Post-Game Talk: Oilers lose 6-3

[rasarhdasd]

It'll be a travesty if no one gets fired (and real fired, not Oilers fired where they get shuffled into a different role) for signing Nikitin. Signing a barely third-pairing D for 4.5 million was just terrible, and this was even after he was a healthy scratch in Columbus!!!

 

[Oilfan2]

I would think one who gives advice and or strong opinion about when and how to fight might know what they are talking about.

Thanks for confirming that is absolutely not the case here.

That's questionable because fighting/hard play, etc., are as much a part of the NHL game as any other 'nuance'.

I get your 'soft side' doesn't believe in fighting/hard play and you're not sure when this should be applied in a game or even if it should and good on you.

I actually believe if you're going to be that hard player/protector of skilled, etc., fighting will be inevitable occasionally. But, of course, my fighting history dictates how I should view an NHL game and it's many parts I guess...

I was going to get into the silly conversation with you about "Why don't you regale us with your many NHL exploits, your scoring abilities,etc..or perhaps even your coaching. You seem to think you have everyone else down pat..." but I won't.

Anyway, i'll go back talking about the actual nuances of hockey and the Oilers...

 

[Oilfan2]

Personally I am ecstatic with the Oil having bigger players in there that are willing to fight than players in there who's only sole contribution is winning a fight. Big *** deal. Gazdic is a joke and indicative of an age gone by. A player like Maroon who is big and not scared to drop the gloves BUT also a good hockey player is FAR more effective than a hot garbage goon from NHL 1988.

?? Reading comprehension? Gazdic? Winning a fight? No better to lose?
No idea where you got all that from in a few comments.

Simply, if you're going to fight to try and protect your players and/or boost team morale, you may want to win those fight otherwise it may have the opposite effect. Simple really.

If he doesn't want to fight, no problem. Continue to hit, etc...and be that player.

 

[Husker Du]

Seriously? If you don't know why you should win a fight in the NHL, if that's part of your repertoire, then I can't help. No idea how to answer that...

Think a little more deeply. Winning a fight has no tangible value, ergo Luke Gadzic is not in the lineup. The act of sticking up for your teammates/providing a spark/refusing to be pushed around etc. is the how you win. It is not the end result (an arbitrary decision by fans of who won a fight) that is important, it is the fact that a player sacrificed for the betterment of the team (got in the fight in the first place) that matters.

If Maroon doesn't fight unless he knows he is going to win it, then why would anybody fight him as they would know that they are going to lose?

 

[McPuritania]

Seriously? If you don't know why you should win a fight in the NHL, if that's part of your repertoire, then I can't help. No idea how to answer that...

How can you possibly think that losing fights isn't part of the gig? Everyone loses fights. Fights are unpredictable, and there are more factors involved than "just win the fight!"

 

[harpoon]

It'll be a travesty if no one gets fired (and real fired, not Oilers fired where they get shuffled into a different role) for signing Nikitin. Signing a barely third-pairing D for 4.5 million was just terrible, and this was even after he was a healthy scratch in Columbus!!!

And Ference too. Actually Ference is worse.
Because on top of being overpaid and unable to play at the NHL level he has a NMC that he sits comfortably on while counting his scratch.
At least Nikitin has apparently provided some value with the Condors.
Imagine what the team could have done with the cap space wasted on those two guys.

 

[Blue Line Turnover]

I think Maroon was being bothered by that helmet that hanging off of is neck during that fight

 

[Oilfan2]

How can you possibly think that losing fights isn't part of the gig? Everyone loses fights. Fights are unpredictable, and there are more factors involved than "just win the fight!"

?? I'm still not sure where some of you are getting the ideas at..

Comments were made that it doesn't matter if you win a fight or not. That's simply not true because it depends on the reasons for the fight, etc. If you lose every fight and part of your 'job' is to protect your skilled players and/or boost morale, then perhaps you should learn to fight OR not bother fighting. If you lose every fight, how the hell does that boost morale, etc.

It's a simple concept so I'm not sure why some people aren't getting it.

I like Maroon and hopes he stays around. I love his 'handling' of players, hard hitting, relatively good skill for a large man, etc. I just don't see the advantage of him losing a fight to Boll and giving the BJ's a boost. Would it be not better to ignore Boll and keep giving out hard checks, face rubs..whatever?

 

[CupofOil]

?? Reading comprehension? Gazdic? Winning a fight? No better to lose?
No idea where you got all that from in a few comments.

