Post-Game Talk: Oilers play like an expansion team and lose.

[Louis Cypher]

I dont think I have ever seen a team where a multiple goal lead means so little. We need wins and soon or we are going to fall behind the playoff race. Starting to lose faith we will turn it around. It almost seems to be getting worse. Thats all I got today, See ya'll Thursday.

Vancouver has something to say about that.

 

[SnooPac]

On the positive side (I haven't read the thread, but assume there isn't much positivity), I thought this was great:

 

[Louis Cypher]

Exactly this... except he never will be.

I watched Broberg chase his man TO THE BLUELINE after a defensive draw TWICE, only to see guys in front of our net when the shot came from the point.... and they scored on one. Who could see this coming?

I didn't play D at a high level, so I have no idea if that's a thing, but I would LOSE MY $#!+ if any of my defenders ever did that.

Anybody play D? Is this something that you would ever do depending on the system? Am I absolutely crazy or is that such a HUGE lack of defensive IQ that he'll never be properly taught? I just don't see how that can happen at the NHL level (oh wait, Nurse did it 3 mins later).

I'm thinking he's Nurse 2.0 in terms of puck chasing, but without any of the redeeming physicality.

He should be on the plane to Phoenix with whatever else it takes TODAY.

Nurse does it all the time. Maybe it's coaching. I've seen other d do it too. It works if the forwards notice it and cover but they don't.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

On the positive side (I haven't read the thread, but assume there isn't much positivity), I thought this was great:

Gene continues to be the best thing the Oilers can offer.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Exactly this... except he never will be.

I watched Broberg chase his man TO THE BLUELINE after a defensive draw TWICE, only to see guys in front of our net when the shot came from the point.... and they scored on one. Who could see this coming?

I didn't play D at a high level, so I have no idea if that's a thing, but I would LOSE MY $#!+ if any of my defenders ever did that.

Anybody play D? Is this something that you would ever do depending on the system? Am I absolutely crazy or is that such a HUGE lack of defensive IQ that he'll never be properly taught? I just don't see how that can happen at the NHL level (oh wait, Nurse did it 3 mins later).

I'm thinking he's Nurse 2.0 in terms of puck chasing, but without any of the redeeming physicality.

He should be on the plane to Phoenix with whatever else it takes TODAY.

Thank you. I commented on the same thing. How is Bro chasing man high right off a faceoff and what is he doing there? These are clueless decisions. On another goal Kulak is doing the same thing.

I wouldn't drag Nurse into this one as he was +1 in a 5-2 loss and not on for any GA. Bouchard was awful, Broberg was awful, and Kulak was awful. Kulak was so bad he sunk the pairing with Barrie. At least Kulak acknowledge but he was responsible on the two Ga. In one instance Kulak loses his man behind him who scores, ironically while he's giving instruction to Barrie (lol) on the other Kulak is swimming high off a draw like a dead goldfish surfacing.

Its like I said though Broberg doesn't even resemble a D. He's a no contact wanderer. He has no offensive skills to speak of either. He shouldn't be anywhere near an NHL rink.

i have no idea which of our scouts were scouting Broberg or Samurokov but they should be fired into the sun. Neither can play a lick of D. We got a good asset for one of them. Time for the other to go.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Thank you. I commented on the same thing. How is Bro chasing man high right off a faceoff and what is he doing there? These are clueless decisions. On another goal Kulak is doing the same thing.

I wouldn't drag Nurse into this one as he was +1 in a 5-2 loss and not on for any GA. Bouchard was awful, Broberg was awful, and Kulak was awful. Kulak was so bad he sunk the pairing with Barrie. At least Kulak acknowledge but he was responsible on the two Ga. In one instance Kulak loses his man behind him who scores, ironically while he's giving instruction to Barrie (lol) on the other Kulak is swimming high off a draw like a dead goldfish surfacing.

Its like I said though Broberg doesn't even resemble a D. He's a no contact wanderer. He has no offensive skills to speak of either. He shouldn't be anywhere near an NHL rink.

Nurse was doing... something on the first GA.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Nurse does it all the time. Maybe it's coaching. I've seen other d do it too. It works if the forwards notice it and cover but they don't.

