GDT: Battle of Alberta First Edition

[Johnny Hoxville]

Last night was a treat to watch as a hockey fan of either team or just as a fan in general. That game had a little of everything. Goals were scored, some nice plays were made by both teams, it was physical, there was late hits, cheap shots, fights, everything you could want. It was very entertaining and I’m sure all of us were yelling at the TV at some point. This is also why if we weren’t getting McDavid, I wanted the Oilers to because I remember the 80’s and it was marvellous, that was tons of fun to watch last night.

I have 2 notes to make. Rittich did what he was expected to and look at the difference. He wasn’t perfect and he allowed some goals, but he gave the team a chance to win last night and they did. This often hasn’t been the case this season and it is so nice to see he’s more than capable of doing that.

Monahan and Gaudreau were invisible last night. Yes Mony scored but that was the only factor he had on the game. Gaudreau was ineffective all night and didn’t make any impact. Lindholm was easily the best of the bunch and was quite good.

Last night was all about Backlund, Tkachuk and Bennett. These 3 were worth the price of admission. They showed up in the trenches when it mattered, they shut the McDavid line down for the most part, they battled their asses off, they turned the momentum in the game by stirring the drink. This is why guys like Tkachuk and Bennett are so important and it’s why I wanted Benny to play with his evil twin Tkachuk for the longest time. They won the game within the game and often the team that can do that, wins on the scoreboard. It’s old time hockey and it’s entertaining as hell to watch. Their play really opened up everything for the others to score.

What a fun game!

 

[DCDM]

Monahan and Gaudreau were invisible last night. Yes Mony scored but that was the only factor he had on the game. Gaudreau was ineffective all night and didn’t make any impact. Lindholm was easily the best of the bunch and was quite good.

I don't agree with this really, the top line was being heavily utilized last night. I think in the second period, every other shift Peters was throwing them out trying to get some offense going. I thought they were quite unlucky to not have a couple of points through the first two periods.

Great analysis otherwise though, Hox! Bennett and Tkachuk really ran the show last night.

 

[Mr Snrub]

I don't agree with this really, the top line was being heavily utilized last night. I think in the second period, every other shift Peters was throwing them out trying to get some offense going. I thought they were quite unlucky to not have a couple of points through the first two periods.

Great analysis otherwise though, Hox! Bennett and Tkachuk really ran the show last night.

Mony was really bad until the very last period. Seemed like the top line was having trouble getting their game together but eventually the bottom nine began to wear the Oilers out and by the third period Edmonton was struggling to keep its head above water, which gave the Monahan line the opportunity to put the game away.

I think our depth won us this game, and that depth is probably a big part of why we're such a good third period team - other teams just can't keep up the pace that we're able to because even if all four lines aren't dangerous, they can all play hockey and dominate zone time when given an inch.

 

[DCDM]

Mony was really bad until the very last period. Seemed like the top line was having trouble getting their game together but eventually the bottom nine began to wear the Oilers out and by the third period Edmonton was struggling to keep its head above water, which gave the Monahan line the opportunity to put the game away.

I think our depth won us this game, and that depth is probably a big part of why we're such a good third period team - other teams just can't keep up the pace that we're able to because even if all four lines aren't dangerous, they can all play hockey and dominate zone time when given an inch.

That's a fair statement for sure. To give credit where it's due, Koskinen was really sharp for the first two periods. I felt like the top line could have had a few early on if not for his play.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

I don't agree with this really, the top line was being heavily utilized last night. I think in the second period, every other shift Peters was throwing them out trying to get some offense going. I thought they were quite unlucky to not have a couple of points through the first two periods.

Great analysis otherwise though, Hox! Bennett and Tkachuk really ran the show last night.

I might have been overly critical of them, I guess expect that line to be our best players each night, they weren’t awful by any means, I just didn’t find them dominating play. It was vintage Monahan how he shows up in the 3rd and scores a huge goal lol.

I have heaps of praise for how Backlund played last night. He legitimately had a Bergeron impact on last nights game. He was all over McDavid, literally, and really neutered him for the most part. In all honesty that 2nd line played their role to perfection last night and it allowed the topline to put the game away. It was a masterfully executed game by the Flames in hindsight and it really was the first time they’ve been able to outmatch McDavid and got inside his head. The fact that the Oiler fans feel that they gave the game to us just illustrates the fact that we out chessed them.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

How about Bennett taking on a guy that had 3 inches and 25 pounds on him? Man that dude is a tough customer

Shouldn't have had to if the refs did their job. Then we would have scored a 5 on 3 PP goal instead and run away with the game.

 

[Tkachuky]

What a sexy man

He looks like Bennett lol

 

[Mobiandi]

Shouldn't have had to if the refs did their job. Then we would have scored a 5 on 3 PP goal instead and run away with the game.

