Post-Game Talk: PGT Flames 5 Oilers 2

[guymez]

Out shot.
Out chanced.
Out goaled.
Out classed.

Positives:
Puljujarvi had one of his best games this season. Just needs to be smarter with the puck.
Koskinen had an excellent game.

Negatives:
Apparently Draisaitls brain is MIA....please return if found.
Tough break for Jones but hey that will happen when you play a rookie over his head game after game.

The Oilers are a .500 team and they play up to their potential.
No one should be surprised by that...no one.

Click to read more...

 

[guymez]

So what now? I have no answers.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Can we trade hockey franchises (including the owners) with Portland?

 

[MessierII]

I don’t know why everyone’s panicking. Win the next two before the break we’re still in a great spot.

Celeb Jones needs to go back to Bakersfield. Some good play but way too many goal costing mistakes.

 

[Oilhawks]

Katz is a jock sniffing loser. That is all.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Cut off Klefbom's finger and get him the hell back into the line-up!

 

[guymez]

I don’t know why everyone’s panicking. Win the next two before the break we’re still in a great spot.

Celeb Jones needs to go back to Bakersfield. Some good play but way too many goal costing mistakes.

The real problem isnt necessarily the playoff picture. The playoffs would be nice but the real problem is the long term outlook for this team.
So many issues that aren't going away anytime soon....they just seem to rotate from season to season.
Little to no traction...little to no tradeable assets left....no cavalry coming this season or next.

Its the same old story with this team and its the same philosophy that Chia uses to guide his GM'ing strategy...'hope for the best' and see how it works out.
I dont know about you but after years of watching this 'hope for the best' strategy even being a little positive is becoming exceedingly difficult.
Enough is enough. Something has to change.

 

[guymez]

I don’t know why everyone’s panicking. Win the next two before the break we’re still in a great spot.

Celeb Jones needs to go back to Bakersfield. Some good play but way too many goal costing mistakes.

No he doesnt.
Jones is an NHL player for sure...he just needs to be utilized properly.

 

[MessierII]

The real problem isnt necessarily the playoff picture. The playoffs would be nice but the real problem is the long term outlook for this team.
So many issues that aren't going away anytime soon....they just seem to rotate from season to season.
Little to no traction...little to no tradeable assets left....no cavalry coming this season or next.

Its the same old story with this team and its the same philosophy that Chia uses to guide his GM'ing strategy...'hope for the best' and see how it works out.
I dont know about you but after years of watching this 'hope for the best' strategy even being a little positive is becoming exceedingly difficult.
Enough is enough. Something has to change.

I don’t really agree that the outlook is so bleak. Yeah a bunch of guys are struggling hard but they aren’t core players and with the exception of Lucic are easy enough to flush and replace. Our prospect pool is probably the best it’s been in my lifetime. It’s really not that bad.

 

[MessierII]

No he doesnt.
Jones is an NHL player for sure...he just needs to be utilized properly.

Too many rookie mistakes. Work that stuff out in Bakersfield not here where it costs us games.

 

[guymez]

I don’t really agree that the outlook is so bleak. Yeah a bunch of guys are struggling hard but they aren’t core players and with the exception of Lucic are easy enough to flush and replace. Our prospect pool is probably the best it’s been in my lifetime. It’s really not that bad.

Take a look at the top 6 on this team. Outside of 97, 29 and 93 who are the legit top 6 players? Maybe Chiasson but he is an inconsistent player who is a risky bet on a long term deal.
The Oilers have a ton of wannabee top 6 players eating a lot of the cap though. They need cheap options....so with that in mind who are the top 6 NHL players in waiting? I see a lot of 3rd and 4th liners on the farm but no top 6 players.

 

[guymez]

Too many rookie mistakes. Work that stuff out in Bakersfield not here where it costs us games.

Maybe you haven't been watching lately but Jones was more than fine before he was pushed on to the top pairing.
That's the problem.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

No he doesnt.
Jones is an NHL player for sure...he just needs to be utilized properly.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with being patient with this player.

Unless you're Oilers management I guess and the shiny new toy saves your job for another day or two.

 

[MessierII]

Take a look at the top 6 on this team. Outside of 97, 29 and 93 who are the legit top 6 players? Maybe Chiasson byt he is an inconsistent player who is a risky bet on a long term deal.
The Oilers have a ton of wanabeee top 6 players eating a lot of the cap though. They need cheap options....so with that in mind who are the top 6 NHL players in waiting? I see a lot of 3rd and 4th liners on the farm but no top 6 players.

Good 3rd and 4th line players is what we need right now. We’re never going to have a loaded top 6. Nuge, Drai, McD are 27 million of our cap. They are paid to carry the top 6 and are doing fine with it. Our biggest issue is guys like Lucic, Pukijarvi, Reider, Spooner, Kassian, Brodziak, Rattie, Yamamoto even Khaira to an extent just have been severely underperforming offensively. We need depth scoring. Our primary scoring is fine.

 

[guymez]

Good 3rd and 4th line players is what we need right now. We’re never going to have a loaded top 6. Nuge, Drai, McD are 27 million of our cap. They are paid to carry the top 6 and are doing fine with it. Our biggest issue is guys like Lucic, Pukijarvi, Reider, Spooner, Kassian, Brodziak, Rattie, Yamamoto even Khaira to an extent just have been severely underperforming offensively. We need depth scoring. Our primary scoring is fine.