It happens off faceoffs. Why would it. Its dumb all day. It ensures basically that our net front presence is negligible off own zone faceoffs where opponents can work set plays. I started noticing this 20 games ago. Not that the team D was swimming too high but that they were chasing plays on boards and then being exposed down low around net. In our scheme it does seem like net presence isn't being emphasized.

Ironically the one D that is most prone to sticking around net, and being determined to do that and clear traffic is constantly getting scratched.
Finding Nemo. He's the one guy you can find around the net. Nurse and Ceci have cleaned up their game. They've played well for a couple weeks. So has Barrie. We're absolutely the worst when Broberg is dressing.

 

[Patch101]

I think I picked a good year to skip watching the Oilers. Haven't done that in .. well ever.
All I've got to say haha .... cause I didn't watch it

 

[Drivesaitl]

Nurse was doing... something on the first GA.

OK correction. Nurse was on for that one and was on for 2GF. I can't see how Nurse is fault for that goal as Ceci leaves net. Vacates the spot where Beniers is. Ceci despite moving to shooter does nothing to deflect or impede or block shot, all he's doing is screening Skinner from seeing the shot. Skinner then because of that gives up a bad rebound right in crease and bangs it home. Nurse would have to be a 2nd goalie on that play to prevent that goal. Nurse also immediately moved on the play and removed Beniers as quick as he could, already too late. how the hell is Nurse supposed to know his goalie is going to drop a deuce right in his crease to assist on the Kraken first goal?

That wasn't Nurse's fault.

 

[CrazyJoeDavola]

On the positive side (I haven't read the thread, but assume there isn't much positivity), I thought this was great:

I watched this without sound and just saw bouch not be able to make a breakout and instead does the rifle it up the wall to a stationary fwd praying for a tip into the zone to the other team, while he had mcd wide open in the middle.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

The Oilers are crap at home. Few things have been as clear as that. I wouldn't drive even to DT to see this club if I had free seats at this point. Know a lot of people that now feel the same way. Even people that generally go to a lot of concert and events at Rogers are not going to see the Oil.

Looking at the crowd most nights I wonder how many tickets are just being gifted to people or going to charity.

Ticketmaster disguises ticket bloodbaths by circumventing how low tickets can be resold for. They set a minimum permissible discount price. To preserve the illusion of tickets keeping their value.

My suspicion is that if paper tickets still existed a person could pick them up for 30- 40 bucks around game time. Of course with ticketmaster minimum and service charges cost is much more than this.

STH must be hurting once again.

Unless this ship turns around pronto the Oilers loss last night was the one you look back to as being the path to missing playoffs. The Oilers had a series of divisional matchups that they wanted to make hay in. This was one that they needed to win.

They are a team that lacks accountability and the fact they are so piss poor at home is just more proof of this. On the road you’re forced to be more focused and committed but at home it’s much more difficult to maintain that focus on your game, it’s easy to be distracted or get comfortable.

I said it at the time but I thought it was a mistake having a rookie head coach with this group. They badly need structure, they need to be held accountable and they need to be taken to task when they’re not, regardless of how good you are, how long you’ve been in the league or how many points you put up.

Leon is a supposed leader on this club but early in the game yesterday there was a sequence where he was third man back and he let his guy skate right by him untouched to the front of the net for a chance. He glided back into his own zone without a care but the second the play turned back up ice the jets came on. Like the rest of the team his defensive zone play was soft all night long. Your best players have to be your best players and that doesn’t just mean in the points columns. Leon has the ability to be a dominant two way player in this league if he chose to challenge himself.

It starts with a coaching staff that says we’re going to play a responsible, hard working game in our own end with strong support working as a 5 man unit. That’s the focus and from that work we will eventually start to generate scoring chances. Right now it seems like they just want to play a numbers game of risky play in an attempt to generate as many odd man rushes and scoring chances as possible and I can’t help but think that is driven by guys who like scoring a lot.

 

[MessierII]

Exactly this... except he never will be.

I watched Broberg chase his man TO THE BLUELINE after a defensive draw TWICE, only to see guys in front of our net when the shot came from the point.... and they scored on one. Who could see this coming?

