Post-Game Talk: An uninspiring game

[Soundwave]

Yeah. I don't think Skinner was particularly terrible or anything, Korpisalo was just that good last night.

I know it sucks losing to the BJs, but we outplayed them basically all night. Shot clock was tilted in our favor. Scoring chances were tilted in our favor. Possession was tilted in our favor.

But their guy was .948 and our guy was .888. Not going to win a ton of games when you're 6% behind in goaltending. That's difference between Hasek and Cloutier.

Shot clock doesn't really tell the full story. The Oilers only got that many shots because Columbus is the worst team in the league, but they were also gifting Columbus AAA chances for large chunks on the game and came out completely unprepared to play the 3rd period.

36 shots to 27 shots isn't like some dominant performance that some people are making it out to be.

Also "scoring chances" is a deceptive thing with the Oilers when so many players on this team bork AAA scoring chances. Foegele, Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, Holloway, etc. etc. etc. often times blow prime scoring chances which then gives the other team's goalie confidence, it's not the plus in our favor people think it is.

I'd honestly rather not have the scoring chance in these cases, lol. Because all it does is our guy powders the shot right into the goalies pads or body and then it starts to build that goalie's confidence.

It's how the Oilers make back ups and 3rd string goalies look like All-Star players repeatedly this season.

 

[Drivesaitl]

After last year, I had promise that with Manson coming in for a full year that Nurse would settle in and rebound and move his career upward, commensurate with his contract amount, but not just because of it.

However, it’s almost been the opposite. He continues to make the same basic errors, not learning or doing different as a result, and thus not developing. His trajectory is not as a number 1 defenceman. He’s not exceptionally skilled on either side of the puck, offensive or defensive. He’s so so at both sides. He’s not overly punishing (but that may be more to how he is being managed than a slight against his personal attributes, because I think he can be).

I cant put my finger on it exactly, but when he gets interviewed, he gives me a vibe that he thinks he does no wrong, has an complete/upper echelon game and is Bobby Orr wrapped up in Nick Lidstrom. Sometimes ego can be a challenge to overcome.

Out of curiosity, I looked at his similarity score on Hockey Reference. For his career, to date, one of his comparatives is Ryan Whitney. Ouch.

Not sure who I feel more sorry for, Darnell or Ryan.

I don't get the same impression. I don't think Darnell is a shit doesn't stink person. I think he's a mercurial sort, and knows that, and that works on keeping his cool and not losing his stack. Thats what I recognize in him because I had to try to reign in anger problems in life. So that he's a player that makes mistakes, knows it, but tries not to be or look too impacted by it. Its a somewhat resilient skill that allows one to go on next shifts, and he has to have it because he gets a shitload of shifts here and always does.

Nurse I fear is going to have times where he approaches 1D and times where you wonder what he's doing. Still though he's a supreme athlete in a sport, a very good skater that can skate miles and he's got conditioning to eat endless minutes. This is still the same D that played an amazing 60mins in a 6 period playoff game. Its the same person. When he looks most bad its helpful to reflect on that. That was the best game of his career possibly. It would be for a lot of D. Really if we had won that game it would have gone down as a legend performance.

 

[Soundwave]

These are the Oilers games this year with 3 or more days rest at home.

3-4 LOSS to Calgary (HOME)
2-4 LOSS to Buffalo (HOME)
1-3 LOSS to LA Kings (HOME)
2-3 OT LOSS Columbus (HOME)

Averaging only 2 goals per game certainly stands out as one reason why they've lost all 4 games.

It's pretty obvious this team doesn't have juice in home games with a layoff before it, and the coach really doesn't do anything to address this.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Yeah. I don't think Skinner was particularly terrible or anything, Korpisalo was just that good last night.

I know it sucks losing to the BJs, but we outplayed them basically all night. Shot clock was tilted in our favor. Scoring chances were tilted in our favor. Possession was tilted in our favor.

But their guy was .948 and our guy was .888. Not going to win a ton of games when you're 6% behind in goaltending. That's difference between Hasek and Cloutier.

Absolutely.

