Pre-Game Talk: End vs van: It may happen, but not anytime soon

[CantHaveTkachev]

now the Oilers will be extra rusty for that all-important Winnipeg match-up on Saturday...right on!

 

[McJadeddog]

Yup, this post says pretty much everything you need to know about league priorities. There is ZERO CHANCE that they cancel a Saturday night game with Toronto playing. Cancel an Edmonton game? Sure, no probs!

 

[CupofOil]

I understand that the Canucks got f***ed by COVID but that doesn’t mean the Oilers should get f***ed by COVID too.

Tell them to forfeit.

You know what the worst part is? The Oilers have a 4 day hole in their schedule coming up where rescheduled games can be placed but what will happen is the Canucks will play their other rescheduled games during that stretch pushing the Oiler games to after the regular season ends and screwing them when it comes to lack of rest for the playoffs. I wouldn't be surprised if they only give the Oilers one day of rest after playing something 4 in 6 days against the Canucks.

Essentially it's punishing the Oilers for doing nothing wrong. I understand concessions need to be made because of these unusual times but it seems like the Oilers have been conceding a lot.

Eh, I don't care much about this season anyway tbh due to this whole Covid setup, no fans and the Oilers simply not being good enough anyway. Lets just get to this offseason already.

 

[TB12]

If the game Saturday goes ahead, then this is complete garbage! Heaven forbid we can't postpone a Leafs game on HNIC. Seriously 1 day is not going to help too much. Weekend games should be postponed; end of story!

Came here to say exactly this. I’m not mad about this game being postponed as I get it. But if they play the Leafs Saturday I’ll legit be furious and just adds more fuel to my “the NHL is a joke” opinion. Bending over backwards, as usual, for the f***ing Leafs.

 

[AddyTheWrath]

You know what the worst part is? The Oilers have a 4 day hole in their schedule coming up where rescheduled games can be placed but what will happen is the Canucks will play their other rescheduled games during that stretch pushing the Oiler games to after the regular season ends and screwing them when it comes to lack of rest for the playoffs. I wouldn't be surprised if they only give the Oilers one day of rest after playing something 4 in 6 days against the Canucks.

Essentially it's punishing the Oilers for doing nothing wrong. I understand concessions need to be made because of these unusual times but it seems like the Oilers have been conceding a lot.

Eh, I don't care much about this season anyway tbh due to this whole Covid setup, no fans and the Oilers simply not being good enough anyway. Lets just get to this offseason already.

I’m very much looking forward to the offseason but we need to make the playoffs first otherwise we’ll have to deal with “hurr durr Oilers missed the playoffs again RIP McDavid” or whatever and I’m in no mood to see that BS.

 

[bellagiobob]

Throw them out of the league.....

Seriously though, this is annoying. they are really screwing Edmonton up. The Oilers might very well lose in the playoffs due to fatigue, and the nucks aren't making it anyway.

We thought we got screwed over last year with the playin being added. This season is starting to look like a 'hold my beer' scenario.

 

[Cloned]

You know what the worst part is? The Oilers have a 4 day hole in their schedule coming up where rescheduled games can be placed but what will happen is the Canucks will play their other rescheduled games during that stretch pushing the Oiler games to after the regular season ends and screwing them when it comes to lack of rest for the playoffs. I wouldn't be surprised if they only give the Oilers one day of rest after playing something 4 in 6 days against the Canucks.

Essentially it's punishing the Oilers for doing nothing wrong. I understand concessions need to be made because of these unusual times but it seems like the Oilers have been conceding a lot.

Eh, I don't care much about this season anyway tbh due to this whole Covid setup, no fans and the Oilers simply not being good enough anyway. Lets just get to this offseason already.

I said this a month ago when the Habs games were postponed and the league didn't reschedule games into the resulting break. People argued with me then, "oh it'd be too tough to rearrange the entire schedule for all the North teams" and "it's OK the league has a contingency week in May for postponed games, no rush to reschedule games this quickly."

