Weird because i thought this was the Oilers worst game of the season by a decent margin and there have been some doozies. I know that the Kings are an excellent team but the Oilers were handing it to them on a silver platter in the second half of the game, turning the puck over like mad, afraid to take a hit and not having one decent cycle shift until the end of the 3rd with Perron and Gordon. I know that it was the second half of a back to back and that L.A. is a horrible matchup for them but that performance was putrid all around outside of Bachman of course.
To put things in perspective, i watched the Flames play this L.A. team and it was night and day compared to the Oilers. Much more competitive, they traded chances more frequently and looked the part of a decent NHL team.
I'm absolutely floored that so many here thought that was a fine team performance. Low standards i guess.
Calgary right now has a lot of people playing desperate and for their jobs. I've given the Flames credit, and for that game. But lets look at it. Flames like to try to play a more rugged game than us, have more vets than us that do, and their lineup is composed to play that style of game. So they hung around. But Flames had everythng going right for them in that game. 3PP goals in 3 chances. C'mon, how many times is that going to happen to Calgary?
First goal LA does everything they want, hammer the puck carrier that gained the zone, but puck miraculously bounces right to an open flame and a quick pass across the ice for a one timer goal perfectly placed. Unless you think Cammeleri is god they can try to execute that play 10 times and maybe make it once.
Next goal again on PP, a miraculous pinball from a poor angle shot rebounds perfectly on to Monahans stick and puts it in a wide open net. I look at these goals as random happenchance.
Final goal a seeing eyeshot through screen by Brodie who's scored 4 other goals in his NHL career. This is half his NHL goal quotient per year. enjoy.
Flames right now are riding improbability drive overtime. Everything going right for them. Not to diminish hard work but they're a lunchbucket club that be lucky to finish .500. I suspect below that.