I didn't watch last night's game, in fact I'm not sure how I missed it over the radio too, and EVEN THOUGH it's just a friendly game between B squads...
(http://i.imgur.com/Q6sw2M9.jpg)
...what happen? Why no puck go in thing?
Are we in for another saggy mid season while the A level players are off with injuries? Wha happen? :o
(http://i.imgur.com/NH45U4a.jpg)
I didn't watch the game, it was on a bad feed that was all choppy, apparently.
There were quite a few B and C listers on the team, Nuge and Hall got the night off I think. Nevertheless, reports are that the puck spent a huge amount of time in our end and it was actually the goalie who kept the team in the game until well into the third period.
Good thing this is just a pre-season game meant to suss out who should be kept around for a second look and who should be sent away to lower tiers.
True :)
This threads' title perfectly describes the last two oilers games, tonight and last night.
This game tonight absolutely and completely sucked the hind banana.
We had the game recorded and went back through all the goals in slow motion to see what was being done wrong. My daughters piped up about the oilers not even playing the basic box +1 defense they'd been taught in novice (7 and 8 year olds!) And then they picked up on the goalie not bothering to cover his five hole properly like they were taught their first year as goalies.
Pretty sad when a thirteen year old can point out the problems with the absolutely fundamentals of the sport that the millionaire players are having.
Worst organization in the league
They got harshly booed, and I'm behind that. Morale or not, 7:1 against Chicago at home to a sell out crowd is an embarrassment.
I was more upset with the 2-0 loss to New Jersey than the 7-1 loss to Chicago, because the Devils are a bad team while the Blackhawks are top third of the league again this year.
It was 6:0 by the end of the 2nd period, any way you shake it they sucked
At least they got 1 on the board :-/
I just finished watching the oilers lose 5-2 to the Arizona Coyotes. @%&# do they suck. They let a player score a shorthanded goal against them, then that player went off the ice, then that player came back on for his next shift and we still had a power play, and he scored another shorthanded goal.
Worse yet is how those goals got scored. Everybody going north while the pick was going south. Complete bull@%&#.
Maybe they'll figure it out one day.
They stink.
Not much more to say about it.
WTF was that @%&#SHOW last night... I'm starting to think the players are drinking and doing drugs before a game. As a coach, how do you even go into the dressing room after one player shows you up not once, but twice in the same 2 minutes shorthanded, and keep your cool? I'm guessing you don't.
Yeah, 58 seconds apart and the player went and sat on the bench for 40 seconds inbetween those two goals...
Hall's @%&#ty little kick-pass and Schultz being at the far blue line even though he's the only D on the ice, and then Schultz being the only one who even tries to chase Rieder... That shows you how little the "stars" on our team care about goals against.
This says it all (Hitler reacts vid): http://youtu.be/t79pQ-OMYpU
Watch until the end, it's so true...
Game tonight, in Winnipeg. Sorry Mel, I'm still cheering for the Oilers ... to score a goal.
I... I don't know what, maybe I'll put the game on in the background or something
Quote from: Thorin on December 03, 2014, 06:22:13 PM
Game tonight, in Winnipeg. Sorry Mel, I'm still cheering for the Oilers ... to score a goal.
lol
Actually I don't know... Oil have taken some real serious beatings in the media and PR spotlight since the Monday game. Might be a fired up team going into Winnipeg...
HERE COME the oilers *pift*
SOMEhow the Oilers are trialing by 1 already
But how can that BEEEE ::)
Fast pace game. Could go either way. Schrims making some good saves!
Quote from: Melbosa on December 03, 2014, 08:34:13 PM
Fast pace game. Could go either way. Schrims making some good saves!
I know! I'm scared too
:yikes:
Schrims? The @%&# kind of autocorrect is that?! Scrivens.
The game was exciting and fast most of the time. Ference was the goat on two of those goals, I wonder if he's going to complain about himself after the game?
Scrivens made wicked good saves, he worked hard. But because of the lower shot count, he ended up with only an .885 save percentage :(
We're getting close to beating a record (for winless streak)
*sad Price is Right music* (http://youtu.be/1ytCEuuW2_A)
I've been reading an Oilers-centered hockey blog called Lowetide for several years now. The blogger is smart and insightful and knows a lot more about hockey than he admits. There are dozens of regular commenters as well, and the intelligence of the comments is amazing (especially so for a
hockey blog). I am always amazed when I see a flame war about to start, and then the two that were going to start flaming each other switch back to a reasoned debate with numbers and clips from the games and even the occasional admittance of the other person being right. There are also a lot of clever funny posts. All that said, here's one that I absolutely had to share with you guys.