That's optimistic

 

[Anglesmith]

Shouldn't have had to if the refs did their job. Then we would have scored a 5 on 3 PP goal instead and run away with the game.

It's funny when they do the iso camera on those "battles" going on away from the puck and I'm like "yes, nothing there was against the rules, clearly."

 

[SKRusty]

I might have been overly critical of them, I guess expect that line to be our best players each night, they weren’t awful by any means, I just didn’t find them dominating play. It was vintage Monahan how he shows up in the 3rd and scores a huge goal lol.

I have heaps of praise for how Backlund played last night. He legitimately had a Bergeron impact on last nights game. He was all over McDavid, literally, and really neutered him for the most part. In all honesty that 2nd line played their role to perfection last night and it allowed the topline to put the game away. It was a masterfully executed game by the Flames in hindsight and it really was the first time they’ve been able to outmatch McDavid and got inside his head. The fact that the Oiler fans feel that they gave the game to us just illustrates the fact that we out chessed them.

The first line was effective all night but Koskenin turned many of the High Danger Scoring chances into ho-hum saves for the first 2 periods. Backs line suffered in CORSI but only allowed McNutt-ed's lines 8 scoring chances-for to Backlunds 7. Any night you limit arguably the best player in the worlds line to less than 10 scoring chances 5 v 5 you are doing something right.

Player	Position	TOI	CF	CA	CF%	CF% Rel	FF	FA	FF%	FF% Rel	SF	SA	SF%	SF% Rel	GF	GA	GF%	GF% Rel	SCF	SCA	SCF%	SCF% Rel	HDCF	HDCA	HDCF%	HDCF% Rel	Off. Zone Shift Starts	Neu. Zone Shift Starts	Def. Zone Shift Starts	On the Fly Shift Starts	Off. Zone Shift Start %	Off. Zone Faceoffs	Neu. Zone Faceoffs	Def. Zone Faceoffs	Off. Zone Faceoff %
Sean Monahan	C	13:25	19	3	86.36	33.90	14	2	87.50	34.01	12	2	85.71	32.59	2	0	100.00	-	8	1	88.89	62.22	4	0	100.00	62.50	4	2	3	9	57.14	7	2	3	70.00
Johnny Gaudreau	L	13:28	18	3	85.71	32.49	14	2	87.50	34.01	11	2	84.62	30.07	2	0	100.00	-	9	1	90.00	68.57	4	0	100.00	62.50	5	2	3	8	62.50	7	2	3	70.00
Elias Lindholm	C	13:12	19	5	79.17	24.93	14	4	77.78	21.68	12	4	75.00	18.33	2	0	100.00	-	8	1	88.89	62.22	4	0	100.00	62.50	5	2	3	9	62.50	7	2	4	63.64
Derek Ryan	C	12:04	18	6	75.00	19.07	13	4	76.47	19.33	11	3	78.57	22.32	0	0	-	-	6	2	75.00	37.50	2	1	66.67	11.11	3	2	2	7	60.00	4	2	5	44.44
Travis Hamonic	D	16:31	22	8	73.33	18.62	16	7	69.57	11.23	14	7	66.67	6.67	2	0	100.00	-	7	2	77.78	44.44	6	1	85.71	65.71	5	4	2	15	71.43	10	5	3	76.92
Michael Frolik	R	12:40	15	7	68.18	9.17	11	5	68.75	8.28	9	4	69.23	8.62	0	0	-	-	5	3	62.50	18.75	2	1	66.67	11.11	4	2	1	8	80.00	6	2	5	54.55
Noah Hanifin	D	16:01	22	11	66.67	8.67	18	8	69.23	11.66	16	8	66.67	7.58	2	0	100.00	-	9	3	75.00	50.00	6	1	85.71	65.71	4	4	3	14	57.14	10	4	6	62.50

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

The first line was effective all night but Koskenin turned many of the High Danger Scoring chances into ho-hum saves for the first 2 periods. Backs line suffered in CORSI but only allowed McNutt-ed's lines 8 scoring chances-for to Backlunds 7. Any night you limit arguably the best player in the worlds line to less than 10 scoring chances 5 v 5 you are doing something right.

