GDT: Game 34: Oilers @ Avs | Saturday, December 19th, 8pm MT (CBC) | Rollin'
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McMetal
Writer of Wrongs
- Sep 29, 2015
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It wasn't necessarily that, the first two periods gave them a LOT of point-blank shots and even some semi-breakaways. It goes back to what bugged the hell out of me earlier in the season. We're not getting the most shots, but we're finally making the most out of the shots we DO get. It's not about just getting pucks on net. I think we've been outshot in all but one of these last 5 wins. It's about taking advantage of the opportunities you get. So often early in the year we were missing those screened shots, hitting the goalie when he was way out of position, or passing when we should have shot. Now, finally, we're converting those chances even if they're not coming all the time. Iginla scored on our first shot of the third period. THAT is what it takes to win.
AMDZen
ME in the RED Circle
McMetal
Writer of Wrongs
- Sep 29, 2015
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I'm amazed that Soderberg didn't draw an interference call on the first goal. He leaned into the defender to keep him off Comeau. I'll take it, it's not like we haven't been screwed on similar calls the other way before, it's the game, but if everything was equal, that should have been a five on three.
Cypher
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crue7
Registered User
I'm glad to see them finally interfering a little. Far too long have we just complained about it. If the refs are not going to call interference, exploit it.
a mangy Meowth
Ross Colton Fan
crue7
Registered User
tigervixxxen
Optimism=Delusional
The thing about Rantanen is he would actually make this team even better.
I like Martinsen, and I do think he's playing well enough to deserve a spot in the lineup, but offensively he brings almost nothing to the table, and yet he's playing in the Top 6 on a line with a very creative pass 1st center in Soderberg. It just doesn't make sense(Albeit its working so dont stop right now).
At the beginning of the year Soderberg wasn't playing great and we all pretty much agreed that at that time he couldn't really carry a young rookie or carry a line in general, and that's why we always had him playing with Landeskog, or Mackinnon, or whoever. But he's taken so many huge strides in his game here and looks so comfortable on the ice now, that he's doing exactly that for us. He's carrying that 2nd line with Comeau and a Rookie Martinsen and that line has done extremely well for us largely because of Soderbergs play.
Soda is at a spot now where if we brought Rantanen up and put him on that 2nd line, Sods would be able to handle the load of having a rookie on the line and maybe helping with any of his mistakes or whatever that happens. And the thing with Rantanen is that from what we've seen both in the NHL and AHL, he's already such a smart player that he's probably not gonna make many mistakes any way.
I really think the two of those guys would benefit a tonne from playing together. I think Rants and Soda Pop play a similar style and think they game on similar levels, I really think they'd develop some strong chemistry fast if paired together.
After Christmas, what I want to see would be:
Comeau - Mackinnon - Duchene
Landy - Soderberg - Rantanen
Tanguay - Malkin - Iggy
Martinsen - Greg - Skille
Unfortunately, I dont think McCleod ever comes out of the lineup(He's played fine btw, just prefer Martys huge hits) so in this situation I think Marty would get sent down to the AHL. But that Top 6 would have a lot of fire power and 2 really balance lines. Especially if Comeau continues to play like he has the past 2-3 weeks for us. He would bring some good physicality and straight forward play on that top line similar to Landy, and would allow Landy to go down to the 2nd line which I think would be an extremely strong line for us, as all 3 guys are very smart 200 feet players but are also creative with the puck.
That's a forward group that can make playoffs IMO.
landy92mack29
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dahrougem2
Registered User
Good win, so glad I got to catch the 2nd and 3rd periods of this game.
The Oilers were who we thought they were lol, had a lot of good chances and a ton of shots but man oh man are they putrid in their own zone. Justin Schultz is amongst the dumbest hockey players in the league and Craig MacTavish once thought he could win a Norris. Nobody should ever give MacT a job in this profession ever again lol. That giveaway on the 4th Avs goal was very Guenin-like. Speaking of Guenin...
He's god awful. I mean I know we see it all the time but tonight was truly something special. That pinch in the 2nd period that led to the 2-on-1, I mean, why? His passes were all over the place if he wasn't fanning on them, he was getting beaten to every puck, pinching poorly, just brutal. If Roy doesn't bring in Gormley soon for Guenin, he's either 1) clueless or 2) Riding the winning lineup as long as he possibly can (which is likely the case as Roy isn't clueless)
Lastly, who knows if MacKinnon is playing hurt or not, I do recall he blocked the shot off of his foot a few weeks back but man oh man he just does not have speed anymore. He looks like every other regular player in the league now, he has no ability to blow by defenders and his takeoff from a standstill point is not looking good at all lately. Hopefully this coming break is good for him to get healthy if he is being bothered by an injury
The Oilers were who we thought they were lol, had a lot of good chances and a ton of shots but man oh man are they putrid in their own zone. Justin Schultz is amongst the dumbest hockey players in the league and Craig MacTavish once thought he could win a Norris. Nobody should ever give MacT a job in this profession ever again lol. That giveaway on the 4th Avs goal was very Guenin-like. Speaking of Guenin...
