Post-Game Talk: Oilers Lose 4-3, Florida Up 3-0, The Usual Suspects Keep Handicapping Us

[Stoneman89]

Well every team goes some stretch of games with a dry PP, I mean shit we shut down Vancouver and Dallas' PPs for like longer than that.

You can't just win games one way (McDrai + PP your way to a win), you have to have some games where your depth scoring wins you a game in a series, have a game where your goalie wins you one, etc. etc.

No comparison with our PP to the teams you suggested. Ours has been historically lethal. Of course, you need other things to happen to help, but when your main weapon is not producing, that's a problem. A big problem.

 

[belair]

It's almost as if there's different degrees of injured that affect different players differently.

It's pointless to discuss though. Unless you're fine using it as the reasoning for the team's underperformance. They ran out of gas? OK. But the end result is still them losing the battles that matter.

 

[bellagiobob]

They didn’t figure anything out. Leon is injured and his one timer is a muffin right now.

He looked pretty good the last few games against Dallas. Then suddenly has turned to crap against Fla. Not sure why every time Drai plays poorly it’s because he has to be injured. Not saying he isn’t banged up, everyone is. But his injury likely didn’t get worse with the rest between the series. He’s just playing like crap right now.

 

[TheNumber4]

I agree with most of your comments, but will play a bit of devil's advocate here. If a goalie somehow makes a couple big saves and keeps the game scoreless, it certainly can change the mindset of the other team, and perhaps open the door to scoring success the other way.


If the PP was producing, no one would be talking about the 5X5 results. In a lot of other games, their even up play has not been great, maybe even just treading water. But their success is built on the PP (and PKing these playoffs), that is their mojo.

It can. Maybe. Or maybe it won’t. It’s stuff we can’t know without reading minds. What we do know is that 0 goals doesn’t win you that game. I don’t think there’s an argument that can be made that a goal or two against is enough to hurt our confidence enough to where we can’t score a single goal.

 

[Soundwave]

No comparison with our PP to the teams you suggested. Ours has been historically lethal. Of course, you need other things to happen to help, but when your main weapon is not producing, that's a problem. A big problem.

We had good 5 on 5 scoring two years ago in the playoffs when Kane put up a boat load of goals.

Since then the last two playoffs we've had to rely more on the PP because we don't have the goods on the wing for our centers to play with. McDavid gets the wingers and Leon generally gets shit which means basically you have a 1 line team 5 on 5.

But this org knew full well Kane had a sports hernia on top of the issues with his hand going into the trade deadline, they did nothing about it really or made the bet that Henrqiue and Brown would be the answers for secondary scoring.

 

[Little Fury]

It's pointless to discuss though. Unless you're fine using it as the reasoning for the team's underperformance. They ran out of gas? OK. But the end result is still them losing the battles that matter.

Yes, that woulld be an explanation, then, and not an "excuse" as you called it.

"Ok sur ethe planes wings both fell off but that sounds like an excuse for why it crashed."

 

[belair]

I get that, but we are what we are, and the special teams are what define us during this run. When what you do best is snuffed out, or you cannot produce results, then there is a problem.

I don't buy that. The Henrique and Ekholm adds suggest the team sees the importance of the even strength war. For this team to improve year over year, they need to move further and further away from that overreliance of the PP and build on the bottom six depth to continue to take the load off of that already overtaxed top six.

Moving from Woodcroft to Knoblauch improved the team in that regard as well.

No question the team will struggle if the well runs dry on your special teams. But you need to find ways to generate goals.

 

[belair]

Yes, that woulld be an explanation, then, and not an "excuse" as you called it.

"Ok sur ethe planes wings both fell off but that sounds like an excuse for why it crashed."

Were they not injured in the last series, or the series before that, or the series before that?

I'll subscribe to the opinion that everyone's hurt in one way or another at this time of the year. Championship rosters are built to withstand those challenges.

This is the team that's had the greatest depth of all teams in the McDavid era. I don't think anyone expected 97, 93, 29, 18 and 2 to have zeroes in the goal column through three games. Not a surprise they're down 3-0 knowing that.

 

[Drivesaitl]

He looked pretty good the last few games against Dallas. Then suddenly has turned to crap against Fla. Not sure why every time Drai plays poorly it’s because he has to be injured. Not saying he isn’t banged up, everyone is. But his injury likely didn’t get worse with the rest between the series. He’s just playing like crap right now.

Drai was getting nothing the last two games against Dallas and this has just continued into this series. Drai last scored a goal in game 4 of the Dallas series. A longwhile ago. He's barely been able to take faceoffs for weeks. he has to cheat to try to win and gets thrown out a lot due to it. Normally he's good on faceoffs.

Oilers fans will find out the myriad injuries the club has been playing through at seasons end.

 

[Drivesaitl]

It was the opposite. You were actually kind of annoying during your love fest for the Dallas Stars. lol

Fair enough. I like the club and the coach. I tried to tone it down. Apparently not enough

That said I was trash talking Pavelski, Tanev, and others constantly. Dallas had some passengers.

Maybe my flame the opposition posts were not up to usual standard. heh

 

[Frank the Tank]

I see certain Canucks fans are back in regular season form handing out troll likes. Guess that's how one knows that the Oilers beating their team when it matters still stings.

 

[Frank the Tank]

Drai was getting nothing the last two games against Dallas and this has just continued into this series. Drai last scored a goal in game 4 of the Dallas series. A longwhile ago. He's barely been able to take faceoffs for weeks. he has to cheat to try to win and gets thrown out a lot due to it. Normally he's good on faceoffs.