I didn't play D at a high level, so I have no idea if that's a thing, but I would LOSE MY $#!+ if any of my defenders ever did that.

Anybody play D? Is this something that you would ever do depending on the system? Am I absolutely crazy or is that such a HUGE lack of defensive IQ that he'll never be properly taught? I just don't see how that can happen at the NHL level (oh wait, Nurse did it 3 mins later).

I'm thinking he's Nurse 2.0 in terms of puck chasing, but without any of the redeeming physicality.

He should be on the plane to Phoenix with whatever else it takes TODAY.

I played D at a decent level. If you’re running man on man coverage you try and stay with your guy but if he’s pulling you way out of position you switch with a teammate which you would just verbally communicate on the ice. Man on man sounds simple but It can be kind of complicated in terms of when you switch but generally you want to to stay with your guy as long as you remain on the defensive side of the play. Especially as a D man you want to be on the right side of the puck pretty much all the time in your zone.

 

[Soundwave]

They are a team that lacks accountability and the fact they are so piss poor at home is just more proof of this. On the road you’re forced to be more focused and committed but at home it’s much more difficult to maintain that focus on your game, it’s easy to be distracted or get comfortable.

I said it at the time but I thought it was a mistake having a rookie head coach with this group. They badly need structure, they need to be held accountable and they need to be taken to task when they’re not, regardless of how good you are, how long you’ve been in the league or how many points you put up.

Leon is a supposed leader on this club but early in the game yesterday there was a sequence where he was third man back and he let his guy skate right by him untouched to the front of the net for a chance. He glided back into his own zone without a care but the second the play turned back up ice the jets came on. Like the rest of the team his defensive zone play was soft all night long. Your best players have to be your best players and that doesn’t just mean in the points columns. Leon has the ability to be a dominant two way player in this league if he chose to challenge himself.

It starts with a coaching staff that says we’re going to play a responsible, hard working game in our own end with strong support working as a 5 man unit. That’s the focus and from that work we will eventually start to generate scoring chances. Right now it seems like they just want to play a numbers game of risky play in an attempt to generate as many odd man rushes and scoring chances as possible and I can’t help but think that is driven by guys who like scoring a lot.

The thing is they're really not getting scored on trying to make home run scoring plays.

They're getting scored on because the defence can't cover a wet paper bag.

Broberg/Bouchard can't defend for shit covering air last night while Seattle takes the lead.

Nurse has stretches where he's OK but then has stretches where he plays like a bad no.4 D, he is a horrible so-called "leader" of any d-corps.

Ceci is overrated, this guy was a no.5 D in Pittsburgh for a reason, the Oilers have him playing way over his head a no.2.

Kulak is alright for stretches, but he's also a no.5 D that can be exposed and he was bad last night.

Barrie has terrible foot speed and can be boxed out by an 10 year old, he's obviously here mainly to be the D guy on the PP.

Leon is probably playing with a core muscle strain and shouldn't even be in the lineup, so I'm not going to lay this all at his feet.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I played D at a decent level. If you’re running man on man coverage you try and stay with your guy but if he’s pulling you way out of position you switch with a teammate which you would just verbally communicate on the ice. Man on man sounds simple but It can be kind of complicated in terms of when you switch but generally you want to to stay with your guy as long as you remain on the defensive side of the play. Especially as a D man you want to be on the right side of the puck pretty much all the time in your zone.

There is no reason on Earth though to be operating a man on man scheme against Seattle. I could possibly see it to cover superstars but oh wait, Seattle don't have any. So that we're operating a scheme that services Seattle by providing breaks in coverage and out of position situations and we're doing that straight off draws just so they can work their set plays. Because thats really how Seattle can score. we gave Seattle two garbage goals just by having our D vacate position around net. We gave up 3 goals in total where our D positioning was not enough around the net.

I'm a punter and I'm seeing this.

 

[Reasonable Oil Fan]

I watched this without sound and just saw bouch not be able to make a breakout and instead does the rifle it up the wall to a stationary fwd praying for a tip into the zone to the other team, while he had mcd wide open in the middle.

I suspect that with our broadcast team, sometimes watching a game without sound paints a very different picture.
I'm gonna have to try that some time.