First, TheGreatMutato asks what it's like to go to an Oilers game nowadays, wondering if it's still as crazy busy as it used to be and if there's anything he should know:
Quote from: http://lowetide.ca/blog/2014/12/04/things-to-do-that-would-be-more-productive-than-firing-dallas-eakins/comment-page-1/#comment-361647
Off topic but I have some quick questions I was hoping you folks could assist with:
I?m making a pilgrimage to Edmonton this weekend to try my hand at being a tier one fan for the Sharks game on Sunday. Was wondering what the experience is like these days as far as getting to the game goes, as it has been a while since I last attended a game.
How early should a person arrive? How is the parking situation? Is traffic still brutal getting to the arena? I guess it depends whether or not more than 5000 people actually show up to the game =(
Anyways, thanks in advance!
A few posts down, Ben answers with a sublime answer:
Quote from: http://lowetide.ca/blog/2014/12/04/things-to-do-that-would-be-more-productive-than-firing-dallas-eakins/comment-page-1/#comment-361653
Well in terms of sweater aerodynamics, you?ll want to make a careful jersey choice based on your seat location.
The ?Ravens? era streamlined Reebok jersey is your best bet to hit the ice from distance. You can probably pick up a 2009 Potulny for $15-20.
For accuracy from shorter distance, go with the McFarlane 3rd jersey, whose 5-bolt design serves well as a by-eye range-finder. This is particularly useful if you are having trouble finding a non-littered part of the ice to hit.
I personally prefer the classic oil drop jersey, as a collection of them thrown at once resembles a gentle rain of orange tears.
Enjoy!
lol
What. A. Swizz.
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/12/05/edmonton-oilers-gm-says-everything-in-the-organization-is-under-scrutiny-as-team-flounders-in-last-place/
So basically what was said is the following:
- We have promblembs (DUH!)
- Blaming the Players (yeah, problems on the ICE eh)
- Blaming underdeveloped players (not the system that is supposed to develop them)
- The "Plan" is not Changing
Step 1: Dump MacT
Get him AND his cronies out of the organization, he's not done anything to build this team in the YEARS they've been running things
Geez!
Yeah, I was listening to the press conference live for a while there. I turned it off after he started talking about Ference calling out the team in public to stop moping around.
I used to just watch sports and look at the scores, but once I started coaching I found myself looking at more of the technical skills being used and the tactics being used in games. What I've found is that now that I see the little things being done wrong or right, I don't mind seeing them lose games if they're doing things right but got a wrong bounce. The Winnipeg game, for instance, there were very few mistakes made by either team and they both quickly recovered from them most of the time. Hell, I even pointed out a good defensive play by Schultz! My wife looked at me weird.
Here's a paraphrased transcript: http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/12/05/live-blog-craig-mactavish-addresses-the-edmonton-media-about-the-state-of-the-oilers/
If I were coaching this team, I would stop looking at the win/loss and start putting out specific goals for each game. Once the players stop focusing on the score and start focusing on achieving the specific goals each game, the wins will start coming. I've had coaching chats with a couple of former NHLers that live in my hometown now, with a world-class ringette goalie, and with an Olympic-medal-wearing women's hockey goalie. They all said the same thing - their coaches at the top level of their sport told them to ignore the sport and focus on the things they can control.
So what would be my specific goals?
Game 1: This game would be all about getting Nail Yakupov a goal. Everyone on the ice is to feed him pucks, and he'll be out for twenty minutes. This will work wonders for his confidence and it will make everyone work for a teammate instead of themselves or their buddy on the team.
Game 2: This game would be about defensive positioning. Everyone is to be on the correct side of the player they're covering, and everyone is to be covering a player. They can indicate who they're covering by pointing and yelling. I would make it clear that I don't care if we score any goals, but every missed coverage is five pushups for the entire team at practice the next day. Also, if there are no missed coverages, even if the score is a blowout, the team can pick something embarrassing for me to wear / do at the next game. Notice this is again about the team working together, not individuals.
