Post-Game Talk: Ducks 3 Oilers 2

[Roof Daddy]

A good effort AND the perfect result for an Ekblad campaign? I'll take 5 more please.

 

[Hockey Nightmare]

Looks like all six members of the Ducks fan club are here in full force.

 

[fuswald]

Well, RNH won the draw so.....

Can't complain about the effort tonight. 2 straight strong efforts against western giants, that's all we can ask for really. It would have been nice if Fasth didn't channel his inner Dubnyk though.

Hall was amazing again as was the entire top line and Klefbom and Marincin so all the key young players are playing well except for Schultz. Yeesh, he has been some kind of awful over the last 5 games or so. So much for the progress that he was making.

Schultz was plus 2 on the night only one. Petry minus 2 marincin minus .

As defense Schultz wa the best on the ice. Next best d Larsen who played f.

 

[CornKicker]

I think he may be a real good forward.. Honestly think we could be onto something here. He's fast as hell, actually threw a couple good hits, has a good shot, and is good offensively. I think this shoulda been tried earlier.

he was also coming back and helping in our zone, as in he actually knew where to be. at first it looked like he was the odd ball out of position then i realized he was the one that was doing something right.

 

[fuswald]

He should probably be in the top six next game if Yakupov isn't ready to come back.

Smyth and Lander are offensive black holes.

But real good on pk.

 

[trent_vinyl]

Marincin starting to come back to earth a bit but not a bad game.

Have to admit Eakins has had them competing here. Jobbed by the refs and probably a little unlucky to not get a point.

On the other hand, none of the other 3 lines looked like they even generated a shot, let alone a good scoring chance. They played hard and hustled and the PK looked good but man we need some scoring depth.

I don't know if Eakins has been working on the first line with shorter passes and finding gaps or they just figured it out themselves but they've been putting on a precision show, really driving the play. Impressive.

Hall has 18 shots I think in 2 games.

I'm going to pinpoint Lander here. I like the guy, but he had a pretty weak game in San Jose and really didn't do enough last night to warrant 2nd line duty over the long haul. I'm pulling for him but he's gotta start scoring or doing something that changes the flow of the game.

 

[CornKicker]

yeah lander is not an offensive player imo, perron and gagner are shorthanded when he is out with them.

 

[trent_vinyl]

Engages on the play, willing to lay his body on opponents, and even backchecks. He should stay as a forward.

Yeah, I've kinda liked his game up there. In fact, I'd give him a shot on RW on Gagner's line next game to see what he can do with more talented players.

 

[OilerFan4Life]

RNH has been on a different planet these last 2 nights.

Where the heck was this earlier in the season? I guess we can throw out the "but hes tired" excuse.

 

[missinthejets]

RNH has been on a different planet these last 2 nights.

Where the heck was this earlier in the season? I guess we can throw out the "but hes tired" excuse.

Eberle has been really jumping off the page lately too, I honestly do think that it's a simple case of those 3 players having a lot of chemistry. Big problem for this team offensively is that a lot of the time it seemed like no one knew where their linemates were going to be and a lot of pucks got thrown to areas where there was no one, at least when those 3 play together they seem to know what each other is going to do

 

[dustrock]

Combo of being healthy & deciding to give a crap.

 

[Jejune]

Eberle has been really jumping off the page lately too, I honestly do think that it's a simple case of those 3 players having a lot of chemistry. Big problem for this team offensively is that a lot of the time it seemed like no one knew where their linemates were going to be and a lot of pucks got thrown to areas where there was no one, at least when those 3 play together they seem to know what each other is going to do

Absolutely this. I noticed so many times early in the season players would get the puck in the zone, try to start a cycle and no one would be there to retrieve it. Now they're back comfortable with each other, when they shoot the puck around the boards there's actually someone there. It's made a giant difference on everything.

Also, Klefbom has been fantastic at breaking up cycles. I do think he still makes the odd mistake in reading the timing of plays, but his low coverage is great to see.

 

[Pressure]

OH MY GOD. So much hook. Such penalty. Oiler tears are so sweet.

Its like a damn pity party in here. Aren't canadians supposed to be happy all the damn time. Just be canadian about it and apologize already.

hahah i love this post.