One of my early Oilers recollections was from the WHA. I think second season. The Oilers outshot the Minnesota Fighting Saints by a staggering 51-17 and somehow lost the game 5-1. That game alone gave me the context for realizing ever since that goalies can just steal games and that no matter what you do, how hard you try, how much you outplay, on some nights you just lose. Thats the imperfection of hockey, its one I don't like, but its the essence of hockey that goalies can steal games and even the greatest player in the game spots it. Connor had that look on his face for most of the game. "its this buggering goalie night again".

I get kind of frustrated when goaltending is so much a part of games or teams. For instance Demko and the Canucks for awhile. or Markstrom and the Flames until the Oilers unmasked him. I want hockey to be more about the skaters than the goalies but alas it isn't always like that.

Just as an aside its why the purist in me thinks Football is probably a better sport. The size of the nets makes it so that it can't just be the goalie being the show. you have to play well enough in front of that goalie. Or play a team that can't score or finish to save their lives. I prefer the 11 on the pitch deciding outcomes, not one player.

 

[iCanada]

Shot clock doesn't really tell the full story. The Oilers only got that many shots because Columbus is the worst team in the league, but they were also gifting Columbus AAA chances for large chunks on the game and came out completely unprepared to play the 3rd period.

36 shots to 27 shots isn't like some dominant performance that some people are making it out to be.

Also "scoring chances" is a deceptive thing with the Oilers when so many players on this team bork AAA scoring chances. Foegele, Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, Holloway, etc. etc. etc. often times blow prime scoring chances which then gives the other team's goalie confidence, it's not the plus in our favor people think it is.

I'd honestly rather not have the scoring chance in these cases, lol. Because all it does is our guy powders the shot right into the goalies pads or body and then it starts to build that goalie's confidence.

It's how the Oilers make back ups and 3rd string goalies look like All-Star players repeatedly this season.

If you want to go by xGF we outpaced Columbus at 3.8 to 2.2.

Absolutely.

One of my early Oilers recollections was from the WHA. I think second season. The Oilers outshot the Minnesota Fighting Saints by a staggering 51-17 and somehow lost the game 5-1. That game alone gave me the context for realizing ever since that goalies can just steal games and that no matter what you do, how hard you try, how much you outplay, on some nights you just lose. Thats the imperfection of hockey, its one I don't like, but its the essence of hockey that goalies can steal games and even the greatest player in the game spots it. Connor had that look on his face for most of the game. "its this buggering goalie night again".

I get kind of frustrated when goaltending is so much a part of games or teams. For instance Demko and the Canucks for awhile. or Markstrom and the Flames until the Oilers unmasked him. I want hockey to be more about the skaters than the goalies but alas it isn't always like that.

Another good example is that game against the ducks this year. I think shot clock was like 57 to 14 or something and we lost 4-3.

 

[Soundwave]

If you want to go by xGF we outpaced Columbus at 3.8 to 2.2.

The chances really don't matter if they're coming off the stick of guys who can't finish in a brothel with $5000 in their pocket though.

All those chances really do then is make guys like Korpisalo and Dostal (Ducks goalie) feel like All-Star tier players, because we just blast the puck right into their pads, they start to feel good and the ending is then predictable. We do a lot to give 2nd/3rd string goalies confidence.

We'd honestly be better off if we didn't have those chances, all it does is give the other team momentum when they rob Puljujarvi or Holloway or Foegele or whatever, we definitely sagged after both Holloway and Puljujarvi couldn't cash early.

 

[iCanada]

The chances really don't matter if they're coming off the stick of guys who can't finish in a brothel with $5000 in their pocket though.

All those chances really do then is make guys like Korpisalo and Dostal (Ducks goalie) feel like All-Star tier players, because we just blast the puck right into their pads, they start to feel good and the ending is then predictable. We do a lot to give 2nd/3rd string goalies confidence.

I also think there is an intrinsic difference in motivation, particularly for guys like Korpi and Dostal.

Games against McDrai are basically these guys most important game of the year, their Stanley Cup.

 

[Drivesaitl]

The chances really don't matter if they're coming off the stick of guys who can't finish in a brothel with $5000 in their pocket though.

All those chances really do then is make guys like Korpisalo and Dostal (Ducks goalie) feel like All-Star tier players, because we just blast the puck right into their pads, they start to feel good and the ending is then predictable. We do a lot to give 2nd/3rd string goalies confidence.

