What is the Oiler Achille’s Heel to a Championship

[nexttothemoon]

If I were to add 1 player it would be a true #1 goalie... because those guys can bail out a team and essentially carry a team on their back even when you have 1, 2 or even 3 holes elsewhere.

For example... you add a Demko to this roster (and he stays healthy)... then this team is instantly a #1 contender even with the other glaring issues on the team.

#1 goalies are also pretty hard to acquire though... so probably not going to happen. Have to hope a combo of Campbell/Skinner is "good enough" and if not... then hopefully some other random (non #1) is good enough to be at least decent ie an Adin Hill type.

Other than goalie... it's obviously a great Dman... the RD equivalent of an Ekholm... which again is a bit of a unicorn to acquire. They are out there but likely either VERY expensive to acquire... or simply not available as their own teams want them for playoff runs and not to help out the Oilers with theirs.

So the Achille's heel is consistently "decent" goaltending and defense that's also decently consistent. Can you get those 2 players above that will help with that? Probably not as it will be prohibitively expensive.


The alternative of course is for this team to focus on D like their lives depend on it. Any game with more than a handful of high danger chances against should be an anomaly... not the norm like it always seems to be for this team. The goaltending likely looks a lot better without 2 on Zeroes coming down the pipe and other random brainfarts resulting in sure goals more often than not.

As they say defense can be taught... offense can't. Oilers are good enough offensively... even when it sputters you know there's enough there to get it done on most nights... it's the defense that lets the team down.

Simply drill and drill some more and make this team think defense 1st unless it's a power play or you have McDrai out there looking for tying goals when the team is behind. Otherwise it should be the mindset that a goal prevented is as good as a goal gained because it also helps the goalies as a side benefit. Even this Nashville win wasn't brilliant as you had 44 shots against... you can't outscore that on most nights as it usually means 4-5 goals against and you can't always outscore the loose D.

Achille's heel is D structure/systems and buy in from top to bottom... 11/12 forwards and 6/7 D all need to make defense THE goal and not just an afterthought between trying to score goals.

This is obviously the most difficult to achieve as this team doesn't have great elite talent when it comes to defensively superior players outside of Ekholm and maybe a couple ok/decent defensive forwards like Ryan/Janmark.

Getting everyone focused and on the same page while consistently allowing fewer shots and especially fewer high danger chances against is the ultimate goal and I have NO IDEA if this group is capable of doing that as this is something that has to be taught and worked on for years... and for some/many of these players... that may be beyond their abilities to pick up that mentality at this stage. Hopefully for this team's sake they can at least get to an average level of competence but as you watch each game... it's natural to think that may never happen.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

So, All We Need Is Love?

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I think people have hit most of the nails on the head here: goalie, team defence, ect.

But I'll go in another direction, not getting value out of their ELCs. With this team so close to the cap, they need 1 or 2 of Holloway, Lavoie, X, Broberg, Niemo, or Vinny (maybe add Foegele to that list) too) to step up and provide value by the end of the year as a reliable top 6 forward / top 4 defenceman. Otherwise their depth is going to stay at "fine, but nothing more."

 

[Perfect_Drug]

McD-Drai-Nuge down the middle.
Eliminate the 4th line. They're hurting the team.

Go 11/8

Give Ryan and Janmark extra reps with the top 3 lines, to keep them warm for PK and such. Cloud can take a few shifts at C as we need.


We need Brett Pesce to be Nurse's D partner to not get caved against the other teams top-6

Kulak and CC should be our 3rd pair
Occasionally let one of them babysit VinD / BB with some buttersoft minutes.

 

[CookiesAndMilk]

I called @Cloned but he’s out on a date with @5 Mins 4 Ftg daughter right now.

omg

 

[CupofOil]

The Nurse-Ceci pairing. It murdered them in the Colorado series and the same in the Vegas series. Part of the reason why they're forced into playing a player like Ceci in that role is because of Nurse's salary but good management would find a way to upgrade on that player despite the cap restraints.

I get the "team defense" posts but even with solid team defense, a Nurse-Ceci pairing against top competition will never cut it.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Love. There's not enough love.

