Where are McDavid and Draisaitl when it matters?

[SeanMoneyHands]

I wouldn't be surprised if Tippett is canned this summer. Too many mistakes by him this series, failing to make adjustments and he was a contributor to bad decisions in Game 4 that were a factor in the oil leak. What coach would have Jar Jar out there in a critical faceoff in your own end, in OT with all the momentum on the other team? The Oilers were already getting killed in the faceoff circle.

Oilers need a defensive seasoned coach like Trotz or Torterella who can teach McDavid how to play a 200ft game. Torts would be a great fit on this club.

 

[wetcoast]

I wouldn't be surprised if Tippett is canned this summer. Too many mistakes by him this series, failing to make adjustments and he was a contributor to bad decisions in Game 4 that were a factor in the oil leak. What coach would have Jar Jar out there in a critical faceoff in your own end, in OT with all the momentum on the other team? The Oilers were already getting killed in the faceoff circle.

Oilers need a defensive seasoned coach like Trotz or Torterella who can teach McDavid how to play a 200ft game. Torts would be a great fit on this club.

I have a soft spot for Torts as he is a huge dog lover but his expiry date as an NHL coach is long overdue, he is better suited for a broadcasting job at this point.

Holland knows what he is doing and I expect Tippet to be back

 

[Cotton]

Heard of Bobby Hull?

I wouldn’t consider him generational, but I’ll admit I assumed the B was for Brett.

 

[Bouboumaster]

This post doesn't make any sense. No one is going to help the Oilers. They are paying the price for:

* Poor asset management
* Poor drafting
* Edmonton being an undesirable place to play (relatively speaking)

McDrai is great and they have a few other nice pieces but overall they lack depth (in particular at forward), aren't what I call defensively sound, and are poorly coached. Getting back to this game for a minute though, let's not blame McDrai. They did their part. Let's not blame Archibald either. He made a boneheaded play but the Oilers were still up by two midway through the 3rd period and couldn't get the job done. It was death by a thousand cuts. The details. Poor defensive coverage, inexplicable mistakes by Smith, not winning key faceoffs. The Jets wanted it more and it showed.

So what you're saying is that they are lacking depth?

Cool that we agree on that

 

[Kranix]

to win you need a great goalie....... in 09 87 and 71 had fleury , what do 97 and 29 have?

You need a goalie that doesn't have meltdowns

 

[SotasicA]

McJesus and Draisaitl are both minus players. What chance do the Oilers have if their top dogs can't hang in their matchups? Do they expect Yamamoto or Khaira or RNH or McLeod to carry the team to victory?

Connor again proves that he is not a guy who can take over and win games. Regular season point totals are his Stanley Cup. He lives for those soft points. Winning when it counts is not his thing. Never willing to put in the blood, sweat and tears that's required to compete against a determined opponent. The Jets top guys have beaten the Oilers top guys. They have simply played better. And the Oilers don't have the depth to make up for it.

 

[AD1066]

McJesus and Draisaitl are both minus players. What chance do the Oilers have if their top dogs can't hang in their matchups? Do they expect Yamamoto or Khaira or RNH or McLeod to carry the team to victory?

Connor again proves that he is not a guy who can take over and win games. Regular season point totals are his Stanley Cup. He lives for those soft points. Winning when it counts is not his thing. Never willing to put in the blood, sweat and tears that's required to compete against a determined opponent. The Jets top guys have beaten the Oilers top guys. They have simply played better. And the Oilers don't have the depth to make up for it.

Plus minus is a flawed stat, at least in the way you're using it.

Jeff Schultz was once a +50 and it's not because he was the league's best defender that year.

 

[Sugi21]

McDavid still has no clue how to play in his own end just look at that tying goal! He picks up the puck beside his net and he doesn’t even take a look for an option he just blindly whips it around the boards to an open Jets player who then makes a play for the tying goal! 97 had Bear to his left and Nurse to his right when he gathered that puck heck he could have just stopped behind his net or cut back to his left like most dmen do in that situation instead he panics and goes for the unforced dump out. Yes there was a forechecker coming from the slot but 97 needs his head on a swivel there

 

[SotasicA]

Plus minus is a flawed stat, at least in the way you're using it.

So you're fine with McDavid and Draisaitl getting outscored when they're on the ice? Does that sound like a winning formula?

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Don't worry, McDavid will be able to perform in tight checking big games. He will be Team Canada's #1C at the next Olympics. But he will be playing with elite wingers to carry him.

 

[NastyNick]

These guys are obviously not prepared for the playoffs.. nor do they understand how to prepare. Chasing 100 pts is fun for the fans, but when your playoff preparation and discipline suffers as a result of trophy gazing - then it becomes a problem.

This team needs an identity overhaul.. and new coaching + leadership would certainly be necessary.

 

[T REX]

Regular season generational

 

[Bear of Bad News]

to win you need a great goalie....... in 09 87 and 71 had fleury , what do 97 and 29 have?

The 2010 Stanley Cup Finals featured Antti Niemi versus Michael Leighton.

 

[mouz135]

I don’t think McMuffin will ever win in Edmonton until he learns how to play defence. He needs to stop cherry picking at the blue line.

