Post-Game Talk: This is the end

[Spawn]

Depth wasn’t an issue with this team. Depth were the only ones to produce in the two most important games this year, 6 & 7 of this series

It’s okay to admit that McDrai, as godly as they were these playoffs, weren’t good enough tonight.

I think its fair to say that McDrai weren't good enough tonight. But its also fair to note that Florida's best two forwards, Barkov and Tkachuk, didn't generate anything tonight either. And at the end of the game Florida's secondary guys scored an extra goal and their goalie made an extra save.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Depth wasn’t an issue with this team. Depth were the only ones to produce in the two most important games this year, 6 & 7 of this series

It’s okay to admit that McDrai, as godly as they were these playoffs, weren’t good enough tonight.

They didn't get on the board tonight. Thats 60 mins, in hockey, where shutouts and low scores are common, and in a game 7 where limited goal games are almost the rule.

Very few guys ever score in a game 7. Especially among two teams that can play pretty close checking games. Oilers didn't give up much, they got a bit better in chances but were facing Bobo.

The team mistake was letting this be one game for all the marbles. But that was largely due to Skinner game 3 performance. otherwise the series runs much differently and we possibly win in 6.

Drai was very good in game 6 setting up a lot of our plays.

 

[DanielMarois]

Wings fan here , just as a neutral observer, kind of tired of the big, heavy teams who just box everyone out winning. Yes, it's effective, but it's also dull and kind of cheapens the game. This may be meaningless, but you guys should be at least a bit happy that your team plays an entertaining game.

 

[Oilhawks]

He can't even shoot the puck right now. Clear as day. Gonna be hard beating Bobo without a best shot.

I don't think Drai had much left by the final and in fairness he's not superhuman for endurance like McD is. Nobody is.

I don't find ultimately that either are wanting. They are the reason we watch, generally speaking and carry the team most years and most playoffs. Ultimately they didn't have much left and who knows how bad they are banged up.

I do think we're going to see continued drop off in Leon scoring though. he's greatly exceeded any projections but he's mostly a setplay scorer. Not really a classic top scorer that scores from a ton of areas and with a variety of shots. A scouted Drai is gonna be less effective. Florida sure knew what they were doing with coverage.

I’d hesitate to give Bobrovsky that much credit. He shit away a slam dunk Conn Smythe and has been pretty trash much of his career and while he had a good playoffs, he couldn’t even start last season’s playoffs until he managed to win back the crease. He got absolutely exposed and lit up for 3 games this series. One of the most overrated goalies in the league and his contract was considered one of the worst in the league. Even the games he “stole” felt a lot like tonight where the “high danger” chances were not really targeting his weak spots

It’s a built in excuse that his shooting will drop off much. He’s past his youthful part of the curve but he should be able to score goals at a high level for years to come. Yeah he’s not going to be expected to score 50 a year but if he can’t score goals he’s going to be a lot less effective. Especially once he’s going to be paid appropriately.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I think its fair to say that McDrai weren't good enough tonight. But its also fair to note that Florida's best two forwards, Barkov and Tkachuk, didn't generate anything tonight either. And at the end of the game Florida's secondary guys scored an extra goal and their goalie made an extra save.

Its fair to note that of all the Panthers forwards their entire topsix had nothing going most of the games. Only Barkov was consistent. Most of the series you didn't even see Tkachuk, Bennett, Reinhart, Verhaege.

 

[Broberg Speed]

Reading troll posts from a team's fan base that believes cross checking the conn smythe winner in the neck and small of the back simultaneously is enthralling hockey... I wouldn't mind if that commune went it on their own.

I've come to the conclusion we were not Canada's team from the complete bliss shown from the other Canadian fan bases. They keep sucking Bettman's dick. They can't get enough of Bettman's dick.

 

[Scema12]

Not to be negative here, but how do guys like bennet who get 100 penalty minutes in the regular season get 12 penalty minutes over the course of the playoffs. The entire playoffs, and especially game 7 is just a joke watching this clown get away with stuff over and over.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I’d hesitate to give Bobrovsky that much credit. He shit away a slam dunk Conn Smythe and has been pretty trash much of his career and while he had a good playoffs, he couldn’t even start last season’s playoffs until he managed to win back the crease. He got absolutely exposed and lit up for 3 games this series. One of the most overrated goalies in the league and his contract was considered one of the worst in the league. Even the games he “stole” felt a lot like tonight where the “high danger” chances were not really targeting his weak spots

It’s a built in excuse that his shooting will drop off much. He’s past his youthful part of the curve but he should be able to score goals at a high level for years to come. Yeah he’s not going to be expected to score 50 a year but if he can’t score goals he’s going to be a lot less effective. Especially once he’s going to be paid appropriately.