I love this.

 

[CookiesAndMilk]

Not sure what to call it but Imo the achille's heel to this team are the dumb plays/60. I don't know how a team can be so stupid at times because the talent clearly is there, but so are the mistakes.

The only thing we are contending for atm is the contention of how many shots your foot can take before you're out of the championship race.

 

[rboomercat90]

This is brought on by a discussion being had on another thread “Are You Really Worried” (with @Beerfish).

But it provoked the question, what is the Oiler’s Achille’s Heal to a Stanley Cup win (and limit your response to on-ice positions. Owner/GM/Coach/Goalie coach references can all piss off.

Sorry there’s no Poll. I can fix my 8track from skipping and can change points, rotors and distributor caps but don’t know how to set up a poll. I called @Cloned but he’s out on a date with @5 Mins 4 Ftg daughter right now.

You’ve still got an 8track? Nice.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

an upgrade on RHD
Ceci should be nowhere near the top 4 on a championship team

Nurse-XXXX
Ekholm-Bouchard
Kulak-Ceci

need a 4th line center that can win draws too IMO...basically a Bjugstad replacement
maybe some more grit on the bottom 6 too

I think if Campbell plays at a .915 all year, our goalies will be fine

 

[Fourier]

I like Ceci in the proper role. But they really need to upgrade his spot if he is playing against top lines. Here are his stats with the other defensemen last year and so far this year.