Player	Position	TOI	CF	CA	CF%	CF% Rel	FF	FA	FF%	FF% Rel	SF	SA	SF%	SF% Rel	GF	GA	GF%	GF% Rel	SCF	SCA	SCF%	SCF% Rel	HDCF	HDCA	HDCF%	HDCF% Rel	Off. Zone Shift Starts	Neu. Zone Shift Starts	Def. Zone Shift Starts	On the Fly Shift Starts	Off. Zone Shift Start %	Off. Zone Faceoffs	Neu. Zone Faceoffs	Def. Zone Faceoffs	Off. Zone Faceoff %
Sean Monahan	C	13:25	19	3	86.36	33.90	14	2	87.50	34.01	12	2	85.71	32.59	2	0	100.00	-	8	1	88.89	62.22	4	0	100.00	62.50	4	2	3	9	57.14	7	2	3	70.00
Johnny Gaudreau	L	13:28	18	3	85.71	32.49	14	2	87.50	34.01	11	2	84.62	30.07	2	0	100.00	-	9	1	90.00	68.57	4	0	100.00	62.50	5	2	3	8	62.50	7	2	3	70.00
Elias Lindholm	C	13:12	19	5	79.17	24.93	14	4	77.78	21.68	12	4	75.00	18.33	2	0	100.00	-	8	1	88.89	62.22	4	0	100.00	62.50	5	2	3	9	62.50	7	2	4	63.64
Derek Ryan	C	12:04	18	6	75.00	19.07	13	4	76.47	19.33	11	3	78.57	22.32	0	0	-	-	6	2	75.00	37.50	2	1	66.67	11.11	3	2	2	7	60.00	4	2	5	44.44
Travis Hamonic	D	16:31	22	8	73.33	18.62	16	7	69.57	11.23	14	7	66.67	6.67	2	0	100.00	-	7	2	77.78	44.44	6	1	85.71	65.71	5	4	2	15	71.43	10	5	3	76.92
Michael Frolik	R	12:40	15	7	68.18	9.17	11	5	68.75	8.28	9	4	69.23	8.62	0	0	-	-	5	3	62.50	18.75	2	1	66.67	11.11	4	2	1	8	80.00	6	2	5	54.55
Noah Hanifin	D	16:01	22	11	66.67	8.67	18	8	69.23	11.66	16	8	66.67	7.58	2	0	100.00	-	9	3	75.00	50.00	6	1	85.71	65.71	4	4	3	14	57.14	10	4	6	62.50

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Yeah I was probably overly harsh on them, I didn’t think they were bad, I just didn’t think they impacted the game the way the Backs line did.

 

[Jags68]

I don’t get the logic behind Oilers fans rippin Tkachuk for going down and not fighting Kassian.

Tkachuk 6’2 - 202lbs - 21pts
Draisaitl - 6’2 - 208lbs - 21pts
Kassian - 6’3 - 211lbs - 1pt

Kassian, is a bum who was goaded into penalties.

Draisaitl, slewfoots Tkachuk and is roughly the same size as him and also a star player like him but won’t fight him.

 

[SKRusty]

I don’t get the logic behind Oilers fans rippin Tkachuk for going down and not fighting Kassian.

Tkachuk 6’2 - 202lbs - 21pts
Draisaitl - 6’2 - 208lbs - 21pts
Kassian - 6’3 - 211lbs - 1pt

Kassian, is a bum who was goaded into penalties.

Draisaitl, slewfoots Tkachuk and is roughly the same size as him and also a star player like him but won’t fight him.

Like Marchand, Chucky's game is built on drawing penalties and knocking the stars off their game. How many times do you see Marchand fighting? Now how many outside his weight class?

Chucky drew the penalties and if Calgary had a PP that was somewhat effective the game could have been won right there. Other teams fans and players can hate Chucky but he is probably only second to Marchand in getting under other players skins.

Chucky should never fight a player like Kassian.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

The only reason Tkachuk should fight is if McDavid challenges him. No one else on Edmonton's lineup is a favourable tradeoff. It speaks to Tkachuk's character that his ego doesn't come before his team.

 

[JPeeper]

How about Bennett taking on a guy that had 3 inches and 25 pounds on him? Man that dude is a tough customer

Bennett pretty much only fights guys who have the height, reach, and weight on him. And he only wins.

Johansen has 2 inches and probably 15 lbs. Completely tuned him up.
Trouba has 2 inches and even weight. Completely tuned him up.
Nurse has 3 inches and about 15 lbs. Bennett connected with his first punch pretty good and caused Nurse a cut lip, fight was cut short which is a shame.
Manson has 3 inches and about 15 lbs. Was a fairly even fight, but guys landed some good hits.

Guy is legit one of the toughest guys in the entire league. He'll pretty much fight anyone outside of complete goons like Kassian (because they are horrible players) and legit big guys who only play to goon it up.

Thought he'd end up in another fight as the game went on last night, but the Flames started to actually make some plays and the chipiness died down.

 

[JPeeper]

I don’t get the logic behind Oilers fans rippin Tkachuk for going down and not fighting Kassian.

Tkachuk 6’2 - 202lbs - 21pts
Draisaitl - 6’2 - 208lbs - 21pts
Kassian - 6’3 - 211lbs - 1pt

Kassian, is a bum who was goaded into penalties.

