GDT: #7 | Edmonton Oilers @ New York Islanders | Oct 17th | 7PM | F/W 3-2

[doublechili]

was probably the same last year. Hickey and Visnovsky are such great skaters, passers and can carry the puck, they get the Isles out of danger so quickly and create offensive rushes.

It's obvious when watching these guys play. They are far and away better than any other defenseman in this regard, on the Islanders anyway.

I don't like them playing together though. I always hated the combos Cappy has.

Bouchard-Nielsen-Bailey (three passers are playing together?) They played well but anyone can play with Nielsen and Bailey, they are such good, well-rounded, smart players. But both passers.

Visnovsky should play with Hamonic
Hickey should play with AMac
Donovan with Strait

I'd add Carkner for either Strait or Donovan or Hickey.

I also don't like JT and Grabner on the same line. Grabner creates scoring chances on his own, splitting them up gives the Isles more offense overall. Grabner doesn't help JT much.

Tavares needs to play with two a passer and a grinder. Like Bailey and Clutterbuck/McDonald/Martin/Okposo. Ideally Kyle but he doesn't play smart and coughs up the puck far too much, unnecessarily. Not usually to make a great play, usually for a low-percentage move or simply by fumbling the puck.

Nielsen-Grabs is another pair that work extremely well together.

Moulson works with Tavares, no doubt, as long as you have a skater/grinder on the other side. But not ideal, especially 5on5. Best to save Matty M for the PP where he's excellent.

And as I've said a zillion times before, and ITM pointed out again, never play AMac on the PP. Unlike many of you, I think MacDonald is a very good defenseman. He battles hard, blocks shots, plays big minutes (has for the past four years) and plays against the top players. He's miscast in that role, for sure, but he's far from expendable. I hope he re-signs but would understand why he'd walk and take the huge payday that awaits. But on the PP, he's dreadful.

Also, again as ITM pointed out before the season, Donovan has been outstanding at getting pucks through from the point. Such an underrated skill! I think he's gotten more pucks to the net on the 3 min of total PP time in his pro career (if that) than Hamonic and AMac have their whole career (not even sure I'm exaggerating!)

Donovan does look very tentative and outmatched defensively. Seems to lack confidence, which is understandable in his first season. Gotta let him play though.

Nice post, RB. As a general proposition, I've never understood why all hockey coaches don't use a basketball formula when putting together their units. Puck-mover, shooter, banger, etc.. All 5-man units should have a similar makeup, IMO.

The good news about the dearth of large d-men on the Isles (as Dan-O pointed out) is that there are a lot of pretty good looking ones in the system.

 

[19NYSports91]

The reason Vis doesn't play with Harmonic is because they both play the right side even though Vis is a left shot. We have too may left shot D's. Both Vis and Donovan are playing their off sides. Not all D-men can do that well.

Also, Hickey and Amac are both left-handed shots who play the left side so that won't work either.

 

[12Dog]

Okposko doesn't seem to have the hockey sense to play with Tavares, much prefer Bailey with JT. How about giving Nelson a look with Tavares and Bailey?

 

[edmontonislesfan]

Yea, I agree, Idk why people would get mad at that. The one thing that I don't understand is when fans boo the Canadian Anthem and also say "**** Canada", makes no sense when most of the players on the Isles are CANADIAN. Are best player that everyone loves is CANADIAN lol.

I would not boo any country's anthem. However, in this case I don't think Canadians take offense. It is unlikely those responsible dislike the country or its citizens (they may be wearing a Tavares, Hamonic, or Matt Martin jersey). They associate the anthem with the opposition team, who they dislike, or at least want their team to beat.

Besides, it is only a vocal minority who are booing. The majority of the fans can't be held responsible for the actions of others.

 

[OlTimeHockey]

Best thing about the game last night: the teams looked awesome in those uniforms to us Old Timers.

 

[startainfection*]

Best thing about the game last night: the teams looked awesome in those uniforms to us Old Timers.

trust me, they looked awesome to everyone, the oilers are my second team and i just want to see them meet and get destroyed by the isles in the stanley cup finals

 

[IHateSidney]

I watched it this morning. Wasnt impressed at first. Thought they were playing sloppy....thought they improved was really happy with the results. USA! USA! USA!

