2013 LMHF Report Game #16

LoudmouthHemskyfan#1

Registered User
May 15, 2003
9,746
16
E-town
EDMONTON 4

VS.

VANCOUVER ZERO. ZIP. NOTHING.
---------------------------

I haven't watched the Oilers do that to a team in probably seven years. It isn't that they stormed out of the gate like they did. That has happened even during some of our darkest days. It is what happened after that. It was the rest of the game that was most interesting to me.

When we've gotten big leads in recent years (such as against Chicago not that long ago) and immediately backed off, allowing the opposition back in the game to some degree if they put forth any effort whatsoever. This is a sad way to win a game even if you come out and score 6 or 7 in the first. It just makes you worry.

Tonight we got a huge lead and then said to that incredibly annoying Canucks team that has given us so many damn fits...come and take it from us. Good effing luck.

This was not a night of sitting back even though we didn't score another goal. This was "we know we're in control and we're going to show it to you, rub it in, and make you know it." We controlled the puck, passed more than usual, made sure our plays were going to work and went about the business of a win. This wasn't as huge or gradual as the game 6 win against Carolina quite obviously, but there were times when it felt like that.

This squad went for every puck, didn't second guess and committed to each decision. Amazing to watch a team do that.

Not to mention the referees certainly called the game to the score. We should have had an absolute ton of powerplays. All earned through effort and making the Canucks frustrated. It was rather disappointing that this didn't come to pass because that team earned the chance to rack up some crooked numbers tonight.

In the end of course it didn't matter. This game was ours from the first.

I don't agree with Vancouver's decision to pull Schneider. What exactly was he supposed to do on either of those shots? Certainly take a time out but that was an instance where the luxury of Luongo led to a bad coaching decision.

I am disappointed no Oilers player took the opportunity to rearrange Kevin Bieksa's face tonight. If there was ever a time and a place to do it, this was it. Mike Brown should have been told to do so by Krueger. If his play wasn't pathetic enough, the jerk even took off with the game puck because, ya know, he's cool like that. What a loser.

That will be the extent of my negativity I believe. Way too many good things tonight to bother with some of the nit-picky stuff.

----------------

Taylor Hall took this game over from the very beginning. I wasn't surprised he got the chances he did. The man can find a gap and make a team give up a chance with the very best of them. I was a little surprised he got those first two shots on net top shelf like he did. That's something that has come a long way from the start of his career as I'd maintain that he would fire both of those over the net. Tonight he made no mistake and it wasn't even really a big deal. He just came in, took a shot and picked the corner. Another day at the office. Wow. The first goal was interesting in that he nearly had a referee and a linesman in his way. Hall's had more run-ins with the officiating crew this year than I can remember anyone else having. Part of it is that his speed is on you so fast that I think a lot of the officials struggle to anticipate it. The good news is tonight it didn't go the other way and end up in our net. Hall's third was a no-brainer. On a night like tonight, if you're a talented player and it is going that way for you, you go to the net just like he did and it tends to find a way. It was a lot like Gagner in the 8-point game. You just knew. He didn't get any more but he could've had 6 or 7 tonight and not batted an eye. Again, between the missed powerplays and the fact that the Oilers played a much more deliberate afterwards held his totals in check a touch. He also passed to Ryan Whitney on a 2-on-1 where Luongo was dead which baffled me. There were more chances in the third. He had this one under control, period.

His linemates Eberle and Hall played pretty tremendous games as well. They both had their passing hats on for most of the night and both made beautiful things happen. Hall's second goal was set up on an absolutely perfect play by Hopkins to send Hall in free and clear. Eberle was skating to the puck well and dishing passes off all night. He set up Hall for that Luongo highlight save in the third. He also made an amazing effort while tired at the end of a shift in the second to drive the net for a scoring chance and drew a penalty. The entire line was just rolling all night. Imagine what they could have done with the 8 or powerplays they deserved.