Most of the Oilers chances were McD, Nuge, Drai, Hyman in that order. What on earth are you talking about?

 

[Soundwave]

I also think there is an intrinsic difference in motivation, particularly for guys like Korpi and Dostal.

Games against McDrai are basically these guys most important game of the year, their Stanley Cup.

Yeah but it's a very different game if Puljujarvi and Holloway bury those chances. Then it's 2-0 Edmonton early, and the game is a laugher already and their confident is in the toilet because look uh oh now it's an Oiler PP and here comes McDavid and Draisaitl over the board.

Completely different game now.

The fact is that's like what? The 4th or 5th time the Oilers have made a back up/3rd string goalie look like a superstar this year? If it was once or twice, OK, but like 4 or 5 times is not a coincidence anymore. This team has problems finishing, especially the bottom 6 which tends to ignite massive confidence in goalies.

Most of the Oilers chances were McD, Nuge, Drai, Hyman in that order. What on earth are you talking about?

Puljujarvi and Holloway had point blank chances that they shot right into Korpisalo right at the start of the game. If they could raise that puck even a little they're both goals. That sent Korpisalo's confidence through the roof and set the tone for the rest of the game.

 

[K1984]

I'm getting really frustrated with Draisaitl. I've defended him in the past, but I'm getting to the point where he's becoming harder and harder to support with every passing game.

As one poster mentioned, about 75% of his games this year have been below his standard, with half of those being absolute stinkers. I can't count on one hand the number of times I've read "this is the worst game that I've seen Draisaitl play" or "Draisaitl is playing the worst game of his career" only to read the exact same thing the very next game.

All of his bad habits creeping back: blind passes, giveaways, nonexistent back checking. Even his offence hasn't been up to par this year, with most of his points coming exclusively on the PP or on a line with McDavid. Last night reached a nadir with his inability to even piss a drop on a line with McDavid and Hyman, the latter of whom has arguably been our second-best forward this year if not Nuge. Hell, even Hyman will finish with more goals than Draisaitl, yet another testament to the latter's sheer incompetence. His trademark one-timer on the power play hardly works this year. The "robbery" by Korpisalo was more a case of Draisaitl shooting it right into the goalie's glove than a brilliant save. Peak Draisaitl would've found a space and buried that in the twine.

If he's injured, as is likely the case, maybe sitting him until he recovers fully is an option. Otherwise, keeping his minutes low and using him almost exclusively on the PP is another option. Right now, he's such a liability that his defensive shortcomings outweigh his offensive production.

If he's still experiencing the effects of last year's injury, then I'm not sure why he didn't put more effort into rehabbing it. After McDavid suffered his knee injury, he worked his tail off to recover. I'm not sure why Draisaitl didn't feel inclined to do the same thing. Maybe he doesn't have the same hunger or desire as McDavid to optimize or improve his performance every year. After winning his awards a few years ago, maybe he feels that he has nothing to prove and just spends all of his free time partying it up. That's probably an exaggeration, but he seems to have a lackadaisical approach to the game this year.

If he's not injured, than I don't know what to think. Maybe the "revelation" he experienced in the playoffs last year encouraged him to conserve more energy, thus enabling even lazier play? Or maybe he's just past his peak and is slowing down with age? If that's the case, let him walk in free agency as he'll have become a glorified Lucic by that time.

I think its a combination of injury and possibly the perception that he can still score while not working as hard based on what happened in the playoffs.

It's the decision making that isn't acceptable and that has nothing to do with injuries, it's just mental laziness. The number of times he straight up telegraphs a brutal turnover is insane. You can see them coming a mile away and often I'm shouting "don't Leon!" at the TV, but he still does it.

One that sticks out for me was with about 20 seconds left in the 1st period against the Nucks on Saturday. We're up 2-0, Leon has the puck in our end under no pressure whatsoever, and a clear lane up the wall to pass to the winger in the neutral zone and clear the time off the period. He looks at that lane, then looks to the middle of the ice and zips one tape to tape on a Nuck stick so that they can pepper 2-3 grade A chances on us right before the break. I was at the game, saw everything that Leon saw, and I still don't know what he was trying to accomplish. There wasn't even an Oiler to pass to where he moved it.

