Post-Game Talk: GAME #40: Canucks def. Oilers - 4-2 (Motte, Boeser, Pettersson, Roussel)

[Var]

8.5 mil and needs to be paired with McDavid to produce anything. I'd take Horvat over his overpaid lazy ass.

You're right they're overpaying him right now. But no, he doesn't suck. Just because their management chooses to throw money at him because they think he's the next Patrice Bergeron or something doesn't mean he's a bad player. Edmonton's lucky to have him.

And of course we'd all rather have Bo. He's a beast being underpaid on a stellar contract. Similar to a guy like Sean Monahan.

 

[DL44]

Nurse had a good game.. kid can skate. Then Larsson is a good piece... truculent.
They need Klefbom back badly.. hell, they need Garrison back badly.

 

[Johnny Canucker]

Lucic has to be the worst contract in NHL.

Some of his shifts lengths tonight were
(in seconds )


14
20
26
28
35
38

For a total of under 12 minutes.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Lucic played 12 minutes and a -2.
This guy does not fit the Oilers system.

Does he fit anywhere? His game has fallen completely off a cliff, and his contract is pretty well unmoveable.

@Hit the post - our team’s ability to ice a good defensive unit might not be great, but I’d still take it over the Oilers. 1) We have Edler/Tanev who are top four defenders on any team in the league. 2) Hutton/Stecher, I feel, are guys who could play on most teams’ defensive units. 3) We have Hughes on the way, and I don’t think Juolevi is a completely lost cause yet.

We’ve got a pretty solid group of young forwards (Horvat, Pettersson, Boeser - steep drop - Virtanen, Goldobin) vs their 1, 2 guys (McDavid - steep drop - Draisatl), and our goaltending has become pretty damn solid, too.

Our defense still needs some work, but I feel like the other pieces are falling into place.

 

[Johnny Canucker]

McDavid has played like half the game.

25 minutes. NHL.com has him on the ice for the final 4:14 of the game

 

[Johnny Canucker]

Lol they're basically just throwing the puck around until they can get it to McDavid who'll create something out of nothing.

Oilers are a McDavid injury away from drafting 1 overall again. They are terrible without CMD

 

[canucksfan]

I’d give McDavid one more season before he demands to be traded. I wouldn’t blame him either.

 

[Hit the post]

Our defense still needs some work, but I feel like the other pieces are falling into place.

I think Demko will be good enough to hide some of those flaws but remain skeptical whether the blueline can play catch-up with our forwards (Tanev & Edler aren't getting any younger). If the Big Russian comes over, I'll likely be persuaded to change my opinion on the matter.

 

[MS]

Lucky win. Were spotted with a big lead early when Edmonton’s goalie couldn’t make a save and then basically did nothing else all night. If a couple goalposts and McDavid breakaways go the other way, we probably blow this one.

- Markstrom was excellent. Would have lost this game with average goaltending. This might be the best he’s ever looked.

- Motte played a good game, but playing him 18 minutes and Beagle 20 (and Pettersson 14) is not sustainable or a formula for success. And the reason these guys looked so gritty in defensive battles was because the puck was always in our end. And while Motte might have had energy tonight after a several-day break, we saw earlier in the year that he can’t sustain playing 15 minutes/game and becomes a liability. Should be playing 8-10 minutes as a PK specialist.

- Pettersson continues to be ridiculous. Carrying his line and linemates. Did Boeser play tonight?

- Leivo now 2 points in his last 7 games and down to playing 9 minutes. Green seems to be a fan as much as Babcock was. That said, I do think he’s a better player than some guys who are playing more.

- Granlund just sucks. Another PP goal against primarily the result of his dreadful positioning.

- Edler and Tanev again huge in dealing with McDavid. Remain as good a shutdown pairing as you’ll see around the league.

- Pouliot had one dreadful turnover but otherwise that pairing had a good night. Biega excellent as usual.

- Gudbranson wasn’t scored on but was not good. Can’t make a pass, slow in everything he does.

 

[VanJack]

When the Oilers play McDavid 30 minutes a night, the ice-time inevitably gets skewed. So wouldn't read too much into the ice-time for guys like Motte, Roussel and Beagle. Gaudette was the odd-man out, but sill liked him in limited minutes.

This Oilers team is a conundrum. Once you get past McDavid, Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins some nights, the Oiler team's depth just drops off the map. This team has so many top draft picks simply fall into their laps, but either couldn't develop them or traded them away.