They ended up rearranging the schedule for all the North teams anyways and now will have to pack the contingency week in May full of postponed games.

Don't trust the league. If they're not doing something obvious it's not because they have something better planned. It's because they're stupid (best case scenario), biased against the Oilers (worst case scenario), or both (most likely scenario).

 

[Oilslick941611]

I feel like Covid has negatively affected only 2 teams this season Vancouver and Edmonton. I feel like the momentum of the season is completely over, the last month there's been some extended breaks for the Oilers that isn't good. Montreal had some games postponed too, but not like this.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Came here to say exactly this. I’m not mad about this game being postponed as I get it. But if they play the Leafs Saturday I’ll legit be furious and just adds more fuel to my “the NHL is a joke” opinion. Bending over backwards, as usual, for the f***ing Leafs.

I keep saying it but it's amazing they've managed to escape every postponed game up to now

 

[McOilers97]

Let's stop worrying about the schedule so much. We're in the top 4, we're not going to miss the playoffs. All that matters is if the team is playing well when May rolls around.

 

[bone]

I said this a month ago when the Habs games were postponed and the league didn't reschedule games into the resulting break. People argued with me then, "oh it'd be too tough to rearrange the entire schedule for all the North teams" and "it's OK the league has a contingency week in May for postponed games, no rush to reschedule games this quickly."

They ended up rearranging the schedule for all the North teams anyways and now will have to pack the contingency week in May full of postponed games.

Don't trust the league. If they're not doing something obvious it's not because they have something better planned. It's because they're stupid (best case scenario), biased against the Oilers (worst case scenario), or both (most likely scenario).

They really just need to rewrite the whole schedule now with the priority being getting Vancouver's games in by May 17th, with their last two games being the road games in Ottawa and their third and fourth last games against Calgary. So figure out how to get those 19 games in using back to backs whenever they have two or more games remaining in a building against the same opponent.

Second priority Montreal's games with the same logic but earlier finish of May 12th becuase they have the most remaining games. Since none of their games are vs. Vancouver this should be doable.

Third priority Oilers again finishing on the 12th as they have the next most games. Fortunately, 9 of the 14 games are against Vancouver and Montreal!!!!! That's a fortunate coincidence.

Then fill in the remaining games with a priority to get the Montreal Calgary games done earlier to determine whether there is any chance of Calgary getting in. After tomorrow, that's two games.

From there fill in the gaps. The extended schedule to the 12th should make it fairly straightforward without overburdening anyone elses shcedule.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

Whatever happens I fully expect the Oilers to get the short end of the stick. Worst part is that basically these last games are meaningless when it comes to playoffs. We already know the 4 teams making the playoffs in the div and I’d bet every dollar I have that when it’s all said and done and they jam in all these games it won’t make a lick of difference in the standings from how they are now, with the possible exception of Flames and Canucks possibly switching places.

If we get to the point at the end of the year where the Oilers have to play several games in a short period heading straight into the playoffs, I’d love to see them forfeit the game citing player safety.

 

[Cloned]

They really just need to rewrite the whole schedule now with the priority being getting Vancouver's games in by May 17th, with their last two games being the road games in Ottawa and their third and fourth last games against Calgary. So figure out how to get those 19 games in using back to backs whenever they have two or more games remaining in a building against the same opponent.

Second priority Montreal's games with the same logic but earlier finish of May 12th becuase they have the most remaining games. Since none of their games are vs. Vancouver this should be doable.

Third priority Oilers again finishing on the 12th as they have the next most games. Fortunately, 9 of the 14 games are against Vancouver and Montreal!!!!! That's a fortunate coincidence.

Then fill in the remaining games with a priority to get the Montreal Calgary games done earlier to determine whether there is any chance of Calgary getting in. After tomorrow, that's two games.

From there fill in the gaps. The extended schedule to the 12th should make it fairly straightforward without overburdening anyone elses shcedule.

Good luck getting the league to follow logic.

