Very well done post. Thank you.
Ps: I am one of those "Yak haters" I was just more disappointed because I thought he was really good last game and this one...seemed like the opposite.
Yes, he didn't do much offensively, but reading all the media reports and grades, they all liked his overall game. They especially pointed out the forechecking and keeping the puck in the other teams zone, even Staples liked his play, which is saying something. That line performed very well at that, and yak did not look out of place either. If this line stays together, and plays like that, I could certainly live with that, the goals will come.
I felt the entire team was off offensively, not just Yak, so it would be unfair to single him out when others (including Drai, who just didn't have it today) were doing the same. He didn't hit as much, but then Ebs, Klefblom and Hendricks (!!!!!) didn't even record a hit at all.
I think people here have to be a bit more fair, it's hard to be critical of one player when others were doing worse at certain things.
I find Yak to be chaos squared sometimes (okay, all the time) but there is one thing about him, in that he is very teachable, more so than the other super-kids (Hall and Ebs, not RNH) He is I suspect playing far closer to the coaches system and the way the coach wants the team to play overall than those two. And considering the previous decade of team failure it's nice to see that a player that a lot of posters here were trying to throw under the bus has turned it around, showing promise and very good improvement in some pretty major deficiencies.
It wasn't just about scoring with him, it was his play in his own zone, and play without the puck. He has greatly improved so far (I no longer hold my hands in front of my eyes when ever the puck is in the Oiler zone and he is on the ice, but I still do hold my breath every once in a while) and I for one hope he continues to improve.
