Post-Game Talk: Boyd Gordon loses to the Canucks 6-2

[MikeK]

Dubnyk is neither a positional goalie nor a reflex one.

Positional goalies are typical quite good at stop wristshots from above the circles.

Dubnyk is a disaster.

He really is. After he walks in the summer I see him turning into a journeyman backup goalie. He is not a #1 goalie and never will be. It is time for the fan base to stop believing he is. That ship has sailed. There were two young goalies available this past summer with far more upside and skill than Dubnyk. MacT failed to land either of them. I don't understand why it's so hard for fans to let go of young prospects that may or may not pan out if it means bringing in a legit #1 NHL caliber goalie. It wasn't that long ago when Paajarvi was considered a 'can't miss prospect', now look at him. Some times you have to give to get and the Oilers seriously missed a great opportunity this summer to address their goalie needs. Everyone keeps saying the Oilers can draft and develop a goalie or trade for one or sign one in FA but they fail to recognize that it takes YEARS to draft and develop a true #1 goalie, #1 goalies are rarely available for trade, and they rarely hit the FA market unless they are past their prime or recovering from serious injury. How MacT could let this past summer get away is a travesty. A GM with more experience would have recognized that those opportunities rarely come around and you MUST act on them. Lou in NJ is one of the best GM's in the league and did just that. MacT is not and let it slip away.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

Hall is BRUTAL at center, put him back on the wing. You can see he's getting pissed off.

Hahahaha it's like teaching an oaf rocket science. Eventually he just gets mad and breaks the table.

 

[Insta]

He really is. After he walks in the summer I see him turning into a journeyman backup goalie. He is not a #1 goalie and never will be. It is time for the fan base to stop believing he is. That ship has sailed. There were two young goalies available this past summer with far more upside and skill than Dubnyk. MacT failed to land either of them. I don't understand why it's so hard for fans to let go of young prospects that may or may not pan out if it means bringing in a legit #1 NHL caliber goalie. It wasn't that long ago when Paajarvi was considered a 'can't miss prospect', now look at him. Some times you have to give to get and the Oilers seriously missed a great opportunity this summer to address their goalie needs. Everyone keeps saying the Oilers can draft and develop a goalie or trade for one or sign one in FA but they fail to recognize that it takes YEARS to draft and develop a true #1 goalie, #1 goalies are rarely available for trade, and they rarely hit the FA market unless they are past their prime or recovering from serious injury. How MacT could let this past summer get away is a travesty. A GM with more experience would have recognized that those opportunities rarely come around and you MUST act on them. Lou in NJ is one of the best GM's in the league and did just that. MacT is not and let it slip away.

By all accounts MacT tried for Schneider. He offered much more than NJ did but they wouldn't trade him within the division.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

Does Eberle ever do anything when he isn't playing with Hall?

He has great hands/poise which allow him to finish in tight when he gets a chance but he doesn't strike me as the type of player that can create chances by himself and carry a line. He always needs to be the passenger. He always looks invisible when he isn't playing with Hall/RNH.

We made a big mistake signing him to that contract. Trading him for a good young dman would be a smart move I think.

I made that point in his rookie year - that Eberle was definitely a complimentary player. His offensive production is directly correlated to the performances of those he's playing with. His career year was thanks to playing with an on-fire rookie Nuge and a late-season recovering Hall.

To me, Hemsky, Hall, and RNH are the only players capable of line-carrying on this team. They can single-handedly inject offensive ability onto whatever line they are on.

In another 1-2 years I expect Yakupov to reach that level as well.

Eberle and Perron are essentially the same type of player to me. It's hilarious that Eberle is making 2.5M more than him.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

Oh and Taykor Hall has to get his head out of his butt and start playinf hockey. A change in position shouldn't affect a player that badly, as in good player to total scrub. Hall has been the worst oiler this year perhaps barring Dubnyk.

Those two are in a class of their own in terms of game-costing plays for this team. It's terrible because they're filling the most important roles on this team right now (1G, 1C).

 

[s7ark]

First off, I am not putting this entire loss on the goaltending, the team played like absolute ****.

Dubnyk really looks like a guy who spent the summer thinking about how he has no pressure on him to be the starter. After they missed out on Schneider and Bernier and signed DD's BFF to back him up, he looks like he just relaxed. Every game I have seen from his since the start of training camp he has been completely lackadaisical about his play. Slow getting into position, fast to get out of position, problems tracking the puck, flat out missing slow shots from far away, etc. I was a guy saying G wasn't our biggest issue, but Dubnyk has make it our biggest issue with his play this year.

We need someone to pressure him and/or just take the starter's spot. Hiller would be my top target. The Ducks have 4 goalies and I am sure they would like to get Gibson the majority of starts in the AHL. MacT should be on the phone getting a goalie right now. Waive Labarbera and bring in someone new to push the situation.