The Paajarvi-Gagner-Hemsky line didn't put on a show tonight but were still quite good. Hemsky set up a number of chances and got a couple himself. I can't believe he missed the combo of passes from Magnus and Sam that led to him with an open net in the first to make the game 5-0. It was a bit of an awkward sequence but he never misses those and it was weird. He also took a big hit from Sestito and kept going which was admirable. Magnus was excellent and drove the net for two great scoring chances off the posts. Very solid game from him. Gagner played more of a support role tonight but did his job.

Nail Yakupov did some really nice things this evening. There were a few good passes but I think most will remember his hit on one of the Sedins in the second period. The kid knows when to lean into someone and definitely uses his skating to great effect for hitting. He's the anti-J.F. Jacques in this sense. He gets the absolute most out of his speed, size and hitting opportunities. Horcoff had one of his better nights in a while, pressing the play and staying disciplined rather than overskating. He is built for a team that stakes itself to early leads for sure. He just hadn't remembered how to play with confidence like we saw tonight for some time. We're not going to talk about Ryan Jones because I said I wouldn't be focusing on the negative.

The fourth line did some of its job. I certainly can't complain about the job Smyth and Petrell did. Lennart specifically took the opportunity to get himself a couple decent scoring chances and get shots away.

All I really want to say about the D is that they were excellent tonight. They were aggressive, hit people, made good passes and hurt the Canucks when they got the opportunity. As a unit they were exactly what you needed them to be.

Dubnyk wasn't tested a lot, but made probably 5 really excellent saves to preserve his SO. I was impressed by his confident positioning and demeanor, as he sometimes allows the pressure of a lead to make him nervous. Not tonight. Very well done.
----------

Above all else, it is fun to smack that hockey team around and expose their weaknesses. We did it.

The key will be to remember the lessons we learned tonight and build on them. Continue attacking. Play with confidence. Impose your game. These things are true when you're winning 4-0, tied 2-2 or losing 4-0. They are true from the drop of the puck in every single game. The things we did tonight will work. Period.
 

KeithIsActuallyBad

You thrust your pelvis, huh!
Apr 12, 2010
71,804
30,723
Calgary
The only major complaint I have is with the refereeing. Bieksa got away with so much and never got called for it. I wish someone went after him but it ended up being a moot point.
 

Moonlapse Vertigo

Katz n' MacT BFFs
Oct 2, 2009
17,077
0
Edmonton
Yup. The referees let the Canucks get away with bloody murder all game. Note to NHL officials: I know that you like to give "elite" teams breaks and the benefit of the doubt but the Canucks aren't an elite team anymore so you can stop it when they're playing.
 

Mowzie

Registered User
Sep 17, 2003
9,966
2,030
Nice surprise! I wasn't expecting a report tonight.

Thankfully the team escaped injury, as this was a dirty Vancouver team that really crossed the line tonight and was allowed to by questionable referees. As much as I hate the Canucks, Edmonton needs to learn that gamesmanship, as most of us agree that Edmonton would usually just wither away if the situation as reversed rather than start to make hits and slash and hack.

Petry was incredible tonight. The top line was a treat to watch, they were absolutely dominant.

Lots of fun watching that tonight! Still don't think we're a playoff team, bit if they stay healthy and can continue to get performances like this for the kids, it will make for an intense April.
 

LoudmouthHemskyfan#1

Registered User
May 15, 2003
9,746
16
E-town
Nice surprise! I wasn't expecting a report tonight.

Thankfully the team escaped injury, as this was a dirty Vancouver team that really crossed the line tonight and was allowed to by questionable referees. As much as I hate the Canucks, Edmonton needs to learn that gamesmanship, as most of us agree that Edmonton would usually just wither away if the situation as reversed rather than start to make hits and slash and hack.

Petry was incredible tonight. The top line was a treat to watch, they were absolutely dominant.

Lots of fun watching that tonight! Still don't think we're a playoff team, bit if they stay healthy and can continue to get performances like this for the kids, it will make for an intense April.

I wasn't expecting one either, but when a happy 6-week-old and a happy wife combine for the opportunity you take it. Glad it was a game like this. Haven't had one in forever.

