Post-Game Talk: Nice way to kickstart your Oilers withdrawal - Berlin Wall gets some ice time!

[AM]

I think his pre-season comments about how he learned that he could produce by doing less in the Calgary series has hurt him. THE #1 thing that separates "good Leon" and "bad Leon" is when he is moving his feet and driving north-south with power. He just hasn't done that at all this year.

His M.O. this year has been to slow the game down whenever he can which leads to the signature 10 bell turnovers. On zone entry - stop up at the hash marks and either rip a cross zone pass or flip it back to the point; receiving the puck in the zone - stop it on the wall, try and hold off several defenders, lose the puck (often in a terrible place). Almost every time. This basically mitigates his physical assets, because when he drives to the middle of the ice and the with authority he is unstoppable, but it just hasn't been there at all this year. He needs to take back control of the flow of play rather than try and find his wingers with hero passes that they aren't likely to convert on.

TB game he stepped it up.

 

[Duke74]

I think his pre-season comments about how he learned that he could produce by doing less in the Calgary series has hurt him. THE #1 thing that separates "good Leon" and "bad Leon" is when he is moving his feet and driving north-south with power. He just hasn't done that at all this year.

His M.O. this year has been to slow the game down whenever he can which leads to the signature 10 bell turnovers. On zone entry - stop up at the hash marks and either rip a cross zone pass or flip it back to the point; receiving the puck in the zone - stop it on the wall, try and hold off several defenders, lose the puck (often in a terrible place). Almost every time. This basically mitigates his physical assets, because when he drives to the middle of the ice and the with authority he is unstoppable, but it just hasn't been there at all this year. He needs to take back control of the flow of play rather than try and find his wingers with hero passes that they aren't likely to convert on.

These comments are bang-on.

It kind of concerned me when, in the preseason, he mentioned that the playoffs taught him to produce points with less effort. The only way that works is if he's piggy-backing points off of McDavid or other players. I'd like to see him driving his feet and taking over games that way that he can but doesn't do nearly enough, especially this year. I'm not sure if he's still injured or if this revelation has gone to his head.

You've touched on one thing that has always driven me crazy about Draisaitl: crossing the blue line, stopping, and looking for a trailer to pass the puck. He's got the size to drive to the net and shoot it. Why he rarely does this, even less so this year, is confusing. This pattern of his becomes predictable and he ends up giving away the puck.

He mentioned that he realizes he's not playing his best hockey this year and that it's "mental." I wonder if he's referring to his revelation of if something else is going on. Maybe he's gotten complacent for some reason. Not that I put any stock into all-star skills competitions, but he seemed to approach that with the same nonchalant effort that he puts into games. Hopefully he can figure out these mental issues and overcome them because we need him driving his own line successfully down the stretch in order to maximize our chances of playoff success.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

That was nice of Old Man Bouchard to take his grandkids for a holiday and out golfing.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

These comments are bang-on.

It kind of concerned me when, in the preseason, he mentioned that the playoffs taught him to produce points with less effort. The only way that works is if he's piggy-backing points off of McDavid or other players. I'd like to see him driving his feet and taking over games that way that he can but doesn't do nearly enough, especially this year. I'm not sure if he's still injured or if this revelation has gone to his head.

You've touched on one thing that has always driven me crazy about Draisaitl: crossing the blue line, stopping, and looking for a trailer to pass the puck. He's got the size to drive to the net and shoot it. Why he rarely does this, even less so this year, is confusing. This pattern of his becomes predictable and he ends up giving away the puck.

He mentioned that he realizes he's not playing his best hockey this year and that it's "mental." I wonder if he's referring to his revelation of if something else is going on. Maybe he's gotten complacent for some reason. Not that I put any stock into all-star skills competitions, but he seemed to approach that with the same nonchalant effort that he puts into games. Hopefully he can figure out these mental issues and overcome them because we need him driving his own line successfully down the stretch in order to maximize our chances of playoff success.

I think this is the result of a summer of rehab and without training. Running the high ankle sprain into the ground during the playoffs likely cost him his explosiveness for this season.

A bit like McDavid who wasn't quite his usual explosive self the season after Giordano took out his knee in game 82.