 

[Hugo McStiglitz]

I can't believe we almost stole this one, especially with our god awful lineup. I'd be worried if I was Anaheim. 2 straight games against bottom feeders and they didn't get going until the 3rd. That won't work in the playoffs.

 

[sepHF]

RNH has been on a different planet these last 2 nights.

Where the heck was this earlier in the season? I guess we can throw out the "but hes tired" excuse.

It seems to me that Eberle and RNH will only compete their hardest when they're put with Hall.

When Eakins takes Hall away from them they sulk.

 

[Tarus]

It seems to me that Eberle and RNH will only compete their hardest when they're put with Hall.

When Eakins takes Hall away from them they sulk.

Hall creates space and gives them time to make plays.

When they aren't with Hall, they are easier to check into ineffectiveness.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

Hall creates space and gives them time to make plays.

When they aren't with Hall, they are easier to check into ineffectiveness.

The line is effective so we need to leave them as is and build a "strong big guy" second line.

 

[Pressure]

It seems to me that Eberle and RNH will only compete their hardest when they're put with Hall.

When Eakins takes Hall away from them they sulk.

Spacing bro. They have way better spacing on the ice with Hall. Why? Because the lines change so damn much no one knows where they should be and how to get there.

Hall creates tons of space for them with his speed, Eberle when give a bit of room to dangle is very dangerous. RNH takes care of his own end then joins the play when he streaks to the net.

Now, if only we can get a bonafide big center/winger for Perron and Yakupov next year.

 

[Aerchon]

I agree with the people saying RNH & Ebs sulk when not with Hall.

Sure Hall opens up a lot of ice but you can see the hustle in both Ebs and RNH increase by double it would seem. That's them playing harder as well as Hall opening up some ice. Which is garbage, they should be playing that hard every game.

I think we need a true big/skilled/gritty/two way RW to move up and down the line up from 1st to the 3rd. Aka top 9 type. No idea where we can find that.

I think we need a true big/skilled/gritty/two way Center top 6 type. Maybe solved by the draft.

And when we get those players our line combinations will vary and RNH & especially Ebs should not be spending all their time with Hall. So they have to up their compete full time and not just when they get to play with their buddy.

 

[dustrock]

Ehhh even earlier in the season when the kids were put back together they usually didn't look this energized.

 

[Master Lok]

I think he may be a real good forward.. Honestly think we could be onto something here. He's fast as hell, actually threw a couple good hits, has a good shot, and is good offensively. I think this shoulda been tried earlier.

I think I heard on Stauffer or somewhere that Larsen played centre until he was 16 years old?

 

[popo]

Was it "Dress Like a Seat Night"?

NHL lists the game attendance at 17,174. Which just happens to be the building's seating capacity. So, sell out?

 

[AlowlyMcOilersfan]

Ehhh even earlier in the season when the kids were put back together they usually didn't look this energized.

Agreed.

A motivated Eberle makes all the difference.

 

[JoeCool16]

I don't really buy that winning a few games late in the season does carry much of anything over to the next season, so I'm happy with the tank continuing while still playing a solid game. That makes me more happy than them winning while being outshot by 15 and picking up points that won't help us anymore...

They've got all the exhibition games to build confidence. Just keep on losing like usual for now.... we really need one of those top 3 spots. And top 2 would be even better.

 

[Replacement*]

Ehhh even earlier in the season when the kids were put back together they usually didn't look this energized.

Yep. Something pretty weird with this and in fact the line was broken up earlier and Hall put on second line because the kidline looked demoralized and done a lot of the time.

This is what gets me is its quite obvious that for some reason with it being the last games the kids have finally started to find some enthusiasm and end the season on a right note. I would peg it that. That somehow they think they can feel OK about the offseason if they show up and have good memories of these last games. To that end I'm glad they're losing these games.

I gotta say it is RNH, to a lesser extent Eberle have been floating through a lot of games. This is night and day different play from all of them. to wit.

-more fight for the puck, more scrums, boardwork

-if nothing is momentarily available player possesses a puck and waits for puck support instead of just throwing it away mindlessly as we've seen all season.

--when nothing is there guys like RNH bulling through a check to try to establish a chance. Where has this been.

-Eberle and RNH going back to some spins, buying space, shaking checks which for long parts of the season they just couldn't be bothered doing.


Yeah, the kids look alright at the moment. But why only in select instances?

Any path to professionality and competing requires much more consistency from our go to players.