Lots of blown coverage last night. Just a one dimensional player right now

 

[SotasicA]

Jeff Schultz was once a +50 and it's not because he was the league's best defender that year.

It clearly shows he did well in his role.

You can even be a plus player on the fourth line. It shows you performed well in your role and against the opposition you were put up against.

McDavid should be the best player in the world. What's his excuse for not outplaying his opposition? Should he maybe play against weaker opposition? Maybe he needs better linemates than a Draisaitl?

 

[DownIsTheNewUp]

This Oilers team will never have playoff successful until McDavid commits to playing better defensive hockey. Leadership starts at the top, how can you expect the rest of the team to sell out defensively when you don't expect it of your captain?

For those saying the team just needs better goaltending and depth, if you magically add goaltending and depth you become the 2018-2019 Lightning, great at winning regular season games and swept in the playoffs. It wasn't until Tampa committed to team defense and being content to win games 2-1 rather than 6-4 that the playoff success came.

Playoff hockey is a different game. Learning to play it might cost you scoring titles and individual trophies, but that's the decision McDavid has to make.

 

[Dominance]

Oilers problem is McDavid and Draisaitl seemingly need each other to produce when the going gets tough. It doesn’t matter if they score 10 points a game if their team is losing because they have zero depth. They need to drive their own lines; it is impossible for a one-line team to win.

Crosby and Malkin were very obviously on another level, hauling wingers as bad or worse than what Edmonton can offer around to dominate the puck at both ends of the ice for a collective 2/3 of the game.

 

[Kreator]

I mean who could possibly see this coming?
A team with 2.5 good forwards, 1 top 4 dman and grandpa in goal....WHAT A SHOCK.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Plus minus is a flawed stat, at least in the way you're using it.

Jeff Schultz was once a +50 and it's not because he was the league's best defender that year.

I disagree, I think +/- has a lot more relevance in a playoff series, and possibly from series-to-series. Your example was from a complete season, which everyone agrees isn’t really telling.

 

[Dubi Doo]

That was an awful play by McDavid on the game tying goal. I know we cant judge a player too harshly off of one play, but at that point in the game (and series) you want your best player to dominate- not blindly throwing the puck up the boards hoping it finds its way out of the zone.

 

[Llamamoto]

Oilers problem is McDavid and Draisaitl seemingly need each other to produce when the going gets tough. It doesn’t matter if they score 10 points a game if their team is losing because they have zero depth. They need to drive their own lines; it is impossible for a one-line team to win.

Crosby and Malkin were very obviously on another level, hauling wingers as bad or worse than what Edmonton can offer around to dominate the puck at both ends of the ice for a collective 2/3 of the game.

This was the first time McDavid and Draisaitl have played together in the playoffs. Last year they played on separate lines and McDavid had 9 points in 4 games.

In the 2016-17 run, Draisaitl had 16 points in 13 games centering his own line. They were extremely snake bitten the first two games of the Jets series, Tippet's dumb line decisions doesn't mean that they can't produce when "the going gets tough".

Edit: Draisaitl centered Lucic and Slepyshev in the 2017 run, he can produce with bad wingers lol.

 

[Eternal Leaf]

I mean who could possibly see this coming?
A team with 2.5 good forwards, 1 top 4 dman and grandpa in goal....WHAT A SHOCK.

I think this series has been a very bad look for McDavid and Drai (to a lesser extent).

Tippett's game plan has actually worked well enough even if Oilers fans don't think so. Lines 2-4 just have to break even and then line 1 (stacked with both stars) provides the offense.

Games 1 and 2 were lost because these guys didn't show up and do their job. The depth + Smith managed to keep the Jets at bay, which is enough due to their lack of talent. It was the top line that failed to generate anything of value.

Game 3 was a meltdown but McDavid and Drai were a part of it too including the silly turnover.

Depth is usually a concern when your superstars are dominating their matchup. I'm afraid they haven't except for half of game 3 when Drai was excellent.

Let's see if they can turn this around but it's not looking good.

 

[Cup or Bust]

The reason they are playing together is because Puljujarvi is the only winger that has shown any offensive ability at all. Even Yamamato who is playing hard has not been good offensively this entire season. RNH 5 on 5 has been disapointing this season as well. I was extremely disappointed Holland never added a top six winger at the deadline. I considered the season over at that point. You can't win in the playoffs with only a couple of guys in the top 6 you can depend on for scoring. You can get away with it in the regular season, but everything ramps up in the playoffs, you need every inch to win games in the playoffs. This will be a big off-season for the Oilers.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

That was an awful play by McDavid on the game tying goal. I know we cant judge a player too harshly off of one play, but at that point in the game (and series) you want your best player to dominate- not blindly throwing the puck up the boards hoping it finds its way out of the zone.

In case you weren't sure, this is HFboards, a site where a player can apparently be judge for anything and everything at any given point in time.

Joking aside, your last point is 100% correct.

 

[Stubu]

The Oilers do have some other good players. RNH, Kassian (ok at times), Nurse, Barrie, Puljujarvi. Just need to retain and add to it.

A couple of years ago one wouldn't have expected... Puljujarvi and Kassian on someone's Top 7 list of Oilers players...