Draisaitl, slewfoots Tkachuk and is roughly the same size as him and also a star player like him but won’t fight him.

Because they aren't a smart fan base?

 

[Tofveve]

Last night was a treat to watch as a hockey fan of either team or just as a fan in general. That game had a little of everything. Goals were scored, some nice plays were made by both teams, it was physical, there was late hits, cheap shots, fights, everything you could want. It was very entertaining and I’m sure all of us were yelling at the TV at some point. This is also why if we weren’t getting McDavid, I wanted the Oilers to because I remember the 80’s and it was marvellous, that was tons of fun to watch last night.

I have 2 notes to make. Rittich did what he was expected to and look at the difference. He wasn’t perfect and he allowed some goals, but he gave the team a chance to win last night and they did. This often hasn’t been the case this season and it is so nice to see he’s more than capable of doing that.

Monahan and Gaudreau were invisible last night. Yes Mony scored but that was the only factor he had on the game. Gaudreau was ineffective all night and didn’t make any impact. Lindholm was easily the best of the bunch and was quite good.

Last night was all about Backlund, Tkachuk and Bennett. These 3 were worth the price of admission. They showed up in the trenches when it mattered, they shut the McDavid line down for the most part, they battled their asses off, they turned the momentum in the game by stirring the drink. This is why guys like Tkachuk and Bennett are so important and it’s why I wanted Benny to play with his evil twin Tkachuk for the longest time. They won the game within the game and often the team that can do that, wins on the scoreboard. It’s old time hockey and it’s entertaining as hell to watch. Their play really opened up everything for the others to score.

What a fun game!

Feels good still a day later!

But I agree, particularly with Johnny being invisible. Guy needs to get going again.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Was a very fun game to watch last night. Bennet and Tkachuk are such fun players to watch.

 

[JPeeper]

Holy shit, forgot to mention the boarding non-call on Johnny.

I forget who hit him, but during one of the powerplays in the first someone crushed Gaudreau from behind about a foot away from the boards and Johnny's neck and head basically crunched completely into the boards. During real time it looked bad and thought for sure it would be another penalty. Then I saw another angle slowed down and was disgusted it wasn't a 5 minute major. If someone can find it, it's during one of the 1st period powerplays right when the 1st unit was changing off.

 

[Turning Mangiapanese]

That was the first Battle of Alberta worthy of the moniker I can actually remember seeing in real time. For at least 10 years it's been basically just a slap fight between two mediocre-to-bad teams. Looking forward to round 2.

 

[SKRusty]

Feels good still a day later!

But I agree, particularly with Johnny being invisible. Guy needs to get going again.

Johnny has been handling zone entries different for the past half dozen or so games and the goals against and possession numbers for the opposition have plummeted. This is part of Johnny learning to play smarter hockey. He is now choosing his dangles much more intelligently.




As for Monahan being weak on the boards or that he is not a set-up guy both his own goal and Lindholm's first goal were products of Monahan being a smart play-maker. The strength on the boards was very evident on his own goal with the presence of mind to drive from the blue line to the slot when Hamonic fired his shot. On Lindholm's goal it was Sean threading a nice quick pass to Hanifin for the shot that lead to the rebound. Johnny may not be dangling as much but by not being reliant on Johnny it has made this line much more difficult to play against.

 

[Mr Snrub]

Johnny has been handling zone entries different for the past half dozen or so games and the goals against and possession numbers for the opposition have plummeted. This is part of Johnny learning to play smarter hockey. He is now choosing his dangles much more intelligently.




As for Monahan being weak on the boards or that he is not a set-up guy both his own goal and Lindholm's first goal were products of Monahan being a smart play-maker. The strength on the boards was very evident on his own goal with the presence of mind to drive from the blue line to the slot when Hamonic fired his shot. On Lindholm's goal it was Sean threading a nice quick pass to Hanifin for the shot that lead to the rebound. Johnny may not be dangling as much but by not being reliant on Johnny it has made this line much more difficult to play against.

Monahan was glued to the puck on the first Lindholm goal, walking the blueline and keeping the play alive, it was Johnny-esque. Really redeemed himself for the second goal against, he created it out of nothing.

 

[SKRusty]

Chucky's response to last night.

 

[Rubi]

I credit Peters with a great game plan. By the middle of the 2nd period he had the Oilers frothing at the mouth like rabid dogs. All they could think about was retribution and trying to physically punish the Flames.

Thats when Peters said: Ok boys, we've got them playing exactly the way we want them to. Lets go to work now and play hockey! We're faster, we're more skilled at scoring goals, we have the better defense, and we now have a goalie that can stop the puck! Get out there and score some goals!!

And they did.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

On another note, Lindholm was 12 of 15 on the dot last night. That is insane!