Heading into the break we were actually playing shitty hockey. Only reason we are in this mess is cause we had a shit final 5 games. Not having the poise and whatever is an excuse. Other teams at least have a shit.
This team lacks leadership, it lacks a back bone it lacks actually caring. They say they are a close team, that they will play for Colby but I call bullshit. None of those guys play for the guy beside them. None of them put the effort in. None of the lower guys step up for the top guys. The top guys don't give a shit defensively.
Oh our goalie allows a bad goal? Instead of having his back and trying to help him out they continue to leave him out to dry till he gets pulled.
There’s no chanceI have a feeling that Tip will want to put Smith back in. I'm scared.
I was just wondering how much better we were this year outside of special teamsYeah, I'm about as negative a fan as you'll find, but even I can see that Holland has done a lot of good things in his time here. No, we still aren't a good team, but we're a better team than we were when he took over, which is all you can all of somebody really.
There’s no chance
He ALWAYS gives Smith a chance to bounce backYeah, tippett has blind love for Smith, no doubt about that (case in point was everything about today's game), but even his love of Smith won't make him start Smith again next game. Not happening.
If what you said above is true then they should come out swinging from puck drop Monday. If they don't, then the team give a shit and leadership should be seriously questioned.The team honestly hasnt been good on 5 on 5 all year. Their special teams have won them a lot of games and their goaltenders for the most part havent lost them a ton of games. The team has also been pretty resilient. Other than December, not really a ton of loses in a row. I dont think its because they arent close or anything, I just simply dont think they have a lot of chemistry on their forward lines. And honestly I think the lines where they found chemistry, Tippett should of left it alone. He should of left RNH - Drai - Yama alone. I think Nygard - Sheahan - Archibald should be a line now.
Despite us not being a great 5 on 5 team all year. Today was literally the worst game we played all year. I dont think its bad leadership or that the players dont care or whatever. They simply didnt play well today and honestly they couldnt of picked a worse time. They were simply off all game.
I will agree that the top guys need to be better defensively. I think the RNH - Drai - Yama line was pretty solid defensively and was obviously great offensively. As I stated in my other post, I do think McDavid needs to adapt his game a bit and become more of a positive impact all over the ice rather than the offensive zone. I do think his defensive struggles this year were partly because of his knee injury, but if he is healthy now, he really needs to dial himself in rather than just looking for offense only.
He ALWAYS gives Smith a chance to bounce back
Bob Stauffer was speaking about expecting Koskinen for game two on 630 ched during the game.
Koskinen will start game two.
If what you said above is true then they should come out swinging from puck drop Monday. If they don't, then the team give a shit and leadership should be seriously questioned.
Depends. If he thinks the team was the issue and not Smith, he will go back to him. Most of the time if Smith has a bad game and it wasn't a back to back he gave him another chance.He's not going to put Smith above his own job.
Depends. If he thinks the team was the issue and not Smith, he will go back to him. Most of the time if Smith has a bad game and it wasn't a back to back he gave him another chance.
If the effort is there, you can at least say they tried but they just aren't very good. Being bad and no effort is.... A very very bad sign.I am sure that the effort will be better and they will come out swinging. But they will have a ton of pressure on them now, to win the next game. Even if the effort is there, and the execution is off because of rust/nerves/whatever doesnt mean everything is going to change by 180 degrees. Losing the first game isnt the end of the world, but the way they lost, they have a lot of things to correct in a 5 game series. I hope we find a way to win but we will see. The team has put themselves in a hole after that performance.
Oilers don't let the Hawks score on the PP today and the Oilers win 4-3I was just wondering how much better we were this year outside of special teams
Last Year vs This Year
CF%: 47.98 / 47.87
Shots For%: 47.59 / 48.31
Goals for60: 2.17 / 2.44
Goals Against 60: 2.65 / 2.72
So possession wise we didn't improve. We improved a bit offensively. But somehow got worse defensively.
Holland improved the team but the only real improvement was special teams.
Heading into the break we were actually playing shitty hockey. Only reason we are in this mess is cause we had a shit final 5 games. Not having the poise and whatever is an excuse. Other teams at least have a shit.
This team lacks leadership, it lacks a back bone it lacks actually caring. They say they are a close team, that they will play for Colby but I call bullshit. None of those guys play for the guy beside them. None of them put the effort in. None of the lower guys step up for the top guys. The top guys don't give a shit defensively.
Oh our goalie allows a bad goal? Instead of having his back and trying to help him out they continue to leave him out to dry till he gets pulled.
If you need both your special teams to be perfect to win a game, that's a huge red flagOilers don't let the Hawks score on the PP today and the Oilers win 4-3
Special Teams is HUGE
red flag in terms of what? Cup contender?If you need both your special teams to be perfect to win a game, that's a huge red flag
Edmonton won't really have the opportunity to improve its roster until Neal's contract is off the table.
You can buy out Neal's contract, and suffer a cap hit of $1,916,667 for 6 years instead of 5,750,000 for 3 years (according to capfriendly). That's something you can't do with Lucic's contract.
Take out the special teams and we lose 3-1red flag in terms of what? Cup contender?
don't think anyone is thinking they're a Cup contender
my point is, Special teams played a huge role in today's game whether you admit that or not
yeah, cause we're not a very good 5-on-5 teamTake out the special teams and we lose 3-1
Special teams are unreliable. If you rely on special teams you aren't a good team. Full stopyeah, cause we're not a very good 5-on-5 team
what's your point?