It's like he has a compulsion to do dumbass things with the puck and can't stop not doing it no matter the situation. The litmus test for good Leon vs. bad Leon is - is he moving his feet? When his feet are going he's unstoppable, when they aren't he turns the puck over more than anyone in the league and is a major liability 5v5. He hasn't been moving his feet really at all this year. I really, really hope that it's injury related and not the alternative.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Yeah but it's a very different game if Puljujarvi and Holloway bury those chances. Then it's 2-0 Edmonton early, and the game is a laugher already and their confident is in the toilet because look uh oh now it's an Oiler PP and here comes McDavid and Draisaitl over the board.

Completely different game now.

The fact is that's like what? The 4th or 5th time the Oilers have made a back up/3rd string goalie look like a superstar this year? If it was once or twice, OK, but like 4 or 5 times is not a coincidence anymore. This team has problems finishing, especially the bottom 6 which tends to ignite massive confidence in goalies.



Puljujarvi and Holloway had point blank chances that they shot right into Korpisalo right at the start of the game. If they could raise that puck even a little they're both goals. That sent Korpisalo's confidence through the roof and set the tone for the rest of the game.

Sure, but stoning the best player, the most dangerous player in the world 3 times with blocker saves on near perfect shots was more of that. Stoning the 2nd best scorer in the game on his favorite shot that was labeled glove hand high on perfect one timer was another one. That play is a goal 95times out of a 100. Korpi stole those, and the game. Its what happened. Thats a fact.

 

[Soundwave]

I think its a combination of injury and possibly the perception that he can still score while not working as hard based on what happened in the playoffs.

It's the decision making that isn't acceptable and that has nothing to do with injuries, it's just mental laziness. The number of times he straight up telegraphs a brutal turnover is insane. You can see them coming a mile away and often I'm shouting "don't Leon!" at the TV, but he still does it.

One that sticks out for me was with about 20 seconds left in the 1st period against the Nucks on Saturday. We're up 2-0, Leon has the puck in our end under no pressure whatsoever, and a clear lane up the wall to pass to the winger in the neutral zone and clear the time off the period. He looks at that lane, then looks to the middle of the ice and zips one tape to tape on a Nuck stick so that they can pepper 2-3 grade A chances on us right before the break. I was at the game, saw everything that Leon saw, and I still don't know what he was trying to accomplish. There wasn't even an Oiler to pass to where he moved it.

It's like he has a compulsion to do dumbass things with the puck and can't stop not doing it no matter the situation. The litmus test for good Leon vs. bad Leon is - is he moving his feet? When his feet are going he's unstoppable, when they aren't he turns the puck over more than anyone in the league and is a major liability 5v5. He hasn't been moving his feet really at all this year. I really, really hope that it's injury related and not the alternative.

That's basically a tell tale sign of a player being overplayed minutes wise.

This same exact thing has happened what? 3 years straight now? Dec/Jan letdown? The Oilers are simply a stupid organization and can't understand that Draisaitl is not McDavid's genetically identical twin.

You have to manage their minutes differently, but that's rocket science voodoo for the coaches here apparently.

 

[Soundwave]

Sure, but stoning the best player, the most dangerous player in the world 3 times with blocker saves on near perfect shots was more of that. Stoning the 2nd best scorer in the game on his favorite shot that was labeled glove hand high on perfect one timer was another one. That play is a goal 95times out of a 100. Korpi stole those, and the game. Its what happened. Thats a fact.

Yeah so then why does that keep happening to the Oilers?

It's a running joke here that when ever we get the back up/3rd string goalie we are in trouble, is it not?

That's not just random thing I made up. The Oilers do this same shit over and over and over and over again.

The moment I saw Korpisalo rob Puljujarvi and Holloway I went "they're probably going to find a way to lose this game and Korpisalo is gonna look like Hasek before the night is over" .... and sure enough, that's exactly the way the rest of the game went.

Even though this team has a powerful offence, especially without Kane they are still prone to going through stretches where their stone hands Bermuda triangle of offensive suck (otherwise known as Foegele + Puljujarvi + Yamamoto + Holloway) can't buy a goal to save their lives and then you have McDrai opting to play extra cutesy/trying to pass the puck into the net night.