With

TOI With

TOI Away

CF

CA

CF% With

CF% Without Ceci

SF

SA

SF% With

SF% Without Ceci

GF

GA

GF% With

GF% Without Ceci

xGF

xGA

xGF% With

xGF% Without Ceci

SCF

SCA

SCF% With

SCF% Without Ceci

HDCF

HDCA

HDCF% With

HDCF% Without Ceci

MDCF

MDCA

MDCF% With

MDCF% Without Ceci

Brett Kulak

134.92​

1237.083​

114​

131​

46.5​

50.1​

62​

73​

46​

49.05​

5​

5​

50​

51.49​

7.14​

6.29​

53.16​

50.55​

61​

74​

45.2​

51.68​

34​

35​

49.28​

54.46​

27​

39​

40.91​

49.55​

Darnell Nurse

1116.2​

255.8​

1050​

1028​

50.5​

55.35​

558​

580​

49​

56.87​

47​

49​

49​

57.14​

52.84​

50.7​

51.05​

57.31​

565​

557​

50.4​

56.93​

250​

216​

53.65​

60.47​

315​

341​

48.02​

54.83​

Evan Bouchard

41.417​

1330.583​

36​

33​

52.2​

56.85​

19​

18​

51​

54.49​

0​

2​

0​

51.64​

1.45​

1.87​

43.62​

57.27​

19​

19​

50​

57.93​

8​

9​

47.06​

59.27​

11​

10​

52.38​

56.98​

Markus Niemelainen

7.7167​

373.9​

6​

7​

46.2​

47.99​

5​

4​

56​

47.62​

0​

0​

-

55.56​

0.33​

0.45​

42.56​

48.17​

4​

4​

50​

51.52​

1​

4​

20​

51.9​

3​

0​

100​

51.26​

Mattias Ekholm

10.533​

344.1167​

6​

9​

40​

57.7​

3​

5​

38​

52.12​

0​

1​

0​

72.97​

0.16​

0.51​

24.12​

60.15​

2​

8​

20​

60.86​

0​

4​

0​

62.94​

2​

4​

33.33​

59.42​

Philip Broberg

22.217​

746.2333​

22​

14​

61.1​

57.03​

8​

11​

42​

56.69​

0​

1​

0​

53.57​

0.85​

1.07​

44.09​

59.18​

14​

9​

60.9​

58.86​

4​

5​

44.44​

60​

10​

4​

71.43​

57.99​

Ryan Murray

17.7​

189.8​

14​

12​

53.9​

47.67​

6​

7​

46​

46.81​

1​

0​

100​

30.77​

0.48​

0.39​

55.13​

45.77​

8​

4​

66.7​

49.61​

2​

0​

100​

50.91​

6​

4​

60​

48.65​

Tyson Barrie

23.967​

976.9667​

22​

19​

53.7​

50.84​

15​

10​

60​

51.69​

1​

2​

33​

52.78​

1.7​

0.54​

76.03​

52.65​

17​

9​

65.4​

52.35​

9​

2​

81.82​

55.08​

8​

7​

53.33​

50.22​

Vincent Desharnais

6.5333​

540.75​

9​

3​

75​

50.07​

7​

2​

78​

51.35​

2​

0​

100​

60​

0.79​

0.13​

85.87​

53.4​

5​

1​

83.3​

55.3​

4​

0​

100​

60​

1​

1​

50​

51.76​

It seems that if you look at performance with and without for any defensemen that would typically be playing with him in a top 4 situation there is a clear pattern that the defenseman's stats are notably better away from Ceci. However for the bottom pairing guys it tends to be the opposite.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Team depth. The Oilers outscored some problems last year but their depth vanished at inopportune times in the playoffs. The Oilers are very rarely going to limit their playoff opponents to less than 2 goals. An extra goal from the 3rd or 4th line would go a long way.

Sure, you need a goalie that can stop a puck but the playoffs are all about unexpected heroes. Other than McDavid and Draisatl, basically nobody stepped up last year and until that changes we won't win. McDrai going supernova has already proven it isn't enough, twice even.

 

[Anarchism]

I like Ceci in the proper role. But they really need to upgrade his spot if he is playing against top lines. Here are his stats with the other defensemen last year and so far this year.

