Post-Game Talk: 50 wins!

[Pass the Saitl Sauce]

Oilers Kings start Monday. Not guessing. Its confirmed. Playoff schedules are also usually compressed so once it starts not much breaks.

Like I say other contending teams usually rest some players in some games. No reason not to. Playoffs is LONG. Several SC winners have rested or even parked players for extended periods of time just to be fresh for post season. Instead we've been milking our stars every meaningless game for no reason.

Playoffs is about endurance. Endurance is furthered by getting as much rest as possible prior to a marathon. SC playoffs is the greatest and most grinding marathon.

Oilers will get their rest when they sweep the kings

 

[Oilhawks]

Look how happy he is not coaching the fLames

 

[Drivesaitl]

A critical component to getting adequate rest is finishing each series in less than 7 games.

jmo is that you have a better chance of closing series out faster being fresh. Plus when have we known the Oilers to ever take the quickest route in a playoff series? Maybe it happens. Oilers though should have learned from last years 7 game series. Critical though for them to realize from the outset is that the way games have been going for the last month has no bearing on playoffs. Different level of compete there. Shit gets serious now. Hopefully Oil are not over confident.

 

[T-Funk]

Look how happy he is not coaching the fLames

oh snap did we keep the record? nice nice good for glutes. That's what I call him now.

 

[48g90a138pts]

 

[Oilhawks]

oh snap did we keep the record? nice nice good for glutes. That's what I call him now.

Yup, if they didn’t score on one of them it might have slipped below, not sure though

 

[guymez]

jmo is that you have a better chance of closing series out faster being fresh. Plus when have we known the Oilers to ever take the quickest route in a playoff series? Maybe it happens. Oilers though should have learned from last years 7 game series. Critical though for them to realize from the outset is that the way games have been going for the last month has no bearing on playoffs. Different level of compete there. Shit gets serious now. Hopefully Oil are not over confident.

Well its a bit of a balancing act...continuity is very important as well.

Draisaitl played 13 minutes in this game. McDavid played 15 minutes.
A walk in the park for both players.

We shall find out if McDavid and Drai were overplayed and are tired in the playoffs.
I suspect it wont be an issue provided they can end each series in less than 7 games.

 

[Soundwave]

lol I knew that response was coming.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Jets definitely have been a. Little disfunctional last half of season but I still remember how they started the season. Connor is a better forward than any king and morrisey better than any D on kings and I’d go Helly>korpisalo aswell. Kings are a deeper team but jets have more playoff experience. Both jets and kings goal diff is comparable they’re actually very close imo. Even if fiala and Vilardi return I’d expect oilers to target them and hurt them more

All fair points.

Doughty and Kopitar are two pretty good people to learn playoff hockey from though. I would also argue the GF / GA diff is only that close because LAs goaltending was a complete shit show at the start of the season. They have solid goalies now.

The Jets are 21st in goals for and the Kings are 9th. Helly can play lights out every game but they will still lose if they can’t score. See last years Oettinger.

 

[Louis Cypher]

So are all the people melting down earlier this year and crying we are never making the playoffs and saying the stupidest childish shit still here? Many gave up and moved on I hope.

For the record i was never in doubt. Same last year.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

 

[Spawn]

We should have rested some players like I said all along. Playing the Kings was pretty much a given. Knights weren't going to just give us first place. Why would they?

As expected Knights swept the Kraken in the two game set. Figured as much. Now with short turnover the Oilers head into the playoffs with little rest for their star players. There won't be any in sight now with playoffs. At least a game or two to have guys fresh would have been preferred.

Seems like every season people are saying we can't rest guys because of pts, records, stats etc. Seems like other clubs do.

Which other clubs would you be referring too?

 

[WaitingForUser]

Yup, if they didn’t score on one of them it might have slipped below, not sure though

No they needed to go like 0-7 to drop enough for the record to slip away

 

[Soundwave]

We should have rested some players like I said all along. Playing the Kings was pretty much a given. Knights weren't going to just give us first place. Why would they?

As expected Knights swept the Kraken in the two game set. Figured as much. Now with short turnover the Oilers head into the playoffs with little rest for their star players. There won't be any in sight now with playoffs. At least a game or two to have guys fresh would have been preferred.

Seems like every season people are saying we can't rest guys because of pts, records, stats etc. Seems like other clubs do.

I mean granted the Kraken had won like 5 straight before playing Vegas, so you can't just write them off.

Besides having home ice in a series potentially down the line versus Colorado is not some small thing. It's important to have.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Which other clubs would you be referring too?

SC teams like Tampa, LA, Col that have found ways to rest or park some players further to long runs. SC teams tend to do this. Tampa particularly did it infamously.