Simply, if you're going to fight to try and protect your players and/or boost team morale, you may want to win those fight otherwise it may have the opposite effect. Simple really.

If he doesn't want to fight, no problem. Continue to hit, etc...and be that player.

Boll coaxed Maroon into fighting so all this is moot unless you advocate that Maroon skate away with his tail between his legs.

Regardless, "winning" the fight doesn't really matter much in the long run. Providing that physical protection is what does and clearly Maroon is doing his job in that department thus far.

 

[rasarhdasd]

And Ference too. Actually Ference is worse.
Because on top of being overpaid and unable to play at the NHL level he has a NMC that he sits comfortably on while counting his scratch.
At least Nikitin has apparently provided some value with the Condors.
Imagine what the team could have done with the cap space wasted on those two guys.

Very true. Giving a 34 year old, declining 4/5 a 4 year old contract was incredibly dumb. Those contracts sunk them and giving him the captaincy was an equally as dumb move when it was painfully obvious Ference's play was severely declining.

I liked the Fayne signing, but even that has hurt them with the limited amount of good LH guys to play with him. At least it's still a capable NHLer, he plays some decently tough minutes even if he is overpaid.

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

It'll be a travesty if no one gets fired (and real fired, not Oilers fired where they get shuffled into a different role) for signing Nikitin. Signing a barely third-pairing D for 4.5 million was just terrible, and this was even after he was a healthy scratch in Columbus!!!

It still bugs me that MacT and Lowe are employed by this team.

 

[rasarhdasd]

It still bugs me that MacT and Lowe are employed by this team.

Yeah, especially when "Kevin isn't involved in hockey operations" yet appears scouting with the team and at other places. He better not be at the draft table this year.

Even worse was when Crackenll said MacT called him to welcome him to the team, I don't want either of them, and Howson, anywhere near making decisions. I'm still hoping MacT/Howson get the axe at the end of the year and Lowe is banned from hockey ops.

 

[oljimmy]

This is not a game that should knock anyone off a bandwagon. A team can play one game like this out of four and still have a lot of success in the league, and the game itself was a funny one because the Oil moved the puck around extremely well and dominated play for long stretches of time. In fact I haven't seen crisp offensive passing like that from them all year. Don't let the score fool ya, this was just one of those games that all teams occasionally have.

 

[Husker Du]

?? I'm still not sure where some of you are getting the ideas at..

Comments were made that it doesn't matter if you win a fight or not. That's simply not true because it depends on the reasons for the fight, etc. If you lose every fight and part of your 'job' is to protect your skilled players and/or boost morale, then perhaps you should learn to fight OR not bother fighting. If you lose every fight, how the hell does that boost morale, etc.

It's a simple concept so I'm not sure why some people aren't getting it.

I like Maroon and hopes he stays around. I love his 'handling' of players, hard hitting, relatively good skill for a large man, etc. I just don't see the advantage of him losing a fight to Boll and giving the BJ's a boost. Would it be not better to ignore Boll and keep giving out hard checks, face rubs..whatever?

Who is the player that loses "every" fight? Maroon has lost a single fight. Btw, I'm not sure that the 36 second "boost" that CBJ got mattered very much.

Despite the simplicity of the concept, I don't believe that teams get a boost by someone winning a fight. I also don't believe the opposite that teams sag if one of their players loses a fight.

 

[Oilfan2]

Who is the player that loses "every" fight? Maroon has lost a single fight. Btw, I'm not sure that the 36 second "boost" that CBJ got mattered very much.

Despite the simplicity of the concept, I don't believe that teams get a boost by someone winning a fight. I also don't believe the opposite that teams sag if one of their players loses a fight.

Really? Ok then...

 

[ZJuice]

Ive always thought fighting is hockey is the dumbest crap ever. Its what you do when you aren't capable of laying a clean hard hit on the other team.

I agree winning a fight boosts the team, especially on home ice. But I think huge clean hits boost a team even more, when everyone is going for them.

 

[La Bamba]

Didn't even watch the game but I kind of expected a performance like that from the Oil after coming off a good stretch. Now we shall await the inevitable 4/5 game losing streak that follows.

I'm happy McDavid picked up a pair of points, though.

 

[Replacement*]

I think Maroon was being bothered by that helmet that hanging off of is neck during that fight

Yep, it was a distraction at the very least. It was blocking his vision of undercuts, and a couple times he got hit with his own helmet.

