Post-Game Talk: Oilers didn't get shut out vs. the BJs

[FlameChampion]

Neither is. Skinner is zero boxcars the last 6GP. I guess thats consistent in a way.

Team could view it as Arvid being better at give and go and cycle, unfortunately not the goal scoring..

Really I would try just about everything. Skinner should be getting better looks, but its reasonable to say that should be able to get anything done with Henrique as Center. Both being up to nothing doesn't speak well to any topnine plan.

Have to say I am surprised how ineffective Henrique has been. I was really happy he came back. But he’s been hit with the curse as well.

 

[Duke74]

I like Drai a lot and I know you know that. But McDavid is the straw that stirs this drink most nights, and Drai is the primary beneficiary of it. I dare say that without McDavid he's more of a point per game guy, around 80-85 points and the salary tops out at around 7 or 8. Saying that, McDavid certainly plays well with Drai, but you can put him with almost anyone and they'll produce. Pat Maroon and Alex Chiasson are 2 guys that would verify that.

I tend to agree with some of what you have said. I think that there were a few years, probably around 2019-2022, where Draisaitl was very productive without McDavid, when he could still put up points with Chiasson, Rieder, Kahun, Yamamoto and other scrubs at 5x5. Since that time, I think he's regressed into a guy that's become more dependent on McDavid and less able to produce with garbage, which is what a $14 mil/year player should be able to do. I don't know if it's age, some chronic injury, lack of confidence, complacency, or just a mental block, but I haven't seen the Hart-trophy winning Draisaitl for 2-3 years now. I'd love if he could return to that form, especially if McDavid misses any length of time.

 

[Gnome17]

Anyone else frustrated watching knoblach interviews. So monotone. No real emotion. Painful to watch. One of these days we are gonna get us a passionate coach with emotion

I wouldnt be shocked if atleast the thought of his old buddy Quenneville has crossed Bowmans mind.
If they keep sucking, watch out.

 

[Oilhawks]

Have to say I am surprised how ineffective Henrique has been. I was really happy he came back. But he’s been hit with the curse as well.

I wonder if they move him up to the 2C for now. I think it would be the right call. Give him some more talent and minutes to work with and I think we see his production increase. Could be wrong, but don't think he's ever been playing bottom 6 minutes until they traded for him

 

[K1984]

I wonder if they move him up to the 2C for now. I think it would be the right call. Give him some more talent and minutes to work with and I think we see his production increase. Could be wrong, but don't think he's even been playing bottom 6 minutes until they traded for him

Not to absolve Henrique's play because it hasn't been good enough, but I think a lot of the problems have stemmed from his two wingers play.

Brown is a few steps behind where he finished last year, kind of in concert with the rest of the forward group. Janmark on the other hand is miles behind where he finished last year, and he was the big pace driver on that line during the playoffs.

 

[Arpeggio]

I wonder if they move him up to the 2C for now. I think it would be the right call. Give him some more talent and minutes to work with and I think we see his production increase. Could be wrong, but don't think he's even been playing bottom 6 minutes until they traded for him

A line of Skinner - Henrique - Brown should be able to generate something. It's so frustrating. Henrique has been bad all year.

I think they should just run Henrique in McDavid's spot, see if he can produce with your best wingers.

 

[Oilhawks]

A line of Skinner - Henrique - Brown should be able to generate something. It's so frustrating. Henrique has been bad all year.

I think they should just run Henrique in McDavid's spot, see if he can produce with your best wingers.

I agree with @K1984, it's more the wingers than Henrique at the moment, IMO. To be fair, aside from the 2nd line unit, there weren't really any lines generating anything

 

[Drivesaitl]

Not to absolve Henrique's play because it hasn't been good enough, but I think a lot of the problems have stemmed from his two wingers play.

Brown is a few steps behind where he finished last year, kind of in concert with the rest of the forward group. Janmark on the other hand is miles behind where he finished last year, and he was the big pace driver on that line during the playoffs.

He's had Skinner for multiple games now. there is zero excuse for two vet players that are offensive players to not get a single thing done dropped into a third line against weaker opposition. Really this year it doesn't seem to matter who Henrique is playing with

 

[Zerotonine]

I wouldnt be shocked if atleast the thought of his old buddy Quenneville has crossed Bowmans mind.
If they keep sucking, watch out.

Qeuinville not happening let alone coaching change, this year anyways

 

[McDNicks17]

I think the biggest issue with Henrique is his usage. He's seeing some tough minutes because the top two lines are always given the offensive push. Like he's got a 15% ozone start vs. elite comp this year.

That and he has decent middle comp metrics, but then he's got a .700 onSV% when he's out there for that. Tough to get anything going when your goalie can't even make four saves without letting in a goal.

 

[ottawah]

I still don't see this. Ceci, Broberg and Desharnais were really that good? Ceci was rightfully a whipping boy his last two seasons here, Desharnais was press-boxed in the playoffs (and healthy scratched early with the Nucks) and Broberg didn't even play 90% of the games. Or are you referring to the team defense? If so, Foegele, Holloway and McLeod (the best defensively of the three but humiliated in the playoffs) made such a big difference in the defensive play of the team? Doubtful

This is on the forwards not giving a shit about the system and goaltending, full stop. You could put all three of those D back on this team and they'd have a similar record. The D being "bad" because they lost the 3 least impactful D from the team last year is a distraction, all due respect. It's flabbergasting to see so much digital ink spilled on it being the primary issue with the team.