 

[Spawn]

SC teams like Tampa, LA, Col that have found ways to rest or park some players further to long runs. SC teams tend to do this. Tampa particularly did it infamously.

Tampa's stars played tonight. Same with Toronto. Same with Boston. Same with the Devils, Same with the Canes. Same with the Knights. Same with the Kings. Same with the Stars. Same with the Oilers.

If there was nothing to play for, I would have agreed. But the fact of the matter is that the Oilers had a chance to win the conference tonight ensuring home ice throughout the entire Western conference playoffs. Even with Vegas winning, the Oilers win tonight ensures that if they met Colorado or Dallas in the conference finals they would have home ice advantage.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Jets definitely have been a. Little disfunctional last half of season but I still remember how they started the season. Connor is a better forward than any king and morrisey better than any D on kings and I’d go Helly>korpisalo aswell. Kings are a deeper team but jets have more playoff experience. Both jets and kings goal diff is comparable they’re actually very close imo. Even if fiala and Vilardi return I’d expect oilers to target them and hurt them more

Doughty and Kopitar are multiple SC winners. Still quite capable of game. That you say Jets have more playoff experience given that is frankly incredible. That you say Josh Morrisey is better than any Kings D is fiction. Debatable whether Connor is a better forward than any Kings forward.

Kings goal differential is what it is due to essentially not having competent goaltending the first 3o games of season. Thats been rectified. Last half of season Kings are miles better than the jets and are even on complete season. Jets wouldn't be anywhere close to a playoff club without Hellbuck stealing games.

 

[Cloned]

McDrai will be fine.

McDavid was going at like 10% of his usual intensity the last week. It actually goes back even further than that. Once he scored 60 he turned it down a few gears. Guy knows he has to stay healthy and rested and that it didn’t REALLY matter where they finished in the standings.

Drai ramped up a bit a few weeks ago but again has since geared down. It’ll be fine.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Tampa's stars played tonight. Same with Toronto. Same with Boston. Same with the Devils, Same with the Canes. Same with the Knights. Same with the Kings. Same with the Stars. Same with the Oilers.

If there was nothing to play for, I would have agreed. But the fact of the matter is that the Oilers had a chance to win the conference tonight ensuring home ice throughout the entire Western conference playoffs. Even with Vegas winning, the Oilers win tonight ensures that if they met Colorado or Dallas in the conference finals they would have home ice advantage.

Fair. Myself I expected the Oilers would be playing Kings and that felt inevitable a month ago. Well here we are. Keeping in mind every drop of expended energy spent won't count for anything in playoffs. Everything of course starts on Monday. Last season Oilers lost that home game 1. Hopefully they realize magnitude this time around. I think they will ftr.

 

[Ol' Jase]

SC teams like Tampa, LA, Col that have found ways to rest or park some players further to long runs. SC teams tend to do this. Tampa particularly did it infamously.

I kind of agree if they were on the road and opening the playoffs at home, or vis versa. I do think it’s a little less of an issue when we open at home, they’re at home tonight and not playing until probably next Monday or Tuesday.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

SC teams like Tampa, LA, Col that have found ways to rest or park some players further to long runs. SC teams tend to do this. Tampa particularly did it infamously.ol

Draisaitl barely played in a very low intensity home game. He played about 9 minutes even strength. McDavid didn’t play that much either.


Also being injured / banged up isn’t really the same as resting.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I mean granted the Kraken had won like 5 straight before playing Vegas, so you can't just write them off.

Besides having home ice in a series potentially down the line versus Colorado is not some small thing. It's important to have.

FWIW I said multiple times Vegas would win against the Kraken. With first place on line they were going to be winning those games. They would beat the Kraken 4 times in a row if they had to.

At least we gave McDrai limited minutes tonight. Every bit helps.

Draisaitl barely played in a very low intensity home game. He played about 9 minutes even strength. McDavid didn’t play that much either.


Also being injured isn’t really the same as resting.

Cheaterov says hi. Stamkos says hold my beer.

 

[T-Funk]

No they needed to go like 0-7 to drop enough for the record to slip away

Seravalli said 0-4 would have lost it. I missed part of the game right when Draisaitl scored on the pp so I was worried at the end of the game lol.

 

[Cloned]

Bruins have the best blue-line in the league IMO
Mcavoy-lindholm-orlov makes it hard to beat

A lot went right for them. It only takes a few bad bounces in a short series to cause chaos.

 

[WaitingForUser]

Seravalli said 0-4 would have lost it. I missed part of the game right when Draisaitl scored on the pp so I was worried at the end of the game lol.

Jack said 0-7 on the broadcast that’s where I got the figure from.