You can see McDavid's frustration. I agree with other posters. Sooner or later he's going to want to go to a place where he can win.

 

[valkynax]

When the Oilers play McDavid 30 minutes a night, the ice-time inevitably gets skewed. So wouldn't read too much into the ice-time for guys like Motte, Roussel and Beagle. Gaudette was the odd-man out, but sill liked him in limited minutes.

This Oilers team is a conundrum. Once you get past McDavid, Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins some nights, the Oiler team's depth just drops off the map. This team has so many top draft picks simply fall into their laps, but either couldn't develop them or traded them away.

You can see McDavid's frustration. I agree with other posters. Sooner or later he's going to want to go to a place where he can win.

Hitchcock seems hell bent on turning that team into just McDavid, and everyone else on to defense.

Is it just me or does this setup feel really one dimensional?

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

Agreed. However, I didn't think we'd be this close.

There’s a saying
When you are not ready to contend, go young and fast along with solid goaltending. Good things will happen

 

[Paulinvancouver]

Fair enough. That's a lot of my fear for the Canucks, since we keep overpaying for things. If you look at some of our bloated contracts IMO they are the wrong timeframe considering some of the players we will have to pay to keep in the near future.

as we become a more attractive market for FA's we wont have to overpay nearly as much.

 

[Canuckle1970]

Excuse me, TSN, SNET, and various HF posters - why is all the focus is on how bad the Oilers were/are? I think the Canucks play had something to do with it (and that includes our previous game with them at home). Let's give the Canucks some credit for exposing, and taking advantage of, the Oilers' weaknesses.

We could have taken Winnipeg, too, but for a goal late in the game. We have a long way to go, for sure, but let's give our team credit when it's due.

 

[Paulinvancouver]

We have poor depth but shockingly Edmonton's is even worse. McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent Hopkins and a bunch of 4th liners and AHL types. Won't be long till Chiarelli is canned.

they've "tanked" too many times. Tanking doesn't guarantee you anything. though it does alienate your fans, piss off your players, and make it harder to sign fa's.

They didn't draft overly poorly. There's a couple guys in there I wouldn't personally have taken at the top of the draft, but largely they took close to bpa. Drafting super high just doesnt' always help.

 

[Paulinvancouver]

You're right they're overpaying him right now. But no, he doesn't suck. Just because their management chooses to throw money at him because they think he's the next Patrice Bergeron or something doesn't mean he's a bad player. Edmonton's lucky to have him.

And of course we'd all rather have Bo. He's a beast being underpaid on a stellar contract. Similar to a guy like Sean Monahan.

ok, found Draisaitl's mom.

Seriously, the guy can not drive an offense himself and isn't strong enough defensively to make up for it.

He needs McDavid to be effective, which makes him no different or better than any other Oiler player.

 

[valkynax]

Excuse me, TSN, SNET, and various HF posters - why is all the focus is on how bad the Oilers were/are? I think the Canucks play had something to do with it (and that includes our previous game with them at home). Let's give the Canucks some credit for exposing, and taking advantage of, the Oilers' weaknesses.

We could have taken Winnipeg, too, but for a goal late in the game. We have a long way to go, for sure, but let's give our team credit when it's due.

No one's taking anything away from the win, not even me, and I'm a tanker. Even when this game was not all that well-played objectively.

It is, however, very entertaining to see a team who had a boatload of first round top picks and leeched multiple generational talents still sucking balls. That team is the single team in the NHL that I had no sympathy for, and I suspect no one else would have the least bit of sympathy either.

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

Lucic played 12 minutes and a -2.
This guy does not fit the Oilers system.

Lucic was horrible, it’s like he’s skating in mud, at least Eriksson can somewhat skate and be defensively responsible. 2 of the worst contracts in the league but Lucic is worse.

 

[Paulinvancouver]

Excuse me, TSN, SNET, and various HF posters - why is all the focus is on how bad the Oilers were/are? I think the Canucks play had something to do with it (and that includes our previous game with them at home). Let's give the Canucks some credit for exposing, and taking advantage of, the Oilers' weaknesses.

We could have taken Winnipeg, too, but for a goal late in the game. We have a long way to go, for sure, but let's give our team credit when it's due.

Lets be clear, Canucks are showing pretty damn good this season, but tonight was not a strong game.