He's god awful. I mean I know we see it all the time but tonight was truly something special. That pinch in the 2nd period that led to the 2-on-1, I mean, why? His passes were all over the place if he wasn't fanning on them, he was getting beaten to every puck, pinching poorly, just brutal. If Roy doesn't bring in Gormley soon for Guenin, he's either 1) clueless or 2) Riding the winning lineup as long as he possibly can (which is likely the case as Roy isn't clueless)
Lastly, who knows if MacKinnon is playing hurt or not, I do recall he blocked the shot off of his foot a few weeks back but man oh man he just does not have speed anymore. He looks like every other regular player in the league now, he has no ability to blow by defenders and his takeoff from a standstill point is not looking good at all lately. Hopefully this coming break is good for him to get healthy if he is being bothered by an injury
LieutenantDangle
Barry McKockner
one step closer to Beauchemin's prophecy 
comeau can't handle those kind of minutes hawthorne. otherwise that'd be a pretty sick lineup. the 9 line should stick
comeau can't handle those kind of minutes hawthorne. otherwise that'd be a pretty sick lineup. the 9 line should stick
tigervixxxen
Optimism=Delusional
It's going to take an injury to get Rantanen back up here. When that happens we'll see where the situation is.
dahrougem2
Registered User
Even though this team is 8-2 in their last 10, I still think Grigorenko on the top line would be more beneficial to this team.
Grigorenko-MacKinnon-Duchene
Landeskog-Soderberg-Comeau
That's a top-6 I could get behind for the rest of this season, and then next season Rantanen takes Comeau's spot as 14 drops down to the 3rd line.
I just think it'd make things a lot better for MacKinnon especially playing with a guy like Grigorenko who is pass-first and works very well at the give-and-go game. It'd also be good for Landeskog to support that 2nd line, though Soderberg and Comeau are doing very well right now, but Landy wouldn't be relied on as much to score and imagine the oppositions' top lines having to go every night against 92-34-14. A forechecking and defensive terror.
Grigorenko-MacKinnon-Duchene
Landeskog-Soderberg-Comeau
That's a top-6 I could get behind for the rest of this season, and then next season Rantanen takes Comeau's spot as 14 drops down to the 3rd line.
I just think it'd make things a lot better for MacKinnon especially playing with a guy like Grigorenko who is pass-first and works very well at the give-and-go game. It'd also be good for Landeskog to support that 2nd line, though Soderberg and Comeau are doing very well right now, but Landy wouldn't be relied on as much to score and imagine the oppositions' top lines having to go every night against 92-34-14. A forechecking and defensive terror.
It's remarkable the team has gone 9-3 in their last 12 games when MacKinnon hasn't scored a single goal.
Foppa2118
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- Oct 3, 2003
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It is a little funny, but two names bring it all into focus. Duchene and Varlamov. The two biggest reasons for the slow start and the two biggest reasons for the hot streak. Not coincidentally the same two players Roy challenged publicly and then kicked their game into gear.
They're leading the team right now, and even if Mack isn't getting goals, his speed and instincts are helping to keep the puck in the zone, and maintain possession with some nice give and goes with Dutchy. He's still contributing to goals for, he's just been deferring to Duchene knowing he's got the hot hand, and that kind of got him off his shooting game a bit.
He's also been working pretty hard in his own zone, expelling a lot of energy that in the past he might have saved for the O zone.
El_Loco_Avs
Registered User
Duchene has just 1 goal in the last 5 though. The rest of the team has improved as well. And honestly it's mostly Varly right now. He's hot as hell.
Does anyone else think the Oilers got fairly weak goaltending in this game? Should've been a 2-1 or 3-1 game I think.
dahrougem2
Registered User
Honestly the only goals I thought Nilsson should have had were the 1st and 5th goals, and even then the 1st goal of the game was a breakaway against a guy with a fantastic shot. 2nd goal was a complete screen, as was the 3rd goal, and the 4th goal Iginla is all alone in front of the net and has all day to make a move.
For as many shots as the Oilers had, they weren't the most difficult to stop for Varlamov. We all know he struggles with traffic and guys crashing the net, and the Oilers didn't do that at all tonight. All their players tried picking corners, going high on Varly and he's too good for that. The way to beat Varlamov is shoot for rebounds and crash the net, or shots from the point with traffic.
El_Loco_Avs
Registered User
Duchene's screen wasn't perfect iirc. He could see the shot coming but he both moved over to block with his body and tried to grab it, but moved so he couldn't get to it with his hand. It was kinda weird. Skille goal was just weird. And yeah maybe Comeau's shot was just too good. Still that would make it a 3-1 game. Different story still.
And yeah, 40 shots sounds like a lot but they weren't very high quality except for the goal where they blew an assignment.
dahrougem2
Registered User
Even with the blown assignment, you can tell Sekera was not Hall's intended target, he simply happened to pinch at the perfect moment. Hall made a pass behind his intended target and Sekera just happened to be there. But the forwards have to realize where Sekera is during that play, can't just lose him like that
klozge
Avs
Oilers had a lot of high quality chances early in the game and a few more later. Just imagine Nilsson would have played for us and Varly for the Oil. It would have been brutal.
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