Game 3: This game would be all about tipped and screened and rebound goals. I would tell them I still don't care about the score, I want us to score all our goals on tips and screens and rebounds. That means if you don't have the puck you have to go to the net, otherwise the guy with the puck isn't allowed to shoot, and that's not fair to him to not be allowed to shoot. For every time that someone's in a good shooting position but can't shoot because there's no one at the net, it's five burpees at practice tomorrow. If there's always a net presence, regardless of the final score, I will do wind sprints / lines / laps at practice tomorrow while the players get to watch.
Game 4: I'm still not looking at the score. But lets remember that we all work together to make our teammates feel better so they play better, and that we need to have sound defensive coverage, and that our shooters want someone at the net to tip or screen or throw in a rebound. If you forget one of these items you sit for a shift, just so you remember. If we do win, I will run up and down the stairs in downtown Edmonton once for every goal we win by.
Now, do you think an approach like that might make them gel as a whole team and enjoy playing and also make them do the little things right? As a bonus, it's clearly spelled out what the punishment is for doing things wrong, but do it all right and you can punish me, the big mean coach!
Apparently they won against the Sharks yesterday?
Wha?
Yes, it was a well-played game. The Sharks were on their third game in four nights, plus they'd played the night before in Calgary, so they were tired (3rd in 4 + b2b, usually teams lose in this situation). They were also playing their backup goalie, who hadn't played in about a month. I guess what I'm saying is this was not the Sharks at their best. But you know what? It was still the Sharks, and it was still a win against them.
Schultz was on the ice for the lone Sharks goal. Schultz and Draisaitl were both coasting down to the net while the puck was going in the corner, and Scrivens was yelling at them and pointing at the guy they were supposed to cover, err, in his words "@%&#ing cover that guy!" They should've listened, the guy that Scrivens was pointing out was the one that scored. Draisaitl got sat for a shift after that mistake.
I don't know if Schultz was sat, but this was the first game of his career that he played less than 15 minutes in the entire game (other than the one healthy scratch). Almost like the management stopped telling Eakins they have to play Schultz no matter what. So, Nikitin out due to injury, Schultz limited in his ice time, and suddenly we're playing sound defensively...
Hmmm! That a coincidence eh :D
I hope that win brings up team morale a bit
I can tell you that all the fans stayed in the building until the end of the game and all the fans cheered very loudly in the last ten minutes of the game. At least, from what we could see and hear on TV. It was a really good game, and there was only one really really bad mistake, and it was from a rookie, and it turned into a goal against. But no other monumental mistakes. There were little mistakes at times, or maybe it was more lost battles than mistakes, but players on the ice would help each other and cover for each other.
You know, I don't think I saw a single 2 on 1 against. San Jose tried a few times, but by the time it hit Edmonton's blue line someone had skated their ass off to come back and help out. I saw Hall do it, I saw Ebs do it, I saw Arco do it a couple of times, I saw Klefbom do it after he pinched along the boards - man, he skated about 80 feet in the time it took the San Jose players to skate 40 feet on that play.
I went into it saying I'd be fine if Edmonton lost by three to five goals, knowing how strong San Jose was last year. I just wanted to see entertaining hockey. Well, this wasn't high-scoring but that's because both goalies played well in spurts during the game. After the first period, Edmonton probably should've had two goals but Stalock locked 'em out. In the second period, instead of hanging their heads, the Oilers as a whole went just as hard as in the first, and finally got a perfect goal (on a powerplay, puck went to the corner, winger and a center went over to battle for it while the other winger, Yakupov, went to the slot, right at the hashmarks, and just waited for the puck to get thrown over, then BAM GOAL).
I'm glad to hear that :)
Since November 9th, the Oilers have had more press conferences than wins (2 vs 1).
And because of that, Dallas Eakins has been fired (err, "relieved of his duties as head coach").
And I don't think it'll make a difference for the season.
I'm so glad my tax dollars will go toward a Palace for this dumbass organization
Tonight, the third defensive pairing is Brad Hunt and Justin Schultz. I don't think we'll actually get to see them on the ice together, but if we do, it will probably be against Arizona's fourth line, and they'll still score a goal on us.
Such optimism. ;-)
Quote from: Melbosa on December 16, 2014, 03:52:25 PM
Such optimism. ;-)
To quote
Slap Shot"If you hit me I'll piss all over myself"
Basically the Oilers... (taking the piss for yet another season)
Well we've seen Justin Schultz play all season and all last season, and we've seen Brad Hunt play a bunch of games already this season. And they ain't defensive powerhouses, yet they keep putting them on defense.