Again Drai is a rote setplay scorer. His primary shot is a full body shot one timer where his mechanics involve full body to get the shot off. With how banged up he always is now, and rarely 100% there is going to be dropoff. he's not a typical scorer that can score from anywhere or shoot quick wrist shots. He's had to carefully develop his shot and scoring setplays. Without which he wouldn't be scoring a lot, and certainly not at EV. Dropoff has been occurring.

Power forwards often dropoff in scoring or even have to retire prematurely due to the cumulative damage they face.

Not gonna agree at all with your take on Bobo. I evaluate goalies on their best possible games. On how good they can be. When Bobo is on, in his peak play he can certainly make a difference. Not on the level of Shesterkin, or a former Vasi but when he's on he's not far off. In terms of mechanics and ability he's top notch. Florida left him abandoned for two of the games.

Of note in the 4 Panthers wins in series Bobo was rocking a combined .956 save %. Pretty spectacular.

 

[Oilhawks]

Wings fan here , just as a neutral observer, kind of tired of the big, heavy teams who just box everyone out winning. Yes, it's effective, but it's also dull and kind of cheapens the game. This may be meaningless, but you guys should be at least a bit happy that your team plays an entertaining game.

Garbage “heavy hockey” works wonders in a watered down league looking to constantly expand. Officials can dick around half of the game and fans expect them to miss obvious calls (due to ingrained expectations of incompetence) and the less talented teams get the advantage to give some illusion of “real” parity.

Which means the 2000s Wings, 2010s Hawks, Penguins skill teams etc win less and less often (I’d throw the 22 Avs in there as well, they did beef up a lot that year but still mostly a high skill team). An exciting team like this Oilers can play the game almost perfectly but the razor thin margins and infinite clutch and grab is the great equalizer like it was tonight

 

[Hollywood55]

Can't believe people are now praising Holland. HE IS A FAILURE.

We made the cup in spite of him. He's made tons of bad moves, and his "good signings" chose the oilers regardless of GM. He made one good trade for Ekholm and that's about it. Glad he's gone.

 

[UHHHH SON]

They didn't get on the board tonight. Thats 60 mins, in hockey, where shutouts and low scores are common, and in a game 7 where limited goal games are almost the rule.

Very few guys ever score in a game 7. Especially among two teams that can play pretty close checking games. Oilers didn't give up much, they got a bit better in chances but were facing Bobo.

The team mistake was letting this be one game for all the marbles. But that was largely due to Skinner game 3 performance. otherwise the series runs much differently and we possibly win in 6.

Drai was very good in game 6 setting up a lot of our plays.

That game three play by Skinner was the difference. He gave away a game in every series. Too much to overcome.

Did it last year as well.

Garbage “heavy hockey” works wonders in a watered down league looking to constantly expand. Officials can dick around half of the game and fans expect them to miss obvious calls (due to ingrained expectations of incompetence) and the less talented teams get the advantage to give some illusion of “real” parity.

Which means the 2000s Wings, 2010s Hawks, Penguins skill teams etc win less and less often (I’d throw the 22 Avs in there as well, they did beef up a lot that year but still mostly a high skill team). An exciting team like this Oilers can play the game almost perfectly but the razor thin margins and infinite clutch and grab is the great equalizer like it was tonight

So true. That’s why a goalie is the biggest equalizer.

 

[Flambo]

Flames fan here, but I'm not here to pile on.

I understand it sucks when your team comes so close but falls short. But I also don't think you can look at the overall season as anything but a success. Only two teams in a 32 team league make it that far. It's not the ultimate success, but it is still an accomplishment that fans of the team should be proud of. There are many positive takeaways from this.

I think the last time I actually logged into HFBoards was to roast you guys when you signed Campbell to be a starting goalie and said that Skinner would be the number one by New Year's. Low and behold, Skinner is the guy. He may not be perfect, but I think he showed that he is not going to hold you guys back. He just played in 4 rounds of high stress hockey which will only help him.