 

[orcatown]

Goaltending was the total issue in this game. We had it and for the most part Edmonton didn't. Always admired the way McDavid played through checks and played honest. But now, under Hitchcock, he is being made to feel sorry for himself and start to retaliate and go down easy. Really a pity b/c that's losers game. Begin to look for ways out and stop playing a team game. That said, McDavid is certainly a terrific player.

Good

Markstrom - right now one of the better goalies in the League. Shows that sometimes you have to wait years for these goalies to develop.

Tanev - another excellent game.

Motte - best player again in the difficult late going . Nice goal and maybe he does have an offensive upside. The nothing Vanek deal turns out to be a shrewd move.

Pettersson - game breaking ability. Don't go anywhere without it.

Roussel - best off season pick up to date. Work ethic in this game and throughout the season has helped make the team a lot more difficult to play against. Heart and soul player with some smarts. Upsetting that we had him and let him get away. Would have been great to have him during some past playoff runs.

Not So Good

Pouliot - even when he had time to move the puck he often ended up being too slow and got tied up in his own end. Some long stretch passes worked but many led to very poor turnovers. Is he really better than del Zotto??? Don't see how he can be worse since Pouliot simply can't play at this level.

Levio - can he play the pressure game Green wants??? Lot of indecision in his play and looked aimless at times. Little tempo in his play. Don't think Green likes him and I think we are starting to see why. Needs to make himself a factor in one way or another. Probably out of the line up if Baertschi returns.

Granlund - ineffective in this game. Pace of the game seemed too fast for him.

Others

Virtanen - had some good shifts in the third but tentative throughout much of the first two periods

Boeser - outside of his goal contributed little IMO.

Goldobin - made some subtle little plays that helped create offense. Still a work in progress in his two way game.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Real talk: Boeser’s solid season has largely been a product of playing with Pettersson and he is not a $7 million+ player.

They need to try to get him locked up for $6-6.5 million long term. Anything more is too much. He is an elite finisher with zero speed and is mediocre defensively.

 

[ErrantShepherd]

Real talk: Boeser’s solid season has largely been a product of playing with Pettersson and he is not a $7 million+ player.

They need to try to get him locked up for $6-6.5 million long term. Anything more is too much. He is an elite finisher with zero speed and is mediocre defensively.

I too would like a cheap Boeser deal... but how exactly does his production being largely thanks to Pettersson this year explain his numbers last year? He was obviously not getting set up by Pettersson then, and that's what his agent would argue.

I would be shocked if we got him around 6, especially with the Draisaitl and Nylander deals as comparables.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

I too would like a cheap Boeser deal... but how exactly does his production being largely thanks to Pettersson this year explain his numbers last year? He was obviously not getting set up by Pettersson then, and that's what his agent would argue.

I would be shocked if we got him around 6, especially with the Draisaitl and Nylander deals as comparables.

The back injury seems to have permanently affected his skating. He had some decent wheels last season but he’s been an absolute slug out there for most of the year. Hasn’t been driving the play anywhere nearly as much.

He hasn’t been the same player he was last season, numbers aside. But his numbers haven’t dipped because he’s playing with a budding superstar.

 

[nowhereman]

The back injury seems to have permanently affected his skating. He had some decent wheels last season but he’s been an absolute slug out there for most of the year. Hasn’t been driving the play anywhere nearly as much.

He hasn’t been the same player he was last season, numbers aside. But his numbers haven’t dipped because he’s playing with a budding superstar.

How can you even say that? It's been 27 games since his back injury and he's also been plagued by a groin injury much of this year. An off season of training and some focused rehabbing should really go a long way. I can speak from experience that spinal injury rehabs take time and, even when you're "healed", you still have a long way to go.

 

[Peter10]

they've "tanked" too many times. Tanking doesn't guarantee you anything. though it does alienate your fans, piss off your players, and make it harder to sign fa's.

They didn't draft overly poorly. There's a couple guys in there I wouldn't personally have taken at the top of the draft, but largely they took close to bpa. Drafting super high just doesnt' always help.

No, they just have terrible management for more than a decade. If you have a McDavid who gets support from other talented guys like Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins you will keep on winning quite a few games as long as your goaltending holds up and your team puts up a solid defensive effort. Whenever that is not the case you will likely loose and in the long run got nowhere except the odd playoff appearance once in a while. Canucks are facing the same fate as long as Benning/Weisbrod are at the helm.