As a defender, always know and tell your teammates who you're covering, and then always stay between them and your net. Justin Schultz occasionally forgets to do one or both of those, and same with Brad Hunt (from what I saw in the choppy feed in the pre-season and then in the regular season games that they kept him up in the club).
I guess Keith Aulie didn't play that well against New York, but then neither did Justin Schultz. But Schultz is the "golden child", therefore he doesn't get healthy-scratched when he plays poorly (well, okay, he did once but that was to placate the fans who were walking out of games).
...
Did you know you can buy Oilers tickets on StubHub now? There's been a few times now that on gameday, the tickets drop below ten bucks a piece. This is people who have tickets but don't want to use them, trying to sell them for anything. I just looked now, and it's not gameday for a home game (they're on the road tonight), and you can get two first-row seats for under three hundred dollars. It used to be more than three hundred for just one such ticket, and then only if you knew someone.
Quote from: Thorin on December 16, 2014, 07:05:48 PM
Did you know you can buy Oilers tickets on StubHub now? There's been a few times now that on gameday, the tickets drop below ten bucks a piece. This is people who have tickets but don't want to use them, trying to sell them for anything. I just looked now, and it's not gameday for a home game (they're on the road tonight), and you can get two first-row seats for under three hundred dollars. It used to be more than three hundred for just one such ticket, and then only if you knew someone.
How the hell... I mean this is the kind of thing that keeps me from ever going to a game (even if they WERE better than bottom ranked) I had no idea prices had gone up to that kind of level. I mean this is Edmonton not California, can't believe that so many people afford to go on a regular basis... I remember hearing years ago that a seat at a Lakers NBA playoff game was 1k-2k or something, and I thought (sure, makes sense for the location and the quality of play and the significance of it being the PLAYOFFS). But E-town "big league" hockey? 300+ per seat? SRSLY?
The reality is though is our tickets are still fairly low priced compared to a lot of other clubs around the league. I'm pretty sure not the cheapest but we're down there.
Availability on the other hand has been the challenge as we're one of the smallest venues (currently) in the League. In fact the Coliseum was below NHL capacity in 1979
Darren: that was for first-row seats, and that was shortly after we went to game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, so there was a wee bit of hockey fever in town. I guess even at the start of this year, tickets were still going on StubHub and the like for 200+, according to TiqIQ: http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/toronto-maple-leafs-most-expensive-ticket-in-nhl-all-teams-listed-1-to-30/. In fact, for resale tickets, we're in 4th most expensive territory.
Mr. Analog: we're actually in the top-third for ticket prices as of last year: https://www.teammarketing.com/public/uploadedPDFs/NHL%20FCI%2014%20(2).pdf. This year, it's harder to find proper data as a lot of places are just listing the average cost of tickets, rather than splitting out the premium seats (special deals where you get other things added in) and luxury boxes.
I'm surprised actually, from what I've heard from others even getting tickets in Florida was more expensive, I never bothered to look it up :)
Well recently tickets have been a lot cheaper. Tickets for the new arena will probably be even more expensive than they are at Rexall. And a lot of people buy seasons tickets, which does give you a discount per game. And up until this year you could sell tickets from your season pack for more than you paid for them.
Mark Spector. I don't really like the points he tries to drive home about the Oilers, nor how he tries to drive them home. He seems to focus on things that in my mind are not at all problems. Nevertheless, he's one of the voices on TV and shares his viewpoint, the open exchange of which is the basis for democracy.
Daryl Katz didn't like something Mark Spector said sometime before December 23rd, and therefore ordered that Mark Spector not be allowed on TV during the Dec 23rd game. Katz was not able to revoke Spector's press pass - can you imagine if you could lose your press pass for writing or saying something bad about the team you're covering? So he did the most he could, removing Spector from a broadcast.
Now, do you think that is a good way to manage your image? Just silence all the critics, rather than actually try to improve your image? Keep in mind that whatever Spector said to piss off Katz, it wasn't newsworthy enough to be reported in a city where absolutely everything about the Oilers gets reported.
One take-away from this is that Katz does pay attention to his team. Previously, it was thought that he just wasn't really paying attention and thus didn't notice how badly his team stunk out the arena. But for him to catch some perceived slight by some reporter between periods means he was watching the games and has no problem with how the team is being run. In other words, this makes it pretty obvious that he cares about the money, not the hockey.