We've probably pissed away like 4-5 points this year alone doing this same ol' shit. Thank goodness Evander Kane's ex is a nut on social media because that basically helped band-aid that situation and let us advance in the playoffs. That dude actually knows what to do with a puck when put into a "kill zone" goal scoring situation.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I'm getting really frustrated with Draisaitl. I've defended him in the past, but I'm getting to the point where he's becoming harder and harder to support with every passing game.

As one poster mentioned, about 75% of his games this year have been below his standard, with half of those being absolute stinkers. I can't count on one hand the number of times I've read "this is the worst game that I've seen Draisaitl play" or "Draisaitl is playing the worst game of his career" only to read the exact same thing the very next game.

All of his bad habits creeping back: blind passes, giveaways, nonexistent back checking. Even his offence hasn't been up to par this year, with most of his points coming exclusively on the PP or on a line with McDavid. Last night reached a nadir with his inability to even piss a drop on a line with McDavid and Hyman, the latter of whom has arguably been our second-best forward this year if not Nuge. Hell, even Hyman will finish with more goals than Draisaitl, yet another testament to the latter's sheer incompetence. His trademark one-timer on the power play hardly works this year. The "robbery" by Korpisalo was more a case of Draisaitl shooting it right into the goalie's glove than a brilliant save. Peak Draisaitl would've found a space and buried that in the twine.

If he's injured, as is likely the case, maybe sitting him until he recovers fully is an option. Otherwise, keeping his minutes low and using him almost exclusively on the PP is another option. Right now, he's such a liability that his defensive shortcomings outweigh his offensive production.

If he's still experiencing the effects of last year's injury, then I'm not sure why he didn't put more effort into rehabbing it. After McDavid suffered his knee injury, he worked his tail off to recover. I'm not sure why Draisaitl didn't feel inclined to do the same thing. Maybe he doesn't have the same hunger or desire as McDavid to optimize or improve his performance every year. After winning his awards a few years ago, maybe he feels that he has nothing to prove and just spends all of his free time partying it up. That's probably an exaggeration, but he seems to have a lackadaisical approach to the game this year.

If he's not injured, than I don't know what to think. Maybe the "revelation" he experienced in the playoffs last year encouraged him to conserve more energy, thus enabling even lazier play? Or maybe he's just past his peak and is slowing down with age? If that's the case, let him walk in free agency as he'll have become a glorified Lucic by that time.

Its like I said much of the season. That its likely we've already seen peak Draisaitl. For sure we've already seen peak EV Draisaitl. Important to remember this player is NOT McD level of skill. Drai is the guy that tirelessly worked on his craft to be the best player he could be and finding any wrinkle he can. Drai has exceeded in every way. But to expect this is going to be the case endless is setting up for disappointment. Drai was never supposed to be a player that would own hockey. We're luckly enough to have seen him do it for half a dozen seasons. Its I expect partly injury and partly Drai already having a lot of mileage on odometer trying to keep up with McD all those years. Think about it. How many players could, and none of them could do it for a long time. Drai isn't 30, but he has the miles of a 30yr old player. This happened to Daryl Sittler too years ago along with many stars that had to do so much for respective squads.

For the last dozen years the Oilers have squeezed every drop of Draisaitl and with fans the whole while going "Hey Drai wheres the latest magic, how come you not bringing it dude"

Drai is f***ing exhausted. By around age 32 Drai will be done. Unless he lands somewhere that he can just be part of something rather than being the leagues 2nd leading scorer. The demand on Drai is hard. McD is McD, he's hardly mortal.

 

[K1984]

Yeah so then why does that keep happening to the Oilers?

It's a running joke here that when ever we get the back up/3rd string goalie we are in trouble, is it not?

That's not just random thing I made up. The Oilers do this same shit over and over and over and over again.

The moment I saw Korpisalo rob Puljujarvi and Holloway I went "they're probably going to find a way to lose this game and Korpisalo is gonna look like Hasek before the night is over" .... and sure enough, that's exactly the way the rest of the game went.

Even though this team has a powerful offence, especially without Kane they are still prone to going through stretches where their stone hands Bermuda triangle of offensive suck (otherwise known as Foegele + Puljujarvi + Yamamoto + Holloway) can't buy a goal to save their lives and then you have McDrai opting to play extra cutesy/trying to pass the puck into the net night.

