Oilers 2015-16

[Tom]

Ow. But I have hope. Could be they are still getting used to everything....

[Mr. Analog]

Ow. But I have hope. Could be they are still getting used to everything....

Like this so-called "ice" and this strange little black rubber disc? Why do those guys get stripey shirts? We want stripey shirts! What the heck are these rope mesh thingies on the metal hoops called? Y'know the ones on the ice.

I know lets send more guys we pay millions of bucks to down to the farm club, to send a message

[Tom]

I was thinking more teamwork wise (new players, new management/coaching, etc), but I see your point.

[Mr. Analog]

I was thinking more teamwork wise (new players, new management/coaching, etc), but I see your point.

Maybe I shouldn't be so harsh, at least they've managed to score 5 goals which is more than the Ducks or the Kings have managed

[Tom]

I was thinking more teamwork wise (new players, new management/coaching, etc), but I see your point.

Maybe I shouldn't be so harsh, at least they've managed to score 5 goals which is more than the Ducks or the Kings have managed

heh. That's positive.

I was just thinking though that it depends on how they are playing. If the players are all still playing as if they are all on their own team waiting to run out the oiler contract... Then yes its bad.

[Mr. Analog]

I was just thinking though that it depends on how they are playing. If the players are all still playing as if they are all on their own team waiting to run out the oiler contract... Then yes its bad.

After 20 years of "rebuilding" I'm tired of excuses like that tho, every team goes through roster changes...

[Tom]

I was just thinking though that it depends on how they are playing. If the players are all still playing as if they are all on their own team waiting to run out the oiler contract... Then yes its bad.

After 20 years of "rebuilding" I'm tired of excuses like that tho, every team goes through roster changes...

I meant more that the players had given up. The management thought they were rebuilding but didn't actually know wtf they were doing. So the players just don't give a crap.

[Thorin]

Oilers goals: The Oilers have scored four goals, that first goal was scored by a St Louis player.  In fact, St Louis won the face-off and the Oilers never touched the puck, then St Louis put it in their own net.  Really, the Oilers have only scored four goals.

Millionaires in the minors: Nikitin to the minors is the right move, I watched all the preseason games and he made more mistakes than anyone.  Scrivens to the minors may or may not be the right move, he played much better in preseason than last season.  But Cam Talbot and Anders Nillson so far are doing an excellent job goalering, giving the team a chance to win.

No wins yet: I've watched the games, and the Oilers have been in them right to the end each time.  It's been a lot better than last year.

The Oilers' powerplay has been terrible.  These guys all know how to score, yet put them all in a group with the other team short a player, and suddenly no one can put the biscuit in the basket.  That's something that needs to be fixed as soon as possible.

I really don't think the players have given up or don't give a crap.  These guys are highly competitive individuals, that competitive drive is what got them to the NHL in the first place.  And they're seeing now that management has finally wised up and hired experienced professionals for general manager and head coach, and the head coach (Todd McLellan) don't take no @%&#.  First practice they didn't line up quick enough so he blew the whistle, called them in, told them to get their heads out of their @%&#ing asses, and to do it again but with speed this time.  After Hall took a bad retaliatory penalty, McLellan benched him for ten minutes.  After the team as a whole didn't work hard enough in a game, he bag-skated them and then worked on battle drills.

Line 1: Hall, Nugent-Hopkins, and Hendricks are doing okay as a forward first line, but when Eberle comes back and it's Hall, Nuge, Eberle, that'll be a lot better.

Line 2: McDavid and Yakupov have managed to figure each other out and actually do pretty damn good when they're on the ice.  Pouliot as the third player in that second forward line is an excellent fit.

Line 3: Poor Lander, he started with skilled players and is now grouped with a banger and a pillow (Korpikoski and Purcell).  And yet, this is the line that scored the first goal of the game tonight.

Line 4: Letestu is invisible to me, Gazdic seems to be skating better although he's no threat to score, Slepyshev did great in preseason but has come back down to earth and it's much harder to score with Letestu and Gazdic as your linemates than with Hall and Nuge.

Defense pairs don't seem to be working out too well, other than Klefbom and Schultz.  Although a large part of this is that the forwards don't come far enough back into their own zone to give the defense a short, safe pass.  So the D have to shoot it off the glass or try a stretch pass that's more easily picked off.

Meanwhile, it's pretty clear that Todd McLellan is drilling into everyone's head that they have to dump the puck deep and then chase it down and be the first one there.  I'm not sure that's the best choice for excellent danglers like Nuge, Yak, Lander, Hall.  I'd much rather that they alternated between the dump-in and skating it in, that way the opposing team has to try and guess what's coming instead of just keeping one defender deep to retrieve the puck on the dump-in.

Anyway, Flames are next and hopefully they're going down!

[Mr. Analog]

Anyway, Flames are next and hopefully they're going down!

Yes! Now that would be a good way to get started: Beat Calgary plus beat a team in our own division!

[Tom]

I really don't think the players have given up or don't give a crap.  These guys are highly competitive individuals, that competitive drive is what got them to the NHL in the first place.  And they're seeing now that management has finally wised up and hired experienced professionals for general manager and head coach, and the head coach (Todd McLellan) don't take no @%&#.  First practice they didn't line up quick enough so he blew the whistle, called them in, told them to get their heads out of their @%&#ing asses, and to do it again but with speed this time.  After Hall took a bad retaliatory penalty, McLellan benched him for ten minutes.  After the team as a whole didn't work hard enough in a game, he bag-skated them and then worked on battle drills.

That's good. So at least that's changed. That's what I was hoping.

[Thorin]

Nice to see them win a couple of games in a row, nice to see Hall with Nuge doing well (and dragging along whoever else is with them, be it Hendricks or Klinkhammer or Slepyshev), nice to see McDavid and Yakupov with chemistry (and Pouliot's doing an outstanding job supporting them and covering for their occasional mistakes), nice to see Schultz playing with more urgency and less mistakes and more contact, but I'm sad to see Anton Lander not getting as much success as he should be capable of.  I'd love for Lander to get a hat trick next game, just to shut up the naysayers.

This team this year probably won't make playoffs, too many rookies playing and not enough time spent playing together yet, but they'll be close.  Which is a lot better than the last nine years have been.

[Mr. Analog]

Honestly what I enjoyed seeing the most was McDavid feeding other players for goals

THAT'S what a team is all about

If they can inch up the ladder to the middle of the pack this year I'd be super happy.

I don't want to see them with a pick opportunity, I want to see them get excited about almost making it into the post season

[Thorin]

Imagine if they were fighting for a playoff spot and missed out by one point, and then ended up winning the lottery again. That would just be f'in hilarious!

I wonder if Chiarelli would trade it for a defenseman, since the next bug thing is another forward (Auston Matthews).

[Darren Dirt]

...

No wins yet: I've watched the games, and the Oilers have been in them right to the end each time.  It's been a lot better than last year.

I really don't think the players have given up or don't give a crap.  These guys are highly competitive individuals, that competitive drive is what got them to the NHL in the first place.  And they're seeing now that management has finally wised up and hired experienced professionals for general manager and head coach, and the head coach (Todd McLellan) don't take no @%&#.

Those 2 statements go together and make me feel and warm and fuzzy inside my hope parts.

[Mr. Analog]

We're no longer at the bottom of the Pacific Western Conference (Calgary is hah-ha!)

Not only that but we're responsible for the Canuckleheads only loss so far