Worst Sports Team Owner - he's gonna be on that list in the top five.
I don't even know what to think anymore
It's a train wreck
Well and then they beat the team that won the Stanley Cup last year...
I am more confuse than ever
you just know that they'll tank against Cowtown
David Perron, Gone
http://www.canada.com/sports/Edmonton+Oilers+send+David+Perron+Pittsburgh+Penguins+Klinkhammer+first+round+pick/10697201/story.html
And we get Klinkhammer, who's an Alberta boy to replace him
Quote from: Thorin on December 30, 2014, 03:28:02 PM
Daryl Katz didn't like something Mark Spector said sometime before December 23rd, and therefore ordered that Mark Spector not be allowed on TV during the Dec 23rd game. Katz was not able to revoke Spector's press pass - can you imagine if you could lose your press pass for writing or saying something bad about the team you're covering? So he did the most he could, removing Spector from a broadcast.
Now, do you think that is a good way to manage your image? Just silence all the critics, rather than actually try to improve your image?
...a page taken out of The Book Of Public Relations Strategies, published by Scientology Press...
Quote from: Thorin on December 31, 2014, 09:59:10 AM
Well and then they beat the team that won the Stanley Cup last year...
TOTALLY. Was watching that game and just before the win I was like "yeah here we go again they gonna lose in OT or the Shootout, yet another loss by one point... wait, WHAT?!?!" then a realization "holy cow, with that achievement-momentum and then playing vs Calgary the next night WOW they actually might have a chance to make the sporting news for a GOOD reason maybe..." (then, next night: "Nope. Back to normal...")
I've noticed the Oil seem to have a habit of running down the clock to get to OT... especially since they often lose their lead late in the 2nd or early in the 3rd (or amazingly CATCH UP) , I thought of them when I saw this today:
http://philbirnbaum.com/overtime.htm#ThirdPeriodEffects
The link came from a discussion talking about, basically, is there an increase in intentional OT/SO aka a kind of "colluding" almost?
https://twitter.com/haralabob/status/556195943825948672 (convo here)
http://blog.philbirnbaum.com/2010/01/gabriel-desjardins-nhl-teams-are.html (another article from 2010)
Statistically last night was an interesting game, not very many shots on net (13 or something?)
There's hope in there yet
Darren:
Be careful, you're headed down the path of analytics and it's a long, winding path :) Yes, hockey games have score effects (losing team shoots more to try and catch up, winning team shoots less to try and control the puck and protect the lead). And yes, these are more pronounced in the third period. And yes, with the ability to pick up two points in overtime, coaches tell their players to play conservatively when tied in the third period.
When I coach, I tell my teams to just keep the pedal to the metal all the way to the end, try and score as many goals as possible. If you've scored eight, it's alright to give up five or six the other way. This was known as firewagon hockey, and the Oilers of the 80s exemplified it: http://thehockeywriters.com/firewagon-hockey-the-game-in-the-eighties-review/. Imagine two players getting hat tricks and that not being enough goals to win the game.
As for collusion, there better not be. Many people would lose their jobs if it was found out to be true. On the other hand, Buffalo, Arizona, and Edmonton are all trying hard to tank and be 30th so they get a chance at Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel. And yes, the general managers are intentionally tanking (well, maybe not intentional in Edmonton). Arizona, for instance, traded away their significantly better goalie (Devan Dubnyk, of all people) for a draft pick, for no apparent reason (other than having a crappier goalie means you lose more goals which means you're more likely to be 30th and get one of those two amazing players).
Mr. Analog:
Shot count was 32-19 for the Oilers, score was 2-3. Ben Bishop (playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning last night) is a good goalie. He was available around the same time as Ben Scrivens last year, but we just didn't offer enough for him. Keep in mind here that we outshot a top five team by more than 50%. Part of it was that Tampa Bay for whatever reason didn't take any low-scoring-chance shots whereas the Oilers were willing to shoot even if there was no way it was going to go in. Another part of the loss was that Tampa Bay's defense cleaned out loose pucks at their net, while a couple of our defenders turned their backs to the puck (Nikitin, Schultz).
The game was a lot more enjoyable to watch, though, as long as you know enough about hockey to see all the little chances and all the little passes and stuff that the Oilers did. They really did play decently most of the game.
