Pre-Game Talk: Pregame Positivity - Oilers v Canes Wednesday 5 PM.

[FlameChampion]

Its pretty short on the runway so far. I don't think the Holloway injury helped either. We're suddenly short forwards. Interesting that Gagner was healthy scratched and for years thats been the thing with Gagner. Can play some good games and then just goes in a hole. he can't maintain.

One thing I liked last game is KK going right back to Broberg after the broken stick goal. It wasn't his fault, and Woody would have benched him after that and has. You make sacrifices in short game for longterm benefit. So you live with Brobergs struggles and keep sending him out there. Booch too.

As for Kulak he's been one of the better looking D since KK and Coffey got here. He's using his skating skills more and for some reason he gets off that and needs reminders.

The roster decisions always seem weird to me.

Even if Holloway wasnt hurt, it would still be Foegele going up. For whatever reason, Holloway gets no rope here. Even Lavoie, who I didnt think was bad, barely got an opportunity.

Glad that Broberg didnt get punished from the mistake. But hes another one that doesnt get much rope here.

Meanwhile younger guys like VD (not that young age wise but experience wise) and Skinner get so much rope.

I think the frustrating part for me is while Holloway, Broberg, Lavoie etc havent been great, its hard to really see this team taking a step if they dont. But they arent even getting much of an opportunity to do so. And I cant imagine mentally they feel good about their ice time or where their place is on the team.

This team feels very clique'y with its personnel decisions.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

Lmao I tried out for the background guy. I didn’t get the job.

Oilers and Canes hey.

Well. We’re gonna lose.

I know the situation looks bleak. The team has to keep battling though. McDavid is starting to look like himself so that's a positive. Holland needs to get off his duff and do something for this team so this season isn't a lost cause. A goalie AND a defenseman is needed and pronto.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Kulak at 1RD? There’s a new look.

Maybe that was done so Bouch could be demoted to 3rd pair when he makes his first bonehead mistake.

It actually looks like, from a Jack Michaels tweet, that Ekholm and Bouchard are the top pair and Nurse and Kulak are the 2nd pair.

Not sure how that plays out in the end.

 

[ToeMcDrag83]

I'm not sure I understand the logic of one of McDavid or Draisaitl being injured means they have to play together.

For what? How does it help to the team have our best / next best player more saddled with responsibility of covering for the hurt one? Besides the obvious of shutting them down until they're truly healed, doesn't it make more sense to simply reduce minutes of the injured player and try to shelter them with lower minutes and lesser matchups? And just let the healthy one focus on playing head to head with the best opposition line? Putting them together 5-on-5 just makes it easier for other teams in my opinion, especially when that duo isn't going like they typically do.

 

[bone]

Strange D pairings indeed.

Shows on CF we have only 65k in space with Janmark in LTIR so wouldn’t that put us over once he’s off LTIR necessitating one of the emergency recalls to go down?



Maybe it’s 29 and 97 insisting they play together.

That's not quite right, there's still over $1M of LTIR salary pool left, and the cap hit doesn't change just the LTIR pool amount drops by the amount of his salary which is just $1M so they still have room.

Another way of looking at it, the current projected cap number is $84,113,270 and their ACSL is $83,465,371 with $1.925M salary pool available (allowed to spend up to $85,390,371). When Janmark is activated the project cap number is exactly the same, but the salary pool will drop to $925,000 allowing them to spend up to $84,390,371. As such I've got the math as being that they'd have $277,101 in cap space.

Of note, however the the cap space wouldn't accrue since the team is still over the ACSL. they can only accrue space by demoting someone with more than $647,899 remaining cap hit on the season, Non of the usual suspects for demotion would have more than $647,899 remaining. It would need to be Derek Ryan salary or higher to hit that.

An interesting side note. If my math is correct, they currently do not have enough cap space to recall Jack Campbell with Janmark back even if he went on a 5 games shutout streak without demoting both Pickard and another player though I may be a bit off on the daily calculations as I see a recall today adding about $300K to the cap, though I think they'd have enough room about 2 weeks from now so likely a mute point as he likely needs at least 2 good weeks to convince anyone he can try to come back.

 

[Soundwave]

I'm not sure I understand the logic of one of McDavid or Draisaitl being injured means they have to play together.

For what? How does it help to the team have our best / next best player more saddled with responsibility of covering for the hurt one? Besides the obvious of shutting them down until they're truly healed, doesn't it make more sense to simply reduce minutes of the injured player and try to shelter them with lower minutes and lesser matchups? And just let the healthy one focus on playing head to head with the best opposition line? Putting them together 5-on-5 just makes it easier for other teams in my opinion, especially when that duo isn't going like they typically do.

Because Nugent Hopkins is a limp noodle of a 5 on 5 player and isn't going to do anything to raise his game like you would hope a top 3 pick would.

So even if McDavid is hurt, we still need him to produce at some reasonable level or the entire team sinks.

 

[helloconga]

Because Nugent Hopkins is a limp noodle of a 5 on 5 player and isn't going to do anything to raise his game like you would hope a top 3 pick would.

So even if McDavid is hurt, we still need him to produce at some reasonable level or the entire team sinks.

having RNG in my fantasy has been killing me. also very annoying that i keep putting in skinner thinking there will be a turn around just for it to go back to crap again. ugh

 

[CupofOil]

Agree with all of this. Kings and Nucks are definitely in, just a question of where exactly they will be positioned and how much of a threat they are down the stretch if one of shooting/goaltending comes back to earth for either team.

The Canucks are far from a lock. I know I wouldn't trust that team if I was a Canucks fan.
On the other hand, I think the Kings might very well come out of the west. I thought they were really close to something special the last few years but goaltending held them back. Talbot is an upgrade on anything they've had since prime Quick days and their center depth is absurd.

 

[brentashton]

Yu

Ceci has been pretty reasonable so far this year also.

Really curious choice.

Yup. Only Dman with a plus number ytd. At this point I can not begin to understand what anyone in this organization thinks or is doing. It’s become simply, just entertainment.