Post-Game Talk: McOilers 6 Lightning 2

[nabob]

I think Chia was expecting Pulju to be good enough to stay in the lineup and maybe hit 20-25goals this season. Replacing essentially most of the Eberle type production.

Now I realize that Pulju hasn't been in the lineup the whole year but that's part of the problem with him disappointingly not making the team out of camp. Yamamoto was flat out better than Pulju in every way and earned the brief stint.

So that we have 9 goals out of Pulju presently and maybe we get to 15.

Slepy was gifted a spot out of camp even though he was injured for all of camp and has stunk most of the year. Drake was brutal in camp and gifted a spot as well. He played well enough to make the team. To say others who made the team played better in camp is simply not true.

Puljujarvi is producing at a 20-25 goal pace with almost zero PP time. The fact that he most likely won't hit the 20 goal mark is mostly on coaching. But he could hit 16 in 80 games being force fed only top 6 minutes and a bunch of PP time like Eberle did last year.

 

[fuswald]

The way they've handled, or actually haven't handled Puljujarvi on PP and OT has sometimes made me feel there's got to be something behind this. If it's not a Chia's order maybe TM is using Jesse as a way to protest something. E.g. the lack of wingers or some orders Chia is giving him. Another option could be that they are pressurizing Jesse to sign an extension, but I suppose they're not allowed to talk about that yet? May be far fetched, but I guess anything's possibile.

Or maybe they don't think he is right for the spot yet.

 

[nabob]

McLellan and Woodcroft say yes, you do, especially on the PP where the brilliant English work was on display for the first 50 games of the season by Letestu and Lucic on the 1st unit. You can buy Letestu's best selling novel on amazon that he wrote while executing his brilliant PP zone entries that usually ended with him throwing the puck away just as he crossed the offensive blueline.

It's an even bigger necessity for 3 on 3 overtime play. You might think that speed, transitional play, a great shot and defensive awareness would be the most important skills...nope! it's actually speaking English that matters the most.

 

[nabob]

Or maybe they don't think he is right for the spot yet.

That's a classic case of doing it wrong for a long time and then taking all the credit when it eventually works strategy.

 

[fuswald]

That's a classic case of doing it wrong for a long time and then taking all the credit when it eventually works strategy.

A classic case of ineptitude. The broken clock is right twice a day.

Woodcroft is never right it appears. He is the clock that is in another time zone all the time. An hour late and a dollar short (half an hour in Newfoundland)

 

[rboomercat90]

Draisaitl - concussion
Klefbom - Shoulder
Larsson - Back
Talbot - LBI
Nuge - Sternum
Sekera - Knee

That's a pretty decent list of important players either being out for a decent amount of time or being rendered almost totally ineffective because they were attempting to play through injury.

That's our top 3 Dmen, 2 of our top 3 forwards, and our starting goalie.

Yeah, I don’t understand the people saying injuries haven’t been a factor this year.

 

[nabob]

Yeah, I don’t understand the people saying injuries haven’t been a factor this year.

It's tough to blame the GM for those kind of injuries.