Hall and Eberle don't seem too interested in getting the puck back in our own end. I saw them several times just weakly push the puck towards the blue line or just stand in the way instead of trying to get the puck back. When they get in the offensive end, though, they light up like little kids on Christmas morning.
Yak's linemates appear to be getting more used to his weird little ten-foot passes. Once they're used to them, those passes will work quite well, making defenders freeze as they're not sure how to handle a player who quickly makes a short pass and then suddenly jumps over to open ice. But it's not something most hockey players do; most players would hold on to the puck and carry it with them. I hope they keep him with those same linemates the rest of the year.
Pouliot's going good, he's scored the last four goals of the team. But he's not doing it by himself, and he knows that, he's the first guy to point over to whoever got the puck to the net for him.
Just, I wish Schultz wouldn't Jultz, and Nikitin would remember weak-side D pick up a player while the goalie stops the puck.
And... FRIGGIN' SIGN PETRY. He may not be a #1 D on a playoff team, but he's definitely the best D on our team.
Yakupov was drafted because of his great shooting ability. Tonight he got put in the shootout for the first time in his career, and he scored a beauty with multiple dekes.
And it was the game winner.
Jeebus, they're finally starting to understand who has what skills?
I sure hope so
Did we hire Randy Carlyle? That might explain it :o
Wow, two shootout victories in a row!
Last night's game was good because the other team (Washington Capitals) got an early two goal lead thanks to their sniper (Alex Ovechkin - man that guy can shoot), but then the Oilers kept battling and battling and in the last few minutes of the third period managed to tie the game up.
Yak in the shootout again, tried the same moves but didn't beat the goalie this time. Then Ebs, who didn't beat Holtby the goalie (but Holtby was looking behind him in the net, because he thought he'd been beat), then Derek Roy and Teddy Purcell both scored, while Fasth only let in the first shot of the shootout and stopped the next three (including Ovechkin the sniper!).
We're busy playing ourselves out of 30th, though, so reducing the chance we get one of McDavid or Eichel. But I'm sure once we're playing against the west teams we'll plummet right back down.
Nothing like a winning streak before going into the all star break haha
Hoy, so, they traded Petry today. He was traded to the Montreal Canadiens. The return was Montreal's second round pick, and Colorado's fifth round pick (which Colorado had traded to Montreal for a player earlier this season, I think). The fifth round pick is conditional: if the Canadiens win the first playoff round, it changes to Montreal's fourth round pick, and if the Canadiens win the second playoff round, it changes to Montreal's third round pick.
Oiler Land is pretty sad to see such a small return for the player that four coaches in a row used as our #1 or #2 defensemen (going by time on ice and quality of competition). Also, he has more points than Justin Schultz, who MacT _still_ touts as a really good offensive defenseman.
I heard a rumour that MacT did make a last-minute offer to Petry, 4 million a year for 4 years. Petry will likely get more money or a longer contract or both come July.
Hey, you know what's neat? It's expected that Jeff Petry will play on the second pairing in Montreal, pushing Tom Gilbert down to third pairing. And you know what? That's great spots for them, as they're no longer in over their heads! I wonder how many more of our best players we're going to give away to other teams over the next few years...
Last but not least, thanks to Lowetide the awesome hockey blog, I give you a Keynes vs Hayek rap about economics: http://youtu.be/d0nERTFo-Sk
Because talking about the Oilers is getting too frustrating.
http://www.hockeyfeed.com/fan-made-song-perfectly-describes-the-leafs-season/ - how long until a video for Oilers?
Well, there's this guy with a little mustache who has an opinion or two about the Oilers: http://youtu.be/t79pQ-OMYpU
All I know is MLB spring training has been the most fun Oilers hockey I've seen in years
Quote from: Mr. Analog on March 03, 2015, 10:00:08 AM
All I know is MLB spring training has been the most fun Oilers hockey I've seen in years
ROFL.
Wow. The Oilers are going to finish with their worst win-loss record ever.
Quote from: Thorin on April 10, 2015, 02:20:57 PM
Wow. The Oilers are going to finish with their worst win-loss record ever.
To rub salt in the gaping wounds: Both the Jets AND Flames are in the playoffs
...and this is why I'm listening to Baseball
Hmm, I'm mistaken. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Edmonton_Oilers_seasons#NHL_.281979.E2.80.93present.29 says 92-93 was worse. If they lose this weekend, they'll be 61 points in 82 games. 92-93 was 60 points in 84 games.