 

[bone]

I keep saying it but it's amazing they've managed to escape every postponed game up to now

Hey. They've had a game start time shuffled an hour, a game on May 7th bumped to May 6th, and a game schedule May 5th moved to May 10th (the last two actually got rid of a back to back).

The league should give them bonus points for their hardship.

Though it is sounding like they'll move Saturday's game to Sunday. Oh... the horror!!!! It will result in 5 in 7 (like all the west teams have already done but they were exempt from). So guaranteed they'll do something to change that.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Let's stop worrying about the schedule so much. We're in the top 4, we're not going to miss the playoffs. All that matters is if the team is playing well when May rolls around.

by the looks of the team will be playing like 10 games in 12 days going into the playoffs. Its a sham.

 

[McOilers97]

by the looks of the team will be playing like 10 games in 12 days going into the playoffs. Its a sham.

Well, if that is how it ends up then we'll have to accept them throwing a few of those games. We have no control over that though, so this constant bitching about "the NHL is always screwing the Oilers", while possibly true, contributes a whole lot of nothing to these forums. I hope the organization says something to the NHL, but we as the fans are pretty useless in that regard on HFboards.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

If this happens, the fix is officially in.

 

[KCC]

Edm was on such a roll before Montreal got hit. Oil haven’t been the same team wise. All the time off and of course nhl with the Colby disaster isn’t helping. Meanwhile teams like toronto have been incredibly lucky to dodge everything and keep their momentum and hockey focus. Lol.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

Then forfeit and give the 2 points to the Oilers

Agreed 100%.

This should be seen as a forfeit and we should receive the 2 points.

 

[flying v 604]

I was very sympathetic at first and thought the games should be ppd.

However after listening to Elliott the medical staff of the team, nhl, and nhlpa all signed off on them coming back and besides them sitting for longer than any other team they are using the exact same protocol that every other team in their situation has.

After hearing the details I'm more inclined to think the Vancouver players are just being whiny and don't want to be embarrassed.

If... if the doctors say they are fit to play, which they have, suck it up buttercup and go earn your pay check.

Let's be honest. Vancouver has checked out and want the season to be over. That's what is driving the bus for them.

I was very sympathetic at first and thought the games should be ppd.

However after listening to Elliott the medical staff of the team, nhl, and nhlpa all signed off on them coming back and besides them sitting for longer than any other team they are using the exact same protocol that every other team in their situation has.

After hearing the details I'm more inclined to think the Vancouver players are just being whiny and don't want to be embarrassed.

If... if the doctors say they are fit to play, which they have, suck it up buttercup and go earn your pay check.

Let's be honest. Vancouver has checked out and wants the season to be over. That's what is driving the bus for them.

Not making any excuses but every player was asked if they wanted to opt out and not one chose to.
The thing that's the issue is when these games were rescheduled they had just gotten into the recovery phase, I don't think they expected to still be this ill a week later. The only way they could ice a full lineup was having the players still affected playing and that's a big ask back to back and 5 in seven.
I felt if they could at least ice a team no matter how shitty the lineup they should have played but that wasn't possible and having a guy like Quinn Hughes playing while still recovering with the back to backs and 5 in seven creates a situation where he's not able to recovery and he's just one of many and thats not really a good look, considering there is still a chance to make the playoffs.
But I get it it's unfair to the Oilers and that sucks but honestly, Vancouver had such a shit schedule that combined with the game Friday and then Saturday 5 in 7/19and in 27 is just bordering on insane and gives the team no chance while other team's all get to pile on. We deserve at least some chance to make a run.
Look at it like this, team agreed to play these games but underestimated how long this variant compared to others seems to jit harder and recover longer,
So the Nucks already up against now play the games in such a disadvantage that playoffs are a distant dream but they still have to go out and play all these games this next week with other team's mid season form and didn't just go through Covid with actual real illness.
It's a shitty situation and I hope they re-schedule the game in a way that favours you guys. Cheers and best of luck going forward.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Well, if that is how it ends up then we'll have to accept them throwing a few of those games. We have no control over that though, so this constant bitching about "the NHL is always screwing the Oilers", while possibly true, contributes a whole lot of nothing to these forums. I hope the organization says something to the NHL, but we as the fans are pretty useless in that regard on HFboards.