With

TOI With

TOI Away

CF

CA

CF% With

CF% Without Ceci

SF

SA

SF% With

SF% Without Ceci

GF

GA

GF% With

GF% Without Ceci

xGF

xGA

xGF% With

xGF% Without Ceci

SCF

SCA

SCF% With

SCF% Without Ceci

HDCF

HDCA

HDCF% With

HDCF% Without Ceci

MDCF

MDCA

MDCF% With

MDCF% Without Ceci

Brett Kulak

134.92​

1237.083​

114​

131​

46.5​

50.1​

62​

73​

46​

49.05​

5​

5​

50​

51.49​

7.14​

6.29​

53.16​

50.55​

61​

74​

45.2​

51.68​

34​

35​

49.28​

54.46​

27​

39​

40.91​

49.55​

Darnell Nurse

1116.2​

255.8​

1050​

1028​

50.5​

55.35​

558​

580​

49​

56.87​

47​

49​

49​

57.14​

52.84​

50.7​

51.05​

57.31​

565​

557​

50.4​

56.93​

250​

216​

53.65​

60.47​

315​

341​

48.02​

54.83​

Evan Bouchard

41.417​

1330.583​

36​

33​

52.2​

56.85​

19​

18​

51​

54.49​

0​

2​

0​

51.64​

1.45​

1.87​

43.62​

57.27​

19​

19​

50​

57.93​

8​

9​

47.06​

59.27​

11​

10​

52.38​

56.98​

Markus Niemelainen

7.7167​

373.9​

6​

7​

46.2​

47.99​

5​

4​

56​

47.62​

0​

0​

-

55.56​

0.33​

0.45​

42.56​

48.17​

4​

4​

50​

51.52​

1​

4​

20​

51.9​

3​

0​

100​

51.26​

Mattias Ekholm

10.533​

344.1167​

6​

9​

40​

57.7​

3​

5​

38​

52.12​

0​

1​

0​

72.97​

0.16​

0.51​

24.12​

60.15​

2​

8​

20​

60.86​

0​

4​

0​

62.94​

2​

4​

33.33​

59.42​

Philip Broberg

22.217​

746.2333​

22​

14​

61.1​

57.03​

8​

11​

42​

56.69​

0​

1​

0​

53.57​

0.85​

1.07​

44.09​

59.18​

14​

9​

60.9​

58.86​

4​

5​

44.44​

60​

10​

4​

71.43​

57.99​

Ryan Murray

17.7​

189.8​

14​

12​

53.9​

47.67​

6​

7​

46​

46.81​

1​

0​

100​

30.77​

0.48​

0.39​

55.13​

45.77​

8​

4​

66.7​

49.61​

2​

0​

100​

50.91​

6​

4​

60​

48.65​

Tyson Barrie

23.967​

976.9667​

22​

19​

53.7​

50.84​

15​

10​

60​

51.69​

1​

2​

33​

52.78​

1.7​

0.54​

76.03​

52.65​

17​

9​

65.4​

52.35​

9​

2​

81.82​

55.08​

8​

7​

53.33​

50.22​

Vincent Desharnais

6.5333​

540.75​

9​

3​

75​

50.07​

7​

2​

78​

51.35​

2​

0​

100​

60​

0.79​

0.13​

85.87​

53.4​

5​

1​

83.3​

55.3​

4​

0​

100​

60​

1​

1​

50​

51.76​

It seems that if you look at performance with and without for any defensemen that would typically be playing with him in a top 4 situation there is a clear pattern that the defenseman's stats are notably better away from Ceci. However for the bottom pairing guys it tends to be the opposite.

So the conclusion from this is 1) Ceci is a 4/5 guy and 2) he is miscast as a foil for Nurse in that though he may skate well he is the wrong partner for a guy with an attack mentality??
Or am i extrapolating too much and poorly?

 

[Fourier]

So the conclusion from this is 1) Ceci is a 4/5 guy and 2) he is miscast as a foil for Nurse in that though he may skate well he is the wrong partner for a guy with an attack mentality??

I think you can say that!

 

[Bobieque]

Mentality. I think the players are good enough to get it done. Mentally they are just fragile, we routinely shuffle between various types of meltdowns:

Goaltending doesn't show up despite everyone else playing well
Goaltending shows up despite everyone else playing like shit
Score goals and then fall asleep and let the other team score immediately
Decide to take first periods off. Bonus in the playoffs of taking the whole first game off.

The teams Achilles heel is it's ability to actually show up for 60m and stomp the other team out. We have more than enough horses and talent to get it done. They just have teenager mentality of half assing it and hoping they can draw 6 penalties to sleepwalk into a W off a 40% powerplay.

Part of me questions veteran leadership. Was glad to hear McDavid talked to the team post-Vegas as to expectations this year. But is he/Drai/Nurse holding the team accountable? Are they holding themselves accountable?

To have absolute no-start at the beginning of the game has been blamed on Woodcroft not getting them ready, but these guys should be able to absolutely dominate at the beginning of the match.

I think about the Messier/Kent Nillson story of when Kent joined the Oilers in '88 and he had a reputation for taking nights off. Legend has it Messier threw him up on a wall and snarled "You don't worry about Sather, you don't worry about the press, you work your ass off or you worry about me!"
I've heard variations on the story over the years, and this is an extreme example, but to me that's leadership accountability.

This may be the overreach, but who on this team stands up in the dressing room to get their teammates going? To say "enough is enough, get your asses moving" when they start a game so lethargic.
It's on Woody to push for sure, but it also takes a certain culture that the crusty veterans can provide.

Do we have that? I'm not sure. But to me that is part of winning deep in the playoffs or a championship. If we don't, that to me is our biggest weakness

 

[Anarchism]

I think you can say that!

So if you had to build the perfect partner for Nurse (with a limited budget) what assets would he possess given 1) Nurses tendencies and Nurse would be the number 1 and 2) and this new guy would be the 'defensive' side of this pair.

 

[Fourier]

So if you had to build the perfect partner for Nurse (with a limited budget) what assets would he possess given 1) Nurses tendencies and Nurse would be the number 1 and 2) and this new guy would be the 'defensive' side of this pair.

I want someone who is smart, can skate, make a decent outlet and be a rock defensively. Effectively a right hand Ekholm but a guy like Pesce could play that role. The problem is that there are not a lot or RHD that fit this mold that are both potentially available and who would fit the Oiler's cap structure. A guy like Brandon Carlo might be a decent option since he is signed at an affordable number but why does Boston move him??

 

[FlameChampion]

I think it comes down to three things.