We've probably pissed away like 4-5 points this year alone doing this same ol' shit. Thank goodness Evander Kane's ex is a nut on social media because that basically helped band-aid that situation and let us advance in the playoffs. That dude actually knows what to do with a puck when put into a "kill zone" goal scoring situation.

As soon as I could tell that the team was going to choose to only try and score goals via back door tap ins or nifty dekes I knew we were in trouble. Korpisalo was very good against the Flames the other night so I knew it was going to be a long road to ho if we chose to treat the evening as an all-star game, which we did.

 

[Duke74]

I think its a combination of injury and possibly the perception that he can still score while not working as hard based on what happened in the playoffs.

It's the decision making that isn't acceptable and that has nothing to do with injuries, it's just mental laziness. The number of times he straight up telegraphs a brutal turnover is insane. You can see them coming a mile away and often I'm shouting "don't Leon!" at the TV, but he still does it.

One that sticks out for me was with about 20 seconds left in the 1st period against the Nucks on Saturday. We're up 2-0, Leon has the puck in our end under no pressure whatsoever, and a clear lane up the wall to pass to the winger in the neutral zone and clear the time off the period. He looks at that lane, then looks to the middle of the ice and zips one tape to tape on a Nuck stick so that they can pepper 2-3 grade A chances on us right before the break. I was at the game, saw everything that Leon saw, and I still don't know what he was trying to accomplish. There wasn't even an Oiler to pass to where he moved it.

It's like he has a compulsion to do dumbass things with the puck and can't stop not doing it no matter the situation. The litmus test for good Leon vs. bad Leon is - is he moving his feet? When his feet are going he's unstoppable, when they aren't he turns the puck over more than anyone in the league and is a major liability 5v5. He hasn't been moving his feet really at all this year. I really, really hope that it's injury related and not the alternative.

Yes! This is the exact one that caused me to utter a forbidden curse at the in-laws. And then they lectured me on the fact that Draisaitl is the second-highest point producer in the league

I swear every time I go to the in-laws, the Oilers (especially Draisaitl) have their worst games. I need to start coming up with excuses to stay home. It's like some kind of voodoo or something.

 

[Soundwave]

Its like I said much of the season. That its likely we've already seen peak Draisaitl. For sure we've already seen peak EV Draisaitl. Important to remember this player is NOT McD level of skill. Drai is the guy that tirelessly worked on his craft to be the best player he could be and finding any wrinkle he can. Drai has exceeded in every way. But to expect this is going to be the case endless is setting up for disappointment. Drai was never supposed to be a player that would own hockey. We're luckly enough to have seen him do it for half a dozen seasons. Its I expect partly injury and partly Drai already having a lot of mileage on odometer trying to keep up with McD all those years. Think about it. How many players could, and none of them could do it for a long time. Drai isn't 30, but he has the miles of a 30yr old player. This happened to Daryl Sittler too years ago along with many stars that had to do so much for respective squads.

For the last dozen years the Oilers have squeezed every drop of Draisaitl and with fans the whole while going "Hey Drai wheres the latest magic, how come you not bringing it dude"

Drai is f***ing exhausted. By around age 32 Drai will be done. Unless he lands somewhere that he can just be part of something rather than being the leagues 2nd leading scorer. The demand on Drai is hard. McD is McD, he's hardly mortal.

Here's an unbelievable solution ... maybe play Draisaitl a minute to 90 seconds less a game?

The Oilers coaching staff (this extends beyond just Woodcroft, this goes back to even probably Todd) is too stupid to understand this concept.

As soon as I could tell that the team was going to choose to only try and score goals via back door tap ins or nifty dekes I knew we were in trouble. Korpisalo was very good against the Flames the other night so I knew it was going to be a long road to ho if we chose to treat the evening as an all-star game, which we did.

You could tell they were gonna lose 5 minutes in, no doubt.

Had the whiff of it, I remember at the buzzer I went "welp, at least they got a point".

Pathetic, but that's how they play with any break at home. 4 games like that, 4 straight losses. This team can't be trusted with a 3 day break at home. Just cannot do it and not shit the bed.