 

[DynamiteKid]

It starts with a coaching staff that says we’re going to play a responsible, hard working game in our own end with strong support working as a 5 man unit. That’s the focus and from that work we will eventually start to generate scoring chances. Right now it seems like they just want to play a numbers game of risky play in an attempt to generate as many odd man rushes and scoring chances as possible and I can’t help but think that is driven by guys who like scoring a lot.

I'd love for them to be responsible in their own end.

I really think their long-pass breakout strategy is killing them. So often I see forwards peel off out of the zone, when our D might get the puck, expecting a pass and our D just can't do it, then we get hemmed in again, with the forwards out of position and the D overwhelmed.

 

[94 Oil Drops]

I don't know how you fire another coach. Maybe fix the same thing that has been hurting this team since Pronger left.

Fix the f***ing defense

Unless Mr. Trotz really wants to come here (which I doubt he does,) I have no interest in seeing a coaching change. We're stuck with Woodcroft for a while. There's no way he's getting fired unless we somehow finish in a Bedard lottery spot. We have to deal with it.

I'm certainly opened to the idea of sending Holland packing though. Outside of the Kostin trade, nothing he did this off season fixed this team's issues. Keith retired giving him plenty of cap space to replace him and he did nothing. NOTHING to fix the defense when he should have and here we are!

 

[Drivesaitl]

They are a team that lacks accountability and the fact they are so piss poor at home is just more proof of this. On the road you’re forced to be more focused and committed but at home it’s much more difficult to maintain that focus on your game, it’s easy to be distracted or get comfortable.

I said it at the time but I thought it was a mistake having a rookie head coach with this group. They badly need structure, they need to be held accountable and they need to be taken to task when they’re not, regardless of how good you are, how long you’ve been in the league or how many points you put up.

Leon is a supposed leader on this club but early in the game yesterday there was a sequence where he was third man back and he let his guy skate right by him untouched to the front of the net for a chance. He glided back into his own zone without a care but the second the play turned back up ice the jets came on. Like the rest of the team his defensive zone play was soft all night long. Your best players have to be your best players and that doesn’t just mean in the points columns. Leon has the ability to be a dominant two way player in this league if he chose to challenge himself.

It starts with a coaching staff that says we’re going to play a responsible, hard working game in our own end with strong support working as a 5 man unit. That’s the focus and from that work we will eventually start to generate scoring chances. Right now it seems like they just want to play a numbers game of risky play in an attempt to generate as many odd man rushes and scoring chances as possible and I can’t help but think that is driven by guys who like scoring a lot.

Good comments. Didn't Leon pass to Bouchard that never got there setup the Kraken first period breakaway as well? Drai had 3 bad passes in first period.

I said the same thing. We need a vet coach to handle the club and also to keep McDrai honest. You'll note that both our experienced coaches went at Drai. McLellan with his famous "Drai only works for Drai" comment and Tippetts later "This is the type of play which is the reason we lose in playoffs"

Drai had made a somewhat commitment to playing 200ft hockey and talking Selke leadership but that appeared to evaporate the moment Tippett made the comment and Drai became angry about it post game. It also was around the time of the "why you so Pissy" Matheson barb.

I'm a huge Drai fan as anybody notes but the bloom came off the rose for me 10mths ago. Theres Drai taking an unnecessary charge at Zegras to staple the kid into the boards just because Drai is angry at something and missing the hit badly. Drai injured himself on that play and has been struggling with injuries ever since.

Drai did give the team what he could the rest of the season and playoffs with a new coach but now it seems he's not prepared to do much for this coach either. This is Drai's worst season in years despite the points. In fairness to Drai he has to be sick and tired of playing with rubbish like Yama and Foegele who are incapable of offense. For their money combined we could have obtained a top forward for Drai. The list of awful players Drai has been saddled with on his line for several years is ridiculous.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Unless Mr. Trotz really wants to come here (which I doubt he does,) I have no interest in seeing a coaching change. We're stuck with Woodcroft for a while. There's no way he's getting fired unless we somehow finish in a Bedard lottery spot. We have to deal with it.