I don't mind that the Jets made it, their fanbase deserves a cinderella story. Too many Flames fans think their team is back to being a perennial powerhouse, which I don't think it is. This year they seemed to win games despite playing poorly. Good goaltending, decent defense (not great), and a large amount of luck (higher than average percentage of their shots turned into goals). These will all probably even out next year for the Flames.
The Oilers, though, are right where they deserve to be based on their play. Which sucks, because if they were placed according to their theoretical talent rather than their actual body of work, they'd be a good eight spots higher at least.
Quote from: Thorin on April 10, 2015, 02:35:09 PM
Hmm, I'm mistaken. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Edmonton_Oilers_seasons#NHL_.281979.E2.80.93present.29 says 92-93 was worse. If they lose this weekend, they'll be 61 points in 82 games. 92-93 was 60 points in 84 games.
idk, maybe this season was objectively worse -- wasn't it harder back in 92-93 to earn 60/61 points? (when exactly did the post-regulation extra point possibility come into play?)
Quote from: Mr. Analog on April 10, 2015, 02:26:16 PM
Quote from: Thorin on April 10, 2015, 02:20:57 PM
Wow. The Oilers are going to finish with their worst win-loss record ever.
To rub salt in the gaping wounds: Both the Jets AND Flames are in the playoffs
Yeah, but
how 'bout them defending-champion KINGS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014%E2%80%9315_NHL_season)? ;D
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 10, 2015, 02:42:00 PM
Quote from: Thorin on April 10, 2015, 02:35:09 PM
Hmm, I'm mistaken. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Edmonton_Oilers_seasons#NHL_.281979.E2.80.93present.29 says 92-93 was worse. If they lose this weekend, they'll be 61 points in 82 games. 92-93 was 60 points in 84 games.
idk, maybe this season was objectively worse -- wasn't it harder back in 92-93 to earn 60/61 points? (when exactly did the post-regulation extra point possibility come into play?)
Quote from: Mr. Analog on April 10, 2015, 02:26:16 PM
Quote from: Thorin on April 10, 2015, 02:20:57 PM
Wow. The Oilers are going to finish with their worst win-loss record ever.
To rub salt in the gaping wounds: Both the Jets AND Flames are in the playoffs
Yeah, but how 'bout them defending-champion KINGS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014%E2%80%9315_NHL_season)? ;D
Honestly? I'd watch the Kings over the Flames
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 10, 2015, 02:42:00 PM
Quote from: Thorin on April 10, 2015, 02:35:09 PM
Hmm, I'm mistaken. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Edmonton_Oilers_seasons#NHL_.281979.E2.80.93present.29 says 92-93 was worse. If they lose this weekend, they'll be 61 points in 82 games. 92-93 was 60 points in 84 games.
idk, maybe this season was objectively worse -- wasn't it harder back in 92-93 to earn 60/61 points? (when exactly did the post-regulation extra point possibility come into play?)
That's a good point. The Bettman point (winner always gets two points, loser in regulation time gets zero points, loser in overtime gets one point) was brought in back in 1999. In 2005, they brought in the shootout to ensure one team always won. When they brought in the overtime and the extra point even if you lost, coaches actually ran their teams more conservatively, rather than trying to get the win instead of the tie in regulation time.
I think they should adopt the international hockey system, 3 points for a regulation win, 2 points for an overtime win, 1 point for an overtime loss, 0 points for a regulation loss.
Quote from: Mr. Analog on April 10, 2015, 02:26:16 PM
Quote from: Thorin on April 10, 2015, 02:20:57 PM
Wow. The Oilers are going to finish with their worst win-loss record ever.
To rub salt in the gaping wounds: Both the Jets AND Flames are in the playoffs
...and this is why I'm listening to Baseball
:( Feel so unloved they do...
In regards to the Flames, I've told my youngest (who likes cheering for the opposite of the Oilers) it's fine to cheer for ABC.
...
Anyone But Calgary.
Quote from: Thorin on April 10, 2015, 03:20:43 PM
In regards to the Flames, I've told my youngest (who likes cheering for the opposite of the Oilers) it's fine to cheer for ABC.
...
Anyone But Calgary.
I may have to give the
World's Greatest Dad mug
Quote from: Thorin on April 10, 2015, 03:20:43 PM
In regards to the Flames, I've told my youngest (who likes cheering for the opposite of the Oilers) it's fine to cheer for ABC.