 

[GrumpyKoala]

The problem with the Oilers usage of him is they don't understand that he and McDavid aren't the exact same person. Oiler coaching logic is basically if you push McDavid to 24+ minutes in a game, you can do the same for Draisaitl no problem.

God I like this take!
Is there a ribbon or an award I can give you?

 

[Drivesaitl]

Yeah so then why does that keep happening to the Oilers?

It's a running joke here that when ever we get the back up/3rd string goalie we are in trouble, is it not?

That's not just random thing I made up. The Oilers do this same shit over and over and over and over again.

The moment I saw Korpisalo rob Puljujarvi and Holloway I went "they're probably going to find a way to lose this game and Korpisalo is gonna look like Hasek before the night is over" .... and sure enough, that's exactly the way the rest of the game went.

Even though this team has a powerful offence, especially without Kane they are still prone to going through stretches where their stone hands Bermuda triangle of offensive suck (otherwise known as Foegele + Puljujarvi + Yamamoto + Holloway) can't buy a goal to save their lives and then you have McDrai opting to play extra cutesy/trying to pass the puck into the net night.

We've probably pissed away like 4-5 points this year alone doing this same ol' shit. Thank goodness Evander Kane's ex is a nut on social media because that basically helped band-aid that situation and let us advance in the playoffs. That dude actually knows what to do with a puck when put into a "kill zone" goal scoring situation.

Its the distortion we put on it as fans. Fact of the matter is in hockey a lot of games are shutouts and the Oilers seldom get shut out. Even while being stoned silly they still got off 2 goals and a point. With Connor making brilliant play on one. For other teams this would have been a shutout.

Korpi isn't really a backup. Not historically and frankly the other guys is absolute crap. I almost think Columbus are playing the other guy because Elvis is the tank magic. I prefer Korpi all day, and so should Columbus. This was their SC, and you know it was Gaudreau's SC. At the end of the day Jan 25 loss means absolutely nothing. But gaudreau can smile awhile thinking he finally beat the Oilers. Too bad it doesn't matter.

 

[Soundwave]

Its the distortion we put on it as fans. Fact of the matter is in hockey a lot of games are shutouts and the Oilers seldom get shut out. Even while being stoned silly they still got off 2 goals and a point. With Connor making brilliant play on one. For other teams this would have been a shutout.

Korpi isn't really a backup. Not historically and frankly the other guys is absolute crap. I almost think Columbus are playing the other guy because Elvis is the tank magic. I prefer Korpi all day, and so should Columbus. This was their SC, and you know it was Gaudreau's SC. At the end of the day Jan 25 loss means absolutely nothing. But gaudreau can smile awhile thinking he finally beat the Oilers. Too bad it doesn't matter.

Yeah clearly guys like Korpisalo and Dostal are superstars. Not. Remember local boy Eric Comrie (Sabres) coming into Edmonton and playing the game of his life in the third game of the season that the Oilers lost? Guess he's a superstar too.

The Oilers record and play in games with 3 days off at home speaks for itself. 0-3-1, outscored 14-8 in those games, averaging a mediocre 2 goals per game.

They fall asleep every time they're given a 3 day break at home. Welp, they better be ready for Chicago on Saturday, that's all I'm gonna say. Maybe Woodcroft ought to try a practise where they break a sweat one time this week.

 

[bucks_oil]

Disagree here. Skinner had time to put a glove on the puck before the Bluejacket got the puck and scored. It isn't a foot away from his glove. he didn't move on it for fear of not keeping his position. But he has to get that puck. Also just secs before Skinner gave up the shortside post on the same sequence. He didn't even freeze that post well. There was room. By my eye it was a shitting the pants sequence. Respecting that we can see it differently, and noting that you're the expert here on goaltending.

Do you mean he could have frozen it before he was collided with or after? And when you say he "gave up the shortside post... he didn't even freeze that post well", are you referring to on the original wrap/jam attempt (then short-side) or after the collision, on the side where the puck went in (which became 'short-side' depending on one's perspective)?

I'd like to take another look, I just want to better understand what I'm watching for

 

[GrumpyKoala]

Korpisalo isn't the only goalie the Oilers turn into Hasek ... that's like the 3rd or 4th game this year where they've made a back up goalie look like the Vezina trophy winner by powdering AAA scoring chances straight into the goalie's pads because no one on this team outside of like 5 guys understands how to raise a hockey puck.