Im not a "the league is out to the get the oilers" type guy and this scheduling isn't a sign of the league screwing the oilers, but the schedule is screwing is the oilers, just let us bitch, you don't need to reply if you don't like the talk. Sometimes we just gotta vent. Especially with the league making the team against Calgary on Saturday with the memorial and the team literally having five days off (now 6) after that, and it really does seem that the oilers have play 3 games in 2 weeks. This is momentum killing. Now we are stepping into an important game against Winnipeg all rusty. Rest has never been good to the oilers, there's no balance between rest and playing this year. Its gonna be a brutal end to the season ( and it already was before this)

 

[bone]

Edm was on such a roll before Montreal got hit. Oil haven’t been the same team wise. All the time off and of course nhl with the Colby disaster isn’t helping. Meanwhile teams like toronto have been incredibly lucky to dodge everything and keep their momentum and hockey focus. Lol.

By the end of this it will be 11 games in 36 days including two 6 day breaks (one of which was stranded in hotels) and another break of 4 days. One 5 day stretch with a single game in the middle, and a 29 day stretch that only featured 1 home game.

This has been a disaster to allow any kind of flow to get into their games. The fortunate part was a lot of practice time, but with so few games and the games being so congested when they happened doesn't allow them to apply much of the practice learnings.

I do hope and think this could pay off down the stretch once they get back into the routine, but I'm just a bit worried that it's starting to pile up with a few too many games over that final stretch.

The original schedule had 7 games in the final 17 days. Now it's likely going to be 11 games in the final 18 days (exactly half the time it's taking them to play the current 11 game segment). They had also ripped out 9 games in 15 days prior to this stretch.

 

[Section337]

By the end of this it will be 11 games in 36 days including breaks of 6 days (one of which was stranded in hotels) and another break of 4 days. One 5 days stretch with a single game in the middle, and a 29 day stretch that only featured 1 home game.

This has been a disaster to allow any kind of flow to get into their games. The fortunate part was a lot of practice time, but with so few games and the games being so congested when they happened doesn't allow them to apply much of the practice learnings.

I do hope and think this could pay off down the stretch once they get back into the routine, but I'm just a bit worried that it's starting to pile up with a few too many games over that stretch.

Unwilling to like your post, cause what it says sucks. But thank you for laying out the impact and Holy <Bleep>!

 

[Del Preston]

The league can easily move around at least two of the four Ottawa-Vancouver games next week to accommodate teams actually in the playoff race. It would be a surprise if they actual did it, though.

The Thursday/Saturday games can be switched to Friday/Saturday Canucks-Oilers. Delay those Sens-Canucks games until the end of the season and play them if they need to be played.

 

[bone]

The league can easily move around at least two of the four Ottawa-Vancouver games next week to accomodate teams actually in the playoff race. It would be a surprise if they are actual did it, though.

It's the only sensible approach. But the league will never do it. At some point you'd think it would be fair to share the burden of these re-scheduled games amongst all of the teams, but alas, Toronto shall not be impacted whatsoever and let Edmonton take on all the burden of other teams COVID scheduling issues. At this point, they've been impacted worse than Montreal who actually had to shut down because of COVI because they only needed to do some tweaks to get them two game in Ottawa (the closest city to them), and they get to hang out at home to wait for Edmonton to come back at the end (the furthest city from Edmonton). How is that possible or fair?

10 days from now Montreal won't have a flight more than ninety minutes for the remainder of the season. Edmonton will have at least 3 maybe more, and for good measure they make Edmonton fly to Vancouver for the middle game of a three game set against the Canucks even though there is one more home game vs. Vancouver left later on.