...
Anyone But Calgary.
I agree... it was so hard to be happy last night when they solidified the Jets playoff spot with Calgary's win... It just felt wrong to be happy that Calgary won.
Quote from: Melbosa on April 10, 2015, 03:37:46 PM
Quote from: Thorin on April 10, 2015, 03:20:43 PM
In regards to the Flames, I've told my youngest (who likes cheering for the opposite of the Oilers) it's fine to cheer for ABC.
...
Anyone But Calgary.
I agree... it was so hard to be happy last night when they solidified the Jets playoff spot with Calgary's win... It just felt wrong to be happy that Calgary won.
U should feel bad, no more TV for 1000 years!
But but but... I just bought a http://www.lg.com/us/tvs/lg-60LB5200-led-tv
Quote from: Melbosa on April 10, 2015, 03:44:04 PM
But but but... I just bought a http://www.lg.com/us/tvs/lg-60LB5200-led-tv
'sokay, I'll take that off your hands for free. If you drop it off at my house.
Quote from: Melbosa on April 10, 2015, 03:44:04 PM
But but but... I just bought a http://www.lg.com/us/tvs/lg-60LB5200-led-tv
It could have been worse:
https://youtu.be/WQ-R3nhIQts?t=11s
Quote from: Mr. Analog on April 10, 2015, 02:48:37 PM
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 10, 2015, 02:42:00 PM
Yeah, but how 'bout them defending-champion KINGS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014%E2%80%9315_NHL_season)? ;D
Honestly? I'd watch the Kings over the Flames
Just sayin' the Kings? The team that won the Cup last year? Aaaaaaand they're
gone! (from the playoffs)
Well the Kings did win it two out of the last three years. Maybe they just wanted a break and to hang out with family.
HOLY CRAP OILERS WON THE DRAFT LOTTERY! OILERS GET THE FIRST OVERALL PICK IN A YEAR WHERE THE TOP PICK IS AS GOOD AS SYDNEY CROSBY!!
Un-frickin'-believable...
It's a WTF moment for the rest of the league LOL. Glad Oil get him though...
We are now the Edmonton Spoilers
Now, how long will it take to turn this player into a do-nothing on the Gulag team?
:)
I dunno, there's lots of talk about how this kid will completely change the make-up of our team. All the scouts agree he's at the same level Sidney Crosby was when Crosby got drafted, and Crosby took the Penguins to a Stanley Cup two years after being drafted.
Pouliot - Nugent-Hopkins - Eberle have been a great trio as a first line, but because they're strong the other team put their strongest players out against P-NH-E. Now we can make another strong line, Hall - McDavid - Lander/??, and then a third decently strong line Purcell - Roy/?? - Yak. Now the other team's coach has to think about which line to put his strongest players out against. Does he let Hall and McDavid run rough-shod over his team? Or Nuge and Ebs and Poo? Or does he put out his weaker players against Purse/Roy/Yak, who will then probably score 80+ goals as a line?
The real question is what MacTavish is going to do about the defense. It's our biggest area of weakness. Some people think our biggest area of weakness is goalie, but I'm firmly of the belief that once our defense gets better, our goalie's stats will suddenly get better, which then will make our goalie more self-confident and then that cycle will feed itself.
And there's one last question to address: what if the Oilers don't pick McDavid with the first overall pick? What if they pick a different player? Or what if they trade the pick? Well, I'm pretty sure half the season ticket holders would just cancel their tickets and demand a refund.
Defense IMO is a big time problem, that's why I'm a wee bitter about all the fanfare about 1 new power player, it's true a player CAN influence a teams playstyle BUT the reverse is also true.
Will he rise us up or will we bring him down
I was actually depressed that we won the top draft pick... again...
Quote from: Thorin on April 20, 2015, 10:16:04 AM
The real question is what MacTavish is going to do about the defense. It's our biggest area of weakness. Some people think our biggest area of weakness is goalie, but I'm firmly of the belief that once our defense gets better, our goalie's stats will suddenly get better, which then will make our goalie more self-confident and then that cycle will feed itself.
You nailed it right there.
Seeing how much the typical Oilers goalie has had to almost single-handedly deal with for most of the last near-decade, it's shameful. So often the D has "dropped the ball" and there's only so much one dude can do to make up for it...
McDavid.
That is all.
(had to add his name to my auto-correct dictionary today)