I'm certainly opened to the idea of sending Holland packing though. Outside of the Kostin trade, nothing he did this off season fixed this team's issues. Keith retired giving him plenty of cap space to replace him and he did nothing. NOTHING to fix the defense when he should have and here we are!

If anyone goes first it has to be Holland. 4 years to fix the weaknesses of the team and he hasn't addressed a single one.

 

[94 Oil Drops]

Vancouver has something to say about that.

This team is litteraly the Vancouver Canucks plus the 2 best players in the world. It's little wonder we suck.

Top heavy offense alone never wins you championships. Not at the NHL level.

 

[Soundwave]

Good comments. Didn't Leon pass to Bouchard that never got there setup the Kraken first period breakaway as well? Drai had 3 bad passes in first period.

I said the same thing. We need a vet coach to handle the club and also to keep McDrai honest. You'll note that both our experienced coaches went at Drai. McLellan with his famous "Drai only works for Drai" comment and Tippetts later "This is the type of play which is the reason we lose in playoffs"

Drai had made a somewhat commitment to playing 200ft hockey and talking Selke leadership but that appeared to evaporate the moment Tippett made the comment and Drai became angry about it post game. It also was around the time of the "why you so Pissy" Matheson barb.

I'm a huge Drai fan as anybody notes but the bloom came off the rose for me 10mths ago. Theres Drai taking an unnecessary charge at Zegras to staple the kid into the boards just because Drai is angry at something and missing the hit badly. Drai injured himself on that play and has been struggling with injuries ever since.

Drai did give the team what he could the rest of the season and playoffs with a new coach but now it seems he's not prepared to do much for this coach either. This is Drai's worst season in years despite the points. In fairness to Drai he has to be sick and tired of playing with rubbish like Yama and Foegele who are incapable of offense. For their money combined we could have obtained a top forward for Drai. The list of awful players Drai has been saddled with on his line for several years is ridiculous.

Which is of the 5 goals against last night were Leon's fault?

*crickets*

Fact is McDavid and Draisaitl basically got the team a 2-0 lead last night and the D chose to shit the bed and give Seattle 4 straight goals because they can't figure out basic defensive zone coverage.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Try to find another MVP forward that is leading scoring race or 2nd in scoring race for years saddled with two lunks that have a combined 6 goals. You won't see this situation anywhere, anytime.

Heres your linemates again Drai. They're absolute junk. We gave both of these guys huge pay raises just so they can be on your line for years.

What other top producer in the league is saddled with junk spare parts like this?

I thought when Holloway, Bourgault were drafted and we obtained Kane and Hyman we'd seen about the end of junk topsix wingers. I guess not.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Try to find another MVP forward that is leading scoring race or 2nd in scoring race for years saddled with two lunks that have a combined 6 goals. You won't see this situation anywhere, anytime.

Heres your linemates again Drai. They're absolute junk. We gave both of these guys huge pay raises just so they can be on your line for years.

What other top producer in the league is saddled with junk spare parts like this?

I thought when Holloway, Bourgault were drafted and we obtained Kane and Hyman we'd seen about the end of junk topsix wingers. I guess not.

He wears #97. You could also make an argument for #93.

 

[Soundwave]

Try to find another MVP forward that is leading scoring race or 2nd in scoring race for years saddled with two lunks that have a combined 6 goals. You won't see this situation anywhere, anytime.

Heres your linemates again Drai. They're absolute junk. We gave both of these guys huge pay raises just so they can be on your line for years.

What other top producer in the league is saddled with junk spare parts like this?

I thought when Holloway, Bourgault were drafted and we obtained Kane and Hyman we'd seen about the end of junk topsix wingers. I guess not.

Stop buying this team's draft kool-aid, it's bullshit flavored. This team can't draft for shit and the auto default of "well we picked this player in the 1st round so they must be good" doesn't apply here.

 

[Beerfish]

The Edmonton Oilers re-signed trade-deadline acquisition Brett Kulak on Wednesday to a four-year contract worth $11 million.

As with almost all of Hollands resignings the guys he signs for multi years stink so bad we can think of nothing but getting rid of them almost before the ink is dry. What an awful awful gm. 100% riding on the coat tails of a few super stars who were here when he arrived.