Going to celebrate with some beef bacon (yes, there is such a thing...should be interesting) as I wait for the 3am bottle feed.
 

Mowzie

Registered User
Sep 17, 2003
9,966
2,030
I wasn't expecting one either, but when a happy 6-week-old and a happy wife combine for the opportunity you take it. Glad it was a game like this. Haven't had one in forever.

Going to celebrate with some beef bacon (yes, there is such a thing...should be interesting) as I wait for the 3am bottle feed.

You don't gotta tell me about beef bacon, me and beef bacon go wayyy back.

Thanks for the report as usual. Lets get this baby grown and independent as soon as possible, were gonna need you down the home stretch.
 

Replacement*

Checked out
Apr 15, 2005
48,856
2
Hiking
Don't have time to respond much tonight as I'm busy partying...:laugh:

But LMHF, as you stated this is the best this team has played since 05-06 season. Exactly my take in other threads.

This is huge, and a team with a lot of young players finding its way.
 

BFDBFD

Registered User
Oct 9, 2007
173
26
Luanda, Angola
I wasn't expecting one either, but when a happy 6-week-old and a happy wife combine for the opportunity you take it. Glad it was a game like this. Haven't had one in forever.

Going to celebrate with some beef bacon (yes, there is such a thing...should be interesting) as I wait for the 3am bottle feed.

Living over here in a Muslim country, beef bacon is the order of the day. It's pretty damn good, but I gotta say I can't wait till I visit Canada this summer to get the real thing!

My only regret is that none of my holidays ever coincide with hockey season. However, watching the game at 9am this morning was as close to a playoff atmosphere as my house has ever experienced!

Thanks, as usual, for the excellent report. You rock, LMHF! :yo:
 

Dooman

Registered User
Mar 8, 2006
640
101
EDMONTON 4

VS.

VANCOUVER ZERO. ZIP. NOTHING.
---------------------------

I haven't watched the Oilers do that to a team in probably seven years. It isn't that they stormed out of the gate like they did. That has happened even during some of our darkest days. It is what happened after that. It was the rest of the game that was most interesting to me.

When we've gotten big leads in recent years (such as against Chicago not that long ago) and immediately backed off, allowing the opposition back in the game to some degree if they put forth any effort whatsoever. This is a sad way to win a game even if you come out and score 6 or 7 in the first. It just makes you worry.

Tonight we got a huge lead and then said to that incredibly annoying Canucks team that has given us so many damn fits...come and take it from us. Good effing luck.

This was not a night of sitting back even though we didn't score another goal. This was "we know we're in control and we're going to show it to you, rub it in, and make you know it." We controlled the puck, passed more than usual, made sure our plays were going to work and went about the business of a win. This wasn't as huge or gradual as the game 6 win against Carolina quite obviously, but there were times when it felt like that.

This squad went for every puck, didn't second guess and committed to each decision. Amazing to watch a team do that.

Not to mention the referees certainly called the game to the score. We should have had an absolute ton of powerplays. All earned through effort and making the Canucks frustrated. It was rather disappointing that this didn't come to pass because that team earned the chance to rack up some crooked numbers tonight.

In the end of course it didn't matter. This game was ours from the first.

I don't agree with Vancouver's decision to pull Schneider. What exactly was he supposed to do on either of those shots? Certainly take a time out but that was an instance where the luxury of Luongo led to a bad coaching decision.

I am disappointed no Oilers player took the opportunity to rearrange Kevin Bieksa's face tonight. If there was ever a time and a place to do it, this was it. Mike Brown should have been told to do so by Krueger. If his play wasn't pathetic enough, the jerk even took off with the game puck because, ya know, he's cool like that. What a loser.

That will be the extent of my negativity I believe. Way too many good things tonight to bother with some of the nit-picky stuff.