We arent talking about a loaded top 6...we are talking about a legit top 6. A top 6 that is reliable and that can be counted on for some secondary scoring.

You cant honestly be suggesting that the current group is anything close to being an NHL worthy top 6 on the wing.

I also dont think that Puljujarvi, Kassian, Yamamoto, Khaira and Brodziak are part of the problem. They only become part of the problem because they are being asked to play above their pay grade because the top 6 is so damn thin.
These players are just fine if they are used on the 3rd and 4th line where they belong. The only exception to that IMO is Yamamoto...he should be in the AHL but he is being rushed to try and see if he can prop up the lack of secondary scoring created by a thin top 6.

Its the same with Jones....as a bottom pairing dman he is excellent. As a top 4 dman he isnt. That doesnt mean he isnt good enough to be an NHL player....it means he is being used inappropriately and is struggling as a result.
The reason for this problem and the problem with the forwards is a lack of high quality depth.

Just take a look at the team the Oilers played tonight...solid depth top to bottom.

 

[MessierII]

We arent talking about a loaded top 6...we are talking about a legit top 6. A top 6 that is reliable and that can be counted on for some secondary scoring.

You cant honestly be suggesting that the current group is anything close to being an NHL worthy top 6 on the wing.

I also dont think that Puljujarvi, Kassian, Yamamoto, Khaira and Brodziak are part of the problem. They only become part of the problem because they are being asked to play above their pay grade because the top 6 is so damn thin.
These players are just fine if they are used on the 3rd and 4th line where they belong. The only exception to that IMO is Yamamoto...he should be in the AHL but he is being rushed to try and see if he can prop up the lack of secondary scoring created by a thin top 6.

Its the same with Jones....as a bottom pairing dman he is excellent. As a top 4 dman he isnt. That doesnt mean he isnt good enough to be an NHL player....it means he is being used inappropriately and is struggling as a result.
The reason for this problem and the problem with the forwards is a lack of high quality depth.

Just take a look at the team the Oilers played tonight...solid depth top to bottom.

Our top 6 scoring isn’t the problem. I don’t get how you can argue this. Mcd, Nuge, Drai, Chiasson are playing great. The problem is our next highest scoring forward is on pace for 20 some points. It would be nice to have another top 6 winger I don’t disagree but the black hole that is the forwards beyond those 4 guys is the much bigger issue. In our top 6 we have two players on pace for over 100 points another guy just under point per game and another guy on pace for 30 goals. Those 4 guys form a good top 6.

 

[Soundwave]

Our top 6 scoring isn’t the problem. I don’t get how you can argue this. Mcd, Nuge, Drai, Chiasson are playing great. The problem is our next highest scoring forward is on pace for 20 some points. It would be nice to have another top 6 winger I don’t disagree but the black hole that is the forwards beyond those 4 guys is the much bigger issue. In our top 6 we have two players on pace for over 100 points another guy just under point per game and another guy on pace for 30 goals. Those 4 guys form a good top 6.

3 good players still leaves you with one good line in most cases.

This team hasn't had two good scoring lines in probably 20+ years.

That bottom six is what it is. There's not a lot of skill there and they go dry for long stretches.

 

[ElysiumAB]

Koskinen was outstanding at times, 3 highlight reel saves (and not because he was out of position.

Nuge, Lucic, Kassian, Puju all with good games I thought. McDavid is McDavid.

Strange I thought some guys had close to their best games of the year, goalie came up big, and still lost by 3 goals.

 

[MessierII]

Koskinen was outstanding at times, 3 highlight reel saves (and not because he was out of position.

Nuge, Lucic, Kassian, Puju all with good games I thought. McDavid is McDavid.

Strange I thought some guys had close to their best games of the year, goalie came up big, and still lost by 3 goals.

Too many penalties a bad giveaway by a rookie D and nothing from the two stars is what did it. Calgary’s big guns all chipped in tonight. Ours didn’t.

 

[harpoon]

Sigh ...

 

[McRpro]

Don't care. Didn't watch the third. Go ......Oilers?

 

[ElysiumAB]

Too many penalties a bad giveaway by a rookie D and nothing from the two stars is what did it. Calgary’s big guns all chipped in tonight. Ours didn’t.

True. Connor played his ass off though.

 

[KCC]

McDavid does not deserve to be apart of this train wreck. Poor guy is being run into the ground, getting busted open and having a player like Draisaitl throw away the puck blindly every two seconds.

 

[guymez]

They are checking him to see if he has a heartbeat.

Oh okay. You got me.
Seriously though I dont think his heart is the issue...its his head that concerns me.

 

[Throttlehead]

Oh okay. You got me.
Seriously though I dont think his heart is the issue...its his head that concerns me.

The guy is a huge talent and can dominate games, IF he wants to. There are just too many games/plays where he looks uninterested and lazy. We forgive him easily after he makes a nice pass, assist or goal, even though the better part of the game he is dogging it.

He is still young I hope he sorts this out, and understands how important he is and can be.