1. Mentality. I see a lot of stubbornness and immaturity in the way they approach and play games. They like to dip their feet in the water before they engage. Lack of work ethic and will to play defense. Sometimes I also wonder if their great power play just causes the team to complacent when they play. And because they have such a good offense, everyone thinks they can get away without playing defense. But this isnt a young team anymore, they should know better. Unfortunately, I think the team lacks leadership (its hard to know without being behind the curtain).

2. Team Defense. At this point I was hoping that Nurse's game would be more mature and composed but unfortunately its not. The team needs an upgrade on Ceci. The analytics and pro scouting department should be finding someone to compliment and mask Nurse's deficiencies (because he isnt going anywhere). I think Nurse needs a defensive responsible partner, with a good first pass and plays with some composure. Sounds easy but I think thats a rare player. Good luck finding the player and good luck fitting it within the cap. But its not all on Nurse. This team lacks attention to team defense. The forwards play a part in it, and for the most part its the top 6 forwards who are guilty of it. We know McDavid and Draisaitl can play defense if they want, and at times they do, but its not at a consistent enough basis. And I would also single out Hyman and Kane in particular because they dont play defense either. And I also believe both guys can if they want to. The thing that frustrates me with the defense, is that I look at the defense we have, and I know it not elite but I still think it should be better with the players we have (good to great). Its not just a personnel issue, theres also a mentality/will issue with both the defense/forwards.

3. Goaltending. The teams goaltending just isnt good enough. If our goaltender plays at the same level as the other teams or outplays them, the Oilers probably win 80+% of the time. That being said if the team played better team defense, it would help out the goaltending. Can we move on from Schwartz please?

I think the frustrating part is that if the Team even had one of the three things above, the chances of winning a cup would substantially increase. When the Oilers are playing their A game, I think they can beat anyone. But we dont see it at a consistent enough level.

I think the mentality aspect is what frustrates me the most about the team though. Because its something that they should have control over. Team doesnt seem to really be able to learn from past mistakes though (we will see how this season goes).

 

[Drivesaitl]

If I were to add 1 player it would be a true #1 goalie... because those guys can bail out a team and essentially carry a team on their back even when you have 1, 2 or even 3 holes elsewhere.

For example... you add a Demko to this roster (and he stays healthy)... then this team is instantly a #1 contender even with the other glaring issues on the team.

#1 goalies are also pretty hard to acquire though... so probably not going to happen. Have to hope a combo of Campbell/Skinner is "good enough" and if not... then hopefully some other random (non #1) is good enough to be at least decent ie an Adin Hill type.

Other than goalie... it's obviously a great Dman... the RD equivalent of an Ekholm... which again is a bit of a unicorn to acquire. They are out there but likely either VERY expensive to acquire... or simply not available as their own teams want them for playoff runs and not to help out the Oilers with theirs.

So the Achille's heel is consistently "decent" goaltending and defense that's also decently consistent. Can you get those 2 players above that will help with that? Probably not as it will be prohibitively expensive.


The alternative of course is for this team to focus on D like their lives depend on it. Any game with more than a handful of high danger chances against should be an anomaly... not the norm like it always seems to be for this team. The goaltending likely looks a lot better without 2 on Zeroes coming down the pipe and other random brainfarts resulting in sure goals more often than not.

As they say defense can be taught... offense can't. Oilers are good enough offensively... even when it sputters you know there's enough there to get it done on most nights... it's the defense that lets the team down.

Simply drill and drill some more and make this team think defense 1st unless it's a power play or you have McDrai out there looking for tying goals when the team is behind. Otherwise it should be the mindset that a goal prevented is as good as a goal gained because it also helps the goalies as a side benefit. Even this Nashville win wasn't brilliant as you had 44 shots against... you can't outscore that on most nights as it usually means 4-5 goals against and you can't always outscore the loose D.

Achille's heel is D structure/systems and buy in from top to bottom... 11/12 forwards and 6/7 D all need to make defense THE goal and not just an afterthought between trying to score goals.

This is obviously the most difficult to achieve as this team doesn't have great elite talent when it comes to defensively superior players outside of Ekholm and maybe a couple ok/decent defensive forwards like Ryan/Janmark.