 

[redbull]

I know this is an Isles board, but curious what you guys thought of the Oilers youngsters? (well, some not THAT young anymore)

The three first overalls:

Hall, RNH, Yakupov

Eberle

Schultz

I watch a lot of Oilers games and yesterday was a fair indication of how they typically play. Not that great. Eberle was especially unnoticeable yesterday, he's usually better - they are better with Sam Gagner in the lineup too.

I thought Hemsky was very ordinary, never understood the fascination with him. Great skater, decent size, decent hands - he's a bit of a Kabanov or Zherdev type though.

Hall has outstanding speed but his hockey sense isn't especially strong. Like Evander Kane, they are all physical tools, not hockey IQ and instincts.

Nugent-Hopkins has struggled since the beginning of last year, possibly related to the shoulder injuries? But he's not physically strong, doesn't compete hard enough, yet. But he's still very young and not filled out as yet.

Yakupov. He's noticeable on the PP and loves to shoot. Has great speed but doesn't get noticed out there much. Very much a perimeter player with exceptional tools.

Liked Schultz's game, especially on the PP, but he's not a Norris candidate anytime soon. Solid, unspectacular defensively. A Mike Green type? I'm impressed because he's a very good player they got for nothing (except money) but not exactly a superstar in the making either.

I love the tanking philosophy of some teams but you just never know, even with these top picks.

 

[Moosie]

Good thing Edmonton took that late penalty.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

I know this is an Isles board, but curious what you guys thought of the Oilers youngsters? (well, some not THAT young anymore)

The three first overalls:

Hall, RNH, Yakupov

Eberle

Schultz

I watch a lot of Oilers games and yesterday was a fair indication of how they typically play. Not that great. Eberle was especially unnoticeable yesterday, he's usually better - they are better with Sam Gagner in the lineup too.

I thought Hemsky was very ordinary, never understood the fascination with him. Great skater, decent size, decent hands - he's a bit of a Kabanov or Zherdev type though.

Hall has outstanding speed but his hockey sense isn't especially strong. Like Evander Kane, they are all physical tools, not hockey IQ and instincts.

Nugent-Hopkins has struggled since the beginning of last year, possibly related to the shoulder injuries? But he's not physically strong, doesn't compete hard enough, yet. But he's still very young and not filled out as yet.

Yakupov. He's noticeable on the PP and loves to shoot. Has great speed but doesn't get noticed out there much. Very much a perimeter player with exceptional tools.

Liked Schultz's game, especially on the PP, but he's not a Norris candidate anytime soon. Solid, unspectacular defensively. A Mike Green type? I'm impressed because he's a very good player they got for nothing (except money) but not exactly a superstar in the making either.

I love the tanking philosophy of some teams but you just never know, even with these top picks.

They lack size in their top 6 and pay a price for it. There is also a sizable gap between their future on the blueline and their forwards. Management has hung them out to dry with bad goaltending and poor short term answers for critical positions, particularly defense. I might look at changing everyone from Lowe, down because of it.

 

[19NYSports91]

I know this is an Isles board, but curious what you guys thought of the Oilers youngsters? (well, some not THAT young anymore)

The three first overalls:

Hall, RNH, Yakupov

Eberle

Schultz

I watch a lot of Oilers games and yesterday was a fair indication of how they typically play. Not that great. Eberle was especially unnoticeable yesterday, he's usually better - they are better with Sam Gagner in the lineup too.

I thought Hemsky was very ordinary, never understood the fascination with him. Great skater, decent size, decent hands - he's a bit of a Kabanov or Zherdev type though.

Hall has outstanding speed but his hockey sense isn't especially strong. Like Evander Kane, they are all physical tools, not hockey IQ and instincts.

Nugent-Hopkins has struggled since the beginning of last year, possibly related to the shoulder injuries? But he's not physically strong, doesn't compete hard enough, yet. But he's still very young and not filled out as yet.

Yakupov. He's noticeable on the PP and loves to shoot. Has great speed but doesn't get noticed out there much. Very much a perimeter player with exceptional tools.