To be fair, every time Skinner had a good performance this year, the opposite fanbase react exactly the same way where they like wtf this 3rd string goalie robbing us, no, the goalie suck anyway, its just us that cant finish and made him look good.

 

[Stoneman89]

Why shouldn't he be going to the All-Star game ... the criteria is the best goalie in the Pacific division, Skinner has a higher save percentage than the starter (Logan Thompson, who also is basically a rookie).

Don't like the format, but if that is the format he's earned it. And Skinner was fine in the Vancouver game and was sitting at what ... a .916 save percentage in regulation last night? Team can't muster up more than 2 goals against Columbus?

Maybe if any of the Oiler skaters other than Derek Ryan didn't show up drunk to the arena like they do every time the team is given 3 days off at home (0-3-1 record this year at home with a 3 day break ... tells you a lot).

Also I'm not going to give Jack Campbell some roses her for shitting his pants for 2 straight months in net, the Oilers are fortunate Skinner was able to come in and step up while Campbell has been about as mentally fragile as a 14 year old trying to ask out their school crush on a date ... just in net.

Teams are going to show up flat the odd time. It happens to the best of them. That's where you need your goalie to suck it up and take the game over and get the 2 points. Skinner didn't even have to do that (take the game over). Not a lot of grade A chances against him, and to his credit, he did take care of those. It's not like Columbus swarmed the net all night or had 4-5 breakaways. But he needed to not allow a garbage goal, and he allowed two of those. All we needed was a decent game, not an incredible game stealing effort. Goaltending is what moves your team upward in a very tight league, like it or not. Maybe the "all-star" thing has gone to his head a bit, who knows. But he needs to be better.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Do you mean he could have frozen it before he was collided with or after? And when you say he "gave up the shortside post... he didn't even freeze that post well", are you referring to on the original wrap/jam attempt (then short-side) or after the collision, on the side where the puck went in (which became 'short-side' depending on one's perspective)?

I'll take another look, I just want to better understand what I'm watching for

After. Watch it again. The puck is there not far from his glove. It was the standard high noon standoof. Usually the goalie is able to get a mitt on that. This time the shooter did. Skinner either didn't spot the puck or didn't want to commit. I suspected the latter. Just before the shooter gets to goal scoring shot Skinner could have put a glove on that puck. he had the time. In the sequence I think he was already rattled by the earlier goal post. It happens.

edit: just watched it again on Columbus feed. NHL game highlights is using that one and they have great angles on it including all revealing overhead cam. Skinner hesitates, see's the puck but seems conflicted on whether to block puck with stick, or try to cover, ends up doing neither, gets punished. He even moved his stick to puck instead of just freezing it with glove.

 

[Soundwave]

Teams are going to show up flat the odd time. It happens to the best of them. That's where you need your goalie to suck it up and take the game over and get the 2 points. Skinner didn't even have to do that (take the game over). Not a lot of grade A chances against him, and to his credit, he did take care of those. But he needed to not allow a garbage goal, and he allowed two of those. All we needed was a decent game, not an incredible game stealing effort. Maybe the "all-star" thing has gone to his head a bit, who knows. But he needs to be better.

I don't agree there weren't that many grade A chances. Columbus had quite a few, Gaudreau break away, we give the puck away straight to Laine in prime scoring position (hits the post), etc. etc. etc. lol. Columbus hemming us in multiple times in the 3rd period and finally doing the same in OT to end it, we made them look like Tampa Bay at times.

Look at the game thread, when Columbus scored to make it 2-2 people were saying "yeah you could feel that coming" because they were running our show for a while there in the 3rd.

The Oilers could've *easily* lost that game in regulation just like they did to Anaheim. They played worse last night than that Anaheim home loss frankly.

Oilers deserved to lose last night and they lost. That was a pathetic effort, if they played a team like Colorado with that same exact level of attention to detail and effort they would lose like 7-2. The only reason it was a game was because Columbus can't help being bad (you don't have the worst record in the NHL by accident).

They wanna play like that on Saturday? Welp, guess what the result is gonna be. Doesn't matter who is in net.