The Sens looked like a team spinning their wheels until the added Anderson and all of a sudden came together. They could trust that not every mistake would cost them a goal. We need to see that kind of confidence from the team, and they currently don't have it when Dubnyk is in net.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

2 weeks at training camp isn't enough time to learn how to play a completely different position. Just because Hall is a great winger doesn't mean he can become a good centre in 2 weeks. Think about this, he's playing top 6 C minutes. He's playing against guys that have been playing C their entire NHL career, and most likely as top 6 C's.

Unlike Taylor Hall, Patrick Kane had never played C in his life when he started filling in at the position for CHI a couple years ago.

He did completely fine, producing offensively and looking passable defensively.

How come he was able to slide right in? Because Kane has tons of hockey sense and is a cerebral player. Taylor Hall is a physical specimen with **** for brains. There's a difference.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

Burn it all down! Trade Hall for grit! Put a shooter tutor in next game!

I'm going to make this real simple. You do not trade a player like Taylor Hall unless you have no other alternative (cap, trade demand, etc) and it is absolute lunacy to expect otherwise. Get him back to LW (and the **** away from Smyth) and he will dominate, just like all of last year.

Hall not a winner. 2x memorial cup MVP and he isn't a winner. Youve got to be kidding me.

Well this was an uncalled for post. No one is saying trade Hall or that he's not a winner. People want him back on LW, that's all.

I don't get what this post was about.

 

[Spawn]

Unlike Taylor Hall, Patrick Kane had never played C in his life when he started filling in at the position for CHI a couple years ago.

He did completely fine, producing offensively and looking passable defensively.

How come he was able to slide right in? Because Kane has tons of hockey sense and is a cerebral player. Taylor Hall is a physical specimen with **** for brains. There's a difference.

3rd line skills we all know it.

**** for brains? lol. Two bad games and you come out of the woods just reveling in it. What a surprise.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

JSchultz is a deffensive liability but he did hit the crossbar twice. VERY dangerous offensivly.

His offensive zone ability is top 10-15 in the league for sure amongst defensemen - that doesn't mean he's a top-4 defenseman.

 

[McShogun99]

Unlike Taylor Hall, Patrick Kane had never played C in his life when he started filling in at the position for CHI a couple years ago.

He did completely fine, producing offensively and looking passable defensively.

How come he was able to slide right in? Because Kane has tons of hockey sense and is a cerebral player. Taylor Hall is a physical specimen with **** for brains. There's a difference.

Pretty much, Hall's skill comes from physical play and sheer will. Eberle is a more cerebral player and should have been placed at center before Hall. Everyone was just so obsessed with the Messier comparisons and wanted Hall's career to mirror that. We just need to let Hall play his power forward game from LW and use actual centers, even if they're minor leaguers to fill in.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

His offensive zone ability is top 10-15 in the league for sure amongst defensemen - that doesn't mean he's a top-4 defenseman.

We can only hope

 

[The Perfect Human*]

3rd line skills we all know it.

**** for brains? lol. Two bad games and you come out of the woods just reveling in it. What a surprise.

He's the perfect winger. I'm not insulting his intelligence as a winger. He knows how to play that position perfectly. But his adaptability to C/RW would be brutal if put in those positions.

When you have a thoroughbred winger, why are we sticking him in the equestrian?

FWIW I think Ovechkin would struggle just as badly as Hall playing C. And he's a top-3 player in the league. His intelligence and overall ice awareness isn't high enough to play the position.

 

[iCanada]

http://oilers.nhl.com/club/blogpost.htm?id=21061

Hall back on LW. Thank jesus.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

He's the perfect winger. I'm not insulting his intelligence as a winger. He knows how to play that position perfectly. But his adaptability to C/RW would be brutal if put in those positions.

When you have a thoroughbred winger, why are we sticking him in the equestrian?

FWIW I think Ovechkin would struggle just as badly as Hall playing C. And he's a top-3 player in the league. His intelligence and overall ice awareness isn't high enough to play the position.

We get it, you don't like Hall and hold a grudge, that's fine, but that means this "explanation" doesn't hold much water.

Hall struggled to learn center with no backup and a statue on the left side. Imagine that, it's hard to play center when Toews isn't backing you up.

 

[Spawn]

He's the perfect winger. I'm not insulting his intelligence as a winger. He knows how to play that position perfectly. But his adaptability to C/RW would be brutal if put in those positions.

When you have a thoroughbred winger, why are we sticking him in the equestrian?

Not insulting his intelligence as a winger? You just said he had **** for brains and before that compared him to an oaf trying to learn rocket science. If you are going to make an argument that he should be at wing that is fine, I doubt anyone is going to disagree. That isn't what you are doing, you are just insulting the player.