Oilers fans will find out the myriad injuries the club has been playing through at seasons end.

Yeah, it's definitely injuries adding up for Draisaitl. It just sucks that we've seen him absolutely dominate early in the past 3 playoffs followed by him fading. He becomes a target of hacking, tackling, and slewfoots by opposing teams to the point where he gets banged up and struggles in the later rounds. The refs don't call anything because he's a big guy that tries to fight through the crap.

 

[JeffSkinner53]

I made this in 6 mins sorry if it sucks

Hitler reacts to oilers going down 3-0 in the cup finals

Hitler reacts to the oilers devastating game 3 loss on home ice

www.captiongenerator.com

 

[jesusbuiltmyhotrod]

Hmm thinking about it. I’m not sure if they do. Atleast in these playoffs, we’ve seen some pretty horrific starts turn into solid games after. I’d have to look into it though, but generally I think we’re a team who can overcome on bad goal or bad defensive mistake and keep on playing our game.


It’s been implied that Skinner is the reason we are down 3-0. So it kinda what some are saying.

Need to see receipts on this not seen anyone say this. Two things can be true....

 

[Drivesaitl]

I made this in 6 mins sorry if it sucks

Hitler reacts to oilers going down 3-0 in the cup finals

Hitler reacts to the oilers devastating game 3 loss on home ice

www.captiongenerator.com

Does he rant about Skinner at all?

 

[TheNumber4]

Need to see receipts on this not seen anyone say this. Two things can be true....

Yea both things can be true. Only one is though in this case. Receipts are in the past 5 pages. If those posters didn’t mean this, I’m open to a clarification if they’d like to provide it.

 

[WaitingForUser]

I see certain Canucks fans are back in regular season form handing out troll likes. Guess that's how one knows that the Oilers beating their team when it matters still stings.

It’s even worse on FB they all are screaming that they would be in the final if Demko and Boesser were in game 7

 

[WaitingForUser]

Yea both things can be true. Only one is though in this case. Receipts are in the past 5 pages. If those posters didn’t mean this, I’m open to a clarification if they’d like to provide it.

I missed where the original post was but I believe you were asking about collapses after soft goals this playoffs. It happened twice in the Canucks series game 1 and Game 4 and once against the Stars in I believe game 2. It does seem the team still can’t help but shoot itself in the foot after a bad goal over and over.

 

[cruisecity]

We could have used some guys like Kostin and Bjugstad in this series, that's for sure.

 

[TheNumber4]

I missed where the original post was but I believe you were asking about collapses after soft goals this playoffs. It happened twice in the Canucks series game 1 and Game 4 and once against the Stars in I believe game 2. It does seem the team still can’t help but shoot itself in the foot after a bad goal over and over.

Interesting, and not saying you are wrong. But to look into this, can you point to the bad goals in those games you’ve specified. I seem to remember us controlling Game 2 in Dallas for the most part and throughout that game, no goal against killed our momentum in that one.

 

[WaitingForUser]

Interesting, and not saying you are wrong. But to look into this, can you point to the bad goals in those games you’ve specified. I seem to remember us controlling Game 2 in Dallas for the most part and throughout that game, no goal against killed our momentum in that one.

I will have to look into it I know game one Van is right for sure as well as game 5 but Dallas might not be game 2

 

[Oilhawks]

Got another troll liker in "Leon Crysaitl" (must be a twelve year old), 'Panthers' fan (probably some Flames or Canucks fan bandwagoning like a sad person).

Of course, hiding their profile so you can't report their troll likes

 

[sepHF]

Got another troll liker in "Leon Crysaitl" (must be a twelve year old), 'Panthers' fan (probably some Flames or Canucks fan bandwagoning like a sad person).

Of course, hiding their profile so you can't report their troll likes

lets be honest, its a Nucks fan forsure

he probably had a Dallas logo a week ago

 

[Mr Positive]

Our PP could still turn it around

The perpetual mistakes are killing us. We could clean that up

A lot has to turn around for us to win this series, so the odds aren't great. I still think we have the players to do it. I'm not doing a post mortem until it's over

 

[belair]

They've had multiple breakaway opportunities and odd man rushes where they couldn't solve Bob. The chances we do get get stopped, the chances they get go in.

What you're talking about sounds more like their issues on the power play, which has been the bigger drag than 5v5 play IMO.

No I'm saying your claim they are losing the 5v5 battle isn't true, not that it's not a prerequisite. They've been the better 5v5 team 2/3 games.

I get that you're talking about the 'Deserves to win' stats, but I'll continue to argue that our high quality chances have not been remotely the same quality as the uncontested shots we've seen from Florida.

McDavid's looks have been either rushed, from the outside or simply missed shots. Draisaitl's shots have come from where they normally do and they just don't seem to be up to his standard. RNH has hit a couple crossbars, but other than that he just hasn't been a threat. Neither has Hyman.

Tarasenko goal.

Boop. No coverage, time to aim, top corner.

Barkov's goal.

Bad pinch. 2v1. Tons of time to locate shot. Boop. Goal.

Bennett's goal

Double pressure, forced turnover. 2v1. Uncontested shot. Goal.

These are looks that our guys just aren't getting with frequency. And these are miscues that we aren't seeing from Florida's D.

I don't think that we're paying a bad game either. We're approaching it honestly and our guys are regularly doing what it's going to take to score. But like McDavid has said, they have to to find ways to bury their chances.