wiz64
Registered User
I have been following this forum for multiple years only very rarely posting mostly becuase as a middle european citizen from Autria you do not get to watch a lot of Oilers games live and when I enter the forum most of what can be said is already in discussion. However, I enjoy following the heated discussions although I see that recently things have been going a bit downhill with very strong personal opinions crashing...
That said, I took the chance to watch the Oilers in Gothenburg as it meant only a four hour connection instead of probably a 20 hour connection I would need to come to Edmonton. Even though the result was not perfect it was an awesome experience, I guess that there were about 70% Oilers fans in the audience. Later on in the pub I met with some Swiss guys who are nearly life-long die-hard Oilers fans like I am. It shows what a special team this franchise represents when you think that like me, most of these people have not experienced the glorious 80s but just the hard-working 90s and the abysmal 2000s and still, with no connection to the city, we bleed oil. It was a treat to come in contact with so many loyal people and dwell in the old times of Doug Weight, CuJo, Todd Marchant, epic playoff battles with Dallas and Colorado and the 2006 Cup run. But I disgress...
Watching the game in person gives you a whole new perspective on what happens on the ice and here are some points I noticed, take them or leave them for what they are:
- First, I understand your problem with coaching and the playing system as a whole. New Jersey won the game because they were better organized and their whole game structure was well composed. One particular thing I noticed was, that when the Oilers lose the puck in the opposing zone, the forwards will try to pressure on the puck, and especially McDavid preys on these situations, but the defensemen retreat very fastly deep into their own zone and yield the neutral zone too easily. I think that with the mobility we have, the defenseman need to stay more up-ice and try to support the forecheck or at least limit the amount of open ice in the first phase of the opponents' attack.
- The defensemen are mostly not strong enough on the puck, I especially point at Klefbom and Benning with that. Larsson is a defensive beast, very assertive and when he was on the ice. I did not worry too much about getting scored on, however, his offensive play is extremely weak and his point shots do not pose a threat at all. Klefbom tried to shoot but his aim was completely off that night. I guess we will have to wait until Bouchard develops to get serious offensive support from the blue line.
- Once the Oilers gain the puck in their own zone, the breakout system is completely unstructured and often simply relies on shooting the puck along the boards for a tip-in into the offensive zone. You would think that with skilled forwards like Nugent-Hopkins, Pulju, Drai and of course McDavid they would be able to control the puck up-ice and have a structured offensive push.
- The second goal was an indication how the team could and should play with puck retrieval in the own zone and quick passes to the fast forwards and a monster shot from Draisaitl. I think a Lucic-McD-Drai line would light up the league, but I understand that this would essentially render the Oilers a one-line team with hardly any secondary scoring at all. Has a Nuge-Pulju combo ever be tried as a potential second line?
- It was a treat to watch McDavid play although I thought he had a more quiet night but still got out with two assists and was the only real driver of the Oilers offence in that game.
- The Oilers started the game with some jump and had some early hits by Larsson and Lucic which seemed to get them going, but the early goal by New Jersey somehow had the foreboding of same-old... At least they scored almost immediately after that on the powerplay, which seemed to get them going and after that the first period was an up and down with chances on both ends, I actually had a very good feeling going into the first break.
- This said, the powerplay is a mess and anybody with the slightest idea about hockey sees that this won't work this season again if the setup stays as it is.
- I have no idea, how things went downhll so fast in the second period. New Jersey raised the intesity and the Oilers simply were not ready to play. That second goal is fully on Talbot, that is a shot that needs to be saved by a semi-competent goalie. you could feel, how it sucked the life out of the team and killed every bit of momentum. On the other hand, Talbot made some key saves in difficult situations. I guess that he has issues with stability/focus and if he cannot get on top of this fast, we will have a major problem like last year.
- There was a situation in the second period, when Drai had the puck on a two on one in the offensive zone with a clear path to the goal but instead of shooting he was turning and obviously seeking for a trailer to pass to, which led to a turnover. It was a very weird move, and it was either an indication of a completely dysmal offensive scheme or a lack of confidence (?). All in all it seems that the Oilers do not shoot enough and do not crash the net efficiently, which again is on the coach.
- The third line did not show anything the whole night. For me it is obvious that Strome cannot drive a line, and neither can Pulju. He should be used to ride the right wing with a playmaker like Drai with the only mandate to shoot whenever possible. Him on the third line is a complete waste. Even worse, Yamamoto on the second line is obviously too small and too inexperienced to overcome this deficit right now. We desperately need to change the second line RW because Yamamoto needs more time to mature and gain experience.
- The fourth line actually was a more pleasant surprise, the few shifts I noticed them the had some success in sustaining pressure in the offensive zone and wearing the opponent down. I think you cannot ask for much more.
- In the third period they somehow found back into the game and when everybody was at least having some hope again, they shot themselves in the foot with atrocious defensive play. Also in this situation I had the impression that the backcheck was not aggressive enough, letting the situation just play out or hoping that Talbot would be able to control the puck. Also this lack of focus seems very weird and should be a point of concern adressed by a coach.
In conclusion, all four goals by New Jersey can be blamed on personal breakdowns and lack of focus, things that can and must be adressed and should improve when the team hits its stride with more games. However, especially offensive situations suffer from a clear lack of structure in the system, something which is solely on the coach. I guess I now understand a lot of what I read here every day. Still, it was one game of the season and some things will improve. However, I am not convinced that the team in its current composition can succeed with this coaching.
Finally, I want to thank the NHL and the Oilers organization for making this happen. I understand that a lot of you are concerned about the schedule and the disadvantages of going to Europe. For me it has only deepened my bitter-sweet addiciton to the Oilers and this for sure was not my last game.