He's clearly more suited for the wing that much is obvious. But **** for brains? That is ********.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

We get it, you don't like Hall and hold a grudge, that's fine, but that means this "explanation" doesn't hold much water.

Hall struggled to learn center with no backup and a statue on the left side. Imagine that, it's hard to play center when Toews isn't backing you up.

Thats fair - he was literally given Datsyuk-like responsibility with having to carry Smyth on the LW (like Datsyuk had to do with Holmstrom in the last 2-3 years of his career). But he's had the benefit of Hemsky taking the offensive responsibility on that line. It's also hard when he's playing 1C and up against the top competition of the other team every night.

That being said, his mistakes/downfall thus season has come from lack of ice awareness and hockey sense moreso than who he's playing with/against. I noticed it in pre-season, but Hall is never looking to the left side with the puck on his stick, likely because he's usually on the wing and the entire ice is to the right of him.

The turnovers are inexplicable - there's no way the puck should be being thrown around the way it is by him because he's simply not good at it. Hall is a great offensive zone passer - he can see open players and make that simple pass, but when the risks are higher (own/neutral zone), he's making bone-headed plays with the puck.

I don't know why people are defending his abilities as a C - he's simply not made for it. That's fine - some people just can't adapt to a position. We all know what he can do at LW. Hopefully now that RNH is back we never have to have this discussion again.

 

[The Perfect Human*]

Not insulting his intelligence as a winger? You just said he had **** for brains and before that compared him to an oaf trying to learn rocket science. If you are going to make an argument that he should be at wing that is fine, I doubt anyone is going to disagree. That isn't what you are doing, you are just insulting the player.

He's clearly more suited for the wing that much is obvious. But **** for brains? That is ********.

Ok, **** for brains is extreme. But I've been frustrated as hell seeing the plays he's making at C right now.

That being said, he doesn't have enough awareness/vision/intelligence to play the position - that much is clear. Many players have tried and failed in the past. Rick Nash was tried there at some point, as was Iginla. Players like that are not made for C.

 

[Psychoil]

http://oilers.nhl.com/club/blogpost.htm?id=21061

Hall back on LW. Thank jesus.

I swear that top line better get 5 goals on monday, sick of this ****. Time to start playing like the ****ing superstars they are.

 

[Samus44]

We get it, you don't like Hall and hold a grudge, that's fine, but that means this "explanation" doesn't hold much water.

Hall struggled to learn center with no backup and a statue on the left side. Imagine that, it's hard to play center when Toews isn't backing you up.

Holy ****, he was terrible at center. Giveaways like that can't just be ignored, he's been the worst forward for the Oilers so far. So many lame excuses for him when the most obvious one would be it's two games in and he's still learning while playing tough players. Hall's an excellent player but he's been a massive liability at center and that's on no one but him. He gets paid 6 million for a reason it's not fair but he's expected to be able to carry a line.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Ok, **** for brains is extreme. But I've been frustrated as hell seeing the plays he's making at C right now.

That being said, he doesn't have enough awareness/vision/intelligence to play the position - that much is clear. Many players have tried and failed in the past. Rick Nash was tried there at some point, as was Iginla. Players like that are not made for C.

i guess its a good he's only playing centre because of injuries, my god you act like Hall held Eakins family hostage and made him play Hall at centre. get over yourself, Hall will be moved back to the wing when are centres come back. rest, take some ativan and probably take a break from hockey, you're gonna have a heart attack if you get this worked up over this.

 

[Mcnofool6110]

I shouldn't freak out that Smid and Ference aren't practicing, right?

...

right?

 

[The Perfect Human*]

For those saying Smid is the only top-4 defenseman on this team they need to get their head right.

Petry is quite easily the best defenseman on this team. Yes, he makes mistakes - but the overall package here is a guy that can move the puck, play against the best opposition, and usually come out ahead in those match-ups while the rest of the team ****s the bed with theirs.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

http://oilers.nhl.com/club/blogpost.htm?id=21061

Hall back on LW. Thank jesus.

So why is the best LW through two games, not in the main line up? Hopefully it's just a maintenance day.

However I admit that lineup does look better, though I would rotate Yak and Hemsky, and get Joensuu in on the 3rd line LW. Looking to Yak to carry 2 AHL'er isn't going to lead to anything good, he's not at that point yet.

Hall-RNH-Eberle
Perron-Areobello(Gagner)-Yakupov
Joensuu-Gordon-Hemsky
Gazdic-Acton-Brown

 

[The Perfect Human*]

Based on what we're seeing, here's the lines I'd like to see:

Joensuu-RNH-Eberle
Hall-Arcobello-Hemsky
Perron-Gordon-Yakupov

Everyone is sufficiently insulated, and the players with chemistry (RNH-Ebs, Hall-Hemsky) are preserved.

edit: forgot Perron