Getting everyone focused and on the same page while consistently allowing fewer shots and especially fewer high danger chances against is the ultimate goal and I have NO IDEA if this group is capable of doing that as this is something that has to be taught and worked on for years... and for some/many of these players... that may be beyond their abilities to pick up that mentality at this stage. Hopefully for this team's sake they can at least get to an average level of competence but as you watch each game... it's natural to think that may never happen.

^ What he said. Ditto, all that.

I think it comes down to three things.

1. Mentality. I see a lot of stubbornness and immaturity in the way they approach and play games. They like to dip their feet in the water before they engage. Lack of work ethic and will to play defense. Sometimes I also wonder if their great power play just causes the team to complacent when they play. And because they have such a good offense, everyone thinks they can get away without playing defense. But this isnt a young team anymore, they should know better. Unfortunately, I think the team lacks leadership (its hard to know without being behind the curtain).

2. Team Defense. At this point I was hoping that Nurse's game would be more mature and composed but unfortunately its not. The team needs an upgrade on Ceci. The analytics and pro scouting department should be finding someone to compliment and mask Nurse's deficiencies (because he isnt going anywhere). I think Nurse needs a defensive responsible partner, with a good first pass and plays with some composure. Sounds easy but I think thats a rare player. Good luck finding the player and good luck fitting it within the cap. But its not all on Nurse. This team lacks attention to team defense. The forwards play a part in it, and for the most part its the top 6 forwards who are guilty of it. We know McDavid and Draisaitl can play defense if they want, and at times they do, but its not at a consistent enough basis. And I would also single out Hyman and Kane in particular because they dont play defense either. And I also believe both guys can if they want to. The thing that frustrates me with the defense, is that I look at the defense we have, and I know it not elite but I still think it should be better with the players we have (good to great). Its not just a personnel issue, theres also a mentality/will issue with both the defense/forwards.

3. Goaltending. The teams goaltending just isnt good enough. If our goaltender plays at the same level as the other teams or outplays them, the Oilers probably win 80+% of the time. That being said if the team played better team defense, it would help out the goaltending. Can we move on from Schwartz please?

I think the frustrating part is that if the Team even had one of the three things above, the chances of winning a cup would substantially increase. When the Oilers are playing their A game, I think they can beat anyone. But we dont see it at a consistent enough level.

I think the mentality aspect is what frustrates me the most about the team though. Because its something that they should have control over. Team doesnt seem to really be able to learn from past mistakes though (we will see how this season goes).

Another ditto, all that. Posters are getting so good here I don't have to write much.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Part of me questions veteran leadership. Was glad to hear McDavid talked to the team post-Vegas as to expectations this year. But is he/Drai/Nurse holding the team accountable? Are they holding themselves accountable?

To have absolute no-start at the beginning of the game has been blamed on Woodcroft not getting them ready, but these guys should be able to absolutely dominate at the beginning of the match.

I think about the Messier/Kent Nillson story of when Kent joined the Oilers in '88 and he had a reputation for taking nights off. Legend has it Messier threw him up on a wall and snarled "You don't worry about Sather, you don't worry about the press, you work your ass off or you worry about me!"
I've heard variations on the story over the years, and this is an extreme example, but to me that's leadership accountability.

This may be the overreach, but who on this team stands up in the dressing room to get their teammates going? To say "enough is enough, get your asses moving" when they start a game so lethargic.
It's on Woody to push for sure, but it also takes a certain culture that the crusty veterans can provide.

Do we have that? I'm not sure. But to me that is part of winning deep in the playoffs or a championship. If we don't, that to me is our biggest weakness

I know this wasnt supposed to be mentioned in the thread but what about coachign taking a night off, or a a post season off, or how about this, not even remotely doing their jobs? Then what?

The only time ever that Glen Sather was outcoached was in 1987 by Mike Keenan. He had that Flyers team geared up and prepared to do anything but win. Oddly it was the scariest series even though the Oilers had lost to the Flames the year before in a divisional matchup. With the 86 loss it was a fat headed Oilers team taking a few things for granted after a couple cup wins and nothing corrupts quite like success.

