Post-Game Talk: Panthers 4, Oilers 1

[Soundwave]

It's too bad Paul Fenton is with the Wild now, he would've been a good hire for GM. I don't see Yzerman coming here, if he was burnt out in Tampa it'll be worse here. Also not sure about Hunter's ability to GM but given his input into the Leafs rebuild and history with London he values fast, skilled players highly which suits the direction the game has gone.

There's plenty of hockey people that are better than Chiarelli though. Mark Hunter and several others are just dying to get a shot for example.

Even Kevin Lowe, I feel 90% that if he were given the team in 2015 even he would have a better team today than what Chiarelli has built. That's not to say I want Lowe here, but rather to point out how low of a bar it is to clear what Chiarelli has done.

4 years in and his best forward addition to the group today is PTO try out player Alex Chiasson. Like seriously tell me Kevin Lowe couldn't have done better than that.

We don't need Yzerman to get a large upgrade.

 

[ToeMcDrag83]

**** it let's load up the first line for a full game and hope the bottom 9 can squeeze out some games not getting scored on too much.

RNH-McDavid-Drai
Lucic-Strome-Caggiula
Rieder-Khaira-Rattie
Chiasson-Brodziak-Kassian

Send Pulju and Yam to the AHL.

 

[nabob]

It doesn't. Because I've completely dissected the play for you. I've been very consistent with my opinion that Puljujarvi has struggled this season to find chemistry in this lineup. I have no axe to grind with him. What I did do though is provide you an example of why he's having consistent trouble finding chemistry. He makes dumb plays.

I can't for the life of me see how you can fault McDavid on that play. The guy is legitimately surprised when the puck hits the ice.

McDavid has his controller unplugged from the time the puck was flipped out of the Oilers zone. If anyone was at fault on that goal it was him.

 

[Oilers in NS]

I might be cheering for that one instead.

jk aside I've wanted expansion into Atlantic Canada for a long time. I wish there could be Halfax and Moncton area teams but that isn't too realistic. Albeit might become moreso as the league continues to be based on declining gate, smaller stadiums and TV contract funding.

The path of the smaller pro sports leagues is emphasizing TV and add revenues over gate dependence. To that end teams in Moncton, Saskatoon, even Kelowna, make sense. More teams means more games and more broadcast revenue. Also more markets watching and tuned into the games.

In anycase welcome to the league. It used to be better...

I’m not saying it will happen but people are meeting. As u say, small markets

 

[belair]

McDavid has his controller unplugged from the time the puck was flipped out of the Oilers zone. If anyone was at fault on that goal it was him.

Not sure where you learned to play hockey, man. McDavid is the last guy back. There are only three Panthers on that rush. RNH committed to #97's man. If anyone played their man wrong, it was him. But then again, their rush shouldn't have even happened.

 

[Cypress]

This year alone I've seen a handful of other Oiler players (Rieder, Caggiula, Bouchard, Nurse, Larsson) as well as players on other teams make that same aerial flip into the neutral zone/defensive zone to clear the puck and not take an icing. I don't understand why you're laying that at Pulju's feet, the play itself is not bad, it cleared the puck and allowed an opportunity for the Oilers to retrieve it in the neutral zone.

The issue was the defending afterwards. RNH coasts, is fixated on the puck carrier and doesn't identify the third man (Dadonov) who scores. McDavid meanwhile is in perfect position to back check and take Dadonov but coasts all the way back despite having plenty of time to get back and cover Dadonov.

Quite honestly I thought McDavid was making bad decisions with and without the puck all game. Lots of trying to force passes (he wasn't the only one) and cheating up ice for offense. All around just a sloppy lethargic performance. It looked like they were playing their third road game in four nights. I think moving RNH off of McDavid'a line was an overall net negative in terms of the impact it had on the team, but to be fair they weren't really on before they were split up either.

The reason why some, myself included, fault Puljujarvi on that play, is that the correct move over flipping the puck out of the zone there was the short pass to Nuge who promptly would move it back to one of the two defensemen, who had wide open lanes to skate the puck up the opposite side of the ice. That is the play everyone else was probably expecting and consistent with the way the Oilers have been breaking out of their zone this season. After JP didn't do what he was supposed to there chaos ensued.

Not saying no one else shoulders any of the blame, but if JP made the correct play it would be a moot point.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

There's plenty of hockey people that are better than Chiarelli though. Mark Hunter and several others are just dying to get a shot for example.

Even Kevin Lowe, I feel 90% that if he were given the team in 2015 even he would have a better team today than what Chiarelli has built. That's not to say I want Lowe here, but rather to point out how low of a bar it is to clear what Chiarelli has done.

4 years in and his best forward addition to the group today is PTO try out player Alex Chiasson. Like seriously tell me Kevin Lowe couldn't have done better than that.

We don't need Yzerman to get a large upgrade.

Hell, the consensus of posters on these boards would have done a better job.
Literally. If you put up polls at the time of his trades that sunk us, we'd have veto'd all of them and drafted Barzal.

 

[GodPucker]

Dumb play by Puljujarvi then. No way Nuge could have seen that coming. He’s impossible to play with.

he sure makes a lot of them, no question.

 

[Soundwave]

Hell, the consensus of posters on these boards would have done a better job.
Literally. If you put up polls at the time of his trades that sunk us, we'd have veto'd all of them and drafted Barzal.

No doubt, if it was up to this board, the Hall trade would've been vetoed, so would the Eberle trade, so would the Reinhart trade. And yes as I do recall the majority of posters here seemed to want Barzal at that 16 spot.

 

[Hippasus]

They weren't breaking out of the zone effectively and not with speed, they weren't retrieving pucks, and they weren't forechecking hard. Their offense is suffering at the moment.

 

[Hippasus]

delete

 

[MessierII]

No doubt, if it was up to this board, the Hall trade would've been vetoed, so would the Eberle trade, so would the Reinhart trade. And yes as I do recall the majority of posters here seemed to want Barzal at that 16 spot.

Personally I still wouldn’t take Barzal at 16 even with hindsight. He’s a playmaking centre just something we were never going to need with Nuge, Drai and McD on the team already. Only 24 goals in his last 98 games. Kyle Connor was my pick i’d still today take him or Brock Boesser in that spot in a do over. Sniping wingers are exactly what we need more of.

 

[nabob]

Not sure where you learned to play hockey, man. McDavid is the last guy back. There are only three Panthers on that rush. RNH committed to #97's man. If anyone played their man wrong, it was him. But then again, their rush shouldn't have even happened.

You’re right it shouldn’t have if McDavid and Nuge played any hockey on the play at all.

 

[Hippasus]

Personally I still wouldn’t take Barzal at 16 even with hindsight. He’s a playmaking centre just never something we were never going to need with Nuge, Drai and McD on the team already. Only 24 goals in his last 98 games. Kyle Connor was my pick i’d still today take him or Brock Boesser in that spot in a do over. Sniping wingers are exactly what we need more of.

It's possible Chiarelli could have moved RNH or even Draisaitl in that scenario for a puck-moving defenseman with a shot from the point, or a scoring winger.