DON'T READ ON HERE IF YOU BELIEVE IN JINXES:
I have been to season premieres in Europe two times in 2011 and 2012 and both times the eventual Stanley Cup champion lost this game. So if we win the cup this year, you can eventually thank me
That said, I took the chance to watch the Oilers in Gothenburg as it meant only a four hour connection instead of probably a 20 hour connection I would need to come to Edmonton. Even though the result was not perfect it was an awesome experience, I guess that there were about 70% Oilers fans in the audience. Later on in the pub I met with some Swiss guys who are nearly life-long die-hard Oilers fans like I am. It shows what a special team this franchise represents when you think that like me, most of these people have not experienced the glorious 80s but just the hard-working 90s and the abysmal 2000s and still, with no connection to the city, we bleed oil. It was a treat to come in contact with so many loyal people and dwell in the old times of Doug Weight, CuJo, Todd Marchant, epic playoff battles with Dallas and Colorado and the 2006 Cup run. But I disgress...
Watching the game in person gives you a whole new perspective on what happens on the ice and here are some points I noticed, take them or leave them for what they are:
- First, I understand your problem with coaching and the playing system as a whole. New Jersey won the game because they were better organized and their whole game structure was well composed. One particular thing I noticed was, that when the Oilers lose the puck in the opposing zone, the forwards will try to pressure on the puck, and especially McDavid preys on these situations, but the defensemen retreat very fastly deep into their own zone and yield the neutral zone too easily. I think that with the mobility we have, the defenseman need to stay more up-ice and try to support the forecheck or at least limit the amount of open ice in the first phase of the opponents' attack.
- The defensemen are mostly not strong enough on the puck, I especially point at Klefbom and Benning with that. Larsson is a defensive beast, very assertive and when he was on the ice. I did not worry too much about getting scored on, however, his offensive play is extremely weak and his point shots do not pose a threat at all. Klefbom tried to shoot but his aim was completely off that night. I guess we will have to wait until Bouchard develops to get serious offensive support from the blue line.
- Once the Oilers gain the puck in their own zone, the breakout system is completely unstructured and often simply relies on shooting the puck along the boards for a tip-in into the offensive zone. You would think that with skilled forwards like Nugent-Hopkins, Pulju, Drai and of course McDavid they would be able to control the puck up-ice and have a structured offensive push.
- The second goal was an indication how the team could and should play with puck retrieval in the own zone and quick passes to the fast forwards and a monster shot from Draisaitl. I think a Lucic-McD-Drai line would light up the league, but I understand that this would essentially render the Oilers a one-line team with hardly any secondary scoring at all. Has a Nuge-Pulju combo ever be tried as a potential second line?
- It was a treat to watch McDavid play although I thought he had a more quiet night but still got out with two assists and was the only real driver of the Oilers offence in that game.
- The Oilers started the game with some jump and had some early hits by Larsson and Lucic which seemed to get them going, but the early goal by New Jersey somehow had the foreboding of same-old... At least they scored almost immediately after that on the powerplay, which seemed to get them going and after that the first period was an up and down with chances on both ends, I actually had a very good feeling going into the first break.
- This said, the powerplay is a mess and anybody with the slightest idea about hockey sees that this won't work this season again if the setup stays as it is.
- I have no idea, how things went downhll so fast in the second period. New Jersey raised the intesity and the Oilers simply were not ready to play. That second goal is fully on Talbot, that is a shot that needs to be saved by a semi-competent goalie. you could feel, how it sucked the life out of the team and killed every bit of momentum. On the other hand, Talbot made some key saves in difficult situations. I guess that he has issues with stability/focus and if he cannot get on top of this fast, we will have a major problem like last year.
- There was a situation in the second period, when Drai had the puck on a two on one in the offensive zone with a clear path to the goal but instead of shooting he was turning and obviously seeking for a trailer to pass to, which led to a turnover. It was a very weird move, and it was either an indication of a completely dysmal offensive scheme or a lack of confidence (?). All in all it seems that the Oilers do not shoot enough and do not crash the net efficiently, which again is on the coach.
- The third line did not show anything the whole night. For me it is obvious that Strome cannot drive a line, and neither can Pulju. He should be used to ride the right wing with a playmaker like Drai with the only mandate to shoot whenever possible. Him on the third line is a complete waste. Even worse, Yamamoto on the second line is obviously too small and too inexperienced to overcome this deficit right now. We desperately need to change the second line RW because Yamamoto needs more time to mature and gain experience.
- The fourth line actually was a more pleasant surprise, the few shifts I noticed them the had some success in sustaining pressure in the offensive zone and wearing the opponent down. I think you cannot ask for much more.
- In the third period they somehow found back into the game and when everybody was at least having some hope again, they shot themselves in the foot with atrocious defensive play. Also in this situation I had the impression that the backcheck was not aggressive enough, letting the situation just play out or hoping that Talbot would be able to control the puck. Also this lack of focus seems very weird and should be a point of concern adressed by a coach.
In conclusion, all four goals by New Jersey can be blamed on personal breakdowns and lack of focus, things that can and must be adressed and should improve when the team hits its stride with more games. However, especially offensive situations suffer from a clear lack of structure in the system, something which is solely on the coach. I guess I now understand a lot of what I read here every day. Still, it was one game of the season and some things will improve. However, I am not convinced that the team in its current composition can succeed with this coaching.
Finally, I want to thank the NHL and the Oilers organization for making this happen. I understand that a lot of you are concerned about the schedule and the disadvantages of going to Europe. For me it has only deepened my bitter-sweet addiciton to the Oilers and this for sure was not my last game.
DON'T READ ON HERE IF YOU BELIEVE IN JINXES:
I have been to season premieres in Europe two times in 2011 and 2012 and both times the eventual Stanley Cup champion lost this game. So if we win the cup this year, you can eventually thank me