Oilers win 3-2 (OT) in Boston

[blupye*]

I think we are seeing the effects of a good and experienced coaching and management staff.

Things are starting to come together even with a depleted lineup. There are going to be bumps on the road but we are beating some good teams and stringing wins together, very good signs.

Imagine another year of Mclellan and a couple moves by Chia in the off season and we are going to be a force.


As an Oilers fan I've had to quietly sit here and bite my tongue and endure the torture of a cheering for a horrible teams while everyone takes every opportunity to take shots and make jokes (not that a lot of it hasn't been deserved). The wait is almost over and I for one will make sure that every single person knows it when the Oilers arrive.

U got er pal. I have had to take much abuse the last 10 years. I am getting ready to dish it back out. Gonna feel good. Look out Habs and Leaf fans

 

[Jephman]

I'm not sure how it became an article of faith among some that the only possible way to adequately address the blueline is by trading a top six forward, and yet here we are. I suspect for some it's less about this being a logical course of action and more about a psychological need to break with the past.

I disagree with this notion and I side with IATL's stance on the matter. We can't have our cake and eat it too. If we want better defense, we need to sacrifice some offense. Thankfully, we are in a position where it seems our offense will still be great even if we lose an Eberle-type player. And furthermore, once Draisaitl and McDavid command nice pay raises, it's just not going to be feasible keeping all of our star forwards around. It will decimate our bottom 6 and defense in the sense that we can't keep players due to our limited cap space. We need to really be careful that we aren't allocating too many resources to offense or any other position. That is why I think trading a valuable forward to get a valuable defenseman is a very good and almost necessary decision going forward.

 

[harpoon]

Still slamming Eberle and defending Yak here, its kinda hilarious.

Im going to hate to see these boards when Yak is on the 3rd line and Eberle is playing with McDavid.

Yup. We are never going to hear the end of it.

 

[harpoon]

Same reason why people think Eberle is a god now because he scored a few goals despite being a complete liability without the puck.

A few goals? Good one man. Complete liability? You're on a roll with the comdey today.
Why don't you go back and see how many Oiler goals have been scored or assisted by Eberle since he broke into the league.

 

[I am the Liquor]

Yakupov can hit all he wants.

He still has the hockey sense of a bantam player.

When given time with decent players he has performed well. Very well. Lets not judge him from the Eakins era disaster. He should be afforded the same opportunity as the other golden boys. Then evaluate.

 

[I am the Liquor]

I'm not sure how it became an article of faith among some that the only possible way to adequately address the blueline is by trading a top six forward, and yet here we are. I suspect for some it's less about this being a logical course of action and more about a psychological need to break with the past.

If a deal that makes sense toward filling the need on the back end is there you do it. Im not saying trade them for nothing. If a deal around Eberle and Hamonic can be made you do it and dont look back. Doing nothing is the last and least attractive option.

 

[Senor Catface]

When given time with decent players he has performed well. Very well. Lets not judge him from the Eakins era disaster. He should be afforded the same opportunity as the other golden boys. Then evaluate.

I'm all about patience, so I'm willing to wait with Yakupov, but I've yet to see a sustained level of hockey sense from Yakupov, and that's an issue for me going forward. But I don't want to see him gone. Seems like a great kid.

 

[Halibut]

If a deal that makes sense toward filling the need on the back end is there you do it. Im not saying trade them for nothing. If a deal around Eberle and Hamonic can be made you do it and dont look back. Doing nothing is the last and least attractive option.

That deal isnt out there though if it was it would have already happened. It came out right away that the Islanders want a young d-man back and we'd have to send Klefbom or Nurse.

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

While we're talking about negative stuff, I thought Khaira was particularly bad at pure hockey stuff.

In terms of hockey play, he's the opposite of Hall - the ice becomes downhill towards the Oiler net. I fully appreciate the grit and toughness that he brings and I understand that we desperately need that in our top 6, but he's hurting us when he's in the top 6. If we had someone that played exactly like Khaira but was a bit better on both sides of the puck, that would be ideal. We definitely need guys to go after the Charas of the league, but it's tough to reconcile the poor hockey play.

 

[Suxnet]

A few goals? Good one man. Complete liability? You're on a roll with the comdey today.
Why don't you go back and see how many Oiler goals have been scored or assisted by Eberle since he broke into the league.

So he scored a lot when the Oilers were bad and not committed to winning. Cool story.

He's been scoring more recently in the past few games this season, and that's good to see, but he should be scoring because if he isn't doing that, he's not doing much of anything. At worst, he is a liability with his soft defensive play.

Time to join the present bud. We're in a playoff spot because most guys are playing hard at both ends of the ice. They're figuring out winning requires more than just scoring points. Eberle's lackadaisical play without the puck is enough for the Oilers of the past, but not the present. Hall gets that. His buddy Ebs obviously doesn't.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

While we're talking about negative stuff, I thought Khaira was particularly bad at pure hockey stuff.

In terms of hockey play, he's the opposite of Hall - the ice becomes downhill towards the Oiler net. I fully appreciate the grit and toughness that he brings and I understand that we desperately need that in our top 6, but he's hurting us when he's in the top 6. If we had someone that played exactly like Khaira but was a bit better on both sides of the puck, that would be ideal. We definitely need guys to go after the Charas of the league, but it's tough to reconcile the poor hockey play.

We really don't have a guy that can push the pace in the bottom six. Like, at all.

That said, when we get Pouliot/McDavid/Yak back, the Korpikoski/Letestu/Hendricks line will get pushed down.

 

[tiger_80]

If a deal that makes sense toward filling the need on the back end is there you do it. Im not saying trade them for nothing. If a deal around Eberle and Hamonic can be made you do it and dont look back. Doing nothing is the last and least attractive option.

I think between Yakupov and Eberle, you move Eberle,, then RNH. Eberle has more trade value, is older and is more expensive. Yakupov will continue to improve, I think, especially if he plays with MacDavid. RNH is a center and you can't have too many of those. But he's getting surpassed by Draisaitl and MacDavid. So keep him, but if the right deal comes along--say a player like MacDonaugh or Weber becomes available, you move him and look to add a good 3rd line center in free agency.