----------------

Taylor Hall took this game over from the very beginning. I wasn't surprised he got the chances he did. The man can find a gap and make a team give up a chance with the very best of them. I was a little surprised he got those first two shots on net top shelf like he did. That's something that has come a long way from the start of his career as I'd maintain that he would fire both of those over the net. Tonight he made no mistake and it wasn't even really a big deal. He just came in, took a shot and picked the corner. Another day at the office. Wow. The first goal was interesting in that he nearly had a referee and a linesman in his way. Hall's had more run-ins with the officiating crew this year than I can remember anyone else having. Part of it is that his speed is on you so fast that I think a lot of the officials struggle to anticipate it. The good news is tonight it didn't go the other way and end up in our net. Hall's third was a no-brainer. On a night like tonight, if you're a talented player and it is going that way for you, you go to the net just like he did and it tends to find a way. It was a lot like Gagner in the 8-point game. You just knew. He didn't get any more but he could've had 6 or 7 tonight and not batted an eye. Again, between the missed powerplays and the fact that the Oilers played a much more deliberate afterwards held his totals in check a touch. He also passed to Ryan Whitney on a 2-on-1 where Luongo was dead which baffled me. There were more chances in the third. He had this one under control, period.

His linemates Eberle and Hall played pretty tremendous games as well. They both had their passing hats on for most of the night and both made beautiful things happen. Hall's second goal was set up on an absolutely perfect play by Hopkins to send Hall in free and clear. Eberle was skating to the puck well and dishing passes off all night. He set up Hall for that Luongo highlight save in the third. He also made an amazing effort while tired at the end of a shift in the second to drive the net for a scoring chance and drew a penalty. The entire line was just rolling all night. Imagine what they could have done with the 8 or powerplays they deserved.

The Paajarvi-Gagner-Hemsky line didn't put on a show tonight but were still quite good. Hemsky set up a number of chances and got a couple himself. I can't believe he missed the combo of passes from Magnus and Sam that led to him with an open net in the first to make the game 5-0. It was a bit of an awkward sequence but he never misses those and it was weird. He also took a big hit from Sestito and kept going which was admirable. Magnus was excellent and drove the net for two great scoring chances off the posts. Very solid game from him. Gagner played more of a support role tonight but did his job.

Nail Yakupov did some really nice things this evening. There were a few good passes but I think most will remember his hit on one of the Sedins in the second period. The kid knows when to lean into someone and definitely uses his skating to great effect for hitting. He's the anti-J.F. Jacques in this sense. He gets the absolute most out of his speed, size and hitting opportunities. Horcoff had one of his better nights in a while, pressing the play and staying disciplined rather than overskating. He is built for a team that stakes itself to early leads for sure. He just hadn't remembered how to play with confidence like we saw tonight for some time. We're not going to talk about Ryan Jones because I said I wouldn't be focusing on the negative.

The fourth line did some of its job. I certainly can't complain about the job Smyth and Petrell did. Lennart specifically took the opportunity to get himself a couple decent scoring chances and get shots away.

All I really want to say about the D is that they were excellent tonight. They were aggressive, hit people, made good passes and hurt the Canucks when they got the opportunity. As a unit they were exactly what you needed them to be.

Dubnyk wasn't tested a lot, but made probably 5 really excellent saves to preserve his SO. I was impressed by his confident positioning and demeanor, as he sometimes allows the pressure of a lead to make him nervous. Not tonight. Very well done.
----------

Above all else, it is fun to smack that hockey team around and expose their weaknesses. We did it.

The key will be to remember the lessons we learned tonight and build on them. Continue attacking. Play with confidence. Impose your game. These things are true when you're winning 4-0, tied 2-2 or losing 4-0. They are true from the drop of the puck in every single game. The things we did tonight will work. Period.

The part I bolded made me chuckle. No wonder he played so good..... he was his own linemate :P
 

Conkanen*

Guest
Thx for these write-ups LMHF. Required reading for me right up there with Peter King MMQB. :)

This game was unreal. For the first time in forever I never had the feeling we were going to relinquish anything. It was like the last 2 periods were a victory lap. Watching the 1st line run all over the canucks was pure bliss.

