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- Thread starter Gronk!
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IanO
Superstar
God that was hard to watch.
I am finally done crying and breaking things.
On to game #2.
I am finally done crying and breaking things.
On to game #2.
Greenspace
Senior Member
I'm looking forward to a better effort and more consistency on our part. If when we do that we still loose, then at least it isn't giving up 4 goals and loosing nonsense.
Gronk!
Senior Member
Oilers win Game 2 in OT! Draisaitl was flying tonight.
TAS
Senior Member
Amazing effort by the Oilers best five players in the third - McD, Drai, Hyman, Bouch, Ekholm.
Ekholm was a beast.
Oilers deserved the win. Hard to believe though that we're playing against their third string goalie.
Wonder if we will get more from Perry and McLeod.
Ekholm was a beast.
Oilers deserved the win. Hard to believe though that we're playing against their third string goalie.
Wonder if we will get more from Perry and McLeod.
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kcantor
Senior Member
This morning’s view is like the Oiler’s Stanley Cup chances starting to bloom while the Canuck’s chances start to go up in smoke behind them.
With last night’s win - which they fully deserved even though it was nerve wracking to watch - I really like the Oilers chances of winning what is now a best of five a lot more than the odds of their winning four out of five if the Canuck’s had gotten lucky and it had gone the other way.
With last night’s win - which they fully deserved even though it was nerve wracking to watch - I really like the Oilers chances of winning what is now a best of five a lot more than the odds of their winning four out of five if the Canuck’s had gotten lucky and it had gone the other way.
IanO
Superstar
Oilers taking it in OT was awesome.
Still don't love our current game/play, but a W is a W.
Still don't love our current game/play, but a W is a W.
erudyk_29
Active Member
Even though it really isn't... Game 2 always feels like a must win if you lose game 1.
Fortunately, the Oilers did win and split the series heading home.
A few things I noticed:
1. What happened to the bottom 9?
I know that having 97 and 29 together inevitably means you're sacrificing offense further down the line up. But barring the final 10 minutes of the 3rd, every line but the 1st line was just treading water out there. I'm not just saying that bc McDavid and Drai scored all the goals, but legitimately the rest of the team could barely string 3 passes together and there were scarcely any scoring chances for anyone not wearing 97, 29, 18, 2 and 14. Luckily, that 5 man unit was unstoppable last night.
2. What happened to the bottom 4?
Bouchard and Ekholm were excellent last night on both sides of the puck. The rest of the defense however... looked lost. Nurse and Ceci were back to their disfunctional selves, I don't really understand how this pair has survived so long without being shaken up. I genuinely think they don't trust one another out. There will be many instances every game where they both go to one guy and leave another open. This tells me that they don't trust each other to do their job defensively. Kulak had an uncharacteristically not great game in my opinion. Him and Desharnais were having trouble handling the puck, and they were making ill advised passes up the middle, that were inevitably picked off.
Essentially, without the 5 man unit of McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, Bouchard and Ekholm on the ice, they were just barely staying alive. That cannot continue, can't expect 4 goals out of those 5 guys every night.
3. The Stuart Skinner conundrum:
Skinner had an... interesting game last night. The first goal against was a cross-seam one-timer on the powerplay, nothing he could do there. The second was a deflection from the point, not an easy stop for sure, but one you would generally hope he saves given he only faced 19 shots all game and he actually did pick up the shot as it came through (he dropped into the butterfly) but didn't get there quick enough. The last goal, is one he should absolutely have. Many people have mentioned that it wasn't that bad since that's where McDavid scores a lot, the difference was that rather than being a shot from in close, this was a floater from the wall. He had plenty of time to adjust and make that save. He did make every save they needed to eventually win the game though.
So he didn't have a terrible game, but he also let in a bad goal at a crucial time which you hate to see. Overall, I'm not sure what to think of Skinner's playoff performance so far, he's had great games like he did against LA in game 3/4 and he's also had bad games like Game 2 against the Kings and Game one against the Nucks.
So which Stuart Skinner can we expect to see going forward?
I have no idea, but I'm tempted to say that that was a confidence building win for him (and the team in general). I see last night as a transitional game, where he recovers from Game 1, and figures it out next game and beyond. I really, really hope so.
Fortunately, the Oilers did win and split the series heading home.
A few things I noticed:
1. What happened to the bottom 9?
I know that having 97 and 29 together inevitably means you're sacrificing offense further down the line up. But barring the final 10 minutes of the 3rd, every line but the 1st line was just treading water out there. I'm not just saying that bc McDavid and Drai scored all the goals, but legitimately the rest of the team could barely string 3 passes together and there were scarcely any scoring chances for anyone not wearing 97, 29, 18, 2 and 14. Luckily, that 5 man unit was unstoppable last night.
2. What happened to the bottom 4?
Bouchard and Ekholm were excellent last night on both sides of the puck. The rest of the defense however... looked lost. Nurse and Ceci were back to their disfunctional selves, I don't really understand how this pair has survived so long without being shaken up. I genuinely think they don't trust one another out. There will be many instances every game where they both go to one guy and leave another open. This tells me that they don't trust each other to do their job defensively. Kulak had an uncharacteristically not great game in my opinion. Him and Desharnais were having trouble handling the puck, and they were making ill advised passes up the middle, that were inevitably picked off.
