I haven't seen a game that badly officiated in a LONG time.
Goals called back:
- I have absolutely no idea where they saw interference on Perry. The contact happened long before the goal was scored and Vladar had been back in position for at least a 5 count before the goal was scored. This is one of the worst calls I've seen in a long time. Brutally bad, would have made it 2-0 Oilers early.
- Second goal was definitely offsides though, tough break (again)
2 absolute BS calls on the Oilers gave the Flames powerplays:
- Call on Draisaitl was terrible, a stick lift called a slash by the ref on the far other side of the rink
- Call on Hyman is okay in isolation, but Vladar drops the stick really easily after barely getting touched, compared to the non-sense Calgary was pulling on Skinner with no call, this was nothing.
MANY missed calls on Calgary:
- Blatant slash to the back of Skinners shins by Backlund
- Crashing into Skinner with absolutely no one anywhere near him
- Constant hooking in the hands on McDavid among others. A Calgary player had his stick wedged in Stetchers glove for an entire 10 count as he skated the length of the ice.
Reffing aside:
The Oilers look fragile, after the goals that got called back, and then the Andersson goal they lost urgency. It's hard to be motivated to play when it feels like all the calls are going the way of the other team, but you have to find a way to dig deep especially when you've dropped your first two games.
Stu Skinner was alright, much better than his last performance so that's a plus. At the very least he wasn't the reason they lost.
Jeff Skinner had a great game, aside from the goal he also made a great pass on the Derek Ryan goal that eventually was called back for offside. I like that he isn't afraid to take a shot, the Oilers have so many playmakers its great to have a skill guy that just shoots the puck at a high volume.
The Oilers "core 3" of McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard look out of sorts. They can't seem to settle the puck down.
Nurse looked brutal tonight, a few bad turnovers and just weird, puzzling decision making.
Two posts and the disallowed goals were the difference tonight.
The team as a whole looks slow, I like
@Jack Harris 's idea of bringing in some youth from the system to get some speed in the mix.
Send down Derek Ryan and bring in Mat Savoie. He's basically NHL ready and while it may seem risky bringing in a rookie, the Oilers need a mix up and a speedy sniper like Savoie could be that guy.
Skinner - McDavid - Savoie
Hyman - Draisaitl - Arvidsson
Podkolzin - Nugent-Hopkins - Perry
Janmark - Henrique - Brown
Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Stetcher
Kulak - Dermott / Emberson