It is a big issue. Complain on Ceci all you want, there is a reason he has been a #2/#3 D man most of his career, and very good GA/60 numbers to back that up. Dehairnais was not exactly great against the real high end competition (we saw that as the playoffs progressed), but he was a good defender and PKer in the regular season and only petered out at the end. If Broberg had not been so rested, Dehairnais would have been back in.

But its the little things. When you lose players that make small contributions in critical areas (team speed, defending, physicality) other players have to compensate for those new weaknesses, taking them out of the game they were playing last year. Nurse, as bad as he was last year now has to play with a guy on the waiver wire one year ago and a PTO player instead of a guy with a proven defensive track record? That puts more pressure on the third pairing when the shutdown pair falters badly, which is also downgraded, then causing the first pairing to try and do to much as the other pairs falter. That is not a recipe for success. For all the complaints on Foegle and McLoed (and even Holloway), that extra speed on the fore or back check can cause other teams to have to make decisions quicker, resulting is less than optimal plays.

The team is out of whack trying to figure out how to deal with those losses. They may seem unimportant, but the sheer number of them adds up. Yes, they are losing by larger numbers than those players mean, but a lot of that has seemed to be "giving up" after a bit of adversity. They won last year not by blowing people away with scoring, but by their defensive play and thats taken a major hit and the result is players are trying to compensate in areas they are just not good at.

for years the lament was on the weakness of D and the 3rd and 4th lines. no surprise when they take a hit, we are back to where we were 5 years ago ....

 

[Arpeggio]

I agree with @K1984, it's more the wingers than Henrique at the moment, IMO. To be fair, aside from the 2nd line unit, there weren't really any lines generating anything

All of Janmark, Henrique, Brown, Skinner, and Arvidsson have to get their collective heads out of their collective asses. I can't argue there.

 

[Spawn]

Have to say I am surprised how ineffective Henrique has been. I was really happy he came back. But he’s been hit with the curse as well.

Henrique to me looks exactly the same he did his entire time last season outside of the little stretch in the final round.

He’s ill equipped to be a 3rd liner with two waste of space players like Janmark and Brown. He doesn’t play with any pace and is sort of mediocre defensively.

I think he can have value here but I think he should be playing on the wing in the top 6 with one of Draisaitl (or McDavid once he’s healthy).

 

[K1984]

All of Janmark, Henrique, Brown, Skinner, and Arvidsson have to get their collective heads out of their collective asses. I can't argue there.

Add RNH, Hyman, Ryan, and Podkolzin to that list. Hell, add the whole forward roster.

Leon's been playing better lately, so I'll give him at least a temporary reprieve from this list. Perry is limited, but he's been doing whatever little things he can to contribute, so I won't list him here either.

Two. We currently have two forwards that can possibly be described as not an embarrassment, and even then that's a bit of a stretch.

 

[Arpeggio]

Add RNH, Hyman, Ryan, and Podkolzin to that list. Hell, add the whole forward roster.

Leon's been playing better lately, so I'll give him at least a temporary reprieve from this list. Perry is limited, but he's been doing whatever little things he can to contribute, so I won't list him here either.

Two. We currently have two forwards that can possibly be described as not an embarrassment, and even then that's a bit of a stretch.

No argument there. Skinner and Arvidsson both need to be contributing at a 40-50 point pace, and obviously Nuge and Hyman need to bring more, in order for the team to have any success this year. At least Skinner, Arvidsson, and Hyman make a few plays in the offensive zone. Would love to see an individual effort from Nuge at some point here.

 

[Stoneman89]

Arvidsson skates hard and competes hard, but contributes next to nothing offensively. Which isn't necessarily terrible if you're a 4th liner. But he gets top 6 minutes, and is on the 2nd PP unit for the limited time that they get. And there's also the little thing of taking up 4 million in cap room, but what's worse, if this crap continues, we have him for next year as well at the same terms. Good times.

 

[McDNicks17]

Henrique to me looks exactly the same he did his entire time last season outside of the little stretch in the final round.

He’s ill equipped to be a 3rd liner with two waste of space players like Janmark and Brown. He doesn’t play with any pace and is sort of mediocre defensively.

I think he can have value here but I think he should be playing on the wing in the top 6 with one of Draisaitl (or McDavid once he’s healthy).

I'd like to see Henrique on Drai's wing with Arvidsson or something and actually give them some D zone starts.

I'm so tired of seeing McDrai getting the diva treatment. You see a guy like Kucherov go out there against tough comp with tough D zone starts and he still dominates and makes things so much easier for the rest of the team. McDrai have the ability to do that too.

We'll probably never see any mojo from a bottom six that's just sent out there to kill some time in a defensive situation and let the top6 catch their breath for the next offensive one.