Essentially, without the 5 man unit of McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, Bouchard and Ekholm on the ice, they were just barely staying alive. That cannot continue, can't expect 4 goals out of those 5 guys every night.
3. The Stuart Skinner conundrum:
Skinner had an... interesting game last night. The first goal against was a cross-seam one-timer on the powerplay, nothing he could do there. The second was a deflection from the point, not an easy stop for sure, but one you would generally hope he saves given he only faced 19 shots all game and he actually did pick up the shot as it came through (he dropped into the butterfly) but didn't get there quick enough. The last goal, is one he should absolutely have. Many people have mentioned that it wasn't that bad since that's where McDavid scores a lot, the difference was that rather than being a shot from in close, this was a floater from the wall. He had plenty of time to adjust and make that save. He did make every save they needed to eventually win the game though.
So he didn't have a terrible game, but he also let in a bad goal at a crucial time which you hate to see. Overall, I'm not sure what to think of Skinner's playoff performance so far, he's had great games like he did against LA in game 3/4 and he's also had bad games like Game 2 against the Kings and Game one against the Nucks.
So which Stuart Skinner can we expect to see going forward?
I have no idea, but I'm tempted to say that that was a confidence building win for him (and the team in general). I see last night as a transitional game, where he recovers from Game 1, and figures it out next game and beyond. I really, really hope so.
The_Cat
Senior Member
I guess Game 3's in Vancouver:
kcantor
Senior Member
They say that goal tending is half the game unless you don’t get it and then it’s 90% of the game…
Vancouver got great goaltending in tonight’s game and Edmonton although four posts certainly helped.
Skinner simply wasn't as good and the team wasn’t able to make up for that. Having said that, I look forward to seeing him start on Tuesday.. I think you dance with the one who got you here. While I wouldn’t mind seeing Pickard start as he’s also part of the reason we got here despite his not playing in either series until the third period tonight.
The last two third periods were really strong in front of both goalies so I think the team is similarly confident in both so it probably comes down to Knoblauch’s psyche management (something Woodcroft failed at last year).
Vancouver got great goaltending in tonight’s game and Edmonton although four posts certainly helped.
Skinner simply wasn't as good and the team wasn’t able to make up for that. Having said that, I look forward to seeing him start on Tuesday.. I think you dance with the one who got you here. While I wouldn’t mind seeing Pickard start as he’s also part of the reason we got here despite his not playing in either series until the third period tonight.
The last two third periods were really strong in front of both goalies so I think the team is similarly confident in both so it probably comes down to Knoblauch’s psyche management (something Woodcroft failed at last year).
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TAS
Senior Member
If these stats were reversed you have to think the score would have been 7-1 for the Canucks - who are seeming like a team destined.
Silovs has been great last 2 games and the Oilers unfortunate in several ways in Game 3, but needed to be better in the first (which is not new for them this season).
It's amazing how Game 1 changed things so much - Oilers up 4-1 with McD and Drai playing apart and regular-ish minutes and Silovs looking very average and then the team doesn't get a shot in nearly 23 minutes, some weak to ave goaltending on our end and loses.
And now we have McD and Drai together playing nearly 30 minutes a game and Bouchard more than that (big minutes for Hyman and Elkholm, too).
Can they sustain that volume plus the increased physical play the Canucks are targeting them with?
Still believe the Oilers can win this.
Silovs has been great last 2 games and the Oilers unfortunate in several ways in Game 3, but needed to be better in the first (which is not new for them this season).
It's amazing how Game 1 changed things so much - Oilers up 4-1 with McD and Drai playing apart and regular-ish minutes and Silovs looking very average and then the team doesn't get a shot in nearly 23 minutes, some weak to ave goaltending on our end and loses.
And now we have McD and Drai together playing nearly 30 minutes a game and Bouchard more than that (big minutes for Hyman and Elkholm, too).
Can they sustain that volume plus the increased physical play the Canucks are targeting them with?
Still believe the Oilers can win this.
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Gronk!
Senior Member
The Oilers need to give Stu a rest for the next game tomorrow. Pickard must be dying to be the starting goalie in an NHL playoff game for the first time in his career (or so I think).
northlands
Senior Member
I still have a lot of faith in the Oil. The series has been really fairly close in a lot of ways. All three games could have easily gone in either direction. Much as I hate to admit it since I can't stand watching the Oil lose in the playoffs it has been pretty entertaining hockey.
Don't know what to say about Skinner, I like him a lot and think he's a good goalie with many NHL miles ahead of him but I'm thinking there's not much to lose by starting Pickard at this point. Stu seems like that kind where that will just push him to play harder.
Don't know what to say about Skinner, I like him a lot and think he's a good goalie with many NHL miles ahead of him but I'm thinking there's not much to lose by starting Pickard at this point. Stu seems like that kind where that will just push him to play harder.
The_Cat
Senior Member
Canucks' Carson Soucy could face discipline for end-of-game cross-check to Oilers' McDavid's face | TSN
Vancouver Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy could be facing league discipline after cross-checking Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid in the face in the seconds after the final whistle of Game 3.
www.tsn.ca
Greenspace
Senior Member
I'm not feeling this. Goaltending is just okay, no production off any other line and still our top line can't get it in. They looked pretty tired. Hopefully we can rebound for game 4 but always seems to be coming from behind in this series.