The Nucks looked slow and discombobulated so they will bounce back with a better effort on Sunday,they will keep it simple and basic,probably dump it in a lot to relieve forechecking pressure to play it safe,it will be a good game to keep the wheels moving at high speed from the first shift to the last shift,we need to let teams know immediatly that we are throwing offense at them for 60 mins and the pain wont stop,we wont be adjusting anything at all for the entire game--offense till it chokes you.Offense till it is branded in the back of your mind and you think it will never go away.
We are certain to get a lot of possesions,so the question isnt wether they will be dumping it in because that habit is what lost them the playoffs when they were just turning it around last year so they wont stop now---its how many of those dump in possesions can we convert into oshots or even better shots and rebound control second shots??This will be our litmus test all year long,how many of our possesions can we turn into first and then "second"shots,possesion is our bread and butter so hard work is ahead.As long as our snipers understand they have an obligation to release the puck at the first reasonable opportunity as opposed to waiting for a play of the night moment we will do ok and will have plenty of rebound opportunitys that will fit into our zone entry speed on the rush--our shooters need to take terminal shots ASAP and count on their support coming in at high speed to collect rebounds on the fly,so fast and hard accurate shots on net are critical--that is if we play a fastbreak style.If we use a controlled transition style then we will see our second shot opportunitys more than double,we will see lots of give and gos and upspeed man plays,and we will have stationary players waiting for the rebounds as opposed to trying to catch them on the fly as they streak into the zone to catch the rebound from the fast shot.With the Controlled transition style we also see an equally fast shot upon o-zone entry ,we just have drasticly different support player positioning prior to the shot because everyone isnt coming in at high speed.
The big question is how many possesions can we convert into first and second shots on net,how fast can we keep the pace to wear them down and force mistakes,Are we going to burn a lot of our own fuel and use a fastbreak style with a lot more overall team skating or will we see a controlled 3 transition style that allows us to use our speed anerobicly and in a much more tactical manner.
If we play a fastbreak style and burn up all our possesions on one shot rushes the game will be very close maybe even overtime,if we use a controlled 3 transition style and dominate possesion minutes and shot totals I say 6-1 Edmonton.
From here on in its Ralph Krueger call,with mac-T on the sidelines we might even see both these styles utilised on a line by line basis.But the further we get away from the controlled 3 zone transition game the further we get from offensive domination which seems to be what the NHL has evolved into demanding of a Championship team,the league has decided to make NHL Hockey entertaining again and rough on the edge play will be called regularly as will obstruction on the trap style and diving,there is an evolution to a more entertaining brand of hockey happening and either you are on board or the train will leave without you.You better be fast,clean,stay on your feet and be exciting on special teams or you are doomed--the league is improving a light speed with this decision and teams will be forced to adjust their manpower needs and rosters to accomodate a much more fan friendly offensively catalysed brand of NHL hockey--the League and Players are working together to give the fans every cent worth of excitement and value they can offer,this evolution has been a long time coming.
Go Oilers,light em up!!Set the tone for the entire year and dont let up on the pedal for 60 mins no matter what the scoreboard says to your eyes,just keep your heads down and your arses up and work on your system play for 60 full minutes and trust the results will be there.Wether it is 1-1 or 6-1 in our favor at the start of the 3rd period we need to bring the exact same energy and system execution we brought in the first period and second period we need consistancy of system execution for a full 60 mins and nothing can sway that focus,the scoreboard is irrellevant because we have 60 mins of consistant work to provide,dont waste time looking up there ,keep your eyes on the prize and thats down on the ice surface.Be businesslike and file your conscience right beside golf course in your little black books because if you watch the scoreboard you open yourself up to taking your foot off the pedal out of mercy or misplaced professional respect.
Remember that teams all know we are coming with offense for 60 minutes so if we score 10 goals over 3 periods we will not be treated disrespectfully,tough but not visciously,no retaliation is allowed when an offensive team lights you up no matter what the numbers,its only if a hybrid or defensive team catches you on a bad day and hammers you mercilessly that you can get dirty and hurt guys for disrespecting you,the Refs will be discouraging retaliation on high powered offensive teams when the scores get high as they well should.So stay fast,focused and clean on your feet and dont give yourself time to worry about which way you turn you cheek just play your system for 60mins and do everything as fast and hard as you can within system parameters.
After watching the Nucks get destroyed tonight.... we have to beat them. come on boys.
yet. You just need some no ma'am reference somewhere and you are set.
, Lets go Oilers!, Hopefully we light them up! And please I hope Fistric is in.