Gotta keep the same intensity from here on out.
 

ponokanocker

Registered User
Nov 17, 2009
3,835
6
Nice write up. Omitting saying much about Jones was probably a good thing. Since his first few games after coming back, he has not looked good. The young guns line dominated every shift practically. I can't remember such a dominating line for 60 minutes.
Hemsky had a solid 2nd and 3rd, but made about 4 gaffes in the 1st. Nice to see him bounce back.
 

DisgruntledGoat*

Registered User
Dec 26, 2010
4,301
27
I find Messier comparisons get tossed around too lightly in hockey and rarely fit as Messier was such a great (third best forward of his generation- yes, he was better than Yzerman, kids) and unique player but tonight... Hall was Messier. The skating, the intensity, the taking charge of the whole damn game right from the first shift, and just that hard-to-define swagger that rubs off on a whole team. He had it. The only difference was, of course, that Bieska would still be looking for his teeth if he'd slashed 11 like that. But the game's changed, and we really need to add some guys to do that for Hall. To reference another bygone Oilers era, this team needs to add a Jason Smith, an Ethan Moreau (the good version) and a Bill Guerin. Functional toughness throughout the lineup.

And while I'm rambling: I thought RNH had one of his best games of the year, too. He never took over the game like Hall but he was button-hooking, slipping checks, and making seeing-eye passes like he does when he's really dialled in. A few inches here and there... And I think we could all easily be talking about his six-point night right now.
 

Replacement*

Checked out
Apr 15, 2005
48,856
2
Hiking
Just a few more comments to add to what is always being a good thread here.

More than any night I can remember the Oilers were playing high tempo, high energy and rolling lines and playing short, sharp shifts. If you look at the lineup on down the line we have a lot of balanced minutes and guys like Yak putting up 14mins and Smyth 16mins.
Have to say as well I love what we are doing with Yak. What they are making him do is earn minutes and bring it on every shift. So he goes out there on his shifts and looks like a bull. We're winding this guy up and setting him loose. This pays dividends in his development as a player and he's also fresher than some of his comrades.

Smyth played an unsung role tonight and like most lines played really smart with and without the puck. On two occassions Horcoff somehow lost his stick playing shorthanded and with Oilers caught desperate in own zone in what then becomes a 5 on 3.5. On both of these occasions Smyth made excellent aggressive reads to get the puck out. Smyth also with a huge roll in keeping puck deep in Nucks zone His, and Horcs experience also instrumental on the bench as both take on the young Yak and give him some pointers with Nail taking it all in. Smyth patting Yak as he's giving him feedback was nice to see.

What we got tonight was allzone solid play, taking away time and space. creating turnovers and counters(from Halls first goal on, just look at how that goal was created). Whenever Nucks were battling puck we were often outnumbering in situations due to player support, anticipation, and being sharper than the Nucks were. We played well positionally, moved the puck deftly and with confident hard passes all night.
Just amazing how we were mixing up our breakouts.

Its almost as if the Oilers have been breaking down LA, Bruins, even STL game film on breakouts. Love how they were mixing it up with variations of schemes and passes and taking what was available. We were creating open ice situations all night for us and closing everything down for the nucks. Our closing to the puck and anticipated play was something else. Sedins couldn't even get on a cycle horse EV.

Kidline was just dominant on every shift and leading the way. Hall is WAY ahead of Messier at same age. Light years ahead. Remember that Mess had Gretz greatness to aspire to. Hall is his own beacon thus chasing his own greatness. Much harder to lead a club than follow.

Funny enough Gagner setup 4 empty net situations on good passes Hemsky 2, Paajarvi 1, Yak 1 and didn't get a point on a "quiet" night. Two five bell clangers though.
 

The Human Torch

Registered User
Sep 7, 2005
5,288
1
Amsterdam
I am disappointed no Oilers player took the opportunity to rearrange Kevin Bieksa's face tonight. If there was ever a time and a place to do it, this was it. Mike Brown should have been told to do so by Krueger. If his play wasn't pathetic enough, the jerk even took off with the game puck because, ya know, he's cool like that. What a loser.

Wait, what? What's this about Bieksa taking the game puck?

God, but do I ever despise everything about the Canucks franchise.
 

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