But I mention coaching because how do the players and core fully keep dialing in when something else is amiss. Drai scored 4 goals in game 1 of the Vegas series and the team lost. There were limited appreciable changes since that and the team kept going with the same starter, kept much the same line matching, kept some useful players off the ice, and didn't use the bench very well. I'll always maintain we lost Drai, and the series, after game 1. You CANNOT lose a playoff game in which your hero scores 4 goals. That is EPIC fail.

I can't, I cannot put the shortfall on McDrai on ice play. Just can't. No players do more for a team to try to win.

Gretz and Mess had a lot of help on the ice but they had the brightest minds in the business running things. The current team doesn't have that in coaching or management.

I'll mention with that Nillson wasn't an ideal fit regardless of what Mess did. Indeed a team never satisfied kept looking and pressed Ken Linseman, Krushelnyski, Craig Simpson, all kinds of help to keep adding right ingredients. The org top down was never satisfied. The present org is full of being sated and has for decades. This great org just opens the gates and the hordes come rushing through. (I'm being sarcastic with that) but one can even blame people for supporting this org unconditionally, and the org knowing it has that.

 

[K1984]

Poor hockey smarts overall as a team and general immaturity (inability to commit to a structured style of game across the lineup).

I think we have the roster today to win it with no tweaks if everyone played the game the right way consistently. The Oilers problem is when a game/series get to the margins and every play matters they are the ones to make the first mistake.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Poor hockey smarts overall as a team and general immaturity (inability to commit to a structured style of game across the lineup).

I think we have the roster today to win it with no tweaks if everyone played the game the right way consistently. The Oilers problem is when a game/series get to the margins and every play matters they are the ones to make the first mistake.

Colorado was one thing but about half the team went to sleep against Vegas.

I think they fully believed they would just coast to a victory and before they knew it they were in a hole they couldn't escape. If they played at full capacity there's no way they lose that series. But they got satisfied after every win and Vegas was more than happy to take advantage.

This team has had a bad habit of looking past opponents in the playoffs. An Oilers team playing the way they can doesn't lose some of the series they did.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Not sure what to call it but Imo the achille's heel to this team are the dumb plays/60. I don't know how a team can be so stupid at times because the talent clearly is there, but so are the mistakes.

The only thing we are contending for atm is the contention of how many shots your foot can take before you're out of the championship race.

Mistakes are always there to a degree. Mistakes are disguised on more complete rosters that have the goaltending and on teams that trust the whole lineup, trust the system, coaching. etc.

Trouble with the Oilers is the longer standing players here have known lineups that were frankly shit and full of holes. What this meant is the core on this team had to learn to cheat for years to get every drop of offense because the run support, the D, the goaltending, it wasn't happening anytime soon.

Further this created learned helplessness paradigms where even McDrai winning scoring races wasn't enough, and regardless of what they say they knew the team in front of them wasn't enough.

The main fault of McDrai, and its deserved at this point, is that they are not candid and clear enough. Particularly McDavid. They'll shine up anybody from underperforming winger to coach, anybody. They are uncritical when it comes to team. They've learned to be this way and they have a concept that its the way. But success arguably can come from conflict and putting cards on table. That doesn't occur enough in this org. Not even our coaching staff are prepared to do it. Instead we have random accountability and some players being benched regardless of game specific faults.

 

[K1984]

Colorado was one thing but about half the team went to sleep against Vegas.

I think they fully believed they would just coast to a victory and before they knew it they were in a hole they couldn't escape. If they played at full capacity there's no way they lose that series. But they got satisfied after every win and Vegas was more than happy to take advantage.

This team has had a bad habit of looking past opponents in the playoffs. An Oilers team playing the way they can doesn't lose some of the series they did.

Yep exactly, speaking to the immaturity. They have proven time and time again that as soon as they start to feel good about themselves they take the foot off the gas.

I was very, very hopeful that the lessons that should have been learned against Vegas focused them for the full 82, then they take the night off in night 1 of the season and implode on themselves in Game 2. Remains to be seen if that was enough of a wake up call, but I'm not optimistic based on the long track record of doing the opposite.