I think you guys finally found a coach. I wasn't a big fan of Woody, he seemed like a salesman to me more than a coach. Even though Maurice, whom I think is a really good coach, is getting all the accolades tonight, Knoblauch out coached him for much of this series.

I have also never seen the Oilers work so hard on the defensive side of the game before. You guys understand rivalries and know that I'm not upset with the final result, but I was impressed and am quite honestly scared for next season. Don't take it too hard. It's just a stupid game.

 

[Hollywood55]

Not to be negative here, but how do guys like bennet who get 100 penalty minutes in the regular season get 12 penalty minutes over the course of the playoffs. The entire playoffs, and especially game 7 is just a joke watching this clown get away with stuff over and over.

Because the reffing is heavily biased against Canadian teams in the NHL unfortunately. Not just the oilers but all teams.

 

[UHHHH SON]

Reading troll posts from a team's fan base that believes cross checking the conn smythe winner in the neck and small of the back simultaneously is enthralling hockey... I wouldn't mind if that commune went it on their own.

I've come to the conclusion we were not Canada's team from the complete bliss shown from the other Canadian fan bases. They keep sucking Bettman's dick. They can't get enough of Bettman's dick.

Same attitude that the officials have. No Canadian team will win because the officials are from rival Canadian cities…

 

[Drivesaitl]

That game three play by Skinner was the difference. He gave away a game in every series. Too much to overcome.

Did it last year as well.

Exactly. All the other contenders this playoffs had goalies stealing multiple games. In the Oilers case we end up having to count the number of games that goaltending costs us each postseason. The only W the entire post season that could be attributed as a Skinner steal was Game 6 Dallas. That was it. Ironically Skinner having to steal that one because the team was exhausted and running on fumes after Skinner caused the Vancouver series to go a full and arduous 7 games. Should have been over in 5 at worst.

 

[Oilhawks]

Again Drai is a rote setplay scorer. His primary shot is a full body shot one timer where his mechanics involve full body to get the shot off. With how banged up he always is now, and rarely 100% there is going to be dropoff. he's not a typical scorer that can score from anywhere or shoot quick wrist shots. He's had to carefully develop his shot and scoring setplays. Without which he wouldn't be scoring a lot, and certainly not at EV. Dropoff has been occurring.

Power forwards often dropoff in scoring or even have to retire prematurely due to the cumulative damage they face.

Not gonna agree at all with your take on Bobo. I evaluate goalies on their best possible games. On how good they can be. When Bobo is on, in his peak play he can certainly make a difference. Not on the level of Shesterkin, or a former Vasi but when he's on he's not far off. In terms of mechanics and ability he's top notch. Florida left him abandoned for two of the games.

Oh for sure. That’s kind of a problem then, no? His one trick pony goals are not always going to go in. He’s a big body, if his shot mechanics are just going to fall off a cliff and he can’t be expected to score at such a lofty clip, why can’t he start going to the net and pushing for some garbage here and there, especially when he’s playing centre? Maybe I define power forward differently, I don’t care as much about strength and size unless they’re actually going to the net to use it like Hyman and (sometimes Kane). He might consider adding more of this to his game if his shot mechanics are going to decline

I value consistency more than whatever the best a goalie can be for a game here and there. It worked for him this series but it’s cost his teams many many other times.

 

[Sheikyerbouti]

I’m not shitting on him, I’m just saying he didn’t show up here and honestly it will push him harder. And I think he knows it.

It will push him harder, but he showed up, if there is any doubt. It pains me to see an Oilers fan saying McDavid didn't show up.


Wildly inappropriate after his work-rate in that game

 

[Hollywood55]

We made the cup in spite of him. He's made tons of bad moves, and his "good signings" chose the oilers regardless of GM. He made one good trade for Ekholm and that's about it. Glad he's gone.

Also he is horrible at drafting

 

[UHHHH SON]

Exactly. All the other contenders this playoffs had goalies stealing multiple games. In the Oilers case we end up having to count the number of games that goaltending costs us each postseason. The only W the entire post season that could be attributed as a Skinner steal was Game 6 Dallas. That was it. Ironically Skinner having to steal that one because the team was exhausted and running on fumes after Skinner caused the Vancouver series to go a full and arduous 7 games. Should have been over in 5 at worst.

The extra injuries from those games is what cost us.

