay. Really only 1 goal was a bit of a stinker. But I'm a little concerned with the direction of his rebounds. In this game, too many rebounds flying straight out into the slot. Needs to clean that up.

-- Janmark was noticeable in his increased ice-time and was a factor.

-- Nurse was awesome. He has been really, really good since the coaching change. This is a positive development.

-- Eckholm was awesome again and appears to be back from whatever was ailing him before.

-- Ceci was great.

-- I can't help liking Desharnais, but I wish he would stop making the little danger-passes inside his own zone. He has a tendency to do hot-potato passes to teammates in his own zone. Sometimes he needs to hold the biscuit a bit longer. But I like his safe outlet passes.

-- I am still wondering what Brown and McLeod were doing out there in overtime. I guess the coaches were just hoping they'd prevent Vegas from scoring.

It was a fun game, but a drag that those late, somewhat flukey goals went in to tie it. Still, we'll all take 2 points now any way we can get them!

 

[McDNicks17]

I often look at Natural stat trick to see if the numbers support what my eyes are seeing.

Vegas had 5 high danger chances and got 4 goals. Oilers 4 on 9. The slant is always the same when Skinner plays. Everyone can check it out for themselves.

We need a goalie.

Even going back to Nov. 11th where Skinner has put together a decent stretch of wins, he's still has one of the worst high danger save percentages in the league.

The team has done really well at reducing high danger chances under Knoblauch, but it doesn't really matter how few you give up when your goalie still lets in half of them.

 

[FunkyChicken]

Type of game that could destroy a teams psyche but the Oilers showed resilience when it was tied and came out with the win.
Very good sign.

 

[HockeyGuy1964]

Who cares if they played the night before. That is such an over used excuse if you lose,especially this early in the year when you're fresh and all the luxury player have now. Plus they should be extra mad and pissed they lost last night and play better tonight.

I'm guessing Vegas being on a back to back & the third game in 4 nights while the Oilers were at home waiting for them is also a nothing burger.

The Oilers won, like they should have, but this was one of those schedule losses for Vegas.

 

[bucks_oil]

I remember you saying that you played goalie, so your perspective is always a breath of fresh air and interesting.

Always loved your avatar. I had that game for Genesis when Messier was on the Oilers. They actually showed highlites of other games in between periods. They can't even do that now lol. Had every EA NHL game until about NHL 19 I think. I just let my nephew take my Xbox and never bought another one.

Haha... a gaming magazine advertising that game, sometime in early summer of 1991 is what prompted my lazy ass to get my first job at McDonalds so that I could afford to buy the game (and the Genesis to go with it).

And play goalie... I still play though I am now reaching the intersection of two opposing vectors, physical age vs experience & learning.

That's why I'm quick to defend (also quick to criticize)... for me the position is about tactical precision. So I criticize errors, because errors are what I can see as a goalie-fan. If it's possible or likely that a screen happened, then it's possible or likely that he didn't see it. Next question is did he create a screen for himself by poor positioning or failing to fight past the screen (either physically, or moving his head to find a sight line). If the answer is no, and on the third goal, it's no... then I'll give the benefit of the doubt.

In my opinion many goals include a goalie error, and to my eye, that includes many goals that fans forgive or don't even worry about. I often (any goalie really, not "me") will see mistakes that a non-goalie wouldn't always pick up. Smith for example was classic for TERRIBLE positioning and shrinking back to the goal line... relying only on his size when he should be relying on both his size AND his mobility (which would limit the back-door-angle risk of him playing too far out... his skating would let him cover the distance)... instead, and this was a classic "on Smith" goal, if there were a rush chance with a hard shot pass forward into the slot, you'd see Smith cowering on his goal line rather than challenging on the top of his crease. Then the tip/shot of that shot-pass would go top corner and nobody would give a peep... meanwhile I'm screaming at my TV that it could have been right into his breadbasket if he was in position.

And of course many goals do not, including many that "look terrible" to someone who didn't play the position - for example a classic seven hole shot from a good shooter in a good position... the goalie almost gets it, but it squeaks through. Some of those goals happen to the best goalies, because those goalies are also facing the best shooters.

Also... don't mistake my defense of Skinner on a goal, for my defense of Skinner as a whole. I am not convinced he's an NHL goalie, but it's not because of a goal like last night... it's because his positioning is above average, but not above average enough to compensate for average mobility and below average reflexes.

He'll be fine as a backup (for somebody), because he generally, generally stops the shots you are supposed to and plays a steady game... but the game has too many errors in it and too few unique physical attributes (other than size) that allow him to compensate for the errors.

And having said that, he could be a great starter if you gave him a few more god-given ticks in the physical (reflexes, speed) category, but that stuff is hard to work on, so his upside is limited for me. If he had that stuff he'd be Hellebyuck (sp).

And finally... if and when we have a steady starter, I almost prefer my backups to be erratic and "exciting"... more in the Campbell mode, because if they only play every 3-4 games, you want a guy that can pump you up with a huge, unexpected save... not a robotic guy who will bore you to tears and never be as good as your starter due to his limitations. But this is a personal preference, both can be fine