Liked Schultz's game, especially on the PP, but he's not a Norris candidate anytime soon. Solid, unspectacular defensively. A Mike Green type? I'm impressed because he's a very good player they got for nothing (except money) but not exactly a superstar in the making either.

I love the tanking philosophy of some teams but you just never know, even with these top picks.

I still think RNH will be the best player for them in the future and is the most important player for where they want to go. He didn't play well yesterday at all though and didn't do much. Was never a fan of Yakupov to be honest, but the guy is extremely talented. Hall's a very good player, but there's a clear difference between him and Tavares when you watch them play. I thought Eberle was very noticeable last night.

 

[PWJunior]

Hall is an outstanding talent, his ability to use his speed to push the pace is great. What isn't great is his hockey sense, it's not super high end like Tavares. His offensive game is a bit limited and one dimensional because it's all predicated on his speed, he's not as outstanding in other areas of his game.

I've never been sold on RNH and I'm still not. He's got excellent vision and playmaking ability, but his game is too passive for my taste. For a #1 overall pick, I want someone who can take the puck and take over. He's an extreme playmaker and he'll never be much of a goal scorer. So far, he strikes me as a fringe #1C who is a PP specialist. Until he shows more in his ability to be an offensive catalyst at EV, that's all I see. When I compare him to Tavares, RNH is not in his league because he can't generate offense from nothing on his own.

I can't say too much about Yakupov, but he stikes me as a Mogilny type. Like Hall, his game is predicated on his speed and he's got one hell of a shot. Concerns about his overall game and attitude turn me off whether the whispers are true or not.

Eberle is a nice complementary winger. He's super skilled and he's a very opportunistic sniper who has some big flaws to his game. He's not very physical and his overall game needs work. He needs to play with players who can drive the play because he's at his best going into stealth mode and pouncing on opportunities. In tight, the kid has got sick hands and scores pretty goals. I'm not as high on him as others, he's been exposed after his big season and isn't a true star.

Their kids are very talented, but they've all been thrown to the wolves with no protection. The Oilers put them in positions that they couldn't succeed in and now there are serious question marks starting to creep up about them. Seriously, Edmonton could not have botched their development more than they have. No veteran support at all with no stability throughout the organization. The Oilers have also backed themselves into a corner with the contracts given out to them. They have little choice other than to wait it out and hope the kids get it. So far, Eakins is having a Josh McDaniels like start when he became Denver's HC. They're a gong show over there.

I hate to say this, but the Oilers have had horrible timing too. Simply, none of their #1 overalls are in the class of Tavares. JT has emerged as a true franchise player who can put the team on his shoulders and lift it up. He's basically the hockey's Derek Jeter because he seems to do no wrong. Hall, RNH, and Yakupov are star level talents. I don't see franchise player in any of them, but Hall is the closest.

 

[blitzkriegs]

I know this is an Isles board, but curious what you guys thought of the Oilers youngsters? (well, some not THAT young anymore)

The three first overalls:

Hall, RNH, Yakupov

Eberle

Schultz

I watch a lot of Oilers games and yesterday was a fair indication of how they typically play. Not that great. Eberle was especially unnoticeable yesterday, he's usually better - they are better with Sam Gagner in the lineup too.

I thought Hemsky was very ordinary, never understood the fascination with him. Great skater, decent size, decent hands - he's a bit of a Kabanov or Zherdev type though.

Hall has outstanding speed but his hockey sense isn't especially strong. Like Evander Kane, they are all physical tools, not hockey IQ and instincts.

Nugent-Hopkins has struggled since the beginning of last year, possibly related to the shoulder injuries? But he's not physically strong, doesn't compete hard enough, yet. But he's still very young and not filled out as yet.

Yakupov. He's noticeable on the PP and loves to shoot. Has great speed but doesn't get noticed out there much. Very much a perimeter player with exceptional tools.

Liked Schultz's game, especially on the PP, but he's not a Norris candidate anytime soon. Solid, unspectacular defensively. A Mike Green type? I'm impressed because he's a very good player they got for nothing (except money) but not exactly a superstar in the making either.

I love the tanking philosophy of some teams but you just never know, even with these top picks.

The organization ain't going anywhere until Kevin Lowe is exited from the organization. He's one of the worst people in hockey management and it has shown year in, year out.