 

[Oilhawks]

Not to be negative here, but how do guys like bennet who get 100 penalty minutes in the regular season get 12 penalty minutes over the course of the playoffs. The entire playoffs, and especially game 7 is just a joke watching this clown get away with stuff over and over.

He should have been ejected for the WWE move vs Bouchard earlier in the series. Absolute joke

The league values trash sideshows like him and Ratboy than skill.

 

[DethOfDragnz]

My little heart is broken it was broken in 2006 and it's broken again. In 1983 the Oilers got swept by the Islanders and came back the next year to win the cup the Panthers lost in the final last year but won the cup this year. Vegas made it to the finals in 2018 and lost, then won the cup in 2023. 2015 Avalanche lost in finals and came back and won the cup in 2020. The point is alot of teams have made it to the finals and lost then came back very soon, sometimes the net year and won the cup so fingers crossed this happens for the Oilers.

 

[Oilhawks]

Doubt it, the roster isn't going to get better now and there are injuries that'll take a while. This was their best shot and they f***ing blew it.

Kind of hyperbolic. I understand because I’m pissed as well

But the team should get better assuming they hire a competent GM. Broberg and Holloway will be better, and there are spots that can be upgraded like Ceci, top 6 winger, etc.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Oh for sure. That’s kind of a problem then, no? His one trick pony goals are not always going to go in. He’s a big body, if his shot mechanics are just going to fall off a cliff and he can’t be expected to score at such a lofty clip, why can’t he start going to the net and pushing for some garbage here and there, especially when he’s playing centre? Maybe I define power forward differently, I don’t care as much about strength and size unless they’re actually going to the net to use it like Hyman and (sometimes Kane). He might consider adding more of this to his game if his shot mechanics are going to decline

I value consistency more than whatever the best a goalie can be for a game here and there. It worked for him this series but it’s cost his teams many many other times.

I just added to the post. In the 4 games Florida won he was a combined .956. Its food for thought. When Panthers are playing their game, and Bobo is on his, they were tough to beat and score against.

2 of the games were pretty ridiculous play by the Panthers and they admit to falling apart in those games. Can't fault Bobo for those as God wouldn't have saved those ones.

yeah, with Drai hard to know where this goes from here. I have to hear more about injuries. The worst news would be if he wasn't really that significantly impacted. But I think he is. Just that I don't know if its specific or cumulative damage. I mean how many times has he been slewfooted alone? So many plays teams make on McD and Drai that just probably reduce their career timelines. Stupid league allows it.

Drai did attempt to bull to net a few times but couldn't break levels of D contain. he did several times beat one on one situations only to be stopped by a series of defenders. McD and Drai faced this today and really it was a decent job by Florida. jmo. Florida did take a couple games off. They were the fresher team tonight and still got outplayed by a slim margin.

Anyway peace out. Time for bed. I was too elevated to even consider going to bed. Feel like I'm on speed. heh

 

[Oilhawks]

Can't believe people are now praising Holland. HE IS A FAILURE.

We made the cup in spite of him. He's made tons of bad moves, and his "good signings" chose the oilers regardless of GM. He made one good trade for Ekholm and that's about it. Glad he's gone.

Definitely a flawed GM past his best before date. However, he built the team. The misses of Campbell and the Nurse contract are the worst offenders for sure. But he also brought in Brown, Janmark, Henrique, Holloway, Broberg, Ekholm, Hyman (idgaf that McDavid “recruited him”, he also could have passed on signing him), Foegele, and Kane. These guys made positive additions for this playoff run (less for Kane and Foegele but they both had moments). I’ll add, even Ceci had moments of contributing positively to the run (but also a lot of negative). He inherited one of the worst teams assembled (McDrai, Nuge and mostly AHLers otherwise), lost a top 4D to fluke health issues and rebuilt the team, making the playoffs each year.

They will mutually part ways, and they should, but the team could have done a lot worse. They made it to the Finals and lost a one goal game 7. Not many teams ever make it that far, regardless of their star power or depth

 

[Gnome17]

f***ing piece of f***ing shit f*** of a game. Every time theres a chance of something nice it goes to f***ing . McDavid couldnt perform one play and score a goal? Draisaitl couldnt perform a single play and score a goal?
Pay these f***ing f*** bums and see what happens..oh wait..they sell tickets so they matter..forgot..
f*** this sport, f*** everything