Oilers are underrated defensively and it seems a common pattern to blame their opponents rather than praise them. Their forecheck especially can really disrupt breakouts, and I think over a long series they can wear teams out with their speed.
Very seldom has Edmonton's depth played "bad" this season, imo. At their worst they're just a bunch of guys who defend decently and never score.And or a series is a small sample size and teams go hot cold constantly lol. Parity is real, and so is luck/timing which few teams are capable of consistently bucking
The Habs went to the cup final a few years ago. They were still a bad team before during and after but they got hot at the right time.
I’m NOT saying the oilers are the Habs, but their depth playing good or bad is more or less what makes or breaks the Oilers. They’re capable of holding it down or playing like ass.
Idk, I watched a bunch of their rs games and always felt like the team alternated looking great and “what’s happening?”Very seldom has Edmonton's depth played "bad" this season, imo. At their worst they're just a bunch of guys who defend decently and never score.
With McDrai just playing responsible defense and later scoring on the power play is a good idea. Skinner is the only weak link because Oil can lose any given day even if the opponent gets only 10 shots on goal that's an expected 3 goals.Oilers did the same to LA and VAN as well.
They really aren't a run and gun team this year. Knobloch is the best coach in NHL this year no matter who was declared finalists or winner.
Benn and Duchene are complete no shows.
Knob Defence happened.
We tried to warn ya guys mid season, a defensive powerhouse Oilers was legit.
Oilers fans would have thought lol.Who knows. Maybe Central wasn't as good as people say. They are making for a boring WCF. This entire site was dissing both Van/Edm who ever won about having to go get dominated by the Stars. They don't look like the team HF chopped them up to be. HF is wrong once again. Who would have thunk .
This is why you hear some Oilers fans say the only team that beats the Oilers is the Oilers. When we are playing our best we look amazing, but then suddenly a contagious brain fart hits the whole team and it's like we're watching a different team. Not to discredit any other teams because them playing good is a part of that too, but far too often feels like the Oilers dig their own holes.Oilers are a very good team and it should be pretty obvious to anyone by now.
That said to me they also feel like most like a gamble compared to any other team that's still left. With the Oilers it just feels like no lead is ever safe, for either team on the ice They just have the right combination of unreliable goal tending, capacity for incredible defensive lapses and insane top end offense, you just never know. That said their team D has been underrated, some games they have done a very good job making other teams look very lackluster offensively.
I'm trying to imagine a Oilers vs Panthers final and I just have no idea what would happen, nothing would surprise me. It could be Oilers just steamrolling the Panthers for a 4-1 series or something, but I can just as well imagine them crumble under the pressure of how Panthers play. I would almost be most surprised by a 7 game series with tightly defended 1 goal games all the way, but the Oilers have shown to also be capable of that, at least occasionally. But even many of their 1-goal games have had huge momentum swings inside the game.
This is why you hear some Oilers fans say the only team that beats the Oilers is the Oilers. When we are playing our best we look amazing, but then suddenly a contagious brain fart hits the whole team and it's like we're watching a different team. Not to discredit any other teams because them playing good is a part of that too, but far too often feels like the Oilers dig their own holes.
On a side note - this series is not over by any stretch. Don't wanna see any fans doing victory laps just yet...
Perhaps - but I wonder how many posters on HF Boards would have honestly said this when the Stars were up 2-1 in this series.People do need to come to realization this Oilers team is absolutely top notch and a clear cup contender
Seeing Pavelski with one goal in 18 games is sad to see. How can a guy fall off this hard?
lol at all these rationalizations.. and so it begins…Fatigue. The Stars didn’t even have the jump right at the puck drop and this was in front of their own crowd. They went to the final 4 last year and again this year. That’s a lot of hockey in 2 years. Plus going 7 against Vegas and 6 plus 2 OT games vs Colorado takes a toll.