I liked the portion of the fight where he was getting the jabs in there. He needed to keep that grip and keep doing that but got tagged with an undercut he didn't see coming.

Anyway, the fighting is one aspect. Physicality and dictating those terms is established many ways in a game.

hitting, being hit, scrums, face off tussles for position, battles for pucks. In hockey guys now how tough you are usually long before you drop em. You establish that all over the ice. Maroon does that in spades. The look on Simmonds and Gudas face when they both tried to sandwich Maroon with a check was priceless. They basically dropped jaws after that. Similarly after Simmonds took a run at Hall Maroon had Simmonds in a full bear hug and Simmonds was interested in tapping out. He wanted no part of that. Earlier Maroon tussled with Gudas and looked like he was going to rip Gudas head off (only helmut came off...) Gudas skated away. He didn't engage even though he initiated.

All of these scenes are messages. The Flyers enforcers as the game progressed knew they were in over their heads.

 

[ZJuice]

I know why you are saying undercut. But it's generally called an uppercut because the punch is rising up

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

I had to go to use the bathroom when the game started and when I finished it was 2-0.

Good grief Oilers.

 

[rboomercat90]

Lol thats one plus side of Niki. People shouldn't care if we lose some games down the stretch as long as the effort is there. Chia knows he needs to grab a couple D this offseason and maybe add another top 9 forward with better size and compete than Eberle (or at least I like to think that Chia knows). If losing a couple of games where the team effort is there helps us get a better chance at a trade piece then so be it. Might as well grab a few losses while we can before Klef and Nuge are back

The problem with playing a guy like Nikitin, and we saw it enough with Schultz, is that when they start to screw up the entire team sags and eventually quits. This team had been working so hard for the last five games before last night. There is so little to separate the teams in this league. One or too awful plays can make the difference in a game. That's why guys like Nikitin and Schultz stick out. Nobody knows this better than the players themselves so when they see Nikitin so out of position on the first goal they know it's going to be one of those nights and they played like it. If the coaching staff and management want a strong effort out of these players the rest of the year then Nikitin shouldn't be playing. You won't continue to get a good effort from players if the coaching staff is handicapping them by playing someone who can't play, doesn't care and isn't busting their ass. They'll go back to just mailing it in pretty quickly. Play a prospect instead, at least you'll know they'll bring a good work effort and keep the team inspired.

 

[Husker Du]

Really? Ok then...

My bad, I should only form my opinions based on what you believe to be true.

I don't happen to believe that punching someone in the face more times than he punches you in the face inspires better performance from other people. I cannot recall evidence that is both conclusive and repeatable that would lead me to the conclusion that winning a fight inspires improved performance. However, if you provided evidence that it does I am open minded enough to change my opinion.

 

[McFlyingV]

The problem with playing a guy like Nikitin, and we saw it enough with Schultz, is that when they start to screw up the entire team sags and eventually quits. This team had been working so hard for the last five games before last night. There is so little to separate the teams in this league. One or too awful plays can make the difference in a game. That's why guys like Nikitin and Schultz stick out. Nobody knows this better than the players themselves so when they see Nikitin so out of position on the first goal they know it's going to be one of those nights and they played like it. If the coaching staff and management want a strong effort out of these players the rest of the year then Nikitin shouldn't be playing. You won't continue to get a good effort from players if the coaching staff is handicapping them by playing someone who can't play, doesn't care and isn't busting their ass. They'll go back to just mailing it in pretty quickly. Play a prospect instead, at least you'll know they'll bring a good work effort and keep the team inspired.

Well I'm sure Niki won't be in next game after that performance, seemed like it was a message sent to Clendenning after a very poor game on his part. As for bringing up a prospect, I think management would rather keep them down to contribute so the team can make the playoffs and benefit some of the younger guys like Nurse and some of the prospects to hopefully make a playoff run to get some confidence and help with development.

I think Clendenning will draw back in for the next few games, and that should be long enough for Klef and Gryba to return to ensure that neither of those D draw back in for the remainder of the year barring injury.

 

[I Like Foolish Posts]

Anyone else wanna see:

Hall-McDavid-Yakupov
Maroon-Draisaitl-Eberle

for top six lines next game? The Hall-McDavid and Draisaitl-Eberle pairs looked quite good last night in the third, and Yak really seems to have some chemistry with McDavid as well so far.

 

[BlackDogg]

It still bugs me that MacT and Lowe are employed by this team.

Perhaps a petition is in order.